2014 Brassfield Estate Winery Pinot Noir High Serenity Ranch

Domaine Chandon Brut Classic

2011 Bedrock Wine Co. Zinfandel Monte Rosso Vineyard

Bernard Remy Champagne Grand Cru

1993 Schwaab-Kiebel Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spätlese

2006 Jean Edwards Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Stagecoach Vineyard

 

 

 

2014 Brassfield Estate Winery Pinot Noir High Serenity Ranch – $12.56

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.  This wine had a suggested price of $30 so the Last Bottle price was well over 50% off.

 

Brassfield’s winemaking team is headed by winemaker Matt Hughes and acclaimed consulting winemaker David Ramey.  The fruit for this 100% Pinot Noir comes from three blocks of the coldest blocks in the winery’s estate vineyard.  15% to 20% whole clusters were used after a three day cold soak.  The fermentation was completed using native yeast and twice a day pumpovers.  After fermentation, the wine was aged sur lie fin 30% new French oak and 70% once used French oak barrels for 10 months.

 

The wine is a deep ruby color.  The inviting nose has black cherries, raspberries, pencil shavings, white pepper, minerals, dry underbrush and wild flowers.  This has medium body with moderate tannins and very good acidity.  On the palate cherries, raspberries and minerals jump out of the glass on the front end with pencil shavings and dry underbrush coming in later.  The finish has nice length with white pepper and flowers providing depth.  This seems young and fairly tight at this time, I’d give it a couple hours of air or even better, let it rest in the cellar for another year or two.  This has 14.3% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with an agglomerated cork.  (90 pts)

 

 

 

Domaine Chandon Brut Classic – $15.49

This is a blend of mostly Chardonnay with a healthy amount of Pinot Noir and a touch of Pinot Meunier.

 

This is a light straw color with several streams of pinpoint sized bubbles.  The festive nose has green apples, yeasty bread, roasted nuts, lime zest and chalky minerals.  This has light to medium body with crisp acidity and just a hint of sweetness.  On the palate tart apples, bread and minerals take control on the front end with roasted nuts coming in later.  Mouthwatering lime zest comes in on the nice finish.  This is a very reasonably priced sparking wine to enjoy any time, not just on a special occasion.  This has 12.5% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a standard Champagne cork.  (88 pts)

 

 

 

2011 Bedrock Wine Co. Zinfandel Monte Rosso Vineyard – $39

Morgan sources the grapes for this wine from the same block his father used for his sought after Ravenswood Monte Rosso Zin.  This famous vineyard on the Sonoma side of Mt Veeder was planted in 1886.  This wine was fermented via native yeasts and was aged in 35% new French oak from four Burgundian coopers.

 

The wine is a deep purple color.  The intoxicating nose has brambly berries, plums, dark chocolate, dusty minerals, black pepper, dried herbs, dried wildflowers and a hint of eucalyptus.  This has full body, moderate to solid tannins, a creamy texture and good acidity.  Berries, plums and minerals thoroughly coat your palate on the front end slowly allowing black pepper and dried herbs to enter the picture.  The long, lingering finish adds a dried floral note as well as a touch of eucalyptus.  This is drinking marvelously right now but it still seems a bit young.  This one can be opened now or left in the cellar for several more years.  This wine has 14.4% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (94 pts)

 

 

 

Bernard Remy Champagne Grand Cru – $28.57

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.

 

This 100% Chardonnay was aged for 5 years on its lees.

 

The wine is a light golden yellow color with several steady steams of pinpoint sized bubbles.  The alluring nose has apples, yeasty bread, lemon zest, dusty minerals, roasted nuts and spring flowers.  This has light to medium body with great acidity.  On the palate tart apples, lemon zest and minerals quickly grab control with yeasty bread and a touch of nuttiness coming in later.  The lingering finish adds a nice floral note.  The citrusy crispness in this bubbly will keep you reaching for another sip.  A very good bargain.  This has 12.0% alcohol.  (92 pts)

 

 

 

1993 Schwaab-Kiebel Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spätlese – $16.41

I have a special place in my heart for a well aged German Riesling.  In their youth these wines may seem disjointed with plenty of residual sugar and an overload of acidity.  Over time in the cellar everything comes together, the sugar and acidity evolve into a rich, silky wine that is so easy to drink they can get addictive.

 

The wine is a bright yellow color with a slight golden tint.  The fresh and vibrant nose has apples, flinty minerals, orange blossoms, honey, lychee nuts, white peach and just a hint of petrol.  This has medium to full body with great acidity and nice lingering sweetness.  On the palate apples, minerals, honey and lychee nuts jump out quickly on the front end with orange blossoms and white peach coming in later.  The finish is long and lingering with a hint of petrol.  This is rich and luxurious, a wonderful bottle of wine that does not taste 24 years old.  I have no idea how long this will hold in the cellar but I am not in any hurry to open my remaining bottles.  This has 8% alcohol and the bottle was sealed with a natural cork that was nasty on the exposed end but otherwise solid.  (95 pts)

 

 

 

2006 Jean Edwards Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Stagecoach Vineyard – $40

This wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon with almost all the fruit from the esteemed Stagecoach Vineyard.  In this vintage, the winery and winemaker Kian Tavakoli blended in a small amount of valley floor Cabernet to “soften” the mountain fruit and add additional depth and complexity.

 

The grapes were hand picked.  After a cold soak and extended maceration with 75% crushed and 25% whole berries each lot was fermented separately in small closed top stainless steel tanks.  The wine was then aged for 20 months in 100% French oak with 60% being new.  The lots were then blended unfined and unfiltered and bottled.

 

The wine is a deep garnet color.  The sensuous nose has cassis, cedar, tobacco, dried herbs, dusty minerals, licorice, dry earth, violets and vanilla bean.  This has medium to full body with moderate to solid tannins and very good acidity.  This explodes on your palate with cassis, cedar, tobacco and minerals quickly grabbing your attention.  On the back end dried herbs and dry earth breaks through the initial wall of flavor providing a solid second wave.  The finish has outstanding length with vanilla bean and violets joining the still prominent cassis and minerals.  This still tastes on the young side, this improved steadily the more air it received.  There is no hurry with this wine, this has the balance and structure to allow it to drink very nicely for at least another decade, perhaps longer.  I’ve loved several Jean Edwards wines over the years but this is one of the best bottles from them that I have opened.  I’d love to follow this wine down the road but unfortunately this is my last bottle of this vintage, my vertical is now only from 2007 to 2014.  This has 14.8% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (96 pts)

 

 

 

A few meals paired with a couple of the wines.

 

Other meals that were paired with all the wines for the week are usually posted on my Instagram account, Cliff’s Wine Picks Instagram.  If you want a specific recipe, send an e-mail to Cliff @ CliffsWinePicks . com.  Obviously, remove the spaces.

 

I paired the 1993 German Spätlese with one of my favorite Cajun dishes, Crawfish and Pasta with Tasso Cream.  The recipe I use is from The Gumbo Shop in New Orleans’ French Quarter.

 

 

What goes great with a Napa Cabernet?  How about Prime Rib?  In this case, the meat was slightly over cooked, closer to medium than medium rare but it was still an outstanding meal.

 

 

I paired the Bedrock Monte Rosso Zinfandel with a burrito stuffed with homemade meat and Mexican rice with black beans and all the usual fixings.

 

 

The Brassfield Pinot Noir was paired with Rotisserie Chicken and fresh from the garden green peas.

 

 

We had the Domaine Chandon Sparking wine with a light lunch on the deck on a warm afternoon.

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

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.

 

I post a lot more pictures and pairing suggestions on my Instagram account, consider joining me at https://www.instagram.com/cbbrown3/

 

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 2018 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!