2006 Mitolo Shiraz Savitar

2011 Calera Pinot Noir

2010 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc

2010 Ladera Cabernet Sauvignon Stile Blocks

2006 Mitolo Shiraz Savitar – $29.99

Mitolo is one of the premiere wineries in Australia. The wine maker, Ben Glaetzer, is one of the Australia superstars in the wine business. I’m a big fan of their lower priced Reiver Shiraz but jumped on an opportunity to take a few bottles of this wine off a friend’s hands after they bought a case at a very special price. This wine had a release price of $65 but I was able to grab a few at less than half that price. That’s only a win if you like the wine. Based on a bottle I had several months ago, this is a win!

This wine is a blend of only the best barrels of Shiraz and will provide serious enjoyment for anyone that is a fan of big, rich, Aussie Shiraz.

Winery history

For such a young winery, Mitolo’s history is rich. It’s one studded with success, wide acclaim, and – most importantly – truly memorable wines. But that’s only to be expected from a winery which, since the very first day, has been motivated by three potent words:

Purity. Elegance. Power.

Those were the guiding principles Frank Mitolo wrote down when he created the winery in 1999. With his Italian heritage and a family history of working the land, Frank was only interested in pursuing excellence. And the results were there immediately in the release of the first Mitolo wine – the 2000 G.A.M. – named after Frank’s children Gemma, Alexander and Marco.

Attracted by this commitment to only create wines of outstanding quality, acclaimed winemaker Ben Glaetzer joined Mitolo as a partner in 2001. With grapes sourced from two of Australia’s premier wine regions, McLaren Vale and the Barossa Valley, Frank and Ben now work tirelessly to surpass their already impressive achievements. Mitolo Wines, praised by some of the world’s toughest critics, are now enjoyed in more than 20 countries around the world.

And that is just the start.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep, dark, inky purple color. The rich and luxurious nose has blackberries, blueberries, dark chocolate, vanilla, smoked meat, dried herbs, warm baking spices and some earthiness. This has a full body, fairly solid, ripe tannins, and good acidity. This is a massive wine on the palate with loads of spicy, peppery berries with a nice smoked meat element followed by spicy oak and dried herbs. The finish is very long and like the palate, packed with flavor. No subtlety and not the most complex wine out there, but very balanced and tasty. Not a wine for everyone nor an everyday wine, but on occasion, this one will rock. This is still on the young side, it should improve with additional cellar time. (93 pts)

2011 Calera Pinot Noir – $24.69

I’m a big fan of the single vineyard offerings of Calera Pinot Noir wines. Unfortunately, most of these single vineyard offerings are a bit pricey to open on a week night. That’s where their appellation wines come into play. These are generally very nice, varietally correct Pinots, that can be found for south of $25.

This wine is made of fruit purchased from over a dozen vineyard sources in California’s Central Coast region. In this vintage, grapes from seven different vineyards were blended for the final product.

Winery history

Calera is a vision, and Calera’s wines truly express the sense of place. Rather than follow the recommended path, Josh Jensen became a pioneer in search of the perfect spot on the globe to grow grapes. Taking his cue from the great domaines of Burgundy which have grown grapes in limestone soil for centuries, he set out in search of the perfect spot in California to create wines unique to the world but in the style of the greatest wines of France. Site selection was vital as he ventured off the grid to plant on the site of an old limekiln in the Gavilan Mountains of California. Today Calera wines still express that pioneer spirit and are revered the world over. We are proud to report that even Robert Parker is convinced: “Calera is one of the most compelling Pinot Noir specialists of not only the New World, but of Planet Earth.”

My Tasting Note

The wine is a light to medium ruby red color, much lighter at the rim. The fresh smelling nose has cherries, flowers, baking spice, eucalyptus, crushed stone minerals, and a touch of forest floor. This has medium body, soft tannins, and nice acidity. Nice red fruit on the palate with spice and just a touch of earthiness. The finish has nice length with the eucalyptus and minerals making an appearance to go with the sweet fruit. A very nice, easy drinking, under $25 Pinot Noir. (90 pts)

2010 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc – $15.19

Cloudy Bay has been my favorite New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc for several years. Obviously that opinion is shared by a lot of wine drinkers. This is not the lowest priced Sauvignon Blanc in the marketplace, at times it is a challenge to find it for under $25. A couple years ago, when my local store had it on sale for under $16, I loaded up. Unfortunately, this is my last bottle from that buy.

If you are a fan of Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc and want to find a lower priced alternative, try to source some Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc. The owner/winemaker for Greywacke is Kevin Judd, the founding winemaker for Cloudy Bay. After 25 vintages at Cloudy Bay, Kevin set out on his own.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a light, pale yellow to straw color. The fresh and tropical nose has lime, grapefruit, minerals, fresh cut grass, and orange blossoms. This has light body with tart, citrusy acidity. On the palate the crisp fruit and minerals steal the show with the grapefruit notes giving way to lime with a nice herbal edge. The finish has very good length with the lime and grapefruit allowing minerals and herbal elements to poke through. As usual, another outstanding offering from Cloudy Bay. (91 pts)

2010 Ladera Cabernet Sauvignon Stile Blocks – $39.99

I’ve had and loved the Ladera Howell Mountain Cabernet for a number of years. This is the first vintage of this specific wine. This wine was actually created mainly for restaurants to have on their wine list as an earlier drinking, Howell Mountain cab, that could be listed for under $100. Since this is a new wine and I bought it without tasting it, I didn’t know if it needed a bit of cellar time. Luckily, the local store had a big wine tasting yesterday and this was one of the wines being poured. I was lucky enough to grab a taste and decided it was good to go now.

This is a blend of 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petit Verdot from Napa Valley’s Howell Mountain.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a fairly deep maroon color. The big and fully open nose is full of cassis, licorice, warm baking spices, black pepper, leather, dried herbs, and a touch of cedar. This has medium to full body with soft, ripe tannins, and decent acidity. On the palate this is soft and jammy for a Howell Mountain wine. Big, ripe, juicy, berries and spice hit the front end of the palate coating it in flavor with dried herbs and spicy oak coming in on the back end. The finish has good length and shows jammy fruit and spice with an oaky over lay but could use some additional complexity. This is an easier drinking wine than I expected, this isn’t one to stash in the cellar for an extended time. (89 pts)

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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.

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