Rock & Vine Three Ranches 2005 Cabernet

To be classified as a Cabernet Sauvignon,  California wines must contain at least 70% of that varietal.  This one has 79% cab, 13% merlot, 5% cab franc, 2% petite verdot and 1% malbec — truly a blend.  And, the grapes are from three ranches are in Solano, Napa and Sonoma Counties… hence the name.

Tonight, we decided to just pop this one open and enjoy while we relaxed watching the last few NCAA Football games of the day… so, alas, no food pairing to mention with this one.

This wine has a beautiful rich, dark ruby color and was rather stingy to give away anything on the nose other than vanilla (yep, oak… and remember, this is a California wine).  I didn’t decant this one, but rather poured through the Vinturi which usually opens them nicely…. this one, however, held tight.  After a good bit of swirling, trying in desperation to infuse as much air as I could, it finally gave up a hint of dried cherry.  Mind you, this was not easy to find.  I felt like I had gone spelunking in some pre-historic cavern only to find a single piece of dried cherry… honestly, that’s just how tight this was.  Made me wonder if I’d get anything on the flavor other than tannic oak.

But, thankfully, I did.  Of course, the first and heaviest thing I got was a huge piece of oak to chew on.  Granted, this was a very smooth piece of oak — it instantly had me thinking of a gorgeous oak executive desk.  You know, the type of desktop that you just want to sit at and glide your hand over?  Wonderful in furniture, not so great in my glass.  In fact, only once I managed to get past the oak did I finally find a smoky dark fruit/chocolate profile that was lead by that dried cherry.  So, let’s make that a burnt oak desk that had a handful of dark fruit in a drawer, most of which are dried cherries with some dark chocolate chips.  That should paint a pretty good picture for you.  And then……………… the tannins hit.  POW!  Really dry…. really, really dry.  Wow.  This is a wine that will make the inside of your cheeks feel like  you’ve sucked on gauze for several hours.  Pretty much tells me that this one will sit for a good while… that is, if you consider 5-7 years a good while.

Doña Paula Shiraz-Malbec 2006

Another quick little blog note:

Like the Zolo, this wine is from the Argentinian providence of Mendoza, and the dark ruby-violet color had me hoping for dark fruit in this one.  I’m happy to report that it doesn’t disappoint. This is one of those wines that I could spend all day just simply smelling…. tons of blackberry, plums, spices and black licorice.  The flavor profile to me was interesting because the initial flavor is rich, dark chocolate and then it reveals the blackberry, plums and licorice.  It very much had me thinking of biting into a boutique piece of chocolate candy that has that ultra-thick layer upon layer of rich, dark chocolate that encases a center of oh-so-yummy fruit.  Godiva couldn’t do better if they tried.  Nice tannins, not too over-powering, and a short yet smooth finish leaves me saying that I need to make sure that I have a bottle or two of this still around for those friends who don’t favor those “big” wines, yet want something a little more mid-weight.

Have you had this one yet?

 

Estampa Reserve 2005

This was suggested to me by my ‘wine guy,’ Pat, who suggested that I try it out to compare to the right-bank Bordeaux I’d had a few weeks earlier.  He also shared this interesting little fact: the predominate varietal in this Chilean blend is Carmenere which was once thought to have been extinct.  For years, this little vine was mistaken for Merlot despite the fact that the leaves weren’t the same.  Only after botanical testing was is discovered that this hearty vine in the mountains of Chile was, in fact, Carmenere.  So, take *that* to your next trivia game and impress your friends.

Camenere wines are supposed to be Chile’s answer to Bordeaux.  Hey, if you’ve got a varietal that’s been mistaken for so many years as Merlot, why not?  And, because of that, Pat wanted me to see how it compared to the 2003 Chateau Tournefeuille La Lande de Pomerol I’d had a few weeks prior.  Unfortunately, as of this writing, I don’t have my notes on the 2003.  I just enjoyed that one without making any notes (forgive me, please), so I’ll have to see if he has another bottle just so that I can truly compare the two for you.  Until then, let me share with you the impressions this little gem gave me…

This is a blend of Carmenere, Cab Sauvignon and Cab Franc and has an intense scarlet-ruby color which opens nicely with raspberry, chocolate and coffee on the nose.  Initally, you get beautifully ripe raspberry that reminds me of a fabulous raspberry jam.  Also, a wonderful herb blend of rosemary, thyme and marjoram that transitions to dark chocolate and dark-roasted coffee flavors.  Its semi-dry, not real heavy on tannins and has a short but no drop-out finish.

The fun thing with this wine, however, is the chameleon-like quality it has.  I found I liked it much more when paired with food.  It lost the inital ripe raspberry and uncovers a wonderful focus of earthiness that must have been over-shadowed by the fruit.  The herbs intensified, as did the chocolate and coffee flavors.  This is what mimicks the Bordeaux.

But, then… I decided to go the opposite and see what this wine would do.  So, I tried it after having a very small piece of 85% dark chocolate and… tah dah!…. it changes once again.  This time the raspberries and chocolate were so magnified that I felt as I’d just scooped a bit of that jam right out of the jar and topped a chocolate lava cake with it.  All of the earthiness was gone and I was left with just dessert….. fabulous!

I’d definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for something different.  Its not the “fruit-bomb” that so many people are looking for… that is, unless you have it with a chocolate dessert.  The versatility that I found in this $14 wine impresses me and the fact that its a winery that should be widely distributed makes this a 4-star recommendation from me.

Independence Weekend Wines!

OK so the picture says 1993, but I really had the 1990.....

So I went to a wonderful dinner in Seattle over the weekend. For those fellow foodies out there I highly recommend heading to The Harvest Vine. It is a wonderful tapas (family style) restaurant which I try to go to every time I visit Seattle.

My friends and I had two yummy bottles to enjoy during dinner. We started with a bottle of 1990 Jos. Christoffel Jr. Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese.

The wine had a very nice sweet citris / pineapple quality and hint of the oiliness you would normally expect. However it was not quite as minerally as I like, but like Mr. Gary I like a little razor action on my toungue. Regardless it was a wonderful wine.

The second bottle we had was a 2005 Walter Hansel Alyse cuvee Pinot Noir.

Thanks to wallywine.com for having a current image.

The wine is great blend of Burgundy and New world .. leaning more towards Burgundy. Everyone enjoyed the earthiness of the wine, but it was not dank nor unapproachable for being younger. It went amazingly well with the Lamb and mushroom dish we had. There were good components of black cherry and hay without being to overpowering for some people at the table who “didn’t like red wine”. They really enjoyed this one.

Cheers!

Nieto Senetiner, Bodegas Don Nicanor 2004 Blend

Being that I’m new to wine, but a long-time “foodie,” my entries will be a blend of wine and food notes.  My interest in wine lays in the complexities of its components.  Just as a fabulous dish is made from the creative applications of various textures and tastes, I feel that wines are created in the the same fashion.  Finding and appreciating those aspects is what expanding my palate is all about.  So, generally, my notes will begin with the initial impression of a wine and, then move into how its taste changes when paired with food.

First pour of this wine had me awed by the deep ruby/garnet color.  A gorgeous rich-looking wine that had me really hopeful that its taste would be just as rich.  All I could pick up on the nose was black cherry and maybe a hint of a smoky wood-like smell.

The taste was just as I’d hoped — full-bodied with rich dark cherry and soft oak flavors.  The mid-palate was a complex layering of dark fruit (maybe plum?) chocolate, a subtle green flavor (which I’m determined to define at some point) and some great soft earthiness (of which I am normally not a big fan, but works well with those curious green flavors).  The finish was beautiful!  A long finish with a black pepper tanginess that I know many people will love.  Its stated at 14.5% and, normally, I would think this to be too much, but its great.  Maybe my palate is ready for bigger and better.  Or, as John W would say… great tannins and great acids make a great wine!

So, tonight, I grilled some beef tenderloin medallions and served them with some grilled asparagus and grill-roasted golden fingerling potatoes…. all prepped very simply with just kosher salt, fresh ground pepper and extra-virgin olive oil (except for the potatoes to which i added some red pepper flakes and a few other spices).  Let me just say… tonight’s choices couldn’t have been better!  A perfect pairing!  The grilled beef balanced beautifully with the oak flavors of the wine, yet enhanced the cherries.  And the asparagus brought forward those sublte green flavors — though I was still unable to define the taste.  But, it has me wanting to spend more time getting to know this wine, and that’s always a good thing!

All in all, this wine is worth every bit of the $22 i paid for it.. its one of those wines that makes you just want to spend time getting to know.  I’m really looking forward to seeing if this develops any differently.

2005 Chateau La Pierre Levee

Another wine I picked up at Sandy’s, this time I think it was one we actually tasted that afternoon.  I remember thinking “Wow! This is a steal for $13!”.  I drank this wine over two days, so I’ll give my notes for the 2 days.  This wine is from the Cotes De Castillon, as you can see from the label and claims to be 14% alcohol.  I don’t get any fun label notes like with the previous wine, though.

Day 1: This was a “pop and pour” situation.  I needed some wine to drink with dinner, so I opened it up and let it sit for 10 minutes before pouring it.

The nose is pretty tight, just a little hint of mustiness through the alcohol.

The fruit on this wine is not overpowering, which I really appreciate right now.  The tannins on the back end are medium strong and it has a decent mid-palate with no drop-out in the middle.

Given that it is day 1, I’m not getting much more out of it right now.  Overall, I like it quite a bit and would give it an 89 points.  I think quite a good deal for $13!  Very pleasant, although not outstanding.

Day 2: I put this wine in the refrigerator overnight, to keep it cool in the summer heat.  I took it out at lunch time and tasted it at 3:30 in the afternoon, after deciding I could take off a bit early from work on the day before a long weekend.

Now the nose has opened up a bit and I am getting a bit of ripe fruit and some smell of cool herbs.  After smelling this, I went to our spice cabinet and started smelling everything to see if I could figure out what it was.  I think it was some strange combination of lavender, thyme and a little hint of oregano.  Please understand that these smells were not strong, just little hints below the fruit and alcohol.

My impression on first tasting this wine today is that the alcohol is a little strong, even at 14%.  It still has good mid-palate strength and a nice long finish.  There is some fruit, but not much more than yesterday.  I get a little bit of black cherries and maybe some raspberries and some other fruit that I can’t put my finger on.  There are some non-fruit components that my palate isn’t really able to identify at this point, but something a little richer than just fruit flavors.

All in all, I’d still give this wine an 89.  It is really enjoyable to drink and there’s nothing overtly negative going on.  The nose isn’t rich enough to put it up into the 90 range for me.  I enjoy it quite a bit and at $13, I think it’s a great steal.  I might have to see if I can pick up another bottle or so the next time I’m in the shop.