2010 Two Hands Shiraz Gnarly Dudes

2011 Owen Roe Syrah Ex Umbris

2012 Meiomi Pinot Noir Meiomi

2010 Celler de Capçanes Montsant Mas Donís Barrica (Old Vines)

2010 Loring Wine Company Convergence Russell Family Vineyard

 

 

 

2010 Two Hands Shiraz Gnarly Dudes – $23.74

The Two Hands wines have been favorites in my house for several years.  The Garden series wines are usually excellent, but have escalated in price.  To me, the second level of the Two Hands wines are the real sweet spot in their lineup.  These level offer high quality wines at relatively bargain prices.

 

This wine has 14.8% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a twist off closure.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a dark, inky, purple color. The burly nose has blackberries, smoke, dark chocolate, plums, meat juices, black pepper, Asian spices, minerals, melted licorice, charcoal, and fresh wild flowers. The wine is medium to full body with solid, ripe tannins, and good acidity. On the palate there are loads of spicy, smoky, meaty berries with plums and dark chocolate coming in on the back end to add even more depth. The finish is long, juicy, and flavorful. A seamless, balanced, full flavored Shiraz with no rough edges. Enjoyable now and for the next five years.  (94 pts)

 

 

2011 Owen Roe Syrah Ex Umbris – $29.99

This wine has 14.1% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep maroon color.  The awesome nose has blackberries, kirsch, dark chocolate, minerals, dark roast coffee, candied violets and a touch of underbrush.  This has medium body, moderate to solid tannins and good acidity.  This wine is loaded on the palate with up front fruit, minerals and dark chocolate with coffee and some earthiness coming in on the back end.  The finish is very long and again shows a nice blend of fruit and savory elements.  This wine has exceptional balance and is built to last in the cellar for several years.  This is very enjoyable today but will be even better in a few years.  (93 pts)

 

 

2012 Meiomi Pinot Noir Meiomi – $21.99

The grapes for this wine are from Monterey County (35%), Santa Barbara County (34%) and Sonoma County (31%).

 

This has 13.8% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a twist off closure.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep ruby to maroon color.  The ripe and giving nose has black cherries, warm baking spices, blueberries, mint, wild flowers and a slight earthiness.  This has medium body, silky smooth tannins and decent acidity.  On the palate this is full of rich fruit and spice with a touch of mint coming in on the back end.  The finish is fairly long with rich fruit carrying the load.  This has a touch of residual sweetness that makes the wine a nice stand alone glass of wine with friends.  (88 pts)

 

 

2010 Celler de Capçanes Montsant Mas Donís Barrica (Old Vines) – $12.82

This is a blend of 85% Garnacha from 70-year-old vines and 15% Syrah from Spain’s Montsant region.

 

This wine has 14.0% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a synthetic plastic stopper.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep purple color.  The enticing nose has black berries, cherries, baking spices, candied violets, white pepper, crushed stone minerality and some subtle earthiness.  This has medium body with moderate tannins and very good acidity.  On the palate spicy berries grab your attention initially, slowly allowing minerals and white pepper to sneak in around the edges.  The finish has nice length with a nice candied floral note entering the picture.  This is a stunning bottle of wine for a touch over $10.  (92 pts)

 

 

2010 Loring Wine Company Convergence Russell Family Vineyard – $66.33

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

 

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

 

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, plums, baking spices, mint 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, mint, licorice and dried herbs kicking into high gear.  This is on the young side, but absolutely delicious today.  (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:

 

 

 

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:

 

Snooth

SPRING TIME IS FOR PAIRING – Our Favorite Wine Writers Share Their Picks

http://www.snooth.com/articles/spring-time-is-for-pairing/

 

Balzac

Balzac Communications & Marketing – News & Views

http://balzaccommunications.createsend1.com/t/ViewEmail/y/948F113D27729D90/DF475947E7F379DE2A1BF84ACBDD178B

 

Snooth

WHAT WE’VE BEEN DRINKING – News and Reviews from Around the Blogosphere

http://www.snooth.com/articles/what-we-yve-been-drinking/?viewall=1#ixzz2vy4idw7a

 

Snooth

WINES THAT RANG OUR BELL IN FEBRUARY 2014 – Our Favorite Wine Writers Share Their Picks

http://www.snooth.com/articles/wines-that-rang-our-bell-in-february-2014/?viewall=1#ixzz2vy4DCh5L

 

Crave Local

California Wine Reviews: Cline Cellars and Jacuzzi Family Vineyard

http://www.cravelocal.com/all-favorites/california-wine-reviews-cline-cellars-and-jacuzzi-family-vineyard/

 

Crave Local

Sample Boutique Wines at Affordable Prices with Tastingroom.com

http://www.cravelocal.com/all-favorites/sample-boutique-wines-at-affordable-prices-with-tastingroom-com/

 

 

 

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!

 

 

 

2012 Loring Wine Company Grenache Russell Family Vineyard

2006 Clarendon Hills Syrah Liandra

1994 Theo Schmitz-Schwaab Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese #3

2012 Byron Pinot Noir Santa Barbara County

 

 

 

2012 Loring Wine Company Grenache Russell Family Vineyard – $33.00

This is another of the non Pinot Noir wines Brian Loring has produced.  Thus far, every one has been outstanding.  This one is a Grenache from the Russell Family Vineyard in Paso Robles.

 

This has 14.9% 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 CottonwoodCanyon 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

Bright red color with a slight ruby tint.  The comforting nose has cherries, baking spices, white pepper, raspberries, roasted leafy herbs, licorice, and dried flowers.  This has medium body, soft to moderate ripe tannins and good acidity.  On the palate this is rich and lush with juicy cherries, berries and spice up front with raspberries and white pepper kicking in on the back end.  The finish has nice length with roasted herbs adding some complexity.  This is fairly ripe and juicy but with nice acidity holding everything together.  I wouldn’t stash this in the cellar for too long, but it should drink nicely for at least the next 5 years.  (91 pts)

 

 

2006 Clarendon Hills Syrah Liandra – $37.00

I was working on my list of my top 10 wines of the year and this wine may find a spot on the list.  I remembered I still had a few bottles in the cellar, I decided to open one for Christmas Eve.

 

This wine has 14.5% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

 

Winery history

In 1990, Roman Bratasiuk embarked on a truly remarkable wine making journey.  His vision: to create single vineyard wines equal to anything in the world.  Quite simply.  Working with old, dry-grown vines and performing every step of the process by hand, Roman sought to redefine the Australian fine wine landscape by solely conveying the imprint a vineyard forges on the varietal expression.  Every year a pragmatic and calculated Clarendon Hills learns a little more about our vineyards and pushes a little further to propel each one of our 100% varietal wines to the pinacle of their capability.

 

Please join Roman and the Clarendon Hills family in celebrating our 19 single vineyard, 100% varietal wines.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep, dark, inky, purple color.  The spellbinding nose has charred meat, blackberries, smoke, roasted herbs, blueberries, black pepper, vanilla, licorice, minerals, Asian spices, and dark chocolate.  This has medium to full body, ripe and velvety tannins, and good acidity.  The palate on this wine is out of the world with the berries, roasted herbs, and black pepper slowly giving way to spicy, meaty elements and dark chocolate.  The finish is extremely long and highlights the spice, meat, and roasted herbs.  This is the complete package.  Outstanding!  No hurry on this one, it has years of life ahead of it.  (96 pts)

 

 

1994 Theo Schmitz-Schwaab Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese #3 – $23.74

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 wine has 8.5% alcohol by volume and 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 yellow color with a slight golden tint. The rich and inviting nose has apples, white peaches, stony minerals, petrol, white pepper, honey, lime zest, and a touch of pineapple. This has a light to medium body, nice residual sweetness, and good citrus driven acidity to keep it in perfect balance. The finish is very long with the initial sweetness slowly giving way to a nice blast of mouthwatering lemon-lime acidity. At 19 years of age, this still seems to be on the young side. I look forward to enjoying my remaining bottles on the wine’s evolution over the next decade.  (94 pts)

 

 

For Christmas Eve dinner, we made our traditional dinner.  This is a recipe from the New Orleans based “The Gumbo Shop”.  It is called Crawfish and Pasta with Tasso Cream.  It is very rich and slightly spicy from Cayenne Pepper.

 

 

 

2012 Byron Pinot Noir Santa Barbara County – $15.38

It has been a few years since I had a bottle of Byron wine.  When I saw this 2012 Pinot Noir on the local store’s shelf for a touch over $15, I decided it was worth a try.

 

The wine has 13.5% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a twist off cap.

 

The Winery

To conserve energy and natural resources, we’ve moved our production to our next door neighbor, Cambria Estate. Within their spacious cellars we’ve been able to reconstruct Byron. We have our own crush pad, our own individual barrel storage rooms and even our prized sorting table. Our focus continues to be high quality, hand-made, small-lot wines from Santa Barbara’s finest vineyards including our Estate Nielson Vineyard.

 

Byron will continue to produce balanced, opulent, and pure wines.

 

More information is available on the winery’s website.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a touch lighter than a medium ruby red color.  The interesting nose has black cherries, raspberries, baking spices, earthy underbrush, white pepper, and violets.  This is barely medium body with soft to moderate tannins and it has good acidity.  On the palate the tart, spicy fruit jumps out first with nice earthiness coming in on the back end.  The finish has decent length with a slight herbal note coming into the picture.  Not a lot of complexity, but it is a very nice, week night Pinot especially if you can grab it for around $15.  (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 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!

 

 

 

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!

 

 

 

2002 Vincent Arroyo Petite Sirah

2008 Treasure Hunter Wines Grenache Emma’s Crush Santa Barbara County

2010 Loring Wine Company Cabernet Sauvignon Russell Family Vineyard

2010 King Estate Pinot Gris Signature Collection

 

 

 

2002 Vincent Arroyo Petite Sirah – $27.00

I’ve been on the Vincent Arroyo mailing list since the 2000 vintage.  I was hooked after our first visit to the winery.  I was fortunate enough to get in on a sale of their library wines so I have had the wines from as far back as the 1995 vintage.  If you ever make it to the Calistoga area, I highly recommend a stop at Vincent Arroyo.  They generally have a couple bottles open but the highlight is the barrel tasting.  You have the opportunity to buy the exact wines you sample from the barrel when they are released in the fall.

 

Petite Sirah is the “signature” wine from Vincent Arroyo.  This is their standard Napa Valley bottling but they also produce a couple of single vineyard Petites.

 

Winery history

Walking into the Vincent Arroyo Winery, one gets the sense that it has been here forever.  Is it just the comfortable atmosphere of a big barn full of oak wine barrels that lends to the sense of permanence?  Vincent Arroyo, himself, may feel like he has been here forever, as well.  He left behind a career as a mechanical engineer in the Silicon Valley during the early 70’s and headed to Calistoga, at the northern tip of the Napa Valley.  He felt much more at home close to the land, being able to see and taste the fruits of his labors.

 

The purchase of the 23 acres of the Greenwood Ranch property in 1974 began the evolution of what is seen today, 85 acres cultivating 9 different wine grape varietals.  Vince has always been a farmer at heart, taking care of the land to produce the best that it can.  He began to transform the Greenwood Ranch by ripping out existing prune trees and unhealthy vines and planting new vineyards.  For many years, he did it all alone, the tractor work, cellar work and a one-man sales force.  Originally he made just a few hundred cases of his favorites, Petite Sirah and Cabernet, selling the majority of the grape tonnage to other Napa wineries.  Today, he produces over 8,000 cases of seven different varietals.

 

More information is available at: http://www.vincentarroyo.com/

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep ruby red with some brick at the edge.  The comforting nose has tobacco, cedar, baking spices, blackberries, wet earth, and some minerals.  This has medium body, soft to moderate tannins and good acidity.  On the palate the savory notes dominate with the berries adding nice sweetness.  The finish has good length and again leans on the savory and earthy notes with the fruit present but playing a supporting role.  This is drinking nicely but I wouldn’t hold for more than another year or two before the fruit totally disappears.  (91 pts)

 

 

 

Barrel Tasting at Vincent Arroyo Winery several years ago.

 

 

 

2008 Treasure Hunter Wines Grenache Emma’s Crush Santa Barbara County – $16.90

This was about as easy of a purchase that I ever made.  I love the Grenache grape, the wines coming out of Santa Barbara County, and the value the Treasure Hunter label provides.  I grabbed a few bottles but this will be the first one I open.

 

Winery history

Each Treasure Hunter wine goes through a pain-staking process of examination from our panel of nine called The De-Vine Nine.  Made up of top sommeliers, winemakers and restaurateurs, they are the best of the best and they pour through hundreds of wines before they are deemed worthy.

 

Each wine is a small one-time offering and represents an extraordinary opportunity to drink seminal wines of great importance.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a light to medium ruby color.  The very inviting nose has cherries, raspberries, dried herbs, baking spices, black pepper, minerals and earthy underbrush.  This has medium body, moderate to solid tannins and good acidity.  On the palate spicy, peppery cherries and raspberries grab hold, slowly allowing some dried herbs and earthiness slip into focus.  The finish had decent length with a nice mix of the fruit and savory elements.  This could pass for a higher end French Cotes du Rhone.  (91 pts)

 

 

 

2010 Loring Cabernet Sauvignon Russell Family Vineyard – $39.67

For several years, Brian Loring specialized in fuller body, ripe, California Pinot Noirs.  A few years ago, Brian added Chardonnay to his line up.  In the last couple of years they have further expanded their offerings by including Grenache, Mourvedre, and Cabernet Sauvignon to their stable of wines.

 

This is the first vintage of a Cabernet Sauvignon labeled wine from the winery.  I bought a few bottles from their mailing list when it was released.  This will be my first bottle opened from that purchase.

 

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.

 

For more information, to buy wine, or to join the mailing list, visit their website.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep ruby color to maroon color.  The very open and inviting nose has cassis, cedar, dried herbs, tobacco, dark bittersweet chocolate, and minerals.  This has medium to full body, moderate to solid tannins, and good acidity.  On the palate cassis and cedar dominate the front end with dried herbs and cherry coming through later.  The finish has nice length with sweet fruit and spicy oak carrying the load.  This could use a bit more complexity and it may come out with some time in the cellar.  That said, it is still a delicious bottle of wine.  (89 pts)

 

 

 

2010 King Estate Pinot Gris Signature Collection – $12.82

The King Estate Pinot Gris is a warm weather favorite in our house.  This wine usually has enough richness to sip on its own on a warm day but also has enough acidity to easily stand up to some of the lighter fare we eat on a warm Summer evening.  With production in the neighborhood of 100,000 cases, this wine can be found just about everywhere.  If you’ve never tried this wine, give it a shot, you’ll be happy you did.

 

Winery History

King Estate, celebrating 20 years of Oregon winemaking in 2011, is located southwest of Eugene, Oregon and produces Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and limited amounts of Chardonnay. Founded in 1991 by the King family, King Estate is committed to producing Oregon wines of exceptional quality using organic & sustainable farming methods, meticulous fruit selection, impeccable winemaking practices and judicious blending.

 

The beautiful estate of 1,033 acres is certified organic and includes 470 acres of organic vineyards, as well as 30 acres of fruits, vegetables, and flowers. The Estate is crowned by the charming, European-style winery, where the winemaking process is also certified organic.

 

More information available on their website.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a light, golden straw color. The fresh and inviting nose has apples, minerals, citrus zest, pears, white peaches, and orange blossoms. This has light to medium body and crisp acidity. On the palate this is like apples and pears tossed with citrus zest with some minerals sprinkled on top. The mouthwatering finish has good length and closes with a nice spritz of lime and minerals.  (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.

 

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Cheers!

 

 

This is original to CliffsWinePicks.com.  Copyright 2013 Cliff’s Wine Picks.

All rights reserved.

 

 

 

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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

 

 

 

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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 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!