Oenophobia: A Fear Of Wine: Oenophobia: The Wine Bar

Friday, February 8, 2008

Oenophobia: The Wine Bar

Greetings Friends!

Its been awhile since I last posted, as most of my free time has been spent working on the business plan for Oenophobia: The Wine Bar and working on things like license acquisition and space location sighting. Its been a pretty busy month!

I want to give you all a "heads-up" to the progress of Oenophobia: The Wine Bar and tell you some non-proprietary information that will allow you to get excited about the Shore Area's most exciting new destination for diners and imbibers alike.

At this time, we have identified the Lower Cookman Ave. corridor in Asbury Park, NJ to be our location. In fact, we are deciding upon 5-6 different sites to locate the winebar in. We have been working hard on coming up with new and inventive ways to present wines to the market and provide the best options for our guests to taste different wines to help refine their palate. In addition, we are consulting with food industry people on the kitchen and menu offerings. Lots more to discuss about that......

So without giving away all of the details, I can tell you that Oenophobia: The Wine Bar is coming together nicely and hopefully we will have an anticipated opening to discuss within the next 3-6 months.

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Recent Tastings......

2004 Simi Landslide Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon - (GIFT) - Last night I popped a bottle of this wine, and upon removing the foil, I saw some bleeding on the cork. This happens when some wine travels up through or along side the cork, and stains the cork. This is usually a sign that the seal of the wine has been compromised and the wine will not be good, since too much oxygen getting into the bottle will spoil the wine. I poured some into a glass and swirled and sniffed. Not bad, but I was tenative. First sip...a little odd on the tounge and maybe I was just afraid the wine was bad and didn't want the taste in my mouth. However, the wine turned out to be very, very good. Lots of ripe fruit, some "brambles" on the midpalete and a well-lingering tannic finish. This wine has black and red fruit tones and some pepper on the finish, integrating with those tannins. A very good wine, probably near 90 pts.
We drank a lot of CYNTHUS the past week. I even tried to slip in a different wine, but Wendy took one taste and said, "This isn't Cynthus!!!" Wow, she's so demanding when it comes to her favorite wines! Call Kevin at Buy-Rite to order a 6-pack. The wine is fantastic!
2004 Jessup Cellars Table For Four - $75 - A Fabulous Find that I take sole credit for. On my recent trip to Napa, I stopped in at the tasting room, which looks like a storefront in Anytown, USA and stumbled upon Jessup Cellars. Read an earlier Post about them. The Table For Four is a blend of Cabernet, Merlot, Cab. Franc and Petite Sirah. This is a GOLD winner in Best in Class Golden State Wine Competition. No messing around. Glen's first introduction to TFF and he FLIPPED. Deep, expressive wine with concentrated colors and bouquet. This wine leaves you wanting more. Unfortunately, at this price....more is less. Enjoy!
2005 Cameron Hughes Lot 36 - $14 - Well, this is the last Lot of the three we bought from Cameron Hughes Wine. Rutherford Cabernet is usually big and bold, with a more pronounced earthy flavor, commonly referred to Rutherford Dust. The wine is young, which can manifest itself in many ways like too big in the mouth, too oaky or astringent or with too much concentrated flavor on the front palate, and not very balanced or long in the flavor. This wine came out flat. Not a lot of nose, not a lot of mouthfeel. It was a little too sweet with not enough depth of character. We will leave it alone in the cellar awhile and see if it gets better. I have other wines in the cellar that are more approachable right now.
2003 Mi Sueno El Llano Napa Red Wine - $36 - Mi Sueno is a small family run winery in Napa run by the Herrera Family, Mi Sueno has quickly become a well-regarded producer of red wines and now they make a Chardonnay as well. The El Llano is a big, bold wine comprised of 80% Cab and 20% Syrah. The wine is dark,almost black and has amazingly concentrated flavors of dark fruits, smoke and earth, with chocolate and spice on the finish. The wine comes from carefully selected leased vineyards where the Herrrera's have total control of the growing effort. A beautifully crafted wine.
2002 Cynthus Cabernet - $27 -Well, I found it. The elusive Cynthus. The recent release is the 2002, which is surprising since most producers just released the 2005 versions of their wine. Cynthus is a small production wine, with just 320 cases made of the 2002. The fruit is from Stagecoach Vineyards which is a well-known vineyard in Napa which supplies fruit to some of the best wines in the region. The wine was big out of the bottle, but in 10 minutes, it opened like a flower to sunlight. The wines big nose belied a strong plum and berry flavor on the wine. The tannins were not big, but they were present and in good balance with the fruit. A lovely wine at a good price.
2001 Lancaster Estate Napa Valley Red Wine - This is one of the wines that got me started on my love of wines. Back in 2002, I was introduced to Lascaster by my brother Glen, who bought a six-pack of this wine and shared it with me. I fell in love with the lush mouth-feel and the silky smooth flavor of the wine. The flavor kept coming and coming. It was a great wine at a great price. Since this was a 2001, which is no longer available, I am not putting a price on the bottle. However, this is a great blended wine, with Cab, Merlot, Petite Verdot and Malbec, and the wine finishes with a dark chocolate finish. I haven't had any recent vintages of Lancaster, but that's gonna change soon! This is a classy wine that new wine lovers should try.
2003 Von Strasser Estate Diamond Mountain Cabernet - Napa - $62 - Not an everyday wine, for sure, but an amazing example of California Cabernets crafted to be big in flavor and well structured. This wine opens with ripe blackberries and cherry on the nose. The flavor is HUGE, with ripe fruits balanced with smoky undertones. There is very little "heat" in this wine, it is just big and bold with firm tannins coming through on the finish. Believe it or not, it was better on Day 2 and 3 than upon opening. Started to get a little flat on day 3, but the quality still was ringing true. Again, not a good choice for everyday, due to the price. However, it is good for special days like: Tuesdays, or even Thursdays or Sundays....Mondays also...and well, you get the picture!
2004 Elizabeth Spencer Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa - One of my favorite wines from a terrific production team. Husband & Wife owners with a young, dedicated winemaker combine to make an exceptional vintage of Napa Cab. The wine has a great nose of cherries and spice but flavors of berries and cassis. Smooth, supple and mildly tannic, this wine drinks well today and will age for several years. $35
2004 Darioush Signature Cabernet - Napa - $60 - We opened this on Sat. night after dinner. It was so good that an avowed Chardonnay drinker said, "Wow! This is an amazing wine!" Thanks Jaime... The Signature Cabernet is pure fruit in the glass, with big flavor and big tannins and lots of aromas. A great glass all by itself. It got better right up to Wed. night, when it was a goner.
2003 Cynthus Cabernet - Napa - $28 - Good earthy smell on the nose, with some oak and smoke as well. The taste was smooth and strong but elegant and full-bodied. A great wine!
2005 Cameron Hughes Lot 35 Yountville Cabernet - We were told by the producers of the wine that this wine needs several hours of decanting or several years of cellaring. They couldn't have been more right! I decanted this 3 hrs. before drinking, and it still was tight. As the night wore on, it got better and better, with the flavors of rock fruit and tobacco leaf coming though. The finish was at first extreme oak, but time mellowed the finish. I plan to give this infant more time in the basement and leave it alone for awhile. I really look forward to a few years hence when it will be in maturity and tasting great.
2004 Bogle Phantom - An interesting blend of Petite Sirah, Zinfandel and Mourvedre, this wine has a big nose of sweet fruit, then the body of the wine comes thru in the taste. The Mourvedre does a nice job of toning down the Zin, and giving some smoothness to the finish. A good blend, with a great price. About $16

Recently Added To My Cellar:

2001 & 2003 Jessup Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon - $50 - only available at winery www.jessupcellars.com
2004 Jessup Cellars Table For Four - Bordeaux Blend - $75 - Only available at winery www.jessupcellars.com
2004 Elizabeth Spencer Mt. Veeder Cabernet - $65 - Only Available Through Winery
2004 Veramonte Primus Merlot, Cab, Carmenere blend - Chile - $16 - Available At Tinton Falls Buy-Rite
2004 Jardin Cobblers Hill (Bordeaux Blend) - South Africa - $25 - Available At Tinton Falls Buy-Rite
2004 Jardin Cabernet - South Africa - $17 - Available At Tinton Falls Buy-Rite
2002 Cynthus Cabernet Sauvignon - $27 - Available at Tinton Falls Buy-Rite
2004 Maybach Materium Cab - 1st Vintage - online only maybachwine.com
2005 Cameron Hughes Lot 28 Barossa Valley Shiraz - $20 Online At chwines.com
2005 Cameron Hughes Lot 37 Rutherford Cab - $14 Online at chwines.com