Life is too short to drink bad wine

This is a small producer in Napa valley that buys grapes from around the valley to produce wine of great pleasure and quality. A goal that they seem to fulfil. Very dark dense coloured wine with a great complex smell of dark fruit, chocolate, mint, leather, dried fruit with somewhat sweet undertones. The taste was long with lots of dark fruit. Big, but soft tannins. Quite a mouthful with great balance and lovely acidity. Very approachable style and the wine was tried during a blind tasting after a Ch.Angelus 1993 that got a score of 18.70. This one scored 18.90! Elizabeth Spencer Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 Napa Valley Extraction from the tasting sheet Upon arrival at the winery, our Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were hand-sorted. The berries were lightly macerated and then given a long, cold soak in order to extract color and flavor from the skins. Fermentation was allowed to begin with “native” yeasts. Once fermentation was complete, the wine was fur...

This is a monster of a white wine! On the nose it is packed with ripe yellow apples, hint of oak, tropical fruit and some citrus. The colour is pale gold. It is a truly full bodied white with a very long and solid aftertaste. High in alcohol (14.5%), high intensity and a nearly wax like taste. White Burgundy from the likes of Meursault or Chassagne Montrachet are nothing compared to this one. This one is massive. Not really delicate. Maybe a bit blunt in a way. I am not sure like it as much as I like white Burgundies. It's lacking a bit of finesse and is perhaps a bit too much in your face. But it's good. Heaven forbid. Ridge 2013 Monte Bello Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains, California ca 60$

Sean Thackrey is quite a special wine person. He makes wine because it should taste nice and in this version he use many different grapes.  In  Greek mythology , the Pleiades were the seven daughters of  Atlas  and thus the wine is said to contain seven grapes (though it might sometimes contain more) and some of the commonly used grapes include  Syrah, Barbera, Carignan, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Sangiovese  and white  Viognier . Thackrey does not measure the percentages of the grapes, using what he feels like, tasting and testing as he goes along. It is a nonvintage wine, each release receiving a new Roman numeral. The Pleiades have intense flavors, complexity and unique character.  They also possess an appealing, earthy gaminess that could remind you of  Burgundy. Pale red colour, a bit like Burgundy. Delicious nose of red fruit, rose  and gingerbread. Lovely balanced taste dominated by raspberry and spicy c...

This is a delightful mixed red by Sean Thackrey. This red is made every year with different combinations of grapes designed to let people enjoy a wine as prepared by the chef himself. The 24th edition is a mix of Sangiovese, Pinot Noir, Viognier (white), Zinfandel and Mourvedre. The wine is a full-bodied and a very fruity red with a velvety long well balanced finish. Delightful easy drinking wine that can be easily enjoyed on its own. Pleiades XXIV California Sean Thackrey Ca 30usd or 340 NOK

After having tried many of the Pinot Noir's from Copain, which by the way are absolutely delicious, I had big expectations for this Syrah. Perhaps too high expectations. It was good but not brilliant like the Pinot's. Dark fruit and a lovely balanced taste. Brambles and perfect acidity, but it lacked a bit of character. Too kind perhaps? Copian Syrah 2010 Baker Ranch, Anderson Valley High Price

I have never been a big fan of oaky Californian Chardonnay's but here in this case I had to surrender… Medium lemon colour with green reflections. A wonderful complex aroma of tropical fruit, citrus fruit and minerals. Very different from white Burgundy but oh so seductive. The taste was bone dry packed with fruit and a surprising acidity. Quite elegant actually! Ridge Monte Bello Chardonnay 2010  Santa Cruz Mountains, California 50€

100% Syrah from Bien Nacido in Santa Maria in California. Deep purple color with a nose of jammy brambles. The taste is big, delicate and packed with fruit. The wine is expensive, but Bonny Doon makes interesting wines that are worth a try. Try with red meat and game. Bonny Doon Syrah 2007 Bien Nacido, Santa Maria Valley, California Big massive wine. Ca 360 NOK or 40usd

It's time for blind tasting and on wine number one the panel is in complete wilderness. Dark colored wine with purple rim, dark berries on the nose with a sweet smell and taste. Kind of jammy wine. New world wine? Sean Minor 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles Ca 16€ and a score of 15.80

So the host brings in chocolate cake for the last wine just to confuse the shit out of the panel. Deep blue-red colour.  Mint, chocolate and sweet berries.  Sweet long fruity taste that fits wonderfully with the cake.  Score 17.40  Panel totally lost Deepwood Ruby Cabernet 2010 , California What's 25 years wine experience got to do with it?

This is a wine made by the creative Bonny Doon. He likes to challenge his customers both with the wine and the labels. Not a very nice subject for a label, but the wine is perfectly alright. Syrah grape grown in California, not usual but it does the trick. Deep dark red color with lots of dark fruit and a feminine velvety taste. Price around 21 usd.... Don't trust the label but the wine...

Unlike the white wine from the same producer, the red is both original and got character! Superdense, fruity, spicy and long velvety taste packed with elegant smooth tannins. Just a wonderful and complex taste. The nose is Rhone like or as the producer expresses it: The 2006  Esprit de Beaucastel  is delicious and unusually approachable right now, with a complex nose of red plum, ripe cherry, fresh figs and candied orange peel, a velvety, layered palate with spicy plum and cherry fruit, pepper and nutmeg spices, and excellent breadth. The finish shows more mineral, plum, and spice, and a little gentle oak from the foudre aging. It is delicious now, if very young, and should evolve elegantly in bottle for 10-15 years or longer. This wine certainly impressed me when I tasted it, but in order to get hold one of the price is around 55usd... Tablas Creek red 2006, Paso Robles, California Amazing mix of Syrah, Mourvedre, Grenache and Counoise

Tablas Creek is a co-operation between Robert Haas and the Perrin family who runs Ch.Beaucastel in Rhone. Tablas Creek vineyard is situated near Paso Robles in California. The white wine is made from Roussanne, Grenache Blanc and Picpoul Blanc. Apparantly awarded best white Rhone style in 2009, but I was a bit disappointed with the wine as I was confused by the lack of identity (like Sancerre, Chablis, Condrieu etc). A mix of lemon, apricot and tropical fruit with a "warm" balanced and nice fruity taste. Would I pay more than 40 usd for it? No, but it's still a very nice wine in case someone offers it to you with fish or scallops in a resto. Tablas Creek Esprit 2007 Blanc, Paso Robles ca 40 usd Original, but lacks a bit of identity

This is a very nice Syrah from the Russian River in California. Dark deep red colour. Beautiful dark berries on the nose, a quite attractive Syrah smell. The taste is full-bodied with soft tannins and perhaps a bit on the dry side. The producer is a big fan of Telemark skiing and thus a very memorable label. Pinhead Red Zyrah, NOK 258 or 22usd in the US. "Cool climate" Syrah from California...

A little gamble from the host to put this after the Angelus (but lets see the panel reaction). Dark red colour with purple rim. Wet forrest smell, chocolate and mint, a bit sweet, complex and some leather on the nose. Long velvety but a little "sweet" taste. Nice "cool" fruit (not cooked) with very soft tannins. Dark cherries. Very "sweet" wine! from a warm area like Australia or California according to the panel. Elizabeth Spencer Cabernet Sauvignon 2002,  Oakville Napa Valley,  Ca 40 dollars.  Score 18.90 ( better >Angelus!) This wine was only produced in 2002 and only 184 cases were made.... Elizabeth Spencer Wines

Pleiades is an  experimental nonvintage blend. Pleiades (Sean Thackrey Pleiades California Red Table Wine) was first released in 1992. Made from a host of different grape varieties (potentially both white and red, such as Syrah, Viognier, Barbera, Carignan, Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Grenache and Mourvedre). The grapes potentially come from different regions and different vintages. The recipe changes every year, depending on the decisions of Thackrey and the fruit sourced. Thackrey has said, "It's like a chef's special. You trust the chef so you're prepared to order the dish of the day". So what he basically does is that he mixes the grapes differently from year to year just to make a wine that is really good and will please people. The Pleiades XIX is the 19th version and is absolutely delicious. Lots of red fruit jam on the nose with a big long silky taste as finish. It's nearly 15% alcohol which can be challenging, but everything is in wonderful balance. P...

This is an American Syrah made from the grape Petite Sirah. Deep dark purple red colour packed with dark berries, nice "cool" fruit and hint of wet wool. The taste is very fruity and packed with a good length and well balanced aftertaste. Quite a nice mouthful at a very favourable price. The winery Concannon has been making this one for more than 50 years now and was the first producing Sirah in California. Conacannon Petite Sirah 2008, Livermore Valley, a good alternative to Cote du Rhone.  Low price range 130 or 15$ . P++  Petite Syrah or Sirah is cross between Syrah and Peloursin (Rhone 1870). Called Durif or Petite Syrah in France. http://www.concannonvineyard.com/