Cliff's Wine Picks

 

2009 Gamache Vintners Cabernet Sauvignon

2014 Cosa Obra Sauvignon Blanc Hummingbird Hill Vineyard

2010 Jacob Franklin Petite Sirah Hayne Vineyard

2014 Ledge Grenache Blanc G2 Vineyard

2011 Waters Interlude

2015 Château de Cornemps Bordeaux Rosé

 

 

 

2009 Gamache Vintners Cabernet Sauvignon – $21.24

This wine was poured at a recent tasting at the local Total Wine of wines from the Pacific Northwest.  It’s pretty unusual to be able to buy a wine with a few years of bottle age for just a touch over $20.  This is from Washington state’s Columbia Valley.

 

The wine is a dark ruby color.  The very satisfying nose has cherries, cedar, plums, tobacco, crushed stone minerals, dry earth, baking spices, dark bittersweet chocolate, and licorice.  This has medium to full body with moderate tannins and very nice acidity.  On the palate plums, cherries, minerals and cedar come through quickly on the front end with tobacco and baking spices coming in later.  The finish has nice length with dark chocolate and licorice providing good depth.  There is a touch of extra oak showing in places but it’s not really a distraction.  This is in a prime drinking window right now and should hold for at least a couple years.  This was very easy to drink and it has superb balance.  This has 14.8% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (91 pts)

 

 

 

2014 Cosa Obra Sauvignon Blanc Hummingbird Hill Vineyard – $20

This wine is 100% Sauvignon Blanc, Clone 1 and Sauvignon Musqué from the Hummingbird Hill Vineyard on the Sonoma Coast.  The vineyard is maintained to produce only 2.5 to 4 tons per acre.  After a 21 day fermentation in temperature controlled stainless steel, the wine was moved to neutral French oak barrels to help round out the flavors.  There were 369 cases produced.

 

This is a very light, pale yellow with a slight green tint.  The crisp and refreshing nose has green apples, lemongrass, grapefruit zest, crushed stone minerals and a touch of melon.  This has medium body with crisp acidity and perhaps just a trace of residual sweetness.  On the palate this has tart green apples and grapefruit zest on the front end with lemongrass and minerals coming in later.  The finish has good length with just a hint of melon joining the grapefruit zest.  This is very tasty even though it could use a bit more complexity.  The trace of residual sweetness does a great job of buffering the tart grapefruit zest acidity.  This is an easy wine to sip on a hot, sunny day.  This has 14.2% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (90 pts)

 

 

 

2010 Jacob Franklin (Elyse) Petite Sirah Hayne Vineyard – $32.00

This was a very easy buy from Last Bottle, one of my favorite grapes, from a top notch vineyard, from one of my go-to wineries.  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.

 

The wine is a deep purple color.  The inviting nose is full of crushed blackberries, dusty minerals, violets, blueberries, white pepper, road tar, dried violets and vanilla bean.  This has medium to full body with moderate tannins and very nice acidity.  For a Hayne Vineyard Petite Sirah this is bright and lively on your palate with crushed berries, minerals and white pepper hitting on the front end and blueberries, vanilla and dried violets coming in later.  The finish has very nice length with berries and white pepper seeming to linger forever.  This is on the young side but very easy to enjoy even at this stage in its development.  This has 13.6% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (92 pts)

 

 

 

2014 Ledge Grenache Blanc G2 Vineyard – $18.75

I’ve been a big fan of the wines produced by Mark Adams for a few years.  I received a sample of his initial release of Syrah a few years ago and immediately jumped on their mailing list.

 

This wine comes from the G2 Vineyard in the Willow Creek AVA.  This is 100% Grenache Blanc fermented and aged in stainless steel.  Less than 200 cases were produced.

 

The wine is a light yellow color with a slight green tint.  The captivating nose has apples, lemon zest, crushed stone minerals, melon, peach pit, pineapple and leafy green herbs.  This has a medium body with nice acidity and a hint of lingering sweetness.  On the palate apples, minerals and peach pit come through on the front end with pineapple and green herbs coming in later.  The finish has very good length with mouthwatering lemon zest providing nice depth.  This has nice balance between the creamy mouth feel, citrusy acidity and just a touch of sweetness to compliment the other elements.  This is perfect with a light meal on a sunny day.  This has 13.5% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (91 pts)

 

 

 

2011 Waters Interlude – $16.98

The grapes for this wine come from Stone Tree, Seven Hills, Cold Creek and Old Stones vineyards.  The wine was aged in 20% new French oak and 80% neutral French oak.  There were 1,550 cases of wine produced.  I should note, I bought the wine at a great price from Garagiste Wine, the suggested price for the wine is $28.

 

This is a blend of 61% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Malbec and 11% Petit Verdot from Washington.  The wine is a deep ruby to maroon color.  The very expressive nose has cherries, cassis, stony minerals, eucalyptus, licorice, freshly ground espresso beans, dried leafy herbs, cocoa powder and dried earth.  This has medium to full body with moderate tannins and nice acidity.  On the palate ripe cherries and berries hit first with minerals and espresso beans quickly joining in.  The finish has nice length with dried herbs, cocoa powder, dried earth and a hint of eucalyptus entering the picture.  This is drinking very nicely right now and should hold for a few years.  I wouldn’t want to stash this in the back of the cellar, enjoy this one over the next few of years.  This has 14.1% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (90 pts)

 

 

 

2015 Château de Cornemps Bordeaux Rosé – $10.78

This is a blend of Merlot and Cabernet from near Saint-Emilion.

 

The wine is a fairly deep pink salmon color.  The appealing nose has strawberries, cherries, minerals, orange blossoms and subtle underbrush.  This has medium body with nice acidity and seems to be totally dry.  On the palate bright red fruit and minerals jump out on the front end with orange blossoms coming in on the back end.  The finish has nice length with a touch of underbrush entering the picture.  This is easy drinking but could use a bit more complexity.  For the price this is a nice week day pink wine to enjoy on a sunny day.  This has 13.5% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with an agglomerated cork.  (88 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!