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
Monday, March 9, 2009
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.
Find the best price to buy Whitehall Lane on the Web:
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.
Find the best price to buy Whitehall Lane on the Web:
Thursday, March 5, 2009
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
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
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
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
Buy Riedel Wine Glasses
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
Buy Riedel Wine Glasses
Monday, March 2, 2009
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
All your Kitchen and Cookware needs are at Instawares
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
All your Kitchen and Cookware needs are at Instawares
Sunday, March 1, 2009
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.
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
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
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