It has been a challenging couple of weeks! We've had to endure a slab leak in our home, which caused some damage, as well as considerable worry regarding what was covered by our homeowners insurance. I'll spare you the details, but we are covered (minus our deductible), and will only have to endure a couple of days with repairs.
We had a scare when our cat, Indiana Jones, decided to have an archaeological adventure with a moving car. After a night in the pet ER, and a few days with his regular vet, it looks like he will live to fight another day. I did take one thing from this incident: I hope I never have to do it again! There is no more helpless feeling than rushing your beloved pet to emergency care while your fuel light has been on all day and you're not completely sure where you're going, and said beloved pet is in obvious distress and having trouble breathing. Oh, and you manage to hit all red lights. Then calling the wife to tell her to meet you at the pet ER, and her first response is, "Are you playing a joke on me?"
After all this, I realized I hadn't written about what I opened for the Wall Street Journal's "Open That Bottle Night" (February 28). After much deliberation, I went with the 2004 Two Hands Shiraz, "Lily's Garden" from McLaren Vale, Australia. I was really excited about this bottle. I had enjoyed other offerings from Two Hands and they were excellent. But this was one of their single vineyard, higher-end bottles of wine. It had received scores of 95 and 94 from the Wine Advocate and the Wine Spectator, respectfully, and was supposed to have just started to reach it's peak.
This wine scared me a little bit at first. It smelled weird, for lack of a better term. It had an odd spice aroma to it, one that didn't match with the kind of spice one normally gets with Australian Shiraz. I stuck my nose in the bottle, and did not detect any of this odd spice. (At this point it should be pointed out that we were staying with my mom as we had no hot water.) I went to the cabinet where the stemware is stored and stuck my head in, and low and behold, I got it, big time! I looked around, and behind a small pillar found a candle; a cinnamon/peach candle. I started smelling the empty stemware and they all had the same aroma! I chuckled as I informed my mother her beloved Riedel was "contaminated". We ran some hot water through them, and they're now good as new.
The wine, however, was still lacking. There just wasn't much going on. I thought maybe the wine was going through a dead phase, or perhaps it was just an off bottle. As the wine wasn't all that appealing, I was in no hurry to drink it. An hour later, my glass was empty, and I returned to the bottle and decided to try it again.
"The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it." ~Arnold H. Glasgow
Truer words were never spoken! This wine was alive and popping with blueberry and blackberry, rich plum and pepper with hints of espresso and mint. This baby was intense, velvety, full-bodied with sweet tannins and a gorgeous finish. Definitely worth the wait. Two Hands has been producing deliciously consistent wines for over a decade. If you have the chance, put some in your glass!
Just...be patient.
"A man cannot make him laugh - but that's no marvel; he drinks no wine."
~WM. SHAKESPEARE, Henry IV Part 2
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1 comments:
I have to say, in your poor wife's defense (why do you pick on the poor woman so much on your blog? You mean, mean person), that I bet someone likes to yank her chain quite a bit. It's only natural for her to think this was one more evil prank on your part.
Glad to know everything turned out well -- the slab leak, the cat, and the wine.
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