wines with mike dorsey of golden barrel

Le Clos du Caillou Cote du Rhone White 2006 lots of acidity, very viscous and lush but I didnt find a lot of fruit, more of the green olive flavors associated with this region, the grapes being roussane and marsanne tend to develop more flavors as they age, the opposite of most white wines... another wine buyer tried it though and thought it had lovely tropical fruit and would be liked by consumers looking for an alternative to chardonnay


Haut Medoc du Haut Berzac 2005 mostly merlot from the 2005 vintage...french stink on the nose , some quick berry on the tongue then a quick finish... not a great expression of what the 05 vintage was about.

leonard kreusch of germany

A value oriented wine from Germany...
Twisted River Dornfelder. german red wines are not well known but they do exist..most stay in germany.. this had a slight tinny mineral nose associated with cool climate wines...off dry on the palate but not sweet...nice red fruits..

Twisted River Riesling 2007 halb-trocken or half dry...some diesel, mineral granny smith apple, quick finish.

johanisberger riesling from rheingau in traditional brown bottle...2005 dark golden in the glass and an off nose of petrol leaning toward turpentine or pine resin... very offputting to me

Estate Riesling Mosel 2007 best of the bunch.. clean , crisp fruit, light mineral nice length of finish.

blue bottle riesling..2007 not much of a nose to it... red apples and quick finish...not much there there.

twisted river late harvest riesling 2007 strong petrol or slate nose, not much early fruit, strong mid palate and light finish...

monday wines

Derrick from bommarito.

Dare by Viader 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon dark fruit nose, soft tannins and easy finish.. Viader's little brother

Loimar Estate Riesling Kamtal Austria 2007 mineral and quite a petrol aroma on the nose which carries through to a rubber, oily finish. pink grapefruit...nipple raising good as derrick says

Loimar Estate Gruner Veltliner Kamptal Austria 2007 this reminds me of what Gruner is about...Pinot Grigio with a whole lot more class and nerve... mineral, long finish and nice citrus notes.

Shooting Star Syrah Lake County 2006 very dark purple and very fruit forward..not terribly interesting..jammy fruit, good for a first time syrah...not as impressive as the other shooting star wines tried recently.


from Premier Cru...Santa Julia Torrontes Organica 2008 a little sweeter and fruitier style than most I have had lately... Torrontes is a hybrid grape of Muscat and mission grapes brought over by the church when settling Argentina.

fine italian estates with donald shannon vias imports

Bisol "Jeio" Prosecco Veneto NV made in the brut style but seemed to have a little more sweetness that expecting...and not the traditional burnt aspirin aftertaste.

Castello Di Meleto Toscana Rosso 2006 what can I say, sangiovese and merlot arent all that interesting and this was multiplied by two

Produttori del barbaresco Torre Piedmont 2005 the italian stink on the nose, soft very easty drinking, nice acidity and even with not a lot of fruit it had a long finish.

Colosi Nero d'Avola Sicily 2004 bright bing cherry fruit and acidity with a long finish.

back to tasting

Today I had 5 salesmen with winery reps. Way too many on one day but thats how they appear.
One rep was from the group that sells Rex Goliath, Nobilo, Black box to name a few. None of the wines was bad by any means but nothing was stellar. Good values for under $10 a bottle.
Black Box will be adding Sauv Blanc and Riesling to the list.

yesterday i tried some wines with Robert from garco..even though I was still somewhat stuffed up in here I could taste some things.

Chainier Vouvray 2007 in a bottle that was reminiscent of the old rosemount and chateau souverain bottles... my first smell came off like glue...somewhat sweet but a little offputting.. quick finish...but could been me

Robert Craig Durell Vineyard Chardonnay. 2006 one of the most interesting aromas in a long time... think of opening the door to a barnes and noble...its espresso and leather and oak ....unctious texture and sweet fruit... a little pricey though..

Ridgeline Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley 2002 cinnamon on the nose and dark color in the glass...cassis and clove...the perfect big wine to drink now...it was ready..

Casali Rosa di Rosa nv...one of the most unusual wines I have tried in a long time... from the Malbo Gentile grape...yeah i had never heard of it either...from the Emilio region of Italy...partially sparkling but lots of fizz in the mouth... only 6% alcohol. dark purple color slightly sweet but mostly fun... almost grapey.

life with a cold

Nothing to blog about this last week as I have had one of the worst head colds I can remember. No sore throat just congestion and in this business when you can not smell or taste anything other than a blunt instrument it doesnt bode well for wine nuances. I did a tasting for a charity on wednesday where i tried Zolo Torrontes, Kim Crawford Sauv Blanc, Chateau de la Bonnelierre Chinon, Fontafredda Barbera, Chateau Poncharac Bordeaux and marquis Phillips Shiraz.. all tasted well according to the participants but I dont think there was a corked or bad bottle in the bunch. At least I hope not.

wine with craig rohner

Dominique Cornin Les Serrudierres Macon Chanes 2006 very sweet for a macon chardonnay, and at $25 a little too pricey

Karl Molitor Hattenheimer Kabinett 2007 for a very hot vintage it is typical...pineapple sweetness, more of a spatlese but still good acidity.

St Innocent 2007 Village Cuvee Pinot Noir Willamette one of the host wineries for Pinot Camp, this blend wine comes to our market for the first time due to the hard sell the 07 vintage is seeing. very light in color, soft flavors of earth and mushrooma and raspberry. pretty quick finish.

2006 Melka CJ Cabernet Napa one of the best unknown wines I have in the store.. he is the wine maker for some of the big name cabs, this is his second label...beautiful nose of cedar and vanilla.. lots of black fruits long finish. Good at twice the price at $50 should age well for at least 10 years.

wine with derrick of bommarito

Colonia las liebres...hares colony...bright fruit, plenty of acid...a nice value would go with hossenpfeffer.(sp?)..

the Black Chook Australia almost black in the glasss, very dark purple..a cofermented blend of Shiraz and a little Viognier to bring out the sweetness and cut the heavy pepper. mostly found in the rhone valley this style is very popular in australia too. juicy , blueberry and a nice long finish.

Etude Pinot Noir 2006 Carneros... they have lowered the price and it may be that the 06 vintage doesnt live up to the past years. a little earthy and mushroomy, some heat from the alcohol and nice enough tannin. Not the powerful wine of the past but pleasant enough

Spirits with Robert Noecker

Clear 10 Vodka made here in Olathe...bright nose of fresh alcohol, 10 times filtered...not overly hot and a cute label...

30-30 a tequila brand that hasnt been in the market before. 100% Agave.. somewhat ugly packaging but maybe they spend their money on product and not placement.

Blanco...smokey sweet nose, alcohol ticked my nose, lots of anise.. and I hate anise... smooth though

Reposado ...a little anise but more of the caraway seed aromas and flavors...very smooth

Anejo lovely perfumed nose, smells like walking in an herb garden... a lot of stuff going on in the mouth...sweet finish and smooth going down...a touch of banana??? interesting..

Ballast Stone wines from Australia and Golden Barrel

Ballast Stone is a new winery in market. The name of the winery comes from the area around the vineyard sight that was were ballast's were made for boats. Not being aquatic by nature I think they were used to keep the cargo from shifting in transit by placing weight evenly.

Riesling 2007 diesel oily petrol, things you can get from certain soils. not a lot of fruit and acidity though.

Shiraz dill and vanilla and oak...all the things that come from too much oak or oak chips...some pretty fruit flavors though and a hint of cocoanut which came through on the next wine.

Petite Verdot...a Bordeaux varietal that I find from Australia now and then, again pretty flavors, much more integrated than the Shiraz.. again with a mocha/cocoa/coconut finish...sweet i guess

Cabernet Sauvignon dark colors in the glass, red fruits on the palate and a quick finish... some tannins but ....

StoneMason wines which is their second label because it was the stone masons who obviously cut out the ballast stones...i guess
Chardonnay unoaked and uninteresting...some ml but a little syrupy
Shiraz...actually the best of the bunch...fruit a touch of anise and nice acidity..not cloying like its big brother..

new wines in store

Several new wines from R winery group from australia came in late this week. Some good price with great press. and some great press and great price.

Also new for the store in time for Passover...Hagafen wines from Napa that are kosher for passover. I think...I will review and post if not.

myths and legends.

Being in the wine business I have heard stories that I will admit I passed on as truths. They produce nice stories but may not be the absolut truth. Zinfandel and Italians was one such story.
Seems that a man named George Gibbs brought the first plantings to the US where they landed in New York state in the 1830s'. Eventually they migrated to california in the gold rush days by New Englanders. So when the Italian migration came in the late 1800's there were already old vines in existence. The Italians did help keep the zin plants growing because of their tradition of wine with meals.

Prohibition also played a big factor in keeping the california wine trade from expanding until the 1960's. We know that time period known as prohibition killed the bottled wine trade but there was a thriving home brewing business. wineries would send bricks of dehydrated grapes to homes. this caused people for years after prohibition to continue making their own, asking the question why buy a bottle when I can make it cheaper myself. It took the passing of that generation before Napa and Sonoma could come into the vision they are today.

Another interesting feature due to Prohibition is the laws regarding labeling of grapes on a bottle. In france they label place not varietal, in california before prohibition the standard bottling of wine was a mixed blend of local varieties, petite sirah, zinfandel, alicante bouchet, dourif, etc. After prohibition the law became a wine must be labeled by its variety and since most wine drinkers knew of cabernet and chardonnay those grape types began to be planted more often. Zinfandel is actually the 3rd most planted grape in california behind cab and merlot.

we have a lot to give credit to carrie nation and her bunch for...good or bad...mostly bad as the grand experiment failed on many levels.

Ravenswood lunch with Joel Peterson

One of the most informative and enjoyable luncheons I have ever been to. I was amazed at what I didnt know about Zin and a lot of the urban legends I had believed to be true where squashed.

the lunch started with Chardonnay of all things. His only white wine because people at wine dinners would bring in another white to start. This Chard with a Sonoma appellation is done half in barrel and half stainless..very typical california chard in aroma with nice acidity and a lovely touch of caramel at the end.

Petite Sirah 2007 Vintners Blend a blend of lodi and sonoma fruit, lots of fruit, and nice texture and a slight mocha on the finish, great sipping wine and light meats or pastas.

From his appellation series
Lodi Zinfandel hot days and cool evenings produce this zin. a softer style zin with an overlay of blueberry, i am quoting here.

Napa Zinfandel picked near zinfandel lane... interestingly clearer in the glass than the other two, more raspberry and spice.

Sonoma Zinfandel darker color in the glass.. more of a mixed black berry fruit character..due to the fact that some of the grapes are petite sirah, alicante bouchet

Single Vineyard
Big River Zinfandel 2006 100% zin, spicy and a touch of dill...very pretty and rich

Barricia 2005 lighter in flavors but also a year older than the last...more acidity..volcanic ash soil that allows for water retention without becoming a gumbo.. if you have been on the missouri river bank or pond bank you know the feeling of too much water in soil that cant retain it. Barricia is an amalgam of the two owners name barbara and patricia...

Icon 2006 a mixed blend..think Chateauneuf in california.. plums and dark berry fruit...lovely rich texture and flavors. The icon of what a mixed grape wine should be like

wine with britta gentle

Italian wines today
Mezzacorona Pinot Grigio 2007 d everything you want PG to be..light, crisp, a touch of mineral...nice everyday Pinot Grigio.

Mezzacorona Pinot Noir 2007 a perfect beginners Pinot Noir, a touch rusty color with the red, soft fruit, strawberries in a glass?? not week.. light fruit but relatively long finish.

Quercetto Chianti 2007 typical color or light rust, light flavors and just a hint of the traditional sangiovese fruit, that saddleleather or rusty nail.

Quercetto Chianti Reserva 2003 very purple in color for the age and grape type. the flavors in the glass not on the nose, lots of bright fruit from a hot vintage. surprisingly juicy and again a little but not much of the sangiovese nose

Jay Koeller with Coppola wines

One thing can be said for the Coppola wines they keep trying new things. With the diamond series they are producing lots of wines from California.

Sauvignon Blanc 2008 tropical fruit , banana especially...not the citrusy new zealand style.. nice acidity so it doesnt become too cloying

Pinot Grigio 2007 light, clean, a bit of melon and quick finish.

Petite Sirah 2007 purple color, tobacco, bacon fat, iodine, long finish.

Alicante Bouschet 2007 all Lodi fruit, dark color in the glass but the fruit is a little more restrained, reminescent of grenache, a little green in flavor either from over producing or not enough sun.. not a deal breaker but was hoping for a little more flavor.

Malbec 2006 full bodied color, a minty California version of a wine that maybe doesnt do well in california.

Edd Lopez of Seghesion Wines

This venerable wine company with a A type representative. I think it is a good thing because it keeps an old established winery from becoming complacent in their methods. Lots of passion for wine and it shows.

Seghesio Barbera 2007 as with most of the wines in this group there was a lot of juicy, mouth filling fruit, not heavy in the oak tannin but showing well with the fruit . a little soft mocha on the finish.

Seghesio Sangiovese 2006 not the brickish looking wine from Italy again this one was all about the California sunshine. bright jammy fruit with a slow finish.

Seghesion Old Vine Zin 2006.. great spectator press..and their old vines mean old vine. the family has been doing wine for over a century. dark purple in the glass and dark fruit nose, not overly briary but nice pepper.. and with all the zins going high alcohol this one was on the money, not too hot at all.

Seghesio Petite Sirah 2005 their Petit had always been a blended wine, this time they have made it the varietal. huge color, very berry flavored interesting coffee, smokey finish.