2006 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Chase Creek Merlot

Happy Cellar Saturday!  It's the first Saturday of a new month which means it's Cellar Saturday, that magical time when I raid the cellar for something at least a decade in the making.  Tonight is a special Cellar Saturday, as this wine has not been in my cellar long, but it has been brewing for double my decade requirement, this one being 20 years in the making, thanks to a recent purchase from Wines Till Sold Out.  The 2006 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Chase Creek Merlot is a blend of Merlot (77%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (23%) from the Chase Creek, which lies between the S.L.V. and FAY vineyards in the Stag's Leap District of Napa Valley.  So, let's see how this wine has been spending the last two decades!

The wine is a deep ruby color in the glass with hints of amber along the edges, just as you'd expect from a mature Merlot.  The nose presents aromas of leather, black cherry, rich spices and toasted oak that have you immediately thinking of an Ivy League library.  The first sip is just a rambunctious affair with a rush of tart cherry, blackberry and currant that ease into some earthy mineral notes, caramel and vanilla bean notes midpalate.  The tannins are well structured and still vibrant, leading to a wonderful lingering dry finish that will have you reaching for another sip.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, as this is a classic Merlot that has every element which that stupid movie lacks!  This wine would pair well with a midafternoon cheese platter, rustic beef stew and classic grilled lamb.  Tonight I am taking the road less traveled and enjoying this wine with a pan seared salmon with steamed basmati rice topped with smoked paprika and steamed sugar snap peas.  Cheers!

2007 Ravenswood Pickberry Vineyards Red Wine

Another wine evening, I mean fine evening, but I repeat myself!  Tonight I am enjoying a wonderful bottle of 2007 Ravenswood Pickberry Vineyards red wine.  It was 2000 when I was introduced to Ravenswood, and the single vineyard wines were always at the top of their offerings, and the Pickberry Bordeaux blend was always at the top of the top.  To the fact that I was able to get a few bottles in a recent order from Wineshopper.com is fortunate so I can see if the wine still lives up to its reputation a decade on.

Well, to give away the surprise, it certainly does!  This is a classic Bordeaux style blend of Merlot (58%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (42%) from Sonoma Valley.  This wine is a bright ruby color in the glass, and the nose is a fragrant blend of red fruit, tobacco, licorice and musk.  The taste is surprisingly fruit forward, with hints of cherry and red currant at the front end, giving way to some complex mineral flavors mid-palate.  The finish is wonderfully dry with the tangyness of the tannins providing a nice firm finish.  The wine is still a little young, and will likely age quite well over the next decade or two.

Overall, I can't find much of anything negative to say about this wine, which is somewhat rare in itself!  I would rate this one a solid 9, with the only thing holding it back from an everyday drinking wine being the price, which at $30 is a bit of a stretch in these budget conscious times.  I am enjoying this one with tonight with a grilled ribeye and some roasted asparagus and corn on the cob, a traditional Memorial Day feast, but I've got a hunch I'll enjoy it just as much after dinner relaxing on the patio!

2008 L'Ecole No. 41 Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon

Today is the autumnal equinox, half day, half night and the first official day of Fall, so what better way to celebrate fall than to go back to school!  In this case we'll be going back to school at one of my absolute favorite wineries of all time, L'Ecole No. 41 in Lowden, Wash.  You see, today I was fortunate in that a long awaited order (blast you summer head!) arrived at my office, along with the L'Ecole red wine club selection for fall!

So to celebrate this banner day, I am enjoying a bottle of the 2008 Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon!  Now wines from Washington are exceptional in many ways, and those from Walla Walla represent the cream of the crop in my view.  Having lived in Washington and Oregon for five years, I had more than my fair share of opportunities to travel in the Columbia Valley, visiting the fine folks at L'Ecole as well as the many other fine vineyards along U.S. 12.  The wines are exceptional Bordeaux blends that can stand up to the best wines anywhere in the world, and many are such small vineyards with limited production that having a bottle is sure to be a special treat to share with friends and family.

Tonight I am enjoying a new vintage, the 2008 Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon, which is likely still a bit young, but sure to mature quite nicely in the years to come.  I must have at least two or three cases of L'Ecole wines with vintages going back to 2000, and it's really interesting to see how the wines have evolved and matured over the years (unfortunately your author hasn't evolved and matured nearly as much!).

The wine itself is a beautiful ruby red color, and the nose is a blend of plum and black cherry mingling with rich leather and earth, suggesting your about to get your wine drinking butt kicked by a really solid red!  The taste is a surprisingly delicate and sophisticated array of fruit, with plums, blackberry, yet an elegant tannic structure that provides a fabulously dry finish that's quite unexpected from a wine with such fruit.  After a long day of work, I am so happy to relax with a glass of such a nice wine that brings back memories of warm summers in the high desert of eastern Washtington...Ahhh... As for my rating, this wine is not inexpensive, but it's worth every penny of the $36 asking price (by the way, if you are a wine club member like me, you get all sorts of exclusive bottlings and other fun stuff, 3 special shipments a year, and 15% off the price of this wine!), so overall I would rate this one a solid 9 with plenty of room to advance as it matures.  So if you have access, pick up a bottle for yourself today, and enjoy it with a rare ribeye and some grilled veggies like I'm doing tonight!

Finally, a note for my friends at L'Ecole No. 41: I know you've spend a lot of effort on the new labels and marketing, and I think it's fabulous.  The embossed white labels of the Walla Walla wines and special wines is sophisticated and projects a solid image for the winery.  However, some of us have enjoyed the Recess Red over the last few years, and before that the School House Red, they were fun and whimsical, and fit well with the old labels, so I can understand how they might not make it with the refreshed 2009 vintage.  That said, the new "Red Wine" that replaces the recess red has to be renamed.  I mean really, we go from whimsical "Recess Red" to "Red Wine"?  You may as well save the printing fees and stencil it on the bottle with white paint!  Here's a suggestion, how about a contest to name the replacement?  Get your fans involved, offer a nice prize, maybe a free bottle of the newly named wine in their honor?  I'll get you started, here is my suggestion, let's go back to School House Red, but with a French twist, "l'école maison rouge."  Now set loose the creativity of your rabid fans to honor the best red table wine on the planet under $20 (in my opinion anyway) with a name that fits the great product that it is!

2005 Saviez Zinfandel

Ahh...how I love a good Zin! And although I freely admit that some of the best Zins come from Lodi, on occasion the Napa Valley comes up with some pleasant surprised as with tonight's escapade, the 2005 Saviez Vinyards Napa Valley Zinfandel.

Now this is one of those vertical picks, as last year I had such a good experience with their 2004 vintage, we decided to go with it again for our office wine club's September pick, and I was not disappointed!  The wine is a classic Zin, fruit forward with a long smooth finish.  The wine itself is a deep ruby red, with a bit of opaqueness.  It exhibits scents of ripe berries, cherries and a hint of leather and tobacco.  As you take a whiff, you get the sense that something really good awaits!  And there's no disappointment with the taste, as the sweetness of rich ripe fruit quickly gives way to leather and cedar and a long, smooth, tannin filled finish.  The wine just exudes the characteristics of a small production, high-quality producer.  Now, compared with the 2004 vintage, this is clearly the step child, as that vintage was just super all around, but this one is still quite a nice Zin and one which I would easily buy at the price.

Tonight I enjoyed this wine with a nice rare New York strip and an ear of grilled corn, a perfect summer meal to start the weekend.  Overall I would rate this wine a solid 8, with a chance to improve with a little age, though Saviez is quite good at not releasing their Zins before they are at least ready to drink!  Salut!

2006 D-Cubed Primitivo

What a beautiful evening!  The sun is shining, it's perhaps 75 degrees, and an ideal evening for a glass of wine on the patio before dinner.  Tonight I'm enjoying a wine that accentuates the feel of a late summer evening, the 2006 D-Cubed Primitivo from Napa Valley.

For those of you unfamiliar with Primitivo, it's a close cousin to Zinfandel (and what great Zins come from Sonoma!), and in fact DNA testing has shown that it's nearly identical to Zinfandel grapes.  The Primitivo is commonly grown in the "heel" of Italy, producing wonderful wines with bountiful fruit, and a somewhat higher alcohol content.  Now, in the mid-19th century, the Primitivo grape was brought to California where it took on the "Zinfandel" name, and today produces a great red wine, along with it blush sister, the White Zinfandel which is quite popular in the United States, though I couldn't begin to tell you why!

The D-Cubed Primitivo has a nose full of fruit, and a quick whiff will surely tell you this is a more fruit-forward red than many of the dry Bordeaux style blends.  You can smell hints of blackberry and cherry, which a bit of woody earthiness.  The taste is wonderfully loaded with fruit, so much that it almost makes you think it's sweeter than it is.  As it hits the back of your mouth, you get a great hint of spice and cedar before a clean smooth finish.  This wine would be great as a later dinner pairing with a cheese plate, particularly with some stronger cheeses (tonight I enjoyed it with a little aged swiss).  I got this one as a Wines Till Sold Out Cheapskate Wednesday selection, and I really enjoyed it.  I would rate this one a solid 8.5, particularly given the wonderful price of only $13!

2007 Rumpus Syrah

Ok, seriously, how can you not just love a wine called "Rumpus"?!?!?  I saw this one on the WTSO cheapskate Wednesday a couple weeks back and couldn't resist, after all even if the wine was terrible, it's called RUMPUS!!!

Well, lucky for me and several friends who shared this purchase, it's not a terrible wine.  Quite the opposite, this is really an exceptional Syrah from California's Sonoma Valley.  No often times we see a syrah or "shiraz" and expect it to be lighter and a great pairing for lighter summer fare, or just sitting on the patio enjoying a glass of wine on an August evening, but this one is much more like a petite syrah, which is such a misnomer...

The Rumpus syrah is a blend of 86% syrah with the balance of Cabernet Franc, which is a blending grape that is so underappreciated in my opinion.  So in this instance you end up with a wine that is a deep ruby, almost inky color in the glass, so you get the sense that this is not the lighter side of syrah.  The nose is ripped with scents of cedar, leather and pepper, which merely whets your appetite for the wine that's to come.  The taste has an infusion of berries, with spice and delicate tannins that scream fine age worthy wine from the south of France!  But this is from California, showing that our friends outside Napa can compete just as effectively on the world wine stage.

I've been sipping this wine all evening as I've been cooking dinner, and thankfully I have a full glass left to enjoy with my summertime dinner of barbecued chicken breast, sweet potato fries and steamed asparagus.  Such a wonderful evening!  As for my rating, I would put this wine at a solid 8.5, and it was a WTSO cheapskate Wednesday selection for only $13!

2006 Sanguineti Caruso

Ok, in celebration of our Independence Day, let's start off with some fireworks!  My wine today was our July office wine club selection and comes to us from our friends at Madwine.com, the 2006 Sanguineti Caruso.  Now we've seen the emergence over the last few years of the "Super Tuscans" those wines that come from the Tuscany region, but do not fit squarely in the DOC(G) classification system.  Well our wine today is being billed as a "Super Italian" as it takes an unorthodox approach of blending wine from grapes grown throughout Italy, and as the label touts, from the Nord, Centrale and Sud.

From an aesthetic standpoint, this wine blends some of the best grapes from the Valpolicella region (think Amarone), Tuscany (think Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino) and Sicily (Nero d'Avola).  From a technical standpoint, this is a blend of 14% Corvina (from the Veneto region in Northeast Italy), 6% Rondinella (also from Veneto and used in Valpolicella and Bardolino), 50% Sangiovese (from Tuscany in Central Italy, the main grape in Chianti and Brunello), 10% Syrah and 20% Nero d'Avola (from Sicily).

The wine itself has a remarkable nose, with hints of leather, tobacco and spice, but a very strong sense of the fruit, exhibited by plum and cassis.  The taste is fairly dry, but with a fruity spice that really explodes on the palate (hence the fireworks!), with fairly robust tannins leading to a long, but clean finish.  Quite honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect from a "Super Italian" after all could combining the great wines from each region even equal the sum of the parts?  Well I was very surprised, as this wine was very pleasant from the first sip to the last, a real taste of a nation with more than 2 millenia of experience making wine.  Overall I would rate this one a solid 8.5, expecially at the $13 price tag we were able to get it for!  So this weekend grab some Italian sausage and some fresh eggplant, zuccini, peppers, and other veggies and grill them out and enjoy them with this wine! "Tutti a tavola a mangiare!"

2005 Château La Tour de Bessan Margaux

Ahh...it's been a stressful week, and today I am just in a foul mood, but it's 4 o'clock and time to relax with a glass of wine.  To treat myself today, I decided to take myself back to France, and enjoy "Printemps à Paris," imagining myself back in the warm breeze enjoying a glass of fine bordeaux at a sidewalk cafe overlooking the Eiffel Tower.  And to do that without dealing with the morons from the TSA, I have to just open a nice bottle of Margaux, this one from the exceptional 2005 vintage from Château La Tour de Bessan.  Arguably, Margaux is the king of bordeaux, and it is really the most elegant and complex wine of the Médoc (and when I was first introduced to fine red wines on my first visit to France, the Haut Médoc was a personal favorite). 

This wine certainly does not disappoint!  It's still quite young (6 years old is merely a babe when it comes to Margaux, and this one will age nicely for the next 20 years), and aleady it's very dry.  In the nose it has a wondeful hint of leather and earth with the faintest hint of cassis.  It has a lightness, yet a rich, velvelty mouthfeel, with a taste of spice that really lets the gravelly terroir of margaux shine through.  With every sip, the wine exhibits more complexity, with a long, smooth finish.  In my mind, this wine would complement almost any meal, as it does not over power, but simply expresses itself in an understated way as only a fine bordeaux can.  Even more importantly, this wine is great all by itself, as I relax and enjoy it, bringing back memories of Paris.  It's really almost impossible to describe how different a fine French bordeax can feel and taste, particularly if you are used to the big bold cabs of Napa Valley, or even the more fruit forward bordeaux blends of the Columbia Valley in Washington.  A fine bordeaux is in a class by itself, and thankfully, a benefit of the great recession is that many of these great wines are even more affordable than ever, with this wine recently coming down in price from $44 to only $34, and well worth every penny!  Now I just need to grab a bit of nicely aged cheese and finish enjoying my afternoon with this wine.  Oh, and as for a rating, I would give this one a solid 9, and I'm sure that rating will only expand if I taste it again in 2015 or 2020!  À votre santé!

2007 Louis Martini Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Did you ever have one of those days that started off pretty crappy and just got worse as the day wore on?  Well, that was the kind of day I had today!  It started with a lot of work nonsense, then a lot of errands, then I took off the passenger side mirror from my truck!  You see, we've had a lot of snow, and unlike every other building in my complex, the snow plow people insisted on piling the snow up right in front of my garage!

You can see here how there is a nice pile of snow and so I end up having to try to drive around the pile everytime I go in and out of the garage.  Well, I have a pickup truck and it's not like turning a tiny car in and out, it's a pretty tight fit when I just have to pull in straight.  So when I went out this afternoon to go grocery shopping, I tried to get out and ended up taking my mirror our on the side of the garage you're looking at in the photo.  Luckily the garage is fine, but my truck is not!  Now I have to deal with this next week, UGH!

So with that sort of day, there is no doubt that I absolutely need a glass of wine this evening (maybe a couple bottles!), and I decided to open the 2007 Louis Martini Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that I got on the recommendation of my friend and coworker Jeanine.  Well, it certainly shifted the direction things were going for me as it's a really nice cab!

This wine is really the standard Napa cab, though not the big bold type that seems so common nowadays.  This one is certainly bold, but it also has some spice and layered complexity that makes it so enjoyable after a tough day.  The aroma is warm and inviting, with hints of berry, oak and a certain earthiness.  Have a sip and the mouthfeel is rather velvety, but sharp.  The taste springs forth with blackberry, cherry and plum, with a spicy oak and subtle tannins, leaving you with a sense of the cool fall day that the grapes were picked.  Overall, a very nice wine, all you would expect from a Napa cab, at a very nice price.  This one was $19.99, not a screaming bargain, but certainly worth the price, and for that I would rate this wine a solid 8.

2008 Feudo di San Nicola Negro Amaro

Sometimes you read an article on the internet and say to yourself, I should try that!  I am mostly prone to that when it comes to recipes and new wines.  Today's treat comes from an article I read on Snooth.com about the wines of Puglia, or the "heel" of Italy.  When I asked my local wine merchant to recommend some wines from Puglia, he recommended this one, the 2008 Feudo di San Nicola Negro Amaro.

Apparently the negro amaro grape is one common in Puglia, and is one of the best wine grapes in the region.  In comparing to other Italian red wines, this one is charting its own course.  It's much darker and richer than the typical Sangiovese of Tuscany, and if I had to compare it to one other, it might come close to a Valpolicella ripasso, for those who are big fans of Amarone.

The wine itself is a deep ruby red, with a wonderful aroma or rich earthy scents, ranging from aged oak to ripened berries.  The mouthfeel is vibrant, with sensations of smooth velvet, that at first seems quite dry but finished with a hint of sweet berries.  Overall a very nice wine that would go well with grilled meats, rich pasta dishes or even just sipping alone.  I would rate this wine a solid 8.0, well worth the $14.99 sale price I paid!  So venture out of the well trod path of Tuscany and discover what other fun wines Italy has to offer!

2006 Sant' Antonio Monti Garbi Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso

Ok, so I grew up in basically an alcohol free Dutch home, but my mother's side of the family had both the Dutch influence, but also had my grandfather, Paul Luchene, the wildcard!  Now my grandpa wasn't a rebel, but he brought to me the French and Italian blood that I think influences my tastes to this day!  Hence my personal valentine to myself, the 2006 Sant' Antonio Monti Garbi Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso!  For my dinner on this romantic day, I have some wonderful hot Italian sausage, grilled with onions and peppers, along with some rustic Italian bread and some linguine with garlic and olive oil, oh so delicious!  And to top it off some wonderful Italian wine! 

Now the Valpolicella comes from the area of Verona in Italy which should be familiar to you romantics (remember a story of Romeo and Juliet?).  At any rate, this wine is actually a leftover wine from the beautiful Amarone (see any words here that remind you of love?  Amore?  Anyone?  Bueller?).  Amarone is a rich Italian red wine made from the partially dried grapes of several varieties of grapes, and is such a lovely red wine but oh so costly!  So the Valpolicella Ripasso, comes from the ripasso (think replay) or second pressing of the Amarone, so it ends up as my second love!  A wonderful wine that is the less expensive Amarone!

The 2006 Sant' Antonio Monti Garbi Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso is such a wonderful wine, and the perfect expression of Valentines Day!  The wine has a wonderful array of aromas, from leather and a sunny day in the forest, to berries, the scents just send a message to your brain, "Gentlemen, start your engines!"  The first sip is just a magical and lucious mouthful, tastes of berries, deep rich grapes that can only come from the pressing of grapes well on their way to becoming raisins.  A deep red color, velvety tannins, and a taste that just screams AMORE!  Whether you are married, dating or even like me, this is the perfect wine to celebrate the love of the season!  

I am enjoying this wine with spicy Italian sausage, some rustic bread with butter (for added romance, try some truffle butter, ooohhh la la!) and a little al dente linguine with garlic and olive oil.  A perfect romance with flavor, texture and aromas such that cupid couldn't miss!  Happy Valentine's Day!