2005 Grand-Puy Ducasse

Had this wine about a decade too early, but still it was very pleasurable and a delight! This is the 2005 Chateau Grand-Puy Ducasse from the Paulliac appellation in Bordeaux. It's a fifth growth. I thought it was awesome. Elegant, with cranberry and cherry notes. It was tight, but really nice.

RECIPE: 9-minute Steak

I have made this several times, and it has always turned out awesome. To make this, you will need: a thick steak, salt, pepper, (and other seasoning if preferred), oil, butter, a stove, and a cast iron skillet.

Buy a 1 to 1&1/4 inch Rib Eye or NY Steak (marblely). Make sure the steak gets to room temperature before cooking.

Dry rub the steak. Pepper, salt, Lawrys or any dry steak rub

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Heat a cast iron skillet on stove, add a little canola oil to skillet (just cover the bottom) – make sure it is hot.

Drop a pad of butter in then drop the steak on top of it.

Sear 90 seconds, flip it for another 90 seconds then put the whole skillet in the oven for 9 minutes.

Remove from oven for rare to medium rare. 10 minutes for a less rare and so on…

Goes well with Cabernet (in this case, the Grove Street Meritage). Nice for the price ($10).

Domaine Bastide Blanche Bandol Rose 2007 and the 2007 Domaine Bastide Blanche Bandol Blanc

I was excited to try this Bandol Rose from Domaine Bastide Blanche since it was my first time trying a wine from the Bandol appellation in Provence. The rose was made of 31% Mouvedre, 25% Grenache and 41% Cinsault. The nose was floral, and the wine itself had a hint of melon, but it was VERY delicate to the taste. Maybe too delicate for me. I enjoy things that are a bit more... obvious.

Just by chance, a few days later I had the luck to also taste the 2007 Domaine Bastide Blanche Bandol Blanc. A white wine made of Clairette, Bourboulenc and Ugni Blanc. I was surprised with the beautiful flavors of this wine, and its crispness. It was also very delicate but with a laser like clarity on the tounge. Very nice.

Summer Rose

The Chateau de Manissy 2007 Rose from the southern Rhone appellation of Tavel is great for summer sipping.

Grape varieties : Grenache 60% - Clairette 30%, Syrah 10%.
Average age of the vine 60 years.

It smells like liquefied cotton candy, but is dry, and tastes like strawberries and blackberries. Nice to have chilled on a warm day. Goes well with burgers.

muy bueno!

Top Chef, Shmop Chef

I'm just not getting into Top Chef this season. The contestants are very bratty and it's hard to feel for them. arrrgh! The first season rocked.

Tonight's wine was TRIO, made by Concha y Toro from Chile. Deep, rich and full of berries. Was very indulgent and fun. This was a gift from my boss who visited Chile .. nice gesture! Concha y Toro is a large producer in Chile, but they do a quality job.

A Dunn Vertical; 1997-2004

Was fortunate enough to try a vertical of the Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon... some most-delicious wines from Napa Valley. Randy Dunn is the winemaker. I tried the Napa and Howell Mountain cabs from 1997 to 2004. All of them super-delicious, with special cheers to the Howell Mountain 2002... simply outstanding.

Yummyness in a glass

This, is a Valpolicella Classico Superiore (made of the grapes Corvina Veronese, Rondinella, and Molinara) from Italy (near the upper part of the boot). Campagnola 2002 Catarina Zardini. Its a very agreeable red, NOT overbearing on the fruit, but not leathery either. The wine has a lot of finesse, and goes well with dinner or drinks fine on its own. If you drink it the next day... it's even better, like drinking an expensive Amarone. The price for this is $9 ($8.98 to be exact), which is an outstanding value. I am planning on buying as much of this as I can.