Tag Archives: Cabernet Franc

A $12 Sicilian Red With Some Attitude

Here’s an inexpensive, widely-available wine that hits the sweet spot for my palate:

It’s worth noting that I found the 2006 a few weeks after tasting this 2007 and didn’t like it nearly as much. Look for the 2007.

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Image credit: Illuminaut via Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/illuminaut/3996050349

An offering to the SEO gods: PLANETA La Segreta Rosso 2007 IGT Sicilia | This wine says f*ck you to bullshit $12 fruit punch wines from the New World. | Red berries, spicebox, dry leaves, earth, leather, badassitude | B+

#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.

Valley of the Moon Cuvée de la Luna 2006

Producer: Valley of the Moon Winery

Grapes: This is their Bordeaux-style blend, which they call Cuvée de la Luna. 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, 4% Malbec, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot

Appellation: Sonoma County AVA

Vineyards: Various lots were sourced from Sonoma Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma Mountain and other area in the county.

Vintage: 2006

Winemaking: Stainless steel fermentation, then 24 months is a combination of French, American and Hungarian oak.

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: About $30 at winery’s website, but easy to find at $20 elsewhere online. (I got it as a gift from a friend.)

My tasting notes: For the first hour or two this wine seemed to actively resist observation, like a Stealth bomber or something. Eventually it opened up and started making an impression. Dusty/ashy dried cherry and fig on the nose. Nice smooth texture in the mouth with more fig and currant flavors with a bit of mocha and a modest minerality. The tannins are dry and a bit stemmy.

Overall impression: First impression was that this was a dud, but once it opened up I liked the not-so-exuberant flavor profile. I’d definitely drink it again; I’d just decant it first next time. B-

Free association:

More info:

3492 cases produced.

Foppiano Merlot 2004 Russian River Valley

I was in Spec’s the other day with no real direction to my shopping, just browsing around. I saw the Merlot section and thought “why not?”  I rarely buy Merlot, but I was feeling a bit guilty for not being more open-minded. I saw this bottle with a healthy dollop of Cabernet Franc (and a bit of Cabernet Sauvignon) and from Russian River Valley, which has a generally cooler climate than many places Merlot is grown in California and is known for Pinot Noir and elegant Zinfandels. I’ve visited the Russian River Valley 2 or 3 times and I’ve had Foppiano on my list of places to stop because of their reputation for Petite Sirah, but I never managed to make it there. So I thought I’d give this bottle a shot. Let’s check it out.

FoppianoMerlot04_labelProducer: Foppiano

Grapes: 87% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon

Appellation: Russian River Valley AVA (California)

Vineyards: Estate vineyards on benchland.

Winemaking/aging: no info

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: $12

My tasting notes: This wine offers dusty red & black fruit on the nose with some green vegetal notes from the Cabernet Franc. On the palate, it’s all cherries and a bit of vanilla. Finishes very dry.

Overall impression: The Cab and Cab Franc provide some backbone to this pleasant, but unexciting Merlot. It’s fine but not something I’d seek out again (though I still want to try some of the Petite Sirah). C

Free association:

YawningSign

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


More info:

Wine Enthusiast scored this wine an 83.

Wannabe Wino mentions this bottle in a report on her visit to the winery.

Chateau Liversan Haut-Medoc 2005

Chateau Liversan

Producer:  Chateau Liversan (Domaines Lapalu)

Grapes:  50% Merlot, 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Cabernet Franc (that is according to the label; I find different %s in different places online)

Appellation:  Haut-Medoc (AOC), France

Vineyard:  96 acres; gravel limestone on a chalk subsoil acts

Aging: 12 months in oak

Alcohol:  14%

Production:  20,830 cases

Price:  I believe I paid around $15 at Costco.

Tasting Notes:  Nice dark color. Nose starts off pretty tight. With time I pick up some blueberry, whiskey barrel and a definite lotion-y smell. (Not some fancy herb-infused botanical beeswax aromatherapeutic stuff, but basic Curel or something.)  On the palate, it’s a little thin and angular for me. The tannins attack my tongue, almost sealing off my taste buds to prevent them from tasting any fruit that might be hiding in there.  I pick up very little else; maybe some cranberry and some graphite. Finishes very dry.

Assessment/Score: Hmm. The nose is pretty cool once it opens up, but it’s just tight tight tight in the mouth. Definitely not “delicious”, but seems like it would do better with more time in bottle. For drinking right now, I have to go with C+.

Free association:

Dry Mouth (by flea.ef via Flickr)
Dry Mouth (by flea.ef via Flickr)

Wine Spectator (85 points): Mineral, blackberry and licorice aromas follow through to a medium body, with firm tannins and a medium finish. A bit simple on the palate, but pleasant. Best after 2010.

Lots of other tasting notes at Cellar Tracker.