1997 Domaine Leroy Bourgogne Blanc

My buddy said not worth buying a box, but @ $24.99, this is a solid buy.
Drinking well, but still has a lot of life in it. Toasty, w/ mature
notes of earth. Medium bodied w/ good viscocity & length. I'd buy
another.

1998 Vallee d'Aoste Donnas

Really obscure, but what I had @ the end of the night @ Que Padre on North Ave. Really, really, reaaaaaaaaalllllllllyyyyy, mature. But hey, I loved it. It made me hungry every time I took a sip & I had a big dinner @ the aforementioned supper club. If you're a fan of dried cherries (& who isn't) try a Langhe Rosso from 1998 if you can't track this bad boy down. Like I said, ultra obscure, but if you're reading this, you know that already.

Chicago Joe's - Guinness Report

Typical indifferent speed pour. @ least it was topped off. Perfunctory @
best, my bar mate reported his pint of Harp as being "corky". Nothing
to miss here.

2004 Post Scriptum

Portugese red made from (mostly?) Touriga Franca. Made by a guy from
Bordeaux, this is a freak show. Tons of polish, but retains the blood &
guts that is intrinsic to the rustic Douro Valley. Don't know how it
will age, but it will certainly impress any wine geek. Hard to identify,
but easy to enjoy, give it to anyone that's tasted every classified
growth or wants to graduate from Mateus.

1997 Chateau Pichon Baron

This baby's still going strong. Not dilute @ all. Many '97's are tanking
it, but this still has another decade in it. Toast, cedar, & cassis,
what more could a man want?

2004 Kuentz-Bas Tradition Riesling

The only wine to have w/ Thai food, dry Riesling. Aromatic, fresh, &
clean w/ good viscosity, this is a workman like effort that is solid for
any kind of cusuine you want to throw @ it. Some minerality w/ classic
pit fruit, it makes this a perfect entry level Alsatian riesling.

Graham's 20 year old Tawny Porto

Deep rich & satisfying. While Graham's vintage ports tend towards a
sweeter style, their tawnys are always streamlined. Has the richness
that Graham's is known for, but it's not cloying. A great dessert wine
for people that may not be that into them.

Dow's 10 year old Tawny Porto

A textbook tawny that's on the hedonistic side. Tawny's are typically
drier than ruby's, but this tawny is almost as sweet as the Trademark.
Nice nutty flavors lead into a nicely drawn out finish and lingers w/ a
hint of movie theatre popcorn butter topping.

2000 Dow's LBV Porto

The next rung up the Dow's ladder from the Trademark, this Late Bottled
Vintage port actually tastes more like it's stablemate Graham's w/ it's
big chunky blackberry ladden style. Certainly worth the dough since it
delivers the flavor of a vintage port @ about a third of the price.

Dow's Trademark Porto

Figs & acetone. Definitely has all the Dow flavors here @ an affordable
price. Would be great w/ a stogie.

Graham's Six Grapes Porto

All the hallmark Graham's flavor @ a reasonable price & you don't have
to wait to drink it. Always reliable & affordable.

1977 Dow's Porto 1.5l

The last time I has this was out of a 3l @ a martini party that my
roomate @ the time threw @ our place on Wabansia. It was towards the end
of the night & everyone was half-crocked, but this bottle disapeared in
less than an hour amongst 15 people after it was opened! This was
probably a decade ago & man has this changed! Back then it was a fruit
bomb, now it's a fig bomb. Fully mature, this still has a great deal of
acidity on the back-end so don't rush to pull the cork if you have one.
Would be great w/ a cigar after an afternoon of raking leaves.

2003 Graham's Porto

Big & chunky, this baby needs time. Loads of structure & blackberry
fruit here. Buy 1 or a dozen & forget about it for @ least 2
Presedential election cycles. Great stuff for those that are patient or
memory impaired.

2003 Dow's Porto

Figs & tar wrapped in a bowl of blackberry juice. I don't know if that
makes a whole lot of sense, but this is some seriously sweet juice (in
more ways than one). Vintage Port nomarly needs a decade in the bottle
before it really starts to show it's stuff, but this is a great choice
to drink young. Rupert Symington was just here @ the shop & he said you
can drink vintage ports young. He recommended up to 5 years old @ which
point they shut down for awhile. This should still be on the shelves so
if you're looking for something to get you through the cold days, give
this a whirl.

2004 Dow's Quinta Senhora da Ribeira

The proverbial iron first in a velvet glove. Not as figgy as a regular
bottle of Dow's (this is the single vineyard bottling), but still has
tremendous aromatics. Silky smooth, but has the acidity for the long
haul. Try in 5 years, if you can wait that long.

1970 Graham's Porto

What can I say, but incredible. One of the best wines I've had all year.
Smelling this alone was a treat, but drinking it was a stunning
experience. Still a baby, but with mature flavors. Wouldn't be cheap to
buy, but what an experience. This is what wine is all about.

Go Bears!

Just watched DA Bears win a game they had no business winning. My
original plan was to transcribe my notes from a Spanish wine tasting I
particiated in, in the 1st quarter, but Da Bars stormed backed & now I'm
posting on 1 of my all time favorite beverages, Guinness!
For the record @ Jake's:
Decent pour, good temprature. Beer comes out w/ a decent head (sometimes
too much). Overall, always a good pour, but sometimes it's a little too
rockin' here to always be @ the top of it's game. Always a favorite.

The Brewer's of Lagunitas Freak Out! Ale

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of this Zappa's album release,
Lagunitas has created a pretty rockin' ale (sorry, I couldn't resist).
Really nicely textured w/ plenty of malt & hops, I would gladly plunk
down my 5 bucks for this bomber again (in full disclosure, I have a
friend that works for Lagunitas, but I did buy this myself). This thing
is seriously chewey & should pair well w/ my midnight snack of Cheese
Waffies. & to quote Mr. Zappa off of the bottle, "Don't forget to
register to vote!"

Summit IPA

I love seeing how Google advertises these links.
Anywho, after drinkin' a lot of wine, I love a crisp I.P.A. to cleanse the palate & restore my bearings. One of my favorite from the mid-west is Summit from St. Paul, Mn. Hoppy & malty in a sluggable bottle. Help Mark & his mates celebrate 20 yrs. of doing it right on 09/30/06 (summitbrewing.com)! Oh yeah, they're throwing in Richard Thompson, Tapes 'N Tapes (& others) to help w/ the festivities!
Cheers!

2001 Stephen Ross Edna Valley Pinot Noir

Always had a soft spot for this juice. Not a blockbuster, but who cares. So soft & silkly w/ all the flavors right there. I could drink this all night long & it'll go w/ anything (maybe not Raisin Bran, but I'm game). 773 cases produced, so there's probably nothing, if anything floating around @ this point. Moral of the story? Pick-up a bottle of the current vintage & give it some down time. This guy always seems to deliver.

1999 L.A. Cetto Nebbiolo Private reserve

When J9 brought this bottle home, i thought "Ughh! Are you fuckin' kiddin' me? Mexican Nebbiolo?" But I pulled the cork on this w/ some Progresso Lentil soup, & while beer would have been better w/ the soup, it wasn't that bad (didn't make me barf or anything). The back label states that it was "aged for 12 months in french oak barrels" & it tastes like it. Doesn't particularly look like Nebbiolo due to this (can't read my paper through it) , but it ain't half bad. No idea on the retail, but this definitely delivers enough flavor w/out the harshness you typically find from our amigos down south. Try w/ something in a mole sauce & stay away from the spice.

2005 Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc

EZ drinkin' grapefruit juice here. Made by the world's largest wine co., so should be available @ the corner store. Good summer quaffer.

ONCE UPON A TIME

In the beginning, this address was supposed to deliver "wine speak" in English. As so often happens, everyone thought it was a great idea, and then tried to figure out how to get it out there. We bought software, registered swirlthis.com (it's probably still under construction), & had tastings. We aged & tasted, but never really put our opinions out there. The Parker board is paramount & the myspace crowd is probably looking for something other than wine recs. "SWIRLTHIS" was always intended as a non-winespeak review, reviewed by people ITB, for anyone that couldn't wrap their arms around reviews that included words like ethereal, profound, and anything else you might find in a review of poetry.
The original group consited of Bob, J9, & myself. All of us are still ITB, sniffing, swirling, tasting, & selling. We enjoy this part of our jobs. It's what makes it a 3 letter word instead of a 4 letter word. Look (or scroll) @ this like you would @ a movie review. The technical stuff will be the header & the rec. will be @ the end. In between will be a snapshot of whatever whizzes through my cranium when I taste this stuff (currently Bob & J9 are pursuing more fruitful endeavors like going to Grad school & starting a family). Absolutely no scores here.