Life is too short to drink bad wine

This property from St.Emilion and the underrated 2004 vintage is just drinking perfectly now. And what a beautiful wine it is! Dark red colour with a lovely bouquet of dark fruit, plum, chocolate and some coffee. Just gorgeous! It's also perfectly balanced on the palate with lots of dark fruit, delightful smooth and velvety taste. Incredible easy drinking and oh so irresistible! Really yummy stuff! Clos de l'Oratoire 2004 St.Emilion Ca 30€ (at the time)   This is the description from Parker: 'I tasted this wine on multiple occasions and some of the samples were more impressive than even this note suggests! Two others were somewhat monolithic, but my instincts suggest the 2004 Clos de l'Oratoire is an outstanding wine. A blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, it is extremely well-endowed for the vintage. A deep ruby/purple color is followed by aromas of espresso roast, chocolate, dried herbs, and plenty of sexy black currant and cherry fruit. Me...

This is a late harvest Riesling from Rheingau in Germany. Spatlese normally comes in two versions; one that is dry and one that is sweet. This is the dry version (Trocken) which makes it very fruity and adaptable to many kinds of food. Light green yellow colour and flavours of citrus and apple. Lots of fruit and a good acidity. This should fit most types of asian food, spicy, salted and smoked food. I tried it recently with the Norwegian traditional dish of dried salted rib of lamb (pinnekjøtt), which turned out to be a perfect match thanks to the acidity and freshness of the wine. Leitz Riesling Spaetlese Trocken 2011 Rudesheimer Bischofsberg Rheingau Low price

This is a unknown Champagne house to me but I was presently surprised by their style which is a more fruitdriven Champagne thanks to the high content of Pinot Noir in their cuvees. Many of them are more like Blanc de Noirs than normal brut. This one has 80% Pinot Noir and a very golden colour separating it from other houses and cuvees. Beautiful aromas of red berries and apples, with hints of butter and biscuit. Big rich and  fruity taste with a lovely balance and mousse. This should be perfect as an aperitif but will also go well with fish and white meat. Drappier Carte d'Or (or Carte Blanche) Champagne Ca 30€  

This is just a lovely Pinot Noir from Anthill Farms in Sonoma Coast in California. The colour is light to medium red and the nose is both "fruity" and "refreshing" with delicious aromas of raspberry, red fruit, cellar and plum. The wine is also both light and full bodied with lots of red fruit and a great delightful acidity which is rare in Californian wines. Overall a superbly balanced wine competing with red Burgundy. Anthill Farms 2013 Pinot Noir Sonama Coast  Ca 350 NOK or 30$

This Anthill Farms Pinot Noir is from a single vineyard in Sonoma Coast called Campbell Ranch. It's pricier than the normal Anthill version and the colour is deeper leading towards more medium red. The bouquet is just incredible with a lovely "chilled" red fruit that just explodes in the glass. The taste is big, massive and intense with a great complexity and with lots of cold red fruit and a great acidity. This is just a very very nice Pinot and definitely a step up from the basic version which is also very good. Burgundy watch out! Anthill Farms Pinot Noir 2013 Campbell Ranch   Ca 450 NOK or 40$

This is a superduper drop dead gourgeous Pinot from the Sonoma Coast.The colour is rather medium to dark red suggesting maximum extraction and power. The nose is just wonderfully complex and big with lots of "cold" red fruit with hints of chocolate and some redcurrant. The palate is firm, solid, fullbodied, smooth with firm tannins. Lots of red fruit. Very direct in style and a great acidity to go with it. It's too early to drink now and should be kept for 3-4 years for maximum potential. Some other comments about this wine: “Readers who can find the Occidental Pinots should not hesitate to grab them, as they are truly magnificent.” Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media Running a successful winery for over 30 years with a long wait list just to get on to their mailing list to get an allocation of wine just wasn’t enough of a challenge for Steve Kistler and Mark Bixler. Kistler Vineyards built their reputation on Chardonnay, but many praise their smaller produ...