Wines to Celebrate With…
Over the 4th of July, we were lucky enough to drink a couple of delicious celebratory wines with my brother and his family. These are wines above the normal price range we blog about, but I wanted to share.
The first was Grgich Hills Estate Chardonnay, I believe it was the 2005 Napa Valley - though unfortunately I can’t confirm or deny that a couple weeks later. The white wine was very crisp. Unlike many Chardonnay’s, it did not have too much ‘oak’ flavor, which is the way I like it. The tasting notes mention pear and honey, and I think that’s a great way to describe this wine. Crisp and fruity. I highly recommend it, although the price point of $40 is a little high for an every day Chardonnay.
Winery: Grgich Hills Estate
Region: Napa Valley, CA
Varietal: Chardonnay
Time in Oak/Aged: 10 months
Price: ~$40
Rating: 
After the Chardonnay, we moved on to a red wine, the 2005 ZD Cabernet. ZD makes two levels of Cab - this one was not the reserve, which meant it was the lower price point - however, that still puts it in the $50 price range. This was my favorite of the two wines, although I do like red more than white anyway so that might not be surprising. My favorite reds tend to be Zinfandels because I find them spicy, fruity and complex. I thought this Cabernet delivered along those same lines - it was very full of flavor with definite hints of fruit. While it definitely has been aged in oak, that does not overwhelm all the other flavors but instead just compliments them. If you want to splurge on a higher-priced Cabernet while not going too crazy, this would be a good one to try.
Winery: ZD
Varietal: Cabernet
Region: Napa Valley, CA
Price: ~$50
Aged: 24 months in Oak
Rating: 
If you have a chance to try these out, let me know what you think and I hope you enjoy them as much as we did.
Enjoy!
Kelly