August Wines 2016

Just a few wines during the summer

2013 Maipe Cabernet Sauvignon Mendoza, Argentina

100% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35 years old vines.

 This Cabernet Sauvignon has an intense ruby red color with aromas and flavors of ripe blackcurrant, red pepper, mint, chocolate and vanilla hints. The fruit and tannins are perfectly balanced to give a wine of excellent structure making it ideal for grilled meats, game, pasta or pizza.-Winery Notes.

Not a bad wine – not anything to make you get too excited about. Not badly made, just not the best source – fine for a $100 case.  The Reserve would be better for about $10 more.

2015 Fog Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon California

Opens with lush aromas of floral potpourri, bright red fruits, and cloves that are complimented with subtle notes of blueberry and a hint of minerality. On the palate, this Cabernet is round and lush with flavors of red currant, Bing cherry and orange pekoe tea. Beautifully balanced, it displays well-integrated tannins and a smooth texture that leads to a long, silky finish." Winemaker's Notes

Had the field blend earlier, this is an adequate wine, good for the price but not something to seek out. Another one in the $100 case.

2012 Trivento Amado Sur, Mendoza, Argentina

This pitch black colored Malbec based blend from Argentina is consistently very good every vintage. This year is no exception. It is also a very good wine for the money. It opens with an appealing black raspberry and blackberry bouquet. On the palate, this wine is full bodied, balanced, juicy and very easy to drink. The flavor profile is a tasty blackberry with notes of nicely integrated mild oak and hint of gentle minerality. I also detected to a touch of black licorice and dark chocolate. The finish is dry and its flavors and moderate tannins stick around for a while after the wine is gone. This very nice wine would pair well with barbecue steak tips. Enjoy

Grape blend: 70% Malbec, 18% Bonardo, & 12% Syrah

This was an email special from my wine friends. Cost was around $10 – rated over 90 points by several of the wine magazines. Interesting combination of grapes and it really works.  Good acidity for foods and a decent aftertaste, this is a great bargain.  Worth finding and stocking up on a few bottles.

Color: Straw yellow with gold reflections.

 Aroma: Sweet scents of elder and pear tree flowers followed by ripe apricots, pineapple and

melon.

 Taste: Flavors of pineapple and melon with a good mid-palate weight and a long, mellow and

harmonious finish.

GRAPE VARIETIES 100% Garganega

If you are old like me, you remember Soave as a tasteless thin wine, not unlike much of the pinot grigio craze today.  This wine was very good – I never guessed it was a Soave. Very food friendly, easy drinking but with distinct flavors that kept lingering. Price is under $20, a great summertime wine.

Well, that's all for now folks! Keep popping those corks and I'll meet you out behind the grapevines.

July Wines

Hot time in the city!

2011 Rios de Chile Cabernet Sauvignon, Central Valley, Chile

Rios de Chile Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 – On the nose, this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon was a jar of jam with ripe red fruit and a dash of earth and herbs.  Plenty of tannins, spice, and more red fruit added up to a robust red wine with more earthy spice on the finish.  The cost is $10 or so.

The fruit was very upfront, the tannins had faded quite a bit in my bottle. Decent little quaffer for the $10 range, not something I would search out.

2013 El Miracle by Mariscal, Old Vine Garnarcha, Valencia, Spain

Super Value! 90 Points Wine Advocate!

"The Spanglish-sounding 2013 El Miracle by Mariscal is named after the barrels designed by Valencian artist Javier Mariscal, that appear on the label. Against all odds, it is 100% Garnacha Tintorera matured for eight months in second-use French oak barrels. The wine is surprisingly aromatic with notes of red cherries, not as dark as you'd expect from a grape that has so much coloring matter with perhaps some herbal hints that add freshness. The palate is medium-bodied, with dusty tannins and good acidity, slightly rustic but with character and in need of food. A nice Garnacha Tintorera at very good price. 32,000 bottles produced."

I’m always a sucker for cheap old vine Garnacha – this was a good example of good things sometimes coming cheap.  The fruit was good, the acid balance made it very good with different foods. Worth buying and it is in the $10 range.

2013 Falesco Tellus Merlot, Umbria, Italy

For this 100% Merlot, Falesco hand-harvests grapes from the Orvieto estate's best hillside vineyards, where the exposure, setting, and soil are perfect for grape ripening. The grapes are fermented in stainless steel and aged in French oak barriques for just six months in order to preserve the wine's rich organoleptic character.

Tasting Notes

Deep ruby-red in color, sensual aromas of blackberry and purple fruits complement undertones of tobacco and vanilla. On the palate, velvety tannins and a full body make for a balanced wine with a long, lingering finish.

Merlot gets a bad rap for a bunch of mediocre wines produced from the wrong areas to grow Merlot.  In my humble opinion, some of the best priced and tasting Merlot is grown in Italy.  It is clean, has a nice fruit balance with a great acidity to match a wide variety of foods. The finish was fairly long and I found this a most pleasurable wine.  This one is in the $15 range, but worth its price.

2011 Marquese de Grinon Caliza, Valdepena, Spain

About This Winery:

"Caliza" means limestone in Spanish, used in naming this wine so as to pay homage to the unique soil profile at this Dominio de Valdepusa estate. The moderate layer of clay topsoil over rocky limestone leads to elegantly structured wines. Caliza is a blend of Syrah and Petit Verdot which are fermented in stainless steel followed by one year in new and second passage French oak.

Tasting Notes:

Deep purple in color with ruby reflections, this wine shows alluring notes of blackberries and cassis with undertones of cinnamon and minerality. On the palate, it is beautifully full-bodied and silky with refreshing acidity and flavors that unfold into the long-lasting finish.

Food Pairing: Pair this wine with Spanish-style sirloin, prime rib, rich terrines, or pisto manchego.

Varietal composition: 70% Syrah and 30% Petit Verdot

Type of oak: French

Length of aging before bottling: 9-12 months

91 Points - James Suckling:

"Aromas of blueberry, blackberry and mineral follow through to full body, firm tannins and a clean finish. Very refined and silky. Drink now." - (July 16th, 2015)

89 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:

"Caliza is the name given to calcareous, chalky soils in Spanish, and it's the dominant soil in The Dominio de Valdepusa vineyards in Malpica de Tajo that gave name to the 2011 Caliza, a blend of Syrah, Petit Verdot and Graciano. Most of the wines are produced with a long maceration (four weeks), ten months aging in French oak barrels and bottled unfiltered and unfined. Quite dark-colored, the nose shows quite unusual aromas of biscuits, olive skin, mint, Mediterranean herbs, paprika and a touch of leather. The palate is medium to full-bodied with balsamic flavors and abundant, slightly dusty tannins. Good value. 88,000 bottles." - Luis Gutierrez (Feb 2015)

This was a delicious, big wine we had for a summer tasting. Probably too big for that, but great fruit, tannins that were there but not overpowering. Really good wine that needs some fairly hardy foods to make it sing.  Syrah and Petit Verdot from Spain – surprising but well done on that chalky soil.  Price is around $20 - $25, well worth the money.

NV Torre Oria Cava Brut, Requina, Spain

TASTING NOTES

Pale yellow color with golden highlights, it has a full floral bouquet of wild flowers and berries and abundant fine bubbles. On the palate it has a magnificent presence, it is complex, full-bodied and fresh with a lovely enduring flavors of peaches, tropical fruits and flowers

For some reason, this Cava Brut didn’t hit my fancy like they normally do.  The peach was there but it seemed a little dull on the palate.  Maybe it was just me, the heat or something else. Price is fair, around $10, may try again later to see if it was me, that bottle or the way I think of it.

2014 Diversion Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington, USA

Vintage: 2014

Alcohol: 13.2%

Blend: 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cab Franc

Tasting Notes: Eucalyptus, fresh summer berries, cassis and cookie crumb nose, cinnamon palate with big, velvety mouth, great length with molten chocolate, round medium tannins.

Accolades: 90 Points – Beverage Testing Institute, 2013 Gold Medal & Cellar Selection & Best Buy (2013 vintage)

A young cabernet that offers pretty nice refreshment, matched well with lots of foods. Not something to keep for too many years, the tannins are non-existent, but a decent little bottle for the price. OK –I got it in my $100 case – Amazon offers it for $28.  Fine for about $15, wouldn’t spend over $25 for it.

2013 Fallegro

What undoubtedly made the difference was making the right choice on when to take action on the basis of climate, variety and pedoclimatic conditions. Wherever green harvesting and stripping of the leaves were carried out at the right time and in the right way, well-structured, long-lasting wines will be obtained to make 2013 an excellent vintage.     

Winemaking 

The grapes for Fallegro are hand picked very carefully and carried to the cellar in small baskets to be pressed within 5 hours from the harvest. The grapes selection is carried out directly in the vineyard. After the pressing the must undergoes the natural cold clearing and then, upon racking, it is left to ferment at a temperature of about 16-18°C. Each parcel is vinified separately, depending on the soil, the special handling of certain parcels, or the type of wine that we intend to perform. After the fermentation and racking the wine is blended and undergoes the malolactic fermentation. After an aging period in stainless steel of about 4 months the Fallegro is put in the bottle, where it rests for a few months before being released.

Varietal composition: 100% favorita  (Vermentino)

Harvest:  September Vineyards: Piedmont, Roero 

Maceration:  partly MLF: 80% Ageing: initially “sur lie”, then 4 months in stainless steel before being bottled 

A surprising white wine that runs about $10, very nice wine with weight for food and clean flavors for sipping. Could have hints of spritz, but not bubbly – one I would serve to many friends.

Well another month has flown by - keep popping those corks and I'll meet you out behind the grape vines!