Chateau Raspail 2007 Gigondas

My apologies in advance for the sketchy details on this bottle. There’s not much info on it to be found online. I’ve had a draft of this post sitting around for a while and I didn’t think I’d bother posting it, but I’ve been sick for a while and haven’t been drinking any wine so [...]

Mourvèdre Monday #5: Edward Sellers Cognito 2006

It’s back to California for today’s Mourvèdre Monday post, specifically Paso Robles. Though I first fell in love with Mourvèdre via the old vines examples from Contra Costa County, Paso Robles is a hotbed of Rhône grape-growing in California. Edward Sellers is a Rhône-style specialist in Paso, with a focus on blends vs. varietal bottlings (though [...]

This is why Côtes du Rhône rocks!

This one is exciting! It was a quick grab from the Costco shelf. I’d never heard of it, but was in the mood for some Rhone action. Little did I know that lurking behind this boring label would be one of the tastiest little wines I’ve had in months.

Galévan ‘Paroles de femme’ 2007 Côtes [...]

Breast Cancer Awareness Month Wine Recommendation

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is winding down and pink has been everywhere. Even the NFL got in on it in a big way. So maybe that’s why I noticed this wine on an end-cap display at my local supermarket. It’s from Cline Cellars (a winery that regular readers will know I am a fan [...]

Cannonau – WBW #62: A Grape By Any Other Name

The theme of this month’s Wine Blogging Wednesday #62 (hosted by Dale Cruse at Drinks Are On Me) is “A Grape By Any Other Name”. The idea is to taste a wine labeled with a lesser known name of an otherwise common grape. Now this is the sort of thing that I’d normally stew [...]

Boots Grenache 2005 Barossa

Producer: Trevor Jones (Boots label)

Grapes: Grenache

Appellation: Barossa (Australia)

Vineyards: Old bush vines

Winemaking: This wine sees some time in French oak, but just how long isn’t clear from the label or website.

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: $12-13

My tasting notes: Very light color. Bright nose of pine forest, cherries (cherry cough syrup, really) [...]

Perrin & Fils Vinsobres “Les Cornuds” 2006

Perrin & Fils is a producer that always catches my eye. I’ve had a number of very good bottles from them and no bad ones. So when I saw this bottle at Costco from an appellation I’m not familiar with and a couple of nice scores (91 WS and 90 RP), I couldn’t resist.

Producer: [...]

Drink Pink, Take 2: Routas Rouviere 2007

After recently enjoying a rosé, the Bonny Doon Vin Gris de  Cigare 2007, and asking myself why I don’t drink pink more often, I picked up another — this time from France.

Producer: Chateau Routas

Grapes: 40% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 30% Cinsault

Appellation: Coteaux Varois en Provence (AOC, France).

Vinification/Aging: [from the producer's website] The grapes [...]

Bonny Doon Vin Gris de Cigare 2007 California

Maybe because I had just posted about the Bonny Doon Mourvedre, I picked up this bottle on a recent replenish-the-stock-of-everyday-wine trip to the wine shop. I don’t drink much of the pink stuff, generally. It has a top-of-mind awareness problem with me. I just don’t think about it very often. When I go to the [...]

Evodia 2007 Old Vines Garnacha

Old vines…ten bucks…Eric Solomon…you don’t have to twist my arm.  Let’s get into it.

Producer: Altavinum

Grapes: 100% Garnacha

Appellation: Calatayud (D.O.); Northeastern Spain

Vineyards: High altitude vineyards (2400-3000 feet) in the mountainous village of Atea.  Pure slate soils. Old vines “planted up to 100 years ago.”

Aging: tank, no oak

Alcohol: 14.5%

Importer: Eric [...]

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