So, I'm home from work; just spent a half-hour on the eliptical and I've worked up a thirst. I haven't consumed anything minty in hours and I rinsed out my piehole with some fresh, cool, bottled water. Since you skinflints haven't yet bought up all this wonderful juice, I figure I have time for one more comment.
The bottle of Rasmussen was opened 22 hours ago now, but it has had a cork in it for 18 of those hours. When I pour a slug, the fruit immediately wafts out of the glass - redolent of cherries, currents and dark berries. There's also turned earth in the background - kind of a clay-like thing, but not in a bad way. My nose doesn't usually pick up on the herbal kinds of things, nor so much on the floral. Anyway, unlike this morning (when it was clearly me that was off), this really smells good.
The color is still crystal-sharp ruby red, with a light ring around the glass. In my mouth, I don't get near as much sour as I did last night. The first impression is definitely fruit, echoing what went up the snoot. Then, it hits pretty hard with the tannins on the back sides of the tongue. It slowly fades over more than 20 seconds, with the last bit reminding me of ... the skin of a red delicious apple? Make of it what you will, that's what I got.
Better now than ever. The moral of this story is, don't drink good wine in the morning and, whatever you do, don't brush with mint toothpaste first.
Wow! Just took a big gulp to empty the glass. It seemed wasteful, but it was really good, covering all the surfaces of the palate and tongue at the same time. Very complex - lots of stuff going on all at once. I still don't get funky, mushroomy stuff, though. (And don't want to, I might add.)
Now, just to finish what I started, I'm going to try a little of the cheap s**t, too. You'll forgive me, I'm sure, if I admire my Days Delight label (NSFW!) while I drink, and don't actually bother tasting it again...
This Stephen Vincent 2006 Sonoma County Pinot Noir also still looks very nice. Still lighter than the Rasmussen, and with a broader light edge. I still get strawberries in the smell, with almost a musty hay/straw smell in the background. Definitely something going on here besides fruit. The flavor of this one also held up very well - it, too is less sharp and acidic on the tongue. It fills the mouth with interesting and complex flavor sensations as well, but definitely not as "ripe" as the Rasmussen. Like fruit picked a day too early. Pie cherries... The finish is a little shorter, but still lingers for quite a while.
Okay, my impressions haven't really changed. Both of these wines are excellent. The Rasmussen is 2 or 3 points better on my version of a 100-point scale. This is in the quality range where 2 or 3 points can translate into a bunch of bucks. I'm glad I got the Rasmussen - I wish I had gone in for 2 instead of 1. After all, I didn't ask permission and the lovely Kay would have likely forgiven me the $145 almost as easily as the $75. I'm still going to go back to Bueno Cheapo Vino and get some more of that cheap s**t!
Oh! Cheron, I apologize. They let me labrat. They aren't likely to make that mistake again. I had to make the experience last. You're great!
