2006 Villa Creek Vulture’s Post

2006 The Colonial Estate Emigré

2003 Château Bellevue St. Émilion Grand Cru

2006 Villa Creek Vulture’s Post – $40.00

This wine is a blend of 80% Denner Mourvèdre, 15% James Berry Syrah and 5% Denner Grenache. This in my last bottle out of 7 purchased between 11/08 and 10/09. I bought a couple bottles and had to do a reload as soon as I opened the first bottle. Luckily the winery still had a couple lingering bottles during their next release, so I very happily adopted them and kept them safe in my wine cellar.

I love the innovative blends coming out of Villa Creek’s Paso Robles based winery.

The alcohol for the wine is listed at15.6% and the wine is closed with a twist off Stelvin Lux+ closure. I think these are the nicest looking twist off closures since this style does not have visible external threads.

Winery Comments

The sights and aromas of fall are what this wine is all about; vulture’s airing their wings after the first fall rain, lamb shanks braising with the last tomatoes of the season and home baked bread. Mourvèdre from Denner Vineyard stars in this meaty, savory and fruit forward blend.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a fairly deep maroon color. The big and bold nose has blackberries, cherries, licorice, charred meat, roasted herbs, plums, road tar, violets, and earthy underbrush. This full bodied wine has moderate tannins and good acidity. On the palate there is very nice balance between the fruit and savory elements but a touch of the alcohol is starting to poke out on the back end. The finish has very good length but again is showing a touch of alcohol. The fruit has faded a touch over the last year so the once concealed alcohol is making an appearance. This is still very enjoyable but probably needs to be consumed over the next year before the alcohol takes over. (90 pts)

2006 The Colonial Estate Emigré – $29.88

Emigré is a blend of Grenache, Shiraz, Mourvedre, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, and Muscadelle harvested from four vineyards, two in cool climates, Greenock and Eden Valley, and the other two from the northern Barossa Valley. Wines from The Colonial Estate don’t come cheap. Their lower end wines start at $30. This is one of their higher end wines and has a release price around $90. I’ve been lucky in the past (and this time too) to find their wines either on a clearance sale or via Garagiste for under $30. If you ever have the chance to get a bottle of this wine or either the Exile Cabernet or Shiraz at a great price, grab a bottle, it will bring a smile to your face.

This wine has 14.5% alcohol and is closed with a natural cork.

Winery Information

The Colonial Estate is a range of limited-production Australian wines with an old world approach. The fruit is hand picked and carefully selected; the reds receive cold pre-maceration, fermentation, pressing and maceration on skins prior to ageing in French oak; whilst the whites get whole-bunch pressing, lees stirring and are fermented with naturally occurring yeasts.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep maroon color. The fully open and inviting nose has cherries, blackberries, minerals, Asian spices, fresh ground dark roast coffee, dark bittersweet chocolate, charred meat, dried herbs, wild flowers, and scorched earth. This has medium to full body, fairly solid ripe tannins, and good acidity. On the palate the big fruit component is matched stride for stride by dusty minerals, dark chocolate, dried herbs, and dark roast coffee, with a meaty element coming in on the back end. The finish is long with minerals, charred meat, and dried herbs adding a great dimension to the mixed fruits. This seems to be entering its prime time drinking window. This is big and bold but not an overly ripe, syrupy style of wine. (94 pts)

2003 Château Bellevue St. Émilion Grand Cru – $29.74

The small, 6 hectare, vineyards of Château Bellevue border those of three 1er grand cru classé properties: Angelus, Beausejour-Bécot and Bausejour Dufau-Lagarosse, on the limestone plateau slopes to the west of the town. For 300 years, the estate was owned by the Lacaze family – it is said the anti-Revolutionary Girondin Gaston Lacaze took refuge here during the French Revolution – but in 1938 was sold to the de Conink and Pradel de Lavaux families of négociants Horeau Beylot. Today, the Pradel de Lavauxs share ownership with the owners of Château Angélus.

The vineyards are planted to about 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. In this vintage, the wine is about 90% Merlot, the remainder Cabernet Franc.

The alcohol is listed at 13.5% and this uses a natural cork closure.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a medium to deep ruby red color. The hypnotic nose has cherries, dried leafy herbs, fresh ground dark roast coffee, cedar, tobacco, cassis, dark bittersweet chocolate, baking spices and violets. This has medium body, moderate tannins and good acidity. On the palate there is a nice mix of the fruit and savory elements, with the fruit providing nice sweetness especially on the back end. The finish has very nice length but a touch of excess oak pokes through and leaves a slightly bitter closing note. Perhaps a bit more cellar time will help the remaining oak from the finish integrate. All in all, a very nice and enjoyable bottle of wine. (92 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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