2000 Robert Young Alexander Valley Scion $50

In January, I took my first wine trip to Sonoma. The night before I left, I talked to a friend who had gone many times. Continue reading →

2000 Quivira Dry Creek Cuvee $5

Yep, it was five bucks, and I bought it at Trader Joe’s. It is probably the soon to dry up wine glut that brought us the likes of “Two-buck Chuck” in recent years. All I can say is given the choice between the two for something to drink with pizza or spaghetti, choose this one. For the price, it is a nice blend of Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah and Zinfandel.

According to this page, one of the big wine magazines gave this one 91 points.

2001 Robert Biale Black Chicken Zinfandel $34

Have I mentioned that I really like the Robert Biale Black Chicken Zinfandel? I probably did, but just in case, assume that I do!

I like the nice spicy finish with no raisin or prune flavor. There is some plum flavor, but it is not over-ripe. The 2001 Black Chicken is simply a great Zinfandel in my book!

They are currently selling the 2002 version of this one, and I’m a bit worried about the description, because they use the words “jam” and “jammy” in the same sentence to describe it. Well I hope they haven’t changed it much from this one, as this one is very nice as it is.

2000 Sartori di Verona Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOC about $30

I like this one a lot!

If I didn’t have the label to look at, I’d say this was a nice Napa wine. Nice dark red color with dark fruit or perhaps a bit of cherry aroma. There is just a touch of chocolate in the taste, and the wine is very well balance from beginning to end.

This is one of those wines that was so good that you don’t want to throw away the bottle after you’ve finished it. I may have let it sit on the mantle for a while.

I had three of these in the cooler, so of course I thought that I could safely open one. I remember when I first tasted it, that I thought that it could sit for a while.

This wine is huge! In fact I think that I’ll keep the other two bottles for two or three more years. They would easily last longer.

The color is very dark red. The aroma contains a little red fruit, perhaps plums. I noticed that after an hour it opened up quite nicely. I would definitely say to decant this one and let it sit for a little while.

As for the taste, it has a perfectly balanced taste curve. Everything about it is perfect. Very nice tannins. Great finish.

Here is what Antinori has to say about the 1999 Tignanello.

Tonight, I’m polishing off a Sutter Home… er, I mean a 2002 Trinchero Family Selection Napa Valley Pinot Noir.

How’s it look?
Darker and clearer than any Burgundy on the market.

How’s it smell?
I smell leather and lots of blueberry.

How’s it taste?
Wonderful! I taste leather, dark cherries, something else that I can’t quite place, but it is pleasant.

How’s its finish?
Lots of blueberry on the finish. Never in my wildest dreams of ten years ago would have I said that a grape wine tasted like blueberries. And blueberries is not normally something I want in say a Red Zinfandel, but in this wine it really adds to the flavor and overall impression of the wine.

You should get some, even if you don’t normally buy Pinot Noir.

1998 Topolos Russian River Valley, Piner Heights Zinfandel

This one is very sweet, or it’s over the top, I’m not sure which. Okay, I don’t think it is over the top. I’ve had their Zin port, and this reminds me a bit of that one. If you like very ripe Zinfandels, you’ll probably love this one. It sort of reminds me of the 2002 Cline Ancient Vines Zinfandel.

Let me find some desert to see if it improves.

2001 Adelaida Paso Robles Zinfandel $22

I’m not sure what to say about this one, as my first thought was that it would be a decent pizza wine. And in fact I tried it with my home-made pizza, and it was good. I’m not tasting anything outstanding though, and that bothers me. For the price, I think I can come up with better pizza wines.

2002 Caymus Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon $50
http://www.caymus.com/

This is a very nice wine. It is dark red in color. I can smell a touch of smoke with a lot of dark fruit. There are lovely tastes of dark cherries, leather, cigar-box, a touch of mocha and perhaps a bit of coffee.

This wine is extremely well-balanced, and I’m very sad that I have none left.

2001 Ridge California Zinfandel Paso Robles

I never know which Ridge Zinfandels to buy, as I don’t care for the overripe, jammy fruit bombs that most people like, but I do like a lot of pepper.

So it was with reservation that I picked up this bottle. I was quite pleased. While it has quite a bit of fruit, it is not overripe, and there is a bit of pepper in there too.

Marietta Cellars Old Vine Red Lot Number Thirty-four $10

http://www.mariettacellars.com/

For several years, Marietta Cellars Old Vine Red was my “pizza wine.” I went through as much of lot numbers twenty-two through twenty-six as I could find. Then my source dried up.

While traveling for the holidays, I came across a bottle of Lot Number thirty-four. I grabbed that as fast as I could.

It is still a great wine for the price.

I’ve asked about it at several of the local wine stores that I’ve visited, and no one has heard of it. It is high time to get serious about finding someone to order it for me.

Originally tasted on 17-Sep-2004 and re-visited this evening.

2000 Lanzerac Pinotage

So I have to admit that in days past, I’ve not thought much of South African wines. They were mostly uneven, unfinished, and unremarkable.

My opinion has definitely hit a little snag as of the date of this tasting. This is the day when Mr. Jeremy Wilkinson, CEO and President of Great Wines International made an impression on our wine club. He presented eight wines of note. I’m going to discuss the 2000 Lanzerac Pinotage in this post, and I’ll present my notes in another or perhaps several posts.

First let me state that Pinotage has never really caught my attention. I’ll refer you to my opening paragraph above, as it was inspired mostly by my past experiences with Pinotage. I’ll even admit that this was only my second favorite wine of eight that we tasted. As some of you know, our club uses a 20-point scoring system, with the following breakdown: appearance-3 points, aroma and taste-6 points each, aftertaste-3 points and overall impression-2 points. This wine scored 18.5 on my score sheet. It was topped by a Port, which I’ll talk about either in a post of all of the other wines, or if I happen to open the one that I bought, then I’ll do a write-up about it.

But for now, back to the wine at hand. Tonight, I tasted it with a beef and cheese chimichanga. I was looking for something that could handle the spice of the meal, and it is much too cold for a white wine. I perused the offerings of the cooler, but when I set my eyes on this Pinotage, I knew that was the choice. I remembered that it had a smoky flavor that would hold its own. I was correct. If you have a chance, try this wine with any spicy southwestern dish. You will not be disappointed.

(Excuse me for a second; my glass is suffering from emptiness…sorry, that is better.)

These notes are from the first tasting.
The appearance – “very dark purple with awesome legs”
The aroma – “chocolate, raspberry” (and tonight, a touch of leather)
The taste – This is huge! “Notes of chocolate in the smoky cedar and leather.” (Did I mention that it is huge?)
The finish – “Great, awesome finish.” “Nice cigar-box and tobacco)

In the end, I’d say that if you are inclined towards big smoky, chocolately Cabernet Sauvignons, that you’d be doing yourself a favor by tasting this one.

As for food pairings other than that mentioned above, I think that it would go well with a nice ribeye steak cooked on the grill, also, it would probably go well with duck and perhaps gorgonzola cheese would work. Oh, I almost forgot, try it with some dark chocolate. The smoke and chocolate work wonders on each other.

If you try this wine and have other pairing suggestions, please pass them to the rest of us.

I bought this on a recommendation of a friend. It cost $14 and is worth every penny.

The color is a very clear light gold. There is a touch of lemon and butter in the aroma, and the taste is very elegant and balanced.

1998 Charles Krug Reserve Napa Valley Sangiovese $21

Okay, so I posted notes about this one before.

This wine is truly awesome.

I was watching the last of the presidential debates while eating dinner and sipping this wine. Every time that the one that I consider to be an idiot got a chance to speak, I had to get up and move around. It was only natural to refill my glass. I was so agitated, that the next thing that I knew, the bottle was empty.

1999 E. Guigal Châteauneuf-du-Pape $47

So the big wine magazine named this their 2002 wine of the year and the price went from $30 to about $50. Don’t fall for the hype; this wine is worth $30, but not $47.

It was good; it had a nice dark red color, a fruity with a touch of spice aroma, and a generally balanced taste. But, I couldn’t find any of the characteristic terroir of the appellation.

A nice wine, but I was a bit disappointed for the price.

1998 Tenuta Mormoraia Neitea Toscana Rosso $29

A translation of the website can be found here.

Okay, so you are sitting in your favorite Italian restaurant, perusing the wine list. And you see this wine, and the price that they are going to soak you for is $65. Give it serious consideration, as it is not bad! If you are going to pay that much for a wine with your meal, and there are no better values, then I recommend this one.

It is a nice blend of 70% Sangiovese and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. It is very well balanced with nice tannins. Excuse me while go see if I can buy some more…

2002 JanKris Crossfire $11

This is a pleasant blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot. It has a nice, balanced taste curve. It is good everyday drinking wine.

September 8, 2004
2002 Barnett Vineyards Sangiacomo Vineyard Sonoma Valley Chardonnay $15
This was highly recommended by Sonya and Richard, so I picked up a couple of bottles. It lived up to their comments. It very much reminds me of the 1999 Ridge Monte Bello Chardonnay that I love. (See here)

It has nice fruit and minerals, without the big American Oak that many have tried to get us to swallow these last few years. This is a keeper.

August 13, 2004
No Wimpy Wines Ya’ll
Ravenswood

2002 Shiraz
2002 Zinfandel
2002 Cabermet Sauvignon
2002 Merlot
2002 Chardonnay

August 12, 2004

Rombauer

2002 Rombauer Carneros Chardonnay $24
Light yellow color, very clear. Typical nice Chardonnay aroma with a touch of oak and minerals (perhaps a little flint), and a little caramel or butter. Flavors include butter, oak and flint. The finish was a little harsh.

2000 Rombauer Napa Valley Merlot $25
Very dark red, nice color, no brown at all. Smoke and cherries in the aroma. Nice, smoky flavor. Not a lot of fruit, but not wimpy like the typical Merlot. The finish was better than most but not great.

2000 Rombauer Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon $28
Beautiful dark color. Leather aromas with a touch of black cherry and a touch of mocha. Flavor starts mild with lots of oak characteristics, leather, cedar, touch of chocolate, and a bit astringent. Keeps getting better on the finish.

2001 Rombauer El Darado Zinfandel $23
Clear dark red but not quite perfect. Ripe fruit, prune, raspberries and a lot of alcohol aromas. A bit harsh in the mouth, with a lot of alcohol, very ripe, perhaps too ripe. The finish is a bit unpleasant making you feel every taste bud. (Some folks out there really like this style, if so, go for it!)