It's almost spring time and it's time for us to all start planning our family get together's as the weather starts to warms up. I've been thinking about the many ways to decorate for these parties and the use of both Paper Lanterns and Parasols comes to mind. These are great items to decorate and adorn you party with and will surely make for a memorable experience.
I remember tasting a Londer Pinot Noir several years ago and really enjoying it, although I'm not sure if it was the Estate Pinot or not. Anyways, I'm excited to taste this wine because it's been a little while since I've tasted anything from the Anderson Valley.
Anderson Valley produces some really powerful wines and I find it most similar to the Russian River style (meaning relatively full bodied.....for Pinot Noir). This wine is a small 490 case production and was aged in French oak (30% new).
On the nose I get beautiful floral aromas mixed with generous cherry and wild berry notes. There is secondary aromas of roasted meat, leather, and spice. A very classic cool weather, hearty, and rich style bouquet.
On the palate I generous bing cherry notes that combine with raspberry, cranberry, vanilla, herbs, and a touch of orange peel. There is great spice here too, my guess is they use quality French oak with their barrel regimen. The finish is medium-long in length and has a generous amount of tannin. Very nicely made wine - 91 points
I've always been interested in Oregon Chardonnay because I feel that it's a variety that should be better represented in this part of the world. After all, the Willamette Valley grows scintillating and world class Pinot Noir and usually these two variety's grow pretty well in similar climates.
This wine is termed "Dijon Clone" which of course refers to the type of Chardonnay clones that are planted in the vineyards where they source the fruit for this wine. The tech data states that they used (Dijon 76, 96, and Espiguette 352 clones). This is mere mumbo jumbo for the every day wine drinker, but if any of you cork dorks get into clones and the technical stuff then there it is!
The wine was aged 10 months in French oak and underwent malolactic fermentation. It was aged surlee and stirred twice monthly until the fermentation was complete. More mumbo jumbo!!! - but this info. explains why the wine is rich and creamy.
On the palate I get yellow apple, butter, caramel, pineapple, and perhaps a touch of toasted graham cracker. It has a very round and viscous texture and even seems a bit oily. I like this style of wine and I think a lot of you California Chard lovers will too. It's got a lot of "spice" and a very heavy texture that is typical of many new world Chardonnays.
It's a well balanced wine but is definitely on the rich and round side of the spectrum. Grilled fish, lobster tail, and light-medium cheeses are all pairings I would suggest! 90 Points
The Tualatin Estate Vineyard is a 145 acre vineyard located in the foothills of Oregon's coastal mountain range. It was established in 1973 and is among the oldest and most widely respected vineyard sites in Willamette Valley. The soils are mostly Laurelwood which is unique to Oregon and was formed over thousands of years ago by glacial silt called "loess".
This vintage was aged for 14 months in French oak and is a total production of only 340 cases.
The first thing I want to mention is the color of this wine which is darker then the standard Pinot Noir bottling from this winery that I previously reviewed. It's still relatively transparent which is indicative of the vintage, but it is a tad darker in shade.
On the nose I immediately noticed an intense bouquet of chalk and mineral. However, as the wine continues to open up I'm noticing a pronounced black licorice and graham cracker type aroma, along with delineated fruit notes of ripe cherry and mixed berry preserves.
If you're into the chameleon effect when it comes to your wines like I am, then let this wine breathe for awhile and it will change every time you smell it!
On the palate this wine is an absolute stunner! Although at first it appeared that it could be a terroir driven, mineral-type play, this Pinot absolutely sings fruit purity. I get beautiful cherry fruit, but also red plum, cranberry, and tart red raspberry.
The finish is extremely long, penetrating, mouthwatering, and is laced with some really nice toasted oak and spice notes.
This is a gorgeous Pinot Noir with perfect balance and purity. It's packed with powerful fruit flavors but is in no way over-extracted or intruded by oak. It's really Oregon at it's finest, especially in a slightly unpredictable and difficult vintage such as 07'. 94 points
I must admit I have a soft spot when it comes to the 2007 Oregon vintage. Many consider it to be somewhat of a wash because of the austerity of some of the wines. I however, love it's cool weather style and streamlined elegance that reminds me of Burgundy. Although Burgundy comes to mind because of the absence of lush fruit, there is a minerality and terroir that is reflected in these wines that is uniquely Oregon. I love a wine that speaks to it's home and the 07' vintage did just that.
I also visited Oregon Pinot Camp when they were pouring this vintage, so I was able to get a real spectrum of how the wines were showing. Check out my pictures of camp here!
This wine is a relatively large production (only in terms of Willamette though) at around 37,000 cases. It was made with a variety of Pinot Clones such as Dijon 113, 114, 115, 667, 777, Pommard, and Wadenswil.
I would first like to note the color of the wine which is quite light but also very typical of the vintage. When comparing it to the 2006 Pinot's from Willamette it's quite easy to differentiate the vintage simply from the color.
On the nose I get classic Pinot Noir aromas of wild raspberries, red cherry, cola, cocoa, and rhubarb. There is a very pronounced mineral/soil component that reminds me of crushed rocks and chalk. This wine becomes twice as aromatic if it is exposed to the proper amount of oxygen, so get out you Vinturi aerator or a decanter if you have one.
On the palate I get sweet and very tart cherry notes that combine with lots of crushed rock, mineral, rhubarb, white pepper, spice, and hints of toast. The wine is dry and tart and the fruit very delicate. There's just the slightest touch of alcohol on the finish which is not anything too intrusive.
This is a food friendly wine because of it's sharp acidity and delicate fruit flavors. I can see roasted salmon or a very tender and slightly undercooked piece of beef being the perfect pairing for this wine. Or perhaps a cranberry glazed pork tenderloin! 89 Points
On my not too distant trip to Oregon's Willamette Valley I was really surprised at the quality of the Riesling. Well, I'm never really shocked at quality coming from this type of place or from these type of people, but I was just not expecting the Riesling to be among my favorite whites that they make.
This wine happens to be Oregon's leading Riesling and is a semi-sweet style that is very reminiscent of it's German counterpart. It was fermented in 100% Stainless steel and is a production of around 20,000 cases. I will do a follow up piece on the winery because I have three other offerings from them to taste in the next few days.
On the nose I get aromas of key lime, lychee nut, white peach, multiple stone fruits, red apple, white pepper, wet stone, and subtle hints of petrol.
I should also mention that the wine has just the slightest spritz when you first open the bottle. This of course is very common with Riesling in general and doesn't bother me a bit.
On the palate this wine is semi-sweet (4.3% residual sugar) and displays a brilliant flavor profile of sweet ripened Mexican key lime (only a guy from AZ could tout that descriptor!), lychee, white peach, dried apricot, red apple, wet stone/mineral, and subtle hints of red pepper.
I initially tasted this wine last night and I just poured myself another glass to refresh my memory. To be quite honest the wine is drinking even better today.......If your a fan of white table grapes than you'll really enjoy this wine, because I think it tastes a lot like grabbing a handful of big white table grapes and shoving them into your mouth!
There is a slight phenolic grittiness that sticks to your teeth on the finish. Now whether this is just a byproduct of the high acidity or if it's grape skin tannin, you'd have to ask the winemaker.
Overall this is a very beautiful wine that pairs exceptionally well with lemon pepper chicken (I had a glass last night with my dinner). I can also see it pairing really well with spicy Asian dishes such as Thai..... 88+ points
So this is the other wine I purchased at Trader Joe's the other day. It's a Soave and I think it cost me $3.99 if I remember correctly, just part of a little personal on-going experiment I've been conducting. I've been trying to see if there's any real value buys in the lower price tier.
Soave is a small town located east of Verona and is known for it's simple white wines made from Garganega and Trebbiano. This wine is 70% Garganega and 30% Trebbiano.
This very light in color white shows aromas of citrus peel, wet concrete, raw peanut, banana chips, and maybe even a bit of tropical fruit like coconut. I honestly wasn't expecting the nose to be so complex and interesting! A very pleasant surprise....
On the palate I get really interesting flavors of fresh tangerine, yellow apple, concrete/mineral, apple skin, and a slight hint of nuttiness. There is nice crisp acidity and just the slightest hint of alcohol on the finish.
Well folks, I did it.....I found a great little wine for under five bones that delivers great quality and would pair tremendously with light seafood and salad dishes. 85 points
You got to love these joker's in the main stream wine press! I love it when they say "Best Ever" and they put these labels on vintages and certain wines. Take a look:
"In the 2008's, you've got the best vintage Oregon has ever produced, the kind of vintage Oregon winemakers always hoped they could produce." Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator.
Now, I know that a lot of these journalists know more about wine than I do. Heck, they've probably tasted 10,000 + wines in their careers! I don't pretend to be a wine visionary or the next big name in wine reviews or wine commentary. In fact, I assure you that you shouldn't trust me on anything pertaining to my wine opinions or "gustos". My palate is completely unique to yours and what I say is merely my initial impressions that are always subject to change.
If there's one universal truth that I have discovered in the wine world, it's that there's no such thing as "Best" or "Better". These words are far too encompassing and general, and people in relatively powerful positions should avoid such tags at all costs.
What if the 2008 Oregon vintage tastes amazing right now but turns out to be a total wash in five years because the wines ultimately didn't have the structure and acidity that they were initially praised for??
Wine is a living thing.....It changes in the bottle and is completely volatile. Placing tags such as "Best"on volatile objects is a sure pathway to eventual ruin.
He could have avoided the risk and said:
"This is in my opinion, the best Oregon vintage I have come across in my career."
or
"My initial impression after tasting these wines is that they are among the best ever produced in the history of Oregon winemaking"
These statements show a humility towards the rest of the vintages that have been previously produced. These statements give you a chance to change your mind if the wine doesn't become as special as you had thought it would.
I may have used these labels in the past in some of my reviews, but I have always said that the wine was the best I had ever tasted. I would never be so pretentious as to state that it was the best wine ever made, giving my audience the idea that I was the definitive authority on wine.
Just a Rant! Cheers~
I have been tasting quite a lot of Pinot Noir as of late and I guess you could say it's become my varietal of choice over the last year or so. I used to be such a Cabernet hog but slowly my palate has taking a liking to the subtleties of Pinot Noir and especially to single vineyard wines such as this, where you can really experience the terroir of each vineyard site. Single vineyard anything is fun, but with Pinot I think it's the most translucent.
This wine comes from the quasi famous Garys' Vineyard of the Santa Lucia Highlands. Garys' Vineyard is co-owned by both Gary's (Gary Franscioni or Roar and Gary Pisoni of Pisoni Vineyards). The wine was aged for 11 months in 100% French oak - 75% new.
The first thing I notice after pouring this wine is the deep and dark ruby color. On the nose I get aromas of ripe black cherry, plum, spicy oak, wild flower, and a touch of anise seed. This wine is extremely aromatic and as I'm writing the room is being filled with it's fragrance.
On the palate this wine is very fleshy, full, and round, and expresses flavors reminiscent of wild berry, smoke, plum, and hints of leather and soil. This is a big chewy wine with plenty of youthful tannin and stunning opulence. I would suggest paring the wine with heartier grilled meat dishes or even Ossobuco. 91+ points
I absolutely love to surf all the foodie blogs and see what's the latest rave on all the stellar eats! The last couple of days I found some amazing posts around the "Foodie Blogosphere" that I thought you all should check out.......
Over at Ingredients of a Woman, Alba posted a really cool article called "The 14 days of Aphrodisiac Dishes". In the article she highlights all sorts of interesting foods that will provide a little extra boost in the bedroom!! Read it here......
Corrine Rossi of Keep You Diet Real throws down a savvy little review of the bast and worst snack bars. Those of us who are constantly on the go need to read this and find out what to look for in the Snack Bar isle. Check it out here.....
Over at one of my new favorite food blogs SHIZUOKA GOURMET Robert Martineau posts an in depth look at the "The Vegetable of the Oceans" or as I like to call it Seaweed! He highlights all different kinds of seaweed used in various authentic Japanese dishes. Read about it here....
And last but not least Krissy and Daniel of The Food Addicts posted an amazing looking recipe with some gorgeous photos of a Flatbread Pizza with Prosciutto and Gouda Cheese. Bring on the wine with this yummy creation! Check it......
Williams Selyem is and has for some time been one of my favorite wine producers. I remember tasting a flight of their wines about six years ago that blew me away. I was somewhat new to the wine business in terms of tasting a wide variety of wines from around the world, and when I tasted this very wine (the Russian River Pinot Noir) I knew I had to get on their mailing list.
This wine was sourced from several great Russian River Vineyards including the Drake Estate Vineyard, the Allen Vineyard, the Flax Vineyard, the Rochioli Riverblock Vineyard, the Bucher Vineyard, and the Litton Estate Vineyard. It was barrel aged in French oak for 11 months (40% new, 30% 1-year-old, 30% 2-year-old)
On the nose I get a plentiful bouquet of ripe bing cherries, wild raspberry, cranberry, violet, vanilla, and spice. I love the purity and delineation of these wines and how they really speak the varietal character. Every time I smell the Selyem Pinot's I find myself saying, "Wow, this smells like Pinot Noir should smell".
On the palate this wine is full and fleshy and shows notes of ripe cherry, raspberry sauce, roasted vanilla bean, spice, hints of cherry cola, and a touch of anise. The acidity is razor sharp and the balance of fruit to oak is perfect. There is also a real concentration and backbone to the structure of this wine, hinting that it will only get better with a few more years in the cellar. This is very nice wine if you can get your hands on a bottle! 93 points
For those of you who haven't seen the total cork dork wine documentary called "Mondovino". I suggest watching it on Netflix were they have it on their instant watch or you can just get it sent to you.
Mondovino takes a look at the wine world from several different angles and with several of the wine world's stars..........Mondavi, Robert Parker jr. , Michel Rolland, ect.......
Here's a glance at the trailer:
This is a wine geek movie but if you're into stuff like this then you'll love this movie!
It's that time of year again where the spring wine allocations are coming through. I received my Williams Selyem, Kosta Browne, and BOND allocation letters all inside a weeks time. With the current economic climate one has to sincerely ask himself if he/she can muster up the stones to pull the trigger this time around.
Trust me the feeling of uneasiness doesn't really hit you until you look at your bank statement! But I , like many have decided to take a pass from my previous indulgent allocations and only pick the few that I think will 1# Be profitable to me.... or 2# Be absolutely impossible to find equivalents in a lower price point.
Are the days of allocated wine coming to an end? Will wineries such and Harlan, Bryant Family, Colgin, and the much celebrated Screaming Eagle become regulars on the retail floor? Will their price points drop because they can't sell their grape juice in tough economic times?
I guess only time will tell if the cult wine market will adjust itself to these crazy times.
Will you be pulling the trigger on your allocations this time around??
I purchased this little bugger at Trader Joe's the other day and thought I would test it out and see if a few bucks at Joe's could get me something drinkable. I found it a bit hard to get any tech data about the making of the wine or where exactly the grapes were sourced from, so all you'll get are the tasting notes.
It does state on the label that the wine was made from organic grapes and that it is "Certified Organic" by the ICEA.
When I chopped off the cheaply made plastic foil I immediately noticed that the cork looked really odd. It was exceptionally small and had a really weird shape to it. I tried to get a picture of it but it didn't exactly capture how bad of a cork it really is. Check it:
Anyways, my experience so far with this wine is kind of strange but we'll just see how it tastes!
On the nose I get pretty nice aromas of mixed berry, concord jelly, dark chocolate, and a touch of cranberry. There are some dirty type notes as well like rusty metal, cracked peppercorn, and hints of chemical. It sort of reminds me of a lot of inexpensive Italian wines I've experienced.....rustic, metallic, and somewhat cheap smelling.
On the palate I get flavors of sour cherry, stewy tomato, cranberry sauce, and grape jelly on the finish. This is a very thin and easy to chug type red wine. It's by no means meant to be over analyzed or scrutinized for that matter. I can see myself enjoying it with a simple Spaghetti dinner or with a pizza or burger.
Even though it's not a wine that has notable depth or complexity, I guess you could say it delivers value for the price ($5.99). It is drinkable and isn't particularly bitter. 78 points
p.s. as with most wines this little guy got better with some time exposed to our pal oxygen! Would have to say it's probably an 81 pointer after all!
I don't frequent too many wine bars but when I do I almost always ask the bar tender what on the list is drinking good. I like to think that these guys have probably guzzled the juice on the list a few times and know what's ripping at the moment.
Needed to get out of my office and decided to make a stop by de la Cruz Bistro here in downtown Mesa, Az where my office is located. They had a list of reds and whites of which I was familiar with the majority of the wines but decided to give the choice to the bar tender. He of course recommended the 2007 Michael David Petite Petit.
Now, I know the Michael David wines and have tasted this wine before but decided to give it a whirl because it came so highly recommended. Those of us who are familiar with the Michael David wines (Seven Deadly Zins, 6th Sense Syrah, 7 heavenly Chard) know that these wines tend to be fruit forward quaffers more than anything else.
The color of the wine was as expected and had an over extracted, dark-purple, and quite opaque appearance. The wine is composed of 85% Petite Sirah and 15% Petite Verdot (thus Petite Petit).
On the nose the wine had a bouquet of black licorice, creme de cassis liquor, and black fruit syrups. On the palate the wine continued in this form showing big jammy black currant, melted licorice flavors, and hints of dark chocolate raspberry sticks. This wine is of course very fruit driven and has a round and generous texture, with little or no acidity.
You know, kuddos to the bar tender because the wine was drinking pretty damn good for a fruit bomb. The wine did lack a sense of place and was a little awkward on the finish because of the alcohol, but overall it tasted good and helped me get out of my office writing funk. 84 points
In the new issue of Wine Spectator dated (Jan.31-Feb.28) I noticed a small tidbit in the "Letters" section that seemed to catch my interest. It's something I've wondered about for some time and totally agree with the writer about. It's the argument that all non-vintage Champagne's should disclose the disgorgement date on the bottle for the consumer.
To me this only makes sense that the consumer know exactly how old their NV Champagne really is. What if a person buys a bottle of Veuve or Moet at the Cost co. that has been sitting around for a few years??
Is an aged bottle of non-vintage cuvée going to taste consistent to the house-style if it is several years old?
Who really knows how long those wines have been warehoused and what conditions they have been stored in. To me it would only make sense for the producer to supply the disgorgement date on the bottle for quality control issues as a courtesy to the consumer.
Can you imagine if all perishable products didn't carry expiration dates on them?
Here is a list of Champagne producers who print the disgorgement date on the bottle for their NV wines. Courtesy of Bruce Sanderson of Wine Spectator:
Charles Heidsieck
Jacquesson
Bruno Paillard
Grower Champagnes: Jean Lallement, L. Aubry, Gaston Chiquet, Pierre Gimonnet, Rene Geoffroy, Mark Hebrart, Chartonge-Taillet, Varnier-Fanniere, Margaine, Henri Goutorbe, Jean Milan, Henri Billiot, and Vilmart.
photo courtesy of Project Gutenberg
This Napa Cabernet Saugivnon is a small 400 case production from a winery that really focuses on Sonoma County Pinot noir but does make an excellent Cab. It was aged in 75% new French oak and the grapes were sourced from "several small vineyards throughout the valley".
On the nose a get the classic Napa valley forward fruit aromas of raspberry, mixed berry, cassis, chocolate, and a good amount of spice from the oak. It's very extracted and dark in color and you can almost smell the richness!
Everyone who drinks big Cab should be able to understand the comment "smelling the richness". Even though it's a statement that doesn't make a whole lot of sense in literal speak, there is some wine where I swear I can almost smell the extraction, richness, and power therein.
On the palate the wine shows extreme power and intensity, lots of extracted black fruits such as black raspberry and crushed currants. There is a spiciness imparted from the oak aging and some really nice dark chocolate notes. The finish is quite extended, dry, and gripping.......very young wine with plenty of bold tannin.
This is really an exceptional effort and a wine that a serious collector should keep a close watch on. Right now it's in the stage were the wine is still relatively affordable ($50-60), but if they keep making wine of this caliber, I believe there's only one place the price will go. 93+ Points
Last week I had the opportunity to attend a wonderful wine dinner at a close friends house. Among the thirty or so wines present and the dinner/wine tasting was this Barolo.
Now, I know that this producer is quite well known in the world of Italian wines and Barolo in specific, but there was something quite humble about this wine even though it's world class stuff.
You see, at this wine dinner there were several better known or perhaps fancy "cultish" like bottles being passed around. The ooohs and the ahhss were like leaky faucet drops
.....drip...drip...drip...oooh...ahh....
The funny thing is while this wine wasn't at first the talk of the table, by the end of the night it was considered to be the best wine of the event. Perhaps it was because of the drab "old world" looking label, or the fact that half of the participants probably hadn't ever experienced aged world class Barolo before. I just thought is was an ironic situation and maybe a gesture to the over publicized and sometimes over rated California cult scene.
Anyways, here are my tasting notes:
On the nose I get intense and complex layers of tea berry, sweet tobacco, prune, chocolate, cherry, leather, and tar. The bouquet continues to develop and change like a chameleon as the wine opens up throughout the night.
On the palate this wine is completely classic Nebbiolo with intense cherry notes that combine with tea leaf, prune, sarsparilla, leather, and cranberry flavors. This wine although a decade old is showing like a baby with huge but extremely round tannins. The finish lasted at least a minute or two. Excellent wine.... 95 points
It's a rare thing to see a Grenache from the Russian River Valley and what's even more rare is that it would taste this darn good! As we all know Pinot Noir takes central stage in this small part of Sonoma County and you'd probably think someone was nuts to plant a Rhone varietal there.
This is a small 69 case production so you'd be lucky to have a bottle because it's sold out of the winery. It's 100% Grenache whole cluster pressed and aged in neutral oak.
On the nose I get scintillating aromas of strawberry rhubarb, wild strawberry, crushed stones, chocolate, and an aroma that I have rarely used......Goji Berries! There is a slight earthiness to this wine as well but the fruit shines through so clearly that any secondary soil notes are only minutely apparent.
On the palate the wine is extremely perplexing to me because it drinks like Russian River Pinot. It's very powerful wine with a complete tannin structure and sharp acidity. Notes of raspberry, spice, and red currant combine and make up a very intense and serious effort. I've only ever tasted Grenache like this from the likes of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. 91+ Points
Duval-Leroy is based in Vertus, a village in the Côte de Blancs, and is now one of the largest land-owners in all Champagne. They own vineyards in all the Grand Cru villages of the Côte des Blancs. This vintage cuvée is mostly Grand Cru, from the Vallée de la Marne, Montagne de Reims and Côte des Blancs.
On the nose I get a very fruit driven bouquet of candied red apple and citrus blossom. There are also subtle yeast and sweet bread notes that combine with mineral, wet stone, and bread pudding aromas. The wine begins to display a deeper and richer yeast aromas as it remains in the glass.
On the palate I get flavors of golden apple, hints of citrus, and fresh white raspberries. The finish is dry and very long, showing green apple and bread notes.
It's important to note this wines superior acidity and dryness on the finish. It's very tight right now and can easily age for quite a bit longer in the cellar, to which I think it will most definitely improve in complexity and balance.
90+ points
The San Francisco Wine Competition has become the nations largest wine competition and this video explains the criteria for the judging. I found it somewhat interesting to see how the competition is held and judged.
Dom Pérignon or as the hommies like to call him "Dom P", was a Benedictine monk who, in 1668, was appointed treasurer at the Abbey of Hautvillers near the town of Epernay Champagne. Among Dom Pérignon's various duties was to oversee the running of the cellars and the winemaking, which in this time was considered to be of substantial importance.
Although his contributions to the wine industry are debated at times, what we do know is that among his formidable achievements was the perfecting of the technique of making a still white wine entirely from red grapes. He also was influential in the refinement of the art of blending wines from different vineyards and advances in clarification treatments to ensure a brighter wine than what was the murky norm at that time.
Many believe Dom Pérignon invented sparkling wine, but he actually devoted much of his time researching ways to avoid the dreaded re-fermentation that resulted in so many tempestuous wines.
Although his contributions to the history of wine are unquestionably warranted, Dom Pérignon did not invent Champagne.
Once again we take a glance at some of the interesting posts around the wine blogosphere:
Over at The Corkdork John talks about L'Enfant Terrible Zinfandel from Dashe Cellars and how it's crafted in a different style then most modern day Zins. Read his review here......
Steve Heimoff writes about "vintage huzzahs" and how Bordeaux does it best! He talks about the latest and greatest hype on the 2009 Bordeaux vintage. He highlights the difference between California and Bordeaux in term of vintage assessments. Read the article.....
Deb Harkness over at Good Wine Under $20 is spot on with her timing as always and posted some great reviews of inexpensive sparkling wines for Valentines day. Check it out....
Over at The Passionate Foodie Richard lays out a pretty interesting Saké drinking game called Kyokusui-no-en. Lord knows I'm all about drinking loads of Saké and eating some delicious Sushi while I'm at it! Find out how to play.......
Fredric Koeppel over at Bigger Than Your Head goes "old school" and talks about some the Clos' wines of California - Clos du Bois and Clos du Val. Read his reviews....
I'm sure Joseph Wagner (winemaker) would prefer that I talk about the wine and not the fact that he's the son of the famous Chuck Wagner of Caymus Vineyards. At any rate his heritage will have to follow him and I'm sure he's proud of his own accomplishments because these wines are great!
The name Belle Glos (pronounced "bell gloss") was given to these wines in honor of Lorna Belle Glos Wagner, grandmother of Joe and a co-founder of Caymus Vineyards.
The Clark & Telephone vineyard was established in 1972 and was originally planted to "own root" Martini clone Pinot noir. It's located in the Santa Maria Valley near the corner of Clark avenue and Telephone road.
On the nose this wine shows aromas of sandalwood, brown spice, red raspberry, and hints of herb and spearmint. The texture of this wine is very round, supple, and sensuous, but then on the finish there is a load of intense spice and firm tannin. The flavors are packed with delicious red fruits and a dazzling spiciness that comes from the presence of oak.
Some friends and I tasted this wine along with several other Pinot's and all agreed that this was among the most bold and spicy efforts. If you like a classic example of the Santa Barbara style Pinot Noir then this totally hits the spot. This is the type of Pinot that will age gracefully as well, because of it's powerful structure, big tannin, and razor acidity. 90 Points
I didn't realize at the time when I tasted this wine that it was only a small 145 case production. There's something so special about drinking single vineyard wines that only a few people in the world have the opportunity to experience each vintage.
This wine is 100% Pinot noir made from clones 777 and 115. It was aged in 38% new French oak for a total of 11 months.
On the nose I get aromas of strawberry, mineral, herb, concrete, and wild raspberries. On the palate the wine is drinking exceptionally elegant and soft. It was opened the night before and is drinking beautifully. Flavors of cherry, raspberry, and soft herbal notes grace the palate with bracing acidity and superb balance. 92+ points
I can't help but laugh! Does that make me such a bad person :D
This wine was nearly impossible to find any information on! What I think is it was a grower who decided to bottle some of his grapes and probably sold the rest to a negociant. However, I did enjoy tasting a lesser known Burgundy and would love to find more wines like this.
On the nose I found this wine to be very fruit forward with intense cherry notes. It does have a bit of leather, crushed stone, and perhaps a touch of a rustic soil character. A few friends that tasted it with me thought it was very "French" but I had to disagree. I've tasted a whole lot of Burgundy that shows much more "barnyard" character, while I thought this was a much more modern style.
On the palate the wine shows flavors of tart cherry, leather, earth, and crushed rocks. It's a very dry wine but would be brilliant with food. This wine is classy but in my opinion very young still. This style of Burgundy is very sturdy and could easily age a decade or so with it's tight tannin structure and sharp acidity. 88+ points
Photograpghy by Pricilla Upton
Former Vice President of Winemaking for Beaulieu Vineyard Joel Aiken has been announced as the winemaker and partner at Amici Cellars of St. Helena, California. Joel is famous for his 25 years at BV where he produced the highly praised Georges de Latour Private reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.
From winebusiness.com:
John Alban is a pioneer in Central Coast Rhone varietals and has been making Viognier for close to 20 years there. This wine is mostly sourced from his estate vineyards with about a third of the grapes being purchase from other Central Coast vineyards.
As to be expected with Viognier in general (especially in the case of Alban) this wine has amazing aromatics. I joked with some friends tasting with me that this wine could aptly be used as perfume if sprayed on. The floral aromas mixed with intense stone fruit, orange blossom, ginger, honey, and candied citrus make this wine a total blockbuster aromatically.
On the palate this wine shows extreme density and thickness. It's rich and high in alcohol and shows flavors of peach, meyer lemon, and orange popsicle. On the finish the wine is a bit clumsy and warm but overall it's obvious that this wine expresses the best of the varietal here in the United States. 89 points
I don't often get the opportunity to taste a lot of white Bordeaux so when I saw this wine at a recent tasting I attended I was really excited to try it. Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte is located in Bordeaux's Graves appellation and have been growing grapes in this site as early as 1365. It has a storied history of producing quality wine and in 1990 the property was purchase by the Cathiard family who have revamped the operation and started to make wines of immense quality and high acclaim.
The 2005 Blanc is produced from 90% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Semillon, and 5% Sauvignon Gris. Although I'm not entirely sure of the vinification data, I'm quite confident that this wine is aged in some French oak which added it's richness and full texture.
On the nose this wine is extremely aromatic! Not knowing the varietal blend I would have guessed that their might have been a significant amount of Muscadelle involved because of the floral and exotic fruit notes. However, this wine is 90% Sauvignon Blanc which is absolutely fascinating to me. Aromas of wild flower, clove, papaya, honey, orange blossom, lemon grass, and toast all come together to form a brilliant bouquet worthy of the high praise.
On the palate this wine has stunning weight and viscosity. Flavors of red apple, citrus blossom, honey, mandarin, and buttery oak unfold in layers on a rich and long finish. Tasting this blind I might have though this was Chardonnay with it's richness and complexity.
This wine was perhaps one of the most perplexing of the entire tasting...... 94 Points
Every day I have the opportunity to surf the net in search of new interesting subject matter in the world of wine. Seems like everyday there is some sort of article related to health and wine, wine pricing, wine gluts, wine harvests, ect.....
Here's what's up today:
From Boxwines.org I had a real laugh about the "twitter wines" and left a comment that we might as well get ready for some facebook cigars! See the post.....
Neil at Wine Expedition the "rock star" Pinot Noir grower and producer Gary Pisoni. I thought it was a quirky little interview and admired Neil for his candour while interviewing such an important figure in the wine trade. See the video
Beau Jarvis over at Basic Juice talks about the vino-lock glass enclosure he discovered while drinking a Sicilian Merlot. I enjoyed the commentary about the glass enclosure because I think those are inevitably going to become more popular. See the post...
Tom Wark at Fermentation talks about something really special to me as well, the dinner table. I think we all need to spend more time enjoying our food and wine, but especially enjoying the people we love. Read his comments...
Over at Jason's Wine Blog he talks about the "$5 Cult Wine" the Chariot Gypsy! I used to work at Trader Joe's and I know exactly what he's talking about! Read it here....
The My Wines Direct blog Through the Wine Glass makes 25 bold predictions about wine in the next decade. There are a few that made me laugh like "End of South African reds" and "Box wines will lose their Stigma". It's a fun read! Check it here....
I know it's already February and I'm writing a post about the top ten wines I drank in 2009. I just thought it would be fun to browse all the wonderful gems I was able to taste over the last year. So without further delay here's the list:
1. 2007 Kosta Browne Kanzler Vineyard Pinot Noir 100 pts
4. 2005 Matanzas Creek Chardonnay 95+ pts
6. 2006 Campo Al Mare Bolgheri 94+ pts
8. 2006 T-Vine Psychedelic Rooster Sticky 94 pts
9. 2004 Schuetz Randall Petite Sirah 94 pts
10. 2004 Donedei Cabernet Sauvignon 93+ pts
You can view each review by clicking on the names. There were quite a few other really fantastic wines that are not mentioned in this top ten list that I thought perhaps had a better QPR, but these were just the top scorers.
I did leave out the 78' Margaux that I scored 98 points because I didn't think it was quite relevant. Anyways, Cheers to 2010!
Besides the fact that the wine is hardly drinkable and probably belongs in the drain, Decanter.com is now reporting that the Red Bicyclette Pinot Noir was actually not even Pinot Noir!
According to Decanter, "Between 2006 and 2008, Sieur d'Arques allegedly sold 135,000 hectolitres of vin de Pays d'Oc labelled Pinot Noir to E&J Gallo for €4m (£350m)."
It turns out that they actually were selling Pinot Noir to Gallo cut with the less expensive Merlot and Syrah.
"According to French newspaper La Dépêche, one of the accused said that had the suppliers 'been asked to put Yoplait on the label, they would have' in order to satisfy customer demand."
This of course comes as no surprise to those of us who have actually tried to drink this stuff in the past. Just goes to show that you should trust your palate!
It seems like every day that some new and exciting story comes out about the positive effects of this glorious antioxidant found in red wine. Resveratrol has been linked with dozens of positive effects and benefits over the last few years and has been said to help with Cancer, Diabetes, Arthritis, Cardiovascular disease, Pancreatitis, Kidney diseases, ect....
A new study conducted at the University of California at Merced has concluded that this beneficial antioxidant may protect against lung cancer development caused by smoking cigarettes. Dr. Henry Forman, a professor at the Merced school of natural sciences said," resveratrol protects caspases," which are enzymes that kill off precancerous cells in the process of keeping lung tissue healthy.
In a lab study conducted by the Merced team, smoke polluted lung cells were treated with doses of resveratrol, ranging from 2 micromolars to 20, except for a control group. After 24 hours, the cells treated with resveratrol at levels as low as 5 micromolars showed more than double the amount of smoke-exposed lung cell removal, through the activation of caspases. In the tissue untreated with resveratrol, the opposite was observed, with some cells dying violently and even some harmful cells replicating.
For more on this story visit Wine Spectator: Resveratrol Protects Lungs
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
