1990 Schloss Schönborn Geisenheimer Schlossgarten Riesling Spätlese – $23.78

 

My comments

We’re real big fans of off-dry German Riesling wines with some age on them.  The overt sweetness and tingly acidity mellow and integrate over time leaving a delicious, food friendly elixir.  These wines are better defined as rich instead of sweet.  Try an aged Riesling with a spicy dish and you will become a fan.

 

Winery history

Schloss Schönborn – famous wines with a long tradition.  Located in the heart of the Rheingau valley, the Domänenweingut Schloss Schönborn has long stood for premium wine culture.

 

Many of the vineyards along the slopes bordering the RhineRiver have been part of the Schönborn family estate since 1349, which has been added to continuously since then.  Several top sites were acquired in the 17th and 18th centuries, giving the estate a real boost.  The estate now covers 50 ha, of which 90% are planted with Riesling.  The remaining vineyards feature Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc.  The Schloss Schönborn wine estate is one of the founder members of the Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates (VDP) and has for many years been managing its valuable vineyards in tune with nature.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a bright, golden yellow color.  The very fresh smelling nose has lime zest, apples, honey, petrol, orange blossoms, and a touch of white pepper.  This is light to medium body with very nice, juicy, acidity and is nicely off dry, but not sugary sweet.  Juicy, honey drenched fruit and key lime greet the palate with just a touch of spice in the background.  The finish is very tasty but a bit short, with the key lime and honey carrying the major load.  Not my favorite from the Garagiste Riesling fest a few years ago, but still very enjoyable.  The wine lacks some complexity and length on the finish, but it still tastes marvelous.  This still tastes young and fresh for a 22 year old wine.  (89 pts)

 

 

 

2007 Two Hands Shiraz Gnarly Dudes – $20.00

 

My comments

If you are a fan of a big, ripe, structured wine, you should know Two Hands.  Their wines are generally not for someone looking for subtly or nuance, they are bold, brash, and in your face.  Their take no prisoners style of wines have MANY fans including the wine related magazines that bestow high ratings and awards on them annually.  These wines are not ones you will want to have every day or even weekly, but once a month or so, these are very enjoyable.

 

Winery history

 

TWO HANDS WINES CORE VALUES

Quality without compromise is central to the Two Hands philosophy, driving all the decisions from fruit and oak selection to packaging and promotion.

 

We strive to differentiate ourselves; to be unique, fun and innovative in our business approach while maintaining a high degree of professionalism and integrity.

 

Our wines are made by a process of barrel classification – selecting the very best barrels for the Flagship range followed by Garden Series then our Picture Series.  This is achieved by sourcing the best parcels of fruit available to us from six premium regions within Australia.

 

We handle every parcel of fruit, however small, separately from crushing through to fermentation and oak maturation to ensure complexity and personality in the finished wines.

 

Fruit will be the primary feature of all our wines, with oak playing a supporting role.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep, dark purple color.  The outstanding nose features blackberry, licorice, blueberries, dark chocolate, black pepper, dried herbs, fresh violets, and a bit of vanilla.  This is fairly full bodied with fairly solid, ripe tannins and very nice acidity.  Loads of spicy, juicy berries greets the palate with some pepper and dried herbs in the background adding nice depth.  The finish is fairly long with the fruit slowly giving way to dried herbs and some chocolate.  This is big and rich but with the tannins and acidity to hold it all together.  This isn’t for everyone, but it tasted great to me tonight.  (92 pts)

 

 

2009 Waterbrook Cabernet Sauvignon – $9.49

 

My comments

This is one of the better, value priced, Cabernets out there.  This won’t rock your world, but it is generally a very nice, varietally correct, dry, structured, Cabernet that can be found for under $10.

 

Winery history

 

Waterbrook Winery was founded in 1984 by Eric and Janet Rindal and is located in WashingtonState’s lovely Walla WallaValley.

 

Waterbrook continues to be one of the Walla WallaValley’s largest producers of premium Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Melange wines.  Production is around 35,000 cases a year.  Waterbrook was selected by the editors of Wine Spectator as one of 50 great producers every wine lover should know for smart buys.  The tasting room in downtown Walla Walla pairs fine wine with fine art, providing a destination point of distinctive style.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a medium to deep ruby red color.  The very nice nose features plums, cassis, dried herbs, earthy elements, baking spices, minerals, and cherries.  This has a medium body with soft tannins and good acidity.  There is a nice mix of savory and fruity elements on the palate with the savory elements up front and the fruit coming in on the back end.  Decent length on the finish which again has nice fruit, but the savory elements carry the load.  A very nice change of pace if you are tired of fruit forward California Cabernets.  (89 pts)

 

 

 

Mailing Lists

 

Bedrock

As expected, the Winter offer from Bedrock hit the inbox this week.  Morgan is making growing number of wines that is making it hard to decide what to buy.  For instance, this offer included eight different wines but one was a VERY low production wine with limited availability.  These are generally very nice wines at customer friendly prices.  It’s no wonder the Bedrock mailing list is now full.  I would highly recommend joining the waiting list, your time will come.

 

 

 

Wines bought or received this week

It’s been a quiet week so far.  I received an e-mail from Turley that my “The Label” cabs will be shipping soon, but the supplied tracking number shows the wine has not been picked up yet.

 

I did receive a sampler package from Franciscan Estates with the following:

2010 Franciscan Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

2011 Franciscan Estate Chardonnay

 

I’ve already had and reviewed the Cabernet, but I’ll try the Chardonnay soon and post my review.

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

Cheers!