2016 Raidis Estate Pinot Gris Cheeky Goat (Orange Wine)

2015 Ironstone Vineyards Petite Sirah (barrel sample shiner)

2012 Mark Herold Wines Flux

2012 Carlisle The Derivative White

2007 Terrabianca Campaccio Toscana IGT

2013 Michael-David Vineyards Syrah 6th Sense

 

 

 

2016 Raidis Estate Pinot Gris Cheeky Goat (Orange Wine) – $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 bottle was included in a “mystery case” offer.

 

This is an “orange” wine.  No, there were no oranges used to produce the wine.  An orange wine is a wine made with white grapes, in this case, Pinot Gris, that is fermented “on the skins” like a red wine.  The fermentation process gives the wine an orange tint, hence the name.

 

The wine is a light peach color.  The very fragrant nose has cherry skin, white peach, orange blossoms, honeysuckle, pears, chalky minerals and pears.  This has medium to full body with decent acidity and a touch of residual sweetness.  On the palate cherry skins, pears and minerals grab hold on the front end with a big floral note coming in later.  This has nice length with cherry skins, minerals and the lingering floral notes.  This is an oddity but in this case, it works nicely.  This has 14% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a twist off closure.  (89 pts)

 

 

 

2015 Ironstone Vineyards Petite Sirah (unlabeled barrel sample)

This bottle of wine was a sample from a barrel that was aging at the winery.  This may not be representative of the final product since the released wines is produced by blending multiple barrels together.  Technically every barrel is slightly different so my sample may have been slightly better or worse than the released wine depending on the barrel that was used for my sample.  The released wine also would have spent additional time aging in the barrel, so that is another variable.

 

The wine is a deep purple color.  The very open and outgoing nose is full of blackberry, black peppercorns, scorched earth, blueberries, cedar, baking spices, licorice and vanilla bean.  This has a full body with moderate ripe tannins and nice acidity.  On the palate the front end is a warm berry pie full of blackberries, baking spices and blueberries.  The back end brings in black pepper and scorched earth notes.  The finish has nice length with cedar and vanilla bean providing depth.  This is a very easy to drink, fruit forward, Petite Sirah.  Some time in the cellar may allow some complexity to show through but why wait, enjoy this now for the great fruit and spice.  Since my bottle was an unlabeled sample, I don’t know the alcohol level or the closure used.  My bottle was closed with a manmade, spongy type closure.  No score since this wasn’t the released wine, but I did enjoy the wine.

 

 

 

2012 Mark Herold Wines Flux – $16.48

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.  In this case, the release price was $32, so the Last Bottle price was almost 50% off.

 

This is a blend of 84% Grenache, 9% Syrah and 7% Mourvedre mostly from Lodi.

 

This is a deep ruby color.  The flamboyant nose is full of blackberries, raspberries, scorched earth, baking spices, blueberries and underbrush.  This has a full body with soft to moderate ripe tannins and decent acidity.  On the palate the front end is wall to wall fruit, thankfully some baking spices, underbrush and scorched earth come in on the backend.  The finish has good length and is again very fruit driven.  This is big, rich and lush and loaded with ripe fruit that pushes the sweetness a bit too far.  This may not be a wine for everyone but I bet it would be a smash hit at a holiday party.  I very much preferred the 2011 vintage of this wine.  This has 14.7% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with an agglomerated cork.  (86 pts)

 

 

 

2012 Carlisle The Derivative White – $28.50

This wine is a blend of 54% Semillon from Monte Rosso Vineyard, 30% Muscadelle from Monte Rosso Vineyard and 16% Palomino from Saitone Ranch in the Russian River Valley.   All the vines were planted between 1886 and 1920.  The Muscadelle was fermented in all stainless steel.  The Palomino was fermented in 75% stainless steel and 25% new oak.  The Semillon was fermented in all oak but only 22% new.  Malolactic fermentation was prevented to preserve acidity and freshness.  There were 316 cases produced.

 

This is a light golden yellow color.  The exuberant nose has tart apples, beeswax, lemon zest, unripe pineapple, crushed stone minerals and white peach.  This has a fairly full body with crisp acidity.  On the palate nice orchard fruit comes through on the front end with minerals, beeswax and pineapple coming in on the backend.  The finish has very nice length with mouthwatering lemon zest.  This is a contradictory wine, if it big and rich on the front end but when the lemony acidity kicks in on the finish it becomes lighter and more nuanced.  This is drinking very nicely today and should hold for at least a couple more years.  I liked this wine from the start but grew to appreciate it even more as the time rolled on.  This has 14.2% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (92 pts)

 

 

 

2007 Terrabianca Campaccio Toscana IGT – $24.69

This “Super Tuscan” is a blend of 70% Sangiovese and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon.  A “Super Tuscan” wine is a wine that includes grapes not traditionally associated with Italian wine like Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.

 

The wine is a fairly dark ruby color with some lightening at the edge.  The deep and exotic nose has blackberries, cherries, cocoa powder, licorice, underbrush, dried herbs, minerals and some well worn leather.  This has a medium body with fairly solid tannins and very good acidity.  On the palate the wine has loads of spicy, earthy fruit with dried herbs and cocoa powder adding considerable depth.  The finish has nice length, but a bit of oak pops out and gets a touch intrusive.  I don’t think there is a lot of upside by keeping this in the cellar but it should drink very nicely for the next five years, maybe even longer.  This has 13.5% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (92 pts)

 

 

 

2013 Michael-David Vineyards Syrah 6th Sense – $12.99

This wine is mostly Syrah with a touch of Petite Sirah.  The winery likes to add a bit of Petite Sirah to most of their wines.  I was jokingly told they would add it to their Chardonnay if they could.  This wine was aged 12 months in French oak barrels.

 

The winery is one of the “big boys” in Lodi.  The family has been growing fruit and vegetable in the region since the 1850s and have been growing grapes for nearly 100 years.  With an eye to the future the winery has adopted some of the most progressive sustainable farming practices in the state.  All of the 750 acres of family vineyards are third party certified as being sustainably farmed.  Since the 2011 vintage, 100% of the Lodi grown fruit crushed at the winery has been certified as sustainably farmed.

 

Much more information on the winery is available on their website.

 

From the winery:

The Phillips brothers planted one of the first Syrah vineyards in California in 1982. With Michael’s son Kevin continuing the Phillips grape growing tradition into the 6th generation, this Syrah vineyard was one of the first he tended to as our Vineyard Manager. If you turn the bottle around you will see Kevin’s eye looking out from the inside of the bottle, making sure the wine is being enjoyed!

 

The wine is a deep purple color.  The intoxicating nose has blackberries, blueberries, asphalt, dark chocolate, fresh ground espresso beans, dry underbrush, licorice, violets and black pepper.  This has a full body with moderate ripe tannins and nice acidity.  This has massive berries and ground espresso beans on the front end with underbrush, dark chocolate and a big floral note coming in on the back end.  The finish is long and lingering with black pepper coming into play.  Not a lot of subtlety here but the big fruit and nice structure makes for a worthy companion for something hot off the grill.  This has 15.0% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  This is a steal for the price.  (89 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 Ironstone Petite Sirah with a burger made from ground New York Strip steak.  The burger was topped with a slice of pepper jack cheese.

 

 

The Michael-David Syrah went very nicely with grilled beef and chicken fajitas.

 

 

A rib-eye steak was marinated several hours with Italian herbs and cooked to medium rare with the Sous Vide then finished in a smoking hot cast iron pan.  This paired very nicely with the Terrabianca Campaccio.

 

 

 

 

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/

 

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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!