Producer: Cline Cellars

Grapes: 44% Mourvèdre, 35% Grenache, 21% Syrah

Appellation: California (AVA)

Vineyards: From the winery’s tech sheet…

“Contra Costa County provides the lion’s share of the grapes for this blend. Careful attention to the Massoni Grenache vineyard in Oakley involves cluster thinning and leaf pulling, which increases fruit concentration. Big Break Grenache is harvested from older lower yielding dry-farmed vines. The Oakley Syrah experiences warm days and cool nights. And the Mourvedre, planted in sand soil, is dry-farmed.”

Vintage: 2008

Winemaking: 9 months in dark toast French oak (25% new)

Alcohol: 15.0%

Price: Around $15

Tasting notes: I get raspberry cream and a bit of black pepper on the nose. The palate is blackberry pie filling, but with the polished mouthfeel I’ve come to expect from Cashmere (though not as luxuriously silky as the 2007). A brief bit of grip at the end that quickly morphs into a sweet, oaky finish. I don’t get the minty note I usually get in wines with fruit from Cline’s Big Break vineyard, which has eucalyptus trees adjacent to the vineyard.

Overall impression: Because of the increased presence of Mourvèdre in the blend, I wanted to like this even more than past vintages, but I have to say I liked the 2007 a bit more. But, the 2008 is another crowd-pleasing Cashmere from Cline. (Old-Worlders may want to pass) B

Free association:

(it's a Blackberry... get it?)

Image credit: 1sock via Flickr

More info:

Grape Stories/CellarTracker reviews (avg: 87 pts)

Cline donates a portion of the proceeds from every bottle of Cashmere sold to the Breast Cancer Network of Strength.

Note to wineries: putting the vineyard name(s) on the bottle always makes me more interested in your wine, whether I’ve ever heard of the vineyard(s) or not.

Producer: Hess

Grapes: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Appellation: Napa Valley AVA

Vineyard: Allomi Vineyard, a 210-acre estate vineyard at the eastern base of Howell Mountain (though outside of the Howell Mountain AVA)

Vintage: 2006

Winemaking: 18 months in American oak (30% new barrels)

Alcohol: 14.2%

Price: I bought it at about $20 at the supermarket, discounted from around $25-30.

Tasting notes: Currants and spice dominate on the nose, with hints of woodshop and creme brulee. On the palate, it s smooth-textured and weighty with rich, plummy fruit. A slightly minty-cool tingle at the back. A nice bit of tannic structure shows at the end, though this is certainly not a tannic monster Cab.

Overall impression: While it may not blow your mind, I doubt this one will disappoint you if you’re looking for a quality bottle of tasty California Cabernet. B

Free association:

More info:

If you like 90-pt validation, Connoisseurs’ Guide gave it 90 points.

Producer: Bonny Doon Vineyards

Grapes: 100% Mourvèdre

Appellation: Says Central Coast on the bottle, but the info in the winery newsletter suggests it’s from Contra Costa County (perhaps not within that official AVA?). CCC has some of the oldest Mourvèdre vines in California.

Vineyards: Rose Vineyard – very old vines in sandy CCC soil

Vintage: 2004

Winemaking: couldn’t find any details here other than that they use “a light touch in the cellar”

Alcohol: 13.5%

Price: $18

Tasting notes: After some initial funk blows off, the nose is all crushed rock and raspberries with a smoked meat note. On the palate it has good acid and bright flavors with more red berry and cherry fruit, but with a dark streak (hinting toward blackberry and plum). It’s like a gourmet Jolly Rancher, if there were such a thing (and there should be — get on that, Thomas Keller).

Overall impression: I’m digging the minerality on the nose and the overall purity of the wine. Really good stuff. B+

Free Association: Isn’t that a badass label? I want that on a t-shirt. It reminds me of this Lizard Man drawing from the old D&D Monster Manual.

More info:

CellarTracker reviews (avg: 87 pts)

This wine was another Costco pick-up. The 92-point review from Wine Spectator and the $17 price tag grabbed my attention. (I know, I know, points don’t matter…) Then the all-Spanish label added some intrigue (I couldn’t even tell what the grape varieties were). So I pulled the trigger just to see what this wine was all about.

Producer: Bodega Vistalba

Grapes: 70% Malbec and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon

Appellation: Mendoza (Argentina)

Vineyard: Finca Vistalba, Upper Mendoza River. Clay, rock and loam soils. 60 degree temperature swing day to night.

Vintage: 2005

Winemaking: 12 months in French oak barrels (% new not specified)

Alcohol: 14.5% abv

Price: $16.99 at Costco in Austin

My tasting notes: A fume-y nose of raspberry, smoke, spice and caramel has me a bit worried I could be dealing with a fat, froak bomb (I’m going to try to bring that phrase back into the VINEgeek lexicon). But on the palate, I find a solid core of minerality supporting sharp, high-toned fruit from the raspberry/blackberry end of the spectrum, with a plush mouthfeel. My wife thought it “ends with whimper” and she’s right.

Overall impression: Overall, I liked the wine and would drink it again. The minerality saves it for me. I just wish it finished stronger. B

Free association:

Couldn’t find a pic anywhere of the missed game-tying layup at the end of Game 7 vs. the Pacers in the 1995 Playoffs.

More info:

92 points, Wine Spectator

Producer: Cline Cellars

Grapes: 100% Mourvèdre

Appellation: Contra Costa County (AVA, California)

Vineyards: Cline has some of the oldest Mourvèdre vineyards in California, head-pruned old vines in sandy soils. I believe the oldest (120-ish year old) vines go into their ‘Small Berry Mourvèdre’ bottling, but this Ancient Vines bottling includes 80+ year old vines.

Vintage: 2008

Winemaking: The wine spent 10 months in dark-toasted American oak, 25% new.

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: $18 from the winery, but you can probably find it closer to $15 at retail (as I did).

My tasting notes: This wine starts with dark fruit, cocoa powder (like when you dump a packet of Swiss Miss in a cup and that little mushroom cloud of cocoa dust erupts) and a savory/meaty/smoky quality on the nose. Nice. More juicy dark fruit flavors (dark cherry mainly) on the palate, with a latte-like creaminess and a faintly herbal note. The mouthfeel is slightly sappy and the tannins are unobtrusive, but without leaving the wine feeling flabby and unstructured. This wine put a smile on my face.

Overall impression: It’s always nice when the new vintage of an old favorite lives up to your memory of it. If you haven’t tried a Mourvèdre or haven’t found one you like yet, I think this is a great place to start. B+

Free association:

More info:

In addition to the Small Berry Mourvèdre I mentioned above, Cline uses the grape in it’s Cashmere blend (which I find to be reliably good) and also produces a Mourvèdre rosé and a Late Harvest Mourvèdre (neither of which do I recall ever trying, believe it or not, unless it was at the tasting room many years ago).

A couple of ratings on CellarTracker (avg 90.5). Can’t find any other blogger reviews yet.

Producer: Michael~David Winery

Grapes: 84% Syrah and 16% Petite Sirah

Appellation: Lodi (AVA, California)

Vineyards: no info

Vintage: 2007

Winemaking: The wine spent 20 months in French oak (% new unknown)

Alcohol: 15%

Price: $17 at the online store

My tasting notes: The wine starts off with sweet blueberry and blackberry cobbler aromas along with smoke and tobacco notes. It actually reminds me of a cobbler you’d buy at a BBQ restaurant here in Texas, which always ends up permeated with the wood smoke from sitting around the restaurant. The wine is soft in the mouth, almost flabby, with very ripe berry fruit and sweet oak flavors. There is an interesting slightly earthy note at the end, but not enough to keep this from coming across as a definite fruit bomb.

Overall impression: This wine has some yum-factor, but is just not a style I want to drink very often. But I could see a lot of people liking the fruit-forwardness of it so it might be one to serve at a backyard BBQ or party. For me, tonight, it’s a C+.

Free association:

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cc_chapman/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

More info:

Other reviews at Wine Harlots, Gabe’s View, and The Wine Snob.

I received this wine as a press sample from the winery.

Producer: Chateau Raspail

Grapes: The blend is not noted on the bottle or the website. But according to chateauneuf.dk (a very comprehensive Danish website on Rhône wines) it is 60% Grenache, 30% Syrah and 10% Mourvèdre. Let’s consider that as approximate.

Appellation: Gigondas (AOC, France).  Gigondas is in the southern Rhône valley region, and was originally entitled to just the Côtes du Rhône name, but in 1966 was upgraded to Côtes du Rhône-Villages, then in 1971 to it’s own AOC.

Vineyards: I can’t really make much from what’s on the chateau’s website about the vineyards. Some hillside vineyard land and some in the plain.

Winemaking: Chateauneuf.dk says it’s aged in tanks.

Alcohol: 15%

Price: I paid around $15-16 at Costco

My tasting notes: Deep, eggplant-purple color. It starts off a bit closed (to be fair, I did pop-n-pour), but with time it opens nicely to display some bright red fruit, dusty floral notes and a hint of green algae (reminding me of my dad’s tropical fish aquarium). In the mouth, it balances high-toned red fruit with a meaty/earthy character and finishes with grippy tannins and some heat (note the 15% abv).

Overall impression: Nice stuff. Somehow I’m feeling a little disappointed though. I was expecting more from the step up to Gigondas. But a good bottle, nonetheless. B-

Free association:

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/60852569@N00/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

More info:

Other reviews at  CellarTracker.

Here’s the chateau’s website if you want to try to read it. The black text on dark maroon background was not a great choice, mesdames et messieurs.

Producer

Grapes: 100% Petite Sirah

Appellation: High Valley. This is an AVA within the Lake County AVA in California.

Vineyard: The grapes are sourced from Shannon Ridge Vineyards at nearly 2200 feet, which they claim are the highest in California. (It’s not called High Valley for nothing.)  Soils are volcanic and gravelly. A nice bit of vineyard chest-beating here from the Shannon Ridge website.

Vintage: 2006

Winemaking: 10 months in 30% new French oak barrels and the rest in 1-3 year French and American.

Alcohol: 14.3%

Price: $15.99 at Costco in Austin (though it’s $24.99 from the winery)

My tasting notes: The wine is an inky black-violet in the glass, as expected from Petite Sirah. On the nose, I get mixed berries, with blueberry standing out. Also a bit of tar. In the mouth it’s more blueberry joined by blackberry and some spice/black pepper notes, but also a slight savory character, like roast beef with herbs. This is definitely a background note though, the berry fruit predominates. It’s a bit hollow to me in the mid-palate, though. And the tannin profile starts off softer than I expect in PS, then later in my notes I wrote “green woody tannins”.

Overall impression: It didn’t deliver quite the oomph I expected from Petite Sirah, but it’s not a bad bottle. Probably not something I’d recommend at the price, though. B-

Free association: The Two Angels name put me in mind of Charlie’s Angels. This wine is like Kate Jackson – clearly not the top choice, but you could do a lot worse. (Jaclyn Smith was always my favorite. Which was yours?)

Kate Jackson is on the left for you Millennials.

More info:

90 points from Wine Enthusiast

Here’s a photo from the Shannon Ridge Vineyards website of the Petite Sirah block (prior to planting). Notice the slope.

This wine was a press sample provided by Michael~David Winery.

Which came first the name or the wine? That’s what I wonder when see that this wine is called Petite Petit for it’s combination of Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot (and oddball blend to be sure). Clever name, but is that the best reason to blend these two grapes? Does it make oenological sense? Let’s find out.

Producer: Michael~David Winery

Grapes: 85% Petite Sirah, 15% Petit Verdot

Appellation: Lodi (AVA, California)

Vineyards: no info

Vintage: 2007

Winemaking: The wine spent 14 months in French oak barrels.

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: $18 (though I’ve seen it at Whole Foods for $14)

My tasting notes: Deep purple-black color. On the nose, I get blueberry, sweet tobacco, baking spices and just a touch of fresh earth. The palate delivers nice blackberry and vanilla cream flavors (maybe a little black cherry, too) with a bit of spice. It’s smooth-textured, almost plush in the mouth with fine-grained tannins and decent acidity.

Overall impression: I’m not sure any magic came from the Petite + Petit combination (I didn’t sense much from the Petit Verdot), but this is an enjoyable bottle of wine, firmly in the “fruit & oak” camp. B/B-

Free association: Speaking of odd combinations, the Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual was full of them. Here’s a favorite.

More info:

88 pts. Robert Parker

More reviews at Gabe’s View, Wine is Life, What’s New in Booze, CellarTracker, Snooth and Cork’d.

If you ever played Dungeons & Dragons as a kid (or even now – hey, no judging here) you’ll love this series of Monster Manuel comics from one of the funniest people alive: Lore Sjöberg over at BadGods. The Owlbear one is here, though my favorites are: Orc, Chimera, Ear Seeker and Kobold.

Producer: Vinedos y Bodega Pardevalles

Grapes: 100% Prieto Picudo – Google Translate converts this to both ‘acacia weevil’ and ‘billfish’. However, the importer’s website says it means “bunched and peaked” for the way the grapes grow in a very tight cluster and the bunches taper sharply at the bottom. I prefer acacia weevil.

Appellation: Tierra de León (DO, Spain)

Vineyards: Gamonal – a 16-hectare (about 40 acres) dry-farmed, hand-harvested vineyard of alluvial and clay soils.

Winemaking: The wine underwent malolactic fermentation in new French and American oak, then spent another 9 months in new oak barrels (50% French Allier and 50% American oak). Unfiltered.

Alcohol: 14%

Price: $19.10

My tasting notes: A dark purple color, though not especially dense. A complex nose with scents of dusty flowers, red berries and (just like it says on the back label) “fallen leaves and freshly turned earth”. It is lively on the palate, with Luden’s-like cherry and blackberry flavors predominating with an herbal and mineral edge. Modest tannins and plenty of acidity, but it maintains a nice, polished mouthfeel. It has good length on the finish. I’m finding this wine is growing on me with each sip.

Overall assessment: Not necessarily a value play at nearly $20, but a very nice wine. B/B+

Free association:

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bessicajach/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

More info:

Only 2000 cases of this wine were produced.

This wine was rated 90 points by Wine & Spirits and Wine Advocate, and 87 by Wine Spectator.

Reviews at CellarTracker and The Spanish Table in Berkeley.

An acacia weevil: