Wine and basketball are not usually paired together. Maybe we need to start a tradition. Watch the NCAA basketball tournament and drink some wine. The tournament is all about parity and upsets this year. Louisville is looking good, so far.
Cayman Islands
I had a chance to visit the Grand Cayman Island again. I had a good time and stayed at a friend's house. The water sports are great. We had good weather. I had a chance to walk on seven mile beach again. It is beautiful, white sand and blue green water.There is also things to do on the beach from water sports to eating, drinking and people watching.
We brought some great wines to the island. As I have previously stated, it is easy to bring some good wines on a trip and enjoy them at restaurants or where you are staying. We brought:
Bordeaux's
Chateau Leoville Poyferre 2006 OK Bordeaux; have not had many 06's. This may be good for 06 but it does not hold up to 2010 and 2009 in general. Decent fruit but nothing special.
Chateau Villars 2010 VG 2010 Bordeaux, very smooth and balanced, really enjoyed, good fruit and tannin.
Chateau Haut Gardere 2003 Drank this wine docked on a boat in a marina in the Caymans. VG bottle. The fruit showed up. A nice sipping wine. We drank with no food and the wine disappeared. Glad I have more bottles. An 03 Bordeaux comes into its own, wow.
Rhones
2010 Domaine de la Côte de l'Ange Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes Liked this wine. Balanced, fruit, tannin and acid are all together. Parker is right on. Could drink this wine all night. Great stuff.
2010 Patrick Lesec Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Bargeton Young CDP, good fruit, a bit hollow in the middle but good finish, enjoyed the bottle with friends
Other bottle
2006 Joseph Phelps Insignia Great wine; balanced, complex; a joy to drink.
Bought on the island
2008 Vigneti del Vulture Aglianico del Vulture Piano del Cerro Riserva Did not like this bottle.
Chakalaka 2009 We never drank this bottle but it is a favorite.
The wines were great. 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape's are getting great reviews and the 2 we drank were off the charts. My note on the Lesac wine is tough because we drank it after the l'Ange. The Insignia is too good for words. The Villars was a surprise as it was very smooth and balanced. I bought it at Costco for $18. It is a 2010 Bordeaux and I am getting more impressed with the 2010 Bordeaux's by the week.
Had some good food in the Caymans. Over the Edge http://over-theedge.com/was very good. Lots of seafood in an over the water setting.
The Lighthouse http://www.lighthouse.ky/home.html was also very good. We had Italian food and brought some of our wine to the restaurant. They charge $20 corkage per bottle which was reasonable. I had a lobster tail with homemade spinach raviolis with goat cheese. Very good.
We visited Camana Bay. There is a wine shop there with wine tasting machines. I tried the
2010 Château de Saint-Cosme Gigondas. It was very good with nice balance and fruit.The 2010 Rhone wines are looking better and better. Michaels Genuine Food and Drink http://michaelsgenuine.com/grand-cayman/ at Camana Bay still looks good. Did not get a chance to eat there this time.
I also had a chance to visit Palm Springs California. Food was OK. The setting was beautiful. I had a glass of the 2011 Meiomi Pinot Noir again. It was very good.
Also had a Stolpman 2009 Syrah. Not sure which one but it was very good. I have been reading about Stolpman wines lately but had never seen one. Drank with pizza.
Also had chance to try the 2010 Chehalem Pinot Noir 3 Vineyard from Oregon's Willamette Valley. It was light but had some flavor. I would like more mouth feel and more intensity. I have had better 2010 from the Willamette Valley.
2009 Château de Pitray Côtes de Castillon $11 Good 09 Bordeaux with surprising texture, flavor and complexity. VG value.
NV Codorníu Cava "Anna de Cordoniu" $11 Good but different cava. The Chardonnay makes it a bit less fruity but it still an enjoyable wine. Drank with bake clams and tomatoes with bufalo mozzerella
2011 Domaine Lafage Chardonnay Novellum $11 Interesting wine. Clean, good fruit and acid, however after the first glass you don't want any more of this wine. just not my style. It is a chardonnay but ... Can't agree with the WA review, which raved about the wine.
2009 Di Majo Norante Biferno Ramitello $12
Drinkable but very astringent. Not going to make excuses for a wine. Fruit but it is overwhelmed by the acid. Not for me.
| 2006 Chimney Rock Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District $40 Wine started out disjointed but it came together after about 20 minutes. Lots of tannin but the fruit came thru and we enjoyed the bottle. The wine needed food, we had steak, and it faded towards the end of the bottle. Not much complexity. Not a great value although I got it as a gift. Not sure if continued cellaring will help this wine. I would drink it now. |
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2009 L'Esprit de Chevalier $23 Not sure about this wine. It probably needs time. Good structure and flavor but
tannins prevail. Will see how fruit develops. Will try again 2005 Château Larrivaux $10 My hopes are being dashed after holding this wine for a number of years. Previously thought that this wine was coming around but not this bottle. Still think it needs time but maybe it is wishful thinking. May never develop. I have a few more bottles. A trip to Kauai is coming up in the near future. I will stop in on Aunt Lillikoi. Enjoy. |
I still remember when I and my colleague who is my best friend too, were on a three day official tour to Cayman. We both are non vegetarian. We had heard a lot about Pork and beef skewers and we got there there was everything even the best wine too. Cayman bars are unique in all aspects.
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