Mid October 2011

My wife/muse has been recovering from surgery so my wine tasting has slowed down. However I was in Phoenix this week and had the opportunity to taste a few wines. I had a glass of Veuve Cliquot that I did not enjoy. Dry and tasteless.  A glass of Moet Imperial which is the old White Star was OK. I usually do not like the Moet because it is extra dry not brut. Champagne goes in the following order of sweetness -- sec, demi sec, extra dry and brut. Brut has less sugar than extra dry.

I had a glass of Pascal Jolivet Sancerre 2010 and enjoyed it. This is becoming one of my favorite wines and for some reason, restaurants are stocking it. Sancerre is a sauvignon blanc from the Loire region of France.
I also had an  Elk Cove Pinot Noir 2008 from Oregon. It was very nice, balanced, good fruit and heavier than most Oregon Pinot Noirs.

However the best wine of the trip was a   Luce della Vite Toscana Lucente 2007. This was an Italian tuscan blend of merlot, sangiovese and cabernet sauvignon. Both the Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate liked it. The wine is very balanced with good fruit. We did not really notice the sangiovese. The merlot gave it a beautiful aroma. In the restaurant it was a bargain at around $60 since I understand that it sell for around $30 in stores although I have not seen it in a store.

I also have bought some more Italian wines as some very good opportunities have presented. Heavily discounted wines are continuing to be offered by all sorts of on-line operations. Wine Access, Lot 18, Founders Club and Wine Library are just a few. In addition I need to investigate the app Wine PHD. A waiter in a restaurant in Phoenix used it and obtained detailed info on a wine we had ordered. I will try it out. Currently I have the Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator on-line services at my disposal. It is not that their tastes are better than others, it is that I am accustomed to their reviews and info and I use them for background information and to help me identify wines that may interest me. It is also fun to compare your tasting notes with the "experts". However I never let an expert's opinion override my opinion of a wine.

BTW did anyone read Sam Sifton's review of Per Se in the NY Times this week.http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/11/reviewing-per-se/?ref=reviews I believe it is his last review as he is moving on. Per Se has a set price menu of $295  and a meal for 2 with wine will be around $1000 and will take 3 - 5 hours. Sifton loves the place and it is his favorite in NYC. I can't even dream of eating there so why bother reading about it. The goal of this blog is get everyone to experience food, wine and travel on their own. Dreaming is fine but is so easy to experience food, wine and travel on your own except at places like Per Se. Any thoughts.

Enjoy.