TOP 5 WINES
If you are familiar with our TOP 5 wines format, just skip to the wine reviews below.
Anyone who has met me knows I am a HUGE John Cusack fan.
The height of my crush was in the late 1990's. He was at the peak of his acting career...and single! My college roommates and I were such dedicated future-girlfriends that most nights, before bed, we would kiss our Grosse Point Blank movie poster, which featured a very handsome John Cusack, and say goodnight. Sorry ladies, the cat is so out of the bag.
I'll make it up to you.
PROMISE!
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Another favorite John Cusack movie of ours is High Fidelity.
His character Rob, a constant flirt and reluctant record shop owner,
tries to win back his current ex-girlfriend throughout the movie.
While pursuing his ex, he decides to visit his Top 5 ex-girlfriends of all time.
It's raw, accurate, and lovely. Did I mention the soundtrack kicks ass?!
Right about now, you're saying, "Krista, what does this have to do with wine?"
It's simple. John's character Rob constantly creates his lists of Top 5...
Top 5 songs for the day, Top 5 records of all time, and Top 5 of his worst breakups.
It's his way to categorize and I guess quantify his own history.
In the end of the film, he creates a record label called Top 5 Records.
I'm creating Top 5 Wines.
Each month, I will introduce my Top 5.
It may be by varietal, country, or producer. Read and find out.
Maybe I'll even discuss an ex-boyfriend or two?! Probably NOT.
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TOP 5 WINES
for
February 2023
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FOR THE LOVE OF WINE
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Whether you snuggle a little closer with your boo on Valentine's Day, or celebrate your favorite team winning the Super Bowl, there is much to toast to in the month of February. Here in the Midwest, the winter can feel never ending, so I like to get a little close to my second love- Pinot Noir.
3. Domaine Drouhin Oregon, Roserock Pinot Noir,
Eola-Amity Hills, Oregon 2021- $47.99
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With over a century of winemaking experience in France, the Drouhin family decided to head West and join the Oregon experiment in the 1980's. Only a handful of producers were planting Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the hopes that the similarity to Burgundy, in soil and weather conditions, would prove Willamette Valley a sustainable winegrowing area. Founding fathers, like David Adelsheim and David Lett, had created such a strong communal bond amongst growers and happily welcomed the Drouhin family. If they believed in Oregon soil, they must be on to something!
Potential grew into prosperity, and now innovation paves the way for second generation Oregon winemakers. Veronique Drouhin, known as the "protector of the palate," combines an Old World focus on terroir with a New World fruit-forward intensity.
This Pinot Noir is luscious. Silky in texture, floral, and focused, it begs for another sip. I love the balance between the more feminine characteristics, the perfumed nose and purple flavors in the glass, against the masculine structure of dark soil, fine tannins and a long finish. It may be surprising in its complexity, but it is unmistakably Drouhin.
4. Fulldraw Vineyard, "Hard Point," Grenache
Paso Robles, California 2017 - $85.99
Fairfield native Connor McMahon delivers an arrow straight through my heart with his 100% Grenache bottling. Laser focused, this wine drinks like a racecar making a tight curve- turning just fast enough to stay ahead but dangerously close to the edge. It is compact, full of dark red fruits, deep and mysterious, but the bright acidity he has captured allows time to reveal the layers slowly in the bottle. It is a pure joy to open every few months to discover how similar or different the experience can be. Drink now AND hold for later. This bottle has years to go.
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5. Lionel Faury, Saint Joseph,
Rhone Valley, France 2020- $47.99
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This wine, from father and son team Philippe and Lionel Faury, delivers exactly what I need during the month of January. It is more than varietally correct, it is a declaration of what a truly beautiful Syrah can be. It's demonstrative, with a sense of history and location oozing from the glass. The nose shows slightly smoky, with a hint of olive and pitted fruit. The palate bursts with dark bramble fruit, black pepper spice, and a structure that only begins to come around by hour three in the decanter. This wine is not for the impatient. This wine wants to be discovered, uncovered like a great buried treasure.
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Thank you for reading my latest installment of TOP 5 Wines
Click on the blog above to read past months. Enjoy!