I’m beginning to get a little sensitive.  I’m beginning to think that all of my reviews are on the positive side.  Where are the bad reviews?  We’ve all had awful wine, where is it on this site? Which wines should I stay away from? 

Truth be told, I try really hard to not drink bad wine.  Life is way too short, and we spend far too much of our busy lives committed to nonsense to add more pain by drinking shitty wine.  Please don’t jump to conclusions, I have (and still) enjoy a good glass of wine from a box.  Every now and again, we all need our fix and sometimes, just sometimes, the box will do.  I will not fall to the ground from the sheer enjoyment of said box wine, but it will do in a pinch.  The wine from a box (or jug) will not be white, pink or anything lighter than a cab - and my bank account had better be in overdraft, but I will not shun a box.  What I’m talking about is genuinely bad wine. 

The Red Bicyclette 2004 Syrah is not this mythical awful wine.  It’s really good, and I’m thinking I’ll start picking this up regularly.  The nose is extremely subtle, but if you really look for it, you can catch a faint hint a tart cranberries.  This almost-black wine is light and smooth, with an incredibly soft finish.  I would definitely by this wine again at $9.  And I take back almost everything that I’ve ever said about the French.

At first I thought that this was similar to a Cline Syrah, primarily because of the price point, but these wines are vastly different.  While the Cline is heavy and rough, the Red Bicyclette is smooth and light.  Think of a Budweiser Clydesdale vs. Seabiscuit and you have the difference in these wines, if they were horses.  However different these wines may be, at the end of the day, they are both better than box wine and not at all bad.  Some days, I may prefer the Clydesdale and others I may lean towards the thoroghbred.  At the end of the day, both of these ponies take you to the same place, but in a slightly different manner. 

The moral of this story: drink the Red Bicyclette, it’s an excellent wine and a good value.  The presentation on the bottle is also good, so don’t feel bad about bringing it to dinner at my house.

Bonsoir mes amis,
Ryan

Where to begin?  This winery is easily one of the best all-around wineries that I have visited in my short life.

Operated by Taittinger, Domaine Carneros makes one think of a lavish, French estate as you approach its sprawling grounds.  The hell of it is , Domaine Carneros IS a lavish French estate, even sporting authentic Frenchmen serving their sparkling wines.  As we were seated for our tasting (that’s right, seated outside at a table on the patio) Jean Claude, our authentic Frenchman, offered us a tasting sheet.

F’ing spectacular.

The tasting flight included a Brut, a Brut Rose and a Blanc de Blancs, all of which were really excellent.  Even the Brut Rose, which was pink in color, was an excellent wine.  Very dry and fruity, the Rose was actually a really good wine.  Also excellent was a the Brut Cuvee, this was easily one of the better sparklers that i’ve enjoyed, but it was sadly put in its place by the Blanc de Blancs - truly a formidable opponent.  This at least six year old Blanc de Blancs had everything that a luxury champagne should have: tiny bubbles, a buttery finish and a Frenchman serving it.

As I’m sitting here sipping on my gin and tonic, I’m wondering whether I was ever actually at this winery, or whether I’m just making all this nonsense up.  Luckily, I have a bottle of Brut Cuvee in my cellar to back up my story.

From the grounds, to the three sparkling wines in the tasting flight (the Blanc de Blancs is currently the sparkling wine of choice served in the White House), to our incredibly polite and helpful French server - who asked only that we “…do not mix this with orange juice”, this was a really incredible tasting.  The selection of wines at Domaine Carneros was not large, but what wines they did produce were really notable.

This is a must see winery on any trip to Napa, and one of my favorites.

Also, they are certified organic - apparently pesticides and expensive bubbly don’t mix.

Au revoir!
Ryan

The view from Domaine Carneros