Wine Backlog! (Catch Up #2)

Whoops! It’s been a while since I posted any reviews here. Let’s catch up on a few good (and some not as much) wines we’ve tasted recently.

Starting from left to right…

• 2015 Twisted Oak Graciano, Calveras County ($29). This vineyard grows some really great Spanish and Rhone varietals. Disclosure: I’ve been a wine club member here for 7 or so years. This wine hid a nice dusty, cedar nose with some dark berry. Taste of cherry, violet and a hint of grass. Well rounded, easy drinker. Would actually go great with Jambalaya or a saucy rice/seafood dish. Rating: 4.
• 2015 Chateau Roudier ($13 at Trader Joe’s) – I’ve written about this one before. This continues to be my go to inexpensive Bordeaux style wine. Rating: 4 (it’d be a 3 at $20 or $25, but at this price…)
• 2015 TOR Cabernet Sauvignon Napa ($90-$110) – Nose of blackberry, graphite a a bit of grassy funk. Taste of cedar and red berry. With moderate tannins and a lingering, acidic finish, this is a delicious wine. Actually a bit lighter than I’d expected. Rating: 4+
• 2016 Chateau Serilhan Saint Estephe ($20 at TJ’s) – Didn’t take notes here, but opened with dinner. Comparing it to the two other sub-$20 Bordeauxs, I wouldn’t buy this one again. Somewhat bland and not complex. Wouldn’t buy again. Rating: 2
• Chatea 2015 Chateau Le Temple Medoc Cru Bourgeois (K&L $17) – Nose of dust, bright fruit and limestone. Taste of tart cherry and berry, a bit restrained. Moderate tannins. For $17, I’d buy this one again.

Wines not pictured:

• 2007 Kelham Cabernet Sauvignon ($75, Wine Club) – Nose of dust, funk and forest floor, all green. Taste of cocoa, leather and toffee. Well integrated but slightly grainy tannins. I enjoyed it much more than their 2011, and the 2004-2006 cabs. Rating: 4+

All in all, a solid group of wines for the WineFather. TJ continues to have a few inexpensive gems. The hunt continues.

Catch up #1 (May)

So I forgot to take a few pictures on these… and unfortunately some of them were memorable ones I’d recommend too! Here’s a quick summary:

• 2013 Petroni Vinyards Rosso di Sonoma ($40-$45) – Blend of Sangiovese and Cab Sav. Nose: dusty and earthy with some raspberry. Taste: unidentifiable berry with some spice and pepper. Long finish, nice tannin. Good wine but not worth the price tag (though their tastings are in a cave and are super cool!). Rating: 4
• 2015 Peju Merlot ($38) – Nose: Dusty and berry. Taste: Minerally, strawberry with some pomegranate? Dry tannins, with a lingering strawberry finish. Not too complex, but a nice profile. I’d pay upwards of $25 for this. Rating: 3
• 2016 Chateaude Montfaucon Cote du Rhone (K&L wines, $13) – 50% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 15% Carignan, 10% Cinsault, 5% Conoise. Nose of earth, leather, and pepper. Taste – nice berry, almost watermelon with higher tannins. Solid weeknight wine. Would be a 3 but given the price… Rating: 3+
• 2011 Arkenstone NVD Cabernet Sauvignon Napa (wine club, ~$80-$100) – Nose of BBQ, spice and earth,. Taste of bright berry, pomegranate. Took a while to open up, but was quite delightful once it did. Moderate tannins. Rating: 4+
• 2009 Chateau Les Violettes Cotes de Blaynes (K&L wines, $13) – 70% Merlot, 30% Cab Sav. Nose of dust, berry and graphite. Taste of cedar and some berry, but brighter flavors took a back seat. Medium to high tannins. Super long finish. Not a complex wine, but given the price a solid weeknight wine! Rating: 4-

All-in-all, some really solid wines! Continuing the hunt for a solid affordable (sub $20) red!

Wine Wednesday 5.8.2019

Ignore the label wrinkle…wine cooler seems to have some humidity issues

Tonight we tried the 2011 Kelham Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena. We’ve had this one before, but haven’t done a write-up yet.

Pulled this one out the cooler, so tasted it a couple of different times over the night. Initial taste:

• Nose: clear age with some tart berry, dusty with some funk. Hard to identify
• Taste: dry pomegranate, cherry and leather
• Tannin: Present, moderate.
• Color: Ruby with some sediment.
• Finish: textured and silky, lingering dryness.

Overall a nice solo drinker. Had it with some Parmesan and crackers, it muted the wine a bit.

Update: after 30 minutes, tannins faded, taste grew a bit, and more earth and leather showed.

Wine was nice, clearly has some age, which given its only a 2011 could be a fit premature? Good drinker by itself though, especially if you like a more well rounded wine (and not a fruit or tannin bomb).

Got this one through a wine club, headline price is $75. Given that…this is rated a 3+.

Wine Wednesday 4.24.19

(Sorry folks, forgot to take a picture on this one)

2015 Tertre du Moulin St. Emillion Grand Cru

Continuing on my quest for a solid sub $20 drinker, picked this one up at Trader Joe’s for $17. Bottled by Proprietor – don’t think it was a negociant (companies that make wine but don’t own the estate or chateau).

• Nose: Tart berry, leather, anise?
• Taste: earthy – blackberry and citrus (orange)?
• Tannin: Medium (moderate)
• Color: Ruby (moderate)
• Finish: lingering finish, pomegranate

While the cork broke on this one (which made me worry), but it didn’t taste corked. Still fairly light, I really preferred the other TJ wine I had recently that was actually cheaper ($13) – Chateau Roudier. Still a good wine though.

Score: 3

Weekend Wine – April 18

This weekend we cracked open a bottle of the 2014 Canvasback Cabernet Sauvignon. This vineyard is Duckhorn’s entry into Washington State wine. First had this a few years ago at a Duckhorn tasting event. It’s about $40 a bottle nowadays, I picked this one up for $30 at Safeway (spoiler: this was a steal for that price).

Tasting notes as follows:

• Nose: Blackberry and cedar
• Taste: Blueberry, taffy, jolly rancher
• Color: Dark garnet, nearing purple
• Tannin: Moderate to high, drying
• Finish: Lingering, dark berry

Would definitely buy again at $30, even at $40. Tried with Chinese food (generals chicken and fried rice). Great with the food, still great alone. Jess found this one fruity.

This wine was a solid 4, 4+ for the money.

Wine Wednesday 4.17.2019

2017 Caretaker Cabernet Sauvignon (Paso Robles)

In my continued quest to find an inexpensive, solid week night cab, I came across this one at Trader Joe’s (which entirely possibly means its private labeled). This one was $11-$12. I’m not a huge fan of Paso Robles Cabs, they’re generally fairly gentle, some brighter berry, almost tart, indicative of the warmer growing climate. So here’s he look at this one:

• Color: dark ruby
• Nose: cheery, and a bit of rubbing alcohol
• Taste: tart cherry (like a juicy bing cherry)
• Finish: Lingering acidity, some actual dryness
• Tannin: moderate, not drying.

Overall, this wine was fine for the price range. I give it a 2+. It likely wouldn’t be my first wine of the night, but it’s fine to pull out after the first or second nicer bottle. Would go well with chinese food, pasta with some red sauce or even pizza.

Note: tasted the second night, actually tasted a little better after some air. Still a lighter wine with little complexity, but definitely drinkable for the money.

Larkmead

Entryway to Superb Wines

Disclaimer: I am a member at this winery, and its the first Napa wine club I joined. I love their wines and I’ve been a long time fan.

We visited Larkmead on Saturday, March 23 for their spring release pickup event. Larkmead has been and remains family owned, going back at least 3 generations (I’d need to go back and look, but the matriarch made her rounds while there). We had the pleasure of tasting seven of their wines – all of which were great. Two whites and five reds.

White Wines (one typical Napa, the other not)

• 2015 Tocai Friulano (I had to google this one – an Italian relative of Sauvignon Blanc with a more floral character.) – Not much grown in Napa, even Larkmead only has a little bit of land growing this grape. Similar to a Pinot Grigio, with that brightness and lingering tartness, but with a more floral note. A nice light white. Rating came out to a 4- (likely would have been a 4 except for the price tag).
• 2011 Lillie Sauvignon Blanc – great example of Napa SB with a light cirtus/lemon notes, green/herbal presence with a nice lingering finish. Holding up well for an 8 year old wine. Rating: 4 (again, high price tag).

Onto the reds (second disclaimer, I do love me some Cab):

• 2016 Firebelle – Larkmead’s Bordeaux blend with 67% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot. Nice dark fruit on the nose and body, with medium tannins and a linger finish. Needs more time in bottle – delicate for a bigger Napa wine. 4+
• 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon – 94% Cabernet, 6% Petit Verdot. Nose of violet and fruit punch; body of bright fruit with slight earthy and vanilla notes. A napa cab with a slight european influence. Rating: 5 (particularly given other Cabs in the same price point).
• 2016 LMV Salon – 53% Cabernet Franc, 47% Cabernet Sauvignon. This blend has slowly been creeping higher in CF, with this being the first year with over 50% CF. Nose of earth and red fruit, with tastes of bell pepper and strawberry. High tannin with a moderate finish. Delicious blend, Jessica’s favorite. Rating: 5- (factoring in price)
• 2009 Cabernet Franc (they pulled this one out the cellar) – 75% Cabernet Franc, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon. This was the only year they did a Cab Franc varietal labeled wine. Nose of strawberry candy, with tastes of bright fruit with slight earth. Light tannins and a lingering berry finish. Only 190 cases made, I brought a bottle of this one home. Rating: 5-
• 2006 Syrah – 100% Syrah, 300 cases made. Nose of fruit roll-up, tasting a bit of faded fruit. Shorter finish with some odd acidity. For a 13 year old Syrah, its held up nicely. Rating: 4.

Overall, Larkmead is a 5 for me. The wines are fantastic, a bit pricey sure, but worth it given similarly priced wines in Napa. The property is beautiful, its what I think of when I think of a Napa escape. The folks at the winery are friendly and knowledgeable – no one is pushing clubs or purchases, no one has a script that they’re obviously rolling through. They enjoy wine and want you to enjoy theirs too.

Best for:

• Intimate wine tastings – appointment only and only a few wine tastings a day
• Out of town visitors – quintessential, family owned Napa winery with a stunning view.

Mumm Napa

Today we did a quick visit to Mumm. Mumm is located on Silverado Trail, and does almost exclusively sparkling wines (they do a few stills, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay). We decided to share two different tastings so we could cover more of their portfolio.

Note: since this was Sunday, it was fairly low key but still had a good crowd. I’m told on Saturdays and busier times, this place can be a bit of a party, which makes sense as they sell wines by the glass in addition to the tastings. They’ve got a pretty spacious patio, so it’d definitely be a fun time for a big group to round out a day in Napa.

We tasted 8 of their sparkling wines, ranging from Demi-Sec to an Extended Tirage Brut. Costs ranging from $24 to $75. Some notes below:

• Blanc de Noirs 2014: I was a little disappointed with this one. Very light with your typical sparking tartness hitting before the bubbles hit you. Almost felt like this was under carbonated. 2
• Brut Reserve: Their flagship wine. Aged 4 years, citrus and cream with a tart finish. Not super well rounded, but a nice easy drinker. 3-
• Santana Brut: Partnership with Carlos Santana. Little bit extra residual sugar. Fairly soft sparkling with some sweetness and low effervescence. 2+
• Brut Prestige Extended Tirage: This one is aged “sur lees” (on the lees) for an extended period of time. I love a yeasty sparkling, but this one was a bit more on the creamy side with some sour citrus and tarty notes. Little bit astringent on the finish. 3-
• Blanc de Blancs Oak Barrel Aged: This one was super interesting. 3 years aged in oak. 100% Chardonnay. An intensely sweet spice nose. Really neat tanginess and spice, with some oak clearly apparent. Supposed to be a sparkling for bourbon lovers. Great for a glass, but would be a lot if more than that. 3
• Demi-Sec: Pleasantly surprised by this one. 45%/45% Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Super well rounded wine, sweet and balanced. Would be a lot for more than a glass or two, but would go great with desert. 3+
• Brut Rose: Aged 2 years (younger for their wines), a blend of 2/3 Chardonnay and 1/3 Pinot Noir. Great level of effervescence with a light hint of berry. Full bodied with slight sweetness, but by no means sweet. 4 (ended up taking a bottle of this one home)
• DVX 2010: Now this was something special. a 50/50 Pinot & Chardonnay blend. These are aged 5-10 years. This wine was yeasty with a pleasant tartness with a hint of light citrus. 4+

Overall, I give the winery and experience a 3+. (As a reminder, scores are out of 5 – see post below)

• The experience is a 4. Great service, nice volume of wine for the money. Little bit impersonal due to atmosphere, but not in a bad way.
• The wines get a 3, with individual scores ranging from 2 to 4+. For a Napa sparkling, they’re at a solid price point. I’d be willing to pick up another of the Brut Rose Reserve
• Would I go out of my way to go there just for the wines? Probably not. Would I bring friends there to end a day in Napa? For sure.

Suggested for:

• Fun (place gets super lively, and apparently sometimes rowdy).
  Not at all stuffy, unlike other sparkling like Domaine Carneros.
• Sparkling wines
• Great for groups

What’s in a scoring system?

Let’s be fairly serious here, scores are fairly arbitrary, even if there’s a clear calculation behind it. But we’ve got to start somewhere.

A,B,C,D,F (whatever happened to E?), 1 to 10, 1 to 100. We can debate over which is best, but honestly these are designed to be more of a guide. While a ton of stuff on store shelves will suit most purposes, it’s good to have a way to classify what you’re drinking outside of drink or don’t drink.

From a wine perspective, I’m inclined to go with 1-5 (with a 6th category, 6, reserved for just stellar wines – I know this is cheating a bit). Given that a number of tastings will be happening in Napa, we’re going to see a lot of 4s and 5s. I’m also going to use plus (+) and minus (-) to give a little more leeway. For the wines themselves, below is a rough guide:

• 5: Superb wine, would love to buy and store, as well as join the club.
• 4: Great wine, will bring some home but no club or bottles for long term storage.
• 3: Solid wine but won’t be buying any to bring home.
• 2: Fine, but may as well buy in a store.
• 1: Poor quality, won’t be trying again.

Wines as well as the wineries (vineyards) will get scored. Wines are graded on: nose, taste, texture, length, and price. Wineries are graded on: appearance, friendliness, their wine (clearly), willingness to educate, wine club attractiveness (what benefits are given to members), and maybe a few more I haven’t decided on.

I’m still working on the bourbon score…More to come.

And we’re off!

Welcome

This is something I’ve been meaning to do for a while… I honestly drink enough whisk(e)y and wine, that it’s irresponsible not to share. Not because I think I’ve got a sophisticated pallet or some cr*p like that, but more because if I’m going to spend the time to try all these things I should help others know what to try and what not to.

So let’s get started.