So before I get back into the swing of full blown wine reviews again, I thought we'd take a bit of a detour to the Reserve Wine Bar here in my home town. Now I'll freely admit the first time I was there I was NOT impressed. Granted, it was the first month they were open, and they had a big event next door so the place was packed, but there is no excuse for staff that know nothing of wine and bring back 3 cheeses on a plate when you ordered a flight of five (and then can't find the order ticket she made you fill out with the cheeses you wanted!). Then there was the wine list, detailed and very impressive, but it was literally a phone book. There were so many selections and so much detail, your head would spin before you even thought about what you want! Granted that might be nice if you know you want to go there looking for tight niche wines, like a selection of Walla Walla reds, or Willamette Valley Pinots, but not if you just want to have a nice evening with friends enjoying wine. It was clearly a disaster.
Well, thankfully I gave it a second chance (what choice did I have? It's the only wine bar in town!) and it was outstanding the second time around. The wine BOOK is gone, replaced by a single sheet, front and back with popular selections for a fun night with friends (I'm sure the list is still somewhere, just in case you want a night of wine geekdom). So I went with several friends from work, and we dove into the wine, though we did order some olives and a flight of cheese (Stilton blue, Midnight Moon goat's milk from California, Beemster 18-month aged gouda and a Polkton Corner raw cow's milk cheese from Michigan) and proscuitto di parma!
For the wine, I started with the "Kameel's Killer Cabs" flight, a sampling of three outstanding Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons. I didn't take any tasting notes, so from memory here they are:
Merus 2006 Cabernet - this was a very nice, solid Napa cab, but clearly not my favorite of the three. The next two were virtually tied for my favorite, but I kept going back and forth on which I preferred.
Shafer One Point Five 2009 Cabernet - this one was outstanding, and just about everything you could ask for a big Napa Cab, but I felt it was still too young, giving it a little too much sharpness which I think will become much more refined with some age.
Caymus 2008 Stag's Leap Napa Valley Cabernet - I think this was close to my favorite (again, back and forth, even from memory!), it was big and bold with a long, smooth finish, a good bit of fruit on the front end, lots of spice and earthiness mid-palate, just a really great Cab!
Finally, I finished the evening with a glass of Grifalco Aglianico del Vulture 2007, which I'd never had before, but it was on my list of Italian varietals that I have to try, to that was the night! It was very nice, nothing like a standard Chianti, it was heavier and bolder, and a perfect wine transition from a swath of big Napa Cabs. Nice fruit and well structured, but a bit rustic with a smooth, dry finish. A variety I'll need to see more of!
So that was our evening, and you can see from the photo we had a wonderful time, enjoying some wine with good friends. If you have a local wine bar, I highly recommend it!
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