2011 Bedrock Wine Co. Sauvignon Blanc Kick Ranch – $22.00

I really liked the 2010 vintage of this wine; unfortunately we killed off the last bottle a few weeks ago. The good news is we have a decent stash of the 2011. I joined the Bedrock mailing list to get my hands on Morgan’s red wines, but his whites have been a revelation.

The wine is a bright straw color with glints of green and gold. This has a fresh and refreshing nose full of apples, white peaches, stony minerals, citrus zest, eucalyptus, fresh cut grass, with a nice floral note. This is light to medium body with crisp, citrusy, acidity. This is bright and very lively with the fruit, citrus, and herbal notes taking turns enticing the palate. The finish is fairly long with the eucalyptus making an appearance to lend a savory element to the fruit and citrus. No hurry on this one, it should easily last a few years in the cellar, but as soon as you finish a bottle you will be drawn to open another. (92 pts)

2001 Boroli Barolo – $32.99

We very much enjoyed the early drinking 2000 vintage of this value priced Barolo. Now that vintage has disappeared from my cellar, it’s time to check in on the 2001 to see how it is doing.

This was decanted for about 2 hours. The wine is a nice dark ruby color, considerably lighter at the rim and just a hint of bricking. Black cherries, berries, tar, rose petals, baking spices, and a very slight herbal note on the very elegant nose. The wine is medium body with velvety tannins and very nice acidity. This is very civilized on the palate for a youngish Barolo, nice fruit and spice and just a touch of spicy oak pop out in front with some earthiness in the background. The wine has decent length on the finish which is still a touch ragged with some excess oak and herbal notes popping out. Give this another year or two in the cellar and drink it over the following several years. Even today this is outstanding with some upside potential. (92 pts)

2006 Two Hands Brave Faces – $17.09

Two Hands is one of my wife’s favorite wineries and ranks pretty high on my list. This is one winery that is not afraid to allow their grapes to get fully ripe before picking. Some of their wines get awfully close to the over ripe and syrupy side of the line, but most of the time they don’t cross that line. Remember, ripe fruit is not a flaw in a bottle wine.

I was able to grab a case of this wine from my local wine store during a blow out sale about a year ago. To me, this was an absolute no brainer buy for a touch over $17 a bottle. This is 65% Shiraz, 35% Grenache and 100% BarossaValley. This is the type of wine that made Australia famous before the mass produced “critter wines” did their best to kill that reputation.

This was pretty much a pop and pour tonight. This is a deep, dark maroon to purple color. There are blackberries, charcoal, black pepper, smoke, meat juices. vanilla, black cherry, and baking spices on the warm and comforting nose. The wine is fairly full bodied with velvety tannins and good acidity. This is locked and loaded on the palate, full of fruit, pepper, and spice. There is a long flavor filled finish full of spicy fruit. As with most Two Hands wines, this is full of ripe fruit but it is not sweet or syrupy. This is in a prime drinking window, drink over the next year or two. (92 pts)

2004 Castle Rock Petite Sirah – $9.49

This is a bottle that slipped through the cracks, I had it marked to drink through 2010. Even though it’s from the Lodi region, which tends to produce very ripe and high alcohol wines, this one is only 13.5% ABV. If it’s dead, I have a few tons of other wine to choose from as a backup.

The wine is a deep, dark maroon color with just a touch of lightening at the edge. On the very nice nose are blackberries, blueberries, baking spices, some black pepper, and a bit of earthiness. This is medium body with ripe, integrated tannins and good acidity. Nice spicy berries on the palate with just a bit of earthiness coming in on the backend. The finish is a bit short and some oak is popping out as the fruit fades. This is on the down side of its life but was still an enjoyable week night accompaniment with dinner, especially for an under $10, 8 year old bottle. (86 pts)

The wine held up and had a nice nose and palate, the most obvious sign of old age was the quickly fading fruit on the finish leaving some excess oak.

2006 Magito Zinfandel Panorama Blend – $13.23

Even though labeled as a Zinfandel, the Blend part of the name is very applicable. Per the label and website, this is actually a blend of 75% Amador, Napa and Solano County Vineyards Zinfandel, 8% Sonoma Mountain Scopa Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Napa Valley Voyager vineyard Sangiovese, 5% Napa Valley Sarco Vineyard Syrah, 4% Mendocino County Merlot, and 2% Napa Valley Jonquil vineyard Petite Sirah.

I had a taste of this at the local wine store, and had to grab a couple bottles. I remember the wine had a fair amount of acidity when I had sampled it a couple years ago. I’m looking forward to enjoying this one tonight.

The wine is a medium ruby color. There are brambly berries, black pepper, cherries, dark chocolate, dried herbs, and a touch of smoked meat on the very interesting and intriguing nose. The wine is barely medium body with fairly solid tannins and very nice acidity. Lively black and red fruit on the palate with some nice spice and dried herbs, there is a touch of earthiness in the background. Decent length on the finish which does show a touch of excess oak. A nice zinfandel for a week night dinner, as long as you aren’t looking for a classic zinfandel flavor profile. (87 pts)

Mailing Lists

August West Wine

The August West offer hit the inbox on Wednesday. Included in this offer were the 2011 Pinot and the 2010 Syrah from the RussianRiverValley, 2011 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot, and the 2010 Rosella’s Vineyard Syrah. Visit http://www.augustwestwine.com/ to sign up for partner/winemaker Ed Kurtzman’s wonderful list. All wines are very high quality and under $40 a bottle.

Anthill Farms Winery

The latest offer from Anthill Farms hit the old inbox on Wednesday. The initial allocations are guaranteed through September 26^th. This release includes three single vineyard Pinot Noirs, an Anderson Valley Pinot, and one of the best mailing list bargains out there, their 2010 Sonoma Coast Syrah, which is only $18. For additional information, visit http://www.anthillfarms.com/

Helioterra

Helioterra is a new discovery for me. I met the owner/winemaker, Anne Hubatch, when she came back to visit her family in Wisconsin. We tasted through her whole line up and I was very impressed. I recommend getting in on the ground floor of this exciting Oregon winery. Their next release is coming shortly, for more information, visit http://bit.ly/Q5TmSl

Wind Gap

Pax Mahle’s Wind Gap Winery had their latest offer go live on Thursday. Included in this offer are a couple I’d love to try. Included in this release are:

2009 Yuen Chardonnay, James Berry & Brosseau Vineyards, CentralCoast – $36

2011 PinotNoirSonomaCoast – $36

2011 Mourvedre, Bedrock Vineyard, SonomaValley – $32

2010 Syrah Armagh Vineyard, SonomaCoast – $40

Reasonable prices for Pax’s high quality wines.

As an added bonus, they also have some Library wines available.

Remember to support your local wine store!

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Notes – I use the “official” Cellar Tracker name for the wines. I use Cellar Tracker to help manage and organize my cellar. I highly recommend checking it out at www.cellartracker.com. Loading you existing cellar is a lot less intimidating than it would first appear. There is a good chance 99% of your wine is already in the system, so you generally only need to enter part of the wine’s name and the system will find it for you.

Prices noted are the prices I paid at the time of purchase. I don’t shop around to find the best prices, but my local store is usually VERY competitive. I generally get case discounts, and since I work there part time, I get a 5% discount. Wines purchased direct from a winery do not include any shipping charges. None of the prices include the sales tax.

All wines that were sent to me free of charge to sample will be noted and I will show suggested prices when available.