Cornerstone Napa Valley Cab 2006

I've been putting this post off for a few days because I wasn't sure what to say about this wine. I'm still not really sure. One word that comes to mind is 'ass-kicker' (is that a word?) I can also say this is a seriously age-worthy wine. I actually regret having opened it so soon. It was part of a sample I received some time ago already and it was tugging at my mind like little Tommy Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life ("s'cuse me! s'cuse me!"). There were actually two bottles of Cornerstone Cab in the sample. Thank God I only opened the one.

I was a little surprised to read on the Cornerstone Cellars website that this wine is "already approachable and will be drinking well very quickly." Okay, that makes me feel a little less like a baby murderer. I should add that Cornerstone also recommends aging their Napa Valley Cabs for three to five years, and failing that, decanting for two hours. All I did was pour it through a cheapo aerator. This feisty little bruiser certainly didn't take that lying down. It waged an all out assault on my tongue, and inspired me to sing a homophonous take on "O Tannenbaum."

Things in the bottle started to mellow out a bit after a day or two.
The nose is full of things like blackberry, black currant and licorice--anything black. Then, take a sip, and BAM! Juniper bush. Straight up. Oh, then there's some more licorice, and black stuff mid-palate that crescendos into a tart and herbal finish. Don't ask me what herb. It's probably a blend. Emeril's Essence or something. As the days wear on, some blueberry and violet start to emerge on the nose. And, wait...is that? Could it be? An actual hint of cherry on the finish? Anyway, definitely a contender for rochambeau champ at this stage.

On the whole, a bold, bad-ass wine. But, is it good? Well, the quality is certainly evident. It also needs a good deal more time in the bottle IMHO. I have no idea what another couple of years will do to the flavors in this wine. I could see it getting really meaty and irony like a bloody Chinon. I don't know what that juniper bush will do as it ages--this is where a vertical tasting would come in handy. Anyone done a vertical at the winery? Please share because I'm woefully lacking in comparisons for this bottle. As for the second bottle of Cornerstone Cab waiting in my mini-cellar, that's staying put for now.

Tulip Hill Petite Sirah

On our recent trip to Palm Springs, CA, we decided to pay a visit to the only local tasting room we saw advertising in the area. Tulip Hill Winery is actually about 90 miles north of Napa, but they have a retail outlet in a suburban shopping center in Rancho Mirage. It was kind of a pain to find because we weren’t expecting it to be tucked between a Cineplex and an Italian chain restaurant but, no matter.



The fruit used at Tulip Hill ranges from Mt. Oso to Napa. Tulip Hill actually petitioned for the Tracy Hills AVA to cover their vineyard on Mt. Oso. They specialize in red varieties but, we did try their Pinot Grigio which was surprisingly dry and mineral with flavors of grapefruit and just a touch of melon.

Most of the reds tend to be slightly bitter (not in a bad way) with a couple of notable exceptions (which we’ll get to in a moment). The 2005 Tracy Hills Merlot was quite interesting with an elegant nose of rose, chocolate, cherry, and almond. The cherry carried through to the palate, with a little blueberry, umami, and a coffee bite which got more concentrated with each sip.

The 2005 Tracy Hills Merlot-Syrah Blend was marked by aromas of kitty nose, blackberry, pomegranate, and vanilla. It had a similar flavor profile to the Merlot but, with more pronounced meat and pepper flavors.

The 2004 Tracy Hills Syrah was a little tougher than what you would find in a Sonoma Syrah but still there were nice aromas of cherry, bramble, pepper, vanilla, prune and cassis. On the palate was cherry, more cassis, plenty of allspice, and just the faintest hint of band-aid. The 2005 Tracy Hills Cab-Syrah was much like the Syrah but with added richness from the Cab and bitter chocolate (cacao) notes.

Now for the fun stuff… The 2006 Tracy Hills “Sangiovignon” is a blend of 60% Sangiovese and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon. Fun because you can entertain yourself for hours pulling out the various characteristics of the two grapes. Missing, was the barnyard funk of a typical Super Tuscan. There was blackberry, cherry, plum and mesquite smoke on the nose. The flavor consisted of a cherry base. There was blueberry essence in the vapor coming off the tongue, and a strawberry finish.

Also huge fun, and most likely to win a gold metal at the county fair, the 2006 Napa Valley Petite Sirah was an epiphany. The color was very extracted deep purple. The flavors and aromas were a well balanced choreography of toffee, blackberry, cherry, almond, blueberry, licorice, allspice, and pansy.

Finally, the 2004 Napa Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon was another winner, and a bargain in Napa Cab terms at $36 a bottle. I had one of those awesome olfactory flashbacks back to a life-changing mole from a little Mexican restaurant in Lake Tahoe…man, that was a good meal… Taster A noted marble dust on this one (he had his own flashback to Proctor, VT). It did indeed have that wet-saw smell, as well as, some juniper berry. This cab was rich, smooth, and mouth coating with layers of chocolate and a blueberry pie finish.

What about the Trailside?

That's right! I still have to write a post about the OTBN wine we opened. It was pretty extravagant for us; the 2001 Heitz Cellar Trailside Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon retails in the neighborhood of $120 per bottle. We actually procured ours through a screaming deal from Bin Ends. Screaming. It was so cheap it makes you wonder...

Anyway, back to the wine. I have to admit, it's a bit of an enigma. The nose is sublime. It's all canned bing cherries, and creamy vanilla ice cream, and almond. Wow, that sounds like a sundae. It's actually nothing like a sundae... There are light violet notes as well. On the other hand, take a sip of this bad boy and it's pretty tough. It was only bottled in 2005 (spending 3.5 years barrel-aging) so it could probably stand some more years in the bottle. It's flush with firm tannins but, the balance is there. It's very meaty in flavor with some eucalyptus overtones. I get a hint of raspberry, and cherry on the finish. Oh, by the way, it is not oaky at all despite all that time in oak.

I thought we had tried a 1998 Trailside when we visited the winery, but I guess it was the Martha's Vineyard. I understand Martha's Vineyard to be the flagship vineyard so it's probably not fair to say that the 2001 Trailside isn't quite in the same class as the 1998 Martha's. No matter. This isn't your typical Napa Cab and I appreciate that. A lot of Napa Cabs just taste like a cherry-red Porsche to me. Not literally! I mean in terms of gloss and inanimate flawlessness. This wine tastes real and I like that. I think I'm going to save our second bottle for 2013.

Down the Hatch

Are we coming up on Fat Tuesday? This weekend we went through the bottles we opened so fast, I'm not sure I even tasted them. They were good in a celebratory gluttony kind of way. Fortunately, the wines we drank have been reviewed in 100s of blogs already!

First up, bubbles. Cava is Spain's bottle fermented sparkling wine. We had 1+1=3 Brut. Brut is smack dab in the middle of the sugar content classifications (from zero to 15 grams of sugar per litre). We don't know exactly where this bottle falls in that wide range but, it seemed on the dry side.

According to the Wines From Spain site, good Cava shouldn't be more that 11% ABV. This bottle is 11.5% ABV which is close enough (we can round down). The color is light; hay-colored. There is very light citrus and pear on the nose and a nice mineral flavor. Extremely gulpable and the price was right at around $14.

Cava was Saturday. On Sunday we finally opened that bottle of Hahn Central Coast Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 that I had to buy after I missed the Hahn Twitter Taste Live event. This is another good value at around $13.

What can I say? It tastes like a California Cab. A very nice California Cab. Other than that, with four people working the bottle, it only lived about twenty minutes after being dis-corked so I didn't have much of a chance to analyze it. Luckily, at that price, I didn't have to worry about trying to stretch it out. If I ever see Hahn on a restaurant wine list, I'll order it as long as it's under $30. I'm not going to mention the other bottle that we did order at a restaurant...they didn't have Hahn on the wine list.

Two happy grapes for two happy wines.

Leonetti Sangiovese, 2005.

Times are uncertain in this economy and we certainly have curtailed our wine purchases. Like many we talk to, we are spending time ferreting out good value wines. If you have not tapped into $10 Tuesday, then you should bookmark us and keep an eye out. However, we do have lots of moderately priced wines in the cellar, ranging from $20 to $50 that we bought before stuff hit the fan. It doesn't cost anything to open a bottle we already bought months ago. I had a good day at work and felt like pulling out something special.

This is the second Sangiovese that we have had from Leonetti in Washington state. An email from Eric of Salem Wine Imports last Fall saying that he had a case of this wine resulted in a hasty reply…“save me two bottles!”.

This was late September and getting into Salem, Massachusetts during Halloween Season is easy enough but parking isn’t. I had to wait until November before I could get close enough to Salem Wine Imports to pick up my bottles. I arrived unannounced. Much to our amusement, Eric looked at me and said, “I knew you would come today and I can’t find your wine!” We laughed and then he was able to locate it in the stocks.

Like the 2003 Leonetti Sangiovese, this was aged in French oak puncheons and large oval botti for 14 months, this wine has very mild European oak characteristics. The lot size is 871 cases. Syrah brings strength to the wine adding additional depth and body.

Sangiovese
Leonetti Cellars
Walla Walla Valley
Vintage: 2005

Blend Sangiovese 76%, Syrah 13%, Cabernet Sauvignon 11%
Alcohol: 14.1
Price: $35.00
Color: Rich garnet
Intensity: Dark
Aromas: Black cherry, cassis, allspice, burnt chocolate,
Flavors: blackberry, cherry, cassis, licorice, oak, allspice, cedar, tar
Body: Full
Acidity: Crisp
Sweetness: Dry
Tannins: Suede
Finish: Long

Summary: Lots of cassis, cherry, and blackberry to start. As the wine opened up, cedar notes began to emerge. I think the Sangiovese has been masked by the Cabernet Sauvignon making this more of a bold American style wine. Very fruit forward with woody almost bitter tannins mid-palate. Very drinkable, but for a Sangiovese lover, I would hesitate to call it "Sangiovese" in the Super Tuscan sense.

Where the hell has Taster A been?

A little bit about what is happening in my life. Folks that follow Taster B on Twitter probably know by now that she went to the Wine Bloggers Conference without me. There have been rumors that I have branched out on my own splitting off SMU and ditching Taster B for the more profitable Outdoor/Wildlife photography blogging scene.

Well if the truth be known, the semiconductor equipment industry is in a cyclical downturn, spurred on by the housing-credit card-bank bail-out macro-economic situation. I’ve been forced to take vacations during scheduled shutdowns and didn’t have the extra time to take in October.

What most do not realize is that the teenage market has been saturated with Play Stations and cell phones, thus the chip market has become glutted, prices have dropped and the chip manufacturers are not buying capital equipment. Yes, my job exists to enable teenaged girls to text each other.

With that said, I owe all an apology. One year, three days, four hours and 26 minutes ago, I promised you that I would review the Imagery Sunny Slope Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Sorry to keep you all waiting so long. (If you can wait for the Squirrel Nut Zippers Hell to finish, I think Dave Brubeck’s Blue Rondo a la Turk is on queue. That should be more appropriate music to accompany the evaluation this wine.)

Rather than repeat myself (this makes Taster B nervous, thinking that I’m loosing it), you can read about Imagery in our earlier post.

Cabernet Sauvignon
Imagery Estate Winery
Sonoma County
Vintage: 2003
AVA: Sonoma Valley
Alcohol: 14.5

Color: Purple
Intensity: Dark
Aromas: Roses and violets, cherry and cassis. Hints of coffee, stone, vanilla, hay, mild oak.
Flavors: Cassis, dried cherry, raisin, licorice, coffee, tobacco
Body: Full
Acidity: Moderate
Sweetness: Off dry
Tannins: Leather
Finish: Long

Summary: This wine is not overly complex, but what is there I really like. The wine just smells like a garden on a hot summer day conjuring images of bees flying around. This has developed a cassis cordial quality. The cherry is there, but think of dark, dried cherries. I like the Imagery concept and enjoy their wines.

I’m just happy to sit here and drink this wine without food. However, I would pair this with dark chocolate, roast beef Wellington, game dishes such as venison or wild boar.

Post Script: No really, where the hell has Taster A been?
I heard that folks were asking about me in Sonoma and I am touched. In the last few weeks, I have been working on photo projects, one culminated in a posting of 17th and 18th century head stonesfor Halloween. It was tastefully done and folks have responded very well to it. Stop by, if you have a chance.

Cross Post, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sanderlings

This is a being posted simultaneously on SMU.


This is my home office space. That is my monitor and my wine. The other day, I came across a flock of Sanderlings feeding at low tide with the sun going down. This creates dramatic colors and an opportunity to get some great shots. In these lighting conditions, shutter speeds become slow and the depth of field become shallow. This makes for difficult shooting conditions, especially when working with active, twitchy birds. Such is wildlife photography.

The 50 Sanderlings were feeding and being “relatively” quiet. I couldn’t pass this up especially because they were quite content to allow me to approach them and with patience, I was able to get a working distance from 10 to 50 feet. But hand holding 300mm lenses, kneeling in the mud and getting down low, the best policy is to over shoot.

Taking pictures can be a joy, and I shot 100 or so knowing that the majority were going to be blurry because of the activity of the subject and the low light. That means hours of culling through pictures, sending them to the “cutting room floor”. Then deciding on the best of the best that are worthy of posting becomes a laborious task. A nice glass of wine will help.

Cabernet Sauvignon
Michel-Schlumberger
Sonoma County
Blended with Cabernet Franc and Merlot
Vintage: 2004
AVA: Dry Creek Valley
Alcohol: 14.4%

Color: Garnett
Intensity: Dark
Aromas: Cherry, plum, jam, raisin, violet, rose, mint, tar, allspice, anise
Flavors: Strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, cherry, currant, mineral, anise, allspice, coffee, chocolate.
Body: Full
Acidity: Moderate
Sweetness: Dry
Tannins: Suede
Finish: Long

Summary: This is a very highly extracted wine, very dark and rich. The wine is what you would expect from Dry Creek Valley, it is fruit forward, well balanced, very intense in its flavors. The finish goes into a very pleasant spiciness with mineral and earth on the mid finish then back to cherry and blueberry. There is a slight mint quality that shouldn’t surprise. What does surprise me is a lack of a eucalyptus component that is very common in the region. This isn’t a flaw, just an observation.

I think the Cabernet Franc and the Merlot bring a great deal to the table. The fragrant qualities of this wine stay right to the end of the glass.

I would have this with big foods. Pizza, roast beef, grilled mutton dishes, barbeque, grilled Portobello mushrooms or you can do as I’m doing, enjoying it while posting. Summer is about over here in New England. It is starting to cool off. I’m ready for a big wine again. Yah, I’m enjoying this.


Post Script: Just a few photos for the SMU post.

Another Bodacious Bordeaux

Don't you love it when another taster validates one of your tasting notes? I do. That's why I am excited to tell you about tasting the Château La Rame 2005 Bordeaux.

On the nose, first thing to hit me was banana and pomegranate, as well as, the ubiquitous garrigue notes. By the way, sorry if my use of "garrigue" rubs anyone the wrong way: I know how charged the topic of aroma descriptors can be. For purists it's probably too broad, and for laid-back types, it's probably too pretentious sounding. Let me just say that there are times when aroma compounds come together to become a scent unto themselves--an amalgamation of individual odors. Even though I really haven't personally smelled the scrublands around the Med, I have smelled the scrublands outside Elko Nevada when the sage is blooming in early July. I have also smelled a fair number of wines from southern France that share a certain sharp herbal note that is common to the oily foliage of woody herbs such as lavender, rosemary, and sage but that isn't any of those in particular. I suppose one could also say "herbaceous" in place of the French "garrigue" but if it's a French wine, why not use the term that sprouts from the place?

With the first sip, I found the wine to be really quite chewy, with lots of plum and pomegranate. There was also a cool sensation on the tip of my tongue. I took another whiff, and got a picture in my mind of slicing a piece of bark off a green branch. It took me a minute to track back to the memory but, then I remembered sucking on a green birch shoot which tastes like a cross between wintergreen and sarsaparilla. The finish on this wine is mildly spicy and moderately long. Firm tannins and ripe fruit make this a pretty big wine which contains 13% ABV. The moderate acidity is ample for pairing with food. I think it will be interesting to taste this wine in another two or three years.

But, I promised a story: I'd started tasting ahead of Taster A who was finishing up something on the computer. When he came over I let him start, and after a couple minutes I said "I need to talk to you about this wine when you've gotten through your evaluation." When he was ready, I said "this is weird but, I'm thinking birch bark." He looked at me, and then he pointed to his tasting sheet where he'd written "Black Birch."

So, there you have it. Independently corroborated. If you ever sucked on a Black Birch shoot as a kid, definitely try this wine, and see if you don't find the same thing we did.

Unfortunately, I spent a lot of time trying to find out what the grapes are in this blend. I have sketchy information that suggests it is a Cab/Merlot blend but, I'm not convinced. I have contacted the Mad Rose info desk and if I get an answer, I'll post the blend as an addendum.

9/5/2008 Addendum: Haven't heard from Mad Rose but we're finishing the bottle tonight, and I gotta say--it's tasting pretty cab-like.

What's in a California Cult Cab?

I was fully prepared not to love this wine. I knew there was a good chance it would display evident oak, plush “busty” fruit, and spray-tan perfection…

What did I expect? Deep down, I was secretly hoping to be blown away by this pricey bottle of Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. After all, Cab is my comfort wine. I’m a displaced California girl and California wine is at the heart of my earliest experiences and love for wine. I have certain nostalgia for the full, fruity deliciousness of California wine.

The wine: Nicholls 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon produced and bottled at CrushPad, San Francisco. This is Nicholls’ flagship wine featuring fruit sourced from one of “Super grower” Andy Beckstoffer’s properties: Dr. Crane Vineyard. We ordered this bottle in late January out of curiosity to see what Crushpad’s clients are making. At that time this wine was retailing for $55 but, when I checked back recently it was up to $85$65(*see comments section). The Nicholls 2005 Pinot Noir took gold at the 2008 SF Chronicle Wine Competition.

“Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.”
To be fair, we should have decanted this bottle. As it is, the first aroma off the first glass was oak. There was other stuff there too: cherry, cassis, vanilla, plum, blackberry, and a little pepper. This wine was certainly perfect right from the start (except for the slightly obtrusive oak). Great balance, yummy fruit, etc, yet, I felt a little like I was having dinner with a starlet: Good bones, perfect nails, hair and make-up, pleasant conversation but, is there anything else there? Are we likely to get a glimpse of the soul of this wine? [Resisting urge to insert photo of Lindsay Lohan here. You're welcome]

Coaxing or Hoaxing?
Craig Camp recently posted a great blog entry: Debating the Points: Spoofulation. The centerpiece of the post is an article by Clark Smith defending (quit deftly) manipulation in wine-making. Among the salient points are A) no wine-maker is going to let a batch go to pot if there is something that can be done to save it, and B) there is ‘spoofulating’ wine, and there is using the tools of the trade to tease out the nuances of the terroir. Ironically, I think the argument made by Clark Smith, Wine Villian could be applied to what was going on with a flight Châteauneuf du Pape we tasted last weekend. Several of the wines had characteristic subtleness of fruit which allowed the minerality to shine, and in order to achieve that result in the face of rising temps and brix in the region, the traditional wine-making technique was tweaked a bit. Conversely, we also tasted some traditionally made Châteauneuf du Pape which was getting closer to a New World style in the glass. That is to say: riper fruit, less minerality, and in some cases more oak.

I Don’t Know How They Did it
So, I tried the Nicholls again a couple of days later (and after tasting 9 Côtes du Rhône wines). Again, I noticed a sort of glossy perfection but, this time my reaction was a little different. The oak overtures had completely dissipated and I no longer felt aware of adjusted acidity, and smoothed edges. Now, there was a cool wet stone aroma and a slight wisp of mustard atop the underlying fruit. Now, on the palate, I began to notice more nuance; the balance and structure is phenomenal; maybe this fruit actually possessed some level of innate perfection to begin with before the wine-maker ever touched it.

New Age Wine
I definitely don’t want to dis this wine. It didn’t rock my world like a Sperino Uvaggio but, it was good, and it benefited me to drink it. It totally balanced my yang. This wine was like getting a dose of Chinese medicinal bark and mushroom tea. I know many of my east coast friends are going “huh?” but, you Californians know what I’m talking about…

California is Like Nowhere Man
This wine definitely brings visions of Lexus SUVs, fashionable restaurant facades, and jazz tunes (Take 5), in other words, it has a sense of place and that place is California. So, I can’t resist the temptation to bring up the question of California ‘terroir’: Has anyone done a flight of Sonoma Cabs next to a flight of Napa Cabs and been able to discern which AVA the Cab was grown and vinified in? To those who argue that California has no terroir, here is a question for you: If there had never been any AOCs, and rules saying “this is how wine will be made in XYZ Village”, would you still be able to distinguish between a wine made in Saint-Emilion and one made in say, Castillion-la-Bataille without a unifying conformity in the wine-making practices? Would these places still possess their own ‘terroir’?

An Introduction to Bordeaux: Margaux

The other night we had the opportunity to taste Chateau Baury 2004, Margaux. As I was trying to find some information on this wine (unsuccessfully) I remembered our host from Salem Wine Imports commenting that he hadn’t had much luck pinpointing it either.

I’ve stated more than once that I’m not interested in writing “educational” pieces on wine yet, I find myself about to do just that. Actually, this is really for my own benefit: After all, I had to do a little research so I wouldn’t sound stupid, and I couldn’t leave it up to Taster A because he recently saddled me with the task of “figuring out France” (no small task).

The difficulty with this particular Chateau Baury bottling is the fact that it’s apparently a brand name produced by Chateau Brane-Catenac but, it is not listed as a “second” or “other” wine in any of the reference books. Going to the Domaine Lucien Lurton & Fils La Passion des Terroirs website, I discovered that besides distributing first and second labels from the families eleven estates, the company has become a wine merchant specializing the distribution of Classified Growth, second wines, Crus Bourgeois, etc from all over Bordeaux.

So, the one thing we know from the label is that the this wine is bottled at the second growth Brane-Cantenac estate, which is in Cantenac south of the commune of Margaux in the Margaux appellation and most likely contains the following:

Cabernet Sauvignon 70%
Cabernet Franc 15%
Merlot 13%
Petit Verdot 2%

Now for the tasting notes!
This was a very pleasant and evolving wine which started out with raspberry, smoked meat, blueberry, and a certain ‘roastiness’. The wine is well-balanced on the palate and has nice mildly spicy long finish.
Later I found cassis, cake, and a wisp of tobacco.

“Cake?” you ask?
I’m not sure that dissecting every flavor in a wine (or a dish) is necessarily complimentary. I still have Ratatouille fresh on my mind…Take French toast for example: What does French toast taste like? Does it taste like eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, bread and butter? Or, does it taste like French toast? I think it tastes like French toast and I’m glad. So, rather than saying “vanilla and sweet spice” for this wine, I’m going to call it cake.

A Good Introduction to Bordeaux
I’ve noticed a tendency among wine professionals to start Bordeaux newbies off with an “introductory” wine in the $10-$15 range as a good gradient for training the palate to pick up and appreciate the more subtle nuances of this Old World style. I think sometimes this approach can backfire if the bottle is unspectacular. The Chateau Baury 2004 is an interesting and accessible wine in the $25-$30 range and I think it makes an excellent introductory wine.

Pascual Toso Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

The cool thing about Argentina and Chile is that they are not locked into one type of aging. Whites are fermented in stainless steel and aged in used oak. Yum. We tasted wine that had an obvious oak influence with smoke and toast. We tried the next wine and it is reminiscent of a Piemonte blend aged in Slovenian oak. It’s just a fun region to explore. I had tasting notes on some 23 wines, which ones I liked, which ones I didn’t, which were balanced, and which were oaky-smokey. As Taster B pointed out, I left the notes on the counter. My atonement is to open one of the bottles I was “saving for later” and get some tasting notes going.

Pasucal Toso Cabernet Sauvignon is produced on the Las Barrancas Estate in the Mendoza region of Argentina. This a an exciting wine to try because 2006 is an excellent year for Argentina. As Taster B reported, we tasted this wine at The Vineyard in N. Andover. Both Taster B and I enjoyed this at first sip. The color is rich, dark ruby red. This wine was a little tight, but after breathing for a while, it opened up. It was certain that we were not leaving until we secured this wine.

The South American wines are a blend of the New World and Old World. The immigrants are French, Italian and German. They bring with them the old world techniques. I’m really excited to have this wine, it is a good bridge between both worlds. It is suggested to drink this throughout 2008, but I think it can go another year.

Cabernet Sauvignon
Pascual Toso
Maipu Vineyards, Mendoza, Argentina
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol: 14.0
Price: $12.99

Color: Ruby Red
Intensity: Medium
Aromas: Strawberry, cherry, raisin, struck flint, smoked meat
Flavors: Strawberry, raspberry, pomegranate, cherry, earth, vanilla, coffee, allspice and cedar.
Body: Full
Sweetness: Moderately dry
Tannins: Silky
Finish: Long

Summary: This New World wine is fruit forward with a a perfection of oak-vanilla notes and berry flavors. There are nice cedar tastes and allspice in the long finish. This is an excellent wine for its price. It may not be the biggest or the most extracted but that is the charm of this wine. This is the Old World influence at work. It goes well with food without dominating it.


Tonight, we are having a pot roast that Taster B put into a crock pot earlier. This is an ideal pairing with this wine. This would go great with fajitas, burritos, beans and rice, Cajun, and lamb. A little dark chocolate after dinner makes a nice ending to the day.

Tasting Wines from Chile & Argentina

The Vineyard's "Big Taste of South America" tasting on Sunday, March 9th featured 24 wines from Chile and Argentina. I want to start out by stating that this was a very organized tasting: We were provided with a handy price list to refer to throughout the tasting which also doubled as an order sheet for efficient check-out at the counter. Taster A was very thorough with the note-taking (on the back of the price list). After we tasted everything we took our price list to the counter, had our order filled, and walked out…without Taster A’s notes (which we discovered after we got home much to his chagrin)! So, now I am writing up the event instead of him since I made a point of making mental note of the highlights (because I wasn’t taking notes).


Table One: Gary Ballard, Classic Wine Imports

Bodega Lurton Pinot Gris, Mendoza Argentina
Santa Ema Sauvignon Blanc 2007, Chile
Santa Ema Chardonnay 2006, Chile
Bodega Lurton Torrontes, Mendoza Argentina
Santa Ema Cabernet 2006, Chile
Colonia La Liebres Bonarda, Mendoza Argentina
Altos Las Hornigas Malbec, Mendoza Argentina
Michel Rolland Clos de Los Siete 2006, Mendoza Argentina
Santa Ema Reserve Merlot 2004, Chile


Table Two: Joe Nardone, Classic Wine Imports

Montes Sauvignon Blanc 2006 Casablanca-Curico, Chile
Montes Chardonnay 2006 Curico Valley, Chile
Montes "Cherub" Rose of Syrah 2007Colchagua Valley, Chile
Montes Merlot 2006 Colchagua Valley, Chile
Montes Cabernet/Carmenere 2006, Chile
Kaiken Malbec 2006, Mendoza Argentina
Kaiken Ultra Cabernet Sauvignon, Mendoza Argentina
Montes Alpha Syrah 2006 Apalta Vnyd. Colchagua, Chile


Table Three: Prescott Hobson, TGIC Imports

Pascual Toso Sparkling NV, Mendoza Argentina
Pascual Toso Sauvignon Blanc 2007, Mendoza Argentina
Pascual Toso Chardonnay 2007, Mendoza, Argentina
Pascual Toso Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Mendoza Argentina
Bodega Norton Reserve Cab 2005, Mendoza Argentina
Pascual Toso Reserva Malbec 2005, Mendoza Argentina
Bodega Norton "Privada" 2005, Mendoza Argentina

A lot of very nice wines in the $8-$25 range were shown. I won't do a comprehensive review of every wine poured at this event as I didn’t take notes but, here are some highlights:

The Whites
One of the bottles we walked away with was the Montes Sauvignon Blanc 2006. This was an exemplary Sauvignon Blanc with lemon and grapefruit on the nose. The palate echoed the citrus notes found on the nose and was crisp and without the mushroom notes often present in Sauvignon Blanc. Joe told us that they employ judicious use of neutral oak on this wine just to take the edge off. There was no detectable oak, just a lack of sharpness that is often found in 100% stainless steel Sauvignon Blanc.

Torrontés is a representative grape of Argentina and well known, however, this was our first sample of the floral white grape. I got lilac along with citrus notes on the nose.

The Reds
Another bottle that came home with us was the attractively priced Colonia La Liebres Bonarda ($8.99 after our $1 Cabernet Credit). This was our first sample of Bonarda and we found it shared some characteristics in common with ruchè, with rose (among other things) on the nose. This wine definitely had some Italian-like characteristics which made it very popular with us--of course!

So, we were standing at Station 2 working on some Malbec, when we heard a fellow taster nearby quip “I wonder if it’s micro-oxygenated.” Taster A and I were wondering what she detected in the taste that told her it was micro-oxygenated...then we looked at our sheet and realized that she was already working on the Michel Rolland Clos de Los Siete 2006. This is note-worthy to us as it was our first knowing sampling of Michel’s wine-making technique. Whatever might be said about this well known consultant, the guy knows how to make a tasty wine, and yes, it most certainly must have seen micro-oxygenation. By the way, this wine received a 90 point score from Robert Parker.

While we didn’t go home with any this time, the Kaiken wines were quite good. The Malbec 2006 holds the distinction of being the first Malbec that Taster A (not a Malbec fan) liked. The Ultra Cabernet Sauvignon had a nose reminiscent of a Port, and was surprisingly structured on the palate.

The third and final bottle we took home from this event was the Pascual Toso Cabernet Sauvignon 2006. I think my exact words were “this is my comfort wine.” For those of you who’ve seen Ratatouille, when I took the first sniff of this wine, I was like Anton Ego after his first bite of Remy’s Ratatouille: *whoosh* right back: in my case to a California winery (in Ego’s case, to his mother’s French country kitchen). I’m not going into this one any more than that because Taster A’s consolation for missing out on doing this write-up himself is that he gets to do a full-length post on this Cab.

Taster B (that’s me) also picked up a few items from the selection of Gourmet goodies. A good time, and many a good wine, was had by all!

Mad Dogs and Englishmen

Our first taste of this wine was over the 2006 Labor Day weekend in Knoxville, Tennessee. I was alone in Oak Ridge for 50 weeks while Taster B was still working in Colorado waiting for our house to sell in a depressed real estate market. Taster B came to Tennessee for the long week end and to celebrate our anniversary. This was one of the three times that we saw each other during that period.

My friends, Kevin and Judy invited us over for a dinner. The first wine they broke out (I love visiting British wine lovers) was Mad Dogs and Englishman. Kevin and Judy had this awesome moon flower plant that had large showy morning glory blossoms the size of your hand. These blossoms would open up at dusk over the course of five minutes. Kevin put together a spread of shrimp scampi, barbequed chicken and grilled vegetables to go with our Mad Dogs and Englishmen. This wine is born in the HOT climate of Sothern Spain, so hot that only mad dogs and Englishmen would go out in the noon day sun (see video clip below).


This is a Spanish wine from the Jumilla DO is in Murcia, a hot hilly region known for their Monastrell. These Vineyards of Jumilla have never been affected by phylloxera and most of their vines are ungrafted. Monastrell is very smooth, fruity and aromatic and tend to age well. The Mad Dogs and Englishman is best drunk young as it is fruity.

Mad Dogs and Englishmen
Bodegas y Vinedos de Murcia
Sonoma County
Vintage: 2005
Jumilla Denominacio'n de Origen
Blend: Monastrell 50%, Cabernet Sauvignon 30%, Shiraz 20%
Alcohol: 14.0
Price: $8.99 (Discount liquor store price.)

Color: Ruby red
Intensity: Moderate
Aromas: Strawberry, raisin, mint, earth, cinnamon, black pepper, cedar
Flavors: Wild strawberry, wild raspberry, choke cherry, cherry, jam, raisin, mineral, slate, allspice, cedar, coffee, chocolate
Body: full
Sweetness: dry
Tannins: Suede
Finish: Long

Summary: It took a few minutes to open up the aromas, but when it did, it was one of those wines that came off in layers. The nose was minty with fragrant cedar, cinnamon, black pepper, mineral slate and wild berry flavors. Behind that was the chocolate and espresso. The long finish developed into a nice spiciness.


This did well with pizza, but I prefer this type of wine with grilled steaks and veggies. This wine can be very complex for this price and well worth picking up.

A Good Blogger Tip: David Coffaro Escuro

We read a lot of wine blogs yet, oddly, we rarely purchase the wines that our fellow bloggers recommend. It's not that the reviews aren't intriguing, it's just that either a) I'll never remember the name b) I'd have to order it and get it shipped to relatives in a neighboring state or c) my wine cabinet is already full. Oh, and d) we want to experiment and post blog entries about new wines!

However, last time we were at the Vineyard, we spotted a bottle from David Coffaro which we recognized from a post by Dr. Debs on Coffaro Winery futures. We are not in a place where we are going to be buying wine on futures but, this bottle was there, and we were there so we said "let's try it!"

David Coffaro
Escuro California Red Table Wine
90% 2004 10% 2003
Lodi: 30% Alvarelhão & 12% Touriga Nacional
Dry Creek Valley: 40% Cab Sauvignon, 11% Petite Sirah & 7% Zinfandel
Production: 220 Cases
Alcohol: 13.9%
Price: $24.99

I don't know when I've ever taken a whiff of a red wine where the first aroma to hit me was bread before this wine. Bread, and then some vanilla, and some strawberry, and then chocolate, and then hay. On the palate we get some strawberry, then metal (first sip), and then a longish finish with cinnamon/allspice and chocolate.

I like the balance of this wine: It's lush but not overly fruity. It's dessert-like but not sweet, and it's warm but not hot.

The image that comes to mind drinking this wine is a strawberry, dusted in cinnamon and toasted over a fire on a metal skewer like a marshmallow, and then right as you're about to pop it in your mouth, it slides off the skewer into the ashes for a second. The other image that comes to mind is the Benzinger vineyard in Sonoma for some reason (just throwing that out there).

You don't need to eat food with this wine but, I had it with some chicken and it worked. Let's face it: When is the last time you made prime rib or duck at home to go with your wine? I don't want to have to drink white wine every Sunday just because I'm having chicken. Chicken goes with everything (that's my story and I'm sticking to it!) I also had it with chocolate--that worked too.

By the way, if you are interested in the 2004 David Coffaro Estate Cuvee, check out A Passionate Foodie's review.

Size Matters at the Winter Wine Festival at the Wentworth

An evening at the Wentworth

The Wentworth Winter Wine Festival at the historic Wentworth Hotel in New Castle, New Hampshire is in full swing. Taster B and I decided to have a date night and drive the hour and a half up to the New Hampshire – Maine border to participate in the Riedel (pronounced Reed-L) wine glass demonstration.

Doug Cohn, North East Regional Sales Manager for Riedel introduced the Riedel family history and wine glass making tradition. Arriving in the room, at each place setting were the flight of four wines in four Riedel glasses and an empty “Joker” glass.

The Joker glass was actually good quality glass, according to Mr. Cohn. It is the wine glass used by the Wentworth. To me, it looked like a taller version of a glass that I would serve a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blank in. Clean lines, thin stem, nice shaped bowl with a thin lip. The Riedel glasses will be mentioned with the wines.

The Riedel glasses were from the Vinum series. The Vinum collection, developed by Georg Riedel on the principle that the content commands the shape, is the "Vitrum-Vinothek" for every day use. They are machine made, have laser cut lips that are fire polished.

The wines tasted were introduced to us by a spokesperson from Vineyard Brands, wine importer of Villa Maria Estate wines. Presented were the Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc (Wine Enthusiast 90 pts), Private Bin Unoaked Chardonnay (Wine Review Online 90 pts), Private Bin Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon (Wine Enthusiast 87 pts) and the Private Bin Pinot Noir (International Wine Cellar 88 pts).

Here were the wine/glass pairings in order of the flight:
Villa Maria Private Bin Chardonnay : Vinum Chablis 416/05
Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc: Vinum Riesling 416/15
Villa Maria Private Bin Pinot Noir: Vinum Burgundy 416/07
Villa Maria Private Bin Merlot/Cabernet: Vinum Bordeaux 416/0

Mr. Cohn instructed us to hold wine glass is by the stem below the bowl with two fingers and the thumb. A good glass is designed to balance so as to not draw your attention away from the wine. Try this at home with your wine glass, hold it and pivot it. Does it feel balanced or does it feel like top heavy or hard to pivot?

The Chardonnay was the first to try. We evaluated the color of the wine in the crystal. Naturally, it was aesthetically pleasing. The swirl action of the glass was nice. With a reasonable swirl, I didn’t worry that I was going to embarrass Taster B by losing the contents of my glass on the lady sitting next to me.

The sniff of this wine was very clean, fruit, melon, tropical fruit. The aromas were easy to get from the glass and discernable. Nice.

The next step was the taste. It was clean, fresh, unoaked. It was a very pleasant Villa Maria Private Bin Hawkes Bay Unoaked Chardonnay 2004. We talked about the flavors and aromas.

Then we were instructed to poor the contents into the Joker. We did the same evaluation. The Joker actually presented the wine very well. The aromas were not as concentrated but still okay. The swirl was a bit more cautious.

Next came the watershed moment. The taste. We took a sip and (this is exactly what happened) I thought, “This is much more acid.” Taster B looked at me and said, “hmmm, it tastes more acid.” What more can I say?

Between wines, Mr. Cohn had a few things to say. Enough to say that I poured that wine back and forth about five times just to make sure I wasn’t placeboing myself.

The Sauvignon Blanc was evaluated in the same manner. The differences were discernable. In the Riedel glass, aromas of grapefruit and to me, very much like juniper berry. I could not get the juniper berry in the Joker glass.

Next was the Pinot Noir. The bowl on the 416/06 was pretty big and pulled in at the mouth. If you have friends that you want to train to swirl, this is the glass. You can swirl the bajeepers out of that wine and nothing will fling out. I tried. I almost ripped a rotator cuff swirling that wine. Not a drop was lost. Yup, you could train Aunt Millie and Uncle Harry to swirl with these bad boys.

The Pinot Noir was oaked. Fresh, green American oak, I thought too much. Many were enjoying the Pinot Noir, but it wasn’t my favorite. I could hear lots of “m-m-m-m-m-m-s” around the room, and I’m glad people like different wines. But for me, Oaky-smoky. So much so, I had a hard time finding the fruit.

I tried to pour the Pinot Noir into the Joker, but it smell too much of Sauvignon Blank so I just decided to continue this experiment at home. My mind is made up. Like Robert Mondovi and Robert Parker, Jr. and many more that have come before me, yes, I believe that Riedel has a good product. Yes, I want to experience and learn more. Yes, I believe I’d like to share that experience with our readers.

The Merlot/Cabernet Blend was nice, good tannin structure, good flavors, looked real sexy in the glass. MMM-mmm. Good stuff.

At the end of the event, we got to take the glassware home with us. We had a late dinner, I had Cod, Taster B had Salmon. Then it was back into the frozen winter night to drive an hour and a half home. It was a great night. If you have never done a tasting like this, treat yourself.

Monte Antico Toscana IGT, 2004

This Super Tuscan caught my eye because I’m trying to learn what the Super Tuscan hubbub is all about. The tag said it was a rated as a best value by one of the magazines, which I promptly forgot as soon a I got half way home. I thought it would be a good one to try and see how Taster B would like it.

What I like about this wine is that it has the nice Italian Sangiovese floral characteristics with the support of the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. It has fruit, acid, structure, mouth feel and for a wine in this price point, it is a great introducer to wines of this style in a higher price.

Researching this wine, I learned that the fermentation was at approx. 77° F, followed by maceration for 15-20 days followed by Malolactic Fermentation in stainless steel vats for 7 days. The wine was aged 1 year in oak (80% in Slavonian barrels, 20% in barrique) and at least 6 months in the bottle.

The label on this wine is fairly straight forward, produced for the English market, so not much to learn here, Monte Antico meaning Ancient Mountain, Toscana IGT and the blend.

Tasting Notes:
Toscono IGT
Monte Antico
Tuscany
Vintage: 2004
Blend: 85% Sangiovese, 10% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Alcohol: 12.5%
Price: $8.99
Source: Discount Wine Store

Color: Ruby Red
Intensity: Moderate
Aromas: Cherry, prune, rose, lavender, anise, vanilla, oak, smoky, tobacco, chocolate
Flavors: Raspberry, blackberry, cherry, rose, olive, mint, anise, allspice, cedar
Body: Full
Acidity: Crisp
Sweetness: Dry
Tannins: Suede
Finish: Long

Summary: This was uncorked and poured, fruit forward, slightly astringent. Nice floral notes, good tannin structure. Slight olive, mint, spice, cedar like mouth feel. The Sangiovese is the dominant contributor with the Cabernet Sauvignon adding some extra structure and complexity. The dominate floral notes are pleasing. The oak is interesting, but makes me think that they are targeting the Americans. This wine goes for $11.00, I paid $8.99 at a larger discount liquor store. This is a very good value and a nice drinking wine. Yup, I’d buy another bottle!

We enjoyed this with spinach and cheese ravioli with a vegetarian red sauce.

And how did Taster B like it? She did! I think I'm about ready to bring her into to the Chianti Classico fold. Saturday she highly encouraged me to buy a $33 bottle of 2003 Barbaresco DOCG at a high-end wine shop. (She’s a keeper!)

Oonapais, Sonoma Mountain Red by Benziger Family Winery

Sometimes when I talk to my friends about wine, they confess that they have some hesitation about trying a higher price point wine. The fear, uncertainty and doubt creeps in. “What if I buy an expensive bottle and I don’t like it.” “I don’t know what I’m doing in here.” “If I ask the owner, he’ll take me for a ride.” “What if I find out that this was the worst vintage in the history of Bordeaux?”

Buying wine is not about impressing the staff, showing off how much you know or throwing big chunks of money around because you got tired of lighting cigars with it. No, it’s about learning about you. What do you like, what don’t you like. How do you perceive the wine.

Start out with an on-line wine course that you can do in your own home. You will be instructed what style to buy, what price point to pick and how to do the tasting. The course we did instructed us to purchase wines in a good price point and what to look for so we would have a positive experience.

If you are ready to try a wine in a $50.00 price point, here is a sure bet.

As you know by now, we are big fans of Benziger Family Winery. If you are skittish about trying a luxury wine, I would suggest you try Oonapais. This is a big red wine that will appeal to just about anyone with a pulse.

Oonapais is estate grown and bottled from the Sonoma Mountain subappellation . This tiny region is on the western edge of the Sonoma Valley AVA. It has poor, rocky soil, gets lots of sun and cool temperatures at night. This is perfect for growing top notch grapes. Sonoma Mountain is home of Benziger’s flagship wines; Tribute, Joaquin’s Inferno Zinfandel and Oonapais.

Oonapais is a good introduction to high end wine. It is smooth, balanced, complex and just plain good. If you are comfortable at this price point, you will recognize the value. Buy this bottle to drink today or buy a case and lay it down for a decade.

Oonapais
Benziger Family Winery
Sonoma Mountain Red
Vintage: 2005
Blend: 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 11% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc
Alcohol: 14.5%
Total Acidity: 0.68
pH 3.82
Retail Price: $50.00

Color: Purple
Intensity: Dark
Aromas: Jam, raisin, current, mint, black pepper, smoked meat, chocolate
Flavors: Strawberry, blackberry, cherry, plum, current, mint, earth, struck flint, anise, black pepper, cedar, chocolate.
Body: Full
Acidity: Moderate
Sweetness: Off-dry
Tannins: Silky
Finish: Long

Summary:
This is a very well crafted wine, well balanced and expressive. The tannins are silky smooth. Think of this wine as you would think of Barbara Stanwick in the Big Valley. Bright, intelligent, balanced, strong yet soft and very classy. You have great fruit notes, earth, spice, cedar, chocolate, everything you want in a Cab blend. But the key here is Barbara Stanwick, classy and a pleasure to be with.

Serve with Yankee pot roast, Moroccan, Lamb, Red Deer Wellington, or game.



Dear Diary,

I sit here tonight listening to blues guitar, eating roasted chicken and working on that bottle of Lamoreaux Landing Chardonnay I opened over the weekend. I’m writing about Sonoma and Benziger, living the dream. It’s time I gave these poor presbyopic eyes a break and go to bed. I got my day job in the morning. Maybe I’ll get to that posting for the Super Tuscan I cracked open the other night while I was redesigning the blog’s layout.

Really Good Wine - Really Great Price!

We opened up this mysterious bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma Creek we couldn't quite remember buying. It was just like Christmas! Great bottle of $15 wine that tastes like a $30 bottle.

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon
Sonoma Creek

AVA: Dry Creek, Sonoma Co.
Alcohol: 14.5%

Color: Purple
Aromas: smoked meat, vanilla, jam, raspberry, chocolate
Flavors: tar, coffee, blackberry, allspice, rose

Summary: Gorgeous color and wonderful nose. Nice mouthfeel with silky tannins and interesting palate: I was first struck by somewhat bitter notes of coffee and tar which quickly faded to nice round chewy fruit and a subtley floral finish.

Pairings: While I noted down that this would be good with anything with Hoisin Sauce, the actual pairing turned out to be spinach ravioli in a light butternut squash and wine reduction, with chevre and baby greens tossed in balsamic vinegar on sourdough toast. I hope Taster A doesn't put me in a home: I keep repeating the phrase "this is really good wine!"

Heitz Cellar, an Unforgettable Flight

We decided to take a trip over to Napa and find Heitz Cellars, a producer to very fine Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Petit Verdot wines. If you wish to explore truly well crafted wines, make the trip to Heitz. We feel that Heitz Cellars was one of the most important stops we made.

The reason for our trip was to experience wines that were not accessible to us because of geographical distribution, wines that do not fit our budget, and wines that have limited production. Above all, we wanted to experience for ourselves the marriage of terroir and craftsmanship. This one stop satisfied all of these points.


Heitz Cellars has a beautiful tasting room with good acoustics with a friendly host. We were made to feel welcome and invited for a tasting. (This sounds like a no-brainer, but this can set the tone of the tasting experience.)

We tasted:
2005 Chardonnay, Napa Valley
2005 Petit Verdot
2002 Cabernet Sauvignon, Trailside Vineyard, Napa Valley
1998 Cabernet Sauvignon, Bella Oaks Vineyard, Rutherford
1998 Cabernet Sauvignon, Martha’s Vineyard, Oakville

The Chardonnay was crisp, and very well balanced between fruit and oak. This is not your Kendall-Jackson type oak bomb. This wine is more a celebration of the Chardonnay grape gracefully flavored with French oak…but with a very light touch. Aromas and flavors of lemon, apple pear, peach, pineapple, slate, mineral and vanilla. Crisp taste with a short to moderate finish. Just Yum.

The Petit Verdot is a nice fruit forward, tart wine with tree fruit flavors with nice soft tannins. I picked up strawberry, blackberry, cherry, plum, current, earthy notes, smoke and chocolate. Our pourer suggests red Italian sauces, French onion soup and Cajun food.

Next were the featured cabs. As I evaluated each cab, I began to understand what a truly unique winery Heitz Cellars is. Heitz cabs are aged in oak for three and one half years, one year in American oak and the remainder in French. This gives the wines an unbelievably smooth wine with structure for aging.

1998 Cabernet Sauvignon “Martha’s Vineyard”
Heitz Cellars

AVA: Oakville
Alcohol: 14.2%
Price: $110

Color: Ruby red
Intensity: Deep
Aromas: Strawberry, blackberry, cherry, violet, smoky
Flavors: Strawberry, blackberry, cherry, current, jam, mint, eucalyptus, anise, black pepper, Allspice, cedar, sandalwood, tobacco
Body: Full, dry
Acidity: Moderate
Tannins: Suede
Finish: Long

Summary:
Like all Heitz cabs we tried, the oak and toast are subdued. Well aged tannins balanced with fruit and mint. The fruit still shines through as when it was young, but shows great maturity. This was a privilege to be able to taste.

Burgess Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 - Taster A

Cabernet Sauvignon
Burgess

Blend:
Cabernet Sauvignon 79%
Merlot 8%
Cabernet Frank 4%
Malbec 2%

Appellation: Napa Valley, California
Vineyard location: Burgess Winery Vineyard - St. Helena
Vintage: 2003
Alcohol: 13.9%
Price: $30.00


Color: Dark ruby red
Intensity: Deep
Aromas: Blackberry, black cherry, plum, flint
Flavors: Toasty, anise, allspice
Body: Medium to full
Taste: Moderate to low acidity with medium suede tannins
Finish: Long
Tannin: Suede feel

French oak barrel aging.
100% malolactic ferment


Summary: With the aromas, I expected the wine to be more fruit forward. But with the age of the wine, the fruits tend to balance out. This wine had a pleasant light toasty forward taste of cedar and flint with the fruit notes and a pleasant spice finish. The wine had legs like Betty Grable.

We paired this with pizza. Oh, yum! This bottle was so good. We didn’t have much left over. I think it would compliment beef stew, rack of lamb, stake fajitas and game.

Visit Burgess for the details!