The 2006 edition of Bruno Tait's Ball Buster is true to form. Like Barack Obama, it's a velvet glove on an iron fist. This I verified on the night of the third Presidential debate of 2008, by drinking the third bottle to date.
Mind you, writing about it is not as easy as drinking it. It's so smooth on the surface, you get carried away, as if the Bush years are a thing of the past. If I were on death row, I would request as many glasses of Tait Ball Buster as I could get, as a prelude to the lethal injection that would be the ultimate anti-climax. I imagine a last supper of long-suffering Shiraz grapes, basket pressed to my lips before I turn blue.
Robert Parker's Jay Miller, a true hedonist of a reviewer, sees the virtue in Ball Buster '06, to the tune of 92 points. I first tasted Ball Buster 2005, drawn to the name. It was quite good; the 2006 seems even better, but that's probably just my eternal optimism getting the best of me.
Fact is, Bruno says this year's blend is 78% Shiraz, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot. The iron fist manifests itself by way of the alcohol level that soars into the stratosphere without a trace of ethanol in the nose. The velvet glove is the cloak of the grape skins preserved from the vineyard into the glass.
Tait Ball Buster 2006 is deep dark purple ruby, as expected. You get aromas of loganberry, expresso, cedar and forest. Lush jammy red-to-black fruit, vanilla, then chocolate emerge, at first sweetly on the edges of the tongue. The finish is dusty dry with soft astringency on the center of the tongue.
Price: $19 (Nashville). Closure: Screw cap. Alcohol content: 15.7%.
Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc Viognier expresses the very irrational exuberance that got us into this economic mess. But it didn't, it just tastes that way. Like Sarah Palin, it's fresh, attractive and uncluttered, but alas, it's well crafted.
This alternative white wine blend will connect and resonate with most any white wine drinker. It tastes like perfectionism in a bottle. It comes out of left field but has the power to bring people together. I've tasted this wine in previous vintages, always found it to be pleasant, but this vintage really grabbed me.
Expect perfumed aromas of melon, pear, grapefruit and cold blossoms, plus overtones of sweet spice. On the tongue, bright acidity gives it a mouth-watering crisp edge. The finish, like Sarah Palin, gives a wink of sweetness, but the overall effect is palate-cleansing. Robert Parker himself rated this one 90 points, a real bragging point for an under-$15 USA-made white wine.
Price: $14 (Nashville). Closure: Screw cap. Alcohol content: 12.8%.
Oktoberfest!
I must confess that October has found me drinking more beer. Maybe it's Oktoberfest, or maybe I'm turning into a beer advocate. My paying job has me promoting brews, so I have a vested interest in gaining first hand experience. Research must involve all the senses. Yeah, that's it.
Not knowing much about beer, I stumbled onto a couple of good ones right off the bat. First, Duvel Belgian Strong Pale Ale. If you've tried it, you know about that amazing head. If you haven't tried it, and you're not dead yet, go get a bottle, chill, and pour it into a glass. The head defies gravity. It's like what I hoped whipped cream would be when I first learned of it, but it never was. Lightly bitter, unlike the hop-head brews that gather the limelight, beautifully crisp, like a champagne, refreshing and smooth, Duvel is the creme de la creme, literally and figuratively. It's not the latest thing, but no one appears to have improved on it. Expect to pay about $3-$4 a bottle (330 ml.). Alcohol content: 8.5%.
And then there's Dogfish Head Punkin Ale. 'Tis the season, and unlike the imitation over-hyped or over-hopped brews that pretend to convey the harvest, Dogfish really does. The color is beautiful, somewhere between a new minted copper penny and an October sunset. The aromas are complex, hinting at sweet baking spices and pumpkin, but also conveying lots of malt and even some hops. The flavor is a bribe that could make you do most anything.
Expect to pay about $8.99 for a 4-pack of 12 ounce bottles. Alcohol content: 7%. Don't miss out!
By way of a "plug", I recently installed high-proof beer sections into Frugal MacDoogal's web sites for Nashville and Fort Mill, SC (Charlotte, NC area). These sections combine my original bottle photos with a pinch of clever programming, some worthy graphics, and information from all over the place. So far, Frugal's is getting good results from this effort.
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Keep your ignorant, close minded, liberal bigotry to yourself. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it and Obama is repeating it in spades.
Posted by: David Wasiolek | April 11, 2009 at 12:39 PM