This wine is made in Spain's up and coming region of Calatayud. Calatayud is distinguished by its prevalence of high elevation vineyards planted to the Garnacha variety. The vineyards surrounding the small town of Atea reach upwards of 3000 feet – the highest within the DO. It is here, in the vineyards of Atea, that Altovinum sources their Garnacha grapes for EVODIA.

The wine is made from 100% old vine Garnacha (Grenache) and as far as I know is aged in stainless steel.

On the nose I get aromas of plum skin, pomegranate, cranberry, mulberry, pine tar, soil, and some green stem notes. The mulberry is the most pronounced aroma which also translates onto the palate. There are some sour cherry flavors as well but the wine then turns slightly rustic, tart, dirty, and somewhat green.

To me, the wine is interesting and shows sense of place, but it lacks texture, fruit, and finish. 83 points

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I picked this wine up at my local grocer for five bucks!!!! Amazing because this wine usually retails for about $25. When I saw it on the shelf being closed out I quickly purchased three bottles. To my excitement when I got home I google the wine and found that Robert Parker had scored it 90 points. It's amazing the kind of wines you'll be able to find on sale these days in the present economy.

Matanzas Creek Winery is a well known Sonoma Country winery and I have reviewed a Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot from them in previous posts. In fact I used to sell this wine wholesale when I worked for a local wine distributor who sold this brand. Matanzas Creek is owned by ol' uncle Jess Jackson and his wine empire Artisans & Estates.

The wine is 100% Chardonnay sourced from both the Carneros AVA (60%) and the Bennett Valley AVA (40%) in Sonoma. It was barrel aged eight months in French oak (1/3 new, 1/3 1-year old, 1/3 2-year old).

On the nose I get really intense aromas of citrus blossom, acacia, mineral, lemon curd, white peach, and hints of butter and toast. This is one of the most expressive bouquet I have smelt in at least a few months. On the palate this wine is equally impressive showing beautiful flavors of baked apple, citrus, honey suckle, white pepper, melon, honey, peach, butter, toast, and mineral. There is also hints of smoke and soil which are amazingly complex and add the "it" factor to this wine.

I'm not sure I've ever tasted a California Chardonnay that has rivaled the best from Burgundy, but this wine definitely comes close. The intensity of this wine is amazing and the finish is forever long. It has the perfect balance of fruit, mineral, oak, acid, and alcohol. This wine is drinking in it's complete prime if you ask me and if you can pick up a bottle (even at regular retail price) do it now!! 95+ points

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I just have to comment on the amount of wine blogs being written. It's freakin' amazing! There must be over 10,000 wine nerds writing about there wine experiences and giving there opinion and thoughts about the beverage. Wine is the most analyzed beverage in the the world and now the average consumer has a platform to opine on.

The internet is the most amazing invention and is just a little baby at around 15 years old. Imagine the wine world in 15 more years and how the internet will effect the business of wine. Who will be the first wine focused shipping company??? Who will be the first virtual wine shop that you can walk into and receive live wine customer service?? Do these things already exist??

Amazing to contemplate the internet and where it's headed.

This is honestly the first time I have tasted this wine even though I have seen it on wine shelves for years. The grapes for this wine are sourced from some of the highest elevation vineyards in Carneros around the foothills of Mount Veeder. This wine was barrel fermented with sur lees stirring and aging. 80% of this wine has undergone a secondary malolactic fermentation to enhance its buttery creaminess. Each barrel is personally selected for the blend by our winemaker. The final blend consists of 50% new oak. (Notes from Artesa's website)

I purchased this wine from my local super market for quite a discount but I won't mention how good of discount! Let's just say I would recommend visiting as many grocers as possible during these economic slow times. You'd be surprised at the prices these liquor managers sell great wines at during slow sales times. It's almost like they don't what they have....but they know it's just not selling.

This is really my style of Chardonnay because I say if you're going to go buttery and oaky, then go really buttery and oaky! On the notes I get some creamy custard notes, along with aromas of baked apple, caramel, butter, creme brulee, and a touch of lemon curd. (This wine is also slightly corked) On the palate the wine touches down with a heavy dose of butter, more of that baked caramel apple, and some citrus on the finish.

This wine is really oaky and buttery and perhaps a bit clumsy and unfocused. There is far too much alcohol on the finish and I'm really sure the wine is corked even though I fought to get through the TCA when analyzing the nose. It's hard to get a good impression of the wine when that wet cardboard smell and taste is present, but I think I would enjoy this wine if that wasn't so. Corked - no score

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The Stephen Vincent "Crimson" is produced from a blend of 75% Syrah and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from the Sonoma and Central Coast growing regions of California. It was given it's name for the obvious deep, dark red color. Without getting to into the finite details of the winery or the history of these wines, lets just say that they usually produce value driven wines that are quite good for the price.

On the nose I get aromas of everything black! Blackberry, black plum, black cherry, and black pepper are among the primary aromas I notice as well as some hints of chocolate, spice, and oak. The black cherry and blackberry notes set the tone on the palate along with some pepper, cedar, and vanilla flavors as well. There is some nice firm tannin and a pretty nice medium to long finish.

Overall I think this wine is very nice but perhaps lacks a bit of the "it" factor to drive up the score. I think it would be a great steak and potatoes type of wine and at it's reasonable price point of around $10-12 it's definitely worth the money. 86 points

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This Pinot Gris from Washington's Columbia Valley appellation, is a really great example of the varietal, and has me excited about the kind of quality Pinot Gris that can be produced in Washington. It reminds me a lot of the Oregon style Gris with it's weighty texture and mouth filling fruit flavors.

On the nose I get aromas of honeydew melon, pear, grapefruit, kiwi, and lots of mixed citrus fruits. Those citrus notes translate onto the palate where I get flavors of tangerine, grapefruit, and some really nice honeysuckle.

I really like the mouth coating texture and the full bodied style of this wine, but at the same time it has nice sharp acidity to help it finish cleanly. If this is the kind of Pinot Gris that can be made in Washington state then Oregon will have some nice friendly competition. 89+ points

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I had the chance to taste three of the newly released Roessler wines, and as you can see I took a somewhat shotty picture of them with my cell phone! I took some copious notes of each and I found them to be very young wines with gripping acidity and tight tannins. Here's my notes:

2007 Roessler Red Label Pinot Noir - Sonoma County
I reviewed the 2006 Red Label a while back and found it to be a bit better than this wine or at least a bit more approachable. What I mean by that is I think the 07' is much more austere and perhaps cooler whether Pinot that doesn't have the lush fruit that the 06' displayed. It's still nice wine, but I think it needs some time for the flavor, acid, and tannin to meld together a bit more.

On the nose I got bright red fruit aromas such as red currant, cranberry, cherry, and raspberry. There is also a touch of earth and white pepper and when the wine breaths a bit more some wild strawberry notes begin to appear. On the palate I got tart red currant, red apple skin, bing cherry, and a touch of some rustic and bitter rhubarb. There are definitely some bitter stemmy notes on the finish that throw the wine off a bit, but it could possibly just be very young tannin that needs to calm down a bit.

Like I said, I liked it better the previous vintage but something tells me the story isn't fully being told yet on this wine. 86 points

2007 Roessler La Brisa Pinot Noir - Sonoma Coast
On the nose I got ripe wild strawberry, raspberry pie filling, black cherry, chocolate covered raspberry sticks, and a hint of cedar and spice from the oak.

On the palate this wine drinks with some very bright and sharp acidity and shows off it's cooler climate region of origin. The vines that produce this fruit hug right up close to the ocean in the Sonoma Coast appellation. Flavors of black cherry, spice, pomegranate, and a touch of mineral are all nuances that make up the profile of this wine. It has a medium length finish that is quite dry and shows a bit of heat from the alcohol.

This wine is in my opinion is far too young right now and needs some additional bottle age. The tannin is very firm and aggressive and needs time to mellow out. 87 points

2007 Roessler Bluejay Pinot Noir - Anderson Valley
This was by far the best wine of the three by my palate. It had more complexity and a fuller more voluptuous texture. The color is also quite impressive and is far darker and more purple-like. On the nose I got big ripe black raspberry, chocolate, spice, licorice, and some brambly concord grape. The Bluejay really sings on the nose!

On the palate the first thing I noticed was the round and mouth filling texture that I felt the first two wines lacked a touch of. Powerful black raspberry flavors combine with creme de cassis and licorice notes and some very brimming acidity and tannin on the finish.

This wine has all the black fruit and complexity, but is also a very tannic and young wine. It also has amazing length on the finish and I think it will age very gracefully. 91 Points

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The 2006 Titus Napa Valley Zinfandel is composed of 86% Zinfandel, 14% Petite Sirah grapes grown in the Titus family vineyard on the Silverado Trail just north of St. Helena. The 30+ year-old vines are planted on St. George rootstock and grown without irrigation or “dry-farmed”. The wine is barrel aged for 16 months in 100% American Oak (20% new barrels).

On the nose I get loads of Smuckers blackberry jam, cassis, oak, and a hint of alcohol that regrettably registers. The ripe blackberry and cassis aromas translate onto the palate and there is also a hint of chocolate too.

This Zin is the type of wine that smells one way but tastes completely different. From the aromas you would expect a jammy or fruity style Zinfandel, but it is actually quite big, powerful, and spicy. There is some pretty intense black fruit but what concerns me is the lack of texture and finesse and the alcohol on the finish. You also have to look at QPR when you're talking about this Zin, because it's really not cheap at $28. I think you can easily find this type of wine in the fifteen to twenty dollar range. 86-87 points

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The 2005 Trentadue Old Patch Red is a proprietary blend of 70% Zinfandel, 20% Petite Sirah, 5.5% Carignane, and 4.5% Syrah. It's named after the original Trentadue plantings that date back to 1896. It was barrel Aged 14 months in 15% new American and European Oak, and 85% in neutral oak barrels.

On the nose I get some really nice and jammy wild strawberry, raspberry, licorice rope, bramble berry, and some spice and oak.

On the palate the wine has great concentration and power on the mid-palate and expresses flavors of blackberry jam, chocolate, spice, raspberry, and black currant preserves. There is also a touch of black licorice on the finish which I find very nice.

This is really a nice effort and a stunning wine for the dollar. I can't see it pairing too well with food but it's a fantastic stand-alone red. 89 points

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I have been staring at this wine for the last couple of week deciding whether or not to crack it open or try to hold on to it for a few years. I'm fascinated by Petit Verdot as a varietal wine, and have been shocked at the quality and power that this variety can display if made right.

Without getting too far into the history of the Trinchero family and the wines, lets just say that they're an old school producer, that has many different bottlings and vineyard holdings. The "Trinchero" wines are divided into two tiers. The Napa Reserve wines are single-vineyard bottlings featuring grapes from the family's 200 acres of estate vineyards in Napa Valley. The "Trinchero Family" wines showcase the Napa vineyards plus 200 acres in Lake County and 525 acres in Santa Barbara County.

This Petit Verdot comes entirely from a three-acre block the" Main Street Vineyard" located just east of Highway 29 at the southern end of St. Helena. I could not find the tech data for the 2002 vintage but I'm assuming that it's similar to the 05' which is where I'm getting this info.

I believe there is a bit of Cabernet Sauvignon blended into this wine and it is also aged in both French and American oak.

Now lets taste it!..... As with most Petit Verdot wines the color is very dark and youthful looking. This wine is 7 years old already but is showing zero signs of losing any color. On the nose I get a very nice rustic black cherry aroma coupled with hints of dark chocolate, black licorice, cedar, and leather. I also detect the slightest hint of brettanomyces which is just enough to add a nice complexity to the wine without detracting from the fruit.

On the palate this wine has a very sharp acidity and a somewhat sheer or light texture. The age doesn't show too much in the color or even on the nose, but on the palate you can tell that the tannin is well integrated now and the wine is showing all it's fruit and alcohol skeleton. There is a very nice bright cherry character that is the center point of the flavor profile, cedar box, leather, spice, cranberry, and plum are all secondary notes I'm picking up towards the finish. The wine definitely finishes dry and with a punch of heat from the alcohol, but the fruit is so pronounced that the wine lingers on the palate for at least a few minutes.

I'm extremely impressed with this bottle of wine and wasn't expecting it to drink with this sort of style and grace. I figured it would be under ripe or way off balance with excessive tannin. Of course, the grapes are grown in St. Helena, and so I one really wouldn't expect anything other than quality from an AVA with such amazing fruit. Hard to score this because I have tasted only a handful of Petit Verdot varietal wines but I think it merits 90 points.

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This California Appellation Pinot Noir is a tiny 20,000 case production! Really I could stop right here and you'd probably be able to predict my thoughts about this wine from the first sentence. Now, I know that Mcmanis has some pretty serviceable wines and I even tasted the 07' Chard alongside this wine and thought it was pretty good. However, I think this wine is the quintessential example of how touchy this varietal can be, and how it just hates being over manipulated. I really have yet to experience a Pinot Noir for ten bucks that is drinkable, and if anyone can point me to one I will gladly buy it and review it here.

The aromas totally remind me of either Zin or Merlot, Hi-c cherry, raspberry, and candied mixed berry flavors with a dab of oak and spice. There really is the sense of artificial fruit flavoring and/or over manipulation in the winery when I smell this wine. I'm not entirely sure where in California this fruit was sourced but it smells like they passed it through the skittles or starburst factory! No just Joking!

On the palate the wine does taste a bit more like Pinot Noir and has some ok cherry and raspberry flavors, along with some oak. The wine is made well but I think the fruit source is perhaps the biggest issue with this wine. It's like going to a Thai restaurant and there is a bunch of Guatemalans cooking the food......Or perhaps it's like going to Guatemala and buying Thai food....... Ok maybe not the right analogy, but what I'm trying to express is that the wine is clumbsy, over made, high in alcohol, and just down right bad.

In a blind tasting it would be hard to peg as Pinot Noir. 68 points

P.S. I have nothing against Guatemalans....just an example...maybe the do cook great Thai food!

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Anyone working with wine knows this question all too well. The consumer loves to attach the tag good, better, and best to all items being purchased and especially with wine. We love to find the best wine for the best price and do everything in our power to find the "BEST" deal.

I used to take the easy road on this one and just give the people a straight answer and recommendation stating: "This one right here is the best". Problem is, with wine it's just not that simple. What one defines as the best can be looked at by another as garbage and vice versa. Plus you have to factor in the "best for what??"

If were talking the best wine to serve with Italian cuisine, then the answer could easily change from California Cabernet to Montepulciano di Abruzzo. It all depends on the individual palate, food pairings, regional styles, and even the weather and time of day you're serving the wine.

So, when some one asks this question I have a simple answer for them that usually pisses them off, but is the only right answer......

I simply say... " Well, neither wine is better than the other, they're just different".

You see with wine, there is no clear cut or defined "best". Critics can opine all they like and say that one wine is better than another, when in reality there is no better or best, but just different.

P.S. This is why no one should pay any attention to my scores when I write about these wines. Those scores are just for my enjoyment and entertainment factor. Just because I say a wine is a 70 point wine and another a 95 point wine, doesn't mean the 95 pointer will taste better to you. It just means it appealed to my personal taste better than the 70 pointer. Cheers!

This estate grown Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from Chile's famous Maipo Valley D.O. . It is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged in a combination of American oak barrels and stainless steel.

The darkly colored Cabernet has an aroma profile of rich blackberry, black currant, eucalyptus, clove, vanilla, and Marionberry.

On the palate the wine shows lots of deeply extracted and rich black currant and blackberry, but also displays far too much green and stemmy-like tannin. There is some really neat complexity with the text book eucalyptus and black fruit but I think the wine is a bit too bitter and perhaps the fruit wasn't completely ripe when picked. 79-80 Points

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The 2007 La Posta "Cocina Blend" is composed of 60% Malbec, 20% Bonarda, and 20% Syrah. The grapes were sourced from Argentina's famed Mendoza region from three different vineyard sites (40% La Consulta, 40% Altamira, 20% Vista Flores). The wine was aged in French and American oak barrels for 10 months.

This opaque, purple, and almost black wine is loaded with aromas of black currant, blackberry, licorice, tar, and earth. It definitely shows off it's typical Argentina-Malbec rusticity and funk. In fact when I first popped the bottle I noticed it had a kind of musky scent that eventually blew off after being open for a few hours. Not sure if this was just the bottle I had that smelt a bit off but it concerned me at first.

On the palate blackberry flavors set the tone, along with some spice, earth, and more of those rustic notes. The texture is surprisingly thin and the wine finishes slightly bitter. I was expecting this wine to be a bit more bold and have a bigger mid-palate and finish, but I can only sum it up as mediocre. 84 points

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It was hard to find the complete tech info. associated with this wine because I'm not entirely sure the winery has a website in place. However, I do believe that besides the over 75% Cabernet Sauvignon in this wine, Merlot and Malbec are also featured in small amounts in this wine. At least that's what I gathered from looking at notes of this wine on other websites.

Anyways, as we all know Oakville is one of Napa Valley's most prestigious AVA's and is home to some really great Cabernet's. When you see a Cabernet Sauvignon on the shelf with the Oakville distinction you can almost always count on it being a stellar wine.

Oakville Wine is produced in the warm climate north of the Yountville Mounts. These hills block much of the fog and wind from the San Pablo Bay from advancing North. This gives grapes time to ripen and develop their distinctive varietal characteristics that Oakville Wineries are known for.

On the nose I get a classic Napa characteristic of dusty coco powder and ripe raspberry. There is also some black pepper, spice, and oak that accompanies the big ripe fruits.

On the palate the wine turns to primarily black fruits and especially a pure blackberry note. There is some nice spice and oak that accompany the fruit but the wine has a soft texture with a ripe tannin structure. The wine finishes firm and long but lacks a bit of presence on the mid-palate. Overall a really nice effort and good example of the purity of Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon. 90 points

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The Vista Montone Vineyard is a 120 acre plot located in the cooler region of south Napa Valley to the east of the Carneros AVA. This wine is 100% Pinot Noir (clone 777 and 113) and was aged in 100% French oak (primarily Allier) 52% of which was new wood. It's a relatively small production at 4000 six packs and I think this is considered a reserve wine for this property although I doesn't state it on the label.

Napa Pinot Noir is an interesting animal for me. I have tasted very few which I find world class but there are a few from the Carneros AVA that I have found interesting and quite good. We all know that Pinot is a very difficult grape to grow and with the heat in Napa it makes it difficult to control vigor and over ripening. Pinot need a long cool growing season and most places in Napa just don't provide the optimal conditions.

Anyways......Lets get into the wine!

I always have to remember that 2005 was so long ago. It seems like yesterday when I say it, but it was already 4 years ago when this wine was made. The reason why I'm rambling on about that is the color of this wine seems to be fading a bit towards the edge and is picking up a bit of a copper-brick hue.

On the nose I get aromas of plum, tobacco, leather, cranberry, and cherry. I also definitely pick up the distinct scent of oak, which slightly takes a bit away from the fruit purity. On the palate, intense cherry and cranberry flavors take center stage, along with hints of cedar, coffee, leather, and spice. There is a bit of harsh tannin on the finish that is perhaps a slight bit green in nature. Also the alcohol is creeping into the picture along with the presence of oak.

Overall this wine drinks halfway decent, but the thing I'm worried about is the fruit being swallowed up over time by the oak and alcohol. The way I see it is this wine will do one of two things over the next five years. I could get progressively worse and the oak and alcohol could take over, or the wine could soften out and the flavors could meld together a bit more. Either way it's a risky proposition if you're planning on holding on to this one. 85 points

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This is honestly on of the most hilarious things I've ever seen!

Have your guess at what the label means, but It's almost always commonly referred to as the F**K wine. These guys have a great sense of humor and anytime you grab a bottle of Twisted oak wine, remember to read the back label .

This wine is sourced from various vineyards in Calaveras and is composed of 28% Mourvedre - Dalton Vineyard, 23% Mourvedre - Fodhli Vineyard, 33% Syrah - Tanner Vineyard, 10% Grenache - Dalton Vineyard, 6% Grenache from the Estate vineyard. The wine is aged for 11 months in both new and used French and American oak.

On the nose this wine displays aromas of black plum, wild blueberry, spice, dried herb, and a touch of earth. The more the wine opens up the better the blueberry aromas surface and become pie-like. There is also a touch of black pepper that develops when it opens.

On the palate this wine is very rich and full of ripe fruit. Blackberry, blueberry, spice, molasses, licorice, and mouth coating boysenberry are all flavors that describe the intense, fruit-rich, and complex wine.

I knew this wine had swagger because I had tasted it three or four years ago and remember it being insane. Tasting it now has confirmed that if you can pick up a bottle of this stuff than it's definitely worth the money. I think it's around the twenty dollar range which makes it an absolute steal. 92 points

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Malhadinha Nova’s 2005 Monte Da Peceguina was produced in the Alentejo region of Portugal. The red varieties grown here are Touriga Nacional, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Aragonês, Alicante Bouschet and Alfrocheiro. So I am assuming that this wine is a composition of all or some of these varietals. I know from the label that it was aged in French and American oak for 6 months. Believe it or not this wine was hard to find tech data on, but I did find some interesting info. on the winery here -> Herdade da Malhadinha Nova

This darkly colored wine is packed full of intense black raspberry, red currant, espresso bean, cedar, and, dried herb and meats. On the palate the wine shows a bit more red fruit with some nice ripe cherry and red currant. The texture is very silky and refined, which I find quite intriguing considering the ruff and rugged terrain where this wine is made. The finish is full of strawberry rhubarb and red raspberry fruit, combined with a touch of spice, toast, and white pepper.

I really enjoy this wine and was perhaps expecting a bit more power and grit but I'm amazed at the forward fruit and lack of rusticity. I'm not entirely sure how available this wine is, but I would highly recommend seeking it out and purchasing a bottle. It has great finesse, texture, and complexity. 91+ points

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The 2009 Oregon Pinot Camp was an amazing experience to remember and one of the most fantastically planned and executed events I have ever attended.

I'd like to thank all the wineries, winemakers, vineyard managers, and all the personal that made this event possible. It was truly one of the most marvelous occasions and four days I will never forget. The instruction was brilliant and extremely educational and the wines were amazing to say the least.

I've never met a group of people who could answer every question, no matter how wine-nerdy it may have seemed. In fact, the most cork dork questions were answered in an even superior nerdy manner with absolutely no pretension. Here are a bunch of my photos from the event.