Artisan wines

• October 2009

  Paso Robles Trip Notes: I went to Paso Robles over the weekend of the 26th of September. I had intended to be there three days, but something came up and I was only there for Sat and part of Sun, so I ended up getting to just a small selection of places. But I could have been... Read morePaso Robles Trip Notes: I went to Paso Robles over the weekend of the 26th of September. I had intended to be there three days, but something came up and I was only there for Sat and part of Sun, so I ended up getting to just a small selection of places. But I could have been there a week and still not gone everywhere I wanted to go! I will review and/or rate a bunch of individual wines, but here is a summary of wineries for those who are interested in going and would like to hear some details about what Paso is like. General comments: The first thing that struck me is how beautiful the scenery is in between the wineries, especially on the West side of the area. Just gorgeous winding roads, trees shading the road, lots of animals and birds. I wasn't expecting how much I enjoyed the driving from one place to another (and we didn't even go all the way to the coast on this trip, which you should definitely do if it's your first time!) I have some photos which I may upload and add later. Also, everybody in town and at the wineries was so nice! Truly small-town friendly and welcoming. A lot of them told us their personal stories of how they came to live there. I loved that part. One caveat: There are apparently a lot of tarantulas around this time of year, crossing the roads for "mating purposes". I saw this as a negative, and my husband thought it was a positive, but I'm just lettin' ya know…. Food: Absolutely amazing food. We had breakfast at the same place both days because it was so good: Panolivo. French pastries, omelettes, fresh bread, just great fresh food. If a little artery-clogging. Then we had dinner at Bistro Laurent, which is high end but worth the price! We had the four-course tasting menu with wine, and every course was amazing, including the little extra appetizer that the chef sent out. Amazing haricots verts, lamb, and a caramelized fig tart to die for. My husband was gushing about it to the server, and she actually let him go back in the kitchen to thank the chef, who was very gracious (and good-looking to boot!). We didn't make it to Artisan, which is the place everybody recommends, so next time. Wineries: It was hard to choose for such a short time! We went a little high-end but also tried to hit some places that have easily available wines. One that we skipped but highly recommend is Four Vines. I chose to skip it because I had tasted most of their wines at a tasting recently and had to economize on time. (This is the order we did them in, too.) Most of the places have a tasting fee (5 or 10 bucks), but some of them waive it if you buy wine, and at my hotel they gave us 'free tasting' coupons for a bunch of them. Also they are happy to let two people "share" a tasting, and they even suggested it to us, which I did not expect at all, and was nice, since one of us was driving. Tablas Creek: We went bec. my husband likes whites. Their reds are starting to have a better reputation now, too. I thought everything was just okay, my husband loved the Esprit de Beaucastel. A very warm atmosphere. They have a popular dessert wine. We both agreed that it tasted like wet sugar with not much going for it. Justin: Definitely a "big winery" atmosphere. Much kitsch for sale, etc. And this is the only place where the people pouring seemed a little insincere and faky. They treat the "Isosceles" like it's holy water, heh heh, I almost laughed. But I cannot lie, the wines kicked ass. Coming from Tablas, it just was quite a contrast. Surprisingly, the one that impressed me the most within its category was the Cab Sauv. Linne Calodo: A relatively new place, pretty high end. A beautiful, modernist-style tasting room of glass walls nestled in the trees. Very personal attention. The tasting only included four wines, but for two of them, they let us try two different vintages, which was fascinating in and of itself. Some of the best red blends with cute names like "Problem Child". One of my favorite places to taste in terms of the wines and what I learned about them. Jack Creek: A smaller place, a nice off-the-beaten-path atmosphere. We picked it bec. they specialize in Pinot Noirs, not a big grape around here, but they're in a different microclimate from the rest of the area, being only 7 miles from the ocean. They let you taste the 'regular' and reserve versions back to back, which was very educational. And they served the Syrah with little pieces of dark chocolate which I liked. Booker: High end, but in our opinion very deservedly so. Mostly Syrah blends, although they had an interesting white blend also. Another of my favorite places to taste. My husband rated this one as his number one favorite in terms of both atmosphere and wines. They had old photos of the area on the walls. Because it is 'boutique' and the wines tend to sell out online, there were many wines I had read about that they didn't have available for tasting. But it was fun to be able to buy some of what they did have, and I got a little thrill knowing you could only get them there. L'Aventure: This was maybe the most fun tasting I had. The tasting room is smaller than you might expect, given that these wines are pretty well known. It's way off the beaten path down a dirt road, and feels very 'out in the country'. But the other people there that day were very chatty, and we all compared notes. The staff seemed very devoted to Stephan, the winemaker. The tasting fee included a Reidel glass. Since this was toward the end I was, let's say, "over budget" on my wine buying. So I had decided that unless it was true, true love, I was not buying anything. Well, unfortunately it was love. Very expensive love. Oh well, you only live once! Martin and Weyrich: This place was the only one we went to on the East side, which is a lot less pretty in terms of scenery. But the tasting room is in this cute little cottage, and very welcoming and decorated in a cute, slightly funky style. The wines were pretty good, lots of Italian varietals, and again, they let us taste multiple vintages for several of them. This was also the only place where they give you a long list of wines (I just counted: 15!) and they let you pick the five you want to taste ($5 but we had a coupon so it was free). I tasted only reds, which was nice. And my husband and I shared our picks with each other, so we each could taste ten wines if we wanted to. We really liked their Moscato (which is widely available). The other one I loved was the Cabernet Etrusco. Overall, I would definitely go back again. It is close (to L.A.), accessible, beautiful, friendly, and fun. Places I wanted to go but didn't get to: Four Vines (as mentioned above), Denner, Norman, Eberle, Maloy-O'Neill, Villa Creek, Turley, Summerwood, Adelaida, Chateau Margene.    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Paso Robles Trip & Tips by lingprof

  
  

• July 2009

  Ok, I'm chimen'in now. I recently came off a tasting of some McLaren Vale wines produced by a group of small artisan wine makers. Let me say that like anything else, the more we taste, the more our opinions are swayed. especially when there are artisan garagistes involved. Greg has... Read moreOk, I'm chimen'in now. I recently came off a tasting of some McLaren Vale wines produced by a group of small artisan wine makers. Let me say that like anything else, the more we taste, the more our opinions are swayed. especially when there are artisan garagistes involved. Greg has it right, in my opinion, that Aussie wines imported to the U.S. have had a similar, dare I say, homogenized cookie cutter, make-up about them. Big, fat, high alch. low acid fruit bombs. (& some people like that). Then one gets an opportunity to taste small batch production items and the opinion changes. I had three Sauv Blancs that had Bordeaux profiles in the nose & mouth. & a Sangiovese that tasted like a Chianti Classico, One Cabernet blend that was very elegant and not over the top, and a syrah that was like something from northern Rhone. One must seek out these things, and be prepared for a drastic style difference than what you may be used to tasting in Aussie wines. I disagree with bashing anything based on previous tastings as seasons & styles change, especially in wine & the effort to produce wine, is worth an applause. (ever work a crush pad?) Not that I am a wine whore, ok maybe I am, but I have had wines I didn't care for from Australia and as momma used to say, "if you can't say anything nice, you shouldn't say anything at all". Drink On Ladds, yo ho!    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic What's wrong with Australian... by blog4wine

  
  

• July 2009

  Hi Chap, can I be more than a little pedantic? Firstly us Brits are 'subjects' not 'citizens' and secondly the sparkling stuff is more likely to be found in supermarkets etc than the still stuff! Oh and there is a third. It should be English (and Welsh) wine; British wine is made... Read moreHi Chap, can I be more than a little pedantic? Firstly us Brits are 'subjects' not 'citizens' and secondly the sparkling stuff is more likely to be found in supermarkets etc than the still stuff! Oh and there is a third. It should be English (and Welsh) wine; British wine is made from imported juice (and really is to be avoided). The reputation of English wine is being made with the sparkling wines and is thus more readily available than the still wines. My local supermarket offers three or four different bottles and I'm in a small country market town. I have to agree on the reds not being as good as the whites. But this is a generalisation; the Brightwell Red myself and a bunch of food/wine bloggers sampled recently was superb. The vineyards whites are good too - decent enough for a top London wine bar to stock them at any rate. OK to give some links? The Wine Bar - http://www.spittoon.biz/artisan_vine_londons_best_wine.html Brightwell Vineyard - http://www.spittoon.biz/english_wine_week_a_tour_and_t.html English Wine and Cheese Tasting - http://www.spittoon.biz/english_wine_week_tasting_four.html    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic The State of English Wine by Andrew

  
  

• July 2009

  Sounds like a great place! I've seen the wines on-line but have yet to run into a bottle. Hopefully soon! What was the Artisan like?

  Forum post in the topic Great Pinot Noir in Paso Robles by Gregory Dal Piaz

  
  
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  May 2009

  Roots Run Deep Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Educated Guess 2005

  Snoothrank: Starting at $25^.99

  Lush berry, smooth tannins. more of an artisan wine given the blending. worth more than you'll pay. applause to the winemakers !!

  Wine review by ragflyer

  
  
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  May 2009

  Dominio del Plata Susana Balbo Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

  Snoothrank:

  Elegant varietal expression with balance,cassis, blackberry flavors (90% Cab. Sauv.), masterfully blended (note Pedro Marchevsky's influence here) with 5% Merlot and 5% Malbec. Some oak treatment that lends the sturdy Cabernet some structure, though not cloying or meddlesome, with... Read moreElegant varietal expression with balance,cassis, blackberry flavors (90% Cab. Sauv.), masterfully blended (note Pedro Marchevsky's influence here) with 5% Merlot and 5% Malbec. Some oak treatment that lends the sturdy Cabernet some structure, though not cloying or meddlesome, with loud, fake vanilla. This is artisan wine at a bargain, week-night red price.    (hide)

  Wine review by enotheque

  
  

• March 2009

  About this time in 1999, I took an unknowing, impassioned first step into what has now turned into a ten-year love affair with wine.  Today I find myself back in my old stomping grounds of New York City pouring wines at a trade tasting.  Not as a volunteer, but as a vintner. ... Read more About this time in 1999, I took an unknowing, impassioned first step into what has now turned into a ten-year love affair with wine.  Today I find myself back in my old stomping grounds of New York City pouring wines at a trade tasting.  Not as a volunteer, but as a vintner.  From a career in magazine publishing to wine production, it is amazing how quickly one’s life can change. While I was living and pursuing my passion in Italy, fresh out of Business School, I wrote these thoughts about the wine industry.  I will admit the statistics (culled back in 2005) are somewhat dated, but from recent reports I have read, the wine industry has seen a continued trend in the direction I report.  Although, just as fast as one’s like can change, so can the world around us - we are all living with a (global) economic recession of galactic proportions that has already impacted some sectors of the industry.  Knowing what I wrote then, and what is happening now, I am reluctant to make any predictions on the future of the wine industry, because as I have learned with winemaking, it is good to be patient and make decisions when the sediment has settled. On a lighter note, I was prepared to cringe while reading my youthful idealism for wine.  Expecting my words to sound like a post-Sideways Hallmark card; I actually found that my initial feelings have only been strengthened over the recent years.  So, please indulge me, read on and let me know if anyone has any thoughts about the future of wine. - [Ten] years ago, a friend from Hollywood, who traveled regularly to the sets and soundstages of New York, introduced me to fine wine.  When his day was done, over dinner at haute restaurants in midtown Manhattan, he would wax poetic about the Californian wines on leather bound lists that were larger than the scripts he would read.  He talked about buying a piece of land in wine soaked Napa Valley and retiring.  We drank Pahlmeyer, Caymus and Thackery.  Names I knew only by the corks I saved from his dissertations. I left each dinner with self-imposed homework.  I began reading more about wine, then drinking it.  I felt I was gaining an intelligence that allowed me to appreciate the wine we would drink on his next visit.  Inevitably our friendship waned, but I continued my studies and began to refine my taste.  Through the years since, I was considered an expert amongst my friends.  However, in my mind I was far from an expert; I was an amateur connoisseur.  Like most amateurs, I can confess to having hit or miss moments while drinking.  Some nights, I will open a bottle of wine and capture the orchestration in the glass; I am able to identify with the wine's origins and create a memory the moment the grape juice touches my tongue.  Other times, I fail in achieving such oenological delight and proceed to swill the wine, while throwing sobriety to the wind. In September 2004, I took wings to an easterly wind and visited Sicily and the family of one of my fellow business school class mates.  During the weeklong journey, we spent a day visiting vineyards on the southeast side of the island.  When I returned to the States, it was not the Sicilian wine's fruitful finish that stuck with me, but the culture of the wine making process.  I pondered the essence of this culture. The Business of Grape Growing Wine, in all its forms, is a packaged good.  Wine is an industry that is ultra-competitive.   Worldwide it tallies $225 Billion in sales, but the top 10 producers control just 15% of the market, in comparison, the top 10 brewers and spirit distillers account for 54% of all sales. Wine prices range from $2 a bottle to north of $2,000 for a taste of first-growth Bordeaux.  Ask the MBA educated Brand Managers at Procter and Gamble if they would be interested in overcoming the barriers to entry in this market and they would certainly dazzle you with a "five forces" analysis of the question's stupidity. But what I learned on the vineyard is how these winemakers produce a product of quality. The philosophy of wine is delicate.  Wine is human.  On the farm, the grapes are given a heart.  During the growing season, the vines are like a mother during pregnancy.  At harvest, the grapes are reared to produce the best quality juice.  Then aged until they are uncorked. When uncorked, the wine will blossom in the glass throughout the drinking process. Far from any classroom or boardroom, the values put into every vintage are textbook classic.  The vines are cultivated by generations of family members with consistency of purpose.  1) The grapes are the product of your self.  2) Guide them down a path, but allow them to flourish on their own - with autonomy the product will ripen.  3) Polish the product and prepare it for market. 4) While in market, the product will reflect the company's care. However you translate this philosophy, it remains a poetic, although, a process that struggles with the speed of the developing consumption patterns in the beverage alcohol market. Old vs. New World Today, the wine industry continues to outpace its competitors. Some will argue that wine's growing popularity amongst consumers was bolstered by a medical report released in the 1980's that stated a glass of wine a day is actually better than the old "apple" adage.  Twenty-odd years later, in 2001, wine sales in Germany overtook beer consumption and has a penetration rate of 70% of all households. In Australia, a new winery opens every three days.  In the United States, the Yellow Tail brand (from Australia) is the #1 sold import - a couple of years prior, it did not exist.  By 2010, the United States will be the largest consumer of wine in the world. France and Italy are considered "old world" producers.  There are 230,000 producers in France alone; many cultivating the 'wine is human' process where "wine is consumed, not sold." There is no marketing strategy.  The best grapes from the best "terroir" are the best value no matter what the price.  Terroir, or soil, is of utmost importance.  Without it, you can't identify with the wine.  You can't feel the wine.  Consumers in the old world appreciate wine like a work of art - they will stand in front of a painting and make an emotional connection, without such a connection a memory will not exist.  In the "new world," such opinions about wine are still developing.  Wine appreciation is still inaccessible to the masses. In America, 15% of drinking age adults consume 85% of the wine sold, and new world producers (American, Australia, Chilean) are taking advantage of this trend, and wine production is becoming industrial. The new world is consuming the P&G model, the product approach, where the value proposition is different - low price points for high volume sales. An international marketing machine has been created that produces "standardized" wines.  This model caters to consumers where wine is made through mass media.  Dominate holding companies, like Diageo and Pernod are returning 15-20% of sales revenue into their marketing expenses for budget wines that command a price point in the $7 range. These producers are exploiting opportunities where there are obstacles for appreciation - inexperienced consumers, language barriers and limited imports.  Retail outlets are recognizing these obstacles and consolidating shelf space to support sales that produce optimal returns. Wines with simple packaging categorized by red or white and grape name, i.e. Cabernet, Chardonnay, Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc, are delivering volume sales and the right balance of profit. To Sell or Not to Sell The new world is no longer new, it is established.  Consumer attitudes and consumption habits are gaining traction, and the Darwinian philosophy of pushing sales will only continue the precipitous demise of the fragmented, old world producers. For example, in the United Kingdom, over last 15 years, wine consumption per person has doubled to 23 liters (or 2.5 cases) per year per person; however, old world - French, German, Italian and Spanish - wine sales have plummeted from 87% market share to 42%, while new world (American, Australian and Chilean) share has soared from 4% to 47%. Larger producers are succeeding in turning farms into factories and limiting the distribution opportunities of artisan (old world) wine makers.  A global philosophy is dominating, a philosophy that takes cue from Coca-Cola brand management, where regional not central decision-making is helping profit margins. Brands of scale are being produced to identify with the market and not the product source. If wine continues to be sold in this fashion, the low volume-high quality producers of the old world will have a few questions to answer.  Is there a healthy balance between artisan wine making and commercialism?  Is it possible to subsist on appreciation alone?  How can you increase brand awareness, therefore sales, without the marketing expertise or dollars to do so? For many of these producers it is impossible.  The investment for innovation, distribution and education through marketing looms large. - I have extracted my thoughts about the future, which were written in 2005, based on the notion that I am not in the game of predictions; even if, as I re-read them, some of them have come true.  But when I look at the way I have predicted the outcome(s) of this year’s NCAA March Madness, I don’t want to put the cart before the horse.  That being said - feel free to predict away.  Would love to hear your thoughts on the future of wine drinking and selling. Dan Petroski is Assistant Winemaker at Larkmead Vineyards in Napa Valley. Dan has an MBA from New York University and worked as an Ad Exec in New York for several years, before switching it up and trading his suit for a move out west.    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Ten Years Back (and Forward?) by danpetroski

  
  

• March 2009

  Uncorked is an opportunity to taste and experience wine from throughout Northern California. Your ticket will allow you unlimited tastings throughout the day. Other activities will include wine education seminars, gourmet food tasting and live music. The event is free & open to the... Read moreUncorked is an opportunity to taste and experience wine from throughout Northern California. Your ticket will allow you unlimited tastings throughout the day. Other activities will include wine education seminars, gourmet food tasting and live music. The event is free & open to the public, but tickets must be purchased to participate in wine tastings. BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW: http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=176395 Coming in from out of town? Stay at the beautiful brand new Fairmont Heritage Place on May 15th or 16th with a special Uncorked package: http://www.fairmont.com/ghirardelli/HotelPackages/Discovery/Uncorked.htm Participating Wineries: Alexander Valley Vineyard, Healdsburg Arrowood Vineyards, Glen Ellen Artisan Family of Wines, Napa Barber Cellars, Pacifica Barefoot Winery Beringer Vineyards, St. Helena Berryessa Gap Vineyards, Winters Carrefour Vineyards, Napa Cellar No. 8, Cloverdale Chateau St Jean, Kenwood Clos du Bois, Geyserville D & L Carinalli Vineyard, Sebastopol Dashe Cellars, Oakland Deerfield Ranch Winery, Glen Ellen Engelmann Cellars, Fresno Esterlina Vineyards, Healdsburg Etude Wines, Napa Frey Vineyards, Redwood Valley Hanna Winery, Healdsburg Harvest Moon Winery, Santa Rosa Hook & Ladder Winery, Santa Rosa Howell Mountain Vineyards, Rutherford Ironstone, Lodi Martin Ray, Santa Rosa Meridian Vineyards, Paso Robles Peacock Family Vineyards, St. Helena Pezzi King Vineyards, Healdsburg Rosa d'Oro Vineyards, Kelseyville Sarah's Vineyard, Gilroy Sbragia Family Vineyards, Geyserville Somerston/Priest Ranch, Napa Souverain, Healdsburg Starlite Vineyards, Geyserville Stags Leap Winery, Napa St. Clement, St. Helena Sterling Albert Winery, Concord Suacco Carcoere, Sebastopol Truchard Vineyards, Napa Wattle Creek Winery, Cloverdale Yorkville Cellars, Yorkville Zina Hyde Cunningham, Boonville Proceeds from the event will benefit La Cocina: http://www.lacocinasf.org    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic Uncorked! Wine Festival at... by lamaxon9

  
  

• March 2009

  We concluded our Cabernet GTi this past Friday with a small gathering of the faithful. Admittedly scheduling, or rather rescheduling, this PTP tasting for a Friday caused conflict with many attendee’s calendars but the show must go on so with sporadic assistance from some of my... Read moreWe concluded our Cabernet GTi this past Friday with a small gathering of the faithful. Admittedly scheduling, or rather rescheduling, this PTP tasting for a Friday caused conflict with many attendee’s calendars but the show must go on so with sporadic assistance from some of my fellow Snooth employees we managed to slog through a reduced roster of 9 wines. Continuing our reliance on primarily domestic producers, our line-up was decidedly California heavy this week, with only one interloper.  We had a decidedly mixed bag none the less with a surprising group of rather expensive wines, admittedly performing well, but I’m not sure there is a much of a market for these wines today. Not to begin a diatribe against rather expensive wine, there are of course reasons for such, but it remains a challenge to truly recommend wines past a certain price point. Purely on a qualitative level it is in fact easy to do, many $70 wines are excellent, as the damn well should be. Sadly many are neither excellent nor particularly distinguished, except perhaps for their slavish mediocrity. But I digress. My point here is simply that past a certain price point recommending a wine is fraught with the peril of value. A misguided recommendation not only results in a waste of money but the opportunity that money represented could easily have been diverted to several bottle that could have delivered more satisfaction. I am certainly comfortable in a failed recommendation at $20. These things happen and we all have palate preferences, some easily understood, others less so.  Crossing the $50 line, to draw an arbitrary boundary, changes the game. Not that I will, or should refrain from recommending wines priced above $50. I am happy to continue to offer my opinions of these regardless of price. Instead what I would suggest is that perhaps the supply chain can adjust to our current situation and make wines available at more comfortable prices, for awhile at least. Now that’s a shock, ain’t it?  Imagine wineries, distributors and retailers all taking a bit of a mark-down to help us all out during these tough times. A bit of sharing the pain. I understand that times are tough for all, and the purveyors of an expensive, discretionary purchase may very well be hurting more than most but therein lies the honest truth. In the long run a producer who is able to bring his product to market at, say, a 25% discount, to grab another convenient yet arbitrary number out of the ether, will not only be rewarded with new customers, with whose fortune the winery will rise in future, better times, but will also differentiate themselves from the pack in the eye of the media. Becoming a media darling while producing excellent, affordable wines sounds like a path to success in these days of rising personal savings rates and falling disposable income. If any producer thinks there is something to this I would love to hear from them. As a gratuitous, and totally out of context, adjunct to what may have turned into a diatribe let me just single out Edmunds St. John winery for pretty much doing just this. But that too is best left to another day so for the moment: on to the Cabernet! Flight 1 - Cabernet Blends 2005 Montevina Terre d’Oro Forte 55% Amador Sangiovese/ 45% Napa Cabernet 13.5% Groups #5/ My #6   $23 Matt found this to be “very closed” though with time he did get “ some sort of creamy pinot-like notes on the nose.” Yet found it lacked “much distinctive flavor.” Toni felt this had “nothing to it but a little bit of vanilla oakiness.” Though she did not that while the  “finish was smooth it got dryer and dryer and dryer.”  I definitely had a different take on this finding it fruity on both the palate and the nose and while it lacked a bit of complexity it made up for it in friendly, juicy appeal. 2005 Paraduxx  60% Zinfandel/32% Cab sauv/6% Merlot/2% Cabernet Franc 14.5% Groups #9/ My #8  $40 Toni felt that this “smelled very harsh at times with a lot of earth and strawberry but not in a good way” and continued that while this “may be way too young, finish was harsh too.” Matt noted “heat and cotton candy” on the nose adding that this” smells like an oaky Washington cab.”  While Matt did find some “sour cherry on the finish” he felt the wine was  “very sour and just too hot.”  I was pretty much of the same thought. This was a hot, simple and generally uninspiring wine. 2005 Pininfarina vino rosso nap valley  60% Cabernet Sauvignon/29% Cabernet Franc/ 6% Sangiovese/5% Petit Verdot 14.5% Groups #4/ My #5 $75 Matt felt this smelled Italian with a “barnyard type smell and a little bit of manure” and found the tannins to be “very bitter” with  “not much fruit showing just a little bit of cherry and a bitter finish” finding it to need “a couple more years.” Toni “liked this wine” finding that “once it opened there was a richness to the aroma,.” She continued that while it is  “medium bodied it got stronger as it sat with good notes of plums and black fruit with a very dry smooth finish.”  For me this, while fairly oaky, had a lot going on in a slightly firm style with plenty of fruit held in check by attractive notes of herb and mineral. I look forward to trying this again. Flight 2 -  Cabernet from near and far 2006 Duck Shack Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 14.4% Groups #8/ My #9 $30 Mark found this offered up aromas of  “sugary red fruits” yet was “light, bright and very acidic with subdued flavors” though he did add that “the tannins are a bit harsh and too astringent.”  Toni also commented on the “ very high acidity and very rough and woolly dry tannins” but did find “great herbs and minerals dancing with some fruit but not a good mix” feeling that this was simply  “not put together well.” Matt felt this was a “wine trying to very artisan but the fruit isn’t up to the quality of the wine making.”  I found this to be clumsy and hot with aggressive tannins and acids that lingered long after the candied flavors where a mere memory. 2006 Penley Estate Phoenix Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 15% Groups #7/ My #7 $15 Matt this wine to be “very gamy on the nose and on the palate with a generic feel, astringent and tasteless.” Toni- though the “nose is on the light side with violets and black cherries” and found the palate offered up “spicy, earthy, herby, almost not ripe enough fruit” adding that this was “not a wine I would buy.” Mark noted the nose was  “slightly herbal and cherry” with “bright red fruit flavors with leather and spice in a very refreshing style.”  I found this to be very typical new world Cabernet with big candied fruits on the nose and a creamy mid-palate that was cut by aggressive acids. Solid as opposed to inspiring. 2003 Pietra Santa Cienega Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Signature Collection 14.9% Groups #1/ My #2 $45 Toni noted that this had a “very high alcohol nose that was very complex and intense with jammy black cherries.” In the mouth she found this to be  “rich and dark with a long smooth finish and the feel of a good, expensive wine.” Mark found the nose to be “a little bit floral, fungal and earthy” with  “deep black fruit and a great smooth mouthfeel, with ripe, deep cherries and a hint of mint on the finish.” Matt also felt that this showed a lot of alcohol but noted “its very well contained heat” and felt that the wine’s “big blackness of the blackberry fruit envelopes the heat and keeps it at bay.” This is not our first encounter with the wines of Pietra Santa and the consistently fair very well in our tastings  Flight 3 - Napa Valley Cabernet 2005 Neyers AME Napa Valley Cabernet 14.7% Groups #2/ My #4 $70 Matt felt that this was reminiscent of a really big Zin with lots of blueberries, and a big rich, really dark and inky mouthfeel.” Chris felt that this was “closed with a nose dominated by char, toast and marshmallow” but did enjoy “ the bright citrus notes and good tannins.” Mark found the nose to be herbaceous, black olivey and almost oily” and “really enjoyed the bright ripe cherries and black olives with nice notes of gunpowder and sugar.” After not getting much on the nose Toni was “pleasantly surprised by the deep black cherry fruit with hints of herbs and mineral” and while she felt this to be “an excellent wine” she did add the caveat that “it needs a lot of time.” This is a rather massive wine packed with dry extract and while there is a core of lovely ripe fruit it’s not easy to get at. A decidedly chocolately and plummy wine. 2005 Miner Family Stagecoach Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 14.2% Groups #3/ My #1 $60 Chris left little to the imagination summing this wine up as “oaky, I’m drinking a vanilla, cedar tree.”  Matt felt this “tasted a little disjointed” and got only “heat and licorice.” Toni “loved the nose, deep rich and very fruity in a good way” and found “lots of black cherry and jammy black currants” in the mouth adding that the “ acid seems a little too high.”  Mark found the nose here to be “interesting with bright fruit and eucalyptus” with “good clean fruit on the palate.”  Again while there was obvious oak here I found this to be well balanced and complex with a elegant touch  that is hard to find in wines of this size. 2005 Cornerstone Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 14.8% Groups #6/ My #3 $60 Toni found this wine to be “ completely unappealing, full of leather and spic” adding the “only good thing about this wine is a strong black cherry undertone.” Mark noted the “floral nose with honey, black fruit and a powdery light chalk note” and added that this was “ great if you like that minty, cough syrup, medicinal style.” Matt though he caught an ”Italian vibe” with this wine commenting on the “barnyard nose with a manure element” but did add that this “tastes like an expensive free for all Meritage.”  Chris, man of few words, added that this “smells like Ethiopian food, hot and full of tree bark.”  This is a tight, tough gamy ball of fruit with an overlay of fine French oak. This needs time but has the balance to emerge as a winner. Gregory Dal Piaz Community Manager Snooth    (hide)

  Forum post in the topic PTP 15 - Cabernet Sauvignon by Gregory Dal Piaz

  
  

• March 2009

  PTP 15 - Cabernet Sauvignon We concluded our Cabernet GTi this past Friday with a small gathering of the faithful. Admittedly scheduling, or rather rescheduling, this PTP tasting for a Friday caused conflict with many attendee's calendars but the show must go on so with sporadic... Read morePTP 15 - Cabernet Sauvignon We concluded our Cabernet GTi this past Friday with a small gathering of the faithful. Admittedly scheduling, or rather rescheduling, this PTP tasting for a Friday caused conflict with many attendee's calendars but the show must go on so with sporadic assistance from some of my fellow Snooth employees we managed to slog through a reduced roster of 9 wines. Continuing our reliance on primarily domestic producers, our line-up was decidedly California heavy this week, with only one interloper.  We had a decidedly mixed bag none the less with a surprising group of rather expensive wines, admittedly performing well, but I'm not sure there is a much of a market for these wines today. Not to begin a diatribe against rather expensive wine, there are of course reasons for such, but it remains a challenge to truly recommend wines past a certain price point. Purely on a qualitative level it is in fact easy to do, many $70 wines are excellent, as the damn well should be. Sadly many are neither excellent nor particularly distinguished, except perhaps for their slavish mediocrity. But I digress. My point here is simply that past a certain price point recommending a wine is fraught with the peril of value. A misguided recommendation not only results in a waste of money but the opportunity that money represented could easily have been diverted to several bottle that could have delivered more satisfaction. I am certainly comfortable in a failed recommendation at $20. These things happen and we all have palate preferences, some easily understood, others less so.  Crossing the $50 line, to draw an arbitrary boundary, changes the game. Not that I will, or should refrain from recommending wines priced above $50. I am happy to continue to offer my opinions of these regardless of price. Instead what I would suggest is that perhaps the supply chain can adjust to our current situation and make wines available at more comfortable prices, for awhile at least. Now that's a shock, ain't it?  Imagine wineries, distributors and retailers all taking a bit of a mark-down to help us all out during these tough times. A bit of sharing the pain. I understand that times are tough for all, and the purveyors of an expensive, discretionary purchase may very well be hurting more than most but therein lies the honest truth. In the long run a producer who is able to bring his product to market at, say, a 25% discount, to grab another convenient yet arbitrary number out of the ether, will not only be rewarded with new customers, with whose fortune the winery will rise in future, better times, but will also differentiate themselves from the pack in the eye of the media. Becoming a media darling while producing excellent, affordable wines sounds like a path to success in these days of rising personal savings rates and falling disposable income. If any producer thinks there is something to this I would love to hear from them. As a gratuitous, and totally out of context, adjunct to what may have turned into a diatribe let me just single out Edmunds St. John winery for pretty much doing just this. But that too is best left to another day so for the moment: on to the Cabernet! Flight 1 - Cabernet Blends 2005 Montevina Terre d'Oro Forte 55% Amador Sangiovese/ 45% Napa Cabernet 13.5% Groups #5/ My #6   $23 Matt found this to be “very closed” though with time he did get “ some sort of creamy pinot-like notes on the nose.” Yet found it lacked “much distinctive flavor.” Toni felt this had “nothing to it but a little bit of vanilla oakiness.” Though she did not that while the  “finish was smooth it got dryer and dryer and dryer.”  I definitely had a different take on this finding it fruity on both the palate and the nose and while it lacked a bit of complexity it made up for it in friendly, juicy appeal. 2005 Paraduxx  60% Zinfandel/32% Cab sauv/6% Merlot/2% Cabernet Franc 14.5% Groups #9/ My #8  $40 Toni felt that this “smelled very harsh at times with a lot of earth and strawberry but not in a good way” and continued that while this “may be way too young, finish was harsh too.” Matt noted “heat and cotton candy” on the nose adding that this” smells like an oaky Washington cab.”  While Matt did find some “sour cherry on the finish” he felt the wine was  “very sour and just too hot.”  I was pretty much of the same thought. This was a hot, simple and generally uninspiring wine. 2005 Pininfarina vino rosso nap valley  60% Cabernet Sauvignon/29% Cabernet Franc/ 6% Sangiovese/5% Petit Verdot 14.5% Groups #4/ My #5 $75 Matt felt this smelled Italian with a “barnyard type smell and a little bit of manure” and found the tannins to be “very bitter” with  “not much fruit showing just a little bit of cherry and a bitter finish” finding it to need “a couple more years.” Toni “liked this wine” finding that “once it opened there was a richness to the aroma,.” She continued that while it is  “medium bodied it got stronger as it sat with good notes of plums and black fruit with a very dry smooth finish.”  For me this, while fairly oaky, had a lot going on in a slightly firm style with plenty of fruit held in check by attractive notes of herb and mineral. I look forward to trying this again. Flight 2 -  Cabernet from near and far 2006 Duck Shack Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 14.4% Groups #8/ My #9 $30 Mark found this offered up aromas of  “sugary red fruits” yet was “light, bright and very acidic with subdued flavors” though he did add that “the tannins are a bit harsh and too astringent.”  Toni also commented on the “ very high acidity and very rough and woolly dry tannins” but did find “great herbs and minerals dancing with some fruit but not a good mix” feeling that this was simply  “not put together well.” Matt felt this was a “wine trying to very artisan but the fruit isn't up to the quality of the wine making.”  I found this to be clumsy and hot with aggressive tannins and acids that lingered long after the candied flavors where a mere memory. 2006 Penley Estate Phoenix Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 15% Groups #7/ My #7 $15 Matt this wine to be “very gamy on the nose and on the palate with a generic feel, astringent and tasteless.” Toni- though the “nose is on the light side with violets and black cherries” and found the palate offered up “spicy, earthy, herby, almost not ripe enough fruit” adding that this was “not a wine I would buy.” Mark noted the nose was  “slightly herbal and cherry” with “bright red fruit flavors with leather and spice in a very refreshing style.”  I found this to be very typical new world Cabernet with big candied fruits on the nose and a creamy mid-palate that was cut by aggressive acids. Solid as opposed to inspiring. 2003 Pietra Santa Cienega Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Signature Collection 14.9% Groups #1/ My #2 $45 Toni noted that this had a “very high alcohol nose that was very complex and intense with jammy black cherries.” In the mouth she found this to be  “rich and dark with a long smooth finish and the feel of a good, expensive wine.” Mark found the nose to be “a little bit floral, fungal and earthy” with  “deep black fruit and a great smooth mouthfeel, with ripe, deep cherries and a hint of mint on the finish.” Matt also felt that this showed a lot of alcohol but noted “its very well contained heat” and felt that the wine's “big blackness of the blackberry fruit envelopes the heat and keeps it at bay.” This is not our first encounter with the wines of Pietra Santa and the consistently fair very well in our tastings  Flight 3 - Napa Valley Cabernet 2005 Neyers AME Napa Valley Cabernet 14.7% Groups #2/ My #4 $70 Matt felt that this was reminiscent of a really big Zin with lots of blueberries, and a big rich, really dark and inky mouthfeel.” Chris felt that this was “closed with a nose dominated by char, toast and marshmallow” but did enjoy “ the bright citrus notes and good tannins.” Mark found the nose to be herbaceous, black olivey and almost oily” and “really enjoyed the bright ripe cherries and black olives with nice notes of gunpowder and sugar.” After not getting much on the nose Toni was “pleasantly surprised by the deep black cherry fruit with hints of herbs and mineral” and while she felt this to be “an excellent wine” she did add the caveat that “it needs a lot of time.” This is a rather massive wine packed with dry extract and while there is a core of lovely ripe fruit it's not easy to get at. A decidedly chocolately and plummy wine. 2005 Miner Family Stagecoach Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 14.2% Groups #3/ My #1 $60 Chris left little to the imagination summing this wine up as “oaky, I'm drinking a vanilla, cedar tree.”  Matt felt this “tasted a little disjointed” and got only “heat and licorice.” Toni “loved the nose, deep rich and very fruity in a good way” and found “lots of black cherry and jammy black currants” in the mouth adding that the “ acid seems a little too high.”  Mark found the nose here to be “interesting with bright fruit and eucalyptus” with “good clean fruit on the palate.”  Again while there was obvious oak here I found this to be well balanced and complex with a elegant touch  that is hard to find in wines of this size. 2005 Cornerstone Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 14.8% Groups #6/ My #3 $60 Toni found this wine to be “ completely unappealing, full of leather and spice” adding the “only good thing about this wine is a strong black cherry undertone.” Mark noted the “floral nose with honey, black fruit and a powdery light chalk note” and added that this was “ great if you like that minty, cough syrup, medicinal style.” Matt though he caught an ”Italian vibe” with this wine commenting on the “barnyard nose with a manure element” but did add that this “tastes like an expensive free for all Meritage.”  Chris, man of few words, added that this “smells like Ethiopian food, hot and full of tree bark.”  This is a tight, tough gamy ball of fruit with an overlay of fine French oak. This needs time but has the balance to emerge as a winner. Gregory Dal Piaz Community Manager          (hide)

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