Presidents' Day Weekend

Shane’s Notes

We began our three day weekend with the Tablas Creek 2006 Counoise ($28). It is easy to find single varietal Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre (to a lesser extent) but a single varietal Counoise is rare. If you ever wondered what Counoise brings to a Rhone blend, here’s your chance to find out. This Counoise showed a Blueberry flavor accented by florals and dirt. The finish was medium length, smooth and tangy. It vaguely reminded us of a Douro table wine. We thoroughly enjoyed it but I’m not quite sure it is worth 28 bucks.

On Saturday, we had lunch at La Boheme in Burlingame. Both the service and the food were fantastic. Jen had the salmon and I had chicken cordon bleu. The wine list contained more American wines than French, but how can you possibly drink an American wine in a French restaurant? We ordered a half bottle of Pouilly Fume (Claude Michel “Les Berthiers”, $30/375ml). We tend to favor the New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs but this Pouilly Fume went very well with food. The palate showed guava with a salty minerality. There may have been a touch of grassiness. It was bone dry.

Later that evening, we actually drank an American Zinfandel. After imbibing too many vanilla bombs, we had sworn these off a long time ago. I must have been slightly tipsy from lunch as I slipped this Pedroncelli into our basket when Jen wasn’t looking (2006 Pedroncelli “Mother Clone” Dry Creek Zinfandel for $12). Initially, there was too much of a vanilla flavor for my palate but it blew off after about 45 minutes. Then, the purity of the fruit shone through with a brambly, blackberry flavor. The palate was simple but very tasty. My one complaint is that the finish was short. If you have to drink a zin, this would be a great choice.

On Sunday, I watched the football games while Jen knitted. We drank a 2007 Sauvignon Republic Marlborough S.B. This was a very nice S.B. It didn’t have the massive grassiness of some Marlboroughs but it had a gooseberry flavor and was quite salty. It was much funkier than the Pouilly Fume and we really enjoyed it.

We decided to end our three day weekend with a can’t miss German 2005 Schafer-Frohlich Bockenauer, Kabinett, Nahe (20.50). Unfortunately, it missed. This Riesling might have displayed a touch of pear on the palate but beyond that, there was simply an overwhelming sweetness. Alas, this is the type of Riesling that gives German Rieslings a bad name.