6th Man-Man-Has-Wine-Drink Red Wines Under $40 To Match With Chinese Banquet Food (at Darling Lane) 2006/09/23

Year	Wine	Price	Rating
2003	Turnbull Toroso Red, Napa Valley "acidic, boysenberry, jammy sweet, long finish. Zin?". I was not able to pinpoint the varietal. The wine is vincent's 2003 Turnbull Toroso, Napa. Mostly Sangiovese grapes grown in Napa. A bit too jammy for Folk Kin Fried Rice. The saltiness and MSG make jammy wines even sweeter to the taste making them awkward. Ranked #7 - so - ws	27	***
2003	Lanzerac Merlot, Stellenbosch "tannic, plummy, roasted green pepper, earth, very concentrated, beef, good match. Maybe South African Cab." It is mmc's 2003 Lanzerac Merlot from Stellenbosch, South Africa. Crowd-pleasing. The distinctive earth with green pepper flavor shows it's from S. Africa. I could confirm that in the second round. This will become the first runner-up. Ranked #2 - so - ws	28	***
2004	Justin Cabernet, Paso Robles "raspberry, acidic, blueberry, soda like, simple. Should be a napa cab". It's actually a California Central Coast Cab rather than Napa. It's Ben's 2004 Justin Paso Robles Cabernet. Ranked #10. - so - ws	21	**
2003	Hug Cellars Bassetti Vineyard Syrah, San Luis Obispo "metallic, boysenberry, licorice, strawberry, jammy. Should be a California Syrah". I was right. It is Larry's 2003 Hug Cellars Syrah from San Luis Obispo, California. Again, the jamminess is not very well matched in my opinion. This will become 2nd runner-up. Ranked #3 - so - ws	40	***
2003	Kalinda Reserve Shiraz, McLaren Vale "orange peel, jammy, mineral, blood, blueberry. Must be Austalian Shiraz". I knew this was Dad's 2003 Kalinda McLaren Vale Reserve Shiraz. Without prejudice, I ranked it #3 among others. I like this style of shiraz. The participants ranked it #5. - so - ws	24	****
2004	Caracol Serrano, Jumilla "herbs, grenache, cherry jam, very concentrated, long finish. Know it is Grenache, new world?". It is not new world afterall. It is a Spanish wine, but certainly made in a new world style. I should have guessed it's from Spain though... who else made such beautiful pure Grenache? It's Fred's 2004 Caracol Serrano, Jumilla. At $11, it will be awarded the Most Valueable Wine honor. [Update: it is not Grenache, but mostly Mourvedre, also known as Monstrell in Spain ] Ranked #6 - so - ws	11	****
2001	V. Sattui Henry Ranch Lot #2 Pinot Noir, Napa Valley "smoky, bbq, black berry, very well match, inky, tea leaves, long finish". It started to taste like a Pinot Noir from the New World in second round. It's Mike Kwok's proxy 2001 V. Sattui Pinot Noir, Napa. I heard Mike wanted to use a 1995 Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Cab. That would have been an interesting choice, but Vincent, not so sure of its fair market price and could not figure out if it violated <= $40 criteria, selected a different wine. Ranked #4 - so - ws	13	***
2003	Silverado Zinfandel, Napa Valley "raspberry, fruit punch like, simple" Thought it was a California Merlot due to the softness. It is actually Ronald and Jun's 2003 Silverado Zinfandel, Napa. No one was able to tell this was a Zin! Ranked #8 - so - ws	16	**
2001	La Cour des Papes, Chateauneauf-du-Pape "pepper, floral, berry, acidic. Know it is a French wine. Almost certainly a Chateauneauf-du-pape." I was right. It's kko's 2001 La Cour des Papes, Chateauneauf-du-pape. Ranked #9 - so - ws	21	***
2004	Domaine Ruet Beaujolais, Morgan "cranberry juice, young, almost sparkling. should be from vintage 2004." I spent more time analyzing this wine than any other (although I gave it a low score) because the varietal escaped me. I was absolutely unable to tell what this was except it should be from 2004. People were amazed how I could tell. The wine tasted like a barrel sample so either 2004 or 2005. But the only wines released on 2005 that are widely available would be from Australia. But this is no Australian wine. I should have known... it is Tony's 2004 Domaine Ruet, Morgon. It is a Beaujolais (a Village wine, not a Nouveau)!!! The grape varietal is gamay, famous for its fruit punch like tasting profile. People around the world drink it like soft drink at picnics! Ranked #11 - so - ws	15	*
2002	Spring Mountain Cabernet, Napa Valley "chocolate, vanilla, coffee, plum, extremely long finish". I knew this was my wine. The 2002 Spring Mountain Napa Cabernet. This will become the champion wine. At $39.99, it tastes like a wine with a much more expensive price tag. Didn't even need "Handsome Man Strategem" to get a discount to fit under $40! It was a wine I have tried in a Chinese banquet! In KK and Crystal's Full-Moon Banquet for Isabelle, one bottle was opened for the wine enthusiast guests. It received a raved review. I was 90% sure if KK/Crystal were able to join us, there would have been a duplicate wine. I have confirmed this suspicion today when I talked to KK to thank him for giving me inspiration. Ranked #1 - so - ws	40	****½