Napa Cellars Merlot (Napa Valley) 2006

This is the first NC Merlot posting but we've had a couple for their Zinfandel.  From the winery: "aromas of fresh, ripe plums ... coffee and chocolate" later joined by "blackberries and spice ... and mild tannins".  Good to VG, 3.5 stars.

Carneros Chardonnay 2008 unfiltered

Someone brought this tasty wine to Mary's porch party.  -- "a wine with subtle seasoning of oak and lees, good acidity, ripe pear and citrus fruit, and a long finish".  Liked it, 3 stars

McManis Merlot 2008

Deep Garnet in color, with fruit aromas of Blackberry, Blueberry, Raspberry and Cassis are joined by notes of Vanilla, Hazelnut, Milk Chocolate and Caramel - from months of oak aging. The wine is soft and round in the mouth, the abundance of fruit present in the nose is replicated and lingers in the clean finish.

3.5 stars

Silverado Chardonnay 2007

Tasting Notes: Pale yellow color. Abundant fruit aromas of sweet yellow apple, honeydew melon and ripe citrus. Floral notes highlight the nose while aromas of vanilla and oak stay in the background. On the palate, light and refreshing, sprightly! Lingering flavors on the finish tempt you back for another sip.

Suggested retail $25.  VG - 4 stars

Recycle your natural corks

Whole Foods has established a program to recycle natural (not plastic) corks.   Here's the link to their post: http://blog.wholefoodsmarket.com/2010/04/cork-reharvest/ and an excerpt:

Thanks to World Wildlife Fund and Rainforest Alliance, here are some interesting facts and figures on the Mediterranean cork forests:

• Approximately 6.6 million acres of Mediterranean cork forest extend across Portugal, Spain, Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Tunisia and France.
• Oak forests support one of the world’s highest levels of forest biodiversity.
• Natural cork extraction is one of the most environmentally friendly harvesting methods in the world. Not a single tree is cut down in the process. Instead, renewable bark is stripped by hand every 9-12 years and cork oaks can live up to 300 years.
• Cork oak trees store carbon in order to regenerate their bark, and a harvested cork oak tree absorbs up to five times more [carbon dioxide] than one that isn’t harvested.
• Additionally, no bark is wasted during the cork production process, and the residue is granulated to make other cork products and even cork dust is used for fuel.

essay Shiraz 2008

A medium-bodied red that will complement a wide range of food. Ripe plum and cherry fruit with a touch of pepper spice. The viognier (2%) softens the tannins, adds plushness and floral aromas.

I haven't always been the biggest fan of S.A. wines but this is quite good and excellent value ($8 at Whole Foods). Imported by locals International Wines.

Juan Gil Tempranillo 2006

The Shawn Wright 2009 Christmas wine. We'll definitely get more of this!  From the producer site:

We selected the Monastrell grapes for this wine from 40-year old parcels in our estate vineyards. Here shallow, chalky soils on a bed of limestone and rock, combined with an arid climate, produce the low yields (1,8 ton per acre) required for wine of this complexity. After harvesting, the deep purple grapes are whole-cluster macerated “sur lie” for 25 days, and then pressed and aged for 12 months in French oak barrels.

TASTING NOTES: It has a very dark cherry colour with purple tones. In the nose it has powerful aromas of red berries, toasted and smoked notes from their aging in the oak barriques. It has good structure with ripe and sweet tannins. In the mouth it is very long, and with a perfect balance between fruit, alcohol and the oak tones, which make it very pleasant and easy to drink.

MATCHING FOOD: Rices with meat, stewed meat, stewed vegetable, mushroom, poultry, sauces fish, smoked seafood, blue and cured cheese, red meat, roast and baked meat (lamb, pig, ox).

The Wishing Tree 2005 Cab/Merlot

Good value wine, what we call a weekday wine of 55% Cabernet / 45% Merlot.  And it has a screw top for Shawn!   Should be about $10-12. ($10 @ Whole Foods this week)

Joel Gott Zinfandel 2007

This one was served at a dinner gathering last weekend.  The hosts got it at Vintage Wine on 280.

According to the winery "Dry-farmed, old-head-trained vines in Lodi and Amador produce intense, structured fruit while the Napa Valley harvest adds power, depth and complexity. Fruit from the cooler climate of Sonoma County offers classic Zinfandel aromatics of pepper and anise. Together, these diverse regions produce a Zinfandel packed with flavors of licorice, plums, Bing cherries and blackberries with a deep, long finish."

We thought it was very good and a nice pairing with the jambalaya.  Not sure what Vintage has it at but online it appears to be in the $13-15 range; if so it's a great value.  3 stars

New purchases

Bogle Zinfandel - WF - 12.99
Rayun Syrah - WF - 9.99
Gnarly Head Old Vine Zin 2007 - Pig -10.99

Rush Cab -  Pig - 9.99
We cracked open the Rush on 2/6.  It is smooth and not overly fruity but I'm still trying to put my finger on one of the flavors.  More to come.  See Shawn's post from 11/2005.

Tommyknocker Alpine Glacier Lager - "the whoosh factor"

From Idaho Springs, CO.  

2004 NABA Silver Medal, 2003 & 2005 CO State Fair Silver, 2007 CO State Fair Gold. "

4.5% ABV, available at Overton & Vine

Liberty School Cabernet Paso Robles 2007

From: Astor Wines and Spirits
"Pure, straightforward Cabernet character: flavors of dark berries, cassis, and milk chocolate. This is well-balanced in the mouth and carries itself with considerable elegance. A firm structure makes it perfect with grilled meats."

From: Winethropology
"Liberty School is the entry level brand in the Hope Family Wines portfolio.  The Hopes are long-time growers is Paso Robles and at one time supplied Caymus with grapes for their then second label, Liberty School.  Some years ago Caymus sold the brand to the Hopes to focus on their core wines.

Since then, this Cabernet has become the best selling (and highest production) wine in the Hope portfolio yielding 250,000 cases for the 07 vintage.  Grapes come from a network of over 50 family-owned vineyards in Paso Robles.

This Cab is a bit lean and green on opening, but better than the cheap-looking label would have you expect.  Surprising since we expected the hot weather to yield overripe fruit and high alcohol.  Not so.  The alcohol in this wine is a mere 13.5%, baby stuff for California these days."

Note that Treana, Candor and Austin Hope are also part of Hope Family Wines.

About $15 - 3 stars.

Valley of the Moon Syrah

I recently had a glass of this at Village Tavern; it was quite good. I'm trying to locate some locally.

The 2006 Sonoma County Syrah is described by the winemakers as having "complex aromas of blueberries and lavender accented by chanterelle mushrooms, blackberry and cedar.

Clayhouse Adobe Red 2006

"This dark ruby red wine opens with a light raspberry like bouquet with notes of spice. On the palate, this medium bodied wine is a fruit bomb, nicely balanced, and quite smooth. It is loaded with lush blackberry flavors with some notes of black cherry and vanilla that linger. The finish is quite dry with noticeable tannins that stick around from quite some time. This wine is a perfect wine for your summer barbecue whether it is burgers, ribs, or steak tips on the grill. "  - kenswineguide.com

Winemaker Notes: The Adobe Red is a proprietary blend with ripe flavors of cherry, plum and vanilla bean, with rich spicy blueberry and cherry notes. The tannins are supple, and the balanced oak character adds additional vanilla notes.

This delicious blend is available at Village Wines for about $14.  The 2007 is out now as well.  3 stars

Spice Route Viognier 2008

"Gentle oaking and extend lees contact add richness and complexity to the full, fragrant tropical fruit notes an subtle spices." http://www.spiceroutewines.co.za/

Very good / 3 stars / $18

Twenty Rows Merlot 2008

My impressions: this turned out to be a big merlot (but not in a "fruit bomb" way) with a hint of spice. Smooth on the tongue. Delicious.

"The Twenty Rows Merlot is a big dense wine with layers of cherry, blackberry plum & mocha with a hint of tobacco. Well balanced with exceptional length on the finish."

4 stars!

Domain du Crampihl Madiran

Spotted this on the list at Dyron's last weekend. Although not familiar with this grape it turned out very good. It was $38 on the menu so figure $18-20 retail.

Madiran is an appellation from southwest France near the Pyrenees. Excerpted from wine-searcher.com: "The grape varieties which are sanctioned for the creation of Madiran's wines are Cabernet Franc (also known as Bouchy here), Fer Servadou, Cabernet Sauvignon and the all-important Tannat. Tannat must make up between 40% and 60% of the final blend, which is what makes the resulting wine so characterful and distinctive. The Tannat grape, as its name suggests, is very high in tannins, and brings a certain astringency to Madiran wines. Historically the wines have been famous for needed many years' bottle ageing before becoming palatable. The thick skin of the variety, and its numerous pips are the source of these tannins. The stems of all grape varieties naturally contain high levels of tannin, so destemming (or egrappage in French) is required under the Madiran appellation law. This measure is intended to balance out the overall tannin levels in the finished wine."

Another source describes it as rough when young. After a few years in a cellar, it turns into a sensual and tannic wine. So definitely give it a try if you see it or at Dyron's.

Kendall-Jackson to drastically cut water usage

This is a really great initiative, especially for a water-starved state. View story at CNET.com.