2006 Carlisle Syrah Cardiac Hill

2006 Oliverhill Winery Shiraz Jimmy Section

2008 JC Cellars The Impostor

2003 Turley Petite Syrah Hayne Vineyard

 

 

 

2006 Carlisle Syrah Cardiac Hill – $37.00

 

My comments

This is probably my favorite Syrah in the Carlisle lineup.  This usually has that little something extra that propels it to the upper echelon.  I’ve never met a Bennett Valley Syrah I didn’t like and actively hunt them down.

 

Winery history

We are a small Sonoma County winery specializing in the production of old-vine, vineyard designated zinfandels and red Rhone varieties (syrah, grenache, mourvèdre, and petite sirah).  While we like our wines to be bold, rich, and intensely flavored, each reflecting a sense of place, its origins in the vineyard, we also strive to create wines of balance, complexity, and perhaps most importantly, pleasure.

 

Rich.  Lusty.  Hedonistic.  These are some of the descriptors we often hear applied to our wines.  However, we also hear the words elegant, balanced, complex.  Yes, through hard work in the vineyard and winery, we believe you can have it all, the best of both worlds.  Our approach to winemaking is simple, yet difficult.  We prefer to intervene in nature’s process as little as possible but we will leave no stone unturned in our quest to maximize the quality of each wine we produce.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep garnet to purple color.  The soothing nose has blackberries, minerals, smoky ashes, white pepper, dark chocolate, baking spices, dried flowers, meat juices, and licorice.  This has medium to full body, fairly solid tannins, and good acidity.  The palate has nice initial fruit but the more savory notes take over fairly quickly adding a lot of depth.  The finish is fairly long with nice spicy, mineral laden fruit.  This still seems to be on the young side and may be better a couple years down the road.  (92 pts)

 

 

 

2006 Oliverhill Winery Shiraz Jimmy Section – $19.00

 

My comments

One of my wife’s all time favorite wines.  How much does she like it?  Per Cellar Tracker I bought a total of 33 bottles, and his will be the 26^th bottle we’ve opened since December 2009.

 

I should add I like this wine as well.  I still do not understand how it was such a slow mover at the local wine store.  This is part of my last case which only cost me $19.00, a bottle.  A steal based on the $35 release price.

 

Winery history

Stuart Miller is the winemaker and caretaker of the vineyard: this is truly a hands-on winery where every step of production from vineyard to bottling is overseen by Stuart himself.  His family are involved in all stages of the process, picking grapes, pruning vines, bottling, packaging and more.

 

Oliverhill was established in the early 1970s and the Miller family moved in during the early 1990s.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep, dark, inky purple color.  The sensuous nose has blackberries, black pepper, vanilla, dying coal embers, dark chocolate, violets, licorice, and some well worn leather.  This has a fairly full body, fairly solid, ripe tannins, and very nice acidity.  On the palate, juicy crushed berries hit first, immediately complimented by black pepper, vanilla, and dark chocolate.  The finish is fairly long and adds a dried herb element that blends well with the spicy, peppery berries and dark chocolate.  This is in a very nice drinking window and should hold for another few years at the minimum.  (92 pts)

 

 

 

2008 JC Cellars The Impostor – $25.73

 

My comments

Jeff Cohn just keeps cranking out the hits.  Since his earlier days making outstanding wines for Rosenblum, Jeff is now making the same style of wines for his own label.  These are generally full throttle, distinctive wines.

 

This wine is a blend of Zinfandel, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Tempranillo, Carignane, Grenache and Viognier.

 

Winery history

Jeff Cohn, the winemaker, president, and “JC” of JC Cellars got his start in the industry almost 20 years ago.  As an intern at Boordy Vineyards in Maryland, he drove an hour and half each way to prune vines in frigid weather, pick grapes in stifling heat, and scrub everything from barrels to floors.

 

Long before he began his winemaking career he received an associate degree in culinary arts from Johnson & Wales University, and a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management from Florida International University.

 

Cohn had always loved the hospitality industry, and as he worked through several high profile positions after college he found his passion for wine steadily growing.  The more he learned, the more he wanted to learn, until he realized that becoming a winemaker was his ultimate goal.  The job at Boordy was a deciding factor in the trajectory of his career — in spite of all the scrubbing.

 

With the encouragement and support of his family, Cohn moved to California in 1993 to follow his dream.  He earned his master’s degree in agriculture chemistry, with an emphasis on enology, from California State University, Fresno in 1996.  It was here that Cohn discovered French winemaking techniques and the concept of terroir.  “The flavor profile was so different than anything else I had ever tried,” he says of the first Chateauneuf-du-Pape he tried in school.  “It was a shocker.  To go from tasting only single varietals to a blend really opened my eyes.”

 

For more info, visit http://www.jccellars.com/about-jeff-cohn.html

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep purple color.  The very open and nice nose has brambly berries, black pepper, vanilla, dark chocolate, violets, licorice, meat juices, and a touch of earthiness.  This has a full body, fairly solid, ripe tannins, and good acidity.  On the palate the wine is a mouth full of juicy, peppery, berries with dark chocolate and earthy elements coming in on the back end providing extra depth.  The finish is fairly long but a touch of excess oak does pop out.  This is a big and rich wine that is not sweet or syrupy and has no raisiny notes.  (90 pts)

 

 

 

2003 Turley Petite Syrah Hayne Vineyard – $51.75

 

My comments

Turley Winery, in my opinion, was one of the first, “cult wineries” in California.  Their wines were impossible to get, unless you were one of the lucky few on their mailing list.  Some of the luster has faded a bit due to competition from the likes of Carlisle and Bedrock, but the name Turley still commands attention from a LOT of people.

 

It vineyards in California were rated based on the quality and reputations of the grapes they produced, there wouldn’t be too many above the Hayne Vineyard.  The Petite Sirah and the Zinfandel produced from Hayne Vineyard are the top wines made by Turley.

 

Winery history

In 1993, Turley Wine Cellars was founded by Larry Turley, brother of the well-known consulting winemaker Helen Turley.  Turley, had entered the wine business in 1981 as co-founder of the multi-varietal Frog’s Leap Winery, but soon realized that his interest lay in wines made from the Zinfandel grape.

 

Starting out with just one location in St. Helena, Turley Wine Cellars soon expanded to Templeton with the purchase of the historic Pesenti winery, where Zinfandel had been planted since 1923.

 

As of 2000, Turley Wine Cellars has had a two-year waiting list for new wine club customers.

 

In 2007, Turley Wine Cellars was producing approximately 14,000 cases a year of both single-vineyard and regional Zinfandel wines.

 

By 2011, Turley Wine Cellars is annually producing approximately 16,000 cases of award winning Zinfandel and Petite Sirah wines using multiple “small” vineyards located in Napa and Sonoma counties, and other Paso Robles locations.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep, dark, inky maroon color.  The intoxicating nose has blackberries, licorice, black pepper, baking spices, meat juices, dark chocolate, fresh ground dark roast coffee, blueberries, vanilla, wild flowers, and minerals.  This has full body, solid, ripe tannins, and very nice acidity.  On the palate the wine is rich and velvety with loads of spicy, juicy berries, black pepper, dark chocolate, and minerals.  The finish is very long and ever changing, highlighting different elements every second or two.  The blackberries, blueberries, dark chocolate, and dark roast coffee stand out the most.  This is absolutely delicious today but will hold for several years.  (95 pts)

 

 

***** 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:

 

 

 

Wines bought or received this week

 

I worked at the wine store yesterday, so I had to grab a few bottles.

(2) 2009 Lewis Cellars Syrah Ethan’s at a steal of a price, $33.24 each

(1) 2011 Calera Pinot Noir Central Coast for $24.69

 

 

 

 

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!

 

 

 

2006 Sterling Vineyards Merlot Three Palms Vineyard

2004 Palmaz Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Cedar Knoll Vineyard

2009 Loring Wine Company Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard

2007 Scherrer Winery Zinfandel Scherrer Shale Terrace

 

 

 

2006 Sterling Vineyards Merlot Three Palms Vineyard – $20.89

 

My comments

This is a very consistent, single vineyard Merlot that used to be a “house favorite”.  Unfortunately, over the years the price increases took enough of a toll, that I felt it no longer offered enough quality to merit the price.  When the local store was able to secure enough of the wine to offer via an “end of vintage” e-mail offer for a touch over $20, I had to jump in.

 

Winery history

Sterling Vineyards is proud to be a certified Napa County Green Winery, a distinction we achieved in 2009 as one of the first 12 wineries to be included.  This certification is a result of our diligent efforts in conserving water and energy, as well as preventing pollution and landfill waste.

 

In addition, Sterling is also certified as Napa County Green for our land and vineyard practices, which include sustainable vineyard management, water conservation, and fish-friendly farming across 100% of our estate vineyards.

 

Every year we recycle approximately 1,400 tons of waste, resulting in a waste diversion rate of 95%.  This has resulted in awards in the Waste Reduction Awards Program from the California Integrated Waste Management Board for the past three years.  (Proceeds from the award have been donated to local charities each year.)

 

Finally, in December 2008 our iconic tram was converted to solar power.  The solar energy system produces more than 100,000 kilowatt-hours per year, which is equivalent to the energy required to power 5.5 homes for a full year.  This conversion also eliminates 65 tons of CO2 emitted into the environment annually.

 

From vineyard practices to winery operations to the daily activities at our world-famous tasting rooms, Sterling Vineyards is proud to act as a dedicated steward of our environmental riches.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a medium to dark ruby red color.  The very nice nose has cherry, cedar, melted licorice, plums, baking spices, tobacco, dried herbs, dark roast espresso, and a touch of earthiness.  This has medium body, fairly solid tannins, and very nice acidity.  The palate shows no excess weight with nice balance between the fruit and savory elements.  The finish is a touch short and a bit lean but other wise this is a very sound and appealing wine.  A steal at $20 but questionable value at $60.  (90 pts)

 

 

 

2004 Palmaz Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Cedar Knoll Vineyard – $18.21

 

My comments

This wine’s normal price is in the $45 to $49 range, which I feel is WAY too high.  The community average price in CellarTracker for this wine is over $28, which is again pushing the limit.  Luckily I was able to grab half a case for well under $20.  That makes it a good Napa Valley Cab at a price that won’t break the bank when consumed on a week night, especially for an aged Cabernet is in its’ prime drinking window.

 

I’ve had a couple bottles that I liked and rated 89-90 points.

 

Winery history

Cedar Knoll Vineyard and Winery was founded in 1881 by Henry Hagen.  One of their wines won a Silver Medal at the Paris Exposition in 1889.  At that time, Cedar Knoll was one of Napa’s premier wineries.  The winery was a victim of Prohibition and was closed for close to 80 years.  Cedar Knoll is now owned by the Palmaz family.  They have resurrected the vineyards and restored the original Hagen house.  The vineyards occupy 55 acres and are located just northeast of the city of Napa.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a fairly dark ruby red color, much lighter at the edge.  The very nice and appealing nose has cassis, cedar, dried herbs, cherry, smoke, tobacco, raspberry, baking spices, and a touch of well worn leather.  This has medium body, good acidity, and fairly integrated tannins.  On the palate the wine has silky smooth fruit up front with spices and dried herbs coming in on the back end.  The finish has decent length with some spicy oak adding an extra dimension.  Not a lot of complexity but this is in a nice place right now.  This probably should be consumed over the next year or two before the fruit starts to fade.  (89 pts)

 

 

 

2009 Loring Wine Company Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard – $45.00

 

My comments

Loring produces some of my favorite Pinot Noirs made in California and their wine from the Clos Pepe Vineyard is one of my favorite they produce.  To me, this wine always has the rich and lush fruit that is the “house style” for Loring wines and has plenty of acidity and tannins to support the body and depth usually in this wine.  For a wine of this quality, the price actually represents a nice value for a higher end, single vineyard, Pinot from California.

 

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.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a medium to deep ruby red color.  The very nice nose has cherries, baking spices, raspberries, underbrush, and a touch of smoke.  This has medium to full body, fairly solid, ripe tannins, and good acidity.  On the palate the wine is rich and lush with juicy fruit but with plenty of savory elements adding considerable depth and complexity.  The finish is long and very flavorful with the fruit, spice, and subtle earthiness lingering seemingly forever.  This is outstanding today, but will last for at least a few years in the cellar.  (93 pts)

 

 

 

2007 Scherrer Winery Zinfandel Scherrer Shale Terrace – $17.50

 

My comments

The Scherrer Winery futures program for their Zinfandels is one of the best mailing lists to join.  The wines are ordered and paid for before they are bottled, several months later the wine is bottled and shipped.  Generally the winery holds their zins in the bottle for a year before releasing them to the restaurants, distribution, or the normal mailing list.  What’s the advantage of paying for wine and waiting for shipment?  How about a big discount, 40% to 50% off regular release price?  This top notch Zin cost me well under $20.

 

The Scherrer Zinfndels are built to age. These are well balanced zins with restrained alcohol levels that age marvelously.  With enough bottle age, these take on the nuances of an aged Claret.

 

Winery history

In the mid-1970’s, due to a normal teenage interest in alcoholic beverages, my family allowed me to make some wine from the family vineyard and beer at home (under adult supervision, of course).  This led to a UC Davis degree as well as concurrent work at a local winery doing the dirtiest and most menial jobs imaginable.  In the mid-1980’s good friends at Duxoup Wine Works (think Marx Brothers for the pronunciation) inspired me to try my hand at my own label so I negotiated cellar space in lieu of a raise by my then-current employer, Greenwood Ridge Vineyards in Anderson Valley (I got a raise anyway).  Greenwood Ridge was supportive of my project and decided to have some Scherrer Zinfandel produced for their label as well.  Unfortunately, I had a poor business plan and during the first year I realized I was not yet ready for this project.  Greenwood Ridge continues to make a small amount of Scherrer Vineyard Zinfandel to this day.

 

Much more information on this outstanding winery and a link to join the highly recommended mailing list available on their website.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a medium ruby color, much lighter than your normal zin, this actually looks like a Pinot Noir.  The very tempting nose has brambly berries, cherries, baking spices, minerals, smoke, white pepper, wild flowers, and some earthiness.  The wine has medium body with fairly solid tannins and very good acidity.  The palate leans a bit more to the red fruit than black with cherries, spices, minerals, and nice earthiness.  The finish is fairly silky and smooth and lingers nicely.  This is still on the young side and improved with air.  Don’t be in a hurry on this one.  (93 pts)

 

 

***** 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!

 

 

 

2008 Elyse Le Corbeau Hudson Vineyard

(Suggested Retail Price $37.00)

 

This is based on a winery supplied sample.

 

 

 

 

Winemaking is cooking without a flame.  Our winemaking philosophy at Elyse in Napa Valley is similar to the approach of a great chef who carefully prepares artisan grown ingredients to bring each layer of flavor to the table.  Long term alliances with our growers form the cornerstone to our portfolio of vineyard driven wines that possess an unfaltering affinity for pairing with food.

 

 

“A meal with wine is dining – it’s a conversation, an event.  It’s what wine is all about.” – Ray Coursen, Winemaker & Owner

 

 

“This excellent winery continues to carve out a well-deserved reputation for its interesting red wine portfolio.” – Robert M. Parker Jr.

 

 

 

 

Elyse Winery was started in 1987 by Ray and his wife Nancy when they crushed 4.5 tons of Zinfandel from the Morisoli Vineyard in Rutherford to craft 286 cases of their first wine.  While the portfolio has grown over the last 25 years, the focus remains on creating vineyard driven wines that pair well with food.  Total production is currently 10,000 cases and the wines are nationally and internationally distributed.

 

Ray grew up on a dairy farm in northwest New Jersey and tended various crops before tiring of milk and leaving the roost.  After a two year stint in the army and extensive travel in Europe and Africa, he returned to the states and attended StockbridgeAgriculturalCollege at the University of Massachusetts.  While at school, he worked at a fine wine shop in Boston, and it was here that he discovered fine French wine.  With Coursen’s background in farming and his new appreciation for wine, the idea of making wine took hold.

 

Nancy is a third generation Californian and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area.   Following her graduation from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Occupational Therapy, she worked with special needs children in the educational systems of the Boston area.   It was in Boston in 1982 that Nancy met Ray and shortly thereafter his interest in the wine business brought them to the NapaValley.

 

 

Much more information and Ray, Nancy, Elyse, and her younger brother Jacob Franklin can be found at:  http://www.elysewinery.com/25.html

 

 

On your next visit to the NapaValley, I highly recommend a stop at Elyse.  They are about a mile south of Yountville just off Highway 29.  A reservation is required but the visit is well worth the phone call.  More information is available at:  http://www.elysewinery.com/visit.html

 

And finally onto the reason you are visiting this post, the wine.

 

 

My comments

 

“Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe” -from Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”.

I’ve been a fan of the big, “hedonistic” California Rhone Ranger wines for several years, but I’m equally a fan of the “cool climate” style of these wines, like this one.  Wines like this one are made for the dinner table and shine in that environment.  The rich, jammy fruit of the wines from warmer locales is more than adequately replaced with spice, dried herbs (often noted as garrigue in reviews of French wines), pepper, and subtle earthiness.  If you are a fan of a French Chateauneuf du Pape, check out these Grenache and Syrah blends from California, like this one.

To get a bottle of this wine for yourself, visit your local wine store or order directly from Elyse on their website.

 

Wine Info

This is a blend of 90% Grenache and 10% Syrah from the Hudson Vineyard in California’s Carneros region.

 

The wine was aged 22 months in French oak, 20% of which were new.

 

The total production was 300 cases and the final alcohol is 14.4%.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a medium red color with just a touch of a ruby tint.  The friendly and inviting nose has raspberries, plums, dried herbs, white pepper, Asian spices, dried wild flowers, minerals, and hints of orange zest, vanilla, and some subtle earthiness.  This has a medium body, fairly solid, velvety tannins, and very nice acidity.  On the palate the wine has very nice fruit but the spices, dried herbs, and earthy elements steal the spotlight adding waves of flavor and considerable depth, before the fruit comes roaring back into the picture.  The finish is fairly long with nice plum and raspberry competing with the spice and earthy elements.  This could easily be slipped into a Chateauneuf du Pape tasting and not stick out as being from California.  This is still very young and could use a fair amount of air or preferably a year or two in the cellar.  (93 pts)

 

 

***** 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!

 

 

 

2005 Copain Syrah James Berry Vineyard

2004 Finca Villacreces Ribera del Duero

2007 K Vintners Syrah Morrison Lane

 

 

 

2005 Copain Syrah James Berry Vineyard – $60.00

 

My comments

I’m in the mood for something special tonight.  Dinner won’t be anything to out of the ordinary, so I decided to kick up the wine selection a few notches.

 

This is one of my favorite wineries, using one of my favorite grapes, from one of my favorite vineyards.  That sounds special, at it does to me.  It has been a couple years since I tried this wine, so it’s a perfect time to check in to see how it is progressing.

 

Winery history

Wells Guthrie discovered early on that his taste in wine gravitated toward Europe in general and France’s Rhône Valley in particular.  So much so, he picked up and moved with his new bride to the region to learn from the best.  For two years, Wells apprenticed for esteemed winemaker and living legend Michel Chapoutier in France’s Rhone Valley.  During that time, Wells was deeply inspired by the traditions and practices of French winemaking, not to mention the European attitude that wine is an essential part of life.  At Copain, he creates wines that are firmly rooted in California, yet with the sensibilities of the European wines that so moved him.  He is as committed to crafting these elegant, nuanced wines as he is to building a legacy that will be passed down to his daughters in the great tradition of European winemakers whose estates have been in the same family for generations.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep, dark ruby color.  The big and bold nose has blackberries, smoked meat, minerals, blueberries, tar, black pepper, bittersweet chocolate, and some earthiness.  This has medium to full body, fairly solid tannins, and very nice acidity.  The wine isn’t as big on the palate as the nose lead me to expect, it’s actually very civilized.  The palate has nice rich fruit but equal amounts of savory elements to steer clear of getting too fruity and boring.  The tannins and acidity easily holds everything in place and maintains control.  The finish is fairly long with some dark chocolate and earthiness creeping in to add considerable interest.  I may have been in the minority, but I liked this style of Copain Syrah.  (93 pts)

 

 

 

2004 Finca Villacreces Ribera del Duero – $30.79

 

My comments

I’ve been a fan of the masculine wines coming out of Spain’s Ribera del Duero region for several years.  These tend to be on the rustic side with burly tannins in their youth but with plenty of acidity and fruit to evolve into something special with enough time in the cellar.  It’s been a few years since I tried this wine, so it’s time to check in again.

 

Winery history

One of the most sought-after pieces of land in Ribera del Duero, the estate of Villacreces sits next to Vega Sicilia, perhaps (historically) the most famous property in the Spanish region.  There is written evidence that the first vines were planted on the estate in the 13th Century.  During the 14th Century, it was run by Saint Pedro de Villacreces and, later on, with its perfect conditions for prayer and retreat, it became a monastery.  In the 20th Century, the property belonged to a wealthy aristocratic family from Valladolid, who used to spend their holidays and weekends there.  In the early 1970s, 100 acres of vineyard were planted, which has now been increased to 150. Including a 200-year-old forest, the estate comprises a total of 285 acres.

 

In 2003, the Anton family – owners of a Rioja bodega and one of Spain’s most famous Michelin starred restaurants in the Basque country – purchased the estate and invested in revitalizing both the estate and the vineyards.  The property is situated at 2,300 feet above sea level on poor soils comprised of lime, gravel, sand and quartz which naturally keep yields low (the estate averages 1.6 tons per acre).  The proximity to the Duero river helps protect the vines from and reduce the effects of the frosts that are common in the Ribera del Duero.

 

This is courtesy of Eric Solomon’s fantastic site, loads of fantastic information is available and is highly recommended.  Click here to visit the site.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep ruby red color.  The very nice nose has blackberries, minerals, raspberries, dried herbs, orange zest, earthy underbrush, warm baking spices, dark roast coffee, and dark chocolate.  This has medium to full body, solid, ripe tannins, and very good acidity.  The palate has very nice fruit with loads of spice, minerals, and earthiness adding tons of depth.  An herbal note pops out on the back end and lingers on through the long finish.  Even though it is 9 years old, this is still on the young side and needs some air or preferably a few more years in the cellar.  (92 pts)

 

 

 

2007 K Vintners Syrah Morrison Lane – $43.69

 

My comments

I was in the mood for something different today.  I bought six bottles of this wine from the local store a couple years ago.  I opened one about a year ago, and it definitely fell into the “something different” category.  This wasn’t your typical, fruit driven wine.  At that time, the fruit was a bit player in the bigger picture.  It’s time to try my second bottle to see how this is progressing.

 

Winery history

Located at the base of the Blue Mountains in Walla Walla (Washington State), Charles Smith opened his first winery, K Vintners, in December of 2001.  The first release, 1999 K Syrah from Walla Walla Valley, initiated the style of winemaking that Charles continues today: small lots of single vineyard Syrahs and field blends of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Tempranillo and Viognier, all of which are hand-picked, foot-stomped, fermented with naturally occurring yeasts and basket pressed.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep, dark purple color, almost black.  The deep and dark nose has blackberries, charred meat, smoky embers, dried flowers, black pepper, roasted herbs, vanilla, melted licorice, minerals, and dark bittersweet chocolate.  This is fairly full bodied with solid tannins and good acidity.  On the palate the charred meat, roasted herbs, and black pepper seize control before some fruit can finally break through.  The finish is long and again full of the savory elements with just enough fruit slipping through to add some sweetness before the dark chocolate eventually closes the show.  This is still on the young side and will reward some additional cellar time, but this will never be a fruit driven wine.  (93 pts)

 

 

 

 

***** 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

 

 

 

According to Klout:

 

 

 

 

Wines bought or received this week

 

I received a few bottles from a new winery in Argentina to sample.

2011 Fat Gaucho Torrontés

2011 Fat Gaucho Malbec

2010 Fat Gaucho Malbec Reserva

2010 Fat Gaucho Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva

These wines will be reviewed for Crave Local.

 

 

 

 

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!

 

 

 

This is based on samples provided by the winey or an organization acting on their behalf.

 

Prices noted are the Suggested Retail Prices.

 

 

 

One note of caution in regards to my notes below.  The samples were in small, 50ml, bottles from TastingRoom.com.  Some of the wines seemed a touch soft or tired on the mid-palate and finish.  I like these small bottles for sampling purposes, but they are designed to be sampled fairly quickly.  The mini bottles are bottled from regular sized bottles in a “zero-oxygen chamber”, they are supposed to be consumed within four to six months.  My samples had been rebottled about 5 1/2 months earlier, and I really think this was making them appear a bit “tired”.  The more acidity driven whites seem to have held up much better than the reds.

 

Since the samples were fairly small and questionable quality, I will not post scores for the wines.  I will note, all the wines were well made with absolutely no flaws.  I feel every wine, from a pristine bottle, would merit a solid recommendation.  Do not pass on any of these wines based on my notes, I know I won’t.  I would be happy to have a bottle of any of these wines with my evening dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

For 35 harvests, for 35 Septembers, our family has carefully farmed and managed some of the finest grapes in Sonoma County. With painstaking devotion to the land, three generations –  Henry Trione, sons Mark and Vic, and Mark’s daughter Denise – have developed a reputation for producing premium grapes. Our wines are characteristic of the appellations in which they are grown: the cool, slow-ripening flavors of the Russian River Valley and the rich, dark-berry essence of the Alexander Valley.

 

Over these many harvest seasons, we have owned and managed more than 700 acres of the best grapes and soils in these highly respected Sonoma County appellations. We have learned to balance and blend the gifts of nature with state-of-the-art winemaking. Our grapes have been the foundation of many award-winning wines. Now we bring our grapes to you in wines bottled under our own label, Trione Vineyards & Winery.

 

We are passionate about family and tradition, especially traditions that include good food and good wine. Our vineyards, our wines – and our winery – have been a labor of love, the culmination of our family’s long tradition of dedication to Sonoma County. Please share a bottle of wine from the Trione Vineyards and Winery with your family and friends, and taste our commitment to excellence. Salute!

 

 

 

Much more information is available on their website.

 

Trione wines are distributed in about half the country and also available on their website.

 

The Trione Wine Club offers significant discounts on wine and other perks, information is available here.

 

 

 

The line up for the tasting:

 

 

 

2010 Trione Sauvignon Blanc River Road Ranch – $23.00

 

Wine Information

The grapes for this wine came from the Trione River Road Ranch in the heart of the Russian River Valley AVA.  Sauvignon Blanc thrives here in the well-drained gravel and clay loam soils.  The long and cool 2010 growing season extended into fall, allowing fruit flavors to develop fully.  The Sauvignon Blanc was harvested the last day of September.

 

2010 was yet another challenging year in SonomaCounty for grape growing.  In fact, rainfall and low temperature records for the month of July were set that had not been seen in 50 years.  Yields were down in all varieties and growers and winemakers were wondering if the fruit would ripen at all, given the cool summer growing season.  Then Mother Nature showed her fickle ways by sending late August temperatures rising to above 100°F and scorching any exposed fruit not protected by leaf coverage.  The temperature rise hastened ripening and the grapes were harvested about two weeks later than normal.

 

The 2010 Sauvignon Blanc was made in the traditional method of tank fermentation and barrel aging.  Neutral white French oak barrels were used for the barrel aging.

 

Total production was 1,054 cases and the final alcohol was 14%.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a very light yellow to straw color, just a touch more color than water.  The fresh and Spring-like nose has gooseberry, honeysuckle, melon, lime zest, fresh cut grass, minerals, sea breeze, and a touch of baking spices.  This has just a touch over light body, is dry, and has juicy, citrusy, acidity.  The mouthwatering palate has nice spice, gooseberries, melons, herbal notes, and lime.  The finish has nice length and again has a nice mix of citrus, spice, and herbal notes.  This is like Spring in a bottle.

 

 

 

2008 Trione Chardonnay River Road Ranch – $30.00

 

Wine Information

2008 by all accounts was a season of extremes.  It began as a dry winter with slightly early bud break, which was followed up by the most extreme frost events that the Russian River Valley had seen in years.  Full frost protection was needed as well as a lot of praying.  The summer was moderate with long warm days and cool nights.  With a small crop set and a heat spike in late August, the harvest was set in motion.  The heat sent sugars climbing and the vineyard crews scrambling to get the fruit in as quickly as possible.  The Chardonnay harvest was about one week ahead of the previous year.

 

Traditional winemaking is the focus with Chardonnay at Trione.  Like the great wine estates of Burgundy, the wines are made with grapes that are hand harvested, whole bunch pressed for gentle juice extraction with the resulting juice racked to barrels.  The barrels are 100% French oak with a mixture of new, one and two years of age.  The lees from the previous vintage are used to initiate fermentation.  The wine then spends the next few months fermenting with the completion happening sometime the following spring.

 

The wine was aged for 13 months in oak barrels, 40% new.

 

There were 1,252 cases produced and the final alcohol was 14.5%

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a pale golden-yellow color with a slight greenish tint.  The nice nose has apples, pears, hazelnuts, baking spices, spicy oak, and a touch of lemon zest.  This has medium body and has good acidity.  On the palate there are baked apples, lemon zest, and a touch of nuttiness.  The finish is fairly long with tart apples and spice being joined by a slight herbal note.

 

 

 

2008 Trione Pinot Noir River Road Ranch – $35.00

 

Wine Information

2008 by all accounts was a season of extremes.  It began as a dry winter and slightly early bud break, which was followed up by the most extreme frost events that the RussianRiverValley had seen in years.  Full frost protection was needed as well as a lot of praying.  The summer was moderate with long warm days and cool nights.  With a small crop set and a heat spike in late August, the harvest was set in motion.  The heat sent sugars climbing and the vineyard crews scrambling to get the fruit in as quickly as possible.  The Pinot Noir harvest was about one week ahead of the previous year.

 

Traditional techniques such as such as open top fermentations and hand plunging the cap during primary fermentation were implemented.  To accentuate the fruit component, twenty percent of the grapes were added whole cluster to the bottom of the fermenter.

 

The wine was aged for 13 months in oak barrels, 45% new.

 

A total of 1,295 cases were produced.  The final alcohol was 14.3%.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a light ruby red, considerably lighter at the edge.  The inviting nose has black cherries, earthy underbrush, baking spices, dried herbs, mushrooms, and a touch of cola.  This has medium body at most, soft but persistent tannins, and very good acidity.  The palate has earthy black cherries and spice carrying most of the load.  The finish has decent length but could use a touch more oomph.

 

 

 

2008 Trione Syrah River Road Ranch – $32.00

 

Wine Information

Trione Syrah grows in a single block planted with two clones, 470 and 877.  The mild 2008 growing season allowed slow ripening with full development of rich flavors and soft tannins.  Ten tons of grapes were hand harvested on October 8th and crushed the just-completed winery.

 

This Syrah was made with many of the small-batch techniques used with Pinot Noir:  fermentation in small, open-top fermenters with a larger portion of whole berries, hand plunging the cap four times daily for maximum flavor and color extraction.  The whole berries contributed deep blackberry fruit character and added complexity.

 

There were 678 cases produced and the final alcohol was 15.3%.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep ruby red color.  The enticing nose has blackberries, plums, warm baking spices, white pepper, meat juices, violets, and earthy underbrush.  This has medium body, fairly solid tannins, and good acidity.  The palate has very nice spicy berries with white pepper, earthy elements, and a meaty quality.  The finish has very good length and again leans on the spicy, peppery, earthy berries.

 

 

 

2007 Trione Cabernet Sauvignon Block Twenty One – $64.00

 

Wine Information

The Block 21 Cabernet is a single vineyard selection from the Trione Cloverdale Ranch, situated on the western flank of the MayacamasMountains, in the northern portion of AlexanderValley.

 

This classic Bordeaux blend includes 10% Merlot from the Geyserville Ranch and 2.5% each Petite Verdot and Malbec, both from Cloverdale.  After a long, mild growing season, the grapes were harvested by hand, each variety separately fermented, then barrel aged for twelve months.  Once the final blend was determined, the wine was returned to barrel and aged for an additional twelve months to ‘marry’ the varietals.  The French oak barrels (45% new) used from coopers Taransaud, Vicard and Bossuet.

 

Only 733 cases of wine was produced and the alcohol is 14.5%.

 

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a touch darker than a medium ruby red color.  The very appealing nose has cassis, cedar, baking spices, cherries, minerals, dried herbs, and some earthiness.  This is medium to full bodied with fairly solid, ripe tannins, and good acidity.  The palate has nice cassis and cherry up front with baking spices, dried herbs and some earthiness coming in late.  The finish has nice length and briefly leans on the fruity components before the savory notes take over.  I would have liked a touch more fullness on the palate which gets a bit lean.

 

 

 

2007 Trione Geyserville Ranch – $48.00

 

Wine Information

The “Red Wine” is a classic Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec.  This wine was blended to show the complexities that exist in the Alexander Valley Appellation. The wine is composed mainly of Cabernet Sauvignon from Nervo Ranch.  The Merlot is from the Geyserville Ranch, the Petite Verdot and Malbec are from Cloverdale Ranch.  The varietal breakdown is 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 4% Petite Verdot and 4% Malbec.  Each variety was fermented separately in small open top vessels.

 

A total of 2,435 six-packs were produced with a final alcohol of 14.9%.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep ruby to maroon color.  the slightly subdued nose has cassis, warm baking spices, dark chocolate, dried herbs, black cherries, and a bit of earthiness.  This has a full body, fairly solid tannins, and decent acidity.  The palate has nice cassis and plum notes up front with dried herbs and some dark chocolate coming in on the back end and carrying on through the nice finish.  Nicely balanced but I’d have liked a touch more complexity.

 

 

 

 

 

***** Shameless Self Promotion Area *****

 

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 Purple Hands Pinot Noir Stoller Vineyard

2006 Two Hands Brave Faces

2010 Isole e Olena Chianti Classico

2009 Novy Family Wines Four Mile Creek

 

 

 

 

2010 Purple Hands Pinot Noir Stoller Vineyard – $19.94

 

My comments

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.  This sat in the cellar for almost 2 whole days, so it’s time to try one.

 

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, 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)

 

 

 

2006 Two Hands Brave Faces – $17.09

 

My comments

Two Hands is one of my wife’s favorite wineries and ranks pretty high on my list.  This is a winery not afraid to allow their grapes to get fully ripe before picking.  Some of their wines get awfully close to the over ripe and syrupy side of the line, but most of the time they don’t cross that line.  Remember, ripe fruit is not a flaw in a bottle wine.

 

I was able to grab a case of this wine from my local wine store during a blow out sale a year or two ago.  To me, this was an absolute no brainer buy for a touch over $17 a bottle.  This is 65% Shiraz, 35% Grenache and 100% BarossaValley.  This is the type of wine that made Australia famous before the mass produced “critter wines” did their best to kill that reputation.

 

Winery history (Core Values)

Quality without compromise is central to the Two Hands philosophy, driving all the decisions from fruit and oak selection to packaging and promotion.

 

We strive to differentiate ourselves; to be unique, fun and innovative in our business approach while maintaining a high degree of professionalism and integrity.

 

Our wines are made by a process of barrel classification – selecting the very best barrels for the Flagship range followed by Garden Series then our Picture Series.  This is achieved by sourcing the best parcels of fruit available to us from six premium regions within Australia.

 

We handle every parcel of fruit, however small, separately from crushing through to fermentation and oak maturation to ensure complexity and personality in the finished wines.

 

Fruit will be the primary feature of all our wines, with oak playing a supporting role.

 

Much more information available at:  http://www.twohandswines.com/

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep, dark maroon color.  The very outgoing and friendly nose features blackberries, Asian spices, black pepper, dying charcoal embers, cherry, vanilla, blueberries, and bittersweet chocolate.  This is fairly full bodied with ripe tannins and good acidity.  The palate is loaded with juicy berries, spice, and pepper.  The finish is fairly long with some dark chocolate adding a nice element to the spicy, peppery, berries.  This is drinking very nicely and should hold in the cellar for at least another year or two.  (92 pts)

 

 

 

2010 Isole e Olena Chianti Classico – $18.59

 

My comments

This wine made my “Best Buys” list for 2012, finishing at number 8.  To see the whole list see my post, Top 10 QPR Wines of 2012.

 

Even though I do like a “regular” Chinti, in my opinion, you need at least a Chianti Classico if you’re having pasta with a meat sauce, which is on our menu for this evening.

 

Winery history

Many of the wineries in the Chianti Region double as tourist attractions.  Not Paolo De Marchi’s Isole e Olena; when you turn right at the main gate and drive by the burnished steel fermentation tanks, you will come to a muddy square where you may find someone working on a wagon with an arc welder.

 

“We don’t have time for tourism,” says Paolo.  “It would distract us from our wines.”  His dedication is our gain; Isole e Olena’s wines are superb.  In addition to Chianti Classico, there is Cepparello, a pure Sangiovese of towering complexity and finesse, and a breathtaking Vinsanto.  The winery also produces a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Chardonnay, and L’Eremo, a Syrah.

 

Syrah is an ancient grape from the RhoneValley, which Paolo originally intended to use to add color and depth to his Chianti Classico (he feels that the Cabernet used in most Tuscan wineries can overwhelm Sangiovese).  However, he has since decided that the best way to improve Chianti is by careful selection of Sangiovese (Chianti’s principal grape), and is working to that end.  Meanwhile, L’Eremo placed fourth in a world-wide blind tasting of Syrah, after three wines from the RhoneValley.

 

Isole e Olena is also worth visiting if you like to talk wines.  Though Paolo has dropped out of the Consorzio del Marchio Storico (formerly Gallo Nero) for philosophical reasons, he firmly believes in the Chianti Classico region, and his opinions are the result of much thought.  For example, there is a movement to establish extra-high quality subzones within the Chianti Classico region.  “Since one of these zones includes Isole e Olena, it would be good for me,” he says with a grin.  “But so long as wineries can double their quality by hiring new enologists, I’m against it — it’s too soon.”

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a nice ruby red color.  The very enjoyable nose has cherries, plums, baking spices, dried herbs, violets, and a touch of earthy underbrush.  This is barely medium body with ripe tannins and very good acidity.  On the palate the wine has nice tart red fruit and spice up front with some earthy elements coming in later adding depth and complexity.  The finish has good length with the tart fruit, spices, and earthiness held together nicely by the acidity.  If you can find this for under $20, stock up.  (91 pts)

 

 

 

2009 Novy Family Wines Four Mile Creek – $9.50

 

My comments

Perennially a value priced favorite.  In this vintage, it seems to have a bit more oomph than most vintages.  Perhaps there was a surplus of very good grapes from some of the better vineyards or some grapes headed for single vineyard wines were declassified.  Either way, we’re the winners.  This is a jammy, fruity blend of Zinfandel, Grenache, Syrah and Nebbiolo.

 

Winery history

Our winemaking goal is to produce wines that best capture the distinct flavor and character of a given vineyard site.  To that end, we focus on sites that provide us with exceptional fruit.  We are fanatical in our protection of the vineyard flavor and are determined not to let any overt winemaking components mute the personality of an individual site.

 

In the cellar, we vinifiy each wine separately by block, clone and barrel type in order to maximize the individual components and provide greater complexity to the final blend.  This approach also provides us with much more flexibility in crafting a wine using only the best and most harmonious lots.

 

Given that the majority of our wines are single vineyard offerings, it is critical for us to maintain the site’s individual character in order to provide you with a truly diverse offering of wines.  To that end:

 

• We believe in minimal intervention, “gentle” winemaking.  In other words, we let the wine make itself.  We do not want to do anything to the wine that isn’t absolutely necessary.
• We believe in bottling our wines unfiltered and unfined whenever possible, convinced as we are that fining and filtering strip wines of flavor and character.
• We believe that the best wines express their origins.  Our goal is not to produce the world’s best Syrah or Zinfandel but rather to produce the very best wine from a given site.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep ruby red color.  The easy going nose has blackberries, black cherries, baking spices, vanilla, wild flowers, and a touch of earthiness.  This has medium body, soft, ripe tannins, and good acidity.  The wine provides a mouthful of jammy fruit with some earthiness and spicy oak coming in on the back end.  The finish has decent length with the spicy, earthy fruit.  Not a lot of complexity but a very tasty week night wine.  Offers an outstanding “quality to price ratio” if you can find it for under $10, like I did.  (88 pts)

 

 

 

 

 

***** Shameless Self Promotion Area *****

 

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!

 

 

These reviews are based on samples provided by the winery or another company acting on their behalf.  Prices noted are the Suggested Retail Prices.

 

Over the last month, I have had the extreme pleasure of tasting through a dozen different wines from the Steven Kent and La Rochelle wineries.  Every wine has been outstanding and distinctive.  These aren’t the cookie-cutter wines being offered by some of the larger wineries in the world.  Every wine shows the distinct terroir of the vintage, region, and vineyard from where they originated.  Generally these are wines that taste good now with some aeration, but have the balance and all the key ingredients to age and improve with extended cellar time.

 

The wines, though above some people’s normal price points, are reasonably priced based on their level of quality.  These are small, limited production wines, most are produced in quantities under 100 cases.

 

I highly recommend these wines.  The winery also has a number of wine clubs that can guarantee you an allocation of the wines at discounted prices and offer other benefits.  Visit the website for more information.

 

 

 

The Steven Kent Winery Was Born.

In 2005, Steven joined forces with the Ghielmetti family who owned a spectacular vineyard site about three miles east of the winery.  The site was planted to Bordeaux and Rhône varieties, many of which he used to make small-lot releases for his burgeoning wine clubs.  Steven realized in 2007, though, that the farther he went down this path, the further away he’d be from the vision with which he started in the business – to make a single, great, statement wine.

 

Lineage—our Livermore Valley Red Wine—then, is the renaissance of that need to have the effort mean something; for the wine to be a symbol of the passion to create something of great quality, an emblem of one family’s generations-long commitment to the grape.

 

Also in 2005, Steven found an opportunity to close a circle.  His cousins, who had earlier sold the Mirassou brand to Gallo, had started a brand called La Rochelle, named for the town north of Bordeaux from which their progenitor had come to America in 1854.  La Rochelle had an amazingly talented winemaker, Tom Stutz, and a portfolio of wines whose only focus was family vineyard fruit from Monterey.  Steven acquired the brand and brought it and Tom up to Livermore with a new focus on Pinot Noir.  Seven years later, La Rochelle is making some of the best Pinot Noirs (and a newly released, small-lot production focus on Chardonnay) in California.

 

Much more information, links to the wineries, and purchasing information is available at their website.

 

 

Steven has a very nice blog here – Steven’s Blog.

 

 

 

Steven Kent Winery Info

“Steven Kent is producing today’s greatest Livermore Cabernets, wines that hearken back to the valley’s roots as one of California’s best wine regions.” – Wine Enthusiast

 

The Steven Kent Winery was started in 1996 with one mission: to make Cabernet here in the Livermore Valley that rivals in quality the greatest red wines made anywhere in the world.

 

Livermore Valley has a long, dedicated history of growing the “Bordeaux” varietals, and in particular Cabernet Sauvignon.  In the 1880s, pioneering winegrowers began to discover the potential of the Livermore Valley region.  Then, as today, L.V.’s climate and soils closely resemble those of Bordeaux’s famed left bank of the Gironde.  By the turn of the last century, Livermore Valley was already far ahead of its Napa Valley neighbor in specializing in the Bordeaux varieties.  Our goal at Steven Kent is to carry on that tradition.

 

“We have worked joyously and strenuously to know our vineyards; to learn how our fruit expresses itself from those sites; to discover the best winemaking and barrel regimens that translates those grapes into world-class vintages.  We’re very gratified that customers, critics, and collectors alike consider our “historic Cabernet” to be an essential addition to their table, their “best of lists,” and their cellars”.  – Steven Kent Mirassou

 

More information is available at their website.

 

 

La Rochelle Info

Our mission at La Rochelle is a simple one:  to make California’s best, most interesting, most collectable Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

 

My family introduced the Pinot Noir grape to California in the 1850s.  Today, we partner with the state’s most renowned Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vineyards – Garys’. Sleepy Hollow. Rosella’s. Londer. Paraiso. Tondre. Ferrington. Deer Park.  We craft Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grown on these famed estates that let the individual vineyard’s terroir, its special sense of place, shine through.

 

My great-great-great grandfather left the French port of La Rochelle one hundred and sixty years ago on a voyage of possibilities.  Our journey at La Rochelle Winery is an equally exciting one:  to discover the best vineyards and translate those exceptional estates into limited releases worthy of our heritage.

 

Steven Kent Mirassou

 

 

La Rochelle Winemaker, Tom Stutz also has a blog – Tom’s Blog.

 

 

Much more information is available on La Rochelle wine at their website.

 

 

 

 

To check availability or to purchase any of these wine or other wines offered by the wineries in the Steven Kent Portfolio, visit their website.

 

 

 

The lineup:

 

 

2009 La Rochelle Pinot Noir Sleepy Hollow Block A – $48.00

 

Wine Information

This 100% Pinot Noir was aged 26 months in 45% new oak and 55% second use.  The barrels were 74% French and 26% American.

 

The vineyard is one of the most northerly sites in the Santa Lucia Highlands.  The vineyard has been a source of fruit to La Rochelle since 2003, and provided fruit to the family’s Mirassou Vineyards label for close to 20 years before that time.  This is generally one of the “bigger” Pinot Noirs produced by the winery.

 

The final alcohol is 14.7% and production was 11 barrels.

 

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a medium ruby red color.  The very inviting nose has black cherries, raspberries, warmed baking spices, earthy underbrush, a nice smoky element, cola, minerals, fresh wild flowers, and a touch of pine needles.  This has medium body, soft, ripe tannins, and very good acidity.  The palate has a nice helping of darker fruit, spice, and good earthiness.  The wine thins a touch on the finish which is flavorful with nice length.  I think with additional cellar time, the finish will fill out and the wine will develop additional complexity.  (92 pts)

 

 

 

2009 Steven Kent Cabernet Sauvignon Livermore Valley – $48.00

 

Wine Information

This is a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Home Ranch, Ghielmetti Estate, and Folkendt vineyards, as well as a few percent each of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot.

 

The lots were made and aged separately before being blended about six months prior to release.  The wine spent a total of 24 months in 75% new oak barrels.  The barrels were 52% French, 43% American, and 5% Hungarian.

 

The final alcohol is 14.4%

 

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a medium to deep ruby red color.  The interesting nose has cassis, cedar, Asian spices, tobacco, black olives, dark chocolate, dried herbs, black cherries, and a touch of earthiness.  This has medium to full body, fairly solid tannins, and good acidity.  The palate has nice fruit and spice up front with olives and earthiness coming in on the back end adding nice depth.  The finish has nice length and leans heavily on the savory elements.  This improved a lot with air; initially there was a green bell pepper element that after a couple hours integrated nicely.  (90 pts)

 

 

 

2009 Steven Kent Cabernet Sauvignon Folkendt Vineyard – $65.00

 

Wine Information

There were 82 cases produced of this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.  The 4.5 acre vineyard was planted in 1992.

 

The wine was aged 24 months in 100% new French oak barrels.  As with all their red wines, this was bottled without fining or filtration.

 

The final alcohol is 14.6%.

 

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a medium to dark ruby red color.  The sexy nose has cassis, cedar, melted licorice, dried herbs, black plums, baking spices, dark chocolate, and some black cherry.  This has medium to full body, solid tannins, and very good acidity.  The palate has solid dark fruit and spice with some dark chocolate and spicy oak in the background.  The finish is long and full of spicy fruit and chocolaty oak.  This really needs a couple years in the cellar to strut its stuff, but tastes nice now with several hours of air.  (93 pts)

 

 

 

2009 Steven Kent Malbec Ghielmetti – $50.00

 

Wine Information

The Ghielmetti Vineyard is a touch under 65 acres and is planted to 11 different grapes on 20 distinct blocks.  This Malbec comes from Block 13, which is comprised of 66 rows and 5,940 vines that were grafted over from Petite Sirah in 2006.  This is the only block of Malbec in the vineyard.

 

The four barrels used in this offering were aged in 100% new oak and yielded a total of only 98 cases of wine.

 

The final alcohol is 14.1%.

 

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a medium to dark ruby red color.  The exotic nose had plums, blackberries, stony minerals, Asian spices, licorice, cedar, charred meat, cherries, dark chocolate, and a touch of vanilla.  The wine has medium to full body, solid tannins, and good acidity.  The palate has big, bold, spicy fruit up front with very nice savory notes coming in on the back end adding considerable depth.  The finish is long and very flavorful with the spicy fruit, cedar, and a touch of dark chocolate slowly adding some cherry.  Very tasty today with some air, but this could use at least a year or two in the cellar.  This was much better on day two.  (94 pts)

 

 

 

***** 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

 

 

 

 

 

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!

 

 

 

 

2009 Loring Wine Company Pinot Noir Garys’ Vineyard

2010 Domaine La Garrigue Vacqueyras

2002 Elyse Cabernet Sauvignon Morisoli Vineyard

 

 

Breaking news from Klout:

 

 

 

2009 Loring Wine Company Pinot Noir Garys’ Vineyard – $45.00

 

My comments

My wife just returned from a 10 day business trip, so I wanted to open something really good.  Since Loring is one of both of our favorite wineries, this was an easy choice.  Brian’s Pinot from Garys’ Vineyard is also one of out two favorite vineyard sources he uses.

 

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 medium to dark ruby red color.  The open and inviting nose has black cherries, warm baking spices, black tea leaves, white pepper, raspberries, dried flowers, minerals, and some earthiness.  This has medium to full body with fairly solid, ripe tannins, and very good acidity.  The palate has a nice blend of tart cherries, sweet raspberries, spices, and subtle earthiness.  The finish is fairly long and again, very flavorful with nice closing acidity holding everything together.  Very tasty today, but no hurry on this one.  (92 pts)

 

 

 

2010 Domaine La Garrigue Vacqueyras – $16.62

 

My comments

The local wine store recently put this one on the shelf.  A friend who works there insisted I give this one a try.  Since I generally agree with his palate, I grabbed three bottles.  Even though I think it’s still a bit young, it’s a perfect night to try one in case I want to stock up before the store sells out.

 

Winery history

Domaine La Garrigue is set in the heart of the Vacqueyras appellation area (Southern Côtes du Rhône), in the Vaucluse department of France.  The estate buildings are just 2.5 km from the main village, on a plateau called Les Garrigues.

 

The estate was created in 1850, and has always been worked by the same family, spanning 6 generations.  The Bernard family has always worked in respect of tradition, crafting authentic natural wines that are typical of the terroirs they came from.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep maroon color.  The warm and relaxing nose has black cherries, blackberries, red raspberries, dried herbs, brined green olives, licorice, minerals, earthy elements, and wild flowers.  This has medium body, fairly solid tannins, and very good acidity.  The palate has nice, spicy fruit and olives with a touch of earthiness coming in on the back end.  The finish is a touch clipped when the tannins and acidity kick in.  Let this one sleep for at least a year, preferably two.  This has a lot of upside potential.  (90 pts)

 

 

 

2002 Elyse Cabernet Sauvignon Morisoli Vineyard – $30.00

 

My comments

In my opinion, this is perennially one of the best Napa Cabernets for the price.  This is a cabernet that generally needs a few years of bottle age to fully reach its potential and show its best.  If you get the opportunity to try this wine, jump on it, you can thank me later.

 

Winery history

Napa Valley’s Elyse Winery has two causes for celebration this harvest.  In addition to a stellar looking 2012 vintage in NapaValley, it is the 25th harvest for the winery.

 

It was back in 1987 that Ray and Nancy Coursen crushed 4.5 tons of Zinfandel from the Morisoli Vineyard in Rutherford to craft 286 cases of their first wine.  While the portfolio has grown over the last 25 years, the focus remains on creating vineyard driven wines that pair well with food.  Total production is currently 10,000 cases and the wines are nationally and internationally distributed.

 

Winemaking is cooking without a flame.  Our winemaking philosophy at Elyse in NapaValley is similar to the approach of a great chef who carefully prepares artisan grown ingredients to bring each layer of flavor to the table.  Long term alliances with our growers form the cornerstone to our portfolio of vineyard driven wines that possess an unfaltering affinity for pairing with food.

 

“A meal with wine is dining – it’s a conversation, an event.  It’s what wine is all about.” – Ray Coursen, Winemaker & Owner

 

“This excellent winery continues to carve out a well-deserved reputation for its interesting red wine portfolio.” – Robert M. Parker Jr.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a fairly deep ruby red color, with no signs of it being eleven years old.  The very elegant and powerful nose has cassis, dried herbs, tobacco, dusty minerals, melted licorice, warm baking spices, violets, black cherries, and lesser notes of cedar, vanilla, and earthiness.  This has medium body with fairly solid, ripe tannins and very nice acidity.  The palate is loaded with rich, juicy berries, dried herbs, and just the right amount of spicy oak.  The very flavorful finish is very long, seeming to linger forever.  The wine is perfectly balanced and in a wonderful place.  It is velvety with no rough edges or out of place or excessive elements.  (94 pts)

 

 

 

***** 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

 

 

 

 

Wines bought or received this week

 

Grabbed a mixed case at the local wine store.

(3) 2010 Domaine La Garrigue Vacqueyras @ $16.62

(1) 2009 Atalon Cabernet Sauvignon @ $25.36

(6) 2010 Purple Hands Pinot Noir Stoller Vineyard @ $19.94

(2) 2010 Isole e Olena Chianti Classico @ $18.59

 

 

 

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!

 

 

2008 Tamarack Cellars Firehouse Red

2008 C.G. di Arie Primitivo Block 4 Estate Grown

2006 Powers Syrah Reserve Cougar Vineyard Wahluke Slope

2007 Mitolo Shiraz Jester

 

 

2008 Tamarack Cellars Firehouse Red – $13.29

 

My comments

This is a perennial house favorite and best buy.  The blend changes every vintage, but the quality is always in the bottle.  This is always a blend of several grapes that always seems to work.

 

This vintage is a blend of 37% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Syrah, 16% Merlot, 7% Cab Franc, 3% Malbec, 3% Sangiovese, 3% Petite Verdot, and 1% Carmenere.

 

Winery history

Whether it’s our highly acclaimed Firehouse Red or one of our limited-production single vineyard reserve blends, Tamarack’s wines offer a delicious expression of Washington vineyards’ style and elegance.

 

When you visit the winery, you won’t find us in a fancy chateau.  Instead you’ll find yourself immersed in the everyday workings of a family-owned winery, racking, blending and bottling wine, in a renovated firehouse located in a World War II Army Air Base.

 

Founded in 1998 by Ron and Jamie Coleman, Tamarack’s first vintage consisted of 300 cases of Merlot.  The goal was to make elegant, balanced, delicious wines and offer them at a fair price.  Years later, and now up to 20,000 cases each year, the focus remains the same. Tamarack Cellars hand-crafts consistently outstanding wines for a great price.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a fairly dark ruby to maroon color.  The enticing nose has blackberries, smoldering charcoal, vanilla, meat juices, dried herbs, baking spices, licorice, and a bit of earthiness.  This has medium body, fairly solid tannins, and very nice acidity.  The palate has a nice mix of fruity and savory elements that play well off of each other.  The finish has decent length leaning a bit more on the savory elements.  This is in a very nice drinking window and is a nice change of pace from the bigger, riper California wines.  (90 pts)

 

 

 

2008 C.G. di Arie Primitivo Block 4 Estate Grown – $14.24

 

My comments

The local wine store brought this in as part of a sale promotion.  I grabbed several bottles of a few other C. G. di Arie wines, namely their Petite Sirah and red blend called Interlude.  I decided to grab a bottle of this one to fill the case.  This will be my first bottle of this specific wine, but a nice Primitivo for under $15 can take up some space in my cellar anytime.

 

Winery history

As an inventor and new food product developer, Chaim Gur-Arieh spent 35 years preparing himself for the role of winemaker at C.G. Di Arie Vineyard & Winery.

 

Born in Istanbul, Turkey, Chaim immigrated to Israel as a teenager.  After completing his military service as an officer in a tank division, Chaim studied at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology and received his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering.  Soon after, Chaim moved to the United States to continue his education at the University of Illinois where he earned a Masters and a Ph.D. in Food Science with minors in Biochemistry and Chemical Engineering.

 

Chaim then joined the Quaker Oats company where he helped develop the breakfast Cereal Cap’n Crunch.  He moved to California to become Director of New Products at Del Monte Corporation where he created an array of new products including “Pudding Cups”, “Gel Cups”, “Yogurt Cups”, etc.  In 1974 Chaim married Elisheva and founded Food Development Corporation, where he developed numerous new products including Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing, Power Bars and Wine Coolers.   In 1980, Chaim merged Food Development Corporation with California Brands Flavors, his newly created flavor company.  Over the next 18 years Chaim transformed California Brands Flavors into a major West Coast flavor company.

 

In 1998, Chaim and Elisheva sold their flavor company to Mane & Fils, an international flavor company and went on to pursue their life-long dream of creating world class wines.   In his new role as Winemaker, Chaim developed his innovative “Dual Compartment Submerged Cap Fermentation Tank” (patent pending) which he uses to craft his delicious red wines.  Chaim’s wines are highly extracted, soft and elegant – a perfect match to fine cuisine.

My Tasting Note

The wine is a touch lighter than ruby red.  The comforting nose had brambly berries, baking spices, black pepper, cherries, dark chocolate, fresh wild flowers, and a bit of earthiness.  The wine has medium body, light tannins, and very nice acidity.  The palate has tart cherries, spicy, peppery, berries and some earthiness.  The finish is a touch short but shows nice red fruit and spice.  Not a big, bold, style of wine, but very enjoyable on a week night.  (87 pts)

 

 

 

2006 Powers Syrah Reserve Cougar Vineyard Wahluke Slope – $14.24

 

My comments

This is another wine the local wine store brought in as part of an end-of-vintage sale.  My thought process to decide to buy this wine was something along the lines of, “Washington state, single vineyard, Syrah, for under $15”.  Into my case went a few bottles very quickly.

 

Winery history

Second generation winemaker Greg Powers has a deep affinity for the Columbia Valley and its viticulture.  He grew up in the region’s spectacular farm country and helped his father Bill plant and manage Badger Mountain Vineyard.  Today, Greg carries on the family traditions of sustainable farming and the passionate production of exceptional wines.  Under Greg’s leadership, Powers Winery has been recognized as a “rising star” by Wine Spectator, and as one of the “50 Great U.S. Cabernet Producers” by Wine Enthusiast.

 

Powers wines are creatively blended and crafted to showcase Washington state’s distinctive vineyards and robust and diverse microclimates.  Deeply rooted in long term relationships with premium Washington state growers, Powers sources a variety of the highest quality fruit to consistently produce compelling wines of uncommon depth, complexity and harmony.  Our Reserve Meritage is an excellent example of blending premiere vineyards, while our other Reserve selections spotlight wines from a single expressive vineyard.  All Powers wines reflect a devotion, experience and integrity that result in wines worthy to carry the family name.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a fairly deep maroon color.  The slightly different nose has blackberries, smoke, earthy underbrush, dried herbs, minerals, roasted game, and licorice.  The earthy elements and roasted game push right up to barnyardy but stop before crossing the line, which isn’t a problem to me, but buyer beware.  This has medium body, mostly integrated tannins, and good acidity.  On the palate the fruit comes across more like raspberry to cherry instead of the blackberries that were on the nose.  The palate also has nice minerals, spice, and earthy elements.  The finish is a touch short with tart cherries, dried herbs, minerals, and earthy elements carrying the weight.  A nice change of pace, somewhere in the middle of a French Rhone wine and a cooler climate CA Syrah.  (89 pts)

 

 

 

2007 Mitolo Shiraz Jester – $12.74

 

My comments

I was in the mood for something easy drinking and tasty to sip on this evening.  This made the choice easy, an Australian Shiraz.  This Ben Glaetzer made wine is usually full of ripe, juicy fruit.

 

Winery history

For such a young winery, Mitolo’s history is rich.  It’s one studded with success, wide acclaim, and – most importantly – truly memorable wines.  But that’s only to be expected from a winery which, since the very first day, has been motivated by three potent words:

 

Purity.  Elegance.  Power.

 

Those were the guiding principles Frank Mitolo wrote down when he created the winery in 1999.  With his Italian heritage and a family history of working the land, Frank was only interested in pursuing excellence.  And the results were there immediately in the release of the first Mitolo wine – the 2000 G.A.M. – named after Frank’s children Gemma, Alexander and Marco.

 

Attracted by this commitment to only create wines of outstanding quality, acclaimed winemaker Ben Glaetzer joined Mitolo as a partner in 2001.  With grapes sourced from two of Australia’s premier wine regions, Mclaren Vale and the Barossa Valley, Frank and Ben now work tirelessly to surpass their already impressive achievements.  Mitolo Wines, praised by some of the world’s toughest critics, are now enjoyed in more than 20 countries around the world.

 

And that is just the start.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a deep ruby red color.  The very open and easy going nose has blackberries, cherries, vanilla, black pepper, baking spices, brined olives, and wild flowers.  This has medium body, fairly solid, ripe tannins, and good acidity.  The spicy, peppery, sweet cherries and berries coat the palate with some vanilla and brined olives coming in on the back end.  The finish has nice length and mirrors the palate.  If you’re looking for a Northern Rhone Syrah, look elsewhere, if you want a mouthful of sweet, spicy, peppery cherries and berries, you found your wine.  It’s not very complex, but what do you expect for around $15?  (89 pts)

 

 

 

 

***** 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

 

 

 

 

 

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!

 

 

 

This is from a California Syrah tasting hosted by a friend.  He supplied the first six wines, I provided the last two as a counterpoint to the big, rich, ripe Syrahs we’d be consuming.

 

The first six were to be rated by those in attendance.  Since I only had a couple small tastes of each wine, I will only provide my quick thoughts without a full tasting note or score.  I prefer to spend a few hours with a bottle of wine to give a full assessment.  We knew the wines we’d be tasting, but the wines were decanted and the bottles were hidden until after we had sampled all the wines twice so we could form unbiased opinions.

 

These notes are not meant to look into the future but to provide a snapshot of how they were on this one specific night early in their development.

 

 

 

2009 Torrin Akasha

 

My Impressions

This is a solidly made, full bodied wine that demands a few years in the cellar.  This Paso Robles wine shows the characteristics of a location that gets warm to hot during the day but cools off enough at night to help the wine retain freshness and good acidity.  The wine is deep, dark, inky purple color with loads of black fruit, flowers, smoke, and spice.  This nicely balanced wine has sufficient tannins and acidity to support its size and ripeness level.  On the first pass through the wines this was my favorite, but eventually fell to second.

 

 

 

2010 McPrice Myers Syrah Larner Vineyard

 

My Impressions

As is generally the winery’s style, this was a massive, full bodied, ripe wine.  The wine is from the Santa Ynez Valley on California’s Central Coast.  The wine was an inky purple color with loads of black and blue fruit, licorice, smoke and spices jumping from the glass.  I fairly easily guessed this wine since it really isn’t my preferred style.  It was big and ripe with solid tannins, but to me the relatively lower level of acidity makes it flabby and a touch syrupy.  My least favorite wine of the night and that opinion seemed to be shared by others since the decanter still had a fair amount of wine in it when most of the others had been emptied.

 

 

 

2010 Bedrock Wine Co. Syrah Griffin’s Lair

 

My Impressions

This was another deep, dark, inky wine this time from the Sonoma Coast.  This is a fairly tightly wound beast that barely opened up even after being decanted for 4 to 5 hours.  The fruit did show some cooler climate characteristics like violet and some red cherry but it refused to fully open up.  You could sense the power behind the wall of tannins but this will need a few years in the cellar to live up to its full potential.  This was initially my second choice, but its lack of development led it to fall into my third slot.  I’m glad I have this in my cellar, but I won’t even consider opening a bottle for at least 3 to 4 years. The lack of development over a few hours lead me to correctly guess this was the Bedrock.  Their single vineyard Syrahs need a couple years to come together and open up.

 

 

 

2010 Carlisle Syrah Papa’s Block

 

My Impressions

I feel like a broken record…This Russian River Valley wine was a deep, dark ruby color.  This wine had big berries, pepper, spice, and showed a nice meaty element.  The tannins were fairly solid and with the accompanying acidity provided a solid backbone to easily support the wine’s size.  This wine has very nice balance and opened up very nicely over the course of a couple of hours.  This wine was far and away the most improved wine with additional air.  This was initially my number 3 wine, but upon trying an hour or two later, easily became my wine of the night.  I guessed this was the Carlisle wine immediately after trying it the second time.

 

 

 

2010 Herman Story Syrah White Hawk Vineyard

 

My Impressions

This is another deep, dense, purple wine, this one from Santa Barbara County.  This wine showed nice minerality and dark chocolate notes to go with the solid wall of berries.  There was a load of chewy tannins, but I’d have liked a tad more acidity to help hold the finish together.  This was a well made, full bodied Syrah that was over shadowed by several of the other wines due to its slightly muddled finish.  My number 5 wine based both on the initial taste and a follow up tasting.

 

 

 

2010 Jaffurs Syrah Larner Vineyard

 

My Impressions

This Santa Barbara County wine was a deep, dark, ruby to purple color.  The nose on the wine is outstanding with dark berries, minerals, eucalyptus, and a touch of cherry.  This was another tightly wound wine that never really opened up on the palate.  It was full bodied, had very solid tannins, and good acidity but never did come around.  Of the six wines, this one really needs the most cellar time.  I thought this could have been the Jaffurs, more or less by default by eliminating the other wines.  This was my number 4 wine on this night, but I could tell there was something special waiting to be uncaged.

 

 

 

2009 Anthill Farms Syrah Peters Vineyard

 

My Impressions

This Sonoma Coast Syrah was a deep ruby red color.  The cooler, Sonoma Coast influence was easily noticeable on the nose with a fair amount of cherry coming through as well as white pepper, bacon fat, and stony minerals.  This has more of a medium to full body with fairly solid tannins and very good acidity.  After trying the big bruisers, this almost seemed like a delicate Pinot Noir when I tasted it again after the other wines.

 

 

 

2008 Stefania Syrah Eaglepoint Ranch

 

My Impressions

This Mendocino County Syrah was a deep, dark ruby color.  Besides the requisite dark berries, this had a serious smoked meat element on the nose.  Probably because it was the oldest wine in the tasting, it seemed to be the most civilized and open.  This wine had medium to full body, fairly solid tannins, and very nice acidity.  I’m glad I have a few more bottles to open down the road.

 

 

 

***** 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

 

 

 

 

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!