Cliff's Wine Picks

 

2013 La Fortuna Rosso di Montalcino

2013 Taken Wine Co. Taken

2014 Mastro Scheidt Sangiovese

2009 Lewis Cellars Alec’s Blend

2012 Bedrock Wine Co. Zinfandel Kirschenmann Vineyard

2011 Buoncristiani OPC Proprietary Red

 

 

 

2013 La Fortuna Rosso di Montalcino – $14.91

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.

 

La Fortuna is one of the oldest wineries in Montalcino.  The Zannoni family has been running the winery of 5 generations, over 100 years.  This wine is 100% Sangiovese from vines between 15 and 25 years old.

 

The wine is ruby red in color.  The very inviting nose has black cherries, dusty minerals, roasted leafy herbs, scorched earth, underbrush, well worn leather, tobacco and dried wildflowers.  This has medium body with soft to moderate tannins and very nice acidity.  On the palate cherries, dusty minerals and roasted herbs jump out quickly on the front end with scorched earth, tobacco and leather coming in later.  The finish has nice length with dried flowers and underbrush entering the picture.  A really nice Rosso di Montalcino.  This one will last in the cellar for at least a couple years.  This wine has 14% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (91 pts)

 

 

 

2013 Taken Wine Co. Taken – $24.64

This is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot.  The wine spent 16 months in 50% new French oak barrels.

 

This is a deep purple color.  The explosive nose is full of blackberries, dark chocolate, vanilla, espresso beans and plums.  This has medium to full body with soft tannins and decent acidity.  On the palate blackberries, plums and dark chocolate quickly grab your attention with vanilla and espresso beans coming in later.  The finish has nice length and is totally fruit driven.  This is a fairly soft Cab blend that would be nice after dinner or to share with friends over conversation and a platter of appetizers.  I would have liked a bit more structure and backbone.  This has 14.5% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (88 pts)

 

 

 

2014 Mastro Scheidt Sangiovese – $14.71

This was another “steal” from Last Bottle wines, my favorite “flash” wine site.  It looks like the winery’s suggested price for this wine is $42.00 making this a great Last Bottle offer.  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 wine was aged 10 months in 30% new American oak and 70% neutral French oak.

 

According to the winery:

2013 was a drought year in all of Sonoma County and California, with warm, consistent sunshine and zero precipitation for nearly the entire growing season.  Yields looked good, similar to 2012 … until August arrived. The consistently dry weather began to stress the vines a bit too much,  specially in the dry farmed vineyards, resulting in lower yields in many vineyards. Meticulous pre-sorting in each and every vineyard was crucial in 2013. We harvested Sangiovese in the Lake Block Vineyard on September 23. Overall, 2013 yielded rich concentration of flavor, color and vineyard source.

 

This is from Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley.  The wine is a bright ruby red color.  The appealing nose has cherries, raspberries, dry underbrush, dusty minerals, dried violets, baking spices and a hint of cedar.  This has medium body with good acidity and soft tannins.  On the palate bright cherries, raspberries and minerals grab hold on the front end with underbrush and baking spices coming in later.  The finish has very good length with a dried floral note and a touch of cedar providing depth.  This is a very tasty, food friendly alternative to a Chianti Riserva for pizza or pasta.  This has 13.9% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (89 pts)

 

 

 

2009 Lewis Cellars Alec’s Blend – $37.99

This wine is a blend of 80% Syrah, 17% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon.  There were 1000 cases of this wine produced.

 

The wine is a deep, dark, inky purple color.  The big, bold and rich nose is full of crushed blackberries, blueberries, smoke, charred meat, black pepper, dark bittersweet chocolate, vanilla, cedar, fresh ground coffee and scorched earth.  This has a full body with fairly solid tannins and decent acidity.  On the palate the spicy berries, pepper and meaty elements hit first followed by vanilla, dark chocolate and some earthiness.  The finish is fairly long and is highlighted by dark chocolate, vanilla and berries with spicy cedar also making an appearance.  This is a big and ripe wine made in a take no prisoners style.  This wine has 15.5% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (92 pts)

 

 

 

2012 Bedrock Wine Co. Zinfandel Kirschenmann Vineyard – $28.00

I have been on the Bedrock mailing list since the inception several years ago.  Bedrock is owned by Morgan Twain-Peterson, son of former Ravenswood owner and Zinfandel visionary, Joel Peterson.

 

Kirschenmann Vineyard is dry-farmed, organically-farmed, and own-rooted in silica rich soils along the Mokolumne River in Lodi.  The vineyard owner is Tegan Passalacqua, who is also responsible for the winemaking and vineyard management at Turley.

 

This is from a vineyard now owned by Tegan Passalacqua (Turley winemaker) and his wife Olivia.  This is an “own rooted” Zinfandel vineyard that was planted in 1915.  The “own rooted” vines had survived because the soil is very sandy which is a natural deterant to pests and diseases they plague vines in other soil conditions.  The wine is a deep ruby color.  The very inviting nose has brambly berries, cherries, warm baking spices, dusty minerals, black peppercorns, dried leafy herbs, licorice and violets.  This has a medium to full body with moderate ripe tannins and nice acidity.  This is rich and voluptuous on the palate with juicy fruit, minerals, black pepper and dusty minerals on the front end with dried herbs and dry earth coming in later.  The spicy finish has nice length.  This is a very easy Zinfandel to sip and enjoy.  The wine has 14.6% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (94 pts)

 

 

 

2011 Buoncristiani OPC Proprietary Red – $28.99

This was another “steal” from Last Bottle wines, my favorite “flash” wine site.  The current release of this wine, from the 2013 vintage, carries a suggested price of $70.  Some quick math shows the Last Bottle price was over 50% off.  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% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Syrah, 15% Malbec and 11% Merlot from various vineyards including Hyde, Stagecoach, Hossfeld, Tench and Bennett.  OPC stands for “Ol’ Pa’s Cuvée”

 

The wine is a deep garnet color.  The outgoing and enticing nose has cassis, dusty minerals, cherries, warm baking spices, roasted leafy herbs, scorched earth, fresh ground espresso beans, white pepper, dark chocolate and dried violets.  This has medium body with moderate tannins and very nice acidity.  On the palate cassis, baking spices, cherries and dusty minerals dominate the front end with roasted herbs and espresso beans coming in on the back end.  The long finish adds dark chocolate, white pepper and a dried floral note.  This may be on the young side but it is already stunning.  This has 14.4% alcohol and the bottle sealed with a natural cork.  (94 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!