2008 Big Basin Vineyards Syrah Fairview Ranch

2011 Newton Claret

2007 Scherrer Winery Zinfandel Scherrer Shale Terrace

2007 Wild Hog Vineyard Petite Sirah Cache Creek

2007 Bisceglia Syrah Armille Basilicata

2010 Villa Creek Mas de Maha

2013 Siduri Pinot Noir Russian River Valley

2008 Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva Badia a Passignano

2008 Villa Creek Bête Noire

 

 

 

2008 Big Basin Vineyards Syrah Fairview Ranch – $35.00

There were 8 barrels of this wine produced.  This has 15.8% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  The wine is a deep, dark garnet color.  The masculine nose is full of blackberries, cassis, stone minerals, roasted herbs, white pepper, vanilla, spice and dried flowers.  This has a full body with moderate tannins and nice acidity.  Spicy, peppery berries and minerals coat the palate on the front end with roasted herbs and vanilla coming in later.  The finish has very nice length with a dried floral note adding nice depth.  This is rich and luxurious with enough tannins and acidity to keep everything in check and to provide nice balance for such a big wine.  This can be opened now or through the end of the decade.  (93 pts)

 

 

 

2011 Newton Claret – $17.99

This vintage is a blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot, 4% Syrah, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Malbec.  The wine has 14.0% alcohol.  The wine is a medium ruby red color.  The very appealing nose has cassis, cherries, cedar, dried herbs, dusty minerals, tobacco and dry earth.  This has a medium body with moderate tannins and nice acidity.  On the palate nice fruit shares the stage with dusty minerals, cedar and dried herbs on the front end with dry earth and tobacco coming in later.  The finish has decent length but loses some of the early richness.  A perfectly acceptable week night cab blend.  (88 pts)

 

 

 

2007 Scherrer Winery Zinfandel Scherrer Shale Terrace – $17.50

This wine has 14.5% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  The wine is a medium ruby color, much lighter than a typical zinfandel, this actually looks like a Pinot Noir.  The very tempting nose has brambly berries, cherries, baking spices, minerals, smoke, white pepper, wild flowers, and some earthiness.  The wine has medium body with moderate tannins and very good acidity.  The palate leans a bit more to the red fruit than black with cherries, spices, minerals, and nice earthiness.  The finish is fairly silky and smooth and lingers nicely. This is drinking very nicely but with great balance will last in the cellar for a few more years.   (93 pts)

 

 

 

2007 Wild Hog Vineyard Petite Sirah Cache Creek

A few years ago the local wine store ran this wine as an e-mail special.  It was a pretty easy decision to grab a case for well under $10 a bottle.  How often can you find a single vineyard Petite at that price?  I don’t know the specifics but according to the winery’s website this was the last vintage for the wine.  I know for a fact they made some in the 2008 vintage, since I have a case in my cellar.  At least I bought a case but I have opened a few bottles.

 

This has 15.0% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

 

My Tasting Note

 

The wine is a deep, dark, inky purple color.  The very masculine nose is loaded with blackberries, fresh ground black pepper, smoke, vanilla, eucalyptus, cherries, and wild flowers.  This has a fairly full body, moderate to solid tannins, and very nice acidity.  On the palate the peppery berries kick off the show with some smoke and vanilla coming in on the back end. A faint herbal note peaks out on the fairly long finish as well as some earthiness.  This tastes marvelous today and should hold for at least a couple more years.  (90 pts)

 

 

 

2007 Bisceglia Syrah Armille Basilicata

This wine was a free upgrade from Underground Cellars when I bought a few bottles of a lower end Australian Shiraz.  This 100% Italian Syrah has 14% alcohol.  The wine is a medium ruby color with a touch of brick at the edge.  The enticing nose has cherries, chalky minerals, baking spices, roasted herbs, anise, smoke, scorched earth and dried wild flowers.  This is barely medium body with soft integrated tannins and nice acidity.  On the palate the chalky minerals and baking spices jump out first with nice fruit in the background on the front end, scorched earth and dried flowers come in later.  The finish has decent length with the minerals and spices pushing the fruit into the background.  This probably needs to be opened over the next year or two but it will be a great companion to dinner.  (88 pts)

 

 

 

2010 Villa Creek Mas de Maha

This wine is a blend of 50% Tempranillo, 25% Grenache and 25% Carignan.  A total of 220 cases were produced.  The wine is a deep, dark garnet color.  The intoxicating nose has black cherries, vanilla bean, crushed stones, raspberries, warm baking spices, well worn leather, dark chocolate, earthy underbrush and violets.  This has a full body with moderate tannins and very nice acidity.  Crushed stones, spices and black cherries dominate the front end on the palate with nice earthiness and dark chocolate coming in later.  The finish has very good length with tart cherries, spice and minerals seeming to linger forever.  An outstanding effort.  (93 pts)

 

 

 

2013 Siduri Pinot Noir Russian River Valley – $29.99

This wine I generally pick up in bulk when I see it at a good price on a store’s shelf.  The wine is a bright ruby red color.  The sensuous nose has tart cherries, baking spices, wild flowers, white pepper, crushed stones and dry underbrush.  This silky wine has medium body with soft to moderate tannins and very nice acidity.  Tart cherries, white pepper and baking spices coat the palate on the front end with stony minerals and a nice floral note coming in later.  The finish has nice length with a bit of earthiness adding some depth.  This doesn’t offer a lot of complexity at this early point in its development but is still very tasty.  (90 pts)

 

 

 

I was in the mood for a very late Thanksgiving dinner.  We pretty much missed Thanksgiving this year since we were packing and loading the truck for our move from Wisconsin to South Carolina.  We saw a TV show where they made “waffles” from the dressing and served them with sliced turkey breast, mashed potatoes and gravy.  My wife mixed up some cornbread dressing, I put it in the waffle iron, heated up some sliced turkey breast and we had a non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner in late February.

 

 

2008 Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva Badia a Passignano – $30.39

A local wine store had a few bottles of this wine on their close-out rack at a great price, it is generally in the $45 neighborhood, so I had to grab a few bottles.  This wine is 100% Sangiovese.  The wine is a deep violet color.  The enticing nose has cherries, dusty minerals, raspberries, licorice, mint, baking spices, violets and scorched earth.  This has medium body with moderate tannins and very nice acidity.  On the palate tart cherries and berries jump out first with spices, mint and dusty minerals coming in quickly.  The finish has very good length with scorched earth entering the picture.  This is a very nice Chianti Classico Riserva, especially for the price I was able to find.  This is usually about 50% more than my price.  (92 pts)

 

 

 

2008 Villa Creek Bête Noire – $36.00

This wine is a blend of 70% Syrah and 30% Mourvedre from Denner and Booker Vineyards in Paso Robles.  The wine is a deep maroon color.  The very appealing nose has blackberries, smoked meat, crushed stone minerals, cherries, warm baking spices, black tea leaves, damp underbrush, dried flowers and dark chocolate.  This has a full body with moderate to solid tannins and nice acidity.  Juicy berries, crushed stones and baking spices coat the palate on the front end with cherries, black tea leaves and nice underbrush coming in later.  The finish has good length with cherries, minerals and spice carrying the bulk of the load.  This is tasting very nice right now, but should hold for a few more years.  Impressive!  (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 always check out the sale and close out items when in a store.  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!