Wines From My Chicago Vacation

Back from vacation and after eating pizza, hotdogs, and White Castle cheesesliders all week, I'll be hitting the crosstrainer for some extra time. New wines for you:

Chateau Ste. Michelle Cabernet 2005: $14.00: Elegant, bold, rather complex for a wine at this price. Long finish. Good fruit, a hint of vanilla and a touch of oak. Excellent for any ocassion.

Firesteed Pinot Noir 2006: $15.00:Oregon Pinot's are generally some of the best in the U.S. and often their prices reflect it. So, Firesteed is a nice find. Medium bodied; Ruby red ;Cherry & berry bouquet. Bright cherry and berry flavors with hints of earth and vanilla, and a refreshing Pinot at less than half the price of many bottlings.

Dalla Vina 2004 Cabernet Franc Columbia Valley: $24.00: Cabernet Franc's as some of my favorite wines, but they're hard to find. Very few people know about them and I have to special order them from my local wine shop. They're sort of a softer Cabernet Sauvignon, somewhere between the Cab and the Pinot. Very smooth. This wine assaults your nose with a huge bouquet of currants, spice, vanilla, notes of herbs, cola and violets. The palate is deep, flavored with of black cherry and black currant with hints of coffee and toasty oak. The wine screams “Grill me a steak!”
More later.

Right now I'm sipping a Hirschbach & Sohne Riesling Spatlese which I'll review later. Gotta tell ya, though, it's killer.

Ciao!