2010 Turley Zinfandel Juvenile

2009 Betts & Scholl Shiraz Black Betty

2007 Carlisle Two Acres

1974 Moillard Aloxe-Corton

2012 Emerson Vineyards Pinot Noir

2007 Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape

 

 

 

2010 Turley Zinfandel Juvenile – $20.00

The Turley Juvenile Zinfandel is made of young grapes from the old vine vineyards used in the winery’s single vineyard wines.  The winery doesn’t give a definitive age of the younger vines but they do note that a vine can have several years of age and be considered to be young beside 100+ year old vines.

 

The wine has 15.5% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep ruby red color.  The comfortable and familiar nose has brambly berries, black pepper, licorice, wood smoke, black cherries and some baking spice.  This has a full body with moderate ripe tannins and good acidity.  On the palate the spicy, peppery berries lead the way with a bit of smoke and licorice coming in on the back end.  The finish has good length with a touch of spicy oak peeking through.  This doesn’t have a lot of complexity but it is very tasty.  (90 pts)

 

 

 

2009 Betts & Scholl Shiraz Black Betty – $16.62

This is a wine I bought based on a local wine store’s e-mail offer.  We generally like Aussie Shiraz as long as it doesn’t cross the line and end up on the sweet and syrupy side.  Based on reviews of previous vintages, this was worth grabbing a six pack.  The first bottle we opened about a year ago showed promise but needed some cellar time.  It’s time to check in again.

 

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

 

Winery history

Betts & Scholl is a cooperative effort between Richard Betts, Master Sommelier & winemaker and Dennis Scholl, contemporary art collector and joyous wine drinker, who typically finds himself either in Aspen or Miami Beach.  Together, they created special relationships with star growers and winemakers from around the world to share in the Betts & Scholl vision.

 

This partnership is totally dedicated to making great wine as Richard & Dennis see it, which is, ultimately, wine that they like to drink.  No trophies, no wine for competition, just wine for the table – wine made to be enjoyed in the spirit of those wines that got Richard hooked on the whole deal in the first place.  This is to say wine you can drink everyday – a grocery, if you will – something that is on the table at lunch, at dinner, in harmony with food, an essential part of the meal.  This notion is fundamental to great living all over Europe, and it’s one that Betts & Scholl aims to bring back and live every day.

 

So Betts & Scholl chose to make the good stuff! Richard & Dennis’ shared aesthetic spoke for elegant, complex, balanced wines of great perfume and finesse with the power to seduce.  The object of the B&S fancy is neither the obvious nor the forceful.  Instead it is those wines that transport: They taste only of the place from where they’ve come.  Come take the trip.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep ruby to maroon color. The very outgoing nose has blackberries, baking spices, underbrush, black pepper, cherries, licorice, and wild flowers. This has a full body, moderate tannins, and good acidity. On the palate there are ripe, juicy crushed berries and baking spice up front then the acidity kicks in and tart cherries and a bit of earthiness takes over. The finish is fairly long and leans on spicy, earthy cherries. This is a bit disjointed at this time showing distinct, different “personalities” on the palate. This needs some cellar time for the acidity to better integrate or a couple hours of air.  (88 pts)

 

 

 

2007 Carlisle Two Acres – $34.00

This wine is a blend of 84% Mourvedre, 6% Petite Sirah, 5% Carignane, 3% Alicante Bouschet and 2% Syrah from a restored 1910 vineyard in the Russian River Valley.

 

Normally this is where I’d tell you to go to their website and sign up for the mailing list, but not this time.  Unfortunately the Carlisle mailing list is full, the best you could do is get on the waiting list.  The problem with that one is big, the wines are so good and fairly priced, very few people drop off the list.  My best advice is to find someone on the list and beg them to share a bottle or two of their allocation with you.

 

This has 13.7% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

 

Winery history

Carlisle is a winery that started as a classic “garage winery” for Owner/Winemaker Mike Officer.  His first foray into wine making was making 5 gallons of Zinfandel in his kitchen.  Over the next several years, with the help of his wife Kendall (Carlisle), and some friends, he produced a barrel of wine each vintage.  During this period, he also has a “real job” as a software developer.  To make a long story short, eventually the software developer title was left in the rear view mirror and Owner/Winemaker became his new title.  I highly recommend checking out the complete story at http://www.carlislewinery.com/about.html

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a fairly dark garnet color.  The scintillating nose has blackberries, raspberries, warm baking spices, minerals, earthy underbrush, well worn leather, smoke and licorice.  This has a medium body with moderate ripe tannins and good acidity.  Nice black and red fruit with spices and minerals coat the palate initially with some earthiness coming in on the back end.  The finish has good length with red fruit and minerals stealing the closing act.  This is drinking very nicely and should hold for another year or two.  (93 pts)

 

 

 

1974 Moillard Aloxe-Corton – Current Price Unknown

This is a bottle of wine with a sketchy past.  A customer at the local wine store was moving and had some older bottles of wine that the didn’t want to move.  Some of the bottles were in the house’s wine cellar when they bought the home, at least that’s what I think I heard in the way of a back story.  He gave the bottles to the owner of the local store.  The store owner decided he’d share the bottles with friends, good customers and employees.  I work at the store a couple hours a month, luckily I was working on Saturday so he decided it was a good time to open  a bottle, this was the lucky bottle.

 

The wine had 12.5% alcohol by volume.  The bottle was sealed with a natural cork.  I’m using the word “sealed” very loosely.  The cork was not in good shape.  It was covered with “junk”.  I decided to wipe off the cork and bottle top to avoid contaminating the wine.  I could feel the cork was in bad shape.  I very slowly tried to slip an Ah-So style opener between the cork and bottle, but the cork just disintegrated.  That just meant a quick decant through a wire mesh strainer.

 

My Tasting Note

Just to prove first impressions are generally not right, the wine seemed to be dead.  The wine was a deep brick color and the nose was very earthy with stewed fruit.  The process of straining the wine into a decanter solved multiple problems.  Besides removing all the pieces of cork, most of the funkiness blew off and in the decanter the wine showed a deep ruby core with nice bricking.

 

The wine was a deep brick color. The nose had stewed fruit, earthy underbrush, baking spices and well worn leather.  The wine was light to medium body with fully integrated tannins and had good acidity.  On the palate earthy cherries and spice slowly gave way to a slight medicinal note.  The finish had nice length with a nice blend of fruit, spice and earthiness.  For a 40 year old bottle of wine with uncertain provenance, this was not only drinkable but enjoyable.  I gladly took a small second glass.  I left before the decanter was emptied so I don’t know for sure how long it held on before fading into the sunset.  This type of wine is hard to rate, but I can easily give the experience 100 pts.

 

 

 

2012 Emerson Vineyards Pinot Noir – $18.99

This wine was totally new to me.  I saw it on the shelf at the local wine store and had to grab a bottle to try out.  Over the last couple of years I have become a big fan of Oregon Pinot Noirs.  They provide a nice chage of pace from my usual bigger, bolder California Pinots.

 

This has 13.7% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a twist off cap.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a bright red color.  The inviting nose has cherries, minerals, baking spices and candied violets.  This is barely medium body with soft to moderate tannins and very good acidity.  On the palate tart cherries, spice and minerals pop out first with a slight herbal note coming in on the back end.  The finish has good length with a touch of oak peeking through the fruit and minerals.  This could use a few month in the cellar to help the oak and herbal notes to better integrate.  (87 pts)

 

 

 

2007 Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape – $37.99

The local wine store brought this in and offered it at an “end of vintage” sale price.  Being a fan of CdP, I had to grab a few bottles.  I had a bottle about a year ago and felt it could use a bit more time in the cellar.  Time to see if the year in the cellar was worth the wait.

 

This is a blend of 48% Grenache Noir, 29% Syrah, 22% Mourvedre and 1% Cinsault.

 

This has 14.5% alcohol and is sealed with a natural cork.

 

The Winery (from the winery website)

Château La Nerthe was born in the 12th Century around the time vines were first planted  in the stone-strewn soil of Châteauneuf-du-Pape (literally the “Pope’s new castle”), the place the pontiffs chose for their summer residence when the papel court relocated to Avignon.

 

The uncontested nec plus ultra of the historic domains of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Château la Nerthe, has always been graced by the attentive care of its successive owners: men of firm conviction, aristocrats, and notable experts on Châteauneuf-du-Pape,

Marquis Tulle de Villefranche, Commandant Joseph Ducos, famille Richard, have all contributed to the reputation for excellence that La Nerthe has acquired and maintained.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep ruby red color.  The energetic nose has blackberries, minerals, black cherries, wild flowers, dried herbs, scorched earth, licorice and warm spices.  This has medium to full body, moderate tannins and very nice acidity.  On the palate the wine is rich and velvety with a nice balance between the sweet fruit and savory elements, with nothing dominating.  The finish has nice lingering fruit with minerals and spice ever present, but in the background.  This is drinking very nicely and should have a long life ahead of it.  (93 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!

 

 

 

2010 Loring Wine Company Convergence Russell Family Vineyard

2005 Kees-Kieren Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese *

2008 Lillian Winery Syrah

2011 Herencia Altes Garnatxa Negra Terra Alta

2007 Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape

 

 

 

2010 Loring Convergence Russell Family Vineyard – $66.33

This is another of the non Pinot Noir wines Brian Loring has produced.  Thus far, every one has been outstanding.  This wine is 75% Grenache and 25% Mourvedre from Paso Robles. 

 

This has 15.7% alcohol and is sealed with a twist off closure.

 

Winery history

My name is Brian Loring and my obsession is Pinot Noir.  OK, I’m also pretty crazy about Champagne, but that’s another story.  While in college, I worked at a wine shop in Hollywood (Victor’s), where one of the owners was a Burgundy fanatic.  So, my very first experiences with Pinot Noir were from producers like Domaine Dujac, Henri Jayer, and DRC.  Needless to say, I found subsequent tasting safaris into the domestic Pinot Noir jungle less than satisfying.  It wasn’t until I literally stumbled into Calera (I tripped over a case of their wine in the store room) that I found a California Pinot Noir that I could love.  But it would be quite a while before I found someone else that lived up to the standard that Josh Jensen had established.  I eventually came to understand and enjoy Pinots from Williams Selyem, Chalone, and Sanford, but I really got excited about California Pinot Noir when I met Norm Beko from Cottonwood Canyon at an Orange County Wine Society tasting.

 

I’d made about 3 trips around the booths at the tasting without finding a single good Pinot Noir.  So, being the open minded person that I am (remember I passed him up 3 times), I stopped at the Cottonwood booth.  I was BLOWN away by Norm’s 1990 Santa Maria Pinot Noir.  After a few years of attending every Cottonwood event and asking Norm 10,000 questions about winemaking, he offered to let come learn the process during the ’97 crush.  I checked sugar levels, picked, crushed, punched down, pressed, filled barrels, and generally moved a bunch of stuff around with fork lifts and pallet jacks!  It was the time of my life… I was totally hooked.  And even though I hadn’t planned it, I ended up making two barrels of Pinot Noir.  That was the start of the Loring Wine Company.  What had started out as a dream 15 years earlier was now a reality – I was a winemaker!

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep ruby red, much lighter at the edge.  The very pleasing nose has blackberries, cherries, earthy underbrush, minerals, baking spices, and some dried herbs.  The wine has a full body, fairly solid, ripe tannins, and good acidity.  The palate is loaded with spicy, juicy berries, but it’s not all about the fruit, there is also nice minerality, dried herbs, and earthiness coming in on the back end adding depth and complexity.  The fairly long finish is a nice continuation of the palate with some additional baking spices and dried herbs kicking into high gear.  This is on the young side, but absolutely delicious today.  (93 pts)

 

 

2005 Kees-Kieren Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese * – $11.39

I bought a couple bottles of this at a close out price at my local wine store (The Wine Cellar of Wisconsin) hoping for a nice Riesling to enjoy on a warm day on the deck.  We opened a bottle that evening and it blew me away.  I immediately shot off an e-mail to the store to stash a case in the back for me.  This was everything I love about a young German Spätlese Riesling, nice rich, sweetness along with enough acidity to leave your mouth watering.  This was drinking very nicely young, but I have no doubt this will be fantastic down the road.  An added bonus is this wine is closed with a glass stopper, which I love.  This closure ensures a nice, tight seal and no possible cork taint.  I just haven’t read any studies about long term cellaring of a wine closed in this manner.

 

This has 9.5% alcohol and is sealed with a glass stopper.

 

My Tasting Note

A light golden straw color. Petrol, honey, apples, pears, peach pits, tangerine, white pepper, pineapple, strong minerality and a floral note on the very nice and intoxicating nose. Lighter body with loads of sweetness and nice balancing acidity. Rich and fruity on the palate with mouthwatering citrusy acidity kicking in to keep it from being too sweet. Long finish with the white pepper note from the nose making a background appearance. Still very young but hard to resist. Glad I have a almost a case in reserve. This will age and improve for another decade or more. Rieslings age incredibly well, I am still drinking some German Rieslings from the mid to late 1980s.  (93 pts)

 

 

2008 Lillian Winery Syrah – $62.00

I joined the winery’s mailing list and bought a few bottles of this wine and promptly stashed them in the back of the wine cellar to give them time and keep them away from my sticky fingers.  Hopefully the time was well spent.  I really hope I like the wine since I have accumulated a decent stash of the wines over the last couple of years.  That said, I have no fears since several people I trust love these wines.

 

For information on the winery or to join the mailing list, click here to visit their website.

 

This has 15.3% abv and is closed with a natural cork with a wax seal.

 

The Winery

We made the first vintage of Lillian in 2004, during the seventh of Maggie’s eight years of training in the cellar at Sine Qua Non.  The opportunity presented itself for us to make wine from a small portion of the top of the White Hawk Vineyard.  We bottled 150 cases in the inaugural vintage.  Since that time, the project has grown in tiny increments, most notably by sourcing additional fruit from Stolpman and Bien Nacido beginning with the 2007 vintage.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep, inky purple color.  The nose on this wine is a real show stopper, full of blackberries, black olives, blueberries, crushed stones, vanilla bean, smoked meat, road tar, violets and mint.  This has a full body with solid tannins and very good acidity.  On the palate the wine is rich and absolutely loaded with flavor but superbly held together and supported by the acidity.  The long, layered finish adds dark chocolate and warm spices to the sweet fruit.  This tastes absolutely delicious today but be even better in a few years.  This has the balance and stuffing to last a couple decades in the cellar.  (95 pts)

 

 

2011 Herencia Altes Garnatxa Negra Terra Alta – $10.44

I don’t remember the circumstances surrounding buying this wine, but it was probably based on a recommendation from a friend at the local wine store.  After doing a little digging, I’m thankful for the rec since it seems like it should be a good bottle of wine.

 

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

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep, dark ruby color.  The exotic nose has blackberries, raspberries, minerals, Asian spices, dried herbs, licorice, and violets.  This has medium body, moderate to solid tannins and good acidity.  On the palate there is a load of berries up front but with enough savory elements on the midpalate and back end to keep this from being all about the fruit.  The finish ratchets up the minerality and dried herbs with the fruit being pushed into the background.  This is in a real nice place but there is no reason to think it won’t hold for at least a couple years.  (90 pts)

 

 

2007 Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape – $37.99

The local wine store brought this in and offered it at an “end of vintage” sale price.  Being a fan of CdP, I had to grab a few bottles.  It’s time to check in to see what I have in the cellar.

 

This is a blend of 48% Grenache Noir, 29% Syrah, 22% Mourvedre and 1% Cinsault.

 

This has 14.5% alcohol and is sealed with a natural cork.

 

The Winery (from the winery website)

Château La Nerthe was born in the 12th Century around the time vines were first planted  in the stone-strewn soil of Châteauneuf-du-Pape (literally the “Pope’s new castle”), the place the pontiffs chose for their summer residence when the papel court relocated to Avignon.

 

The uncontested nec plus ultra of the historic domains of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Château la Nerthe, has always been graced by the attentive care of its successive owners: men of firm conviction, aristocrats, and notable experts on Châteauneuf-du-Pape,

Marquis Tulle de Villefranche, Commandant Joseph Ducos, famille Richard, have all contributed to the reputation for excellence that La Nerthe has acquired and maintained.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep ruby red color.  The energetic nose has blackberries, minerals, black cherries, wild flowers, dried herbs, scorched earth, licorice and warm spices.  This has medium to full body, moderate tannins and very nice acidity.  On the palate the wine is rich and velvety with a nice balance between the sweet fruit and savory elements, with nothing dominating.  The finish has nice lingering fruit with minerals and spice ever present, but in the background.  This is drinking very nicely but should have a long life ahead of it, during which time it may even improve a notch or two.  (93 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 2013 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:

 

 

 

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!