2005 Mas des Dames Coteaux du Languedoc

2004 Clarendon Hills Grenache Old Vines Blewitt Springs

2007 Long Shadows Wineries Cabernet Sauvignon Feather

2005 Mas des Dames Coteaux du Languedoc – $15.86

My comments

This is another wine I purchased from Garagiste Wines and Jon Rimmerman. I bought three bottles of this wine but held off opening a bottle for a couple of years. I had a bottle about a year ago and thought it was very nice, but felt it would improve with some additional cellar time. It’s time to check in again. This is a blend of 50% Grenache, 30% Carignan, and 20% Syrah.

Winery history

Mas des Dames is a former 18th century farmhouse surrounded by 14 hectares of vines located in the hills behind Béziers, Southern France. Where the Languedoc is often a ‘sea’ of vineyards, in this hidden valley we were lucky to find an ancient structure of small plots, surrounded by a natural flora. This ‘garrigue’ of oak, olive, and pine trees creates a natural balance in the vineyards, enabling us to work without any insecticides and just minimal treatments against illness. We’ve never used chemical fertilizers and do not irrigate. That is why our yields are low (about 35hl/ha). but have a nicely concentrated quality. A certification for organic farming is pending.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a nice ruby red color. The very nice nose has black cherries, red raspberries, plums, crushed stone minerality, smoke, roasted herbs, meat juices, warm baking spices, and a touch of earthiness. This has medium body, fairly solid tannins, and very good acidity. The palate has some nice up front fruit followed by roasted herbs, minerals, grilled meat, and a touch of dark chocolate. The finish has nice length and leans more on the savory elements with the fruit adding a touch of sweetness. This is in a nice place, but should hold for another year or two. (91 pts)

2004 Clarendon Hills Grenache Old Vines Blewitt Springs – $25.00

My comments

We had a “house favorite” for dinner, Lime-Cilantro Pork Tacos for dinner and I was in the mood for something “different”. I knew the tacos would be well seasoned and have a bit of bite from a jalapeño so I wanted something big, rich, and fruit driven to pair. It’s been a while since I had this wine, but knew it would meet my requirements.

Winery history

In 1990, Roman Bratasiuk embarked on a truly remarkable wine making journey. His vision: to create single vineyard wines equal to anything in the world. Quite simply. Working with old, dry-grown vines and performing every step of the process by hand, Roman sought to redefine the Australian fine wine landscape by solely conveying the imprint a vineyard forges on the varietal expression. Every year a pragmatic and calculated Clarendon Hills learns a little more about our vineyards and pushes a little further to propel each one of our 100% varietal wines to the pinacle of their capability.

Please join Roman and the Clarendon Hills family in celebrating our 19 single vineyard, 100% varietal wines.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep garnet to purple color. The impressive and massive nose has kirsch, black raspberries, melted licorice, Asian spices, minerals, black pepper, blueberries, earthiness, and cherries. This has a full body, solid, ripe tannins, and decent acidity. This is a massive wine on the palate with a boat load of syrupy fruit with enough spice and black pepper to add some depth, but this is all about the fruit. The finish seems to last forever with berry compote and black pepper slowly adding some dark chocolate and a touch of earthiness, but again, this is a fruit driven wine. Not a lot of subtlety or finesse, but every once in a while a solid kick in the head does you well. (92 pts)

2007 Long Shadows Wineries Cabernet Sauvignon Feather – $42.74

My comments

This is a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Columbia Valley in Washington. The winery teamed up with a few “world renowned” vintners to establish individual wineries that would reflect the reputation of each wine maker. In this case, the winemaker is Randy Dunn. Randy started his wine making career at Caymus. He has also assisted at Pahlmeyer, Livingston, La Jota and others. He also owns his own winery, Dunn Vineyards, and has produced roughly 5,000 cases a year since 1979.

I bought a few bottles of this a while ago but knew it would take a few years before it would show well. I’m sure this will be better in a few years, but I really want to check in to see how it is doing.

Winery history

After twenty years at the helm of the Stimson Lane wine group (Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Crest and other wineries), Allen Shoup retired to pursue a personal dream. For years he had envisioned a joint venture with highly acclaimed winemakers from different regions of the world. His goal was to bring their expertise to Washington to create some of the most special wines ever crafted from the region’s top vineyards; wines that would stand shoulder to shoulder with the world’s best.

Encouraged by his associates, including long time friend and mentor, Robert G. Mondavi, Allen invited several of the world’s most talented and celebrated vintners to the sunny slopes of the ColumbiaValley. Peering over steep cliffs into the valley where the Snake and YakimaRivers flow into the mighty Columbia, each vintner embraced Allen’s dream and agreed to lend their talents to create this tribute to the worldwide celebration of wine.

With their enthusiastic support and advice, Allen drew up plans to establish individual wineries that would reflect the reputation of each winemaker. He named the venture Long Shadows Vintners in tribute to this select group of individuals who have shaped the industry with their benchmark wines and wineries.

His vision is now unfolding. Long Shadows winemaker-partners are designing world-class wines comparable in stature to those they crafted in their native wine regions. They are touring the land, running the soil through their fingers, and surveying with practiced eye the leafy trellises that spill down the hillsides of the ColumbiaValley.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a dark red color, verging onto purple. The very nice nose has cassis, minerals, white pepper, licorice, violets, sun baked earth, dried herbs, red raspberries, baking spices, and some dark bittersweet chocolate, and a touch of cedar. This has medium body, fairly solid tannins, and very good acidity. The palate has a nice fruit component up front with a load of savory elements coning in on the back end adding depth and complexity. The finish is fairly long with some sweet fruit joined by dried herbs, dark chocolate, and a touch of spicy oak. This is a very classy wine that would cost twice this price if it had a Napa Valley appellation in its name. This is a touch young, but tastes great none the less. (93 pts)

* Shameless Self Promotion *

Here is a link to a YouTube video of me getting “coal” from Santa for being named the “Nicest Person in Social Media” in 2012.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOvQTeGR3-c

Breaking news from Klout:

Remember to support your local wine store!

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

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.