Life is too short to drink bad wine

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...

Deep dark red colour. This is a wine packed with sweet red berries and vanilla on the nose. Seductive stuff and perfect on windy and snowy days in front of the fireplace. The wine is 11 years old,  but appears to be younger. Low price range which is surprising for a Gran Reserva. Marques de Vitoria 2001, Rioja ca 20€ Lots of seductive berries and vanilla

Went to Altona wine bar in Bergen (Norway) last weekend. A well hidden place in a building more than 400 years old. The wines (less old) were all carefully selected and proved to be quite a catch. This Barolo from the single vineyard of Cannubi was absolutely brilliant packed with autumn leaves and dried fruit. The taste was just stunning, full bodied, big tannins that were balancing perfectly with the fruit. A long long finish deserving yet another zip and another one.... Simply a great wine.

Birthdays require Champagne. Moet Chandon version Imperial does the trick. Crispy apples on the nose and taste. Perfect with two year old Comte. Mix of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier. Moet & Chandon Imperial ca 30€, perfect for those occasions...

If you pass through Amsterdam airport there is a nice wine bar there serving fish dishes, white wine and Champagne. On the top of the list you will find this one: a Chassagne Montrachet from Bouchard. Lovely stuff with lots of butter, lime and minerals. Absolutely worth an additional half hour in a busy airport..

Just realised I have never blogged about this wine which is one of my favourite red wines! Patrice Rion's basic Chambolle Musigny is a perfect example of what Chambolle can deliver. Medium dark red color with purple rim. Wonderful smell of raspberries, chocolate and sweet apples. The taste is equally balanced with perfect tannins and a long velvet finish full of the same raspberries and chocolate. Chambolle Musigny 2009, Patrice Rion Truly heavenly stuff, 27€

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