Well, here's the weekly wine post

I'm finding it surprisingly difficult to post something about wine / booze every week (this being only Week Two).  I just need to start remembering what I've been drinking.  After all, I already do the sensory breakdown by force of habit.  I'm pretty sure that's something that will never go away.

Having written music criticism for my college newspaper, it's really the same way with music.  Sometimes, I need to consciously take a step back and just appreciate the totality of a work without immediately breaking it down.  As in pretty much all things in my life, I need to stop looking at things so academically.

But this is neither the time nor the place to stop being critical.  We have wine to discuss, after all.  Let's start with:

1998 Edgewood Estate Malbec Napa Valley - Tasty wine, very rich and fruity.  Dark fruits, mocha, some baking spices and just enough acid and tannin to keep it from being flabby.  A very nice Napa Malbec from a supposedly down vintage.  This was actually from the home cellar, a weird one-off purchase we made on a chance stop driving through Napa with friends.

2004 Two Hands "Yesterday's Hero" Grenache Barossa Valley - Some very nice old vine Grenache (which is one of the primary red varietals of the Southern Rhone) from Australia. Opulent, focused fruit without being jammy or over-extracted.  Solid backbone of acid and a light tannin that wraps everything together.  A great wine either alone or with food.  I'd say lamb or a heavier pork dish would be wonderful.  Ooooh, weiner schnitzel... yeah, that's the ticket.  Now I want to take a bottle of this to Suppenkuche or Walzwerk.  God, I love living in San Francisco.

2004 Hanzell Chardonnay Sonoma Valley - They're using the broader appellation because their estate vineyard falls in between some smaller AVAs.  Doesn't really matter, because the wine is damn good.  As one of the pioneers of winegrape growing in California, Hanzell has a long and rich history, and the wine stands up to the reputation.  Rich and flavorful without being overbearing.  Creamy, but with a clean, sharp acidity.  This Chard may have started California down the road to "Buttery and Oaky," but it has long since been passed by the Rombauers of the world.  Good enough to make me want to start drinking domestic Chard again.

I've got some more to go through, but I'm late for work.  More later.