I have mentioned here many times about the advantages and disadvantages of living in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. One of the disadvantages, at least in my opinion, is the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB): an inefficient, incompetent affront to wine consumers in the state. I have ranted about this before (and will likely again), but this is not the route I am taking today. Rather, I would like to speak to one of the advantages (which I believe is not related at all to the PLCB, but I could be wrong) is the prevalence of BYOB restaurants. We go out to restaurants at least a couple times a month and go almost exclusively to BYO establishments. In fact, the last time we went to a restaurant that had a liquor license was at least four years ago (which is the limit of my memory).

Sunday night, we decided to go out to dinner. We are lucky enough to have a half a dozen BYOs within a ten minute walk from our humble abode, so we have options. Unfortunately, our favorite and the closest BYO recently acquired their liquor license (boo!), so there is considerably less impetus to go there. It was a beautiful warm Fall night here in the city of Brotherly Mild Hatred and we wanted to eat outside (it was actually my suggestion and I will take full credit for it). Our former BYO would have been a great choice, but given my alcoholic tendencies and my inherent cheapness, the booze thing was an issue. We decided on a place we have been to several times, a Pan-Asian fusion restaurant that has a decent Pad Thai. They also have a bunch of seafood dishes, so I was thinking a white would be the obvious choice (I am soooo in tune with proper wine pairings it almost makes me want to hurl).

I checked my Cellar Tracker and after a fair amount of internal debate, I settled on a Carneros Chardonnay that I recently bought from Wines ‘Til Sold Out (WTSO), called Hopper Creek. It was from the Sangiacomo Vineyard in Carneros which has a fairly good reputation, so I figured ‘what the hell?’ It was $15/bottle and free shipping when you buy four.

There was a pork chop on the menu for the evening, so I also grabbed a Beaujolais just in case. We made the six block walk down to the restaurant, with only minimum whining from the boys (a rare feat) and we were able to land a table out on the deck. Right away I pulled out the wine key, eager to try this new ‘find’.  As I poured out the first glass, my wife opined “Wow, what a nice golden color.”

Uh oh.

The wine was indeed a rather deep shade of yellow and this would normally be reason for concern–a four year old Chardonnay that reportedly retails around $30 (according to my good friends at WTSO) should not be showing signs of age, or worse oxidation.  I decided not to judge before I at least tried it.  Gave it a sniff: no oxidation, some fruit, but also a rather odd odor that I really could not place.

Uh oh.

Gave it another swirl and then a taste.

Uh oh.

Gave it another swirl and another taste.

Even more Uh oh.

My wife during all of this was rather silent, which is not all that unusual since she is usually reluctant to offer her opinion (even though she probably has a better palate than do I). I am not entirely sure why this is other than the fact that I can be a bit of an obnoxious, pedantic jerk when it comes to wine. Nah, that can’t be it….

After a third taste I looked at my wife and said:

“Wow, that’s awful.” She concurred that it “Really is not very good.”

“No, I mean it is really bad–one of the worst wines I have had in a while.” I retorted.

“Really?!?” She responded, “we have had some really bad wines…”

I amended my original statement: “That is one of the worst wines–that was not technically flawed that I have had in a while, and I think I might pour it out.” That last phrase almost floored her since, as she correctly pointed out, it takes a lot for me to even consider dumping a wine.

But this wine was really that bad. We did not dump it, of course, since I paid for the wine and I am a rather cheap bastard, but my wife drank most of it.  I had moved on to the Beaujolais which was very good and enabled me to appreciate the weather and the company once again (the meal was so-so).

2008 Hopper Creek Winery Chardonnay Sangiacomo Vineyards: Retail ~$30. Golden color without much redeeming qualities on the nose. On the palate, very disjointed, flabby, and unappealing. Not flawed in any way, just not very good. Below Average. 72 points (and that is generous).

QUICK HITTERS: (A few of the other wines I tried this week)

2002 Domaine Annick Parent Monthélie 1er Cru Clos Gauthey: Retail ~$35. Really nice red Burgundy with amazing red berry fruit and a bit of earthiness.  Was really pleasantly surprised.  Excellent to Outstanding. 90-92 points.

2006 Sanford Pinot Noir Estate Bottled Vista al Rio: Retail ~$60. Had this right after the Parent Monthélie and this was delightful as well. Not as much earthiness, but a lot more fruit and a slightly better finish. Excellent to Outstanding. 91-93 points.

WINE(S) OF THE WEEK:

I have two wines of the week and as you will notice, they did not score as high as the two pinots above. How can they be the wine(s) of the week then? Well, first, it is not ‘best’ wine of the week, it is just the ‘Wine(s) of the Week’ and second, it is my blog.  I chose these because I have written disparagingly about Italian wines several times in the past, but these were two really stellar wines.

Yes, I felt guilty about disparaging the Italians and I am looking to even out my karma points.

1999 Castello del Terriccio Tassinaia: Retail ~$45. A blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot, I picked this up several years ago at the PLCB. Leathery but still with some rich stewed fruit, and a bit of tannin still on the back end. This was a great food wine and a very pleasant surprise. Excellent. 89-91 points.

1993 Michele Chiarlo Barolo: Retail ~$40. I got this bottle of wine for an insane price a little while ago (let’s just say it was less than most items at Starbucks) so this wine wins the ‘best value’ hands down this week. Really surprising fruit with plenty of structure and balance. Silky smooth and quite sexy. Excellent to Outstanding. 90-92 Points.