Copain 2005 Madder Lake Syrah

Copain just released (and I just received happily) their 2007 single vineyard Syrahs and Pinot Noirs (2 offerings of each type), so I was in the mood to pop a 2005 Madder Lake Syrah. This is a wine I have had from other vintages, including 2004 and found them to be fairly open and floral fruity wine.

This 2005 Madder Lake was no different. The nose had a great sweet smokey quality to it. Almost a sweet BBQ cedar component and sone cranberry. The aroma was very nice.

This 2005 Syrah captured great dark fruit and sour cherry on the palate with a pretty sweet blueberry finish. I enjoyed that as I love blueberry, but it could be a tad sweet at the end for some. Had a good dryness touch at the end which could, for a moment throw some off as a cabernet. More likely it is just still young.

I thought this was a solid wine from Copain. I enjoy so many of their wines and I am a proud mailing list member. Wells Guthrie - the winemaker does a really nice job year in and year out.

Let this air out some if tasting it in the near term, but the flavors and aroma are all there.

90 Points

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2002 Beckmen Estate Cabernet Sauvignon - Beckmen

For anyone who knows me or has seen many of my wine tasting notes here and elsewhere, I am a big fan of Beckmen wines. I have really enjoyed their Syrahs and their Grenache was out of this world good and one of my favorite wines of this year.

2002 was a pretty ripe year for many areas in California. I have had some strong bottles of Cabernet from 2002, but I was unaware of Beckmen's offering of Cabernet Sauvignon. I bought this at a very affordable price on an auction site. Where most estate or single vineyard Cabs I drink come in at the $30-$40 range, this was bought for only $10. Beckmen's Syrah and Grenache are normlly over $30.

Wine impressions and notes

I found the 2002 Cabernet not my style at all. I don't know if this was an off bottle or not. It was not corked nor did it carry any suspicious odor or color. In fact the aroma has pretty rich with hints of earth, figs, brown sugar and black cherry. But once I took a sip, it was just a thick jammy mess honestly. I hate saying that as I do love this producer, but this just clunked for me. Jammy, tannic with some black cherry, and dark fruit. Got very tart and a little harsh towards the end too and did I say "thick"?

This 2002 was just a total miss for me and way out of balance. If this was an off bottle, so be it. I have had too much experience with this solid producer to slam this bottle with a low score, so I'll leave a score out. If I was a professional big shot taster like Robert Parker or Jim Laube, I'd have my secretary request another bottle of this to compare. But alas, I have no such resources - nor the motivation to seek it out again.

If you can find their Grenache or any of their Syrahs - go for it.

I guess I leave it right there. On to the next wine....

Wine Glass Size - Big Glass

I'm going to really try to refrain from saying "Size does matter" with wine. Ooops Sorry.

Does wine taste better when you have it out of a bigger glass? The answer in my opinion depends. If the wine is good, a big glass will make it better - most of the time. I don't think you have to always get caught up in what is a Bordeaux glass specifically and so on, but a nice big well crafted Reidel Stem made for a Cabernet or other full bodied wine can really deliver. Deliver what? Big aromas that are released easier when drinking from a bigger stem.

Younger Bolder Red Wines

If there is one type or style of wine that benefits from a nice size glass it is bold young reds that have great body and aroma but maybe are also young and need the extra space in a big glass to stretch out and air - almost like a mini decanter. Even if you are someone who does not sit and smell a wine for 5 minutes before drinking it (ahem...that's me by the way), the aroma of a wine will effect the taste and your full capturing of the flavor. It just does. Try a good full body wine and pour it in to a little glass, you know the kind you'll get at a pizza restaurant or something and pour some into a nice size Cabernet Bordeaux glass. The wine will open up faster, give off stronger aroma and taste much better. Why not drink your best wines in stemware that gives you the best method of enjoyment?

Lighter Bodied Reds and Whites

I enjoy good wines with good sized glasses at low pours. That's just me and there are no rules. I don't even drink champagne out of flutes. I use white wine glasses. I like a big bowl, love to swirl and sniff so lighter bodied reds such as Chianti, Classic Style Pinot Noirs, Malbecs and others work fine for me in bigger stemware.
Full bodied Chardonnays can be big and bold with a large red style wine glass as well.

Not all wines benefit from more real estate in the stem for me. Older wines that past their peak and cheaper everyday bottles will only fade out faster or just taste worse than they would out of a little glass with a high pour!

These are mainly preferences by your truly and certainly more opinion than fact. There is very little about wine enjoyment that is totally based on fact. Still, do yourself a favor and drink your best wines out of a nice big glass and get your whole head in there!

2005 Revolution Shiraz - Mclaren Vale Shiraz

It has been a while for me with Australian Shiraz, so when I saw the 2005 Revolution (which was rated 91 points Wine Spectator I believe) for under $25, I grabbed a few.

I hate to generalize and I'm no blind tasting expert, but I can peg most Australian Shiraz as Aussie wines. I think it has to do with that I generally only drink Rhone style syrah from California and France and the producers and vineyards I drink generally don't produce thick tasting wines. So, yes - you guessed it. The 2005 Revolution is a thicky.

Review Score and Note

This was opened for about 2 hours. Tasted, then corked again for 3 more hours.

The aroma gave off plums, blueberry and some sweet spices and was fairly open. The nose did evolve over the several hours of tasting this. The aroma was thick though. The alcohol is 15%, which isn't crazy and there was no noticable heat.

The taste and feel was very full and thick. The flavors had black cherry, dark rasberry and some chocolate - especially on the finish but the wine was just too heavy...almost "filling". I really struggled wanting to finish it. The Revolution was a wine that tasted fine and had nothing off about it. It was just TOO much weight for me and pretty simple. Not my style.

86 POINTS

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2007 Seghesio Zinfandel Sonoma

Seghesio is a consistant and afforable Zinfandel year in and year out. If you are a wine drinker and Zin drinker, you are probably familiar with Seghesio. They are a consistant Wine Spectator top 100 selection. Many times in the top 25. Their recognition by Wine Spectator is several fold. This wine usually rates at, near or above 90 points. It is priced under $20 in most places and they make a ton of it, so it is very widely available.

Seghesio makes a few other vineyard Zinfandels and those are priced a little over the Sonoma offering.

I also enjoy the fact that their wine style (2007 included) is not heavy, hot or cheap thrilly zin. It is fairly light on it's feet and the alcohol is not high 15%'s or more. This will not overwhelm most red wine type foods.

Tasting Note Review

Aroma of spice, blackberry and fruit skins with a nice mouthfeel that is not overly rich or thick. The palate had really nice flavors of cherries, spice and some pepper with nice balance and a very clean finish. This wine can work for almost anyone and go with almost anything. Under $20. Back up the truck....as usual

89 Points

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Wine Auction Buys March 2009 - Auction Bid Wins

I think I did pretty good on a recent small block of auction purchases. These wines have already been delivered to me. Gotta love the perfect March Shipping weather for auction buys.

2006 Novy Keefer Ranch Chardonnay $15

2005 Revolution Shiraz $20

2007 Lange Twins Pinot Grigio $5 (note already posted here)

2002 Beckmen Estate Cabernet Sauvignon $10

Wine Review: 2007 Lange Twins Pinot Grigio

This producer is from California and the wine is made in Lodi. I have not had a Pinot Grigio from California in a long time. The 2007 Lange Twins Pinot Grigio was bought on the Internet for $5. This has to be the lowest price wine I have ever posted here and I probably have not consumed a $5 wine in a long time. Still, this wine was not $5 retail. I believe this was part of a larger auction lot and I just got lucky....or maybe not!

Wine Review and Score
The 2007 Lange Twins wine was a strange one. When it was first opened it had a very noticable spritzy nose to it. Almost sparkling wine-ish. It also had some green apple on the nose. The taste had some earthyness to it which I liked. Good acidity and apples, peaches with more sparkling spritzy flavors. The finish was not much, but what Pinot Grigio has? Not fair to score based on that. But the wine did turn a little watery as it was opened. I did not like that all. It lost some of that zest pretty quick.

I saved some of the bottle to grab another sip several hours later and while it did not get worse, that lively sparkle never returned. It was a fairly typical low priced Pinot Grigio. Easily drinkable and I have had worse - many worse from Italy actually. I could drink this again or not. This Lange Twins Wine was a decent effort and for what I paid - I'd buy it again.

85 Points

Mara Syrage Lot 7 - Tasting Note 2006 Mara Wine

Mara is a California producer at the medium price end (generally). I only have had 1 vintage experience with a Zinfandel wine a few years ago. My recollection was that it was lean in body with strong flavor and sweetness. That is a very general thought from memory. I rarely see Mara locally, but occaisonally see their Zinfandel. At a price tag usually in the mid $20's to $30, I was not a buyer of the Zinfandel. The Syrage Lot 7 was a surprise find - and at $16

This 2006 from Mara is a Merlot Syrah blend and I have really enjoyed Merlot Syrah blends. I find both really work together. Merlot is a great grape to blend with it's fruit lushness, full body style and low dryness and tannins.

I opened this little fella in the afternoon picking on some cheese and crackers. A great early stop to a work day! I'm drinking a lot more wine lately - have I mentioned that? Anyway, back to the wine:

Wine Tasting Notes

The 2006 Mara Syrage Lot 7 was opened for 30 minutes and this is an easy crowd pleaser - I could tell. Very open aromas of sweet, rich dark fruit and a little nutmeg. Very inviting stuff. The taste matched the aroma with a nice full bodied feel of cranberry, cherries, real good acidity with balance. Nice yummy full finish with some cocoa and chocolate added in. Good things going on here.

Aside from the usual points for this or that. The Mara Syrage is just tasty stuff and would please any fun wine drinker who may not be THAT serious (no one really should be) into wine. Might be a tad sweet for some, but I think that's adds to the wine as the Syrah really gives it that rich spice that makes the blend really work IMO

A QPR (Quality Price Ratio) winner. Pick some up

90 Points

2006 Martinelli Zio Tony Ranch Chardonnay

Martinelli is a well known California producer of mostly Pinot Noir, Zinfandel and Chardonnay. They also make a Syrah and a few other varietals but I have not had any of those. Their Pinots, Zinfandels and Chardonnays are made from several single vineyards they bottle, as well as grapes from a combination of vineyards. The Zio Tony Ranch is one of them.

I have been on Martinelli's mailer and I have also bought their wines from the secondary auction market. This bottle was sourced via auction. I was able to get this 2006 Chardonnay at a very good price from a larger lot being sold.

Tasting Review Note

The nose showed classic California full flavored chardonnay with some toasted almond, lemon and oak. The taste had full and rich flavors of lemon oil, steel, cream and almonds. The mouthfeel was not heavy but the flavors were fairly raw. Not subtle. Very long finish. This 2006 Zio Tony Ranch might be worth it just for that. It really goes.

If someone does not appreciate full bodied California Chardonnay like this 2006 Martinelli, they may find the wine a little over-done. I might agree that while I love a quality full flavored Chardonnay - food (shellfish particularly) would really bring this out.

Not a cocktail wine, but the best Chardonnays - including white burgundies should be food wines IMO.

I would let this sit at least another year in the bottle. But if you are cranking out some nice crab or clam in a garlic white wine sauce (I'm getting hungry now!), let this open for an hour or so and go at it. Don't forget the French Bread for dipping!

90 Points

Nick

Recommended Wine Book:

Bordeaux: A Consumer's Guide to the World's Finest Wines - Robert Parker


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2008 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc

A very consistent producer of affordable, fun and tasty sauvignon blanc. Although there are vintages of Kim Crawford I have like slightly more than others, they are pretty close and solid year to year. The 2008's I have had from others have been fairly straight to the producer and similar to 2007.

Taste Review Notes

Green fruits with peach and tropical aroma and green. The taste was a little more tangy and a little heavier on the grapefruit. The acidity was vibrant as expected. Very crisp and clean, but I did not find this bottle as smooth as last year or the 2006 offering. I wanted to love this again, but didn't. This has scored in the 90 point range almost every year lately by Wine Spectator and even hacks like me! I don;t know what WS gave it yet or if they did or not.

I went through a case of the 2007 Kim Crawfords last summer and they were always the party pleaser. This one will be also, but I did not like it as much.

87 Points

2006 Catena Malbec Score Note

Malbecs are becoming good alternatives to THIS Italian fellas Chianti and Rosso Di Montalcino. I enjoy these lighter bodied, full flavored and good food wines. Catena is a classic affordable Argentina producer of Malbec wines. The 2006 follows a string of consistant vintages for Catena that normally score solidly.

For under $20, these are good values and they are widely available with large production and importing volume. Like Chiantis IMO, these wines benefit from a good food component as there is that classic old style red wine acidity that works best with sauces and hearty meals. This Malbec is the same.

Tasting Note

Nice aroma of spaice, flowers and some cranberry. The mouthfeel was a nice medium body that gave nice spicy fruit and a raisin taste with a semi light simple finish. I had this alone and then with some cheese and cured meat and the wine was measurably helped by the food. Still the wine is a bit on the simple side, but for the price point and availability, there is nothing to really complain about here.

A very nice wine and the price value is strong. I would give it a B+ on a Quality Price Value (QPR) basis.

Full Score: 88 Points

2005 Whitehall Lane Cabernet Sauvignon - Whitehall Lane Winery

I have had a few Whitehall Lane wines over the years. One of my favorites was the 1999 reserve Cabernet. Classy and delicious stuff. Their merlot is a wonderful wine as well. The 2005 Cabernet that this note is on is a young wine, and I have found Whitehall Lane is helped my some aging. They seem built in a classic style and probably should be held. Of course I did not do that here - but then we wouldn't have a note on here. I'm taking one for the team!

Tasting Review

Rich fruit aroma of cherries, blueberry, and some caramel. Full bodied, but a little tannic (because of the youth I would say) on the mouthfeel and swallow. The taste shows cherry cola, cranberry, sour fruit and some chocolate. The taste on this 2005 Whitehall improved over the 2 hours we had this. The finish was good in length but there was an obvious lack of complexity.

Tough to score and rate as the jury is out on this. If I was forced to give a number, I would go 87-89 points.

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2005 Beckmen Grenache Purisima Mountain Vineyard - Beckmen Vineyards

Beckmen is a favorite producer of mine for Syrah and now - Grenache. I love the style of his wines and this Purisima vineyard offering from the 2005 vintage was something pretty special. Actually, it may be the best wine I have had in the last 2-3 months.

I have limited experience with Grenache, but like any varietal - there are strong and weak. The Beckmen was not weak. Class, style and inviting. It was really fun to explore this wine as I was drinking it because I had no idea what was coming. My lack of exerience with quality Grenache wineries and vineyards made my impressions and tasting notes much more natural and unfiltered. Unlike cabernets where you are expecting some blackberry, currant, tannins and so on - I didn't have that here. But - that will probably be the last time as quality Grenache will be something I will look more for in the future. Beckmen and others.

Wine Note

Opened for 30 minutes prior with low pours. (further bottle time and longer opening would be even better)

Aroma of cinnamon, even cinammon toast ( a flashback to my childhood!), some strawberry. A wonderful rich array of fragrances coming from this wine. Very nice and evolving. Tastes of terrific dark mountain fruit, violets blueberry, black cherry, cream and really smooth combinations of flavor. Alcohol is 15.8% and you don't feel it on the taste or finish at all. Well - you "feel it" after a while lol, but there is no heat here that affects balance or taste enjoyment.

Finish is amazingly long, smooth and classy. 30 second plus finish. This wine is really my style. I'm all over it and will look to get more.

94 Points

2005 Loring Pinot Noir Gary's Vineyard - Loring Wine

I have enjoyed Loring's wines since the 2002 vintage. At their best they are fully flavored pinot noirs with last finishes. A their not so good (for my tastes), they can be a bit overdone with extracting and alcohol. The 2005 vintage has had some nice offerings in pinot noir and Loring's vineyard wines from 2005 are generally more to my taste - vs. the 2004's which were very full flavored but some wines were a little overdone.

I hate to generalize Loring wines by vintage as they have several single vineyard wines they produce, but I found several 2003 wines not to my liking. 04 was a very in your face vintage but very fun wines to just drink and get the fruit blast and the alcohol pop.

The 2005 Gary's delivers a bit of both.

Tasting Note

This was opened for 20 minutes and consumed over 1 hour. Dark smokey cherry aroma with a little maple aroma. Very nice nose.

The wine had nice acidity with forward tastes of strawberry, mineral and some cream. A little chalky towards the end, but that could subside with more time in bottle or glass.

89 Points

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2008 Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc - Nobilo

I am a big fan of affordable and flavor filled New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs. I drink a lot of them. Great summer wines. Most are very tasty and made by reliable producers. Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, including names like Nobilo, Brancott, Kim Crawford, Oyster Bay and my favorite - Cloudy Bay deliver consistency year after year...most of the time. 2008 so far seemed to be right there with 2007 wines and earlier vintages.

These wines should also be consumed young. Within 2 years of vintage IMO.

The price for most Sauvignon blancs are under $15. The Nobilo was $12. I may have seen this wine cheaper elsewhere. Anyway, this may be a one and done for me.

Wine Tasting Note

Very green and citrus smelling. Had that tart and sour smell and I was hoping the aroma would be just a little overstated and the taste wouldn't reflect these over done aromas. The taste was exactly what I feared. Very heavy grapefruit, lemon and citrus with unripe fruit within it. Mouthfeel was heavier than most Sauvignon Blancs - so it is not watery or light. Plenty of flavor - just the wrong kind for me.

The acidity, which is usually a virtue with Sauvignon Blancs just goes over and beyond with the 2008 Nobilo. I found this harsh and unbalanced. There are too many good ones out there for the same price or better that I have to say this is a pass.

Score: 83 Points

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2005 Mon Coeur Cotes du Rhone - Mon Coeur Wine

The 2005 Mon Coeur Cotes du Rhone was a wine I purchased a few months ago at an attractive price at auction. It has been a while since I have enjoyed a nice Rhone wine and not California Rhone! Actually I love many California Rhone style wne producers.

2005 is a very strong vintage throughout France. The Bordeaux hype is off the charts crazy of course. I am holding many wines from Burgundy and Bordeaux from 2005 and I hope many of you are as well. They will reward the wine drinker after aging some. The Mon Coeur was one I wanted to try early as it is not a big tannic young cabernet or merlot blend.

The aroma of this wine did not display a lot of youthfulness. It had a classic rhone nose of some ash, slight barnard which blew off by the second glass and some old world style terroir fruit.

The wine had a very nice taste of tea leaf, some citrus, fruit and spices. This changed as it was consumed which shows it youth and makes it a fun bottle to taste. It had some tartness on the finish and was a little disjointed towards the end, which I'll chalk up to the youngness of this Rhone wine. This is a food bottle, as most wines are - especially bottles from France, Italy and most classic grapes and traditional winemaking areas and producers.

The Mon Coeur provides a nice glimpse into the vintage and what this bottle may deliver in the years ahead.

I think I will hold off on an exact rating or score here. I'll say 88-90 point range for now.

Raptor Ridge Pinot Noir Wine - 2006 Raptor Ridge Shea Vineyard Bottle Tasting

The 2006 Raptor Ridge Shea Pinot Noir was a bottle I found at an excellent price on the Internet. I am finding nice deals on wine bottles online through retail stores and at auctio. I bought 3 of them and I think I paid $20 for each. An excellent price for highly regarded Pinot Noir from Oregon.

Oregon is one of my favorite areas for clean, but sharp and flavored pinot noir in the burgundy style of wine. This Raptor Ridge bottle is also from one of the great and more famous vineyards for wine in Oregon - Shea Vineyard.

The color was shiny and not dense. The aroma had nice strawberry, rubarb and some fruit seed. The mouthfeel and body of the wine had much more depth than color or even the nose was giving. This wine really packed a hidden punch of rich berry flavors, with some smooth spice and a very strong follow through.

A very clean - sharp wine that improved as the bottle was going down. Smooth and silky. Nothing wrong hear imo and a lot right. For the money, the Raptor Ridge Pinot Noir from the 2006 vintage is a wine bottle I recommend pretty strongly.

A high QPR (Quality Price Ratio)

I'm not sure what the production amount for this wine. If someone knows, feel free to post it - including the winemaker! By all means - participate.

Wine Score: 91 POINTS