Thus, my efforts to become a serious wine collector were put on hold for the past three years.  BUT NO LONGER!  ”How?” I hear you, my one reader, asking.

I am back at home now (though I haven’t been able to have much fun… “Spring Break” for law school means “catch up with all the work you haven’t done / do all the work you’ve been assigned over Spring Break,” and I’m also busy with my very late moral character and fitness application for the state bar and with studying for the MPRE) and, as breaks from work, I have been cooking quite often.  For instance, on Monday evening I made choucroute garnie and on Tuesday I made roasted lemon chicken with roasted pine nut and lemon cous cous and sauteed broccolini.  One of the standout wines from this week?  The 2000 R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Rosé Gran Reserva, an 11-freaking-year-old rosé!!!

Made from 30% Tempranillo, 60% Garnacho, and 10% Viura, this wine is an absolutely gorgeous copper/salmon color.  I am at a loss to describe this wine–there’s definitely oxidation from the long aging (four and a half years in barrel and five and a half in bottle before release!!!), something approaching savory and tangy, with metallic notes and just the suggestion of cantaloupe.  I don’t think anyone else in my family really liked this wine: this is not a bottle you’d take to a casual barbecue.  However, at $27.99, this is a fantastic wine to bring to a tasting of esoteric wines, and a terrific way to try a Gran Reserva at a very low price.

I of course purchased this and a few other bottles from Mission Wines in South Pasadena.  I had noticed that they were offering 36- and 52-case wine lockers for rent, and while at the store I inquired about renting one.  Luckily, they had a few left, and I just signed a one-year contract for a 36-case wine locker.  It’s temperature- and humidity-controlled and under lock and key.  Many of the regulars at Mission Wines have lockers at the store.  I detected quite a few choice bottles (CdPs, Barolos, Sea Smoke, Caymus, magnums, etc., etc.) which made me quite envious.

I couldn’t very well leave the locker empty, so I bought two bottles to inaugurate it.  The first is an old favorite, the 2007 Bodegas Alejandro Fernández Tinto Pesquera from the Ribera del Duero region of Spain.  The second is a Bordeaux recommended to me by Chris, Mission Wines’s owner: the 2005 Chateau Potensac from the Medoc appellation of Bordeaux, France.  I intend to keep these two bottles in the locker for as long as I have it… if I can control myself.  Chris was nice enough to give me a discount on those wines and a free glass of Craftsman Brewery’s Heavenly Hefe, which had nice lemon notes atop a solid foundation of wheaty goodness.

Now all that’s left is to fill up the locker.  It can store 432 bottles, so I have a ways to go: at least now I have somewhere to keep my wines!

I will be in California for five more weeks, after which I will be headed back to DC for a few days, and then eight weeks in beautiful Wilmington, Delaware, known in legal circles as one of the locations of the Court of Chancery (where I’ll be interning) and known in pop culture circles as the nameless setting of Fight Club.  Hopefully during this time there will be wine, wine, and more wine.  If this past week has been any indication, there will be plenty of that this summer!

I have to write a few posts, one of Deep Sea Wines (which was gracious enough to send me two bottles to review), another for a great product known as the Wine Diaper (it’s probably not what you think it is), and yet another for a book by Matthew Frank entitled Barolo.  And, I’ll have to write about a very wonderful evening at Founding Farmers in DC at which a bottle of Riesling figured prominently–that’ll be coming soon.  All of these will take place in good time, but before I do I wanted to “clear the palate,” so to speak, by writing about a few of the wines I’ve had at home.

One of my habits while at home is to buy a few bottles with which to tide over my mom until my next visit.  I had purchased a few bottles during Spring Break, and to my surprise (and pleasure) I found that one of the bottles had not yet been opened.

This bottle was the Candidus from Malm Cellars.  Malm Cellars is a one-person show, helmed by Brendan Malm.  He doesn’t have a winery or vineyard, but he sources fruit from select growers to make his wines.  One such wine, his 2007 Sonoma County Pinot Noir, garnered a great review from the LA Times.  The Candidus, which is made from a bunch of undisclosed white Rhône varietals (but also apparently includes Chardonnay concentrate according to Dave from Mission Wines), is about $16.  It’s intensely aromatic–I’m thinking Viognier or Muscat (though I’m not sure if Muscat is a Rhône varietal)–with an assertive nose of quince and honey.  It’s pear-colored and appears on the viscous side.  Excellent: full of dried apricot and citrus, full bodied yet light, good acidity, very pleasant.

Forget the Pinot Grigio or Pinot Gris for the upcoming summer–this wine is a refresher for those who want more heft.  Think of a blond Christina Hendricks:

Yum.

The Candidus was good even on the second day, but alas, a 750 mL bottle only lasts so long.  My third day at home and there was nothing left to drink!  A trip to Mission Wines was in order.

One of the great things about Mission Wines–at least if you’ve gone there for years like I have, now–is that they always have a few bottles open to try.  Matthew was manning the bar and he poured me a few drinks:

• 2009 Torii Pinot Gris | Willamette Valley, Oregon | notwithstanding my Pinot Gris/Grigio bashing above, this was a wonderful example of the varietal.  Great acidity, lemon curd, flowers, and minerality.  Hits you right in front of the mouth and doesn’t let go.
• 2009 Bella “Special Release” rosé | Sonoma Coast (?), California | made from a blend of Grenache and Syrah, this rosé packed a serious color (almost as dark as a light Burgundy or Beaujolais, as dark as a rosé made from Malbec) and serious flavor: peach, watermelon Jolly Rancher.  Think of this as Domaine Tempier’s um, racier backwater cousin.
• 2007 Louis Jadot Côte de Nuits Villages “Le Vaucrain” | Côte de Nuits, Burgundy, France | a village-level Burgundy, tart but with a nice mouthfeel and a satisfying mid-palate.  Fig, membrillo.  A perfect bistro wine, served chilled with steak tartare on the side, and at the mid-twenties at the perfect price.
• 2004 Bodegas Luzon “Alma de Luzon” | Jumilla, Spain | more on this below.

Upon Matthew’s recommendation I picked up a bottle of the 2007 Weinhof Scheu Spätburgunder from the Pfalz region of Germany ($15.99) and, a day or so later, a bottle of the aforementioned Alma de Luzon.  The Spätburgunder, which is German for Pinot Noir, was fantastic!  Never mind the long, narrow Riesling-type bottle in which it arrives: this is serious red wine.  A light brick color, it is full of tart cranberry and has hints of earth, very light-bodied and excellent chilled.  This is serious value for the money: leave it to the Germans to deliver efficient, precise wine.

The Alma de Luzon is a Jorge Ordoñez selection, so you know it’s good.  The first release, this normally retails for $67 but given the poor economy, its distributors unloaded quite a few cases to Mission where it is going for $27.99 a bottle.  This is an insanely low price for a very good wine.  It’s rare that everyone in my family likes a particular wine: this had something for everyone.  Dark, inky color.  Tobacco and stewed dark fruits on the nose, a hint of graphite.  In the mouth it had prune, blackberry, fig jam, clove.  It reminded me of Madeira, or the 2005 Ridge “Paso Robles” Zinfandel I had a few months ago.

Although this blend of 70% Monastrell, 20% Cabernet, 10% Syrah spends 22 months in oak (60% French, 40% American) and has a very dark, extracted color, it is not a Vaynerchukian “oak monster”: the tannins are there, but they’re silky and well-integrated.  Indeed, the Alma de Luzon’s acidity is more pronounced than its tannins.  Altogether, this is a tremendous value and a crowd-pleaser.  Buy it, drink it with a meal (I’m thinking red meats or molé, even), drink it with dark chocolate-covered blueberries, drink it by itself–whatever you do, be sure to buy it and drink it.

So, I’ve been at home for a week and a day and I’ve been able to try some wonderful wines.  I would recommend all of them.  With selection like this, how can I not love South Pasadena?

And now I might very well be older than they were at the time.

(My torts professor summed it up quite nicely when he quipped, “It’s a strange feeling when both the president-elect AND the chief justice are younger than you are.”)

Now that I’m a quarter century old, I feel as if I should be an adult.  I certainly feel adult-like at certain moments–for instance, when I cook dinner, or when I go to the Ritz-Carlton for drinks (that one time!)–but sometimes feel as if I’m a child playing grownup. I think many of my peers feel the same way.

All that aside, it IS nice to get together and do grownup stuff–like hold wine tastings.  My roommate and I decided to throw a wine tasting; I decided also to throw a wine tasting before that wine tasting to get the feel of things.

I’ll spare you (and myself) the details of the parties.  The first coincided with the arrival of Margie’s friend Ruth from Michigan and Alisa’s friend Kami from Arizona.  The second coincided with Margie’s birthday.  All in all, fortuitous timing.

This was the first wine tasting event I hosted, so I was anxious to do it right.  To that extent, I went to the Wine Specialist and talked to J.C. (their Spanish wine buyer) for over an hour, picking out wines.  The combined wines over both tastings were:

• 2007 | Visión “Cono Sur” | Sauvignon Blanc | Casablanca Valley, Chile
• 2007 | Verget du Sud | Chardonnay | Vin de Pays du Vaucluse, France
• 2007 | Mulderbosch | Chenin Blanc | Stellenbosch, South Africa
• 2006 | André Lorentz | Riesling | Alsace, France
• 2007 | Jean Descombes | cru Beaujolais | Morgon, Beaujolais, France
• 2007 | Maipe “Rosé of Malbec” | Malbec | Mendoza, Argentina
• 2006 | Domiciano de Barrancas “Cosecha Nocturna” | Malbec | Mendoza, Argentina
• 2007 | Oracle of the Stars | Pinotage | Western Cape, South Africa
• 2007 | Thorn-Clarke “Shotfire” | Shiraz | Barossa Valley, Australia
• 2007 | Cueva de las Manos “Bonarda Old Vine Reserve” | Bonarda | Mendoza, Argentina

I bought a few repeats, as well.

There was also a Chilean cabernet sauvignon that I wasn’t intending to serve (and so didn’t write down) but ended up serving after the first tasting; we also went through a few other bottles from my own “collection” and from others.

The theme for both tastings was “1.5 Generation Wines: Between the Old and New Worlds.”  Many of the varietals–sauvignon blanc, syrah/shiraz, and malbec, especially–have had great success after being transplanted to different parts of the world.

The first tasting was a bit more improvised–I didn’t have any food to go along with the tasting, but we more than made up for that by drinking a lot of wine.  The second tasting was more planned–Alex and I made appetizers such as pork sausage fried with apples and cider, lox with chevre and green garlic on melba toast, roasted Hungarian peppers with Greek goat cheese on sliced baguette, hummus, dark chocolate drops with raspberry, etc.  Daphne brought some spicy tuna rolls and vegetable rolls, as well.  Delicious.

I won’t comment on all the wines, but only the notable ones.

The Visión “Cono Sur” is an excellent sauvignon blanc–midway between the Old World (minerals, concentrated) and the New World (lush, grassy) styles, this was a real crowd pleaser.  The Maipe “Rosé of Malbec” was an intense blood red, almost as dark as the Beaujolais or a pinot noir.  It had a bit of a rubber boot nose, but this gave way to some nice berry fruit that ended on dried notes of raisin.  The Oracle of the Stars pinotage was a favorite–smoky, nice acid–and a steal at $7.99.  It’s definitely a wine I’d keep around for dinner or easy drinking.

Jordan and Margie donated a bottle of 2005 Bodegas Arrocal tempranillo from the Ribera del Duero region of Spain.  We poured it in a decanter and swished it around.  I happen to love tempranillo from Ribera del Duero (Tinto Pesquera, anyone?)–they’re intense and dark, with earth and tobacco.  “This is going to be evocative of a dry, dusty riverbed,” I announced drunkenly as I poured out tastes from the decanter.  Yup.  It WAS like a dry, dusty riverbed.

Overall, I really enjoyed the process of hosting a wine tasting, and people seemed to like it.  Then again, who wouldn’t like to pretend they’re adults and get drunk off of good wine?

I really like the blue and white tile. (Thanks to the Times for the picture!)

At any rate, Intelligentsia’s space was designed by a woman named Barbara Bestor. I found that she had also designed the interior of a quirky wine bar / restaurant called Lou, which happens to be in a seedy strip mall–sandwiched between a Thai massage parlor and a 24-hour laundromat–off of Melrose and Vine in Hollywood.

I did some more reading on Lou and liked what I read: a fair-sized and eclectic wine selection? Check. Hip interior? Check. Good food? Check. All I needed was to actually go.

A friend and I went earlier today and, man, the outside was as seedy as I had read online. The marquee sign in front of the strip mall has the names of each establishment therein, and for the restaurant the sign was all of three letters: LOU. We thought the place was closed on account a full-length floral curtain that covered the entire front side of the restaurant; luckily, it was far from closed.

(Thanks to Lou for the pictures!)

We sat at the communal table in the middle. The only negative is that it’s a bit cramped, though this turned out to have its charms as it’s easy to strike up simple conversation–as I did–with some neighbors. Found out that the roasted fresh figs with Tilston blue cheese, almonds, and grapes were a good bet, as was the salad of farro, heirloom tomato, Dante sheep cheese, Bermuda onion, and pistou. To be safe, we also ordered a bowl of sweet corn and avocado soup.

I think the best part about Lou is the wine. They had two beer selections and twenty-nine wines to choose from. Each of the wines were available by the two-ounce taste, glass, or bottle. The bottle prices were pretty darn reasonable, with the most expensive bottle going for $64 and the majority falling within $40 – $50. Tastes were average $6 and were surprisingly generous.

The menu had different categories of wine: for instance, it started with “Sparkly” and went on to “Fresh, light-bodied whites” and a few others, then ended with “Fuller-bodied, meaty, and earthy reds”, “Sweet muscats”, and “Other sweeties”. The varietal or appellation was listed first for each wine, then the prices, the country or state, winemaker and vintage, then brief a description.

And, for you health- or environment-conscious out there, Lou lists identifies “organic” and “biodynamic” wines on their menu!

We started off with tastes of the 2006 Beausejour cabernet franc rosé and the 1989 Domaine Brunet chenin blanc. I like the setup of the menu in that it lists a few descriptive words on each wine. For instance, the Beausejour was described as tasting like “white peaches”, whereas the chenin blanc was advertised as a “fabulicious aged chenin, mellow-sweet but not sticky, perfectly balanced.” The rosé was decent enough–I’ve had better–but the chenin blanc, a demi-sec from the Vouvray appellation of France, was truly “fabulicious.”

I brought the glass to my nose and took a whiff: I could smell the oxidation–heck, it was almost 20 years old! It was off-dry, for sure, with hints of honey and toasted almond, and a viscous mouthfeel. It almost had a port quality to it. It truly was mellow, though with a plasticine pucker that skirted dangerously to unpleasantness. It avoided this pitfall with really nice green apple acidity that basically saved this wine from itself. The acid was not overbearing at all; there was fine balance, as advertised, between the acid and the sweetness, the texture and the body. Tremendous, and well worth the $7 taste and even $56 per bottle price. It complemented the figs, grapes, and almonds, which were cooked slightly in what I felt was a port or balsalmic reduction.

For our second round of tastes, she had a Beaujolais (made from the gamay grape) cru, the 2006 Piron Chenas to be specific. This was billed as having hints of “black cherry”. I’m a fan of Beaujolais, so I was all for it. I tried a strange Austrian varietal, the blaufränkisch, a varietal I had been meaning to try ever since Eric Asimov profiled it and its cousin, zweigelt, in the Times. The specific wine I tried was the 2005 Moric blaufränkisch.

To be honest, I was a bit disappointed with the blaufränkisch. As Mr. Asimov notes, blaufränkisch can make full and delicious wines, but many examples of this varietal are clumsy and poorly executed. I felt this to be the case with the Moric. There was a fair amount of acidity and a bit of a tannic bite, which could have been balanced with some good body–but the body never developed. It felt a bit flabby and overly acidic at the same time, which is not a combination one should ever see in a wine.

But I was quite happy with the results of the wine “tasting”. I got to try a 20-year-old chenin blanc–one of my favorite white varietals–and blaufränkisch, a strange wine I had been meaning to try now for a while. I also got acquainted with a nice rosé from a varietal–cabernet franc–I had never before experienced as a rosé, and got reacquainted with a lovely, light Beaujolais.

Lou: a hidden gem. Wonderful service, wonderful atmosphere, and a serious, serious wine list that has something for everyone. A must-try for any budding oenophile!

I work on the sales team for the business department; there are other departments with their own sales teams. The estate planning sales team recently moved into the ground floor suite with my team. To “facilitate” this move, the LegalZoom administration funded a wine and cheese mixer in one of our conference rooms for Wednesday.

Needless to say, I was very keen on who, exactly, would be choosing the wine. I was delighted to hear that Heather from HR was the one assigned to purchase the food and wine. Heather knows her wine: in the days leading up to the event I e-mailed her repeatedly about her wine preferences and what she thought she would purchase. Tempranillo? Some sort of Rhone-style blend? As for whites, she settled on an unoaked or at least neutral-oak chardonnay.

Fast forward to Wednesday. I was in a foul mood from work and ready to just pack my bags and go home. And yet, deep down inside, I felt a pull (probably from my liver) towards the conference room. At 6:20 pm I decided to just get a quick glass (or cup, rather) of wine and get back to sending out a few more e-mails.

As is often the case when alcohol is involved, I never did get back to my work that night.

There was a huge cheese, cracker, and fruit spread and a sliced vegetable spread. Sparkling apple cider (which later was delicious mixed with jug wine, but I’m getting ahead of myself here), water, and wine wine wine! I’m not the biggest fan of chardonnay so I didn’t catch the name of the example on hand, but there were bottles of rosé and red.

I started out with rosé because I love rosé and hell, it’s spring. We had bottles of the Marqués de Cáceres rosé, which is made from 80% tempranillo and 20% garnacha–er, grenache, depending on where you’re coming from.

I’ve seen this wine often at Trader Joe’s and other stores but had stayed away because I wanted to avoid that terrible cheap plastic taste endemic to inexpensive rosés and whites. I should have known better. This rosé was wonderful! Upon the tasting I was hit by its bracing acidity, which was balanced by a relatively full–for a rosé–body and unctuous mouthfeel. (Unctuous is such a nasty-sounding word, isn’t it? But sometimes, you gotta make do with the best word for the job.)

It was clean, fresh, refreshing. Very fruity–berry, as in strawberry, red berries–and dry. I was very happy with this wine and ended up drinking maybe four plastic tumblers of the rosé. At around $7.99 a bottle, this is PERFECT for spring and summer. I’m thinking picnics, with roast chicken and French bread. It was a good match for the mild, soft cheeses on the spread, too.

I transitioned to the red–another denizen of Trader Joe’s–the 2006 Pont du Rhône from the Côtes-du-Rhône appellation of–you guessed it–France. Côtes-du-Rhône is a huge area of land that technically encompasses the entire Rhône valley but usually refers to the Southern Rhône. (I’m going to stop putting the accent or circumflex over the o–it’s taking forever to put that thing into my text!)

According to Mr. Mark Oldman, “Given [the] variation in geography, and the wine’s blend of different grapes, it’s difficult to pin down an exact profile for Côtes-du-Rhône [JOON'S NOTE: gotta be true to the text here despite what I said in the previous paragraph!]. It will often be medium-bodied red with varying degrees of blackberries or raspberries, smoke, pepper, and other spices.”

The Pont du Rhone was a great example, then, of this style. I couldn’t find its exact composition, but it seemed to be primarily grenache, which meant it had berry and pepper and a lighter body. The nose had a bit of herb, a bit of cherry. It was surprisingly smooth, very gentle, and also a great match for the cheeses at the event. I could imagine having this wine with some good steak frites, maybe even with a goat cheese pizza.

The best part of this wine was its price: $4.99! It is a huge steal and a good everyday wine.

My teammates were there, as were others from the new sales team as well as the customer support team, which also sits in the same room. Heather was there sharing stories about tasting wine with her husband. James, the manager of the estate planning sales team, was relating how he is in a band and how his knack for motivating lazy bandmates is relevant to his day job.

Then the event started winding down. People started leaving, but there was still wine left to be drunk. The evening was about to get even better, though from a wine perspective you might say it was going to get a lot worse.

I shall spare the minute details of the rest of the three hours we were there in that conference room. Suffice it to say that Jonathan Lewis from LegalZoom yore dropped by, that we pooled money to buy packs of cigarettes and wine, and somehow Jonathan P. managed to finagle two jugs of wine and three packs of cigarettes from the big, black cashier at Long’s (for the price of one jug and one pack of smokes). 11:30 pm, with about eight glasses of wine, eight cigarettes, a Big Mac combo, and six Chicken McNuggets in me, I finally called it a night.

At that moment, saying bye to my coworkers, I told myself that maybe LegalZoom wasn’t so bad. If only they institutionalized Wednesday Wine Night–might be good for morale.

These past two or three quiet weeks have been filled with drinking. I can’t say I’ve had anything too spectacular to drink: however, I’ve had some solid, easygoing, and inexpensive bottles. Even better–I was joined by my family, who have slowly started to look at wine not as a drug, per se, but as something that can have health benefits in moderation.

I lied about not having spectacular wine. Around the time of my last post I had a bottle of the Sean H. Thackrey “Pleiades XVI”, a wonderful, remarkable, idiosyncratic wine. At the Mission Wines tasting I loved the small taste I received, and I was especially pleased that it tasted even better at home. The menthol/eucalyptus was still there; at times, it bordered on tasting like Crest or Colgate toothpaste, and yet, even teetering precariously over the edge, the Pleaides soared like some sort of mythical bird into the upper palate and into the outer reaches of oenophilic ecstasy. My mom loved it, my notoriously hard-to-please brother liked it, and even my sister enjoyed it. This bottle lasted less than 24 hours–no mean feat in the Song household!

Even beyond the Pleaides, I had bottles such as the Chateau Ste. Michelle merlot (at $10.99, a delicious, easy-drinking, affordable wine); the Onix Priorat 2005, a blend of garnacha and carineña from the Priorat region of Spain–dark, dusky, generally enjoyable though I have found in the past and even with the latest bottle that there’s a certain element keeping me from enjoying this wine completely; and the Louis Martini Sonoma County cabernet sauvignon, which was passable.

What I’ve found is that there are so many decent wines out there–it’s rare that I’m 100% disappointed. Even the Louis Martini, which was my least favorite of the trio of reds I bought recently, was something I could have with a good Italian meal or over a nice novel. And the best thing is just having an open bottle at home, waiting for me along with hot food and smiling family.

For next time (and just in time for spring!): I will review the François Chidaine Touraine sauvignon blanc and a nice rosé I bought the other day from Farmer’s Market!

My first exposure to rosés was when I worked at Adagia Restaurant in Berkeley–specifically, we had Brander Vineyard’s Chateau Neuf de Pink and Domaine Tempier’s Bandol rosé. From what little I remember of those two wines, I liked Tempier–it had an austere quality, bone-dry. All I remember of Brander’s selection is chef Brian Beach poking fun at the name.

All in all, however, I was unimpressed. Reds–especially the brooding malbec and the sensual shiraz–were still my willing mistresses.

That changed when I tasted the Ampelos Rosé of Syrah last year. It was the late summer, hot as heck. “Teeth-staining” and “tannic” were not the qualities I was looking for in my wines, let alone any beverage. At a tasting they poured the Ampelos rosé and it was love at first taste.

Strawberries. Strawberries everywhere. It was as if strawberries were bursting forth–Dionysus-style–from the glass. Fresh. Quite simply spring in a glass.

The taste is even better than the bouquet. More strawberries, bright and with a lively level of acidity. The acidity, though noticeable, is not overbearing at all.

The most important thing here, though, is the heft of the wine. Most rosés I’ve had are thin–Kate Moss in a redhead wig. This thin body usually led to wines that were just uninspiring or downright disgusting. The Ampelos, however, is voluptuous–a ripe, full wine (maybe on account of its being made from syrah?) that reminds me of some fetching farmer’s daughter on a warm spring night. You can think of it as the sassy daughter of a plump syrah wife and some dour riesling husband.

Not sweet. But fruity. Balanced acidity. Soft finish that is free from that cheap plasticine quality I hate in whites and rosés. Overall, quite possibly the best rosé I have ever had in my life–and contender for one of the best wines I’ve had, period.

That was, of course, the 2005 vintage. How would the 2006 compare?

My love affair with the Ampelos was tragically short. After enjoying two quick bottles I found that all the stores in my area were out. And I had to wait 10 long months until April at Silverlake Wines sent a reply to my wistful e-mail: “We received a case of the Ampelos rosé today. Let us know how many you would like us to put aside for you.”*

I set aside four: one for myself, and one each for three co-workers. (I’m not a jealous man!) At $17 – $18 it’s more expensive than, say, a white zinfandel, but worth every penny.

I just came home from a day in Silver Lake (which will the subject of a future post) with Jonathan Lewis and opened my bottle. My mom, my sister, and I quaffed copious quantities of the wine. Utterly delicious. Entrancing. Beautiful. Spring in a glass, two years in a row.

COMPOSITION: 100% syrah.

APPELLATION: Santa Rita Hills in the Santa Ynez Valley of California
_____________________________

* One of the guys working at Silverlake Wine asked if I was the guy who sent an e-mail asking them to set aside some bottles of the Ampelos Rosé. I said yes. He asked if my name was Joon. Again, yes.

“That’s funny. There’s another guy–I swear his name is Joon Song–who wrote us an e-mail asking about the Ampelos. I thought you guys might be related or something.”

Whatever Ampelos Cellars is putting into their rosé certainly seems to be working with Korean-American males, specifically those named Joon Song. Ladies–now you know the way to my, err… our hearts!

Dinner was at the dependable Monsieur Marcel, which has a wonderful ambiance in the evening. A beautiful, dark brunette smiled to me from the wine bar (at least, I thought it was me!), so things were already taking a turn for the better as we were seated.

I had a glass of rosé from Chateau de L’Escarelle–in Provence–made from cinsault and grenache. It was wonderful–absolutely breathtakingly fresh, full of ripe strawberry, not in the least bit cloying. It was light but had substantial heft for a rosé. And at $6.49 a glass (one of the less expensive wines on the menu) it was nice to my wallet. This wine reminded me of another wonderful rosé, the Rosé of Syrah from Ampelos Cellars of the Santa Rita Hills in California:

Will had a glass of the 2004 tempranillo from Bodegas Ercavio. It was fruitier than other tempranillos I’ve had–less vanilla from oak. (Maybe this is because Bodegas Ercavio is not in Rioja, which has a reputation for oakiness.) It was a light, pleasing red, and well-priced at $6.99.

I had the Croque Marcel, basically a French panini consisting of grilled smoked turkey and goat cheese, with a side of frites. The top was covered with what the menu described as “mornay sauce” but what I will describe as heaven. Will had the coq au vin, a stew of chicken slow-cooked with mushroom, carrots, onion, and celery, served with a side of potatoes au gratin. The food, combined with a few Dunhill Lights and the aforementioned wine, made me forget LA for just a moment and feel like I was in Paris. (The table next to us was full of loud Frenchmen, adding to the atmosphere.)

After this dinner we wandered around the Farmer’s Market and the Grove, and I decided to check out the Cost Plus World Market. My previous post on champagne had elicited A LOT of positive reviews of Cost Plus on Yelp! and there was one a mere two-minute walk from Monsieur Marcel.

I have to say I was pretty impressed. Many different wines, many for a few dollars less than at your more frou-frou wine stores. In terms of Spainish wine, for instance, you can find a Conde de Valdemar Riserva for $14.99, and Marqués de Riscal for $12.99.

Will and I were looking around and a young woman says something indistinct to me. I turn around, and she says, “Oh, I’m sorry, I thought you worked here!” (a comment I get quite often at different sorts of stores–the Gap, Banana Republic, Jiffy Lube).

A few more words exchanged showed that she was looking for a malbec. I LOVE MALBEC! This woman and I searched the wine section and found the Argentine wine shelf–they had a few malbecs.

Then my eyes settled on the malbec reserva from Bodega Norton, priced at around $12-14. Then, below that the “regular” malbec from Bodega Norton for the bargain price of $7.99!

I had come across Bodega Norton frequently in magazines and online reviews. This estate was established in 1895 by an English engineer, making it the first winery in the now-famous Mendoza region of Argentina. I related this to the woman, who picked up a bottle. She either was won over by this information or was just tired of my going on and on about wine!

Whatever the case may be, I decided to pick up a bottle for myself–tasting notes will follow soon!

But then a rapping on the door! I drag myself out from under my duvet and open it to reveal my resident L. and her friend A.

You know how sometimes you look at an attractive person and you’re like, “Sure, they’re pretty, but whatever”? And sometimes you look at an attractive person and you’re like, “My God I must holler at them.” (In my thoughts, I sound like a white suburban kid trying to be a gansta’.)

This girl, A., was in the latter category. Pretty face, big dark eyes framed with dark lashes, supple red mouth, all framed by “long dim hair” (a point for anyone who can identify that literary allusion). I was drawn to her lips, her eyes, her hips… her hips were womanly, curved and full of life.

The night developed well. For some reason I was feeling especially bold–I looked at her and into those eyes. She blushed, looked down, but always looked back up to meet my gaze.

She also could hold her drink. Luckily, I was a bad RA (or good RA, depending on your point of view) and had a bit of alcohol on hand for any occasion. I had Grey Goose with which to make vodka tonics; I had Jack Daniels to warm the soul and embolden the heart; and I had a bottle of Korbel Brut Rose champagne (or sparkling wine, to be exact, since it’s not from the Champagne region of France):

I don’t remember why I had this on hand. I think I had had it before and figured it was good to have–one of the few cases of my exhibiting some foresight!

This was the clincher. Valentine’s Day, some sparkling rosé. Candles burning. “Astral Weeks” by Van Morrison playing in the background. A. had a ring on her right hand, which I examined with my fingers. Then I brought her hand to my lips, my lips to her lips…

The Korbel brut rosé (pinot noir and chenin blanc) is very fresh and drinks relatively well, though it is not something I would want more than a glass of. It’s brut so it’s not noticeably sweet–there’s a bit of strawberry in it, and of course it’s pink, which gives the impression of sweetness. I can’t say it’s my favorite sparkler (Veuve Clicquot would take that distinction) but it’s definitely a huge step up from Cook’s, and an affordable college luxury.

And, when combined with vodka, Jack Daniels, candles, music, and Valentine’s Day, it’s pretty darn great!

(NOTE: We were both perfectly in control of our senses. And we both consented. Consent is awesome!)