According to a reliable source, “Sixth sense, or subtle perception ability, is our ability to perceive the subtle dimension or the unseen world of angels, ghosts, heaven, etc. It also includes our ability to understand the subtle cause and effect relationship behind many events, which is beyond the understanding of the intellect. Extrasensory perception (ESP), clairvoyance, premonition, intuition are synonymous with sixth sense or subtle perception ability.”  Wow, that’s pretty deep for a Sunday evening!

We’ve used our best five senses today in sampling wine from one of our favorite winemakers – Michael David Wines.  His wines are some of the best in the business – so much that this is our second wine from their collection to be reviewed.  Earlier this month we visited the “Freakshow” and really loved that big, bold Cabernet, so trying this little number should have been a ‘slam-dunk’.  We’ve really enjoyed this wine in the past; a combination of smokiness, vanilla and big fruit made it one of our favorites for serving with smoked ribs or kung pao chicken.  It was with that same thought and likeness that we tried the 2010 6th Sense Syrah.  From smell, to sight; from feel to hearing and from touch to taste, this wine didn’t evoke our sixth sense the way previous vintages had.  While the nose was extraordinary with its’ vanilla, cranberry and tobacco notes, the taste with a spicy dish of kung pao chicken fell way short.  It evaporated on the palate and left only a taste of alcohol – that’s right, no fruit, no vanilla, no smokiness.  This is a hard one to have to write about because, first and foremost, we love the wines produced by Michael David.  Secondly, we’ve had such good wines in the past that anything less than delicious was going to be a disappointment.

In fact, according to Wine Enthusiast in July of this year, “Michael David makes bombastically huge wines, but here they’ve mastered the style, making a black-as-night Syrah true to it’s roots, with flavors of dark red fruit, bacon and toast, with a wall of vanilla and oak. It’s juicy, jammy and surprisingly well integrated, a wine that’s ready to drink now, preferably with a sizzling tri-tip.”  So, we aren’t the only ones who have come to love and enjoy wines from these folks.  It’s just a little frustrating to open a bottle expecting all to be right with the world and finding that the world isn’t the same place you remembered.

As parents, having a ‘sixth sense’ means knowing (or thinking you know) that your kids are safe wherver they may be . . . whether traveling across the state or out on the open waters.  Knowing that they are okay or knowing that something isn’t right is probably more of a sixth sense for mom’s than it is for dad’s.  This being said, it’s an amazing phenomenon when our now college age children are off doing things and it comes time to check in and at least let someone who loves them know that they are ok.  Thanks to technology, this process has improved dramatically.  We can remember many a road trip back in our younger days when, to our parents, no news was good news.  Today, that is not an option, and having a sixth sense is a way for us to connect with our family.  Why?  Not because we  have to know what they are up to every minute of the day, but more importantly, for them to know that someone here loves them and wants to be sure they are ok.  If you have children, whether older or younger, you really only want to know that they are alright – right?  It doesn’t matter if they’re spending the night at their best friend’s house or going half way across the state.  We can both remember our parents telling us – “just wait till you have kids of your own!”  Well, we did, and they were right!

This wine is like family to us – we want to know it’s going to be okay every time we open a bottle. When it is, we are happy and can go about our business, but when it’s not as we want it to be, we begin to worry.  So, try this classic syrah, put our thoughts to the test – at the end of the bottle, check your sixth sense with this wine and tell us if our thoughts were ‘from an unseen dimension’!  As for us, we will try to find some 2009 and rest better knowing that like an old friend, we will find comfort in what has worked for us in the past.

Cheers to a new week of endless possibilities and remember to use ALL of your senses each and every day!

Remember to always enjoy responsibly and recycle whenever possible.