Carlisle "Carlisle Vineyard" Zinfandel 2006

Wanted a good bottle after what felt like a long week. This delivered. Though I've found Carlisle's 06 zins less impressive than other vintages, I thought this was really good. Not too hot. Nice mix of fruit and earth (weird for a Zin) but thought it worked well. I think these are probably my favorite single vineyard Carlisle zins.

Rhys Alpine Vineyard Chardonnay 2007

This was fantastic. Sea brine and citrus on the nose. Pretty zingy on the palate. Definitely some oak on the palate too, which strangely became more pronounced the second day. Ms. Capitol Hill Wino loved it. Wish we had more than one bottle left.

Kutch McDougall Ranch Pinot Noir 2006

Wanted to like this more than I did. Pretty ripe. Darker cherry fruit on the nose and palate. I know Kutch changed styles in 2007 (or 2008?) so perhaps I should give them another go but they do cost quite a bit.

Novy Santa Lucia Highlands Syrah 2007

First of four bottles we purchased on discount. Nice bigger California style Syrah. More dark fruit than pepper or spice. Not too hot which I appreciate.

Carlisle Montafi Ranch Zinfandel 2007

Very good. Lots of fruit. A bit of heat. Probably better in six months but perhaps not worth the risk that the alcohol would overwhelm the fruit at that point. Bigger than most Carlisle Zins, which is saying something.

Pepiere Clos de Briords Muscadet 2009

Starting to enjoy muscadet a lot more. Chalky on the palate. This was great with whole fish and malay noodles for Chinese New Year.

Cabot Kimberly's Syrah 2006

This was fantastic. Much better than the last time we had it. Syrah from Humboldt County is new to us. Definitely some pepper on the nose and some gamey notes on the palate. More like a northern rhone than a southern I'd say.