Posts
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Attention Wine Salesmen!! You've gotta see this!
To anyone who has sold wine wholesale in the past or for those of you who think you might one day, You need to watch this! It's hilarious how much this explains about the selling wine and how wine sales managers micro-manage you and force you to sell crappy wine to retailers who don't need it! Excuse the foul language but I think it makes it even funnier!
2005 Russian Hill Pinot Noir
This Pinot was brought over to my house on my birthday by a close friend. It was one of several Pinot's brought to the house but as always Russian River Pinots demand strict attention because of the reputation of the appellation. I for one have very scarcely found a Pinot from the Russian River Valley that was of poor quality. Yes, I have found a few that were a bit to heavy and over the top for my liking, but the quality is almost always present. Russian Hill Estate is a famliy owned and operated outfit located in the heart of the Russian River Valley. Edward Gomez and Ellen Mack established the winery in 1997 after a two-year intensive search for the appropriate site. The winemaker Patrick Melley is a self taught winemaker that has developed his craft with a firm trust in his "discriminating palate". For more info. on the winery and people behind this bottle visit : Russian Hill Winery
Now this bottle I am reviewing is their Estate Vineyards Pinot and is just one of various bottlings this winery produces. I did enjoy an older library Syrah that I will write up shortly too that I thought was quite impressive.
On the nose this wine shows notes of blueberry, plum, Bing cherry, and hints of prune. It has the distinctive quality and scent of Pinot grown in the Russian River AVA in that it has a wildness and big bright fruit quality. This wine is almost five years old already and thus shows some unique hints of prune but I though it was pleasantly complex.
On the palate the wine is full and rich in texture and exudes flavors reminiscent of ripe black cherry and plums. There is still some very nice sharp acidity although the tannins are now well integrated. I did get a slight bit of alcohol on the finish but for a wine marked at 14.4% I didn't find it overly intrusive.
This wine is very nice stuff and has held up really well for the last five years. The color of the wine is slightly faded as to be expected and has a subtle red-orange tinge to it. A very nice effort indeed. 89 points
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
2007 Coppola Director's Cabernet Sauvignon
So I originally thought this wine was just a new version of the "Director's Cut" label. However, the Francis Ford Coppola winery offers three distinct tiers within the Directors family of products. There is this wine (Director's) which is the least expensive and is a Sonoma County appellation wine that is an easy drinking and approachable style. Then there is the (Director's Cut) which showcases several sub-appellations of Sonoma County such as Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Russian River Valley, and Sonoma Coast. Finally, there is the (Cinema) which is a limited production blend of Alexander Valley and Dry Creek Valley fruit.
On the nose I get lots of candied fruit, black raspberry, hints of green pepper, and some cedar and oak notes. There is also secondary aromas of potting soil, tar, and tart cherry.
(I'm aware one cannot smell "sour or tart" but the wine smells like a sour cherry would smell!!)
On the palate those candied fruit flavors continue to register with raspberry, black cherry, hints of cedar and spice, and a touch of pepper on the finish. It falls off a bit on the finish and doesn't exhibit a whole lot of depth, but it's more of a fruity style.
This wine delivers befitting quality for the price point, but it's not a wine with intense complexities or one that makes you think. It's just an everyday type quaff and one that you could enjoy with a wide variety of foods. If you see it on a wine list and are looking for a lighter style Cabernet with a nice fruity quality, then this may be a good play. 86 points
Monday, November 02, 2009
2005 Freemark Abbey Napa Valley Merlot
I'm a huge fan of many of the wines made at Freemark. In fact I even had the opportunity to sell the wines a one point in my wine career and visited the winery a couple years ago. It's a wonderful place with lots of history and some really nice wines. The 2005 Merlot is composed of 84% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petite Sirah and was sourced from vineyards 9-16 years in age. The wine was aged 12 - 14 months in French and American oak (30% new wood) barrels and 165o cases were produced for the 05' vintage.
On the nose I get the obvious presence of oak and in particular I smell the typical characteristics of pine and dill that are associated with new American wood. There is also some nice peppery notes that combine with dark chocolate, mixed berry, and mulberry scented potpourri.
On the palate this wine packs a full punch and dense texture. There is very nice fruit density and weight and you get the sense that the wine over-delivers for the price point in terms of being a full bodied and rich wine. Mixed berry, chocolate cover raspberry sticks, blackberry jam, and oak are just some of the intense flavors I get when tasting the wine.
Overall this wine is very well made and I love the fact that it has very ripe fruit and doesn't show any "greeness" that sometimes young Merlot can display. 90 points
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Avoiding wine headaches
I actually don't have the magic cure to avoiding wine headaches. However, what works for me is eating a huge Italian dinner and then drinking a boat load of water with a few Advil right before I go to bed! People like to blame Sulfites, Tannins, Histamines, ect.... but I think it's just a straight up lack of H2o and a good hearty meal. Here are a few articles on the subject so you can investigate and see what works best for you:
If you try all these things and still can't figure out how to kick the headache issue, I know of some really good beer blogs out there that are amazing for beer drinkers! In fact I'm in the process of building an in-depth beer blog as we speak! My Beer Blog
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Support Bacchus and Help His Peeps
