Category Archives: Price: 16-20 bucks

#ChileBlends Tasting

Way back in October, Wines of Chile held a twitter tasting of red blends from Chile (hashtag: #ChileBlends). I had signed up for the tasting and received the wine, but a family emergency kept me from being able to participate on the night of the event. That also coincided with this blog going into a coma for several months. But I tasted the wines and made my notes and am finally posting my comments.

Chile made it’s mark on the US wine scene via inexpensive varietal wines, mainly cabernet, merlot and chardonnay back in the mid-1990s. While I knew things had moved on from that, I figured most of these blends would stay in the Bordeaux mold, with various combinations of cab, merlot, carmenere, and a bit of cab franc and petite verdot here and there. So I was pleasantly surprised by the range of grapes and some unusual combinations. Syrah is a trendy grape in Chile these days and a few of these add that Rhone grape to the Bordeaux blends. A couple include mourvèdre, my favorite grape. One makes use of old-vines, dry-farmed carignan, a hidden treasure of Chile’s. One even mixes syrah, merlot and pinot noir (though this was my least favorite of the lineup).

Below are my notes and free associations. They are in order from my favorite (bonus: it’s also the least expensive) to my least favorite. (Interestingly, my least favorite bottles all had a preponderance of Syrah.)

Montes Limited Selection Cabernet Sauvignon Carmenere 2008 Colchagua Valley ($15)

70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Carmenere

A beautiful dark fruit nose, with just-right green/herbal notes. The palate has an iron minerality at the core, draped with black cherry and blackberry flavors, ripe tannins and a touch of creamy caramel. It finishes clean and minty. This wine has a take-another-sip quality that’s singing to me. It’s just plain delicious and a great value at $15.  A-

Free association:

Hacienda Araucano Clos de Lolol 2008 Colchagua Valley ($23)

31% Syrah,29% Cabernet Franc, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Carmenere

At first taste, I thought “This is the one I’m not gonna like.”  But it started to appeal to me with time; kinda like Cougartown. The nose is like walking around the Christmas tree tent picking out your overpriced Douglas fir — including the whiffs of cigarette smoke from the carnie working there. A little mint too. Dry and tannic in the mouth with a tight core of sultry black fruit (it is a 2008) and tobacco. A wine worth spending an evening with. B+

Free association:

Valdivieso Eclat 2005 Maule Valley ($27)

56% Carignan, 24% Mourvèdre, 20% Syrah

There is a wildness to the smoky cherry nose with it’s green/vegetal notes and leather. On the palate it is medium-bodied and smooth-textured, with chocolate and black cherry flavors. Finishes cool. Nice wine. B

Free association:

Estampa Gold Assemblage Carmenere 2008 Colchagua Valley ($22)

57% Carmenere, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc, 8% Petit Verdot

Pretty herbal and sandalwood notes highlight the fresh red fruit on the nose. The palate’s plummy/blueberry flavors feel controlled and precise, not overblown. A dry, woody, tannic finish. B

Free association:

Emiliana Coyam 2007 Colchagua Valley ($29)

38% Syrah, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Carmenere, 17% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot, 1% Mourvèdre

Dynamite nose of berries and a touch of cocoa/chocolate on a frame of crushed rock. On the palate, the dark berry fruit is a bit reserved behind the prominent woodiness. It’s nicely smooth-textured at the beginning then turns a bit coarse, with barky/woody tannins and a minty finish. The palate doesn’t pay off the promise of the nose, but a pleasant bottle. B-

Free association:

Image credit: seaan via Flickr

Maquis Lien 2006 Colchagua Valley ($19)

42% Syrah, 30% Carmenere, 12% Cabernet Franc, 9% Petit Verdot, 7% Malbec

Interesting nose of modest red fruit with fresh green pepper (more the white inner stuff than the green outside) and a metal and slightly saline quality. On the palate, the initial blueberry fruit is polished, but the wine tightens up and gets quite woody and grippy. It finishes with some black pepper spice (though a touch hot). The wine improves after a few hours open, but overall it’s not a favorite. B-/C+

Free association:

Image via Accidental Mysteries

Casa del Bosque Gran Estate Selection Private Reserve 2007 Casablanca Valley ($50)

61% Syrah, 26% Merlot, 13% Pinot Noir

As the last wine in the lineup, and the most expensive, I had high hopes. (I should know better about price/quality expectations, but it’s a hard bias to shake.) The wine is dense & figgy, but I found the fruit to come across as “overcooked” and it finishes hot (despite only 14.4% on the label). It feels like there is some interesting complexity hiding in there, but it’s been stamped out. C+

Free association:

Additional Notes:

I misplaced my notes on the De Martino Single Vineyard Old Bush Vines “Las Cruces” 2006 Cachapoal Valley ($45), 66% Malbec, 34% Carmenere, which was also a part of this tasting. My apologies to the good folks at Wines of Chile. I suck.

Other blogger posts on this tasting at drinknectar , cheapwineratings and 1winedude.

Bonny Doon Syrah “Le Pousseur” 2007

I’ll admit to having a geekcrush on Randall Grahm, president-for-life of Bonny Doon Vineyard. So take my opinion on his wines with a grain of salt. You can geekcrush on him, too, here and here and here and here and here.

FYI: “Le Pousseur” translates to “the pusher”.

____________________________

Producer: Bonny Doon Vineyard

Grapes: 100% Syrah

Appellation: Central Coast

Vineyards: Sourced from multiple growers. Hand-harvested.

Vintage: 2007

Winemaking: French oak barrels (duration unknown). Untoasted oak chips also used.

Alcohol: 13.5%

Price: $18.00 (currently $15.30 from the winery website)

Tasting notes: Gamey, peppery, floral accents grace the dark fruit on the nose. I could sniff this all night. Full and rich on the palate without being sappy. Black fruit flavors, with meaty notes, earth and more pepper. It’s got a cool-mint finish with some tannic grip.

Overall impression: This wine’s no swag. It had me from first sniff. I’m buying what Randall’s pushing. B+

Free association:

The visual symmetry between the figure in the label and this image of Eric Stoltz’s drug dealer (le pousseur, bien sur) character in Pulp Fiction makes me unaccountably happy.

More info:

CellarTracker average: 86.8 points

Oddball Wine of the Week: Cline Ancient Vines Carignane 2007

Carignane is about as unsexy as grapes get. Firstly, it’s a pretty ugly-sounding word. And have you ever heard anybody say, “My favorite wine is Carignane”? I didn’t think so. When it is used, it’s most often in blend, so today’s varietal Carignane from Cline is suitably oddball. And being “old vines” adds a little extra something. Although, now that I think about it, I bet a large portion of the Carignane that exists in California is “old vines” … because who the hell is planting Carignane these days?

Producer: Cline Cellars

Grapes: 100% Carignane

Appellation: Contra Costa County (AVA, California)

Vineyard: Blended from several lots drawn from Cline’s old old old vineyards in Oakley.

Winemaking: Stainless steel fermentation then six months in French oak (35% new)

Alcohol: 15.0%

Price: About $16

Tasting notes: It’s got a meaty/savory aroma. Intense, concentrated cherry/red berry flavors. But it seems infused with more: woodsmoke, herbs, sweet tobacco. Enough acid to rein in the plump fruit. A touch too heavy with the oak treatment, perhaps. But good juice.

Overall impression: I’m enjoying this wine. Maybe Carignane is sexy after all. B

Free association:

Get the reference? Leave a comment, Bender.

New World Albariño

I haven’t experienced a lot of New World albariño, so I thought it’d give this one a try when I spied it at Costco. I’m glad I did.

tangent Albariño 2008 Edna Valley

Producer: tangent (they seem to prefer the lowercase t). They’re an intriguing producer focused on white varietal wines other than Chardonnay. Their lineup includes albariño, sauvignon blanc, riesling, pinot gris, pinot blanc, viognier and grenache blanc (and a blended bottling they call Ecclestone).

Grapes: Albarino (presumably 100%, though not certain from the website)

Appellation: Edna Valley (AVA, California). The Edna Valley sits very near the ocean and runs east-west, which makes it one of the coolest, most marine air-influenced wine regions in California.

Vineyards: From tangent’s estate Paragon vineyard, which has earned the SIP™ (Sustainability In Practice) certification.

Winemaking: No oak and no malolactic fermentation

Alcohol: 13.5%

Price: $17 at Costco

Tasting notes: The nose is briny yet floral, with bright, full orangey citrus notes. (On day two, I swear I’m catching a hint of pumpkin, but maybe I’m just flashing back to Halloween pumpkin carving.) The palate is leaner and mineral-laden, with terrific acid.

Overall impression: A pretty wine, with serious backbone. B/B+

Free association:

Mourvèdre Monday #23: Becker Vineyards Prairie Rotie 2007

Mourvèdre Monday finally makes it to Texas. Becker is a big name in the Texas wine scene. I’ve tried quite a few of their wines over the years with mixed results. I had high hopes for their “Prairie Rotie” — a Southern Rhône blend of Mourvèdre, Grenache, Syrah and Carignan (though the name is a play on Côte Rôtie, which is a Northern Rhône appellation where the wines are either all Syrah or Syrah + Viognier). Let’s check it out.

Producer: Becker Vineyards,whose winery and tasting room are in the Texas Hill Country near Fredericksburg

Grapes: 68% Mourvèdre, 14% Grenache, 12% Syrah, 6% Carignan

Appellation: Texas High Plains AVA – way up in the panhandle

Vineyard: Martin Vineyard

Vintage: 2007

Winemaking: This wine spent 9 months in new American oak barrels.

Alcohol: 13.8%

Price: $16.95 on Becker’s website, but I believe I paid about a few dollars less at HEB (supermarket).

Tasting notes: This wine smells purple, grapey. Or like some imaginary Kool-aid flavor called Sparkleberry. Some sweet oak coming through pretty strong as well. Extracted, overripe berry fruit on the palate, coming across a little raw. The winery’s description promisingly mentions forest floor and herbs and coffee, but I didn’t pick up any of that in the wine. I grew bored of this very quickly.

Overall impression: A Texas winery taking pains to make and market this as a Rhône-style wine set my expectations to a way different place. I hope Becker (and others) continue working with these grapes here in Texas, but this particular wine didn’t do much for me. C

Free association:

Mourvèdre Monday #21: Cline Cashmere 2008

I always look forward to opening another bottle of wine from Cline Cellars. Cashmere is their GSM blend (Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre) and in their latest release – the 2008 –  they’ve upped the share of Mourvèdre in the blend. Your favorite blogger’s favorite grape is now the lead dog at 44%. (Let’s all pretend they did that in response to the shear market-moving force of VINEgeek.com.)

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.

Hess Allomi Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Hess has produced a number of bottles that have been noted as great values by the big wine publications in the past few years. When I saw this single-vineyard Napa Cab on sale at my local supermarket, I thought I’d give it a try.

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.

Mourvèdre Monday #20: Bonny Doon Mourvèdre 2004

Opening one of Randall Grahm’s wines is always an event for me. I had the 2003 version of this wine in my cellar for 4 or 5 years before I gave in to temptation and pulled the cork; I was not disappointed. Though this is a 2004, I didn’t have to cellar it for half a decade. It was a special release from “Randall’s Closet of Curiosity” made available to DEWN members earlier this year.

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)

Vistalba Corte B 2005 Mendoza

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

Mourvèdre Monday #11: Cline Ancient Vines 2008

If memory serves, Cline’s was the very first varietal Mourvèdre I ever tasted, way back in the mid-90s in the tasting room. If it wasn’t the first, it was certainly the one that made me take notice of the grape. It’s been an old favorite ever since.

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.