Review for week 24 - by Steve
Week 24: The following review covers the events of Tuesday evening, between 6:30pm and 11:00pm. 'Chloe, it's Jack! I'm clinging to the top of a train going 150mph in the Chunnel, being chased by a helicopter, and the president's black ops team is trying to kill me! Download the latest RWW reviews with audio to my PDA immediately, and make sure it's one of Steve's reviews, man that guy is AWESOME!' Well, maybe this week's review isn't that exciting, but it's not too shabby. We were running a skeleton crew for week 24, only 4 Winers were present that evening and I wasn't even one of them! I'm glad too, because it seems to have degenerated to reviewing any old alcoholic beverage in the fridge. Personally, I think we should all be thankful they stuck to alcoholic beverages. It could have been much worse. I mean, hey, at least they didn't review the Hellmann's or the brine from that old pickle jar that everyone seems to have in the back of the fridge. Man, I leave these guys for one Tuesday...
The wines (5)
Wine #1
1.50 / 2.002 buy
Wine
2003 Scheid Vineyards Merlot Monterey, California
Original heading: “2003 Scheid Vineyards - Merlot Monterey, California”
Ssezi would like to give a special shout out to his boy George from the Monterey Wine Market in Pacific Grove, Californ-I-A. It seems that George has thrown his wine buying public for a loop. He groups his wines by food pairing, and he knows his business. This F-ing Merlot from Scheid Vineyards had a big fruity flavor but wasn't too sweet, just as Ssezi requested. John compared it to a Ravenswood and noted its complexity and some spice on the finish, but most Winers thought the finish was a bit subdued. Breaking new ground in wine terminology John didn't think that this Merlot had too much 'overberry' and Chris thought the Scheid would be great to drink 'in the background'. While this merlot sat well with the Winers, some balked at the 25 large price point. Please excuse the growing background noise during the review, the offending parties been dealt with accordingly.
Audio recording
Wine #2
1.00 / 2.00
Wine
2002 Don Melchor Concha Y Toro Cabernet Sauvignon Puente Alto, Chile
Original heading: “2002 Don Melchor Concha Y Toro - Cabernet Sauvignon Puente Alto, Chile”
Tipping the scale at 35 large, this rich Chilean cab tries to keep novices away with a bit of pong on the nose. Cutting past the pong, the deep character of this wine shines through with hints of cherry and smoke. It's also highlighted by a nice spicy, lingering finish. While excellent, unfortunately the Winers unanimously deemed that the price point demanded more ... transcendence. Bill rightly points out that some more expensive libations we've sampled had not been this tasty, but nonetheless no Winer would buy Don Melchor's cab again. Poor John, he bought two of these puppies when he picked it up, one for drinkin' and one for his mobile wine cellar. They can't all be winners, but fear not, everyone's a winner when the supply gets low and John pops outside for a minute to go to his trunk.
Audio recording
Wine #3
1.50 / 2.002 buy
Wine
2000 Terra Unica Reserve Tempranillo Monastrell Alicante, Spain
Original heading: “2000 Terra Unica Reserve - Tempranillo Monastrell Alicante, Spain”
This 2000 Reserva Terra Unica was donated by Rich and sampled in his absence. Bill correctly questioned whether this Terra Unica had been rated before (12/13/2005). Correcting for fewer Winers, the ratings appear to be similar, and overall fairly good. Chris deemed that this TempMon would 'get the job done', but fearing the unknown price of this wine, he originally gave it a drink, not buy. He later revised his review upward on reassurances by Ssezi and Bill of a price of no more than 15 large. Detracting modifiers ranged from John's 'corky taste' to Bill's medicinal aftertaste. Although it was only the 3rd bottle of the night, the intrepid quartet of Winers were starting to feel the effects. The 3rd bottle sensations left Chris feeling wimpy and unmanly.
Audio recording
Wine #4
1.00 / 2.001 buy
Wine
2006 Diageo Red Stripe Lager Jamaica
Original heading: “2006 Diageo Red Stripe - Lager Jamaica”
Here's where things degenerated more than usual. Feeling the effects of the 3 reds, the Winers scoured near and far (mostly near) and hauled some leftover brewskis out of the fridge to finish up the night. The first beer of the night was Red Stripe. If you listen to the audio you may hear a few disturbing things, like Ashley Simpson on the radio in the background (enough to give me cold sweats) and Ssezi exclaiming 'JamaicaGood Beer Mahhhn'. All in all, Red Strip didn't review so well. Ssezi is recorded as a drink and buy, but as I write this, I'm still not sure if that's accurate. However, the Winers were kind enough to warn the audience that they were reviewing 'way out of order', repeatedly. Why? I have no idea. Give it a listen.
Audio recording
Wine #5
1.25 / 2.002 buy
Wine
2006 Cerveceria Modelo Corona Extra Lager Mexico
Original heading: “2006 Cerveceria Modelo Corona Extra - Lager Mexico”
Available in over 150 countries, Modelo Cerveceria's imported superstar is reputedly the best selling beer in Mexico and the #1 imported beer in the USA (Corona Light is also the #1 imported light beer). It's been brewed since 1925, the tenth anniversary of Modelo. Aside from Ssezi, who apparently doesn't drink water and wouldn't drink this (how does he live without water?), the Winers assume a fallback stance on Corona. Given a hot summer day and a few limes, the Winers would gladly pound several of these to meet any and all thirst quenching requirements. For an exact quote on the usefulness of Corona, we turn to Ssezi. He believes you should 'Drink Corona when you want water, but want to get hammered'. Despite the 'ol standby' status, many thought this particular wasn't as mas fina as the Red Stripe. Listening to the review, it seems that this beer may have been skunked. The clear bottle can often hasten the demise of flavor.
Audio recording
And so another review week has mercifully come to a close. There was some brief talk of Chris grabbing his emergency Warji bag from his car for one last review. Thankfully that did not happen. Perhaps one day we'll review a bag or two of Warji, the clear Ugandan spirit that comes in a small plastic bag. Tune in next week when we'll tackle even more wines and other important questions like, 'How does Ssezi live without water?