2008 Teso La Monja Toro Almirez

2006 Copain Syrah Les Voisins McDowell Valley

2007 Trefethen Cabernet Sauvignon Oak Knoll

 

 

 

2008 Teso La Monja Toro Almirez – $24.99

This is a new wine for me.  I had seen it on store’s shelves for several months but never grabbed a bottle.  Based on a recommendation from a friend, I grabbed a bottle to try.

 

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

 

The Winery

In this second stage of the Eguren family’s presence in DO Toro after Numanthia-Termes project, Teso La Monja was born with a different approach: fresher, north facing loamy soils with gravel on the surface, which offer longer vegetative cycles for achieving balanced, powerful yet elegant wines which transmit the maximum potential of soils’ minerality.

 

Toro’s prephiloxeric vineyards, own rooted ‘Vitis vinifera’ and autochthonous, aged up to 130 years, and old vineyards with an average age of 50 years old, form a terroir that gives birth tounique wines.

 

We fulfill the sustainable agriculture practices applied by our predecessors to preserve the life in the environment.  We respect nature and we work according to the cycles and biorhythms of the plant.  We search for the natural balance of the vineyard, with small productions between 1.000 and 2.000 kg/hct.  We are focused on achieving the purest wine which transmits terroir.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a bright ruby red color.  The slightly shy nose has cherries, baking spices, and some earthy underbrush.  This has medium body, moderate to solid tannins and very bright acidity.  Much bolder and outgoing on the palate with tart cherries, raspberries, minerals, and a load of spice.  The finish has good length with some earthiness and dried herbs entering the picture.  There is nothing brooding or heavy about this wine, the acidity has laser like precision and even overwhelms the palate at times.  Drink this with a juicy cut of meat or something rich and creamy to help tame the acidity.  (87 pts)

 

 

2006 Copain Syrah Les Voisins McDowell Valley – $35.00

Les Voisins.  French for “the neighbors,” our Les Voisins wines are derived from closely clustered, neighboring  vineyards, offering a nuanced and tightly focused reflection of Anderson Valley and Yorkville Highlands.

 

Les Voisins is the mid-level of wine offered by Copain.  At the top are the single vineyard wines and the lower level are the Tous Ensemble wines.  Wines at this level generally a very nice wine at an attractive price.

 

This wine is 13.8% alcohol by volume and is sealed with a natural cork.

 

Winery history

Wells Guthrie discovered early on that his taste in wine gravitated toward Europe in general and France’s Rhône Valley in particular.  So much so, he picked up and moved with his new bride to the region to learn from the best.  For two years, Wells apprenticed for esteemed winemaker and living legend Michel Chapoutier in France’s Rhone Valley.  During that time, Wells was deeply inspired by the traditions and practices of French winemaking, not to mention the European attitude that wine is an essential part of life. At Copain, he creates wines that are firmly rooted in California, yet with the sensibilities of the European wines that so moved him.  He is as committed to crafting these elegant, nuanced wines as he is to building a legacy that will be passed down to his daughters in the great tradition of European winemakers whose estates have been in the same family for generations.

 

For more information on Copain, visit their website by clicking here.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep ruby red color, a touch lighter on the edge.  The enticing nose has cherries, blackberries, minerals, smoke, vanilla bean and violets.  This has medium body, moderate tannins and very nice acidity.  On the palate this is rich and plush but carries no excess weight or overly ripe notes.  The bright red and black fruit and minerals carry the palate initially until nice spice and a floral note come in towards the back end.  The finish has good length with a nice mix of fruit and savory elements.  This wine has really blossomed over the last three years.  (92 pts)

 

 

2007 Trefethen Cabernet Sauvignon Oak Knoll – $37.99

I grabbed a few bottles of this wine at the local store during a wine tasting.  A month or two later, the store put the wine on sale for about 25% off, so a few more bottles followed me home.  I had a bottle a little over a year ago and felt it would be better in another year…time to see if I was right.

 

This wine is a blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Malbec, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot from the winery’s estate vineyard, Main Ranch.

 

This has 14.3% alcohol by volume and is sealed with a natural cork.

 

The Winery

Constructed in 1886 by a Scottish sea captain, Hamden McIntyre, our winery was originally known as Eshcol. McIntyre designed it as a gravity-flow system: a horse-drawn winch brought grapes to the third floor of the three-story structure for crushing; gravity carried the juice to the second floor for fermenting; and, eventually, the wine descended to the first floor for aging. Eshcol was among a number of wineries McIntyre designed during this period; the others were Greystone (now The Culinary Institute of America), Far Niente and Inglenook.

 

Much more background and information is available on the winery’s website by clicking here.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep maroon color.  The very inviting nose has cassis, cedar, Asian spices, dried herbs, tobacco, vanilla and dried flowers.  This has medium body, moderate to solid tannins and good acidity.  The wine is loaded with up front spicy fruit, dried herbs and cedar come in on the back end.  The finish has decent length but it does thin out a bit as the fruit over powers the savory elements.  (90 pts)

 

 

Connect with me

You can follow me on Twitter for more wine info, potential food pairings, and an occasional recipe or two.  Be warned, I’m also a sports fan and there are occasional Pittsburgh Penguins, Steelers, and Pirates tweets.  I attended the University of South Carolina, so during football season, there will also be some Gamecock posts.

 

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Cheers!

 

 

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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

 

 

 

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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!