melissa

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Opus One’s Second Wine/Take 2

Top wineries and chateaux blend together their best grapes’ juice to produce their best possible wine for the Grand Cru or “first wines”.  What do they do with the remaining juice???  Many of them make a second wine. Usually made by the same winemaker in pretty much the same way as the winery’s famous wine, the big difference is that the juice for the second wine is often from younger vines or the second press. Although these wines may not be as complex, balanced and sublime, they ARE a lot less expensive!  It’s a great way to try big name Bordeaux or other famous wines without the big time price tag.

Opus One is a winery in Napa that produces a second wine.  Founded as a joint venture between Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Chateau Mouton Rothschild and renowned Napa vintner Robert Mondavi, Opus One’s goal was to create a Bordeaux style blend based on Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.  The other four Bordeaux varietals (Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec) are also used.  They use grapes from some of the most well respected vineyards in Napa.  The winemaking, however, is modeled after the techniques of Bordeaux.  This happy marriage produces some of Napa’s finest wines.

While their signature wine is called Opus One, their second wine is appropriately (especially if you’re a music enthusiast) called Overture. Overture is only available at the winery or on their website.  We had a tasting at Opus One a couple of years ago, and had purchased a bottle then. We cracked it open the other night.

I decanted this wine for about an hour before pouring.  The color is a medium purple and has a wonderful aroma of chocolate-covered cherries.  On the palate are some nice dark fruit, specifically black cherry and currant, as well as some tobacco.  It is well balanced with some earthiness and a hint of baking spices.

Yes, the vintage Opus One is a fabulous wine with a lot going on.  I wouldn’t mind having cases upon cases of it resting in my cellar.  With the going rate of about $235 a bottle, not many people can afford that.  Overture isn’t cheap, but at about $80 a bottle most of us are a lot more likely to be able to afford multiples.  If you’re someone who doesn’t feel comfortable with a price tag over a couple of hundred bucks, but you’d like to splurge a bit, Overture is a very nice option.

2010 HANNA Cab Better Than Ever!

Earlier this year my Wine of the Month was the 2010 Hanna Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma’s Alexander Valley. I recently found and purchased another case, and boy oh boy, it just keeps getting better.

The fruit was sourced from Hanna’s estate vineyard “Red Ranch” in Alexander Valley. It contains 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot and a splash (1%) of Malbec. It was aged for 27 months in barrel, 60% of which was new oak

I loved it back in April, but I love it even more now! When I reviewed it back then I noticed lots of black fruit, vanilla and baking spices. The lush blackberry, black cherry and black currant are still there, but not in a big jammy way. The oak flavors have mellowed a lot. All of the flavors are harmonizing into a beautifully balanced and nicely complex wine. As if this wine isn’t good enough, the price makes it even better!  I’ve been finding it at the $25 range, but it drinks like a $40 or $50 bottle. Now I just need to find a place where I can buy another case or two!

I have a few of the ’11, and it is starting to come into it’s own as well.  I’m really looking forward to trying the ’12!

If you get to Sonoma check them out!

HANNA Winery has two tasting room locations. I first visited the winery at their Russian River Valley home.  This is the original “Home Ranch” of HANNA Winery and is surrounded by their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vineyard.  The tasting room is sweet and cozy, with a very friendly feel.  They also have a picnic area outside where one can enjoy lunch and some Hanna wines.

My most recent visit to HANNA was at their Alexander Valley location, which is a completely different experience.  This large tasting room sells lots of wine themed souvenirs and different condiments, but also offers lovely views of their “Red Ranch Vineyard” from the wrap-around deck. The best part is, they both pour (and offer for purchase) HANNA wines!

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2007 Sprecher Barley Wine (A Beer For Your Wine Cellar!)

I’m obviously a huge wine lover, but I’m a beer lover too! I’ve been all over the world tasting wine, but I also drink a lot of beer along the way. I’ve tasted wonderful beers in Belgium, France, Italy and Germany, but my favorite beer in the world comes from right here in the good ‘ole U. S. of A.!

Sprecher Brewery is located in Glendale, Wisconsin (a suburb of Milwaukee) and was founded in 1985 by former Pabst employee Randal Sprecher. They make an award winning Root Beer, as well as many other sodas. They also make some fabulous award winning beers, with my favorite being their seasonal Dopple Bock, which is only released in the winter. Since this is a wine blog though, I thought that I’d talk about their Barley Wine. Okay, so it’s not wine, but it’s REALLY tasty!!!

I buy a couple cases of beer at their brewery whenever I get to Milwaukee. A few years back I bought a few bottles of the Barley Wine brewed in 2007 and stored them in my wine cellar. I pulled out the last one yesterday to enjoy with Sunday football. It currently has a golden orange, copper color. On the nose are caramel, butterscotch and some Christmas spices. The palate has the caramel and spices, along with sweet burnt brown sugar and toffee.  It tastes a bit oxidized, but not in a bad way. It is almost like Sherry. My husband made me share, and we both really enjoyed it.

Although not widely distributed enough for me, some of Sprecher’s beers can be found out there. I’ve found their Oktoberfest, Mai Bock, Abbey Triple and Black Bavarian at Total Wine here in Orlando. I also find them at a few brewpubs in the area. Luckily I’m headed to Milwaukee this week, so I’ll be stocking up on some of my favorites!

The next time you’re anywhere near Milwaukee, put a visit to Sprecher Brewery on your list of things to do. They have tours and tastings too, but you’ll need a reservation for those. Be sure to get directions or put it in your GPS, because you’ll be surprised to find that it’s located in a residential neighborhood!

Meanwhile, if you see Sprecher anything at your local retailer, grab it.  I have a feeling that you’ll love their beers as much as I do!

Here’s their website:  http://www.sprecherbrewery.com/index.php

Falling In Love With Rioja

I don’t have many Spanish wines in my cellar, but that’s about to change.

The other night my husband and I opened a 2004 La Rioja Alta Reserva Vina Ardanza, and I fell in love.  Rioja is located in north-central Spain, closer to Bordeaux than the Mediterranean Sea.  This wine is from Rioja Alta, one of Rioja’s sub regions, which has warm, sunny summers, mild winters and a high altitude.

The ‘04 is a blend of 80% Tempranillo and 20% Grenacha (Grenache).  It was aged for 36 months in 4-year-old American oak barrels.

The expressive nose is earthy with cedar, tobacco and dark fruit.  The palate has dusty earth, coffee and a lot of black cherry and other dark fruit flavors coming through, but not in a jammy way.  The earth and fruit are a wonderful marriage in this dark red wine.  It’s drinking well now, but has plenty of time to go too!

The 2004 La Rioja Alta Reserva Vina Ardanza is a great deal for the $30 price point.  It can be found for even a little less!  You really should grab some if you can find it!  I’ll definitely be buying more, and increasing my personal supply of wines from Rioja and other parts of Spain as well!

Salud!

 

Riesling, A Full Circle Wine!

Things often seem to come around full circle. It happens in many aspects of our lives, including wine!

Riesling is one of those wines. It is often the varietal people start drinking when they’re first getting into wine, and eventually ends up being a favorite, especially with experienced wine drinkers. A glass of Riesling is easy to drink and keeps us wanting more. “Keep filling up the glass,” we say! The often sweet or off-dry wines are attractive and easy to drink!

The more we drink and learn about wine, many of us often decide that if it’s not bone dry, big, red, and full of tannin it’s not good. And yet many wine professionals believe Riesling to be the world’s greatest varietal!  Hmmmm.  How does this work?

The high acidity of the Riesling grape keeps it all together.  It balances out any residual sugar to make these wines very drinkable and fabulous accompaniments to a wide range of foods.  AND, not all Riesling has an abundance of sweetness.

Last night I opened a bottle of the 2012 Dönnhoff Riesling Trocken from the Nahe region of Germany.  This pale yellow wine has a lovely, aromatic nose with lime zest, lemon peel and white flowers. Some of the slate and petrol that is so typical in Riesling is there as well. “Trocken” means dry.   This wine isn’t sweet, but it has wonderful fruitiness that livens the palate with a crisp, prickly effervescence on the palate.  Peach, apricot, pear and great acidity round out the palate.

And the price is great too!!!  At about $20 a bottle this is one of my “go to” Rieslings for fun gatherings, sipping on my deck after a long day of work, and will be a great addition to my Thanksgiving dinner this year.

You can get more information here:

http://www.doennhoff.com

 

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