d'Arenberg's The Stump Jump 2007

Region: Adelaide, Australia
Grapes: 62% Riesling, 18% Sauvignon Blanc, 8% Marsanne, 6% Viognier, 6% Chardonnay
ABV: 13%
Price: $12

Pale in color with the scent of sweet lemon custard, you would believe this wine to be sweeter than it in fact is. Only slightly sweet with a pleasantly tart acidity. Simple, but a good choice for someone trying to move into drier wines for the first time.

Region: Southern Australia
Grapes: 50% Grenache, 29% Shiraz, 21% Mourvedre
ABV: 14
Price: $12

Light ruby in your glass. Almost bright. Nose of dark fruits and oak with plum and blackberry standing out on the palate with a delicious spice overlay. Wonderful finish. Best $12 red you will buy this year.

Port-Salut

Origin: France
Where & When: Whole Foods, October 10, 2009
Milk: Cow
Style: Semi-soft/Washed-rind
How Used: On a cheese board with sea-salt pita crackers

Modeled after a cheese previously made by Trappist monks. Strong aromas lead into a very mild cheesewith a salty-sweet flavor. Texture is soft like a spreadable cheese, but spongy and springy in that it won't spread and it will return to original shape. We found it delicious on crackers and would make a great addition to a cheese platter at a party.

El Nido Clio 2006

Region: Jumillia, Spain
Grapes: 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 70% Monastrell
ABV: 15.5%
Price: $50

This wine is a beast to be tamed, to be sure. After it's first three vintages, this fourth continues to rank up there with some of the best wine out of Spain, maybe out of all of Europe, this year. With its completely opaque inkiness and almost incense-like nose, this wine hits you with a full-bodied punch of dark fruit, cranberry and brown sugar-cinnamon with a slight earth and oak note hanging out in the background. Epicurean.

Goldeneye Pinot Noir 2006

Region: Anderson Valley, California
Grapes: 100% Pinot Noir
ABV: 14.5%
Price: $60

Admittedly a little young, but with a couple hours in a decanter, it opened up wonderfully! With a very light color and a delicate nose, Goldeneye's 2006 offering is light and tart with elements of tobacco, coffee, and earth backed with brightness and lovely red berry notes. Complex and will become even more inviting as a few more years pass.

Unfashionably Late

Yeah, I'm still here, still drinking wine, eating cheese, enjoying good brew. Still keeping notes. Reading a book on understanding cheese. Reading another on the adventures of outlaws after the collapse of the United States. New post (probably) coming soon.