My Wine Tasting Reviews

Hot Sunday afternoon in sunny Southern California. Perfect time for a nice, crisp Chardonnay. However, I was at a family function with over 20 tables in a Chinese Restaurant with a gang of Mondavi lovers. Not surprisingly, the wine of choice that afternoon was the 2004 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon. I’m not sure if the heat got to me or if this wine just didn’t go well with Chinese food. However, before I crush your hopes of this wine, I can only imagine how good the 2004 Mondavi Cabernet would go with a big juicy steak. The 2004 Mondavi Cabernet is what I would call a classic Cabernet with smooth, deep flavors from start to finish. This Cabernet didn’t come with a whole lot of fruit and berry flavors, but rather more of a bold, down to earth flavor (which is why I’m drooling merely putting this wine and steak together in my head). I would characterize this wine as full bodied with rounded tannins. Again, I would pick this wine at a romantic steak dinner out in open air.

This journey hit two birds with one stone, as I got to try both the Bogle Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 and the Bogle Pinot Noir 2005. My girl friend and I were celebrating our 15 month at the Wild Rabbit restaurant in Costa Mesa that we discovered in our entertainment book. It was a nice, easy going restaurant with a decently sized wine selection. Since the restaurant was called the Wild Rabbit, I decided to go with the Rabbit Pinot Noir with a glass of Bogle Pinor Noir 2005. My girl friend tried their flat iron steak with a glass of Bogle Cabernet Sauvignon 2005.

It was the first time that I have tried the rabbit, and it tasted like tender chicken with a nutty flavor and a splash of Pinot Noir. The glass of Bogle Pinor Noir 2005 had a fruit-foward nose. It was medium-bodied with a hint of spice and of..well…grapefruit? The flavors were well balanced and the wine itself was enjoyable. I would say it’s a good, but not excellent, Pinot Noir overall.

I also had a chance to try my girlfriend’s flat iron steak with the Bogle Cabernet Sauvignon. If you’ve ever wondered what “earthy” means for a wine, this is it. The earthiness is noticeable on the nose, and it is more apprent in the flavor as the wine decants a bit. The tannins and flavors of the Bogle Cabernet Sauvignon were extremely well rounded and ready to drink. This wine didn’t hit me at first because it was so balanced, but the flavors and smoothness grew on me after a couple tastes. I would definately recommend this wine for a nice steak dinner!

The debut post will be about a journey that brought me to my favorite Bordeaux style blend at the time of writing: the 2004 Justin Isosceles. I was introduced to Justin winery at a dinner in Winter 2006 at the Melting Pot Restaurant. The wine of choice that night was a 2004 Justin Cabernet Sauvignon. Young, yet easy to drink, this full bodied Cabernet Sauvignon paired very well with the fondue dinner. Both my girl friend and I enjoyed this wine very much, and decided it was our new favorite cab.

Next up, a miscommunication gave us an opportunity to taste the 2004 Justin Isosceles. It was during a dinner with a group of friends at the Magic Castle in Hollywood. Since we loved the 2004 Justin Cabernet Sauvignon so much, we ordered a bottle of the same cab we had a couple of months ago at the Melting Pot. However, the waiter came by with bottle of 2004 Justin Isosceles. I looked at the label and asked if this was what we ordered, but apprently the waiter didn’t know the difference between Justin Cab and a Justin Isosceles, and made us believe this was the 2004 Justin Cabernet Sauvignon that we ordered. I tasted the bottle to ensure it’s quality, and it was more than I bargained for. This wasn’t the cab that we had at the Melting Pot, but it was better! Much better! The 2004 Justin Isosceles was full bodied, extremely complex, and the fruits lingered after every sip. I was convinced that that the 2004 Justin Isosceles was a new favorite on my second sip. It was so well balanced with my taste, and it paralleled the filet mignon that I had along with the wine. The meal was unforgettable, and so was the 2004 Justin Isosceles.