Cliff's Wine Picks

 

Guy Brunot Champagne Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru

2006 Saxum Syrah Broken Stones

2013 Myriad Cellars Sémillon Tofanelli Vineyard

2008 Scherrer Winery Zinfandel Old and Mature Vines Alexander Valley

2010 Ledge Syrah Adams Ranch Vineyard

2013 Bedrock Wine Co. Albarino Abrente

 

 

 

Guy Brunot Champagne Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru – $28.02

This was a purchase 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.

In this case, this was a Last Bottle $15 mystery bottle from one of their Marathons.

 

The wine is a light golden yellow color with several streams of pinpoint sized bubbles.  The festive nose has ripe apples, roasted nuts, lemon zest, orange blossoms and stony minerals.  On the palate the front end is dominated by apples and minerals with roasted nuts and orange blossoms coming in later.  The finish has decent length with a touch of lemon zest providing some depth.  This bottle seems a bit tired and a little past its prime.  I have one bottle left and will be opening it in the next couple of months in case this is the case.  This has 12% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a standard Champagne cork.  (85 pts)

 

 

 

2006 Saxum Syrah Broken Stones – $45

This was purchased from Saxum before the winery exploded after one of their wines was named the Wine of the Year by Wine Spectator.  Even before this time, the wines were highly allocated and available only via their mailing list.  Within a couple years the prices escalated to a level more appropriate their quality level.  The ride was fun while it lasted, but prices doubling or tripling within a couple years was a hard pill to swallow.  This is a blend of 63% Syrah, 24% Grenache and 13% Mourvedre.

 

The wine is a deep, inky purple color.  The intense and flamboyant nose is full of blackberries, licorice, crushed stones, scorched earth, violets, raspberries and roasted meat.  This has a full body with moderate tannins and good acidity.  Waves of flavor greet the palate starting with blackberry jam, crushed stones and scorched earth with roasted meat and raspberries slipping in later.  The finish is very long and nicely layered, every sip shows a new nuance.  This isn’t for the faint of heart but the great complexity will convert all but the most die-hard low alcohol fanatics.  This wine was from just before Saxum grabbed the wine world by their palate and their popularity exploded.  Thankfully I was a buyer before the frenzy and subsequent price escalation.  This has 16.3% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (96 pts)

 

 

 

2013 Myriad Cellars Sémillon Tofanelli Vineyard – $25

This is another winery mailing list I joined in their early days.  Early on, they produced some outstanding Syrah and Cabernet wines but eventually branched out to include a few white wines, such as this one.  This is 100% old vine Sémillon from Vince Tofanelli’s Napa vineyard.  As with most of these mailing list only wines, production was miniscule.  In this case there were only 48 cases produced.

 

The wine is a bright yellow color.  The very fragrant nose has apples, white peach, honeysuckle, lemongrass, lime zest and beeswax.  This has medium to full body with crisp acidity.  On the palate tart apples, white leach and lemongrass jump out quickly on the front end with white peach and honeysuckle coming in later.  The finish lingers nicely with lime zest and beeswax providing good depth.  This is drinking very nicely right now but since this is Sémillon, which tends to age very gracefully, I bet it will last in the cellar through the end of the decade or longer.  This has 14.6% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (92 pts)

 

 

 

2008 Scherrer Winery Zinfandel Old and Mature Vines Alexander Valley – $20

I used to split a friend’s Scherrer allocation in their “Futures Program” when I lived in Wisconsin.  In this program, you paid for the wines early in the year before they were even bottled.  The advantage was you got the wine at a BIG discount.  Usually around $20 for a wine that would sell for $30 to $35.  I used to get three bottles of this wine and three bottles of their Shale Vineyard Zinfandel.  I miss getting these wines at those prices.  The Scherrer zinfandels aren’t big and bold zins, they are much more mild mannered and balanced.  These zins age like a Bordeaux blend.

 

The wine is a deep ruby red color.  The expressive nose has blackberries, tobacco, cedar, baking spices, crushed stone minerals, scorched earth, dried wildflowers and a touch of licorice.  This has medium body with moderate tannins and very nice acidity.  On the palate berries, minerals and baking spices jump out on the front end with cherries, tobacco and dried earth coming in later.  The finish has great length with a nice dried floral note and a hint of cedar providing good depth.  This has great balance and still has a few years in a great drinking window.  No hurry opening this gem.  This has 14.5% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (93 pts)

 

 

 

2010 Ledge Syrah Adams Ranch Vineyard – $55

Ledge Vineyards is the winery owned by the One Time Spaceman, Mark Adams.  I was lucky enough to secure a sample of the 2009 vintage of this wine from Mark.  After two sips of the wine, I immediately joined the mailing list.  After securing my spot on the list, I started telling everyone who would listen to get on the list.

 

For more information, order wine, or to join the mailing list, click here.

 

The wine is a deep purple color.  The very inviting nose has blackberries, crushed stone minerals, smoke, raspberries, baking spices, eucalyptus, black pepper, violets, roasted herbs and a touch of dark bittersweet chocolate.  This has medium to full body, moderate ripe tannins and good acidity.  On the palate this is rich and plush with nice layers of fruit, spice and minerals.  The finish is very long with rich fruit, spice, minerals and a floral note seeming to hang on forever.  This still seems a touch on the young side but already a stunning wine.  This will be a nice one to follow over the next decade, maybe even longer.  This wine has 14.5% abv and is sealed with a natural cork and wax coating.  (95 pts)

 

 

 

2013 Bedrock Wine Co. Albarino Abrente – $22

This  was the 5th vintage of this wine made by Michael Havens (the first person to make Albarino in the New World) and Morgan Twain-Peterson.  The wine comes from two sites in the far southern part of Napa Valley.  This vintage consists of almost 60% grapes from the Watson Vineyard, which is planted in limestone.  The fruit from this vineyard adds density and perfume.  This was fermented and aged in stainless steel tank, with no malolactic.

 

The wine is a nice straw yellow color.  The invigorating nose has ripe apple, dusty minerals, lemon zest, white peach, under ripe melon and orange blossoms.  This has light to medium body with crisp acidity.  On the palate apples, lemon zest and white peach take control on the front end with minerals and orange blossoms coming in later.  The finish has nice length with a bit of melon joining the apples and lemon zest.  This has great citrusy acidity with enough apple and peach to balance the tartness.  The couple years in the cellar have been very kind to this wine but I’d advise consuming this one over the next year or two.  This has 13% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a twist off closure.  (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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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!