2003 Jim Barry "The Lodge Hill" Shiraz

[Drew]

Sorry I haven't posted for awhile as I've been very busy here at work (Looking for a big promotion...all I'm gonna say now). Anyways, Eileen and I and two very close friends schmoozed down to the Hippadrome Theater last night, 9PM show, to see David Copperfield. He was,is,amazing and his illusions are a must see in person given the chance. He's a totally different showman now, very laid back, but still loves to give that dramatic turn and wide eyed stare that Copperfield holds the patent on. Very big in audiance participation to which our friend Robin was chosen to participate on stage with an illusion of a vintage automobile appearing from nowhere. He was 10' from this raised vintage, green lincoln convertable which Copperfield produced from nowhere and couldn't explain the illusion...cool stuff. A little after 11pm we, again, schmoozed into a very upscale, but smallish, Canton restaurant called "Pearls" at the corner of Boston and Clinton Streets which is across from the Baltimore City Police Marine Unit, which I supervised for approx. 7 years, (Pearls wasn't there during that time). I wasn't in a wine mood, What is he sick?, so opted for a Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre. A deep mahogany ale brewed with beet sugar, green raisins, and Belgian yeast. As complex as a fine red wine. 8% ABV, approx. 258 calories and 27 carbs per 12 ounce serving [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/eek.gif[/img]. A beautiful Ale worth seeking out. I ordered the '03 Jim Barry "The Lodge Hill" Shiraz, $8 a glass, ouch!, for Eileen. A beautiful shiraz, very dark black ruby/purple, with a slightly heady nose of blackberry, dark cherry and vanilla. Taste followed nose with a lush texture and a hint of mint on the long finish. Nicely made and well balanced, not an ooze monster, and a nice value as a search shows it's available between $12 and $18 most places. We had a great evening, which started off at JD's Smokehouse, a little corner bar/restaurant on the "Square" near the SpeakEasy and across from Nacho Mammas, in Canton, which serves some of the best brisket I've had for $9 a platter. Well worth a trip ifin your in the area. We thought we'd enjoy a good time before the "BLIZZARD"!

Drew



[This message has been edited by Drew (edited 02-11-2006).]

[Innkeeper]

Sounds like a great evening. We are battoning down for the big one too. Problem is we are having "Ladies Appreciation Night" (no, I'm not kidding) at the KOC hall in Rochester (20 miles south) tonight, and driving home should be fun!

[Drew]

Yea but what a place to be stranded in... surrounded by lots of "appretiative" ladies and cheap beer! [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]

Drew

[hotwine]

Sounds great, Drew!

As to IK being surrounded by appreciative ladies.... might that be too much of a good thing? Or a target-rich environment?

[dananne]

Sounds like a great evening!

On the topic of Barry, have you tried the McRae Wood bottling? I have an '00 that I'm wondering when to crack open.

[winoweenie]

I'm really sorry about your impending bad weather. We had it here in the valley on Tuesday and the cloud cover dropped the temps down into the low 70s'. Dynamic David is one of the great shows IMHO. Back to the Olympics. WW [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]

[Innkeeper]

Well, we hauled along a bottle of '04 Glenora, Finger Lakes, Riesling (not the dry one, but the plain ole which is slightly off dry). It matched splendidly with the stuffed fish and stuffed chicken breast both of which were very nice for a catered affair. The wine was wonderful. Thankfully we go back in April to stock up again.