A busy week...

And a great night... Did a 4 course wine pairing this evening, where I got to choose the bottles... one of my absolutely favorite things to do. The 2004 Rudi Pichler Hochrain Gruner-Veltliner Smaragd, Wachau, Austria is a ball of white pepper waiting to be unwound... Pears, apples, apricots on the nose with hints of the "pepper"... on the palate, it's all pepper. An amazingly spicy wine, but killer stuff from one of the Austrian greats. The 2002 Archery Summit Red Hills Estate Pinot Noir, Oregon is good... it still needs time. I am still waiting to be completely blown away by an Oregon Pinot Noir. This is not it, though it is very good and went nicely with the dish. The 2003 Paul Hobbs Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley is amazing wine for being his "low-end" Cab. Dense like Lewis, but not quite as intense and a much longer, drawn-out finish. The mid-palate on this wine is mind-blowing. Amazing extraction. What do Paul Hobbs, Heidi Barrett (Screaming Eagle, Jones Family, etc), Helen Turley (Marcassin, Turley), Bob Levy (Harlan), Philipe Melka (Bryant Family, Lail, Vineyard 29, etc) and Bob Foley (Pride, Switchback Ridge, Hourglass, etc) have in common? They are the top six Cabernet Sauvignon winemakers in California right now...