Cliff's Wine Picks

 

2013 Carlisle Zinfandel Monte Rosso Vineyard

2008 Sleeper Brut Reserve Extended Tirage

2010 Ruffino Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Ducale Oro

2010 Herman Story Larner Vineyard

2012 Casey Flat Ranch Open Range

2009 JC Cellars Syrah Fess Parker Vineyard

 

 

 

2013 Carlisle Zinfandel Monte Rosso Vineyard – $39.00

This wine includes 7% Grand Noir for color and to add spice.  Half the grapes were fermented with indigenous yeast, the remainder was inoculated to increase complexity.  The was aged for 16 months in French oak barrels, only 24% were new.  The total production this vintage was 275 cases.

 

The wine is a deep maroon color.  The exotic nose is full of blackberries, plums, minerals, black pepper, baking spices and scorched earth.  This has a full body with moderate to solid tannins and very nice acidity.  On the palate blackberries, minerals, baking spices and black pepper jump out quickly on the front end with plums and scorched earth coming in on the back end.  The finish has great length with a nice mix of fruit and savory elements.  This tastes great now but some additional cellar time will be rewarded.  This has 15.9% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (94 pts)

 

 

 

2008 Sleeper Brut Reserve Extended Tirage – $22

This was another “steal” from Last Bottle wines, my favorite “flash” wine site.  If you use the provided link and sign up, you get an immediate $10 credit and I get a credit if/when you make a purchase.  Check them out, they have awesome deals and their Marathons are always something special.  In this case, the wine had an original release price of about $75 from the winery.

 

This bubbly was produced by Robert Hunter Winery.  The family closed the winery after Robert’s death.  Last Bottle Wines bought a lot of their inventory.  Since the wine was ready for market but not yet labeled, it acquired the “Sleeper” label which is Last Bottle’s “in house” label.  This is 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay from the Sonoma Valley.

 

This is a straw yellow color with several streams of pinpoint sized bubbles.  The bright and appealing nose has tart green apples, minerals, yeasty bread, roasted nuts and lemon zest.  This has light to medium body with crisp acidity and great inner mouth effervescence.  On the palate green apples and minerals quickly grab your attention with yeasty bread and roasted nuts coming in later.  The finish has nice length with a healthy amount of mouthwatering lemon zest making you grab another sip.  This has 12.56% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a standard Champagne cork.  (92 pts)

 

 

 

2010 Ruffino Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Ducale Oro

Ruffino only produces this wine in outstanding vintages.  When they make Riserva Ducale Oro, the grapes by hand harvested, mostly from their Gretole estate in the Chianti Classico appellation.  The vineyard lots are vinified individually to preserve their specificity to the land.  The wine is aged in oak, stainless steel and concrete vats for 36 months, twelve months longer than required by Italian law.  The wine then spends additional months in bottle before release.  This Sangiovese wine includes some Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

 

The wine is a deep garnet color.  The very inviting nose has cherries, plums, leather, white pepper, scorched earth, tobacco, baking spices and cedar.  This has medium body with moderate tannins and very nice acidity.  On the palate cherries, leather and baking spices pop out immediately with white pepper and scorched earth coming in later.  The finish has good length with a spicy cedar note and plums providing great depth.  This is drinking very nicely right now but will easily hold and maybe even improve for another five years or longer.  This has 14.5% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (92 pts)

 

 

 

2010 Herman Story Larner Vineyard – $33.60

This is 65% Syrah and 35% Grenache.  The winery intended to produce separate wines from the Larner Vineyard, one Syrah and one Grenache.  During experimentation, they decided the blend was too good to pass up so this was produced and the two straight varietal wines were not produced.  The wine was aged in French oak, 80% new.  A total of 234 cases were produced.

 

This is a deep maroon color.  The exuberant nose has blackberries, roasted meat, warm baking spices, licorice, blueberries, dusty minerals, black cherries and road tar.  This has a full body with moderate to solid tannins and decent acidity.  On the palate massive fruit and spice quickly grab control with dusty minerals and more fruit coming in later.  The finish has good length with warm berries and spice.  This is a massive wine that doesn’t offer a lot of finesse but the big fruit and spice provide enough complexity to keep it from getting boring.  (90 pts)

 

 

 

2012 Casey Flat Ranch Open Range – $9.74

This was another “steal” from Last Bottle wines, my favorite “flash” wine site.  If you use the provided link and sign up, you get an immediate $10 credit and I get a credit if/when you make a purchase.  Check them out, they have awesome deals and their Marathons are always something special.

 

This is a blend of 52% Syrah, 33% Petite Sirah, 8% Merlot, 5% Mourvedre and 2% Cabernet Franc.

 

This was a house favorite when we wanted “something different”.  Unfortunately the winery closed so there won’t be more down the road.  Luckily, Last Bottle bought everything the winery had available and sold the wine at an incredible price.  Last Bottle didn’t just buy the winery’s finished wines but also bought barrels the winery had aging in their cellar.  When those wines were ready, they were bottled and released by Last Bottle.  I’ll have reviews of those wines down the road since I stocked up on those offers.

 

The wine is a dark ruby to maroon color.  The appealing nose has crushed berries, licorice, black peppercorns, dried wild flowers, dusty minerals, fresh ground espresso beans and dry earth.  This has medium to full body with soft to moderate tannins and good acidity.  On the palate berries, black pepper and minerals pop out first with dry earth and a nice dried floral note coming in on the back end.  The finish has nice length with espresso beans providing depth.  This is a nice, easy drinking everyday wine, especially at the price.  I’d enjoy this one over the next 4 or 5 years.  This has 14.8% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a twist off cap.  (89 pts)

 

 

 

2009 JC Cellars Syrah Fess Parker Vineyard – $18.99

I loved the Rosenblum wines crafted by Jeff Cohn and have never been disappointed by the ones he has produced under his own label.  A few years ago, the winery dropped the “JC” initials and are labeled as Jeff Cohn Cellars.

 

The wine is a deep garnet color.  The inviting nose has smoky, earthy berries, dark bittersweet chocolate, minerals, meat juices, black pepper, dried herbs, warm baking spices and just a touch of road tar.  This has a fairly full body, moderate to full tannins and good acidity.  On the palate the juicy, smoky berries grab hold, slowly allowing dried herbs, black pepper, and meaty elements to slip through.  The finish has nice length with some earthiness and dark chocolate being added to the mix.  This is in its’ prime drinking window and should hold for a couple of years.  Another winner from Jeff Cohn.  This has 14.8% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (91 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!