Today from derrick with bommarito
Colin Bourgogne La Combe 2005 not showing a lot of flavors..had been opened for a day but usually these wines will show minerality or some flavors..just flat
Steele Carneros Pinot Noir 2006 Typical carneros fruit..cranberry. tart. pretty enjoyable just nothing exceptional
Foris Maple Vineyards Pinot Noir Oregon 2005
Usually single vineyard wines have more flavor and depth than their more general brothers.. this wine did not...very flat. soft..uninteresting.
finally a good wine. Fattoria Lucignano 2005 not usual color for sangiovese...just a rustic italian nose...that leads to bright bing cherry fruit.. nice finish. will be in the store soon.
from Sean and Bodi wines
Domaine de Aubuisieres Vouvray Brut NV bright green apple flavors with a touch of sweetness from the chenin blanc. made in method champenoise nice touch of mineral.
Chateau Felice 2004 Chardonnay For anyone who thinks age is bad for chard this would change your perception. Nice mouth feel but not over the top ML...a touch of meyer lemon?? interesting wine
Domaine les Grands Bois Cote du RhoneVillages
Cuvee Gabrielle 2005 One of the longest names I have had to type for a while. dark purple but the flavors finish quick lots of wines from this region are much better.
Foulaquier Coteaux du Languedoc Pic Saint-Loup2005
grenache and syrah blend..touch of bing cherry on the quick finish. an up and coming region for the south of france..but this wasnt one of their better wines.
Hedges Red Mountain Three Vineyards 2004 opaque ruby predominately merlot nice grip from the cool climate merlot.. a touch of cassis thanks to the cabernet great from washington
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
odds and ends
tasted through some interesting wines from small distributors.
from bodi
Consilience Roussanne 2006 central coast thick and viscous but sweeter than i remembered. beautiful golden straw color. long pretty finish.
Consilience Pinot Noir 2005 what a big pinot this is. bright upfront fruit. definitely not a burgundy. 16.5% alcohol.but to give them their props i didnt taste that or feel the heat on the tongue...
from Garco
Spenser Roloson Viognier 2006 bright clean colors...sweet fruit but none of what i think of as the baby gewurztraminer nose...floral lichee etc. definitely a great drink and beautiful food wine.
from beer.. yes i taste beer
Barons Black Wattle which is something like a grain that only grows in Australia. the nose reminded me of burnt caramel or mole asses. caraway seed...very interesting.
Barons ESB and it was very bitter. the second taste was more palatable.herb and pepper were my two thoughts.. both from Australia. both in the store starting this week.
from bodi
Consilience Roussanne 2006 central coast thick and viscous but sweeter than i remembered. beautiful golden straw color. long pretty finish.
Consilience Pinot Noir 2005 what a big pinot this is. bright upfront fruit. definitely not a burgundy. 16.5% alcohol.but to give them their props i didnt taste that or feel the heat on the tongue...
from Garco
Spenser Roloson Viognier 2006 bright clean colors...sweet fruit but none of what i think of as the baby gewurztraminer nose...floral lichee etc. definitely a great drink and beautiful food wine.
from beer.. yes i taste beer
Barons Black Wattle which is something like a grain that only grows in Australia. the nose reminded me of burnt caramel or mole asses. caraway seed...very interesting.
Barons ESB and it was very bitter. the second taste was more palatable.herb and pepper were my two thoughts.. both from Australia. both in the store starting this week.
Wente brothers with Steve Ewing and Larry DiPietro
I took a break from moving my rose' section to the chardonnay aisle with some wine from Wente...this winery was known as Wente Brothers for many years but recently when Carolyn took over and she not being a brother went with a new direction on the wines. the other change with the label is a proprietary name for each one. Another wine they represent is Tomas which features Italian varietals.
Tamas Pinot Grigio 2006 a touch of citrus not much body....nice drinking wine but there are so many pinot grigio in this price point. i do like the label of the bottle, it represents a train ticket in italy...cute idea.
Tamas Barbera juicy, red fruit, bright colors...a nice wine but I dont know where i would find a home for this. will find one though
Wente Reliz Creek Pinot noir. clean cranberry fruit forward tea.....typical central coast fruit.
Tamas Zinfandel. 2005 everything i dont like about zin...too much briar...not enough fruit
Wente Southern Hills Cabernet my favorite of this group. true cab flavors with berry and coffee standing out the most.
Tamas Pinot Grigio 2006 a touch of citrus not much body....nice drinking wine but there are so many pinot grigio in this price point. i do like the label of the bottle, it represents a train ticket in italy...cute idea.
Tamas Barbera juicy, red fruit, bright colors...a nice wine but I dont know where i would find a home for this. will find one though
Wente Reliz Creek Pinot noir. clean cranberry fruit forward tea.....typical central coast fruit.
Tamas Zinfandel. 2005 everything i dont like about zin...too much briar...not enough fruit
Wente Southern Hills Cabernet my favorite of this group. true cab flavors with berry and coffee standing out the most.
vineyard brands with joe ancona
was able to take lunch off yesterday to go with joe to mission farms and try out the new room 39. very nice open space and friendly..of course it helps when you know people working there...hi toni. try the orchietto with beef... just the right portion size.
vineyard brands has a lot of wine from around the world and we sampled italian and australian.
Podere Il Caio Orvietto Classico Superiore 2005 light mineral and dry...i wish i liked orvietto more but they just are too light.. this is one of the classic wine regions of umbria...
Nine Stones Sydney Australia 2006 lush sweet notes on the nose but not overly sweet on the palate..actually some minerality to it...the nine stones set you in mind for the mineral but its about a welsh/celtic connection to the earth. will be in the store
Rosenere Blanc d'R 2006 a blend of sauv blanc, chard and malvasia. a little creamy, with nice citric acid flavors.
Bulletin Place Shiraz 06 a touch herbel, sippable but not very interesting. granted its not the sweet yellow tail experience but...it does have screwtops now which we like.
Altano 2005 portugal...a warres still wine that is very impressive. birght fruit, good acidity..and great with the pasta ... a wiff of mineral on the nose but fruit wins out on the palate...made mostly from touriga rouriz one of the grapes that goes into port.
Cono Sur Vision Cabernet 2005. dark color, juicy but not over the top ripe... i would never have guessed it to be south american tasting this blind. not the earthy or dirt that i think of with south america...Cono sur stands for Southern Cone...indicating the shape of the South American continent. This will be in the store soon as will their bycyle series which gets the name from their riding instrument of choice in the vineyards.. very eco friendly they are.
vineyard brands has a lot of wine from around the world and we sampled italian and australian.
Podere Il Caio Orvietto Classico Superiore 2005 light mineral and dry...i wish i liked orvietto more but they just are too light.. this is one of the classic wine regions of umbria...
Nine Stones Sydney Australia 2006 lush sweet notes on the nose but not overly sweet on the palate..actually some minerality to it...the nine stones set you in mind for the mineral but its about a welsh/celtic connection to the earth. will be in the store
Rosenere Blanc d'R 2006 a blend of sauv blanc, chard and malvasia. a little creamy, with nice citric acid flavors.
Bulletin Place Shiraz 06 a touch herbel, sippable but not very interesting. granted its not the sweet yellow tail experience but...it does have screwtops now which we like.
Altano 2005 portugal...a warres still wine that is very impressive. birght fruit, good acidity..and great with the pasta ... a wiff of mineral on the nose but fruit wins out on the palate...made mostly from touriga rouriz one of the grapes that goes into port.
Cono Sur Vision Cabernet 2005. dark color, juicy but not over the top ripe... i would never have guessed it to be south american tasting this blind. not the earthy or dirt that i think of with south america...Cono sur stands for Southern Cone...indicating the shape of the South American continent. This will be in the store soon as will their bycyle series which gets the name from their riding instrument of choice in the vineyards.. very eco friendly they are.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Amavi Winery
With so much advertising focus being done with the likes of Beringer and Mondavi it is always interesting to me to see winery owners from small mom and pop wineries who really care about their product. earlier this week it was the Meekers of the eponymous winery. Today it is Ray Goff of Amavi from Washington state.
Another wine in their portfolio is Pepper Bridge. The main focus for both wines will be Cabernet but I have to admit my heart is in their Syrah.
Here are the wines tasted.
Amavi Semillon 2006 One of those wines that I would like to see represented more as they make a great food wine. Semillon is usually found in Bordeaux where with Sauv Blanc makes their white wine. In washington I have noticed it picks up a nice viscosity with long lasting flavors of light stone fruit and just a touch of minerality. Very nice.
Amavi Syrah 2005 dark purple...tooth staining purple.which is ok with me. coffe and mocha all the traditional flavors of northern rhone with a little more fruit forward character. yum
Amavi Cabernet 2004 which the spectator liked for 90 pts All of their wines seemed to have a silky quality, polished tannins he said. the problem is my boss as an example wants the big bold tannin that knocks out teeth...this is plum, and dark red fruits. very nice for $25
Pepper Bridge Cabernet 2003 very dark colors, soft tannins again, very good for those new to cabernet and want to snuggle up to the wine as opposed to have a wrestling match.. because of the freeze in 2004 the wine will be from the Columbia Valley appelation instead of Walla Walla
Pepper Bridge Merlot 2005 100% french oak. juicy and soft..again with the polished tannins. This has a little of that grip .that comes from colder climate wines. Not a wimpy merlot at all...about $50 on the shelf
Another wine in their portfolio is Pepper Bridge. The main focus for both wines will be Cabernet but I have to admit my heart is in their Syrah.
Here are the wines tasted.
Amavi Semillon 2006 One of those wines that I would like to see represented more as they make a great food wine. Semillon is usually found in Bordeaux where with Sauv Blanc makes their white wine. In washington I have noticed it picks up a nice viscosity with long lasting flavors of light stone fruit and just a touch of minerality. Very nice.
Amavi Syrah 2005 dark purple...tooth staining purple.which is ok with me. coffe and mocha all the traditional flavors of northern rhone with a little more fruit forward character. yum
Amavi Cabernet 2004 which the spectator liked for 90 pts All of their wines seemed to have a silky quality, polished tannins he said. the problem is my boss as an example wants the big bold tannin that knocks out teeth...this is plum, and dark red fruits. very nice for $25
Pepper Bridge Cabernet 2003 very dark colors, soft tannins again, very good for those new to cabernet and want to snuggle up to the wine as opposed to have a wrestling match.. because of the freeze in 2004 the wine will be from the Columbia Valley appelation instead of Walla Walla
Pepper Bridge Merlot 2005 100% french oak. juicy and soft..again with the polished tannins. This has a little of that grip .that comes from colder climate wines. Not a wimpy merlot at all...about $50 on the shelf
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
more hot wine
Today I got in my allocation of Paul Hobbs Cabernet, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Will be getting in some Domaine Serene Yamhill Pinot Noir shortly too..i hope.
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