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!)

There was a nice turn-out for the Joseph Phelps tasting. These were some of their less expensive wines in the tens and teens, and a couple in the thirty-dollar range. In general I wasn’t really impressed, but my tastes have gravitated a bit higher as of late.

First off was the…
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1998 Charles Krug Reserve Napa Valley Sangiovese $21

A nice photo here.

Okay, so I was eating a Trader Joe’s pizza, and I had just polished off the last half of a glass of the Magnificat. What to drink next, I asked myself. I was thinking about Cabernet Sauvignon, whilst looking through the cooler. There was nothing but Zinfandel everywhere, in every nook and cranny, except there were a couple of white wines on the top shelf, and a couple of expensive reds on the bottom shelf, except for on top of the bottles stacked on the bottom shelf, I noticed a couple of bottles of the Charles Krug Sangiovese. I said to them “what are you doing down there?” I knew the answer, since I put them there when the middle shelves got a little too crowded.

Now let me admit that I didn’t take any notes while drinking this one, but I will state flat out that this is a very good pizza wine. I think it would go very good with a wide variety of foods. Roasted chicken, barbequed pork loin, spaghetti and meat balls, and perhaps even Mexican food.

If you have any of the 1998 vintage, it’s ready to drink now.

2000 Franciscan Oakville Estate Magnificat $23

($23 is the price that I had listed in my notes back from when I bought it, even though the list price is $50.)

I have a fond place in my heart for the Franciscan Oakville Estate as they were partly responsible for my current love of wine. However I must say that my tastes have outgrown most of their selection. The one exception is the Magnificat. Each year they change the blend to get the most out of their red wines. It is always quite pleasant, and very well-balanced.

There are dark cherries and perhaps a touch of blueberries in the aroma. The flavor has a touch of chocolate and just a touch of oak. It is very smooth and has a nice finish.

Trinchero
2001 Sauvignon Blanc $8
Light, crisp citrus aroma. Cantaloupe and a little vanilla flavor. It has a nice finish.

2002 Chardonnay $20
100% French oak. This is a nice typical Chardonnay with a buttery finish.

2002 Pinot Noir $10
This one has a nice color, and is not too dark. It has a nice dusty aroma, with flavors of blueberry, vanilla, and lots of leather. There is just a hint of mint on the finish.

2001 Meritage $34
Nice dark purple color and nice legs. Pleasant aroma with a touch of chocolate. Flavors include peppermint, cedar, and mocha. There is a touch of tobacco on the finish.

2000 Cabernet Sauvignon $20
Very nice deep purple color. Light chocolate aromas and chocolate flavors on the palate. There is a little heat on the finish. A good cheddar cheese brings out the earthiness. A nice sausage does the same to a lesser extent.

2000 Bourgas Chardonnay $7

This is a Bulgarian wine that I picked up from a local importer. It was nice, but if you come across it, drink it fast, as it will not store well. I’ve had it for almost a year, stored properly in the cooler, and it is almost over the top.

1999 Chateau Potelle Zinfandel V.G.S.

This was a sad day indeed. I’ve had this one in the cooler – a bit too long, as it had gone way over the top. I will note that there was some stuff in there that reminded me that I liked it much better than the current crop that is for sale. There was indeed some pepper in there…

2000 Edmeades Anderson Valley Gewürztraminer

Nice straw color. Mineral aroma. Slightly sweet, mineral flavors and a very nice finish.

A couple of glasses of wine with a smoked salmon salad for lunch.

2000 Bouley Voney (a Pinot Noir)
2001 McManis River Junction California Cabernet Sauvignon

The Pinot Noir was a little weak with the smoked salmon, but the Cabernet Sauvignon complemented the taste quite nicely.

2001 Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Château La Nerthe produces the best Châteauneuf-du-Pape that I’ve tasted – period.