Category Archives: U.S. Wines by Region

December 4, 2013 · 5:20 PM

Can You Justify Spending on Premium Wines?

Okay, I know there aren’t many wine drinkers out there that maintain a diverse cellar of bottle-aged wines, but for those of you who do, and invest in the spendy, premium wines… how do YOU justify it?

Which Wines Are in Your Cellar?

2/3 of my cellar is made up of moderately priced red and white wines of good value. The other 1/3 is reserved for more expensive, special red wines. So, just what constitutes a “special” wine worthy of a premium price? It has taken me 20 years of collecting wine and an evolving palate to finally arrive at a couple of answers. My justifications for spending $75+ on a bottle of wine are:

1. Wines that have structure, balance, texture, be complex, BUT ALSO be accessible in no more than 5 years, and be able to age (AND improve) for 10 years or more from the vintage date (yes, even Barolo).

That doesn’t mean the wine will be in its prime drinking window then, just that I can enjoy it and then look forward to another beautiful experience down the road. Enjoying wines this way, requires a purchase of several bottles of a wine, per vintage. I will rarely do this until a producer has proven a good match for my palate and been consistent with quality vintages, year over year. Although, sometimes you just know from drinking a wine… and I say “drink”, not taste. This has happened too many times… Tasting Room Attendant hits you with attitude, goes on and on about the wine and presses you to purchase his/her amazing $100 (speaking of Napa here) bottle. Then, you are hit with a 1 oz. pour! Who needs a direct relationship with a winery, when you are treated like that! With a good experience, enjoyable wine and the right value, I will become a year-over-year customer and they can start thinking of me as a revenue source for years to come…

2. Wines that my family and friends enjoy.

An example in this category for me is expensive champagne. Not what I personally would spend big dollars on, but I really enjoy sharing good bubbly with friends who appreciate it!

Overview

IMHO, the holy grail of wine is the 1st category. Examples for me would be vintages of Barolo, Southern & Northern Rhone (also CA “Rhone Style”) and mountain fruit Napa Cabernet Sauvignon (Veeder, Spring, Diamond & Howell). Yeah, I know… no classified growth Bordeaux & cru Burgundy included. I have not tasted Bordeaux meeting that criteria under $75/btl. AND other regions bring the same level of enjoyment for $50. ENTRY LEVEL Burgundy STARTS at $50/btl and I just don’t enjoy pinot noir enough to explore that varietal for that kind of money. My Oregon Pinot is just fine thank you. I have Bordeaux and Burgundy in my cellar, but just to provide a representative collection, and it skews my average bottle price more than I would like. I know many of you DO spend that $150+/btl for Bordeaux and Burgundy. I wonder, how do you justify devoting the disproportionate percentage of your wine budget?

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Filed under Barolo, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Howell Mountain, Mount Veeder, Napa Valley, Northern Rhone, Southern Rhone, Spring Mountain, Wine Cellar, Wine Collecting, Wine Tasting

Tagged as aged wines, Barolo, Bordeaux, Burgundy, complex wine, Napa, Vintage, wine, wine blog, Wine Cellar, Wine Collecting, Wine Tasting

November 27, 2013 · 9:54 PM

2009 Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon

California, Napa Valley

Wine Tasting Note:

Blackberry, plum and vanilla on the nose. Simple palate of black fruit and a touch of bitter chocolate and oak on a medium-short finish. Medium tannins and medium-high acidity. The texture is a bit watery. Nice backbone here, but the structure is missing a mid-palate entirely. Enjoyable every day drinker from Napa Valley that represents a reasonable value. Unfortunately, there is no complexity to this wine. Other vintages have been better.

Wine Tasting Note – UPDATE 2/20/2014:

2nd Bottle of half case:

Second bottle after four months in storage has changed enough to be worthy of note. It is rare to see wine in this price range improve with age. The evaluation is essentially the same as above, but the texture is becoming more silky and the tannins more refined. At least for now, this is continuing to improve. The same comment holds regarding simplicity, although a short aging window seems to have continued to soften the wine, making it more enjoyable. I wish this wine could magically become more interesting, but for the price, this is a very nice daily drinker.

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Filed under Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, Wine Tasting, Wine Tasting Notes

Tagged as aged wines, Atlas Peak Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, California, fine wine, Napa Valley, wine, wine blog, Wine Cellar, Wine Collecting, wine critic, Wine Tasting, wine tasting notes

November 26, 2013 · 10:28 PM

2009 Domaine Drouhin Laurene Oregon Pinot Noir

Domaine Drouhin Laurene Pinot Noir

Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills

Wine Tasting Note:

The nose has red fruit and earth, with a floral influence. The palate begins with fresh red cherry under-pinned with a delicate floral note. The mid-palate transitions to black cherry and spice, then a medium short finish of earth and bitter chocolate. Medium-high acidity with slightly dusty tannins. The texture was initially silky, but became watery quickly on the mid-palate. You notice the alcohol on the finish. This wine needs more time in the cellar to reach its potential. There was a lot more going on here than a simple, fruity new-world pinot. This was very feminine in character, with a solid backbone. Another 5 years of bottle-aging and I would expect this will be very elegant and composed. I can envision this as a 10 year old pinot reaching its drinking window… add a little barnyard on the nose and Burgundy comes to mind!

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Filed under Dundee Hills, Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Wine Tasting, Wine Tasting Notes

Tagged as aged wines, Burgundy, complex wine, cool climate wines, Dundee Hills, fine wine, Oregon, Pinot noir, Willamette Valley, wine, wine blog, Wine Cellar, Wine Collecting, wine critic, Wine Tasting, wine tasting notes

November 16, 2013 · 6:06 PM

2007 Geyser Peak Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Walking Tree Vineyard

Geyser Peak Winery

California, Alexander Valley

Wine Tasting Note:

Powerful aromatic nose of black fruit, spice and vanilla. Fruit forward palate of blackberry, red plum and black currant. High acidity with medium tannins. Tasted this last year. Still the same big fruit, but the tannins are beginning to soften and it is developing some texture. Needed a little time for the alcohol to blow off. The complexity is improving with the addition of more bitter chocolate in the mid-palate and a short finish with some graphite coming through. The tannins are starting to moderate and I like a red wine with some backbone, so I am going to say this wine is in its optimum drinking window. Drink now and the next couple of years, at most. At $18/btl, this wine has my vote for the best value cab sauv in California. I would expect a wine of this caliber to be in the $30-35 range in Sonoma County. I prefer not to put a number to wines if I can, but in this case I will put that aside and give it an 89. It needs more minerality, the mid-palate and finish could be stronger and the texture wasn’t there to be rated higher, but for that kind of price… this is impressive!

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Filed under Alexander Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon, Wine Tasting, Wine Tasting Notes

Tagged as aged wines, Cabernet Sauvignon, California, complex wine, fine wine, Geyser Peak Winery, sommelier, wine, wine blog, Wine Cellar, Wine Collecting, wine critic, Wine Tasting, wine tasting notes

November 9, 2013 · 2:02 PM

2007 Frank Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley