Where am I?

We’ve had a little smoke in the air, lately. Which picture is from the area around Chiang Mai, Thailand - and which is from the area around San Francisco, California?

I’m skipping wine tastings until I can smell something besides the woodsmoke.

I had to spring Angie out of the joint, tonight. I let her out at 09:30, and they called me around 17:00 - 60 minutes before closing time. She’ll have to work off the $30 bail.

I’m not sure why she was picked up. From talking to the young lady at the PHS, I gather that some neighbor decided she was a stray, brought her inside, and panicked because she wouldn’t eat anything. Well, she’d had breakfast already.

We’ll see how long the collar lasts, this time.

• 1999 Bethany, Barossa-McLaren Vale (14.5%). Showed vanillin, pepper, and robust tannings. Group score 13.
• 2000 Bethany, Barossa-McLaren Vale (14.0%). Some orange in the color, indicating oxidation. Shows strawberries and peppery tannins, but they don’t linger in the glass. Group score 27.
• 1999 T-Vine, Napa Valley (15.4%). Cloudy, with eucalyptus in the nose, leading me to pick this as an Australian. Group score 20.
• 2000 T-Vine, Napa Valley (14.4%). Fleshy texture, cedar-box, and somewhat hot. Group score 18.
• 1999 Cedarville, El Dorado (14.5%). Showed vanillin and some light fruit, marred by vegetal notes. Group score 23.
• 2000 Cedarville, El Dorado (15.5%). Showed some pleasing strawberry and soft tannins, but fell apart into rubbery aromas as the wine opened up. Group score 25.

Except as noted, these were all 1978 Napa Valley cabs.

• Phelps Backus (13.6%): group score 50.
• Phelps Eisele (13.5%): group score 54. Showed some eucaluptol or menthol, typical for the vineyard.
• Beaulieu Rutherford (12.5%): group score 95.
• Beaulieu Private Reserve (13.5%): group score 76.
• Sterling Merlot (13%): group score 83. Grapey, mineral, and over the hill.
• Tulocay (13.3%): group score 75. Gone, and going off.
• Villa Mt Eden Reserve (13%): group score 45. Drying out, but still nice.
• Chateau Prieure Lichine, Margaux (12.5%): group score 56. Distinctive for its green bell-pepper nose, I’ll claim credit for picking this one out as the French interloper in the group. It was also my favorite of the tasting.

This was an interesting group of wines, each Zinfandel fruit from Brandlin Ranch, on Mount Veeder in Napa Valley (that’s in California, on the planet known as Earth, Terra, or Tellus).

• 1991 Rosenblum (14.1%): group score 22. This had fairly heavy sediment, and a rich earthiness alongside cedar, brambles, and a hint of barnyard.
• 1993 Rosenblum (13.8%): group score 19. Seemed to be drying out, but still fragrant, with cedar and vanillin prominent.
• 1994 Rosenblum (14.8%): group score 14. Highest alcohol = best score? There was some sediment, with prominent alcohol in the bouquet.
• 1994 Franus (14.4%): group score 20. This showed jammy fruit, followed by brambles and vanillin.
• 1995 Rosenblum (14.3%): group score 35. I thought this one was corked.
• 1996 Rosenblum (14.3%): group score 16. Typical California Zinfandel, with boiled sweets and raisins.