I don’t have a ton of time today, but I’m making the effort to post something every week.

My favorite players of the week are…

Josh Dobbs Vikings quarterback

I kind of expected Dobbs’ performance in his 1^st game as a Viking to be an outlier. It was a great story but surely it wouldn’t continue.  I was wrong.  With a week to actually practice with the first team, Dobbs was even better against the Saints.  Dobbs completed 23/34 for 268 yards, a touchdown, & no interceptions.  With their starting running back injured in the 3^rd quarter, Dobbs took over the running burden as well.  He had 8 rushes for 44 yards (5.5-yard average) & a run.  Weirdly enough, with 2 touchdown runs in 2 weeks, he is now the leader for the year in running touchdowns for the Vikings!  Maybe after 7 stops in the NFL, Dobbs has found a home in Minnesota.

Kyler Murray Cardinals quarterback

Dobbs was available to the Vikings because Kyler Murray was coming back from an ACL tear.  He looked really good Sunday.  He threw for 249 yards & ran for 33 yards & a touchdown.  He also made clutch plays on their final drive to set up the winning field goal. 

Nick Bosa 49’ers Edge Rusher

In his first game with his college teammate Chase Young on the other side of the formation, Bosa was a wrecking ball.  He had 2 sacks, a pass batted down, & caused a fumble when he & Young basically met at the quarterback.  The 49’ers looked great with some injured players returning & the addition of Young.

Wine of the week Faustino Gran Faustino, Gran Reserva (Anniversary Edition) 2004 Rioja $110.00

86% Tempranillo, 9% Graciano, & 5% Mazuelo

Faustino launched their Gran Reserva program in 1964 after what was considered an exceptional vintage in the Rioja region of Spain.  They only make the Gran Reserva in the best vintages.  2004 was the 40^th anniversary of that vintage & was another excellent vintage.  This prompted them to produce this special Anniversary Edition.    

Gran Reserva wines in Rioja are required to be aged for a minimum of 2 years in oak & 3 years in bottle prior to release.  In practice, they often spend much more time in barrel.  This wine was aged for at least 38 months in American oak (80%) and French oak (20%) barrels. The barrels were either 1^st, 2^nd, or 3^rd use. The wines were racked 5 times during the oak aging.

The end result is a complex wine that shows mushroom notes with red fruit & notes of both strawberries & strawberry leaves. The wine shows a depth of flavors & seems to come layer after layer with the fruit & mineral & umami elements coming one after the other, but still melded together.

The wine is well balanced with the oak well integrated, but still firm. The wine has an exceptionally long finish.  It lingers on the palate long after it is swallowed.

While this wine shows its almost 20 years of age, it has the fruit & the tannic structure to age for another 10 years, although it may not improve.

It is a classic Old-World wine.  As such it won’t appeal to someone looking for a fresh & juicy wine or a fruit bomb in the California style.  For others though, it is a wine that is well worth the cost.  It will pair well with a range of savory food.  I paired it with a delicious galette that my daughter made.  It had onions sautéed in truffle infused balsamic vinegar.  The mushroom notes of the wine melded with the truffle notes of the galette to create something even better than by either showed by itself.  I can’t get galettes for you, but you should pick up a bottle of this if you can.