2004 Salvestrin Cabernet Sauvignon Salvestrin Estate Vineyard

2007 Carlisle Petite Sirah Yorkville Highlands

2007 Beresan Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley

2008 Villa Creek Avenger

 

 

 

2004 Salvestrin Cabernet Sauvignon Salvestrin Estate Vineyard – $25.34

I grabbed a few bottles of this from the wine store a few years ago when it was offered at a great price.  This is the last bottle from that purchase and based on the quality of the wine, their asking price was an even better deal.

 

The wine is a deep ruby color.  The relaxing nose features cassis, fresh ground espresso, plums, tobacco, vanilla, dark chocolate, cedar and some eucalyptus.  This has medium to full body with fairly solid, ripe tannins and very nice acidity.  Spicy fruit on the palate with just a bit of toasty oak hit first with fresh ground espresso and plums coming in on the back end.  The finish has nice length with a bit of the eucalyptus and dark chocolate making an appearance.  This will last in the cellar for a few more years but it’s hard to resist at this point in its development.  This is a very nice Napa cab for $25.  This has 14.8% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (91 pts)

 

 

 

2007 Carlisle Petite Sirah Yorkville Highlands – $34.50

The wine is a deep, dark maroon color.  The enticing nose is full of crushed blackberries, fresh cracked black peppercorns, blueberries, road tar, camphor, minerals, licorice, smoked meat and dark chocolate.  This has a full body with solid tannins and good acidity.  On the palate pepper laced black and blue berries grab hold immediately with minerals, licorice and smoked meat slipping in later.  The finish has good length with camphor and dark chocolate adding depth and complexity.  This has really opened up over the last couple of years and is in a nice drinking window but it should hold for several years and perhaps even improve.  This has 14.1% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  There were a total of 155 cases produced.  (93 pts)

 

 

 

2007 Beresan Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley – $16.99

This was one of the Garagiste Mystery wines.  In this case, this was the anonymous Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon that was offered for $16.99 last March.  I wasn’t familiar with the winery which left me even more intrigued.  I opened a bottle of this not long after it was delivered and enjoyed it a lot.  It’s time to try another bottle to see how it is coming along.

 

This has 14.2% alcohol by volume and is closed with a natural cork.

 

Winery history

Located in the world-renowned Walla Walla Valley appellation, Beresan has 27 acres of estate vineyards that we carefully manage to produce premium fruit, and in turn, great wine.  The geologic distinctiveness of our vineyards, combined with fine winemaking, is reflected in the unique character of our exclusive, limited production wines.

 

Owned and operated by the Waliser family, our mission at Beresan Winery is not only to make outstanding wine and satisfied wine consumers, but to live a dream of having a fun, successful and enduring experience with friends and family at our winery.

 

We invite you to enjoy our wines and come see us at our winery in the beautiful Walla Walla Valley.

 

For more information, visit http://beresanwines.com/

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a fairly dark ruby to garnet color. The classic nose has cassis, cedar, dried herbs, minerals, tobacco, Asian spices, wild flowers, dark chocolate, and a solid hit of earthy underbrush. This has a medium to full body, fairly solid tannins, and very nice acidity. The palate has nice fruit on the front end then the dried herbs, minerals, earthiness, and spice kick into high gear dominating the mid palate and backend. The finish has decent length and again leans on the savory elements with the fruit providing a touch of needed sweetness. This is in a nice place today, but should last in the cellar for a few more years.  (90 pts)

 

 

 

2008 Villa Creek Avenger – $29.75

The Avenger is my favorite wine from the Paso Robles based Villa Creek.  This is generally a full bodied, big boned, and brawny Rhone Ranger blend.  This vintage is a blend of 70% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre and 15% Grenache from the Booker Vineyard in Paso Robles.  I have been and probably will always be a big fan of this winery.  This is the last winery that I get an automatic shipment at every release and usually add on extra bottles.  In my house, there is no such thing as having too much Villa Creek in the cellar.  This wine has 15.5% alcohol and the bottles is sealed with a natural cork with a wax coating.

 

Winery history

In the spirit of the great wine producers of the southern Rhone and the bodegas of Rioja and Priorat, blending is what Villa Creek does best.  The area’s finest Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and Tempranillo Vineyards are just a stone’s throw from the west Paso Robles winery where these blends are lovingly produced by winemaker Cris Cherry and his wife JoAnn.

 

The grapes of the area’s most progressive vineyards, James Berry, Denner, Ohana and Booker, currently grace the wines of Villa Creek Cellars.  Per acre contracts insure that the fruit comes off the same blocks each vintage.  The Cherry’s own 70 acre estate on the west side of Paso Robles boasts elevations of 1400-1800 feet, calcareous soils, south facing slopes and ample water.  In the spring of 2012, the Cherry’s finished planting their first grape vines, 3.5 acres of Grenache.  They look forward to planting Mourvèdre and Carignan in the months to come.

 

Much more information is available on their website.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep, dark, ruby red color.  The sexy and inviting nose has black raspberries, graphite, incense, cherries, plums, fresh wild flowers, melted licorice, vanilla, dark chocolate, crushed stones and some subtle earthiness.  This has a full body, fairly solid tannins and very nice acidity.  On the palate, besides a load of nice fruit, there are abundant amounts of dark chocolate, pepper, vanilla, crushed stones and a floral element.  The finish is very long and highlighted by juicy, crushed berries, dark chocolate, and a some earthiness.  This still tastes young and fresh.  There is no hurry on this one, enjoy it over the rest of the decade.  (94 pts)

 

 

 

Connect with me

You can follow me on Twitter for more wine info, potential food pairings, and an occasional recipe or two.  Be warned, I’m also a sports fan and there are occasional Pittsburgh Penguins, Steelers, and Pirates tweets.  I attended the University of South Carolina, so during football season, there will also be some Gamecock posts.

 

If you like this post, consider joining Cliffs Wine Picks Wine Blog on Facebook and giving me a Like.

 

Cheers!

 

 

This is original to CliffsWinePicks.com.  Copyright 2015 Cliff’s Wine Picks.

All rights reserved.

 

 

 

***** Shameless Self Promotion *****

 

Here is a link to a YouTube video of me getting “coal” from Santa for being named the “Nicest Person in Social Media” in 2012.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOvQTeGR3-c

 

 

 

Breaking news from Klout:

 

 

Cliff’s Wine Picks mentions or other posts

Here are posts, newsletters, blogs or other articles that either mention this site or that I have written:

 

Click here or on the “Cliff’s Wine Picks On Other Sites” link in the top right corner to see links to other sites that either have my reviews, my thoughts or other posts I have written.

 

 

 

Remember to support your local wine store!

 

 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

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!

 

 

2008 Anthill Farms Syrah Windsor Oaks Vineyard

2009 Bedrock Wine Co. Zinfandel Old Vine

2007 Beresan Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley

1994 Theo Schmitz-Schwaab Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese

2013 Bedrock Wine Co. Ode to Lulu Old Vine Rosé

2003 La Carraia Fobiano Umbria IGT

 

 

 

2008 Anthill Farms Syrah Windsor Oaks Vineyard – $18.00

Anthill Farms likes to make a “one off” wine.  In 2005, they made a Syrah with grapes from the Windsor Oaks Vineyard that turned out so well, it was quickly made part of their lineup.  This is a classic cool climate Syrah that shows tart acidity and good savory elements.  The vineyard is only 10 miles from the coast and the grapes struggle to ripen in this area, resulting in longer “hang times”.  This is not a fruit forward, fruit driven, fruit bomb.

 

This has 14.2% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep, dark purple color.  The very open and expressive nose has blackberries, cherries, warm baking spices, dried herbs, freshly cracked black pepper, dark chocolate and crushed stone minerals.  This has medium body with moderate to solid tannins and very nice acidity.  On the palate spices and black pepper join the crushed berries on the front end with minerals and dried herbs coming in later.  The finish has very good length with dark chocolate and a candied floral note entering the picture.  This still seems to be on the young side but is opening nicely with some air.  This will easily last through the end of the decade.  (92 pts)

 

 

 

2009 Bedrock Wine Co. Zinfandel Old Vine – $22.50

Morgan Twain-Peterson has followed the lead of Carlisle’s Mike Officer, make very good fines from old vines and sell them for great prices.  I’m not sure of the status of Bedrock’s mailing list, but I recommend either getting on the list or accepting a spot on their waiting list.  Besides very good red wines, Bedrock produces some truly outstanding white wines.

 

This has 15.0% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep, dark maroon color.  The very open and expressive nose has brambly berries, plums, warm baking spices, vanilla, minerals, dried flowers, white pepper and a touch of dark bittersweet chocolate.  This has a medium to full body with moderate to solid tannins and very good acidity.  Brambly berries, plums and spice initially grab the palate with white pepper, vanilla and minerals breaking through on the back end.  The finish has nice length with dark chocolate and some earthiness coming into the picture.  This is showing very nicely, full of rich fruit and spice.  I remember an earlier bottle showing some excess acidity, either there was an issue with that bottle or there is a bit of bottle variation.  (92 pts)

 

 

 

2007 Beresan Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley – $16.99

This was one of the Garagiste Mystery wines.  In this case, this was the anonymous Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon that was offered for $16.99 lat March.  I wasn’t familiar with the winery which left me even more intrigued.  I opened a bottle of this not long after it was delivered and enjoyed it a lot.  It’s time to try another bottle to see how it is coming along.

 

This has 14.2% alcohol by volume and is closed with a natural cork.

 

Winery history

Located in the world-renowned Walla Walla Valley appellation, Beresan has 27 acres of estate vineyards that we carefully manage to produce premium fruit, and in turn, great wine.  The geologic distinctiveness of our vineyards, combined with fine winemaking, is reflected in the unique character of our exclusive, limited production wines.

 

Owned and operated by the Waliser family, our mission at Beresan Winery is not only to make outstanding wine and satisfied wine consumers, but to live a dream of having a fun, successful and enduring experience with friends and family at our winery.

 

We invite you to enjoy our wines and come see us at our winery in the beautiful Walla Walla Valley.

 

For more information, visit http://beresanwines.com/

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a fairly dark ruby to garnet color. The classic nose has cassis, cedar, dried herbs, minerals, tobacco, Asian spices, wild flowers, dark chocolate, and a solid hit of earthy underbrush. This has a medium to full body, fairly solid tannins, and very nice acidity. The palate has nice fruit on the front end then the dried herbs, minerals, earthiness, and spice kick into high gear dominating the mid palate and backend. The finish has decent length and again leans on the savory elements with the fruit providing a touch of needed sweetness. This is in a nice place today, but should last in the cellar for a few more years.  (90 pts)

 

 

 

1994 Theo Schmitz-Schwaab Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese – $29.83

We are BIG fans of nicely aged German Rieslings.  The sugary sweetness these wines show in their youth melds with the citrusy acidity over the years to form a magical elixir that becomes a rich wine with just enough acidity on the back end to leave you grabbing the glass for another sip.

 

This has 8% alcohol by volume and the bottle was sealed with a natural cork.

 

Winery history

As is usual for a lot of the smaller, European wineries, not a lot of information seems to be available on the internet.  I also can’t find anything on CellarTracker for this winery since the 1995 vintage.  This leads me to think it no longer exists.  I can recite Jon Rimmerman’s (from Garagiste Wine) silky prose, but I don’t want this to sound like a sales pitch.  All I will say is, if you like older German Rieslings that have generally been in perfect condition, at really nice prices, check out http://garagiste.com/ and sign up for the list.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a bright golden yellow color.  The inviting nose has apples, honey, petrol, orange blossoms, stony minerals, lemon zest and a hint of white pepper.  This has medium body with mouthwatering acidity and nice richness.  On the palate apples dipped in honey, lemon zest and minerals jump out initially with orange blossoms and white pepper coming in later.  The finish has very good length with orange blossoms entering the picture.  The wine shows outstanding balance between the citrusy acidity and sweetness.  For 20 years old this still tastes young and vibrant.  (94 pts)

 

 

 

2013 Bedrock Wine Co. Ode to Lulu Old Vine Rosé – $19.00

Since the initial release of this wine, it has been a house favorite on warm days.  Past vintages were mostly old vine Mourvedre and the varietal was listed on the label.  With this vintage, some old vine Grenache was added to the Mourvedre and Carignane.  I assume the percentage of Mourvedre fell below the threshold for including it on the label or the name change was to allow even greater flexibility in coming years.

 

This has 12.3% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a twist off closure.

 

From the winery:

In our quest to continually one-up the previous vintage of this wine we stumbled headlong into the rugged terrain of Mendocino.  Don’t get me wrong, I really like the 2012, where I feel we finally captured a trace of ethereal lightness and perfume while maintaining the sturdy stock of Mourvedre at the wines base.  However, I wonder if perhaps the 2012 was just a trace too delicate.  We used more Carignane from the sandy, soft soils of Contra Costa County for that wine so my theory was that we needed to find soils with a bit more edge in them.  Though the base of 2013 wine is composed around the ancient plantings of Mourvedre at Bedrock Vineyard and Pagani Ranch, the rest of the blend is composed of dry-farmed Grenache planted in the 1880’s at Gibson Ranch in McDowell Valley and Carignane from the 1950’s planted on soils that remind me of Pauillac in Ukiah.  As always, all the lots were picked early and all except the Grenache Gris were whole-cluster pressed.  This, I think, though I am sure I will continue to refine, is the best Ode to Lulu to date.  Fresh, perfumed, lifted, bright, clean, dense, and delicious.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a bright salmon pink color.  The refreshing nose has strawberries, stony minerals, cherries, orange zest, Asian spices and a hint of smoke.  This has medium body with good acidity and just a hint of sweetness.  On the palate tart red fruit, minerals and spice jump out first with orange zest coming in on the back end.  The crisp and clean finish has good length with nice balance between the crisp acidity and sweet fruit.  This is an outstanding bottle for a light meal on a warm day.  (91 pts)

 

 

 

2003 La Carraia Fobiano Umbria IGT – $19.99

This wine is a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Umbria region of Italy.  The wine was fermented in stainless steel tanks and aged in a mix of old and new oak barrels.

 

This wine has 14.0% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep ruby red color.  The classic nose has cassis, tobacco, leather, cedar, cherries, baking spices, cocoa powder and minerals.  This has medium body with moderate tannins and good acidity.  On the palate the fruit and cedar jump out initially with baking spices, cocoa powder and cherries coming in on the back end.  The finish has decent length with a bit of earthiness coming into the picture.  The tannins do get a touch chalky on the finish.  This is probably as good as it will get with this one, which isn’t too bad.  (89 pts)

 

 

 

Connect with me

You can follow me on Twitter for more wine info, potential food pairings, and an occasional recipe or two.  Be warned, I’m also a sports fan and there are occasional Pittsburgh Penguins, Steelers, and Pirates tweets.  I attended the University of South Carolina, so during football season, there will also be some Gamecock posts.

 

If you like this post, consider joining Cliffs Wine Picks Wine Blog on Facebook and giving me a Like.

 

Cheers!

 

 

This is original to CliffsWinePicks.com.  Copyright 2014 Cliff’s Wine Picks.

All rights reserved.

 

 

 

***** Shameless Self Promotion *****

 

Here is a link to a YouTube video of me getting “coal” from Santa for being named the “Nicest Person in Social Media” in 2012.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOvQTeGR3-c

 

 

 

Breaking news from Klout:

 

 

Cliff’s Wine Picks mentions or other posts

Here are posts, newsletters, blogs or other articles that either mention this site or that I have written:

 

Click here or on the “Cliff’s Wine Picks On Other Sites” link in the top right corner to see links to other sites that either have my reviews, my thoughts or other posts I have written.

 

 

 

Remember to support your local wine store!

 

 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

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 my local store is usually VERY competitive.  I generally get case discounts, and since I work there part time, I get a 5% discount.  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!