This weekend the women and children were left at Disneyland and we men took a 2.5 day charter out for albacore. The fishing was great but not what this is about. Sunday afternoon, we got back to Disneyland in a hurry to get on a couple rides and make a wine tasting with the women before dinner, which was at the Napa Rose and great, but also not what this is about.
The wine tasting started with a Far Niente Chardonnay, a pricey request from one of the ladies. Nice wine. It was humid, and I wanted something light and cool, a little more unusual, and not red or another typical white (three samples in the tasting). So, I requested a dry rosé, asking the sommelier to keep it simple after the chard price, then shuddering at the thought that some cali white zin was on it's way. He produced an 07 Saintsbury, Vincent Vin Gris, a rosé of Pinot Noir. Never had it before. It was outstanding. A perfect summer wine. I found it locally on sale for 10.99 and bought a case. I guess it's pretty popular stuff. I preferred it to the $45 chard (and that's a bevmo price, not the Disney fleecing), but what do I know? If you don't enjoy quality rosés this time of year, you're missing out. This Saintsbury tastes like a $30 Bandol to me, and those are supposedly the best rosés out there.
Then tragedy struck. As a group we disagreed on the final wine, and told the level 1 expert to impress us for under $50, which meant under $30 beyond the gates. A phone rang. Most of the kids were supposed to be at the pool so us men could use their hoppers to get into the park for a couple hours (shh). One of the young girls, a nine year old, was not there. Was she with us? No. Panic. The
wine to impress us arrived. Wow! This stuff was incredible. No one seemed to appreciate it but me because a kid was missing. I figured she'd show if everyone just calmed down and appreciated this amazing wine. She did turn up with one of the teenagers heading for Space Mountain one last time. It was just a miscommunication, but the panic caused the tragedy: This wine is not quite identified. I'm not going to begin with how good it was. At first taste I thought it was the best red I have ever tasted, and I'm very cautious to call things,
any things,
best ever. I did see the label. It was from BV, Beaulieu Vineyard, and it was their Beauzeaux, which I can only pronounce bozo, which might say something about my palate. The problem is:
Beauzeaux is an intricate blend of seven varieties originally from Mediterranean regions of France, Spain and Italy. Each year a new blend is created from different varietals like Zinfandel, Charbono, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Valdeguie, Petit Sirah and others. This is a truly fun wine for our winemaking team to create each year. The flavors are medium-full bodied, bright and bold, with each of the individual grapes providing their hallmark character; black pepper and raspberry from the Zinfandel, anise and deep color from the Petit Sirah, cherry from the Sangiovese, violet from the Charbono and more. This is a multidimensional wine that is oh-so-easy to drink now.
So without the year, I can only experiment.
To which about I will be reporting back.
Dinner at the Napa Rose was spectacular and three wines were paired with the meal. The sommelier had control and rightfully so. With the appetizer and salad I had a Hagafen Cellars White Reisling, dry and exceptional. With the tenderestloin ever, I was served Beringer's 04 Private Reserve Cabernet. This amazing meal, comparable to what you'd expect from the French Laundry in Napa,
no kidding, was completed with a blueberry dessert I cannot describe served with an Italian pink sparkling wine that I also did not commit to memory, but probably should have. I think the tab had something to do with that though. Everything was amazing. SoCal residents must give this place a try.
Anwyay, what have you been drinking lately? This thread had fallen too far. Try the cheap rosé. Or by all means experiment with bozos, you might find something exquisite.
.
To which about I will be reporting back. 
