Tag Archives: 2007

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

7 Deadly Zins Old Vine Zinfandel 2007 Lodi

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7DeadlyZins_bottleshotI don’t know what it is about me and Lodi Zin. I did a series on Lodi old vines Zin a few months ago and only really liked 1 out of 5. Zinfandel has always been one of my favorite grapes, but maybe my palate has shifted away from what these moderately-priced examples can deliver – maybe especially from a hot climate like Lodi. Yet, I keep wanting to give it another chance so I picked this one up recently. Apparently Parker gave this one a 90 and it was around $12 so I thought it was worth a shot. The gimmicky name should have helped me steer clear, but alas, it did not.

Producer: Michael~David Winery

Grapes: Old vines Zinfandel “blended with small amounts of Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot” (no %s specified).

Appellation: Lodi (AVA, California)

Vineyards: Blended from 7 Lodi growers.

Winemaking: aged in American oak barrels

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: Around $12

My tasting notes: Bright, sweet, candied berries on the nose with a little mint or menthol (or maybe its just the alcohol showing). Smells a lot like when you walk into a winery – a little overpoweringly ripe. On the palate it’s fleshy with very extracted black fruit with a touch of earth. No structure or acidity to speak of – and it suffers for it.

Overall assessment: This is just too fruit-bomby for my taste these days. C

Free association:

nehi_grape_bottlecap

More info:

A wide range of responses to this wine from bloggers and others: Cork’d (avg. 88), CellarTracker (avg. 85), TasteWine, WineLife365, Wine Belly, La Jolla Mom and Goût Goût !! 味之道 (which is in Japanese so I have no idea whether they liked it or not, but I include it in case you read Japanese – plus, I just like seeing Kanji on my blog)

The back label has the following poem…

I’m raging with ire, an ocean of fire,
My Wrath is the path to all I desire.
Oh Lord, forgive me my Zins.
 I’m inflated with pride, near-bursting inside,
A self-centered repenter, Vanitys’ bride.
Oh Lord, forgive me my Zins.
 I’m mired in mud, inert as a slug,
Sloth is the cloth that’s woven my rug.
Oh Lord, forgive me my Zins.
 I eat day and night, consuming all in my sight,
A Glutton with nothing but a huge appetite.
Oh Lord, forgive me my Zins.
 My will I ignore, my Envy’s a chore,
Over zealous and jealous, I want so much more.
Oh Lord, forgive me my Zins.
 I’m ravenous to feast, an insatiable beast,
I concede to the Greed demanding release.
Oh Lord, forgive me my Zins.
 I hunger for trust, my craving’s a must,
My sin is the Zin enslaving my Lust.
Oh Lord, forgive me my Zins.

— Kevin Phillips

Not exactly Shakespearean, but I commend the effort. Better than “Drink with hearty meat or pasta dishes.”

Also on the label: “Seven of Lodi’s Best Growers gave their souls to produce this one of a kind sinful blend of seven old vine deadly zins.” Sorry – bad trade.

Price: 10 bucks or less, Tasting Notes

This is why Côtes du Rhône rocks!

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galevan_CotesDuRhone_2007_snapshotThis 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 du Rhône

Producer: Domaine Galévan

Grapes: 70% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre and 10% Cinsault

Appellation: Côtes du Rhône (AOC, France)

Vineyard: “stony soil” according to the label

Winemaking: No info on the winery’s very basic website. The winemaker is Coralie Goumarre.

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: Around $10-12 at Costco in Austin UPDATE: I went back and it’s only $7.99!

My tasting notes: Deep, dark color. The nose is full of iron and graphite and dark fruit and figs and coffee – it makes me want to use the word “redolent” and I’m not the kind of guy who uses the word redolent. With coaxing, I also get this really nice, bright, beautiful raspberry note. In the mouth, there is dark fruit, but the primary flavors are savory, herbal, earthy. There is a spicy, black pepper note on the back-end as well. It finishes a touch hot, but the rest is so nice, I barely notice. I am really digging this wine. It’s layered but light on its feet. It’s pushing all my buttons.

Overall impression: A great wine for the price. This is why I love trying Côtes du Rhône wines. Good luck trying to find something this interesting from California at this price. Buy it. Buy it. Buy it. (If you’re in Austin, please wait until I’ve had a chance to get back to Costco) A-

I know that I’ve never really explained my rating system. In simplest terms, it’s a rating of my enjoyment of a wine not an attempt at an objective assessment of “quality” vis-a-vis the greatest wines on the planet. I’ll try to post a fuller explanation of the rating system soon, but suffice it to say… I really like this wine.

Free association: This wine makes me want to do the Balki Bartokomous ‘Dance of Joy’.

More info:

More tasting notes at CellarTracker.

Serge the Concierge posted about Coralie and Domaine Galevan a few months ago.

CWNSXJFRQDFZ

Price: 16-20 bucks, Tasting Notes

Oddball Wine of the Week: German Pinot Noir Rosé

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KesselerRose07_snapshotMost people, myself included, think of white wines almost exclusively when they think of Germany. But they do make wine from red grapes – in particular Pinot Noir, known there as Spätburgunder. In fact, according to The Oxford Companion to Wine (3rd edition, 2006), Spätburgunder is Germany’s third most planted variety and totals over half of the acreage of Riesling. This bottle is a rosé of Spatburgunder.

Producer: August Kesseler

Grapes: 100% Spätburgunder (aka Pinot Noir)

Appellation: Rheingau (Germany)

Vineyards: Assmanshäuser Höllenberg – The vineyards are on south- and southwest-facing slopes with soils of “heat-storing slate-phyllite.” The vineyards includes vines that are up to 100 years old.

Winemaking: This rosé wine is produced via the saigné method. During the production of the winery’s normal Spätburgunder, some of the juice is drained off during skin contact to improve the quality of the red wine. That drained-off juice becomes a rose – a lovely byproduct.

Alcohol: 12.5%

Price: $16.78 at Spec’s in Austin

My tasting notes: The unusual color is one of the things that drew me to this bottle on the shelf. It’s very pale and I wouldn’t describe the color as pink so much as ‘light brown’ – okay maybe copper is nicer way of saying it (sorry no pics before the bottle was empty!).  The nose was rather closed, I had trouble picking up much beyond a general sweetish-wine smell and maybe some strawberry. On the palate, it offers up a pleasant candied apricot flavors and a bit of lime, with an undercurrent of stony minerality. It has 24.4 g/l of residual sugar, so it is sweet, but for me the acidity balances it well and it finishes clean.

Overall impression: A perfectly nice medium sweet rose. Definitely worth a try if you want to experience a different side of Germany, though I’d be more enthusiastic if it were $5 cheaper. B-

KesselerCork_snapshot_cropped

Free association:

Kramer's ASSMAN plates from the Seinfeld episode "The Fusilli Jerry"
Kramer's ASSMAN plates from the Seinfeld episode "The Fusilli Jerry"

More info:

The importer’s tech sheet.

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Oddball Wine of the Week: Lagrein

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This is the first post of a new series I’m starting on oddball wines. I thought I’d start in Italy, which is full of indigenous grape varieties that are produced in a small region and hardly anywhere else. This is one of those: Lagrein. Have you ever had one? Ever heard of it?

LaVis_Lagrein_LabelshotLa Vis Dipinti Lagrein 2007

Producer: La Vis

Grapes: Lagrein. La-what? It’s a red grape variety from the Trentino-Alto Adige region of Italy that is related to Teroldego. It’s pronounced Lah-GRAYN (hear it here).

Appellation: DOC Trentino, in northeastern Italy up near the Austrian border. Thirty years ago, red wines accounted for 80% of Trentino’s vineyard land, but today it’s down to 40%, with Merlot being the most common red grape (Chardonnay is the most planted white). However, the indigenous grapes are hanging on. [Info from The World Atlas of Wine.]

Winemaking: Spends only 2 months in oak.

Alcohol: 12.5%

Price: $11.77 at Spec’s in Austin

My tasting notes: Dark color, though not opaque. I get dusty plum and cherry fruit on the nose, with a substantial Old World swampy/barnyardy stink. There’s something a bit wild to the fruit aromas, too. Interesting. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied and starts off sharp and angular (though not necessarily in a bad way), with under-ripe raspberry flavors, light minerality and grippy tannins. A cranberry tartness and prickly acidity linger on the finish. I came back to this wine after it was open for about 48 hours and it was drinking very nicely. The acidity and tannins had softened a bit and the fruit was more evident on the palate. It paired well with a sausage, kale and white bean soup.

Overall impression: Not straight-up delicious, but really interesting and food-friendly. Worth it just for the geek-cred you’ll earn for trying this uncommon grape variety. B

Free association:

Demoiselles d'Avignon - Pablo Picasso
Demoiselles d'Avignon - Pablo Picasso

More info:

Tech sheet, which doesn’t state the vintage, so assume the specs are approximate.

Gary Vaynerchuk did a WLTV episode on Lagrein wines (though not this bottle).

Apparently, outside of Trentino-Alto Adige, Lagrein has developed a small foothold in Australia. And there is also an Oregon winery (with an Aussie winemaker), Amaranth Ridge, that is growing some. (Thanks, Wikipedia!)

Another blogger’s review at Melodic Fermentables.

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Deep Purple Zinfandel 2007 Lodi

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I should have known better than to buy this wine. I generally avoid wines with such gimmicky names/labels. But a few months ago I was planning a series of posts on Lodi old vines Zinfandel and was picking up just about every bottle of it I saw. I realized later that this one doesn’t say old vines on the label, so I didn’t include it in the series.

07_deep_purple_labelgrab

Producer: Deep Purple

Grapes: Zinfandel (it’s not stated on the label or fact sheet if it is 100%)

Appellation: Lodi (on the website they note that Lodi is “a totally respectable wine growing area mentioned in a Creedence Clearwater song“)

Winemaking: 8 months in French and American oak.

Alcohol: 13.9% on the label (13.6% on the fact sheet)

Price: about $12

My tasting impressions: In terms of color, “deep purple” it is not. I’d call it light-to-medium color, certainly not inky dark. The first whiff of this wine takes me back to 4th grade. Did you have a slot-car track when you were a kid? Well, remember when, after about 50 laps around the track, you’d get this overheated, metallic smell? That’s what I thought of when I first smelled this wine. (An overheated blender smells about the same, but my mind when to that slot-car track first.) That blows off after a short while and the (somewhat candied) bright berry aromas come to the front. There’s a bit of vanilla and green pepper, too. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied with plum and cherry flavors and a slight herbal edge. Needs some acid.

Overall assessment: In the end, I find this to be a rather simple wine. Expectations play a big role in how satisfied you are with a wine, I think. Based on the name Deep Purple and the wild label with words like “Monster Fruit”, “Exploding” and “Hedonistic”, I was expecting something much different. While it has plenty of fruit (if you don’t mind the candied sort), it’s not a big, bad, hedonistic experience. C/C-

Free association:

hippies-use-sidedoor

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

More info:

Other reviews at Cork’d, Gabe’s View (via Bullz-eye.com) and Top Wine Values.

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Breast Cancer Awareness Month Wine Recommendation

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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 of) and it has a pink ribbon on the label. Cline is a supporter of the Breast Cancer Network of Strength Ride to Empower, and a portion of the proceeds from sales of this wine goes to this cause.

Cline07Cashmere_FLabelCline 2007 Cashmere

Producer: Cline Cellars

Grapes: 39% Grenache, 38% Syrah, 23% Mourvèdre

Appellation: California

Vineyards: Most of the Grenache comes from the Massoni Vineyard in Oakley. The rest of the Grenache and all of the Mourvèdre comes from the Big Break vineyard (also in Oakley). Big Break is one of Cline’s ancient vine vineyard jewels, with 80-120 year old gnarly, head-pruned vines in sandy (phylloxera-resistant) soil. The Syrah comes from Paso Robles.

Winemaking: Stainless steel fermentation. 9 months in dark-toast French oak (25% new).

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: $15-16 retail

My tasting notes: A pretty violet-red color. The aroma is all sweet, creamy oakyness. On the palate, I’m immediately struck by the smoothness of this wine – Cashmere, indeed. It has luscious plummy, red berry, and blackberry flavors, with vanillin oak and spice accents. A touch of mint on the finish, which comes from the influence of a eucalyptus grove adjacent to the Big Break vineyard. Tasty stuff.

Overall impression: If you really don’t like oak-influenced wines, this probably isn’t for you. But it’s just plain delicious. I think this will be the wine I recommend the next time I get asked by a non-wine nerd for a good bottle. It’s very easy to drink, has terrific mouthfeel and I don’t see anyone not liking it (except the oak-haters). B+

Free association: This probably isn’t fair to Cline and their very nice wine, but I couldn’t resist once I saw this. The dresses below are from a fashion show put on by Canada’s top-selling brand of bathroom tissue: Cashmere. The dresses are “crafted entirely in 100 per cent pure, soft and luxurious sheets of Cashmere Bathroom Tissue.” The fashion show is part of a campaign to raise awareness and funds for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

CashmereTPdressPR

More info:

The winery’s tech sheet.

For more info and photos from the fashion show, click here.

Price: 16-20 bucks, Tasting Notes

Haka Tempranillo 2007 Paso Robles

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I was turned on to this wine by Sam Scarpari, an Aussie winemaker (Seraphim Wines), wine vlogger and Twitter-friend (@SeraphimWines). One night, I had just tasted a not-so-good Tempranillo from California and tweeted something to that effect, asking the Twitterverse if anyone had had a good example of the grape from the Golden State. Sam pointed me to this bottle, the Haka Tempranillo 2007 Paso Robles. I hadn’t heard of it before and I sort of assumed it would be hard to find and wasn’t sure if I would make the effort of trying to order it online. But as luck would have it, within a week or two I saw it on the shelves at Spec’s here in Austin.

HakaTempranillo07_snapshotProducer: Haka, by Labyrinth. Rick Hill is a Kiwi winemaker who makes Pinot Noir in both Australia and California under the Labyrinth label. Haka is his second label.

Grapes: Tempranillo

Appellation: Paso Robles (AVA, California)

Vineyards: no info

Winemaking: no info

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: $18-20

My tasting notes: On the nose I get Pepsi fizz, coffee grounds, red fruit and a bit of fig. On the palate, this wine has good density with strawberry and mixed berry jam flavors. The oak is sweet, but there is a high-toned minerality keeping everything in check. It finishes long and cool, with grippy tannins.

Overall assessment: Very nice wine. I don’t know that I’ve had a better Tempranillo from California (though I haven’t had many). It has New World fruit intensity that gets a tad overripe for me, but the overall tightness and complexity of this wine impressed me. B+

Free association:

More info:

Sam Scarpari’s Wine Passion TV episode reviewing this wine. It’s funny to me that I called out the Pepsi/cola notes… In Sam’s review of the wine, which I watched once a couple of days before opening the bottle, he mentions “cola” a few times, but I didn’t know that’s what he was saying due to the Aussie accent. It wasn’t until I rewatched after tasting the wine, that I understood him (or at least I think that’s what he said – correct me if I’m wrong, Sam!).

An article on the winemaker and the Labyrinth brand (from City Beat/Cincinnati, of all places).

Info on the haka genre of Māori dance at Wikipedia.

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Renwood Zinfandel 2007 Lodi

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logo-renhiendlabelhiI picked this up while browsing at Spec’s when I saw that it had Viognier in the blend. It’s not very common for white and red grapes to be blended together – the biggest exceptions being old-school Chianti and Côte Rôtie. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Zin/Viognier blend. Let’s see what it’s like.

Producer: Renwood

Grapes: 85% Zinfandel, 11% Syrah, 4% Viognier

Appellation: Lodi

Vineyards: The Zinfandel grapes are from “middle-aged” vineyards (30+ years old)

Winemaking: Interestingly, only 15% of the blend was aged in oak, and used oak at that. There is no indication on the tech sheet as to whether the Viognier was co-fermented or blended later, though based on the color I’m assuming it was blended.

Alcohol: 13.6%

Price: I paid $10 or $11 on sale at Spec’s in Austin (I think the regular price is closer to $13-14).

My tasting notes: Fairly light in color, surely due to the dose of Viognier (a white wine, for those who aren’t familiar with the grape). It has a pretty nose. I get the floral note from the Viognier and loads of raspberries, but not in a jammy way. There is also a wet-earth quality and a bit of sweet oak as well.  On the palate, it comes across as a relatively light-bodied wine, with more red fruit, slightly earthy flavors and a smooth, silky texture.

Overall assessment: A modest style of Zinfandel, which is less and less common these days. A nice quaff, if you don’t require a wine from the “These go to eleven” school of Zin. B-

Free association:

modesty

Question: Have you ever tasted or seen a Zin/Viognier blend?

More info:

Thanks to Renwood for emailing me the tech sheet which wasn’t available online.

I can’t find many reviews/tasting notes of this wine online. Wilfred Wong of BevMo gave it an 87. And there’s one review at CellarTracker. That’s all I could find.

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Vina Robles RED4 2007 Paso Robles

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VinaRoblesRed4_labelThis wine had a lot of “shelf appeal” for me. First off it’s from Paso Robles and it’s got the vineyard named on the label. Yippee! Then I see that it’s a blend of Petite Sirah, Syrah, Tannat and Touriga Nacional. Geek-tastic!

Producer: Vina Robles

Grapes: 51% Petite Sirah, 43% Syrah, 4% Tannat, 2% Touriga Nacional

Appellation: Paso Robles

Vineyard: Huerhuero – an estate vineyard (cool map here)

[from the winery] Huerhuero Vineyard occupies a rolling terrain on the southeast border of Paso Robles, with largely south-facing slopes that reach a maximum elevation of 1,200 feet. This location is a crossroads for marine air entering the region from both the Templeton Gap and Salinas Valley. The soils are shallow, shifting from clay loam to sandy loam, with rocky calcareous subsoils—a well-drained composition that naturally tames vine vigor. The main soil types are the Nacimiento – Los Osos and the Arbuckle – Positas complex. A tight vine spacing of 6 by 4 feet in several blocks creates root competition and also controls vigor. The result is smaller vines, with balanced canopies and small, intensely flavored grapes.

Winemaking/aging: “up to” 14 months in 1-2 year old French oak

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: $14

My tasting notes: This wine leads with bright red and blue fruit on nose, with some meaty/gamey aromas. On the palate, the fruit gets deeper and darker (blackberries, black cherries) with a steely/mineral quality that makes me think “old world” momentarily. Some oak and drying tannins on the back, but smooth overall considering the grapes involved.

Overall impression: This is definitely a wine I would buy again. Plenty here for everybody. It’s got gobs of fruit, but plenty of natural structure as well. Very solid. Plus it’s got fun grapes. B

Free association: I don’t know why but… Darth Tater (dark, but cheery?)

41+wowf371L._SL160_

More info:

Winery’s tech sheet (all their wines are in one pdf so you have to scroll down to find this wine)

Other blogger viewpoints at: Wine Peeps (score only: 2.5 stars), Young Winos of LA (scroll down), Wine and Cheese and Wherever You Are.

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Can Blau 2007 Montsant

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CanBlau07_snapshotOkay, maybe you’re getting tired of me posting about Montsant, but I’m going to keep trying them as long as they keep impressing me. Let’s check this one out.

Producer: Cellers Can Blau.  (This wine also bears the label of Jorge Ordoñez Selection, though Tempranillo Inc. is listed as the importer.)

Grapes: 40% Mazuela, 40% Syrah, 20% Garnacha. (Mazuela is a synonym for Carignan, which I was unaware of until researching this post.)

Appellation: D. O. Montsant (Spain)

Vineyards: The Mazuelo was planted in sandy clay, the Syrah in chalky soils and the Garnacha on slate, known as llicorella [from the label]

Winemaking/aging: no info

Alcohol: 14%

Packaging: Beautiful diamond pattern on the label. Looks like an inlaid marble floor you’d see in a palace or something. Real cork closure.

Price: $14

My tasting notes: Nice dark color. Cedar, beef jerky and blueberry on the nose, with some of the alcohol showing through. On the palate, this wine has an inky, dry, slightly stemmy core laced with ripe mixed berry fruit that disappears quickly. Finishes very dry and tannic. This wine throws quite a bit of sediment as well. (It got a bit rounder and more balanced on day two, so I’d recommend decanting this one for a few hours.)

Overall assessment: Interesting how this blend comes together, you get the tannic backbone of the Mazuelo/Carignan, the cedar and meatiness from the Syrah and the Garnacha delivers some fleshy fruit (though not enough, I think). At least that how I imagine the components working together. In the end though, I didn’t find this as satisfying as I’d like. The hollowness of the mid-palette left me hanging, wanting more depth. B-/C+

Free association: The name Can Blau makes me think of this song from Bob Schneider called Blauu.

More info:

Apparently most people liked this wine more than I did, so maybe you will too. It makes me question myself when I see so many gushing reviews of a wine I think is good but not special. But, hey, I gotta call ’em like I see ’em.

Stephen Tanzer gave it 91 pts and Robert Parker gave it 90 pts.

Other blogger reviews at Serge the Concierge, The Rhone Report, and BlogRoom.

More tasting notes at Corkd and Snooth. More people on CellarTracker shared my thoughts on the hollowness of the wine.