2008 Villa Creek Willow Creek Cuvée

2011 Brandborg Pinot Noir Bench Lands

2010 Triumph Cellars by Calistoga Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon

2011 Klinker Brick Zinfandel Old Vine

Due to a death in the family, the wine descriptions are minimal this week. Hopefully everything will return to normal in the next week or two.

2008 Villa Creek Willow Creek Cuvée – $29.75

This wine has 15.2% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a twist off cap.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep ruby to maroon color. The gorgeous nose is full of blackberries, minerals, licorice, dried herbs, cherries, vanilla, black pepper, smoke, dark chocolate, and earthy underbrush. This has medium to full body, fairly solid tannins, and very nice acidity. On the palate, mineral laden, peppery berries and some earthiness hit first followed by dark chocolate and a smoky, meaty element. The long, lingering finish leans more on the savory spectrum but the fruit provides some outstanding sweetness. This is in a very nice drinking window, which should last another 3 to 4 years. (93 pts)

2008 Villa Creek Willow Creek Cuvée

2011 Brandborg Pinot Noir Bench Lands – $18.99

This wine has 12.8% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a screw top.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a light, semi-transparent red color. The very inviting nose has cherries, baking spices, candied violets, crisp apples, subtle earthiness, and a touch of smoke. This has a light body, soft tannins and good acidity. On the palate sweet cherries and spice jump out first with a floral note and some earthiness coming in later. The finish has good length with a touch of oak peeking through the fruit and earthiness. This seems to have just a touch of residual sweetness that makes it very easy to drink. This is a good deal for under $20. (89 pts)

2011 Brandborg Pinot Noir Bench Lands

2010 Triumph Cellars by Calistoga Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon – $23.99

This wine has 14.9% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep ruby color. The intense nose is full of cassis, melted licorice, plums, tobacco, dark chocolate, smoke, mint and a touch of cedar. This has medium to full body with moderate to solid tannins and very nice acidity. On the palate the wine provides nice up front fruit with solid savory notes of dark chocolate and mint coming in on the back end. The finish has good length with a healthy dose of cedary oak kicking in. Hopefully some cellar time will help tone down the oak laden finish. This is nice now for those not turned off by oak but should be better in another year. (89 pts)

2010 Triumph Cellars by Calistoga Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon

2011 Klinker Brick Zinfandel Old Vine – $17.99

This wine has 15.8% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep, dark maroon color. The big and bold nose has brambly berries, roasted herbs, warm baking spices, road tar, dark bittersweet chocolate and vanilla bean. This has a very full body with moderate tannins and decent acidity. This is a rich and jammy style of zinfandel with spicy berries and chocolate up front with more spice and vanilla coming in on the back end. The finish gets a touch muddled as the body and alcohol over powers the acidity that was trying to hold everything together. This was better as an after dinner drink where it shined. Not a lot of subtlety here. Those who like a big and ripe wine will love it. (88 pts)

2011 Klinker Brick Zinfandel Old Vine

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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.

Cliff's Wine Picks