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Cork: Authentic
Name: Kinton Syrah
Type: Syrah
Vintage: 2005
Region: Santa Barbara County
Country: USA
Producer: Kinton Vineyards, Santa Maria, CA
Price: ’twas a gift
Purchased at: Wine.com
Date: 2/2/08
Served With: Colby Jack Cheese & Townhouse Buttery Crackers (this is the ‘Redneck’ wine review!)
Appearance: Deep, dark & luscious maroon. Very leggy.
Aroma: Hints of American oak and white pepper.
Taste: Initial flavors of tobacco and some other woody characteristics. A middle palate reminiscent of greeny things like hay, straw or maybe even grass. Finishes nicely with hints of anise.
Comments: Here’s a wine that happens to pair very well with the appetizer. It gives a nice contrast to the cheese and helps to cleanse the palate between bites. It’s full-bodied but not overwhelming and while I’m not necessarily a huge fan of the anise-type finish I would definitely drink this wine again.

Incidentally, I heard through the grapevine that this wine was recently added to the wine list at the world-famous, 5 Star hotel in Colorado Springs called the Broadmoor. It should sell well!

Popularity: 41% [?]

It arrived today. The famous case of wine from the California Wine Hiker. One week after winning the award I have 12 fabulous bottles of wine to share with you all!

I know you would like to know what the inventory consists of. I know because if I were you I would want to know!

Before I reveal what this great case of wine consists of I want to whet your palate a bit. I know that wine ratings aren’t everything but this is, after all, a wine review blog and it’s worth noting that not a single rated bottle of wine in this case came in less than 90. There is one bottle that is not rated but after seeing everything else in the case I thoroughly trust the Wine Hiker.

Additionally, It seems to me that Russ put a lot of thought into choosing each bottle. I can’t say enough how appreciative I am of not only the wine but the thought that went into it. From Malbec to Muscat and Rose to G.A.M. the list doesn’t disappoint!

Now, let met pimp another site for just one second as I tell you that I have compiled the list of wines at wine.com. They allow you to create multiple wine lists, wish lists, etc. and also tell you the rating of each wine from various reviewers, whether or not it is an organic wine, a collectible wine and lots of other cool features as well.

So, without listing each wine here and without further adieu here’s the list of awarded wines from the Wine Hiker. Incidentally, each wine will be reviewed here!

Popularity: 72% [?]

Cork:Synthetic
Name: Judd (Judd’s Hill)
Type: Syrah
Vintage: 2002
Region: Napa Valley
Country: USA
Producer: Finkelstein Vineyards
Price: $18.99
Purchased at: Vintage’s Wine & Spirits
Date: 07/10/07
Served With: Hershey’s Extra Creamy Milk Chocolate w/Toffee & Almonds
Appearance: I can’t see through it! That’s usually a good thing. Very deep, dark purple.
Aroma: Black berry, black currant (cassis)
Taste: Very fruity on the front end and slightly tart on the finish. A bit alcoholy on the long finish. It’s a little lite on the tannins for my tastes.
Comments: Very thick. Very Rich. Very intense. 14.2% Alcohol. Too fruity for me. I bought this on a recommendation from the store owner. I told her I like smooth syrahs that aren’t to alcoholy and I like some fruity taste. She translated that into a silky, aged, intensely fruity wine. This was not her fault at all, I simply expressed myself incorrectly. Also, to be fair this wine is probably better served with an entre.

While the wine is OK I will finish the bottle but I won’t buy it again for 2 reasons: 1. It’s nearly twice as much as I normally like to pay for a bottle of wine and 2. I think I’ve just discovered that I prefer a more earthy taste to a fruity taste. I guess I’ve known that for a while now I just didn’t know how to express it. Maybe I’m getting better at it now.

I find it interesting that as I drink more wine and study it a bit more than I used to - and the slap upside the head from the Spectacular Shiraz that has caused me to go outside my comfort zone to find something similar - my vocabulary expands and I yearn for a way to express what I see, smell and taste in a wine because I want to drink what I enjoy. Most people who drink wine and aren’t connoisseurs don’t have the knowledge to express what they like in a wine other than “fruity”, “dry”, “sweet” and the like; this, I believe, is the biggest hurdle the wine industry constantly struggles with.

–update–

After a day in the bottle this wine has decanted very nicely. It’s still not one of my favorites but I’m getting very strong strawberry jam tastes coming through. It is enjoyable!

–end update–

Popularity: 33% [?]