2012 Trentadue Winery Zinfandel

2012 MacMurray Ranch Pinot Noir Central Coast

2008 Carlisle Two Acres

 

 

It was another slow week wine wise.  My wife is doing better and as her broken wrist heals, we’ll begin opening more wine, which will give me more to write on this page.

 

 

 

2012 Trentadue Winery Zinfandel – $14.24

I’m always on the lookout for good bottles of wine for week nights.  An Alexander Valley zinfandel on the local wine store’s shelf for around $15 qualifies as a no-brainer.  Trentadue is not a new winery for me, I’ve visited the winery in the past and their Cuvée 32, a California version of a “Super Tuscan”, is one of my favorite wines.  According to the winery’s website, the grapes for this wine come from vines that are over a century old.  The wine has a suggested retail price of $18.00.

 

This has 14.8% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a screw top.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep garnet color.  The appealing nose has brambly berries, black pepper, vanilla bean, underbrush, dried wildflowers, dusty minerals, black cherries and dried herbs.  This has medium to full body with moderate tannins and good acidity.  Tart cherries, pepper and underbrush hit the palate first with vanilla and minerals coming in later.  The finish has decent length with a nice dried floral note entering the picture.  Not a lot of complexity but very tasty and very good QPR.  (89 pts)

 

 

 

2012 MacMurray Ranch Pinot Noir Central Coast – $15.29

I grabbed a bottle of this wine to see how well they did with the exceptional 2012 vintage.  The fact the wine was just a touch over $15 didn’t make my buying decision too tough.  This wine is produced from grapes harvested on California’s Central Coast including Olson Ranch in the Santa Lucia Highlands.

 

This has 14.8% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with an agglomerated cork.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a medium to dark ruby color.  The nice nose has cherries, baking spices, earthy underbrush, cranberry and wildflowers.  This has medium body with soft tannins and good acidity.  On the palate cherries and spice pop out first with some earthiness coming in on the backend.  The finish has nice length with a nice floral note and cranberries entering the picture.  Not a lot of complexity but a nice, reasonably priced Pinot Noir.  (88 pts)

 

 

 

2008 Carlisle Two Acres – $28.75

This vintage of this wine is a blend of 79% Mourvedre, 7% Petite Sirah, 6% Syrah, 5% Carignane and 3% Alicante Bouschet.  The grapes are from the Two Acres Vineyard  in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley.  The vineyard was planted in 1910.  According to the winery, “This vineyard was on the brink of death when we took it over in 1996 but slowly and surely we have brought it back to life.  We completed its renovation in 2003 by replacing all missing vines.  Most of the replants were Mourvèdre but we did include a few syrah vines.”

 

This wine has 14.2% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  There were 296 cases of the wine produced.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep, dark ruby color.  The intoxicating nose has blackberries, fresh cracked black pepper, charred wood, cherries, Asian spices, dried violets, dusty minerals, dry earth and some subtle smoked meat.  This has medium to full body with moderate tannins and good acidity.  On the palate this provides a big upfront dose of dark fruit, minerals and spice with black pepper and dried earth on the back end.  The finish has outstanding length with cherries and charred wood entering the picture.  This is drinking very nicely at this time but should hold for several years.  (93 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.

 

 

 

Cheers!