Tag Archives: aged wines

February 4, 2014 · 6:37 PM

2007 Carr Paredon Syrah

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Carr Paredon Syrah

California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County, Santa Barbara

Wine Tasting Note:

The fruit originated from an estate vineyard south of Santa Barbara (city). One of the few ocean-facing vineyards in the area. Copious amount of fruit on the nose and palate for such a cool, foggy location. I will track future vintages… as the vines age this will become one of the better syrah producing sites on the Central Coast. – Fruit forward nose of thick plum, blackberry and eucalyptus. Fruit forward palate of plum, blackberry and milk chocolate. The mid-palate transitions to loads of sweet vanilla, with a medium-long finish of bitter chocolate. Medium-high acidity and high tannins. The tannins have the good grace to wait and present on the finish. Wonderful thick texture and mouth-feel. Missing some savory aspects of Northern Rhones, but all in all… a nice new world cool-climate syrah. Almost like a black-fruit zin… but more texture. This will improve with some time in the cellar. I enjoyed the wine today, but give it 3-4 more years for the fruit to subside and the tannins to soften and this should become a superior, balanced wine.

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Filed under Cool Climate Wine, Santa Barbara County, Syrah/Shiraz, U.S. Wines by Region, Wine Tasting, Wine Tasting Notes

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February 2, 2014 · 11:54 AM

Coravin Product Review

The Wifey purchased a Coravin as a gift for Christmas. Wow… gadget and wine, all in one. For those of you who are not sure of what this is, here is a photo:

coravin

Here is the link to the manufacturer’s website: http://www.coravin.com/.

Why Use a Coravin?

Well frankly, I was initially struggling with this idea and did not open the box right away. After a few days, I popped the box open to assemble it and make sure it worked properly. All good… assembles easily, few moving parts. Reminded me a little of those argon gas pumps they came out with several years ago to preserve open wine.

Gave it a try initially on an inexpensive bottle. Didn’t require instructions and very simple to use. The cork self-seals tight, right behind removing the needle. So, the question became: what situation would be right to break-out the device? You hard-core wine-o’s will appreciate my first official use…

New Year’s Eve party at our house. One of my wife’s friends was going on and on about how she hated merlot. Finally, I couldn’t handle it any longer and told her: she just hadn’t tried good merlot yet. Now, you have to understand, here in the USA, 75% of the merlot we produce is some of the worst plonk on the planet. It kills me to think of all the U.S. consumers that think this is what merlot should be (personal campaign of mine)… so, I pulled a 2001 Pride Mountain Merlot out of my cellar and dragged out my Coravin. I challenged her to try it. I served her up a 2 oz. pour of the Pride and rocked her world! Pow! Another merlot hater converted again! AND, I didn’t have to trash an entire $75 bottle of wine in the process!

Science Behind Coravin

Once you pierce the cork (can only be used on cork closures), the lever introduces argon gas under pressure. Then via a two-way valve of some sort, the pressure is maintained, while the wine is forced out of the hollow needle into the glass. Works pretty slick… So, only two potential drawbacks I can envision:

1. If the cork is too dry on an older bottle, either the seal may be lost due to loss of integrity of the cork, or the cork may not show enough resilience to self-seal upon removal. IMO, this possibility does not seem to be very worrisome.

2. My other concern is not serious, but rather more interesting. Once the device replaces the air in the capsule with argon gas, the wine is served and then the bottle is returned to the cellar. Without further oxygen to draw from, the typical wine aging process would have to be significantly slowed, if not stopped. Since argon is heavier than air, the wine may be sealed off from air for the balance of the life of the wine. How does wine age in such an environment? I don’t think there is any research on this??

Coravin Conclusion

A very cool device! If you would like to pour a glass while alone, knowing you will be unable to polish off a bottle… PERFECT! The balance of the bottle will be perfectly stored, for the next time you decide to draw a glass, or pop the bottle. I may start drinking more expensive wine, when alone – with no concern for wasting the bottle. If you have a $100 bottle of 20 year old Bordeaux and intend to pour a glass and put it back in the cellar, you may want to think twice. I have no idea how an argon environment will effect the continued natural aging process of high-quality wines in storage.

Science again solves a challenging problem facing our world, preventing the waste of good wine! Next up: reliable hangover relief!

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Filed under Restaurant, Sommelier, Wine Collecting, Wine Critics, Wine Education, Wine Industry, Wine Tasting

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January 2, 2014 · 9:22 PM

2008 Pamplin Family Winery Proprietary Red

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Pamplin Family Winery

Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills

Wine Tasting Note:

Nose is hot, but after the alcohol clears, the glass is full of ripe plum and blackberry, with cassis, herbal mint and a faint floral tinge. The alcohol is more integrated on the palate. The texture is soft, silky and feels wonderful in the mouth. Medium-high tannins and bright acidity. Fruit forward in the mouth with plum, blackberry and vanilla migrating to a mid-palate of milk chocolate and a medium length bitter finish with herbal and earthy over-tones. Although this was purchased from a tasting room in Oregon, I was told the the fruit was sourced from Washington State… and you can tell. I could not find information about the blend, but this has to be merlot based and whatever they blend with provides additional structure and tannins. This could use another 3-5 years in the cellar and will continue to improve.

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Filed under Bordeaux/Meritage Blend, Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley, Wine Tasting

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December 23, 2013 · 4:55 PM

2006 Ramey Cabernet Sauvignon Calistoga

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Ramey Wine Cellars

California, Napa Valley, Calistoga

Wine Tasting Note:

2006 was an interesting vintage year that seemed to favor old-world style Napa producers. IMO, it was difficult to find valley floor producers with exceptional wines. Whereas, many of the mountain fruit producers (Spring, Howell, etc.) with a more subdued style (Ladera, Cain, etc.) released amazingly soft, nuanced cabernet sauvignon. This Ramey followed the line… After 30 min. decant, complex nose of blackberry, plum, cigar box and mint. This wine is black fruit forward with a mid-palate of vanilla and a medium short finish of bitter dark chocolate. The texture is a bit watery and the alcohol is not integrated well. Medium-high acidity with medium tannins. Rather disjointed and unbalanced. This is difficult to enjoy, without food. Try accompanying beef, or pasta with a rich tomato-based sauce. I don’t think this will improve with more time in the bottle. Drink now.

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December 19, 2013 · 4:20 PM

2010 Andrew Murray Syrah McGinley Vineyard

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Andrew Murray Vineyards

California, Santa Ynez Valley

Wine Tasting Note:

This is drinking beautifully right now. Just a great nose of blackberry, plum, chocolate and earth. The nose follows though to the palate, with the the fruit forward, the earth and some white pepper on the mid-palate and a medium length finish of rich dark chocolate. Medium acidity and medium-low tannins. The alcohol is nicely integrated. The texture is lighter and very, very soft, but not quite silky. This has just enough backbone to support the fruit forward approach, but is definitely not a wine to lay down. The drinking window would be now through maybe… another year, or two. The price-value ratio is good for a high quality, drink-now Syrah with some complexity. This is not for aging, or to accompany all but the richest foods. Which easily could have brought this down, but I am really enjoying its softness and fruit-forward character before I grab some supper.

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Filed under Santa Barbara County, Santa Ynez Valley, Syrah/Shiraz, Wine Tasting, Wine Tasting Notes

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December 15, 2013 · 1:51 PM

2004 Piccini Sasso al Poggio IGT

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Piccini Sasso al Poggio Toscana IGT

Italy, Tuscany, Chianti

Wine Tasting Note:

Folks, this is some serious wine for the price. After 30 minutes open, more black fruit is peeking out. I will be buying more, if I can find it… Subdued gamey, black fruit nose. Black cherry is on the front of the palate, blackberry, black currant and vanilla on the mid-palate moving towards dark chocolate with an herbal medium length finish that includes a touch of spearmint. The mouth-feel is a bit watery, but is very soft. Medium acidity with medium high tannins. This is not a fruity wine, but for those who appreciate complexity… for $10/btl this is your value wine. I am wrestling with the idea of whether I have tasted a better $10 bottle of wine… Italy continues to provide the biggest surprises in fine wine value in the world! OK, IMHO…

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Filed under Chianti IGT, Super Tuscan Blend, Wine Tasting Notes

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December 11, 2013 · 6:14 PM

2007 Delectus Syrah Mt. George Vineyard

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Delectus Syrah Mount George Vineyard

California, Napa Valley

Wine Tasting Note:

Strong alcohol on the nose. Hard to pick-up the other aromas. The palate is much more balanced. Less complex than I would have hoped for an old-world style mid-priced syrah, but it was still very enjoyable. Fruit-forward blackberry, plum and black currant flavors moving to rich dark chocolate and a short bitter finish. Good effort on the texture… not silky, or velvetty, but still soft and refined. An amazing feat, considering the alcohol content at 15.8%. Medium tannins and medium-high acidity. The value here was good for a Napa Syrah with some old-world character. Though, this was missing the cool climate complexity I would expect from this style, in higher priced wines.

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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

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November 29, 2013 · 11:37 AM

Perfect Wine?

How can any wine critic score a wine at a perfect 100?  This is one critic’s explanation at Wine Spectator Magazine:  http://www.winespectator.com/blogs/show/id/49223.

Wine Critics Impartial?

There are aspects of this piece that I agree with, especially with regard to defining wine as a snapshot of a moment in time.  The wine experience is definitely more than a scientific examination of flavor components.  This is a major reason why I was taken by wine in the first place.  Yes, of course your situation and surroundings will affect your scoring of the wine, but aren’t the critic’s reviews as an authoritative resource supposed to be impartial… and therefore tasting should occur in a neutral environment?  The more I learn about wine critics and their approach to scoring wine, the more I have come to ignore them.

Wine Critics Consistently Over-Score Wines

This drives me crazy!  I have been moving towards placing more weight on collector’s reviews for several years now.  CellarTracker scores are consistently 3-4 points lower than Parker, Kramer, Robinson, Galloni. Although, Stephen Tanzer seems a bit more conservative, if you look at a cross-section. Take some time to compare and you will see for yourself.  At least their ratings are consistent in this regard, so the scores are not likely to be a bias towards a given producer.  It almost seems as if they all want to believe the wine is better than it actually is?  Is this some subtle coordinated promotional effort to advance the wine industry as a whole?

Perfect Wine, Ah… Really?

Here are a few recent Robert Parker, Jr. perfect 100’s that I have enjoyed:

2010 Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon

2006 Alban Vineyards Syrah Reva Alban Estate Vineyard

2007 Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

2007 Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon CCS

I am sorry, but the Bryant Family IMHO did not belong on this list, but I digress.  Of course, anytime you discuss RP you have to take into account his penchant for big fruity wines.  Still, are these perfect scores based on his perception when tasted, or based on projecting their profile after bottle-aging?  I wouldn’t choose any of these, keeping the  divergent criteria in mind.  Don’t get me wrong , three of these were great wines and the fourth pretty damn good too, but perfect?  I have tasted perfectly balanced 5 year old cabernet in an approachable style from Ladera, or a huge fruity, tannic monster from O’Shaughnessy that would be superior (IMO) after 10-15 years.  Although, I wouldn’t score these at 100 either.

Can a 100 Point Perfect Wine Exist?

Everyone’s palate is different AND wine truly is enhanced by the environment in which it is being consumed AND obviously the wine critics make little effort to taste in a neutral environment…  Of the wines I have enjoyed most in my life and matched my palate best, I would give none of them a perfect 100.  In each case, there was something about them that could have been a little better.  Now, I WILL say… some have been drunk in perfect settings, and I will remember them clearly my entire life!

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November 27, 2013 · 9:54 PM

2009 Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon

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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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