Boy’s Night – My Turn
Last night was Boy’s Night and it was my chance to host. Not only was it an opportunity to drink some great wine, but also the chance to make some homemade pizza that I’ve wanted to try in a long time. However, the highlight of the evening was the wine. And we had some really great wine.
The next wine was a 2005 Kistler Vine Hill Vineyard Russian River Valley Chardonnay with a nice buttery aromas and taste from the oak aging and crisp flavor that set the stage for the reds to come.
The first red was one that Travis brought, a 1999 Bodegas y Viñedos “Alion” Ribera del Duero that had a nice fruit forward aroma, balanced acidity and good finish. It went well with our meat and mushroom pizza and fit into my Spanish wine kick.
Next, we started into the New World serious reds with one from down under. A 2001 Torbreck “The Factor” Barossa Valley Shiraz. With such a lush silky smoothness in the mouth and quite the aromatic plum and dark fruit, it was one of the best of the evening.
The next wine was one made by a former Indy car driver, Randy Lewis. The 2001 Lewis Cellars Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon was so big and bold with a nice balanced structure, a great earthy nose and flavors of mocha and blackberry, that it was definitely worth a second pour.
The final wine of the evening was the 2006 Carlisle Montafi Ranch Russian River Valley Zinfandel. Very dark and aromatic with notes of cherry, blackberry and spice. It tasted of vanilla, plum, blackberry jam and white pepper. A little hot to the finish but not unexpected for a Zin. All in all, another great wine.
I also must mention the great food that Travis brought including the selection of cheese and paté and the dark chocolate. Too bad we didn’t get to pop open his Riesling that he brought, but we’ll save that for our next get together.
Oh, by the way, I set up my studio strobes and took these photos of the wines. Not the best setup—I usually have a better softbox—but not bad for throwing a background up and snapping a few shots. And yes, most of the bottles are half empty. By the time I got to the photos, everyone had drank most of the wine.
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