Just do Me!
by StockJockey
Saturday, October 28, 2006 - 11:05 am
Surfing the blogosphere is tough work. It is always a more palatable endeavor when paired with a glass of red wine. We have been fortunate enough to drink lots of killer juice over the years, helped in part by our ability to score allocations from such esteemed Napa properties as Shafer Vineyards and Harlan Estate.
A steady escalation in the release prices of their flagship wines has us questioning our staying power on their coveted mailing lists. If you don’t order the current release they throw you under the bus and delete your contact information. Which is a bitch when it takes nearly a decade of waiting to make the cut. Harlan “invited” me to purchase their 2004 Cabernet at $350 per bottle, which causes even Masters of the Universe to blink. After you pay for the wine they are kind enough to release to you...about a year later. These winemakers likely trained as accountants too given the working capital benefit of this arrangement.
But trophy wines are unsuitable for everyday drinking given the prohibitive cost. Thus we find it necessary from time to time to go slumming in the under $50 a bottle category. The wine aisles at retail can get a little seedy at this price point, kind of like Times Square circa 1991, before the Disney-fication of NYC. Lots of shifty people exchanging furtive glances at prices.
After months of breathless anticipation, we finally had a chance to try the debut vintage of Sogno Uno, a $42 wine at retail (Buy it here). A wine that in theory should leave us hot and bothered.
Savanna Samson is likely a familiar face to many degenerate readers of UTC. You don’t know her from her ballerina days, but likely spent quality time with her at Scores when she danced there. With nearly 30 movies to her credit, including our personal fave Just do Me!, she has deftly managed her career without becoming as overexposed and nauseating as say, Paris Hilton.
Savanna made quite a splash earlier this year when the inaugural release of her wine, Sogno Uno, snared a 91 point score from wine critic Robert Parker. This garnered her a wider audience…
When the typical Savanna Samson fan hears her name, the first thing that comes to mind is probably not wine. In fact, wine is probably not even the fourth or fifth thing that comes to mind when fans contemplate Savanna Samson. It’s even possible that no fan of Savanna Samson has ever had the thought, “Savanna Samson: wine,” at any time, ever.
The release of the wine was held up for several months by government authorities because of the controversial label, which features the fetching Ms. Samson in a provocative pose. Racy stuff, but hardly pornographic.
We like the wine but will spare you a pithy tasting note. Lets just say it was voluptuous and worthy of a 34-C rating, which coincidently is in line with Savanna’s ample endowment.
But don’t take our word for it...Savanna has her own spin on the wine…
“There’s spiciness—the Cesanese has the naughty side of me. And yet it’s an elegant wine. I love the opera, and I’m a classically trained ballet dancer. And there is some chocolate undertone, which I just love. There’s a little bit of sweetness. Like, 10 percent of the time I’m sweet,” she said.
Only a few months until she releases her first white wine and later a champagne...we will stay on top of her.
err..on top of it…
EDITORS NOTE-Stockjockey is not really a wine snob but enjoys pulling corks while watching porn...and he actually drank a $17 bottle of Argentinean Malbec last nite. He invites your comments on that wines that rock your world.
Comments:
The first thing I learned when I started getting obsessive about something (in my case, vinyl phonogram records) was that any idiot can have the coolest item—if he’s willing to pay up for it. There is no glory in that. One classic cheapie that springs to mind is Domaine Ste. Michelle’s Blanc de Noirs, $7 at TJ’s. It’s bubbly, pink, fun, has enough acid, doesn’t give you a headache and—after a couple drinks—is competitive with Billecart-Salmon’s Brut Rose.
Parenthetically, why Shafer? I can go anywhere in California and pick up the merlot for $25 and the cab for $50. I like Shafer’s cab, mind you—unlike many, they did *not* catch the Robert Parker fruit-forward disease.
Parker, feh. If I never taste a fruit-forward 100% Napa cab again, it may be too soon.
Posted by on 12/31/1969 at 03:00 PM
the is only one critic and his name is tanzer...here shanken shitcanned suckling btw...will always take my hillside select allocation given arb spread that has existed, it has narrowed but was no brainer until a year or two...hillside has not blown me away of late...probably prefer relentless..bordeaux over napa..drinking ‘03 christian moueix merlot...8.99 baby petrus...light in color but one of best i have had under $10...wall st warriors on with sykes trading in robe...lol
Posted by stockjockey on 12/31/1969 at 03:00 PM
In re Napa, it’s pretty easy sitting in SF to get the latter. Sometimes they’re even good, though these days you get a lot more quality/price out of places like the Alexander Valley. My wife’s wine-obsessed ex-colleague goes for Paso Robles instead, but I just don’t like the styles that do well that far south.
I prefer the Bordeaux, too, but as a rule they’re even more overpiced than the Napas. My brother went for a little visit (he works in Paris) and sent a half-case of 2000 Latour-à-Pomerol I can recommend. You should get ‘em for ~$70 each if you work it, it’s a vintage whose rep is actually deserved, and it’s a small house that occasionally rips of a nice one. This is no P+C-Sideways ‘61 Cheval Blanc, but given the price, quite something.
Posted by on 12/31/1969 at 03:00 PM
Absolutely! Robert Parker rocks!
Can’t say enough about CA wines, especially Napa Valley! Whites, reds, all elixirs of the gods, no price too high.
Yup, I just CRAVE those whites with low acid, high sugar, and flavor, oh, the flavors! “The elegance, the finesse, the balance, the complexity, the delicacy, the subtlety, the flavors of cherry, pineapple, peach, pear, apple, is it, could it be, the one, the only, Del Monte fruit cocktail? ‘No’ you say? Almost as good, CA Chardonnay!”
It’s GREAT that the world has finally come to its senses and recognized the world-class CA wines and how they totally blow away any and all wines from anywhere else in the world. ALL wines from ANYWHERE else, and no sense in mentioning any names or locations!
Posted by sigma on 12/31/1969 at 03:00 PM
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