VINEgeek

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 [...]

It’s been a little while since a Spanish Monastrell has made an appearance on Mourvèdre Monday. This one comes from Sierra Salinas in the Alicante region focused on the Monastrell grape.
Producer: Bodegas Sierra Salinas
Grapes: Primarily Monastrell (the Spanish name for Mourvèdre), with Garnacha Tintorera (which is not Garnacha/Grenache, but the same as Alicante Bouchet), Syrah [...]

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 [...]

I bought this wine on a trip to Napa/Sonoma about 5 years ago. It was my favorite wine of the trip and I splurged the $85 in the tasting room to bring home a bottle. Now if you’ve ever been on a wine country trip, I’m sure you’re familiar with the phenomenon whereby your capacity [...]

Gary Vaynerchuk made a stop in Austin recently on his book tour for Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion. In addition to the three book signings he did around town that day, he and Lindsay Ronga organized a Cork’d tasting that night. (Cork’d is the wine social networking site [...]

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 [...]

After really enjoying the last Montsant wine I tried, I have been on the lookout for more. I saw this one for about $11 and had to give it a try.
Falset 2006 Montsant
Producer: Falset Marçà
Grapes: 50% Garnacha, 30% Cariñena, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon
Appellation: Montsant (D.O., Spain)

Vineyards: Vineyards are at 1240 feet with soils of slate, granite, [...]

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: [...]

I can’t really find anything about this wine online (and the label is no help either), so I won’t be doing a full post on this one. It’s a very young cab from South Africa — that’s all I know.
Nose is all over the place: chocolate milk one minute, wild berries the next, ashy, “thorny” [...]