Virginia does two wines- Viogner and Cabernet Franc. The rest is just useless IMHO. So, Moxie and I went to one of those way over-priced steak houses last night. After a quick perusal of the offerings, I could feel my wallet cringe(that’s a lie, as I had a $100 gift card from winning a closest to the pin golf tournament). Anyway, I digress. The wine list was mediocre at best, no classed growth, very slim in Burgundy and the few token Cali Cabs that every single “upscale” steak joint carries- get original people. So, having had the Barbourseville previously, and thoroughly enjoying it, I ordered the 2008. A surefire winner, honestly, a 91 point, 5 star wine. My local wine shop turns this one for $21, the “Grille” charged me $60.

Cab Franc has quickly become one of my favorite varietals. It offers tannins ala Cab Sav, smoothness ala Merlot and mixes fruit and backbone to merit cellaring. Most of the time it is used disproportionately in a Bordeaux style blend, not as the star performer. Many people don’t like the tannic structure and can’t wait for it to emerge. Take advice, look for this bottle and cellar a few- rewarding. Meanwhile, I still have some left over for tonight.

If you read my post on BAG’s you probably saw a very rare bottle lurking behind my behemoth glasses.  In 2008, some friends and I went in on a barrel of custom-crush wine.  I got to ‘help’ make the wine and also label it.  Anatomically correct, it symbolizes much of who I am and where I go (Asia for instance).  For lack of a better name for my wine, I commissioned my first vintage and had her design the label (Moxie is a world class graphic artist by the way).  For my efforts, and a few thousand bucks, I ended up with 6 Magnums, and 8 cases of the 750’s.  At first, I was not impressed.  In the final stages of barrel maturation we added tannins to the wine as it lacked that umph.  My first tasting revealed no backbone, low acidity and very primary fruit.  I thought I had wasted my time.  However, as the months rolled on, it has actually behaved in a dragon-like way.  Rising from slumber and showing it’s teeth.  It will last another 3 years and get better still.  I would think a pro would give the Dragon an 85 point rating, my personal opinion; not worth the cash, but fun to have been involved.  Sorry, you can’t buy it anywhere.  Ps. the fruit was California Cabernet

Labelling the Dragon

BAG, otherwise known as a “big-ass glass” is the only way to appreciate natures nectar. Having the correctly shaped BAG is also important. If you’ve never heard of Reidel stemware, you need to Google it. They discovered that different wine varieties taste better in different shapes. I won’t bore you with the details- but well worth a read.

I proved the point at a friend’s wine party where we all brought 2 bottles that were brown-bagged and numbered. A blind tasting ensued where we could rate the bottles and even guess the details. The hostess called me a snob when I told her I would bring my own BAG in lieu of her dainty, but useless Swarovski crystal ‘goblets’. Later that night I tricked her into trying the same wine out of her goblet versus the BAG. She asked which wine was in the BAG as she really enjoyed it! Case proven. If you don’t have one- get one.

My Bordeaux/Cab and my Burgundy/Pinot BAG’s.

So, I don’t officially have cellar- yet. One day, I might, and won’t have to rummage like this to find that bottle I’m looking for. I may have lost count of how many bottles I have, but I haven’t lost track of what I have.