Vogt Vineyard 2007 Cabernet

This is the delicious Napa Cab we enjoyed with dinner at Gianmarco's in Homewood. Not sure if it's available in local stores.  4 stars.

Bliss Merlot 2008

Not very good, don't buy it.  1 star

Gnarly Head Zinfandel 2008 Lodi

Winery: "Robust berry flavors and exotic spice notes from the small grape clusters are balanced with French, American and Hungarian oak, which creates heady layers of vanilla and chocolate and a lingering finish.

This luscious wine pairs well with raucous fun at barbecue or pizza parties, a family dinner of hearty pasta or chili, and on its own to celebrate  personal triumphs.

Gnarly Zin grapes are from Lodi, the zinfamous appellation due to its ideal climate – long, warm summer days and cooling nighttime breezes from the ocean – and its well-draining, sandy soil."  And here's more on Lodi.

Liked it. 3 stars

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

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.

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

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!

Kendall-Jackson to drastically cut water usage

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

Napa Cellars Zinfandel 2007

New Years eve 2009. Good bye to the zeros. I think I found my new favorite zin. About $17 at Whole Foods.

Posted via email from Shawn's posterous

Leese-Fitch Chardonnay 2007

Leese-Fitch is a division of Sebastiani & Sons known as "The Other Guys". They did a great job creating the mouthfeel that has the right blend of oak and citrus. 

"This Chardonnay blend for Leese Fitch was assembled from some of our best lots in our California portfolio. We wanted to blend a wine that had good Chard character and mouthfeel while still maintaining some acidity in order to pair this wine with food. Our blend mainly comprises itself of two lots.

The Livermore fruit was picked in early September and fermented slowly on French oak staves. This wine was then aged on the lees for 4 months before being racked and stabilized. The Monterey fruit was picked in late October because the fruit took a long time to ripen in the cool Monterey weather. This wine was crushed at one of our best coastal custom crush facilities where it was also fermented on French oak staves and aged sur lees for almost 8 months. In order to create a creamy mouthfeel, we stirred the lees twice a month for the 8 months to develop mouthfeel. The result is a wine with good crisp acids and a lot of tropical fruit balanced by integrated French oak.

This wine has some good lemon drop flavors with an edge of porcini mushroom to give the wine some depth and complexity."  Available at Whole Foods - 2.5 stars (!)

Crane Lake Pinot Grigio 2008

From California. Too sweet for a PG, therefore not recommended.

Teira Zinfandel

I think Jeff Porter's description is right on and I excerpted it below. See more of his reviews at www.drinkeatlove.com.

Tasting Notes for Zinfandel: This wine is a home run. [... It] really changed my perspective of what ZIN can been when it is picked at the right time (not too late so it becomes like blueberry syrup) and is not so high in alcohol I feel like I'm doing shots at the frat house. I imagine this is what ZIN was like prior to the "monsterization" of wine in California. Teira Zin has aromas of crushed red raspberries, plump cherries, dried currants, sweet and savory spices. The nose is so appealing that I bury my face in my glass and just take deep breaths. The palate has all the same fruit profiles but where you might think it would be gushing with sweetness it is well balanced and has a structure that you might find out of a Primitivo from Puglia not a Sonoma County Zin under $20. We enjoyed the wine so much we polished it off and were sorry we did not have any more. ZIN's in general are good with BBQ and similar foods but Teira ZIN has more than just one trick in its pairing arsenal. While great with BBQ, Italian dishes make a great pairing as would Mexican cuisine that tends to earthier flavors versus super spicy (think chicken mole). We enjoyed the wine with a flank steak that was seared with wasabi, hoisin, and miso, it was good. The wasabi's heat is subdued by the sweetness of the hoisin and miso.

I brought to a friend's house when they made ribs and it was a hit.

Tyler says it is on sale at Whole Foods right now for $13 (down $3). GET IT!

Crane Lake Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

I picked this up off the display because 1) it was cheap 2) it was from California 3) I had never heard of it. Turns out that it is a blend of Napa and Sonoma wines, probably bought surplus and blended. Anyway, it turned out well. This is a nice medium bodied Cab with moderate fruit and toasty fruit nose. Goes down easy and I don't think it will offend anyone. Buy a case.

$6.99 at Whole Foods

Ordinary Wine Co., Lot 21 Boneshaker Red, NV

38% Zinfandel, 34% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petite Sirah, 2% mix red varietals – 100% California fruit with 42% from Lodi. About 15% of this blend was barrel aged for approximately 6 months in a mix of new and old French and American oak barrels. The wine displays aromas of ripe red and dark berry fruits layered with notes of slight white and black pepper and crème de cassis. The aromas carry into the palate with red fruit flavor notes on the entry and full fruit in the middle. The finish is lush and fruit flavors linger through the aftertaste. Made by Harry Parducci at his custom-crush facility in Santa Rosa, CA. $9.99 at Whole Foods