Cliff's Wine Picks

 

2006 Villa Creek Mas de Maha

2012 Saddleback Cellars Barrel Select Posse Red

2009 Domaine Roche Cotes du Rhone Villages Cairanne

2012 Bedrock Wine Co. Heritage Compagni Portis

2007 Westerhold Family Vineyards Syrah Westerhold Vineyard

2013 Turley Zinfandel Juvenile

 

 

 

2006 Villa Creek Mas de Maha – $56

This was one of my favorite vintages of this wine.  I ordered 9 bottle upon release and killed them off within a few years.  A few months ago Villa Creek offered some of their “library wines” in an e-mail offer, so I had to grab a few bottles to fill up my case of their wine and rose.  This is a blend of 60% Tempranillo, 20% Grenache and 20% Mourvedre.

 

Deep, dark ruby color with just a touch of bricking at the edge.  Cherries, plums, blackberries, licorice, fresh flowers, baking spices, cedar, minerals and some vanilla on the very nice and open nose.  Full bodied with fairly big, ripe tannins and nice acidity.  Big, ripe fruit on the palate but with very nice savory elements, not sweet, syrupy, or have any raisiny notes.  This is drinking very nicely now, but with the tannins and acidity, can cellar for a few more years.  Outstanding!  This has 15% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a twist off closure.  (93 pts)

 

 

 

2012 Saddleback Cellars Barrel Select Posse Red – $18.89

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 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.

 

I couldn’t find much information on the wine so the exact blend is a mystery.

 

The wine is a deep ruby red color.  The invigorating nose has cassis, black cherry, baking spices, licorice, black peppercorns, crushed stone minerals, violets and a touch of cedar.  This has medium body with moderate tannins and very good acidity.  On the palate cassis, cherries, spices and cedar dominate the front end with minerals, black peppercorns and a floral note coming in later.  The finish has nice length.  This is a very nice week night bottle of wine that could work with a meat dish on the weekend.  This has 14.5% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (90 pts)

 

 

 

2009 Domaine Roche Cotes du Rhone Villages Cairanne – $16.14

There’s nothing, in my opinion, better than a nice Côtes du Rhône when you want something interesting without dropping a load of money.  Any time I put a piece of pork on the grill, my first thought is something from France’s Southern Rhone region.  These wines generally have an abundance of spice and dried herbs (garrigue), as well as great acidity.  This specific wine is a step up from a basic Côtes du Rhône since the grapes come from a specific village in the region.  A wine labeled simply as Côtes du Rhône can be a blend of grapes from different parts of the region.  In California terms, compare this to a Cabernet from Rutherford instead of the generic Napa Valley.  This is a blend of 70% Grenache and 30% Syrah that aged in mostly cement, with a small portion in older barrels.

 

The wine is a deep ruby to garnet color.  The interesting and inviting nose has cherries, dried herbs, minerals, meat juices, black pepper, raspberries, baking spices and some scorched earth.  This has medium body, soft to moderate tannins and good acidity.  On the palate fruit, spice and minerals hit first with dried herbs and pepper on the back end with some slowly building earthiness coming into play.  The finish is fairly long with the savory notes of minerals and dried herbs leading the way with the fruit providing nice sweetness in the background.  Tastes wonderful today but I think the best days are in the past, drink up in the next year or two.  (90 pts)

 

 

 

2012 Bedrock Wine Co. Heritage Compagni Portis – $25.00

This wine is a field blend consisting of about a dozen different varietals including Gewurtzraminer, Trousseau Gris, Riesling, Roter Veltliner, Chardonnay and a few others from a vineyard planted in 1954.  This is how wines used to be made before people wanted to see a specific grape on the label.

 

The wine is a bright yellow color.  The exotic nose has apples, lychee, white peach, pear, stony minerals, petrol, honeysuckle, orange blossoms and melon.  This has medium body with nice acidity.  This is rich and luxurious on the palate with nice white orchard fruit, orange blossoms, minerals and lychee nuts on the front end with honeysuckle and a touch of lime zest coming in later.  The finish has very nice length with a touch of melon and white peach providing great depth.  This was much smoother and richer as it warmed up a bit, don’t serve this one too cold, just a brief chill in the refrigerator will be perfect.  This has 14.2% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (92 pts)

 

 

 

2007 Westerhold Family Vineyards Syrah Westerhold Vineyard – $42.00

This is a wine I tried due to Russell Bevan being the winemaker.  It absolutely blew me away.  I quickly ordered more and put the word out on Twitter.  I suggested to Jeb Dunnuck that he should track down a bottle to try, he then gave it 95+ on his The Rhone Report.

 

The wine is a deep, dark maroon color.  The intense nose has blackberries, smoked meat, black pepper, charcoal, dark bittersweet chocolate, dried herbs, minerals, melted licorice, baking spices, and a nice floral note.  This has a fairly full body, solid ripe tannins and very good acidity.  This is lush and ripe on the palate but not really pushing the ripeness to the edge.  The palate shows nice peppery berries, licorice, and some smoked meat with baking spices and dried herbs in the background.  The finish is very long and highlights the fruit initially but as the fruit slowly fades, the savory elements keep going.  For a 10 year old bottle of wine, this still tastes young and vibrant.  This has 14.5% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (95 pts)

 

 

 

2013 Turley Zinfandel Juvenile – $20

To me, this is one of the biggest bargains out there.  Other than Lodi, where can you get a consistently top quality Zinfandel for $20?

 

The wine is a deep maroon color.  The inviting nose has brambly berries, dark chocolate, black peppercorns, baking spices and black cherries.  This has a full body with moderate ripe tannins and nice acidity.  On the palate waves of berries and black cherries with baking spices take over immediately with black pepper coming in later.  The finish has great length with some dark chocolate providing extra depth.  This is a big and rich style of zin with enough structure to hold everything together.  I wouldn’t sit on this one for more than a couple of years.  This is a QPR superstar for $20.  This has 15.5% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (92 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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Cheers!

 

 

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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!