2009 Gamache Vintners Cabernet Sauvignon

2014 Cosa Obra Sauvignon Blanc Hummingbird Hill Vineyard

2010 Jacob Franklin Petite Sirah Hayne Vineyard

2014 Ledge Grenache Blanc G2 Vineyard

2011 Waters Interlude

2015 Château de Cornemps Bordeaux Rosé

 

 

 

2009 Gamache Vintners Cabernet Sauvignon – $21.24

This wine was poured at a recent tasting at the local Total Wine of wines from the Pacific Northwest.  It’s pretty unusual to be able to buy a wine with a few years of bottle age for just a touch over $20.  This is from Washington state’s Columbia Valley.

 

The wine is a dark ruby color.  The very satisfying nose has cherries, cedar, plums, tobacco, crushed stone minerals, dry earth, baking spices, dark bittersweet chocolate, and licorice.  This has medium to full body with moderate tannins and very nice acidity.  On the palate plums, cherries, minerals and cedar come through quickly on the front end with tobacco and baking spices coming in later.  The finish has nice length with dark chocolate and licorice providing good depth.  There is a touch of extra oak showing in places but it’s not really a distraction.  This is in a prime drinking window right now and should hold for at least a couple years.  This was very easy to drink and it has superb balance.  This has 14.8% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (91 pts)

 

 

 

2014 Cosa Obra Sauvignon Blanc Hummingbird Hill Vineyard – $20

This wine is 100% Sauvignon Blanc, Clone 1 and Sauvignon Musqué from the Hummingbird Hill Vineyard on the Sonoma Coast.  The vineyard is maintained to produce only 2.5 to 4 tons per acre.  After a 21 day fermentation in temperature controlled stainless steel, the wine was moved to neutral French oak barrels to help round out the flavors.  There were 369 cases produced.

 

This is a very light, pale yellow with a slight green tint.  The crisp and refreshing nose has green apples, lemongrass, grapefruit zest, crushed stone minerals and a touch of melon.  This has medium body with crisp acidity and perhaps just a trace of residual sweetness.  On the palate this has tart green apples and grapefruit zest on the front end with lemongrass and minerals coming in later.  The finish has good length with just a hint of melon joining the grapefruit zest.  This is very tasty even though it could use a bit more complexity.  The trace of residual sweetness does a great job of buffering the tart grapefruit zest acidity.  This is an easy wine to sip on a hot, sunny day.  This has 14.2% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (90 pts)

 

 

 

2010 Jacob Franklin (Elyse) Petite Sirah Hayne Vineyard – $32.00

This was a very easy buy from Last Bottle, one of my favorite grapes, from a top notch vineyard, from one of my go-to wineries.  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.

 

The wine is a deep purple color.  The inviting nose is full of crushed blackberries, dusty minerals, violets, blueberries, white pepper, road tar, dried violets and vanilla bean.  This has medium to full body with moderate tannins and very nice acidity.  For a Hayne Vineyard Petite Sirah this is bright and lively on your palate with crushed berries, minerals and white pepper hitting on the front end and blueberries, vanilla and dried violets coming in later.  The finish has very nice length with berries and white pepper seeming to linger forever.  This is on the young side but very easy to enjoy even at this stage in its development.  This has 13.6% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (92 pts)

 

 

 

2014 Ledge Grenache Blanc G2 Vineyard – $18.75

I’ve been a big fan of the wines produced by Mark Adams for a few years.  I received a sample of his initial release of Syrah a few years ago and immediately jumped on their mailing list.

 

This wine comes from the G2 Vineyard in the Willow Creek AVA.  This is 100% Grenache Blanc fermented and aged in stainless steel.  Less than 200 cases were produced.

 

The wine is a light yellow color with a slight green tint.  The captivating nose has apples, lemon zest, crushed stone minerals, melon, peach pit, pineapple and leafy green herbs.  This has a medium body with nice acidity and a hint of lingering sweetness.  On the palate apples, minerals and peach pit come through on the front end with pineapple and green herbs coming in later.  The finish has very good length with mouthwatering lemon zest providing nice depth.  This has nice balance between the creamy mouth feel, citrusy acidity and just a touch of sweetness to compliment the other elements.  This is perfect with a light meal on a sunny day.  This has 13.5% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (91 pts)

 

 

 

2011 Waters Interlude – $16.98

The grapes for this wine come from Stone Tree, Seven Hills, Cold Creek and Old Stones vineyards.  The wine was aged in 20% new French oak and 80% neutral French oak.  There were 1,550 cases of wine produced.  I should note, I bought the wine at a great price from Garagiste Wine, the suggested price for the wine is $28.

 

This is a blend of 61% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Malbec and 11% Petit Verdot from Washington.  The wine is a deep ruby to maroon color.  The very expressive nose has cherries, cassis, stony minerals, eucalyptus, licorice, freshly ground espresso beans, dried leafy herbs, cocoa powder and dried earth.  This has medium to full body with moderate tannins and nice acidity.  On the palate ripe cherries and berries hit first with minerals and espresso beans quickly joining in.  The finish has nice length with dried herbs, cocoa powder, dried earth and a hint of eucalyptus entering the picture.  This is drinking very nicely right now and should hold for a few years.  I wouldn’t want to stash this in the back of the cellar, enjoy this one over the next few of years.  This has 14.1% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (90 pts)

 

 

 

2015 Château de Cornemps Bordeaux Rosé – $10.78

This is a blend of Merlot and Cabernet from near Saint-Emilion.

 

The wine is a fairly deep pink salmon color.  The appealing nose has strawberries, cherries, minerals, orange blossoms and subtle underbrush.  This has medium body with nice acidity and seems to be totally dry.  On the palate bright red fruit and minerals jump out on the front end with orange blossoms coming in on the back end.  The finish has nice length with a touch of underbrush entering the picture.  This is easy drinking but could use a bit more complexity.  For the price this is a nice week day pink wine to enjoy on a sunny day.  This has 13.5% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with an agglomerated cork.  (88 pts)

 

 

 

 

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 2017 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!

 

 

2012 Casey Flat Ranch Open Range

2011 Bedrock Wine Co Zinfandel Old Vine

2010 Loring Wine Company Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands

2011 Waters Interlude

2009 Agharta Wines Cabernet Sauvignon White Label Mountain Terraces Vineyard

2011 Evening Land Vineyards Pinot Noir La Source Seven Springs Vineyard

2010 John Duval Wines Shiraz Entity

2012 Sojourn Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast

 

 

 

2012 Casey Flat Ranch Open Range – $9.74

This was another purchase from Last Bottle wines, one of my favorite “flash” wine sites.  If you use the provided link and sign up, we both get a credit to our accounts after your first purchase.  Check them out, they have awesome deals and their Marathons are always something special.

 

This has been a personal value priced favorite over the last few years. This wine, as most blends, change every vintage.  This vintage is a blend of 52% Syrah, 33% Petite Sirah, 8% Merlot, 5% Mourvedre and 2% Cabernet Franc.  This wine always offers great QPR (Quality to Price Ratio).

 

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

 

The wine is a deep ruby to purple color.  The very open and giving nose is full of black cherries, licorice, black peppercorns, blackberries, baking spices, dry earth, underbrush, dried herbs and violets.  This has medium to full body with moderate to solid tannins and nice acidity.  On the palate black cherries, black pepper, spice and blackberries pop out on the front end with dried herbs, dry earth and underbrush coming in later.  The finish has nice length with licorice and spice adding nice depth to the fruit.  This could easily pass for a much more expensive bottle of wine.  This can be enjoyed over the remainder of the decade.  (89 pts)

 

 

2011 Bedrock Wine Co Zinfandel Old Vine – $22.00

The Bedrock Old Vine Zinfandel is always a bargain.  This wine uses grapes from several older zinfandel vineyards in Sonoma County such as Stellwagen, Casa Santinamaria, Los Chamizal, Rossi Ranch in Kenwood and Monte Rosso.  This also contains a bit of Carignane and Mourvedre from the estate’s Bedrock Vineyard.

 

This wine has 14.8% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

 

The wine is a deep ruby color.  The inviting nose has brambly berries, warm baking spices, cherries, black peppercorns, licorice, tobacco, dried violets and dark chocolate.  This has medium to full body with moderate to solid ripe tannins and good acidity.  Juicy, crushed berries, cherries, baking spice and black peppercorns coat the palate on the front end with dark chocolate coming in later.  The finish has very good length with a nice floral note entering the picture.  This is a lighter, livelier style of zinfandel that is a perfect companion to a hearty meat dish.  This is in a very nice drinking window and it should hold for a few more years.  (92 pts)

 

 

2010 Loring Wine Company Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands – $25.00

In my opinion, the Loring appellation wines are some of the best bargains out there when it comes to quality California Pinot Noir.  The Loring appellation wines are, at least to me, dialed down a notch compared to their single vineyard siblings.  This and the lower prices, under $25 make them a nice way to kick up a week night dinner several notches without breaking the bank.

 

This has 14.7% alcohol and is closed via a Stelvin+ screw cap.

 

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 ruby red color.  The alluring nose has raspberries, warm baring spices, cola, cherries, wild flowers, plums, eucalyptus, and some earthiness.  This has medium body, soft tannins, and decent acidity.  On the palate the baking spices and fruit jump out and take hold slowly allowing a touch of eucalyptus and earthiness to break through on the back end.  The finish has good length and adds some minerality to the fruit and spice.  I’d drink this one over the next year before the acidity slides a bit more.  (91 pts)

 

 

2011 Waters Interlude – $16.98

The grapes for this wine come from Stone Tree, Seven Hills, Cold Creek and Old Stones vineyards.  The wine was aged in 20% new French oak and 80% neutral French oak.  There were 1,550 cases of wine produced.  I should note, I bought the wine at a great price from Garagiste Wine, the suggested price for the wine is $28.

 

This is a blend of 61% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Malbec and 11% Petit Verdot from Washington.  The wine is a deep ruby to maroon color.  The very expressive nose has cherries, cassis, stony minerals, eucalyptus, licorice, freshly ground espresso beans, dried leafy herbs, cocoa powder and dried earth.  This has medium to full body with moderate tannins and nice acidity.  On the palate ripe cherries and berries hit first with minerals and espresso beans quickly joining in.  The finish has nice length with dried herbs, cocoa powder, dried earth and a hint of eucalyptus entering the picture.  This may be a bit on the young side but it tastes delicious.  I wouldn’t want to stash this in the back of the cellar, enjoy this one over the next couple of years.  This has 14.1% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (90 pts)

 

 

2009 Agharta Wines Cabernet Sauvignon White Label Mountain Terraces Vineyard – $38.60

Agharta is also commonly known as a mystical place on earth where the hills are made of gold and the rivers run with wine…sounds like a great place to me.  Pax Mahle

 

This wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Mountain Terraces Vineyard located high above Sonoma Valley and was crafted by Pax Mahle.

I was able to snag a few bottles at a great price from the Garagiste Wine e-mail list about a year ago.  Even though I think this will be on the young side, I wanted to check in on it to decide when to start opening my remaining bottles in their prime.

 

This wine has 14.7% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork and a thin was coating.

 

The wine is a deep ruby red color.  The inviting nose has cassis, plums, cedar, white pepper, crushed stones, tobacco, dried herbs, licorice and warm baking spices.  This has medium body with solid tannins and very nice acidity.  On the palate dark fruit, white pepper and crushed stones quickly take control, slowly allowing dried herbs and cedar to come into play.  The finish has good length with licorice and baking spices adding nice depth.  The tannins are solid and a touch rough at this time, enjoy this with a piece of juicy grilled meat now or let it sleep for a few years.  This has the depth and balance to last in the cellar for another decade or longer.  (92 pts)

 

 

2011 Evening Land Vineyards Pinot Noir La Source Seven Springs Vineyard – $28.71

This was another purchase from Garagiste Wine.  My purchases from them have declined over the last couple of years but I still end up receiving a case when shipping season rolls around.

 

The wine has 12.9% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

 

The wine is a bright ruby red color.  The enticing nose has cherries, baking spices, earthy underbrush, white pepper, wild flowers, wet stone minerals, black raspberries and roasted leafy herbs.  This is barely medium body with soft to moderate silky tannins and very good acidity.  On the palate tart cherries, baking spices and wet stones quickly take hold with white pepper and earthy underbrush coming in on the back end.  The finish has very good length with roasted herbs and black raspberries entering the picture.  This tastes great now with some air but will be better in a year or two.  (93 pts)

 

 

2010 John Duval Wines Shiraz Entity – $33.24

This vintage of Entity includes some Eden Valley Shiraz to help maintain the elegance and style of Entity.  The wine was aged in 100% French oak for 18 months, 36% of which was new.

 

This wine has 14.5% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a twist off cap.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a dark, inky purple color.  The very open and powerful nose has blackberries, baking spices, dark chocolate, vanilla bean, blueberries, white pepper, candied violets and a touch of cedar.  This has medium to full body with moderate to solid tannins and good acidity.  This is a beast on the palate, full of dark berries and spice up front with vanilla bean and dark chocolate coming in later.  The finish is very long with white pepper, candied violets and spicy oak adding considerable depth.  This is drinking very nicely but will improve with some time in the cellar.  Outstanding!  (94 pts)

 

 

2012 Sojourn Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast – $28.17

I had a fair amount of credits in my account at Underground Cellar when a Sojourn Pinot offer popped up.  I quickly grabbed a 6 pack knowing the lowest priced wine I would get was this wine, their Sonoma Coast wine.  By a freak of luck, I only received one bottle of this one, and 5 bottles of their much more expensive single vineyard wines.  That’s how Underground Cellars offers work, you pay the x bottles of the lowest priced wine in the group and some of your bottles get upgraded for free.  Who knows, you may order a mid level California Cabernet and get the steal of the century and get a bottle of the coveted Screaming Eagle.  Check them out by clicking here.  If you sign up via the link I provided we both get a $20 credit when you make your first purchase.

 

This wine has 14.4% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

 

The wine is a medium to deep ruby red color.  The very appealing nose has cherries, licorice, warm baking spices, cola, dry earth, violets, cranberries and a touch of cedar.  This has medium body with moderate silky tannins and nice acidity.  On the palate spicy cherries, cola and dry earth jump out first with cedar and cranberries coming in later.  The finish has nice length with a nice floral note joining the cherries and baking spices.  This improved greatly with air so let it sleep in your cellar for another year of give it an hour in the decanter.  (91 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!

 

 

2009 Eric Kent Wine Cellars Syrah Kalen’s Big Boy Blend

2010 Purple Hands Pinot Noir Stoller Vineyard

2011 Waters Interlude

2002 Graeser Cabernet Franc Estate Grown

2005 L’Aventure Optimus

 

 

2009 Eric Kent Wine Cellars Syrah Kalen’s Big Boy Blend – $28.49

The local store brought in a couple cases of this wine and put it on the shelf at a blow out price.  I was happy to relieve them of several bottles.  I know this is on the extremely young side, but I wanted to open one to set a baseline on the wine.

 

This is a blend of 100% Syrah, from the Greywacke Vineyard (Russian River Valley) and the Ray Teldeschi Vineyard (Dry Creek Valley), that spent 17 months in 40% new French oak.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep, dark purple color.  The deep and dark nose is full of smoke, blackberries, charcoal, minerals, melted licorice, black peppercorns, black olives, tobacco, and roasted herbs.  This has full body, solid tannins, and nice acidity.  On the palate a boat load of peppery berries, smoke and minerals grab hold and slowly relents enough for some roasted herbs to slip through.  The finish has very nice length with charcoal and minerals kicking it up a couple notches.  This wine will reward another year or two in the cellar.  The wine has 15.1% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (93 pts)

 

 

 

2010 Purple Hands Pinot Noir Stoller Vineyard – $18.16

The owner/winemaker is Cody Wright, the son of well known and popular Oregon winemaker/owner Ken Wright.  This was a new winery to me when the local wine store had an e-mail special on the wine.  In my opinion, any time you can get hold of a good Pinot Noir for under $20, you buy.

 

The wine has 13.5% alcohol and is sealed with a twist off closure.

 

Winery history

Purple Hands winery strives for the expression of genuine inherent terroir of soil and grape.  We search for ideal moments of ripeness and complexity balanced with authentic strength of soil character.

 

Our wines are windows into dynamic breadths of terroir, extracting and unlocking a code of sweet and savory from our rich Oregon soil.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a bright red color with a slight ruby tint.  The soft and nuanced nose has black cherries, raspberries, fresh flowers, baking spices and subtle earthiness.  This is medium body at most, with racy acidity, and soft but persistent tannins.  The silky palate has tart, juicy fruit, spice, and a bit of earthiness which carries through on the slightly short finish.  This is a nice, light weight style of Pinot with juicy acidity and a touch of earthiness and spice to balance out the fruit.  This is a nice change up from the broad shouldered California Pinots.  (90 pts)

 

 

 

2011 Waters Interlude – $16.98

The grapes for this wine come from Stone Tree, Seven Hills, Cold Creek and Old Stones vineyards.  The wine was aged in 20% new French oak and 80% neutral French oak.  There were 1,550 cases of wine produced.  I should note, I bought the wine at a great price from Garagiste Wine, the suggested price for the wine is $28.

 

This is a blend of 61% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Malbec and 11% Petit Verdot from Washington.  The wine is a deep ruby to maroon color.  The very expressive nose has cherries, cassis, stony minerals, eucalyptus, licorice, freshly ground espresso beans, dried leafy herbs, cocoa powder and dried earth.  This has medium to full body with moderate tannins and nice acidity.  On the palate ripe cherries and berries hit first with minerals and espresso beans quickly joining in.  The finish has nice length with dried herbs, cocoa powder, dried earth and a hint of eucalyptus entering the picture.  This may be on the young side but it tastes delicious.  I wouldn’t want to stash this in the back of the cellar, enjoy this one over the next couple of years.  This has 14.1% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  (90 pts)

 

 

 

2002 Graeser Cabernet Franc Estate Grown – $27.00

This winery was a long time favorite.  We met the owner, Richard Graeser, when he came to the condo we were staying at to conduct a tasting.  We visited the winery the next day and stopped every time we made it to wine country.  Unfortunately a few years ago they ran into some financial difficulties and he lost the winery.  That also caused me a big problem since I had bought and paid for a case of their 2007 Cabernet Franc but it had not been shipped.  It took me a few years to finally convince the proper people the wine was mine and not part of the estate that was sold.  Thankfully that last vintage is resting in my cellar.

 

This wine has 13.6% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep, dark ruby red color.  The classic nose has cassis, dried herbs, violets, minerals, tobacco, licorice, a touch of cedar and a faint jalapeno pepper note.  This has a medium body with moderate tannins and very good acidity.  On the palate the wine has berries with a real nice overlay of dried herbs up front with a touch of spicy oak coming in on the backend.  This has a fairly long finish with the berries, dried herbs and some minerality.  This is in a very nice drinking window and should hold nicely for a couple more years.  (93 pts)

 

 

 

2005 L’Aventure Optimus – $46.00

This is a blend of 51% Syrah, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot.  The wine has 15.32% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.  I bought this bottle through WineBid and it was apparently originally sold in France since it has a French importer label on the back.

 

The wine is a deep maroon color.  The sensuous nose has cassis, dark chocolate, fresh ground dark roast coffee, crushed stones, blackberries, cedar, roasted herbs and dried wild flowers.  This mad a full body with moderate ripe tannins and nice acidity.  This is rich and plush on the palate with coffee and chocolate laced cassis and blackberries up front.  On the back end crushed stones and roasted herbs come in.  The finish has nice length with a dried floral note entering the picture.  A touch of alcohol pokes through at time on the finish but not enough to detract from the overall wine.  This tastes great now and should hold for another couple of years.  (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!