I have been spoiled with New World Pinot Noirs, which I love, to the point that I am not a fan of French style Pinot Noir. I will admit that I didn't like this wine at first, and that this is not the style that I like, but I actually had a French Pinot Noir yesterday that this tasted like a lot.

The flavor is temperate cherries and other fruit, and you get the faintest amount of spice, but not enough to overpower your food. In fact, this might go well with some nicely spiced steak, pork or game meat (boar), if not duck and/or goose.

If you like old world Pinot Noir, then you'll enjoy this wine.

The funny thing is that of all of the Carmenere wines that I have had, most of them have been outlandishly wonderful, and this one falls in that line.

The color is a deep purple, with no leanings towards any other color. You taste oak/tannins which are in perfect balance to the dark plums and cherries; it is neither too dry, nor too grainy. You also taste some chocolate, which is a wonderful component to this wine.

The wine flows like silk, and the finish is a gentle cascade of around twelve seconds.

This is a wine to be reckoned with.

Merrily on my zinfandel kick, I picked up a nice bottle of Estancia Zin, and I can say that I am very happy with this lovely beauty. The flavor is that of dark cherries and plums packed together after being dipped in cocoa powder. It is resplendent with sweetness, mild tannins, and a demure backbone of oak accents that make this perfect with dessert, on it's own.

This wine is a winner.

Sometimes, before you cast a quick aspersion on a wine, you have to let it sit, breathe and show what it really has to offer. In this case, while there is something about the aroma of the wine that I detect which I don't like (and note that it could be just one element that I am sensitive to), the taste is rather splendid.

I chose to give this wine a 9 versus an 8 because of its solid backend finish. This wine's flavor seems to develop at the end, versus hitting you at the beginning. What I taste is dark plums over a nice coffee bean (reminds me of Breyer's Coffee ice cream) with very mellow tannins. This taste does have some depth, but with this coffee aspect, it's different than the bold and rich dark fruits that one normally would come to expect with a Cab. The one flavor that I recognize [and I will admit that I had to look at the back label to associate it] is that of figs/; hell, I rarely have a Fig Newton anymore, I prefer those made from other fruits.

I will admit that the amount of oak is not necessarily too my liking (it yields dry tannic character), but the weight on your tongue is a sublime velvet, reminding me of chocolate cake.

While this is a 2006, I am interested to see what happens in the next few vintages.

I still remember when I learned to play poker [though I can't remember all of which trumps which] and that was in 1987 while attending the US Naval Academy Summer Seminar. One of my roommates was from the south, and in less than five days, I had picked up his accent.

Lately, I have seen several labels/brands of wine based on card suits, and all of them have so far been excellent. This is my first from 'The Deck' and I must say that it is great.

The color is somewhere between pale and straw yellow, and the nose is very floral, reminding me of hibiscus and pineapple. The taste is actually packed with exotic fruit such as pineapple, but also has some vanilla and just the right amount of oak character imparted to it. The acidity is ample and the citrus component is not over the top, but blended perfectly with the flavor. There is no buttery aspect, which is an aspect that I don't like anyway. The body has legs, and the wine sits on your tongue with ample weight, with a nice warm finish that lasts for at least twenty seconds before making you want just a little bit more.

This wine is very bright, and should be great with anything from cheese up to even a nice steak (yes, a steak). I think that this would be great with lemon, or dill, chicken and maybe excellent with some lobster.