Wine Pick of the Week
2012 Chardonnay Producer: Bonterra Appellation: Mendocino County Alcohol: 13.8% Suggested Retail: $13.99 “Chardonnay can come in many styles. At opposite ends of the taste spectrum would be the lean, perhaps subtler, wines like French Chablis and the big oaky and creamy versions more common in California. This Bonterra wine strikes a nice balance between the two. Made of organically-grown grapes, it exhibits tasty green apple and Bartlett pear flavors which give it a richness. This is offset—perhaps complemented would be a better way of saying it—by a bit of minerality and some bracing citrus qualities. Seventy percent was…
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2011 Syrah Producer: Sobon Estate Appellation: Amador County Alcohol: 13.8% Sugested Retail: $16 “It wasn't that many years ago that Syrah, the predominant grape of France's northern Rhône Valley, was the up-and-coming variety in California. New plantings went in, notably on the Central Coast and in the Sierra Foothills. For reasons nobody seems to have figured out, America's wine-drinking public hasn't embraced the variety to the degree expected. That's a puzzler, because California produces some very high quality Syrahs. “This week's Pick, the 2011 Amador County Syrah from Sobon Estate, is a wonderful wine regardless of price.…
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2011 Zinfandel Producer: Bonterra Vineyards Appellation: Mendocino County Alcohol: 13.5% Suggested Retail: $15.99 “Today's Pick of the Week is produced from certified organically-grown grapes. Bonterra has been a pioneer in producing wines from organically-grown fruit and believes it produces better quality wine. “We've tasted some excellent wines made from organic grapes. We've also tasted some lousy ones. The 2011 Bonterra Zinfandel belongs in the former category. However, we chose it for its taste rather than its green pedigree. There's a whiff of raspberry and finely ground pepper in the nose, which is followed by flavors evoking…
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2011 Primitivo Producer: Rosa d'Oro Vineyards Appellation: Lake County Alcohol: 14.4% Suggested retail: $24 “Here's another grape variety native to southern Italy, but as grown in Lake County by Rosa d'Oro. Primitivo is either identical or not-quite-identical to Zinfandel, depending on how technical you want to get. For our tastes, this Primitivo is an appealing wine, evocative of good California Zinfandels of 20-30 years ago (before too many of them became 'fruit bombs'). “Aromas of dried flowers and a little lavender. The flavor shows bright fruit—raspberries, against a background of ground black pepper. There is just a…
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2010 Sagrantino Producer: Rosa d'Oro Vineyards Appellation: Tracy Hills Alcohol: 14.4% Suggested Retail: $24 “Sagrantino is a grape variety native to the area near Montefalco in Umbria. It isn't widely planted in Italy and is truly obscure in California. This week's 'Pick' is from Rosa d'Oro Vineyards, which does produce other varieties, but seems to specialize in Italian themes (they also make wines of Sangiovese, Aglianico, Montepulciano and Primitivo grapes). Though Rosa d'Oro is located in Kelseyville (Lake County), their Sagrantino grapes come from the Oso Vista Vineyards in California's Tracy Hills appellation. “We confess to limited…
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2006 Coyote Crest Cabernet Sauvignon Producer: Munselle Vineyards Appellation: Alexander Valley Alcohol: 14.8% Suggested Retail: $65 “Fine example of Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from a family that has been farming in this region since 1876. The Munselles grow grapes for some of the best wineries in Sonoma County, including Coppola, Ferrari-Carano, Simi, Kenwood and Jordan. “Putting nose in the glass the first impression seems slightly herbal, with pronounced dark cherry characteristics. There's also some dark chocolate and, curiously, a subtle, dusty, mocha-like aroma in the background. The flavor is powerful and redolent of blackberries. It's a very…
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2001 Shark Red Producer: Greg Norman Estates Appellation: Paso Robles Alcohol: 13.9% Suggested Retail: $15 “For readers who haven't followed golf in recent years, we can tell you that Greg Norman has been one of the most prominent exponents of that international game. Reputed to be an extremely successful businessman, his Greg Norman Estates wine operation is a by-product of that success. The company produces wine from his native Australia, as well as Argentina and the United States. The fair-haired Aussie has been dubbed “The Great White Shark” and his PR arm says that he's an…
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Votre Santé Chateau Red Producer: Francis Ford Coppola Winery Appellation: California Alcohol: 13.5% Suggested Retail: $14 “Though name of this wine refers to “a votre santé” (“to your health”), the favorite toast of Maria Zasa, Francis Ford Coppola's Italian grandmother, it's more French than Italian in composition and style. Syrah, Grenache and Mouvèdre grapes were sourced from the North Coast, Monterey and Lodi growing regions. The aroma and plush opening mouth feel are rich and seem very Californian, but the alcohol level is a modest 13.5% more typical of the Rhône. The result is a wine big…
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2011 Pinot Blanc Producer: Valley of the Moon Appellation: Sonoma County Alcohol: 13.4% Suggested Retail: $23 “The Pinot Blanc variety is native to Alsace, that part of northern France nearest to the German border that also produces dry Rieslings. If you're unfamiliar with the grape, we'd say it's perhaps closer in style to a Chardonnay than any other white grown in California, though not that in the unctuous and sometimes overoaked style popular here. “Our reviews publish the suggested retail prices of wines as defined by the wineries. Often they can be found at prices less than…
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2007 Ventoux (Rhône red wine) Producer: J.V. Fleury Appellation: Appellation Ventoux Contrôlée Alcohol: 14% Suggested retail: $13 “This Ventoux rouge contains more Syrah than many of the red wines of this region. Its composition includes Syrah (60%), with lesser amounts of Grenache (30%) and Mouvèdre (10%). The Ventoux refers to a mountain in Provence at the southern end of the Rhone growing region. In some years the route of the Tour de France goes up and over it. “Bright fruit, with cherry and raspberry aspects set against a briary, smokey background. Some spice and ground pepper…
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2012 Chardonnay Producer: Kunde Family Estate Appellation: Sonoma Valley Alcohol: 13.9% Suggested Retail: $18 “Nice combination of creamy and crispy aspects in this Sonoma Valley Chardonnay (Other, more expensive Chardonnays are produced at this winery, but the Sonoma Valley label is what we're reviewing here). Though it's fairly priced at suggested retail, we purchased it at a considerably lower amount. Opens with some appealing floral aromas. Has a creamy vanilla quality (crème caramel? crème brulee?) and also some melon on the palate. Drinks easy, but shows some complexity when it has been open for a while and…
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2010 Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Crest Appellation: Columbia Valley (WA) Alcohol: 13.5% Suggested Retail: $12 “Columbia Crest produces other, more expensive bottlings of Cabernet Sauvignon, but the Grand Estates label is their flagship product. Washington state's Columbia Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA) is huge, but the winery sources these grapes mostly from two areas (sub-AVAs) within this appellation, the Horse Heaven Hills and the Wahluke Slope. It opens with lush aromas of blackberry and blueberry, preceding flavors of more dark berries and black cherry. There are also a some cola-like qualities in the background of this…
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2012 Pinot Grigio Fancy Pants Wines Appellation: California Alcohol: 13.15% Suggested Retail: $9.99 “Light aromas of cantaloupe and lime zest. A taste fills the mouth with a cream soda-like effect, but with some citrus aspects. This wine finishes very softly and there's an obvious residual sugar presence. To this reviewer's taste the wine is too sweet. Beyond that, we just find it insipid. However, this doesn't necessarily mean it's a badly made wine. The winery obviously is targeting inexperienced drinkers and that's a very big potential audience.” Food affinity: “Notes sent with the wine suggest pairing with…
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2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Amici Cellars Appellation: Napa Valley Alcohol: 14.5% Suggested Retail: $45 “Joel Aiken, winemaker (and partner) at Amici Cellars, was BV's winemaker for 27 years. Who has greater experience with quality Napa Valley Cabernet than that? It will be interesting to follow Amici's path as they pursue some single-vineyard bottlings that necessarily will be more expensive the Napa Valley definition we review today. Most of the fruit for this Napa Valley label was sourced from Rutherford (75%), the balance from Yountville, just a few miles to the south. “We found it dense in flavor and…
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2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Vino de Eyzaguirre Appellation: Colhagua Valley (Chile) Alcohol: 13.5% Suggested Retail: $9 “We encountered this wine in a Basque restaurant. Though from Chile, not the Basque Country of France and Spain, the name looked appropriate and the restaurant price seemed moderate. The flavors included dark cherries, plums and some bittersweet chocolate. We found it to be a solid wine—no flaws, some good fruit and at an alcohol level that encouraged serving with food. Interesting sack packaging didn't enhance the flavor of wine inside the bottle, but didn't hurt it either.” Food Affinity: “Could…
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2010 Pinotage Loma Prieta Winery Appellation: Lodi Alcohol: 15% Suggested Retail: $45 “This wine is made from a grape unknown to most consumers in the United States. Pinotage, sometimes called “the workhorse grape of South Africa,” is a cross between the more familiar Pinot Noir and Cinsault, a variety native to the Rhone growing region in France. We have tasted some South African Pinotage that we liked, but none as much as this example from Loma Prieta. It's possible that just as Malbec, a grape native to the southwest of France, finds a higher expression when grown…
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(N/V) Rossana Horsehill Vineyards Appellation: Los Angeles County Alcohol: 11.5% Suggested Retail: $15 “Rosanna is a sparkling wine produced from a partnership of the Collins College of Hospitality Management and College of Agriculture of Cal Poly Pomona and South Coast Winery in Temecula. The name Rossana is a reference to an Arabian mare owned by W.K. Kellogg, whose horse ranch of yesteryear is now home to Cal Poly Pomona in southern California. The Horsehill Vineyards identity is an obvious reference to the legacy of the land. There's also a history to the vines that supplied the fruit…
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2011 Gravelstone Chardonnay Jekel Vineyards Appellation: Arroyo Seco, Monterey Alcohol: 14.4% Suggested Retail: $15.99 “Aromas of pineapple and guava prominent, with some white peach, too. From first sip, this Gravelstone Chardonnay exhibits a lush, creamy personality. Flavors of melon and a bit of citrus predominate. The winemaker says he used mostly neutral oak barrels, but there's still a vanilla presence from that smaller amount of new oak cooperage. This is a big wine (14.4% alcohol) and is a relatively inexpensive option for those who favor the full-blown California treatment of this variety.” Food Affinity: “Seared scallops finished…
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2011 Pinot Noir Sutter Home Appellation: California Alcohol: 13.2% Suggested Retail: $6 “Top-quality Pinot Noir, whether it comes from Burgundy, California or any other new world country, is never cheap. And a bottle that does even slight justice to the variety is hard to find under about $15. Most of those priced under $10 we've found disappointing—sort of like a beautiful favorite tune sung off-key. Nevertheless, we persist in our search to find drinkable examples of this variety that don't break the bank. “The Sutter Home 2011 Pinot Noir is a very attractive bottle of wine. While…
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2012 Viognier Bonterra Appellation: Mendocino County Alcohol: 13.9% Suggested Retail: $16 “Aromas of honeysuckle, lemon blossom and apricot in this wine made of Mendocino County organic grapes. It's quite fragrant, but flavors of nectarines and white peaches take over and are more apparent than apricot. There's a little spice in there, too. Some oak aging—six months says the winery—gives a vanilla quality that enhances, but doesn't overpower, its fresh and sprightly nature. Simultaneously crisp and creamy, it reminded one reviewer of of Dreamsicles enjoyed in the summers of his youth. Long finish.” Food Affinity: “Chicken curry. Portuguese…
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1999 Eileen Hardy Shiraz Hardy's Appellation: McLaren Vale, So. Australia Alcohol: 13.5% Suggested Retail: $90 “Wine writers taste a lot of wine that really isn't ready to drink. Most of the time we're sampling recently bottled wines that have just been released for sale. For simple table wines this system works o.k., as they're not going to get that much better. But for more complex wines, especially reds, drinking them too young is a sort of vinous infanticide. Consumers seek information on wines that are currently available in the marketplace and presume that reviewers can help them…
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2012 Sauvignon Blanc Dry Creek Vineyard Appellation: Dry Creek Valley Alcohol: 13.5% Suggested Retail: $16 “Last week our Pick was also a wine from Dry Creek Vineyard and from, essentially, the same grape variety. Any California wine labeled 'Fume Blanc' or 'Sauvignon Blanc' will be made from at least 75% Sauvignon Blanc grapes. The difference in terminology may just be a decision made by the marketing department or, as in the case of Dry Creek Vineyard, it's the winery's choice to produce different styles. While both wines contain 100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes, today's version had 10% of…
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2012 Fumé Blanc Dry Creek Vineyard Appelleation: Sonoma County Alcohol: 13.5% Suggested Retail: $14 “For about 40-years Dry Creek Vineyard has produced quality wines, fairly priced. Our Pick for this week, their Fumé Blanc, is considered the winery's 'flagship wine.' This just-released 2012 vintage is a classic. The aroma is citrussy (the winery suggests Meyer lemon and kaffir lime. The latter may sound esoteric, almost affected, but the reviewer, having taken a Thai cooking course some time ago, believes part of that aroma may not only be kaffir lime, but kaffir lime leaves.). “The clean and racy…
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2010 Meritage Robert Mondavi Private Selection Appellation: Central Coast Alcohol: 13.5% Suggested Retail: $9.99 “This is the lowest price we have seen for a wine of this definition. Years ago, California wineries pushed for a law requiring wine to contain at least 75% of the grape defined on the label. While precluding a consumer from buying a wine labeled Cabernet Sauvignon, for instance, that might have more than 1/4 of its content be from cheaper grape varieties, this change in the law also posed a dilemma. If a winery wanted to market a really good bottle of wine…
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