Recent Wine Blog Entries

Blackbird Vineyard 2009 Arise

To celebrate the 12th day of Christmas, and the NFL Playoffs, I opened a great Right Bank Bordeaux blend from California last night.  The 2009 Blackbird Vineyard’s “Arise” Proprietary Red Wine from Napa Valley is made of 53% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 22% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Aged in French oak for 21 months, this lovely wine offers blackberry, some fun cola and a little smokiness on the nose.  On the palate are plum, cassis, the cola, chocolate and lots of dark fruit.  The finish is fabulously long with some wonderful spicy oak.  This dry wine has nice sweet tannins, which makes it very drinkable now.  I do, however, plan to get a few more bottles to tuck safely into my cellar to enjoy three or four years from now.

Blackbird Vineyard’s winemaker is Aaron Pott, who began his winemaking career at Newton Vineyard in Napa.  He then went abroad where he was the winemaker for Chateau Troplong Mondot and Chateau Las Tour Figeac, both highly respected entities in St. Emilion.  He was recently named the 2012 Winemaker of the Year by Food & Wine Magazine.

Another fun fact is the winery’s name.  When Blackbird’s owner, Michael Polenske, was searching Napa for a nice house with a pool on a hill, he instead fell in love with a nice house with a pool surrounded by a vineyard.  This vineyard was already producing beautiful Merlot fruit being used in world-class wines.  Merlot means young or little blackbird in French patois!

With the help of his team, Polenske has turned his property into a successful winery with some terrific wines.  If you’re a fan of Right Bank Bordeaux, as I am, be sure to check out the wines of Blackbird Vineyard!

 

 

2008 Ross Andrew Boushey Vineyard Syrah

Over the long Thanksgiving Day weekend many bottles of wine were opened and poured in my house to celebrate family and friends, and in thanks to all of the blessings we have.  Of the many bottles shared, my favorite of the weekend was the 2008 Ross Andrew Boushey Vineyard Syrah from Columbia Valley.

This ’08 Syrah has a deep ruby, almost purple color.  On the nose is a lot of wet earth, along with smoky meat and barbecue aromas and some blackberry.  On the palate are cherry, blackberry, pepper and a touch of coffee, with nice sweet tannins.  This wine is very well balanced and drinking beautifully now, but can be cellared for another 5 plus years.  I only wish I’d bought a case instead of a bottle!

I visited the tasting room of Ross Andrew Winery in Woodinville, Washington a couple of years ago, which is where I purchased this bottle.  If you’re ever in the Seattle area definitely check out nearby Woodinville.  It’s a great little town full of tasting rooms, wonderful restaurants, and darned nice people.  Be sure to visit Ross Andrew Winery’s tasting room while you’re there!

http://www.rossandrewwinery.com/

Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival

Last week my husband and I headed to Epcot’s International Food and Wine Festival to check out some wine and have some fun.  We attend almost every year, and enjoy strolling from “country” to “country” sampling food, wine and beer from the represented locations. 

Some of our favorite stops include “Canada” for the Cheddar Cheese Soup,  “Japan” for Sushi and Saki, and “Italy” for Brunello di Montalcino!  We seem to spend most of our time in “France” where I devour glasses of Champagne while practicing my French, and my husband eats crepes and drinks a nice Chateauneuf du Pape!

A highlight of the festival is attending the beverage seminars, which are a presentation and tasting lead by someone from the represented winery or brewery.  The seminar we chose to attend was Heitz Wine Cellars.  Daniel Vu, their National Sales Manager, conducted the presentation and led us through four Heitz wines. 

2011 Heitz Sauvignon Blanc – This wine has some lemon and honeydew, along with nice rounded acidity.  It is aged in an oak tank and sees no barrel time.

2010 Heitz Chardonnay – This Chardonnay is done in an Old World style, with good acidity and lots of the fruit coming through.  Apple, pear and some gentle baking spices come through on the palate.  This nicely balanced wine sees 6 – 7 months in French Oak Barrels, 70% of which are used and 30% new.  They then use the barrels for aging their Zinfandel in upcoming vintages.

2007 Heitz Napa Cabernet Sauvignon – Dark cherry, plum and cola burst in this wine.  The finish explodes with dark fruit and smooth vanilla.  This wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon blended of grapes from the Rutherford Vineyard and the Howell Mountain Vineyard.  It sees a year in tank, 2 years in new French Oak and another year in the bottle before it is released.

2006 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon – I was very excited to see that Daniel was pouring their “Martha’s Vineyard” for our tasting, and I wasn’t disappointed.  There is cherry, some spice and this vineyard’s signature mint on the nose.  The palate is chocolate covered cherry all the way, with some baking spices, the mint and a little earthiness.  This is going to be a gem of a wine in 10 years!

Daniel did a wonderful job guiding us through the wines, sharing some history of the winery, and explaining some of the many facets of their winemaking process.  Heitz is still a family owned and run business and all of their wines are 100% varietal with the exception of their Port.  This was a lovely tasting and a great way to start the day.

Epcot’s International Food & Wine festival occurs every year from late September through early November.  Don’t hesitate to check it out and join in on the fun!

My November Wine of the Month

Talty  
Zinfandel
William Talty Vineyards
Dry Creek Valley
2008

I thought that it would be fun to review a Zinfandel for the holidays!  For me, Zinfandel is the perfect varietal to sip while cozying in front of a fireplace or while watching your favorite holiday movie.

A fabulous producer of Zinfandel is Talty Vineyards and Winery, located in the ultimate region for Zinfandel, the Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County.

The Wine – This 2008 Estate Zinfandel has a nose full of cranberry, blackberry and pepper, along with a pleasant herbal and floral quality.  The palate is lush with red candied apple, cranberry, oregano, peppery vanilla and a touch of Jolly Rancher watermelon!  It is comprised of 90% Zinfandel, 7% Petite Sirah and 3% Carignane.  I highly recommend all of Talty’s Zinfandels.

My Experience Visiting the Winery – I’ve visited Talty a couple of times now, and have had wonderful experiences both times.  The tasting room is cozy, and sits right amongst the barrels of aging wines.  We tasted at individual wine barrels used as tables instead of the typical tasting bar.  Michael Talty himself poured on this past visit, while his wife Katie walked us through their wines on our first visit.  Talty provides a warm, friendly and unpretentious tasting experience, with the added bonus of fabulous wines.

The Journey – Talty is located right on Dry Creek Road in Healdsburg.  On arrival, we drove up a long beautiful driveway lined with vineyards on the left and peach trees on the right.  These vineyards are the William Talty Vineyards (named for Michael’s father), whose grapes produce this wine.

Blind Tasting in West Palm Beach

I attended a great blind tasting yesterday in West Palm Beach.  It was provided by the Guild of Sommeliers and was conducted by Geoff Kruth and Andrew McNamara, both Master Sommeliers.

We tasted four whites and four reds.  The whites were:

2007  Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru “Les Chenevottes” from Domaine Louis Latour – This was my favorite white of the day, but then again I’m a sucker for White Burgundy.  On the nose was lots of caramel apple.  On the palate were green apple and some pear.  It had a lot of nice minerality, which balanced out the oak beautifully.  This Chardonnay is drinking nicely now, but can be cellared for years.  This wine is a great value at about $40.  The vineyard (Les Chenevottes) is slightly higher up on the slope and to the left of the Grand Cru Le Montrachet.

2011 Terrazas Reserva Torrontés – The very floral nose was that of a rose perfume.  On the palate were lemon, pineapple, lychee and some peach.  This unoaked wine was a classic example of a Torrontés from the Salta region of Argentina.

2011 Terlan Pinot Grigio Alto Adige– Although I found this Italian Pinot Grigio aromatically challenged, it had some nice citrus and white peach on the palate. It was nicely balanced and had a pleasant finish.

2011 Sigalas Santorini Assyrtiko – For only a little over $20 per bottle, this is another winner.  Assyrtiko (or Assyrtico) has become a top grape in Greece, as it maintains its acidity in hot climates.  It originates here in the Santorini region of Greece.  This 2011 from Sigalas had some lemon and lime on the nose.  On the palate was the citrus, along with a little green pepper, some green olive juice and a hint of smokiness.  The finish was nice and long.  This wine can be drunk now, or cellared for up to 8 years.

Next up were the red wines!

2010 Lapostolle Casa Carmenere – This is a deep purple wine with lots of red and black ripe fruits.  There is a nice spiciness on the palate and a good amount of acidity to balance everything out.  The tannins are there, but not obnoxious.  This Carmenere is from the Rapel Valley of Chile.  Carmenere is known as the “lost grape of Bordeaux” because it is rarely seen there anymore, but was planted widely in the Médoc in the early 18th century.  Today, this grape is accomplishing many great things in Chile.

2008 Muga Rioja Reserva – This wine, from a highly respected producer in Rioja, is made up of 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha, 7% Mazuelo and 3% Graciano.  It spent 24 months in oak before being bottled, but the oak is not overpowering.  The plum, dark cherry and chocolate comes through nicely.  There is a vanilla cherry cola essence to this wine, and it’s delicious.  This wine will age for well over a decade.

2009 Shea Wine Cellars Estate Pinot Noir – This is a pretty big Pinot Noir, and yet it is still elegant.  On the nose there was lots of ripe cherry and vanilla.  The palate brought some strawberry and raspberry preserves, sweet cherry and baking spices.  There is a nice herbal, earthiness that keeps this wine from being “too much”.  Shea Wine Cellars of the Willamette Valley in Oregon is doing some wonderful things with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay!

2007 Tedeschi Amarone della Valpolicella – This is a concentrated, high alcohol wine.  On the nose were raisins, plums, dark chocolate and coffee.  The palate provided a mocha covered raisin taste with some other dark fruits and a touch of spice.  The tannins were present, but it’s an easy wine to drink right now.  It will, of course, develop for years to come.  I’ll be getting a few of these for my cellar!

The day ended with a surprise!  We were poured one last red wine.  We all assessed this additional wine as we heard some reviews.  We could tell it was a high quality wine.  It was well balanced with some nice complexity.  The fruit and earthiness blended well on the palate.  It ended up being a 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon from Oregon!  It’s not just anyone’s wine either; it’s a new venture by former NFL Wide Receiver and current ESPN NFL analyst Keyshawn Johnson.

The name of the wine is XIX.  Appropriate, because he wore #19 when he played!  The grapes used are 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and are from the Echo West Vineyards located at the southern end of the Columbia Valley.   The wine was aged in Hungarian Oak for 18 months.  The winemakers and owners of Echo West Vineyards are Lloyd and Lois Piercy, both natives of the American west.

 

 

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