It was the day after New Year’s, a day when most people decide to quit drinking, and the boyfriend and I were driving up the PCH towards Point Dume for a quiet “Yes, Virginia, the holidays are finally over” walk on the beach.“Wine tasting?” I read off a sign. And just like that, the boyfriend veers off the highway as if we were in a high speed chase.We stopped in front of Rosenthal, a small tasting room next to the Beau Rivage restaurant, a place I’ve never tried, probably because I never knew there was a winery next door.Rosenthal’s tasting room is a great deal. For about $15 we got to taste 8 or 9 wines, including some reserve bottles. The pours are reasonable – enough so you can get a taste for the wine, not so much as to get you drunk before sending you back on the PCH. They also allow you time to really taste it, discuss it, and enjoy the shop situated just steps from the Pacific Ocean. It’s not one of those places where they jam 3 stingy pours of mediocre wine down your throat and then immediately jump to some sales pitch.Most importantly – the wine is great!The first thing they poured was the Surfrider Chardonnay which is fermented in steel barrels, rather than oak. If you don’t know what this means, it’s probably the reason you hate chardonnay. Oak barrels give it that rich, sweet, buttery taste. The steel barrels allow it to remain dry and crisp – a great wine to have with cheese or just start the afternoon off by the pool.I was also a fan of the Cabs and the Surfrider Red. No surprise there; I like Cabs and the Surfrider Red is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, & Petite Verdot, 3 of the 5 grapes used to make a Bordeaux blend. Imagine, 3/5 of a Bordeaux wine right in our backyard,But the real surprise for me was the 2000 Merlot. I am not a fan of Merlot and I practically stood up and cheered in the theater when Paul Giamatti said, “I am not drinking any fucking Merlot!” (Although I’m still annoyed that Sideways made everyone start drinking so much Pinot Noir you can’t get a glass of anything else.) The 2000 Merlot is dry and has nice tannins on the finish (the stuff that makes your tongue go up to the roof of your mouth at the end.) It’s not fruity like a lot of merlots. It tastes like wine and not like grape juice that will get you drunk. Which is cool if that’s your thing. It’s just not mine.We left, new wine club members and with several bottles jammed in the car, including half a case of the 2000 Merlot, which was on special and a steal at $11.25 a bottle. That’s such a good deal, I can drink that on a weeknight.Rosenthal – The Malibu Estate26023 Pacific Coast HighwayMalibu, CA 90265310-456-1392
Tags: malibu, merlot, rosenthal, sideways, wine tasting los angeles
