The Wine Commonsewer™

Happy Birthday Pop

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

Hey, it's Friday the 13th and my father was born on this day just scant months before the champagne bubble of the 1920's burst on Black Tuesday.

Many people assume that the depression arrived the next morning, but really, the bad times sort of staggered into town before settling in for good about 1933.

   

That's us in 1952 and Dad's 1951 Nash Statesman. 

It was a pretty nice neighborhood in those days,  not far from where Wyatt Earp's family once called home. These days , most of the neighborhood has been razed and you'd probably want to steer clear after dark.

Speaking of black cats, this is Kramer walking the deck railing 30 feet above some of the big rocks from which Casa de las Rocas Grandes takes its name.

Dad's exciting news today was that a 175 year old oak tree came down in four pieces recently. It narrowly missed driving him into the ground like a tent stake, smashed his woodshed flat, hit the house, the car, and the garage, generally making quite a mess.

As Always,

TWC

Your Tax Dollars at Waste, er, ah, At Work

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

You will find a clever little calculator from the Independence Institute here.

Plug in your education level, age, and annual income and the calculator will figure out your share of various government expenditures, like the war and social security, now and in the future.

Disclaimer: Might make you lose your breakfast, for which we dislaim all liability.

Nick Gillespie talks to Emily Skarbek, who created the calculator.

As Ever,

TWC

 

 

Happy Mothers Day

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

TWC's Ma at fourteen, same age as my son, circa 1942 with her dog Buff, St Paul

2002 Franciscan Cabernet Sauvignon

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

We're having Mother's Day dinner on Saturday this year because Mrs TWC has to catch a ride to DC mid-day Sunday. Naturally, you need a special wine for Mother's Day and I ran across a 2002 Franciscan Cabernet Sauvignon I'd stashed some years back.

In fairness, I already knew this was a good choice, but, the secondary lesson here is patience. Buy a few bottles of good wine now and again. Resist the temptation to drink it today. Your reward is down the road when your twenty dollar wine has magically transformed into a fifty dollar wine. And it tastes, well, sublime.

The 2002 is splendid and Wine Enthusiast bestowed a well-deserved 91 points.... 

.....exemplifies its terroir and vintage with its impeccable balance, and the way the ripe, sophisticated tannins wrap around the fleshy black currant, olive, chocolate and herb flavors. Finishes with some sweetness from charry oak.

This powerful Cabernet Sauvignon captures the essence of Napa Valley's Oakville Region. Loaded with rich, ripe black cherry and plum flavors that are nicely balanced with hints of sweet toasted oak. Small percentages of Cabernet Franc and Merlot are added to enhance the wines depth and complexity.

To which I would add that the Cabernet Franc is apparent at this stage of the aging process. I suspect that the 2002 will be drinking well for another five years and perhaps longer.

We served this wine with rib roast, asparagus, and roasted new potatoes, which were dug from the gardens here at Casa de los Rocas Grandes just before being scrubbed, sliced, & seasoned with fresh rosemary, sea salt, a bit of pepper, and olive oil. 

As Evoir,

TWC

 

Osama Bites The Big One

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

Shoulda hired these guys ten years ago and saved a trillion dollars.

As Ever,

TWC