Tuesday, June 28, 2011

christian with terra firma

Ferme de Gicon White 2009... Cote du rhone white .. typical of the viscosity and mineral of a cdr white.. round and enough acidity to salivate.

Passion Blanche Cote de Catalones 2009  what an interesting wine and for the money very good.. but cost for a grenache blanc, muscat petite grain..hard to sell.. all the good things of muscat in the nose, and grenache blanc in the mouth.. think of torrontes without the grapefruit.. you can see how torrontes is born from muscat.

Le Petite Murialle.. nv a blend of grapes I like but a little too simple especially given the great wine like Garnacha de Fuego that is the same price and delivers a lot more..

Chaulans Vacqueray 2009... light purple in the glass.. tea and mushroom in the nose, a little uninteresting right now... for such a good vintage I hope its just in a resting phase.

Chiarle Moscato 2010.. soft, fizzy, good italian moscato... stone fruits and good acidity... and good price.

rombauer with clyde gilbert/bommarito

known for making a great chardonnay...
Chardonnay 2009 Carneros.. the california chard lovers wine that would not offend the french...so much.. still lots of ml and oak and toasty caramel but good acidity to carry it off... with others this might have been a oak bomb but here its just pleasat

Rombauer Merlot Carneros 2007... I love a good cool climate merlot like Truchard but this one had more herbacious notes to it.. stinky feet up front .. vegetal finish... a little cloudy in the glass.maybe the bottle wasnt well representing the product

Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 cassis and light some cedar... not one to right home about but better than the merlot

Cabernet reserve 2006... a hearty nose that didnt come through on the finish.. oaky.. almost too much cedar... and light bodied

Zinfandel 2009... surprisingly sweet fruit.. almost jam jar sweet.. like candy apple.. definitely could use some food.. sweet nose too.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Blue Nomad wines/ Gundlach-Bundschu/Garco

There are some times when I think I miss the point.. or maybe I am more midwestern than I like to admit. Here is a well established winery that is trying to liven up things a bit.. maybe have some fun with labels..but they go full tilt the other way..

Bright Light California White Blend 2009.. the label glows in the dark... and the wine wants to be interesting.. a blend of chardonnay, gewurztraminer and albarino... and a little bit boring for the types of wine they are... you can tell the gewurz by the nose.. albarino is to me a little lighter in body than chard but in spain it comes off a little nutty and quirky..totally dry finish... and boring
2009 Swami Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast.. with a label that is a little Indian meets Ed Hardy... this is the best of the bunch.. fruit forward with a longish finish.. some nice spice and cocoa...

2007 Rockus Bockus  blend of 6 grapes... soft on the palate with the green character of the vines coming through.. green equates to young.to me it was much more subtle than anything I was expecting with a name like Rockus...the label is a little 70's poster art with a lot of wine references.. was surprised at how tame it was 

laird estate with erin martin/appellations

I wonder if they are any relations to Melvyn Laird?

2009 Laird Cold Creek Pinot Grigio ... from carneros... some minerality.. a little creaminess. kind of reminds me of a muscadet..

2008 Laird Cold Creek Chardonnay  ... a little more restrained than some cali chards. not a lot of ml...good acidity and just a hint of toasty oak on the finish.

2007 Laird Suscol Syrah... winner of the day... deep flavors.. nice mouthwatering acidity. well extracted almost rhone in style...

2006 Laird Mast Ranch Cab.. 100% cab.,, dark in the glass.. hill fruit she says.. dark berry on the palate.. voluptous...smoky on the finish...

2008 Flat Rock Cabernet.. also well extracted.. lots of up front fruit but seems to be missing something in the middle. soft finish.. a better food wine I guess than the Mast.

Monday, June 20, 2011

craig and ministry of propaganda

Rapido Pinot Grigio Veneto 2010... rapido is fast and thats what this wine tasted like.. down fast.. light some mineral but okay... just another pinot grigio with a cute label

Lobster Reef Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2010.. a non new zealand s.b.  more like a watered down sancerre.. some grassy character and pink grapefruit.. cute label

Guigal Cotes du rhone 2007... one of the last of that vintage to be around.. either in a dumb phase or I am because nothing really tasted great today.. grapey?

Carinae Malbec Reserve 2009... almost a rhone style on the nose and palate... very round and lush.. inky dark and nice concentration.. but then again... who needs another 15$ malbec

Saturday, June 18, 2011

ZD wines with Erin from Glazers

One of the best wines I have ever had in my wine existence was ZD Abicus. A blended wine of years not regions. Lush and silky and soft fruit.

that being said

ZD Chardonnay California 2009. old school chardonnay I am told no ML goes into it.. and as creamy and fruity as this wine is I would only have to wonder what more the ML would do for it. still a little flabby could use a little more acidity or zip

ZD Pinot Noir Carneros 2009  rhubarb and green pepper on the nose... lush fruit but not that complex... hard to get past the nose.

ZD Cabernet Sauvignon 2008.. Rutherford Napa dark color... stinky feet... probably from the youth... some soft tannins.. pricey but worth it?? needs time.

wine tasting last thursday night

Last thursday night, the 16h, we had our annual summerfest wine tasting. This years theme was the wonderful world of rose. We had a great attendance by both tasters and wine distributors. One of the best things was there were no broken glasses. That is unusual and shows I think, a little more restraint and attention by the customers. So I want to thank them for that. Lots of good rose tried and bought.

Monday, June 13, 2011

wine with craig and willi

Audelssa Cabernet Sonoma 2007.. a dell say.... new to the market. very fleshy with lush fruit but not a lot of acidity... may be just a little hot in temperature but this time of year it is very hard to get them the cooler.. juicy..


Verace Pinot Grigio Veneto 2009... light, mineral and slightly dull ...cute bottle but not really a good wine

Dante Reserve Chardonnay California 2009  what I would call the napolean of wine... it attacks then falls back quickly... not  a lot of fruit..

Annabella Chardonnay Napa 2009  good acidity but the fruit just never shows up

Arderius Tinto Rioja 2009  spanish.. tempranillo... with nose of young vines, a little tinny... and the fruit has a hollow finish... lots of really good wine at this price point that will surprise.. their white is really good though

Annabella Napa Valley Merlot 2007  oak and fruit up front ... a rough finish though... not very well integrated.. maybe time will help

Thursday, June 9, 2011

precepts brands with deborah bowles/glazer with erin adams

Focusing on Washington wines mostly.

Waterbrook Chardonnay Columbia Valley 2007... a little long in the tooth although the nose was sweet and ripe.. a little flabby losing some acidity.

Sagelands Riesling 2008 Washington.. diesely petrol on thenose... not my favorite.. and it follows through on the dull finish... some sweetness but not exciting.

Primarius Oregon 2009  light color.. earthy nose but not a lof of flavors.. not a lot of there there...

Waterbrook Melange 2008... blended wine of cab merlot and others.. the best of the bunch... cedary nose, needing some more acidity but it was a warm day and the wines were not showing as well as they could..

Waterbrook Cabernet Reserve 2007.. smoky fruit... lush tannins but again not really showing that well.

The Waterbrook winery is investing a lot in the sweet tooth of the american wine consumer... much as White Zinfandel was the gateway wine for many in the last century... they are pushing a different envelope with chocolate added wines... my problem with them seems to be they do not satisfy the wine or the chocolate lover in me.. trying to please both they dont please either.. for me.. others may find that different. and I would never leave things out of the store because I do not like them.

Sweet Symphony red wine based.. lush .. sweet without being cloying.. more of a grape sweetness than chocolate  2 % residual

Red Decadence syrah based... 5% residual.. organic dark chocolate.. nose and flavors of bittersweet chocolate... left a empty feeling on my palate... not sure if I wanted more tannin or sweetness

Chocolate Shop 7% residual.. nose of a cherry tootsie roll pop...stinky nose on the finish.. not a fan.

Washington Hills Sweet Rieslig 2010... appropriately sweet for a late harvest but not overly so... nice green apple on the palate.. acidity there... pleasant after the chocolate wines

Monday, June 6, 2011

rose from appellation

chermette beaujolais rose 2010  my first gamay rose..very light color...in a frosted glass bottle..very light flavor profile.. a little mineral on the finish that is just slightly dull.

La Bastide Bandol Rose 2010... mouvedre mostly.. soft fruit.. strawberry  and light red fruits... a little pricey at $20 but pretty much worth the price.