Today I had 5 sales reps with wine to try along with the normal workaday problems. I hate to tell them no but sometimes I just can not make time for them.
Terlato Premier wines
Rutherford Hill Chardonnay 05 Light oak influence. just a touch of roundness or malo. I was impressed with the quality and the price.
Rutherford Hill Merlot 03 Juicy, nice mouthfeel for a merlot, has a touch of syrah in it.
Rutherford Hill Cabernet 02 All five bordeaux varietals. Very soft wine, nothing offensive at all about it.
Bommarito Rep brought by these
Cousino-Macul Chardonnay 06 Chile pre phyloxera rootstock.. bright yellow color, non oaky,
goood acid with a little sweeter finish than I would have liked.
Leitz Dragonstone Riesling 2006 Nice minerality to the nose, sweet initial flavor but a drier finish because of the acidity.
French Paradox wines from Major Brands. This sales rep was French at least and very pleasant.
Lupe Cholet Bourgogne Chardonay 05 estate bottled. 1/3 in new oak..very pleasant introduction for people in the white burgundy. Will be on the shelf for about $17
Secret de campane 2005 Grenache, Carignane and Cinsault Good acidity, a touch of Iodine on the finish. Not bad for the price.
Chateau Barat 04 Definite french stink with 52 % merlot drinks well with touch of dirt and mineral. a good intro to bordeaux at $14
Last and definitely not least wines from Ridge winery I love the wines from this producer. They are really field blends of Italian varietals such as carignane and cinsault.
2005 Three Valleys Sonoma The least expensive and easiest sipping wine. 2/3rds comes from lytton springs vineyard. great intro to ridge wines.
05 Lytton Springs Vineyard Dry Creek Fruit forward on the nose and palate. Another juicy but more typical zinfandel.
05 Geyserville Sonoma True Zin. Big bold black fruit jam, but not heavy on the briary overtones. dark and inky color and flavors. yumm
05 York Creek Napa of Spring Mountain. Tight nose and that was after being opened for a day. Austere or bordeaux style that will be a good food wine.
2003 Lytton Springs Syrah probably my favorite. i wanted to keep my nose in it cofermented with a little Viognier. It was lovely, smooth silky and just the right amount of the bacon fat on the finish. this would be perfect with ribs or any food with a pepper sauce. Very nice in the store for around $37
Salut
Friday, October 12, 2007
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Mendocino WIne Co with Rick Hartwigsen
There are times when you just do not feel a connection with a supplier rep and I am afraid this was one of those. The wines were fine enough but I wasnt overpowered by them and I think he took it personally. I dont usually like the question "What do you think" when tasting a wine. I want it to be presented and talked about and given time to mull a wine over. Its the same with a movie when I leave a movie I never like to just say an automatic "Its fine or awful" because there are more nuances than that ..unless its reallly bad.
Parducci Chard Mendocino 05 Ugly label that is being addressed. The wine has the oaky, buttery thing going for it that Americans seem to like. A little too much so for me.
Parducci Pinot Noir California 05 Its hard to find a good Pinot Noir in the $10-$15 price point. This tries hard to be there and it is not an unpleasant wine but not a show stopper either. Good colors but just not there for someone who likes good Pinot Noir.
Big Yellow Cab Mendocino 2005 Cute label and juicy, fruity, boring wine. Very drinkable all it needs though is a cute animal on the label instead it has a cute name.
Mike Ditka Cabernet Sauv. Mendocino 04 Ok all jokes aside this wasnt a bad wine. Bright fruit, nice grip or tannin, a pretty green tea finish. Around $22 in the store next week.
Zig Zag Zin 2004 High in alcohol but not terribly hot. Not terribly interesting either. Another cute name that will sell its self.
Salut
Parducci Chard Mendocino 05 Ugly label that is being addressed. The wine has the oaky, buttery thing going for it that Americans seem to like. A little too much so for me.
Parducci Pinot Noir California 05 Its hard to find a good Pinot Noir in the $10-$15 price point. This tries hard to be there and it is not an unpleasant wine but not a show stopper either. Good colors but just not there for someone who likes good Pinot Noir.
Big Yellow Cab Mendocino 2005 Cute label and juicy, fruity, boring wine. Very drinkable all it needs though is a cute animal on the label instead it has a cute name.
Mike Ditka Cabernet Sauv. Mendocino 04 Ok all jokes aside this wasnt a bad wine. Bright fruit, nice grip or tannin, a pretty green tea finish. Around $22 in the store next week.
Zig Zag Zin 2004 High in alcohol but not terribly hot. Not terribly interesting either. Another cute name that will sell its self.
Salut
Brancott with Leigh Alderton
Its always fun to taste with people from other countries , in this case, New Zealand. Of course my first question when I hear an accent is "are you from Oklahoma?"
Lindauer Brut NV New Zealand Chard and Pinot Noir with a little Chenin. Not a very interesting wine but a good price point. A little toasty a little soft. Nothing to write home about. It was the house Champagne for the Hyatt hotel chain at one time.
Brancott Unoaked Chardonnay 06 A little malo no oak all stainless steel. It may have been my tasted buds over worked from the sparkling wine but it really didnt seem to have a lot of complexity.
Brancott Sauv Blanc 06 New Zealand through and through. Gooseberry, cat pee you name it.Nice viscousity a definite starter wine for people looking for NZ SB.
Stoneleigh Sauv Blanc. 06 Different style, more concentrated fruit less aromatics though.
Brancott SB Reserve 06 creamy and smooth definitely worth the upgrade in style and texture.
Brancott Pinot Noir 06 From the south island, a cooler pinot that is more tart fruit. very light body to read through.
Stoneleigh Pinot Noir 06 vibrant color, lots of dark cherry and mocha flavors on the finish. Best wine of the bunch.
Salut
Lindauer Brut NV New Zealand Chard and Pinot Noir with a little Chenin. Not a very interesting wine but a good price point. A little toasty a little soft. Nothing to write home about. It was the house Champagne for the Hyatt hotel chain at one time.
Brancott Unoaked Chardonnay 06 A little malo no oak all stainless steel. It may have been my tasted buds over worked from the sparkling wine but it really didnt seem to have a lot of complexity.
Brancott Sauv Blanc 06 New Zealand through and through. Gooseberry, cat pee you name it.Nice viscousity a definite starter wine for people looking for NZ SB.
Stoneleigh Sauv Blanc. 06 Different style, more concentrated fruit less aromatics though.
Brancott SB Reserve 06 creamy and smooth definitely worth the upgrade in style and texture.
Brancott Pinot Noir 06 From the south island, a cooler pinot that is more tart fruit. very light body to read through.
Stoneleigh Pinot Noir 06 vibrant color, lots of dark cherry and mocha flavors on the finish. Best wine of the bunch.
Salut
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Pinnacle wines from Monday sept 30
Tasted through some interesting wines today.
Holy Cow Chardonnay 05 from the guy who have us "House Wine". Lots of upfront fruit which was interesting coming from Washington state. A little tropical fruit finish.
Holy Cow Chardonnay 05 from the guy who have us "House Wine". Lots of upfront fruit which was interesting coming from Washington state. A little tropical fruit finish.
Bernard Eifel Spatlese Riesling 05 beautiful nose of mineral and lemons and light honeysuckle. The finish is sweet but bordering on the petrol that so many people like. to me it is a sign of being able to age and develop complexity.
Mon Couer Chave 05 Grenache et.al. a hot nose but rich flavors. quick finish but still somewhat young.
Triebaumer Blaufrankish/Cabernet Austria smoky from the Blaufrank, structure from the cab. very nice wine.This would work well with fish or heavy pastas.
Ojai Stolpman Vineyard Syrah 04 94 from parker and not surprising with the big nose and jammy fruit. leather and roses on the nose. A long warm finish. Definitely california syrah.
salut
Stranahan's Whiskey
As I said before not always trying wine. Today I tried the Stranahan Whiskey from Colorado. The salesman showed me an interesting trick, put a teaspoon of whatever liquor your tasting in the palm of your hands and rub them together and then smell them. the aromas that come to you are the same as you would get if you sipped it...good for those who cant or dont drink but want to be able to describe the bottle.
Also tasted Camelback Tempranillo, Grenache Shiraz from Australia. An interesting blend in an uninteresting bottle. I was hoping for interesting character but instead got a rather bland wine. A good starter wine I guess.
Pretty Sally Cab/Shiraz 04 from Australia. Pretty Sally was a prostitute with a heart of gold, or so they say. She went from California gold rush to Australia where she operated a house for some time just outside of reach of the law. This blend seems dominated by the cab in the nose and has a nice enough finish but the other wines from this vineyard have impressed me more in the past.
salut
Also tasted Camelback Tempranillo, Grenache Shiraz from Australia. An interesting blend in an uninteresting bottle. I was hoping for interesting character but instead got a rather bland wine. A good starter wine I guess.
Pretty Sally Cab/Shiraz 04 from Australia. Pretty Sally was a prostitute with a heart of gold, or so they say. She went from California gold rush to Australia where she operated a house for some time just outside of reach of the law. This blend seems dominated by the cab in the nose and has a nice enough finish but the other wines from this vineyard have impressed me more in the past.
salut
Monday Sept 30
Wines from Bodi out of St Louis
Chateau de la Geffiere from Puligny 06 disappointing chardonnay from france. nice viscousity but some what of a flat finish.
Felice American Celebration Red Wine 2001 To taste this wine and have it be 6 years old I was surprised. Lots of forward fruit and a bit of cedar. the problem is most of the wine on the shelf like this bottling is 2004 or so, trying to sell an older wine is hard because the perception is it having been in the store for a long time and not selling so something is wrong with it even though it is new to the store.
From Bommarito out of St Louis.
Carr Carneros Chardonnay 05 interesting nose that has a richness to it, not quite sweet but perfume. good fruit, nice acidity. not an ager here as my salesman derrick says but good for now.
Paneretta Chianit Classico 04 Surprisingly fruity, actutally bright fruit with a touch of leather or tannin on the end.
Cafaro Cabernet Sauvignon 03 Like putting your nose in a wooden pencil box. lots of pencil lead, cedar and vanilla.. this would not be confused with a bordeaux wine at all
Chateau de la Geffiere from Puligny 06 disappointing chardonnay from france. nice viscousity but some what of a flat finish.
Felice American Celebration Red Wine 2001 To taste this wine and have it be 6 years old I was surprised. Lots of forward fruit and a bit of cedar. the problem is most of the wine on the shelf like this bottling is 2004 or so, trying to sell an older wine is hard because the perception is it having been in the store for a long time and not selling so something is wrong with it even though it is new to the store.
From Bommarito out of St Louis.
Carr Carneros Chardonnay 05 interesting nose that has a richness to it, not quite sweet but perfume. good fruit, nice acidity. not an ager here as my salesman derrick says but good for now.
Paneretta Chianit Classico 04 Surprisingly fruity, actutally bright fruit with a touch of leather or tannin on the end.
Cafaro Cabernet Sauvignon 03 Like putting your nose in a wooden pencil box. lots of pencil lead, cedar and vanilla.. this would not be confused with a bordeaux wine at all
monday night wine tasting
This is a thank you for the wine tasting group last night. There were some great questions and hopefully relatively good answers.
Here are the wines that we tried last night
Marquis de Gelida Cavam 2004 Made in the method champenoise with indigenous spanish grapes.
Irony Pinot Noir Monterey 2005 lightest of grapes very finicky in the vineyard and winery.
very soft and light red fruits.
Rocca della Macie Chianti Classico 2003 made predominately with sangiovese grapes. this heat wave vintage wine shows more fruit than usual. Sidebar-super tuscan though not an official designation is made when winemakers want to produce wines outside the laws imposed for the area.
Alamos Malbec Argentina 2006 originally known as a blending grape in bordeaux in argentina the grape has developed a richer flavor profile. This wine changed the minds of several people about malbec and south american wines i think.
Hecula Monastrell(Mourvedre) Spain 04 The hit of the night lots of full flavors and aromas.
Gemtree Bloodstone Australia Shiraz 05 Another well received wine, Australia is known for big jammy wines and this was no exception.
Just a side note. I do give out several wine tastings to charities but you can have a wine tasting at your home too. I only charge for the wines tasted that night. I bring wine glasses and (usually) notes about the wines tasted.
Here are the wines that we tried last night
Marquis de Gelida Cavam 2004 Made in the method champenoise with indigenous spanish grapes.
Irony Pinot Noir Monterey 2005 lightest of grapes very finicky in the vineyard and winery.
very soft and light red fruits.
Rocca della Macie Chianti Classico 2003 made predominately with sangiovese grapes. this heat wave vintage wine shows more fruit than usual. Sidebar-super tuscan though not an official designation is made when winemakers want to produce wines outside the laws imposed for the area.
Alamos Malbec Argentina 2006 originally known as a blending grape in bordeaux in argentina the grape has developed a richer flavor profile. This wine changed the minds of several people about malbec and south american wines i think.
Hecula Monastrell(Mourvedre) Spain 04 The hit of the night lots of full flavors and aromas.
Gemtree Bloodstone Australia Shiraz 05 Another well received wine, Australia is known for big jammy wines and this was no exception.
Just a side note. I do give out several wine tastings to charities but you can have a wine tasting at your home too. I only charge for the wines tasted that night. I bring wine glasses and (usually) notes about the wines tasted.
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