New Rating System: I finally decided I should have my own rating system, but something simple and easy to understand.  I chose a basic 10 point scale with 1 lowest and 10 highest.  "10" are of course the greatest standouts of world class wines I've tried, "1" actually means "never buy it again".  In the exact middle are 5 and 6 which I consider the averages.  So basically most things I taste I expect to fall between a 4 and 7 because those numberes run the gambit between average and slightly outside of average.  Does that make sense?  Anyway, it's already interesting to see what scored highest and lowest so far.  At the top in 10: I'd only put Barbadillo La Cilla Pedro Ximenez (Sherry), and at 9 we have Amador Foothill Zinfandel, and Las Rocas de San Alejandro Garnacha.  At the bottom with 1 are: Graham Beck Pinotage, and Egervin Bull's Blood.

Wine Labels: I've been peeling and saving labels (for my own education).  It makes it easier to keep straight in my head the many different wines I've tried, and I keep notes with the label of my impressions.  Well, I finally filled my first booklet - 80 wine labels.  Of course that took some time (from about November 2006 through to August 2007), and I had some help because Nancy shares wine with me sometimes, and I poured a few half bottles out because I wasn't enjoying them, but really that was a lot of wine so far wasn't it?

Decanting: I last had reviewed a Cline Ancient Vines Zinfandel.  I just want to add I've tried the rest of the Cline versions of that (Carignane and Mourvedre) and I found them all to be enjoyable but not blockbusters straight from the bottle.  HOWEVER, I also tried decanting for the very first time with these wines.  I poured about 1 glass worth into a cheap glass decanter I bought, corked it, and had the wine about 8 hours later.  It makes a world of difference.  All these Cline wines are fantastic after decanting.  The zinfandel competes with the other zinfandels I've raved about in the past.  Of course, those other wines were never decanted so whose to say if they were given the same treatment they may still be way out in front.  By the way, before decanting I'd have given the Cline wines a 5 for average, but after decanting I give them a 7 which is actually a quite respectable score.

So my new thing due to the decanting experience is when I open a new bottle I'll have a glass right then, but, I'll decant the second glass the next day and then compare. 

New Reviews:

Bodegas Carrau, Tannat Rose Saignee 2006 (Las Violetas, Uruguay) - This is the rose' of a harsh tannat red I reviewed earlier in this blog.  Happily the rose' is much easier to drink and in fact Nancy liked it and has gradually had most of the bottle on her own.  I liked it a lot better than the red but that's only because the varietal is infamous for being so very tannic (thus it's name) and the rose' in its making has less contact with the tannat skins.  Oh, another curious thing I've commented on in past tannat reviews is I still get a slight beer taste with it even in the rose.   Anyway, I respect what they're able to do with this varietal, although it really isn't my thing.  Since I make the score... SCORE 5 (average).

Florio Cantine Casa Fondata Nel, Vino Marsala Fine Sweet (Italy) - I had tried Sherry, Port, and Madeira, and this tasting was to continue my slow  stroll through the old world sweet wines.  I had read that Marsala wasn't really an Italian creation.  A businessman from England I believe came up with the idea of making something similar to the big three of Sherry, Port, and Madeira and importing it out of Italy.  I'd say he succeeded in that the wine has elements of all those three.  It's OK from the bottle, it went OK on ice cream, and I've had some great chicken marsala in my day, so this wine definitely has it's place.  Personally, I'd say it is outclassed by those it mimics.  I'd much rather have a good sherry or madeira with their strong unique flavors than have a marsala with the essence of it's brother wines. SCORE 5 (average).

Robert Mondavi Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 (Napa Valley, California) - Robert Mondavi is hugely famous for the wines his family has produced, for  their family's key role in the history in California wine, and for the volume of wines they put on the market.  For my sample I wanted to pick a respectable example and not accidently by mass produced plonk.  I picked a $20 bottle with a fairly simple label.  Note Mondavi has many choices under $10 and they often have fancier sounding names (private reserve, select, classic, something like that).  I was hoping the more subdued label meant this one was meant for wine drinkers in the know... And, it's terrfic.  Really.   He did a very nice job with this.  It's balanced and smooth and has more of an old world elegance than the typical modern wine.  And it has significant complex cab flavors but doesn't hit the palatte like the flavor bomb cabs sometimes do.  After decanting it was even better.  So I'm going to give this a very very respectable 8.  It's well above average though I suspect this isn't the top of the line for Mondavi so I hesitate to go higher.  Also I'll admit I'm a little reluctant to give the poster child for California wines a top world class ranking.  SCORE 8.