2009 Pierre Amadieu Côtes du Rhône Roulepierre

2007 JC Cellars Petite Sirah Eaglepoint Ranch

2008 Anthill Farms Syrah Peters Vineyard

2003 Bodegas AAlto Ribera del Duero

2012 Noble Vines Pinot Noir 667 Monterey

2008 Groom Shiraz

2010 Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi Chianti Rufina Nipozzano Riserva

 

 

 

2009 Pierre Amadieu Côtes du Rhône Roulepierre – $8.95

I grabbed a six pack of this wine after having a sip at a tasting.  At the time, I noted it needed a year in the cellar.  I opened a bottle after about a year in the cellar and it had opened nicely but still needed a bit more time.  It’s a nice time to see if the additional 11 months have been rewarded.  This is a blend of 75% Grenache and 25% Syrah.

 

This wine has 13.5% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

 

Winery history

Our history begins in 1929 when my grand father decides to bottle and trade under the signature Pierre Amadieu his wine coming from the 7 hectares (17 acres) of vineyard in Gigondas passed on by generation to generation.  He is then one of the firsts to print the name of the appellation on his bottles and obtains from 1932 a golden medal in the National Agricultural Concours of Paris.

 

I am presently on the head of the company and I am in charge of winemaking and maturing.  I work with my uncle Claude who runs the vineyard.  Together we follow the familial way of thinking by respecting soils and traditions in order to make you share wines faithful to the quality ambition of our grandfather and by adding a note of modernity in order to delight the most demanding and the most curious palates.

 

I am not a follower of over-extracted wines and often “heavy” to taste; my ambition is rather to obtain well-balanced wines with a Burgundy fineness.  Through the maturing I try to reveal all the elegance and the richness of our protected terroirs located on the heights of the appellation Gigondas.  From vines to the bottling patience and observation are required.  Today appreciated all over the world, every vintage reserves its subtleties which I am happy to subject to your appreciation.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a ruby red color.  The open and inviting nose has blackberries, black cherries, minerals, dried herbs, spices, black pepper, and a bit of earthiness.  This has medium body, moderate tannins and very good acidity.  On the palate spicy, peppery, mineral laden fruit takes center stage with dried herbs and some earthiness coming in on the back end.  The finish has decent length and is very flavorful.  This wine is in a very nice place right now but should hold up for a few years.  This was an absolute steal for the $9 I paid.  (89 pts)

 

 

 

2007 JC Cellars Petite Sirah Eaglepoint Ranch – $23.74

I bought a few bottles of this wine when the store brought in a few cases for an end of vintage sale.  To me, this was a no brainer.  I love JC Cellars and Petite Sirah, so when these were offered at about half off, several followed me home.

 

This has 15.0% alcohol by volume and is sealed with a natural cork.

 

Winery history

Jeff Cohn, the winemaker, president, and “JC” of JC Cellars got his start in the industry almost 20 years ago.  As an intern at Boordy Vineyards in Maryland, he drove an hour and half each way to prune vines in frigid weather, pick grapes in stifling heat, and scrub everything from barrels to floors.

 

Long before he began his winemaking career he received an associate degree in culinary arts from Johnson & Wales University, and a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management from Florida International University.

 

Cohn had always loved the hospitality industry, and as he worked through several high profile positions after college he found his passion for wine steadily growing.  The more he learned, the more he wanted to learn, until he realized that becoming a winemaker was his ultimate goal.  The job at Boordy was a deciding factor in the trajectory of his career — in spite of all the scrubbing.

 

With the encouragement and support of his family, Cohn moved to California in 1993 to follow his dream.  He earned his master’s degree in agriculture chemistry, with an emphasis on enology, from California State University, Fresno in 1996.  It was here that Cohn discovered French winemaking techniques and the concept of terroir.  “The flavor profile was so different than anything else I had ever tried,” he says of the first Chateauneuf-du-Pape he tried in school.  “It was a shocker.  To go from tasting only single varietals to a blend really opened my eyes.”

 

For more info, visit http://www.jccellars.com/about-jeff-cohn.html

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep, dark purple color.  The big and bold nose has blackberries, black pepper, dark chocolate, fresh ground espresso, underbrush, melted licorice, and wood smoke.  This has a full body, solid, chewy tannins, and very good acidity.  On the palate the wine has an overload of ripe, juicy berries, pepper, dark chocolate and ground espresso.  The finish is fairly long and again, like the palate, is loaded with flavor.  The big, mouth coating tannins really kick in on the finish but the fruit and spice still shine through.  If you are not tannin adverse, this can be enjoyed now, if not, let this one sleep for a couple more years.  (93 pts)

 

 

 

2008 Anthill Farms Syrah Peters Vineyard – $28

Anthill Farms is more noted for their Pinot Noir wines but I’m a big fan of their Syrah based wines.  Very little of their wines make it out of their mailing list so the best way to procure the wines is via the list.  Unfortunately, it looks like their mailing list is currently full, but you can click here to get on the waiting list.

 

About the vineyard – Randy Peters and his father-in-law, Tom Mukaida, farm this vineyard outside of Sebastopol in western Sonoma County.  The southern slopes of these hills form the northern edge of the Petaluma Gap, which rushes cool, marine air from the Pacific Ocean inland.  The vines, a mix of Pommard and 777 planted twenty years ago, produce grapes that ripen unusually slow due to the oft-present morning fog.

 

This wine has 13.6% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a fairly deep ruby color.  The enticing nose has smoky minerals, berries, black pepper, smoked meat and dried violets.  This has medium body with moderate tannins and good acidity.  On the palate the minerals and spice jump out first with smoked meat and berries coming in fairly quickly, a nice floral note comes in on the back end.  The finish has very nice length.  This has the balance to age for a few more years but is hard to resist now.  (91 pts)

 

 

 

2003 Bodegas AAlto Ribera del Duero – $33.24

I’ve been a big fan of Aalto for several years.  These are big, tannic beasts in their youth that, with some cellar time, round into very pleasurable bottles of Tempranillo.

 

Winery history

The winery’s website is “under construction” so the following information is from the Drink Ribera site.

 

Aalto was founded in 1999 by Mariano García and Javier Zaccagnini with the aim of making a new wine, based on very old vineyards and Mariano’s expertise.  After 10 years, the winery is considered a leader in Ribera del Duero and has obtained the highest reviews in many tastings.  Top scores include three 98 point-ratings from The Wine Advocate, and twice being named Best Wine of Spain, as selected by Michel Bettane and Thiery Dessauve’s book of the Best 100 Wineries of the World.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep ruby red color.  The very inviting nose has cherries, black raspberries, licorice, Asian spices, plums, scorched earth, violets, vanilla, and a touch of mint.  This has medium to full body, fairly solid tannins, and good acidity.  The palate has nice red fruit, spice, and subtle earthiness, with darker fruit coming in on the backend.  The finish is fairly long with a very nice vanilla element adding to the earthy, spicy, red fruit.  This is drinking nicely now, but there is a definite upside to warrant some additional cellar time.  (93 pts)

 

 

 

2012 Noble Vines Pinot Noir 667 Monterey – $10.79

Noble Vines is a label produced under the Delicato Family Vineyards umbrella of wineries.  This was a new one for me when I tried a taste at a local wine store’s tasting a week ago.  Though it was nothing too special, it seemed like it would be a nice bottle of Pinot to enjoy along with a week night dinner.  For around $10, a couple bottles followed me home.

 

This wine has 14.5% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with an agglomerated cork.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a bright red color.  The soothing nose has cherries, cranberries, minerals, earthy peat moss, eucalyptus and wild flowers.  This has medium body, soft tannins and nice acidity.  On the palate bright red fruit and subtle earthiness hit the palate first with stony minerals and a hint of eucalyptus coming in later.  The finish has decent length with the earthy elements and a slight herbal note carrying the load.  Not a lot of complexity here but this is an easy to drink week night Pinot for around $10.  (88 pts)

 

 

 

2008 Groom Shiraz – $18.05

This wine was offered as an e-mail special about three years ago.  I stopped in for a free taste of the wine and decided I could make some room in the cellar for a six pack.  The wine obviously was made for the long haul and needed some cellar time.  Today is the day to check in to see how it is progressing.

 

Winery history

Marschall Groom Cellars is a very small family winery situated in the famous Barossa Valley region of South Australia.  The winery produces three varietals, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz & Zinfandel – under the label GROOM.

 

Marschall Groom Cellars is the culmination of a dream, backed up by many years of talk and family discussion.  The proprietors are David & Jeanette Marschall and their six children, and Daryl & Lisa Groom and their four children.

 

The dream started to become reality with the purchase of 87 acres of bare land in the Kalimna appellation of the Barossa Valley, directly adjacent to the renowned Penfolds Kalimna vineyard – the home of Grange.  In 1997 the first acres on our Kalimna Bush Block were planted to Shiraz, producing its first crop in the 1999 vintage.  To complement our young Shiraz fruit we source from one other very reputable high quality vineyard in the Barossa, the Fechner Vineyard which is home to 50 year-old vines.

 

The Barossa Valley is too warm to grow world class Sauvignon Blanc.  This variety is ideally suited to much cooler, higher rainfall climates.  After thoroughly researching the climatic conditions within South Australia, a 20 acre vineyard in the Adelaide Hills appellation of Lenswood was planted to provide the perfect grapes for our Sauvignon Blanc.

 

In 2000, 8 acres of experimental Zinfandel vines were planted on the Kalimna Bush Block.  A very limited introductory wine release from these grapes was made from the 2003 vintage. The first Commercial release into the USA was the 2006 vintage.

 

Also working with the company to maintain and ensure our quality standards is Consultant Winemaker, Natasha Mooney; previously the winemaker for E&E Black Pepper Shiraz, and now working closely with Daryl to produce our stunning wines.  Our wines are hand-crafted and produced in limited quantities.

 

Our desire for the GROOM label is to let the vineyards and their fruit do the talking in producing the style and quality of our wines.  As proprietors, we have set the foundation in choosing the most ideal viticultural region needed to produce the highest quality for each of our chosen varieties. ENJOY!

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a dark ruby to maroon color.  The open and appealing nose has blackberries, plums, minerals, Asian spices, eucalyptus, black pepper, dried herbs, and some leather.  The is medium to full body, with fairly solid, ripe tannins and good acidity.  The palate has rich and velvety fruit with solid minerals and spices.  On the back end some dried herbs and a touch of eucalyptus add considerable depth.  The finish is fairly long with a touch of dark chocolate making an appearance.  This improved considerably with a couple hours of air, so let it sleep another year or let it breathe.  (92 pts)

 

 

 

2010 Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi Chianti Rufina Nipozzano Riserva – $20.07

This wine is a perennial favorite to pair with pasta.  Even though, I prefer the wine with a bit of cellar time, I wanted to open this bottle to see if I need to stock up before it disappears of the store’s shelf.

 

This wine has 13.5% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a saturated ruby red color.  The spellbinding nose has black cherries, warm baking spices, dried violets, dry earth, dusty minerals and licorice.  This has medium body with moderate tannins and very nice acidity.  This is bright and lively on the palate with black cherries and spice jumping out first with dry earthy elements coming in on the back end.  The finish has very nice length with dusty minerals entering the picture.  This is on the young side but already very tasty.  Stock up if you find it at a great price to enjoy over the next few years.  (91 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!