Here's a trailer from a neat looking new movie called Merlove. It's pretty much like the response flick to the "Sideways" diss on Merlot. They interview the top winemakers in the Merlot scene such as Tom Rinaldi, Michel Rollond, ect....
I hold a special place in my heart for this property and the wonderful wines made by Tom Rinaldi. It was the first winery guest house I stayed at in Napa and they treated us amazingly. I do want to say that if their wine sucked or something I would have no trouble in pointing it out even though I have had a good experience with the vintners.
This wine is their estate Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon and the fruit was sourced from the historic Georges III vineyard. This 300 acre vineyard was originally planted by Georges DeLatour of Beaulieu in 1928. Thomas Rutherford is actually said to be the first to plant grapes on this historic piece of vineyard property.
I couldn't find the tech data for this wine on the website but I will give you my tasting notes.
First off, on the nose this wine is absolutely breathtaking! If Cabernet has a smell and it's in it's purest form, then I believe this is it! I get the most amazing notes of mocha, dark chocolate, beautiful black cherry, nutmeg, and a touch of mint and black olive. I really get the distinct terroir of Rutherford with this wine and I know it sounds funny but the "dust" is really there!
On the palate pure dark berry fruits such as black cherry and blackberry continue to impress, while secondary notes and nuances of chocolate, espresso, peppercorn, and cedar are also prevalent leading into the finish. There is some really serious spice on the finish as well and I think this would be the perfect pairing for a heavily seasoned flank steak.
If you're looking for a classic example of Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon and one that really speaks of the soil and quality of the AVA, then this wine fully delivers. When I search for the purest form of Rutherford, I always look for an electrifying bouquet full of dark berry fruit and chocolate aromas. This wine is exactly that. 91 points
ppppssstt...... I think these wines are very underrated and will probably become legendary
How many of us have opened a full 750ml bottle of wine, had a glass or two, then simply re-corked the thing and shoved it in our fridge, only to never touch it again?
I know this happens too me constantly and with down right expensive wines too!
Well, according to a new study done by Wrap, a government agency, in Britain alone they are throwing out £470M ($752M ) worth of wine every year.
Many of us open a bottle of wine and anticipate having it for the next few days to enjoy with our dinners or to consume a glass or two every night until it's gone. We open the bottle with good intentions but then life wrenches it's way in between us and the poor grape juice and then soon enough were pouring it down the sink.
If your as guilty as I am with this, I can offer what in my opinion is the best solution.......HALF IT!
Next time when you make it down to your local wine shop. do yourself a favor a buy a screwcaped 375ml bottle of wine. After consuming it, rinse it out real well and now you have an amazing tool at your disposal.
You see.......now when you open a standard size bottle you must first immediately poor half into this empty half bottle and then screw it tightly shut and store it in the refrigerator. This will help the wine to stay fresh for at least a whole week longer, so you'll have more time to get back to it and drink the rest when it's convenient.
One final note: Make sure that you make the transfer into the half bottle right away as you do not want much oxygen to get to the wine before re-bottling it. oh.... and fill it up all the way to the top too.
I recently came across this video and think it's absolutely brilliant! It's a bunch of crazy drunk French dudes talking and laughing and then one opens a wine bottle with his shoe!! Taka a look:
I recently had the opportunity to stop by a brand new location of the wine super store "Total Wine & More". For those of you who have had these amazing stores sweep into your city or town you can probably testify to the fact that it completely changes the "wine retail game".
These store have like over 10,000 different wine and liquor labels and that number is being conservative. I didn't ask the clerks how many wines were available but I wouldn't be surprised it the number was actually closer to twenty thousand.
Anyways, when I entered into this wine and liquor wonderland I was instantly transformed into a proverbial mind-boggle and with wide eyes continued down the first row of the store.
"Geeeeszz".... I thought to my self, "How on earth is there that many grapes vines grown in the world to make all of this??"
Now, I consider myself to be a real wine guy and have been lucky to taste a few thousand wines during my wine enthusiast career.... but you know what? I don't think I had ever seen even half the labels they had available in my life. I do know that they specialize in private label so it's no surprise I didn't recognize a fair share of the wines.
As I walked through the store for about thirty minutes I noticed that I had not been approached even once by an employee for advice. Now, being the type of wine snob that I am I would have probably told a wine steward to bug off, but still it would have been nice to see them actually care.
Now to be fair to Total Wine, this has happened to me dozens of times at Bevmo and I actually care for them even less! The feeling you get when you go into these stores is cold and sterile and for this reason I think the mom and pop wine shops have a chance. Sure, they can never compete in terms of pricing but if a consumer who really wants to be educated comes in then the lowly wine geek steward is worth the price of admission!
There's something to be said for real customer service and knowledgeable, caring, professionals. Those independent wine shop owners who really take the time to know their customers and treat them with care and loyalty will not only survive in this economy but I believe they will thrive.
but then again I could be wrong......
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!
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
Recently I have done a bit of research on which diets are among the most effective and proven in the last few years. I came a cross a number of things that perked my interest but the one I'm really pumed about it the HCG Diet. HCG is a natural hormone/protein substance that helps burn off unneeded excess fat on your thighs, hips, belly, and upper arms and changes the way you eat.
The HCG treatment consists of a very low calorie diet (VLCD) in combination with HCG hormone treatments.
During the treatment, you regularly take a small amount of HCG into your body. Be aware that the HCG itself does not cause weight loss; it just modifies your eating behavior. This will make it possible to maintain the diet. We give you details of a low cal fat and practically starch free diet to obtain optimum results.
In the study of this form of diet, I came across a great website that sells a sublingual form of HCG for an amazing price and offers a 100% money back guarantee on it's effectiveness. The site is called YourHCG.com. To visit the site just click on the highlighted text link within this post!
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
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
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