Texas Hills 2005 Syrah

Stephen and I have had this wine for probably 3 years or so and decided we really needed to go ahead and drink it. Texas Hills is quickly becoming one of our favorite Texas wineries, since almost all of their stuff is so delicious.

My thoughts on this wine are that it is VERY good. I thought it was highly acidic, which I like, and has a bit of a tomatoey flavor. Almost a little V8 like, and I don't actually like V8 but I loved this wine. It was also a bit herby. Overall it was just so so good, and Im pretty sure they don't sell the 05 anymore, but I've tasted the more recent syrahs also and they are very good as well.

Cameron Hughes Lot 156 - Syrah

I was so excited to see these Cameron Hughes wines at Costco the last time I went, so when I went again last weekend, I decided I HAD to try them. I don't know why they intrigue me so much... maybe it's the fact that I don't know exactly where they're from, or what exactly is in the bottle. It's like a wine puzzle, which I LOVE! The one I decided to try first as the 2007 Syrah, Lot 156. When I first opened the bottle, I thought this wine was really great. Most syrahs I have tried are strong, peppery, and a bit alcoholic. This syrah was surprisingly soft! 

I quite enjoyed it the first day, but stretched it out over several days to see how it would change. The first day it was delicious, and the second day also. However, by the third day, the wine tasted a bit flat and was growing more acidic. If you are around a place that sells these wines, I would definitely recommend checking them out, and not leaving it open too long :).

Shannon Ridge Syrah

Time for the first Syrah/Shiraz from my Christmas present! I started with the Shannon Ridge, which was the lowest price one from California coming in around $12. I’m really excited that there are so many syrahs and shirazes to taste, because it’s a type of wine I don’t know very much about, and haven’t tasted much of.

I thought this wine was great! It was a bit spicy and bold yet really fruity and delicious! On the bottle it says blueberry flavors  but I didn’t taste that. I had this wine with some of the leftover gouda from around Christmas and it made the wine even better. If this is supposedly the worst of the 13 wines, I can’t even IMAGINE what the others must taste like! Too bad I have such a long time to wait.

Christmas Presents!

Wow people really do know me... I got a lot of wine and cheese related presents this Christmas! :) First, I got a wine aerator which I've always wanted to try,

and a set of cheese tools including specialty knives!

I also got some special stone serving trays for cheese, including a chalk pencil to write what types of cheeses I serve on the stone!

I also got a book about cheese, which pairs with another cheese book I have! :)

I LOVE everything! :o

I also got the most incredible present ever, I couldn't even believe it. It was a case of shiraz and syrah wines!!! :o 13 total! They vary in region and price point.

There are 13 so that I can drink one each month for the next year starting with this December and going until next December.

December, January, and February...

March, April, and May...

June, July and August...

September, October, November, and December...

The Past 2 Weeks

I keep forgetting to keep up with this blog while there are so many other things going on right now! Here is what has been going on wine-and-cheese-wise the past few weeks:

We had our October Wino Divino which was fun as always. The theme was white wnes and I'd say the selection of wines this time was really amazing. I wrote them all down but seem to have misplaced the paper somewhere... anyway I remember some of them! We had the Carl Sittman Riesling from the Twin Liquors wine class and it was delicious the second time around just like the first. We also tried 24/7 Riesling and it was pretty good too, nothing too special. Mine was a moscato d'asti which was a slightly sparkling sweet white and it was DELICIOUS! I had gotten it at a Specs tasting and I need to look up that tasting paper and find out exactly what it was so I can get it again. We also had a champagne that was pretty sweet and delicious - I like sweet dessert style wines. Finally we had a port which everyone loved as well - Otima either 10 or 20 yrs. The only bad wine was a sauv blanc that smelled and tasted like pickles. :/

In the world of cheese, we decided to deviate from the norm this month and got a few smoked, soft, and kinda bland cheeses. Usually we go for the aged, potent, melt in your mouth cheeses so this was a big change. We got smoked mozzarella, smoked provolone, and a soft swiss. They were all alright but nothing blew me away. I know these cheeses are meant more for melting on things or as part of a sandwich, but we ate them in little chunks like we usually do. I couldn't even tell the difference between the mozzarella and provolone.

Finally, I tried a few bottles of wine this month that have long been finished and mostly forgotten. I tried the Blackstone Merlot (Sonoma Reserve) which was originally $19 but I got it on sale at HEB for $11 a while back. I also tried the Pegovino Granache and Syrah blend which was recommended to me by a Specs guy as one of the best of its style. I liked the merlot more than I thought I would, but was a little disappointed with the Pegovino. I had high hopes for it and I thought it was kinda bland with nothing special about it. Both were good, but not something Id get again.