Cliff's Wine Picks

 

2010 Treasure Hunter Caitlin’s Cuvee Paso Robles

2011 Mark Herold Wines Flux

2008 Duckhorn Vineyards Cabernet Franc Estate Grown Patzimaro Vineyard Napa Valley

2011 Carlisle Zinfandel Carlisle Vineyard

2008 Villa Creek Mas de Maha

2015 Macchia Petite Sirah Dubious

 

 

 

2010 Treasure Hunter Caitlin’s Cuvee Paso Robles – $18.59

There isn’t much information available on this wine.  I do know it is a Bordeaux blend but I don’t know the exact blend.  I do know the winemaker is Mark Adams from One Time Spaceman and his own winery, Ledge.

 

The wine is a deep purple color.  The exotic nose has cassis, blackberries, roasted herbs, baking spices, cherries, dry underbrush, wild flowers and a hint of cedar.  This has medium body with soft to moderate tannins and nice acidity.  On the palate cassis, blackberries, roasted herbs and baking spices grab your attention quickly with cherries and underbrush coming in on the back end.  The finish has nice length with a floral note and a touch of cedar providing extra depth.  This isn’t one to stash away, I’d drink this one in the next year or two and enjoy the upfront fruit.  This has 15.0% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (89 pts)

 

 

2011 Mark Herold Wines Flux – $15.40

This wine was purchased from the “flash sell” site, Last Bottle.  More information and a credit for signing up is lower in this post.

 

This wine is a Grenache based blend with some Syrah and Mourvedre included in the blend.

 

The wine is garnet red color.  The enticing nose has black cherries, warm baking spices, raspberries, scorched earth, dusty minerals, roasted leafy herbs and wildflowers.  This has medium to full body with moderate tannins and good acidity.  On the palate black cherries, baking spices and minerals jump out first with raspberries and roasted herbs coming in later.  The finish has nice length with scorched earth and a floral note entering the picture.  This is an easy drinking and tasty wine.  I wouldn’t stash this away for an extended time, open this one in the next couple of years.  This has 14.7% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (91 pts)

 

 

2008 Duckhorn Vineyards Cabernet Franc Estate Grown Patzimaro Vineyard Napa Valley – $38.75

This wine was purchased from the “flash sell” site, Last Bottle.  More information and a credit for signing up is lower in this post.

 

This wine is a blend of 84% Cabernet Franc and 16% Cabernet Sauvignon.  The wine was aged in 100% new French oak Chateau-style 60 gallon barrels.

 

The wine is a deep ruby red color.  The enjoyable nose has cassis, cedar, dusty minerals, roasted herbs, baking spices, cherries, white pepper and a touch of dark chocolate.  This has medium body with moderate to solid tannins and very good acidity.  On the palate cassis, cedar, minerals and baking spices jump out quickly with roasted herbs and white pepper coming in on the back end.  The finish has decent length with cedar and dark chocolate providing depth.  The only negative is the herbs turn a touch green on the finish.  All in all, a very good wine with a piece of juicy meat hot off the grill.  This has 14.5% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (89 pts)

 

 

2011 Carlisle Zinfandel Carlisle Vineyard – $38.50

This wine is a blend of 87% Zinfandel and 13% Mixed Black Varieties (Alicante Bouschet, Petite Sirah, Grand Noir, Peloursin, Trousseau noir, Tempranillo, Muscadelle, Malvasia, Muscat, and over 30 other varieties).  The vineyard was planted in 1927.  The winery has undertaken the time consuming job of identifying the variety of every one of the 6000 vines in the vineyard.

 

The wine is a deep purple color.  The intoxicating nose has brambly berries, black peppercorns, licorice, warm baking spices, pencil shavings, stony minerals, black cherries, scorched earth and violets.  This has a full body with moderate to solid tannins and very nice acidity.  On the palate waves of dark fruit, minerals, baking spices and pencil shavings immediately grab your attention with black pepper and scorched earth coming in on the back end.  The finish has good length with licorice and violets providing great depth.  This is a rich, lush and powerful Zinfandel that has great balance.  There is no hurry with this wine, it will drink very nicely through at least the end of the decade, probably even longer.  This has 15.7% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (94 pts)

 

 

2008 Villa Creek Mas de Maha – $29.75

This is a blend of 60% Tempranillo, 20% Grenache, 10% Mourvedre and 10% Carignan from Paso Robles.

 

The wine is a deep purple color.  The spellbinding nose has raspberries, black cherries, crushed stone minerals, dried herbs, vanilla, wildflowers, baking spices, plums and dry earth.  This has a full body with moderate tannins and good acidity.  On the palate red and black fruit, minerals and baking spices immediately grab your attention with vanilla, dried herbs and plums coming in later.  The lingering finish adds a nice floral note and some subtle earthiness.  This is at a great stage in its’ evolution, it is big and powerful with no rough edges and displays great balance.  I really enjoyed this wine and the cellar time has been rewarded.  This has 15.2% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a twist off closure.  (94 pts)

 

 

2015 Macchia Petite Sirah Dubious – $24.99

This wine is a blend of grapes from both Lodi and Amador County, so it carries the “California” appellation on the label.

 

The wine is a deep, dark purple color.  The luxurious nose is full of blackberries, wood embers, black pepper, vanilla, blueberries, scorched earth, wildflowers and crushed stone minerals.  This has a full body with moderate tannins and nice acidity.  On the palate blackberries, wood embers, black pepper and vanilla quickly take control with blueberries, minerals and scorched earth coming in later.  The finish has nice length with a big floral note joining the fruit to provide nice richness.  This probably won’t be one to stash away for some extended cellar time, open this one in the next few years and enjoy the upfront fruit.  This has 14.9% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (90 pts)

 

 

 

 

 

I am a big fan of the “Flash Wine Sale” site Last Bottle.  You probably noticed some of the wines in this post were purchased from the site.  All of these wines were purchased at a big discount.  I highly recommend getting on their e-mail list.  Like most of the flash sale sites, they offer one wine per day until it sells out.  They also have a couple two-day marathons during the year.  Last Bottle is a great site to buy special wines at prices low enough to open any day of the week.

 

If you sign up using this link you will get a $10 credit that can be used on your first purchase.  I will also get a credit if you make a purchase.

 

Other than getting a credit as explained above, I have no financial interest in the site.  After you are on the list, you can also get the same credit by introducing friends to Last Bottle.

 

 

 

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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!