February 2019 Wines

Another Month of Winter

Seems like we were a couple days short for this month. Oh wait, that's right it is only 28 days.

Read that the average wine bottle is about 2.7 pounds. But - there are bottle that weigh a pound more. Trying to make them seem "better" - but all it does is increase shipping costs and make your arm tired if you are pouring 80+ two-ounce pours. Hurts your foot more if you drop it. 

All right, let's talk about some wines...

2017 Shannon Ridge Zinfandel, Lake County, CA

92 Points Editors’ Choice               Wine Enthusiast

Extraordinarily deep and resonant in a black fruit flavor, this is a full-bodied wine that has great focus and a moderate layer of tannins to offer grip. Black berry, plum and cherry flavors all contribute to the palate and keep reverberating on the finish.

Winemaker Notes

The High Elevation Collection is a careful blend of three appellations within Lake County. The clusters from High Valley bring structure and backbone, the Red Hills Appellation contributes lush fruit and ripe characteristics, and Big Valley grapes add tannin and fruit tones to these lively wines.

This Zinfandel has ripe fruit characters of blackberry and plum. The midpalate is an explosion of spices and fruit, balanced with soft oak notes and a structured finish.

Very nicely balanced zinfandel, with good fruit and spice throughout the wine. Moderate aftertaste, but a great bottle for less than $15. Worth revisiting at that price point.

2015 Chateau Larroque, Bordeaux, France

95WA 

 Château Larroque Bordeaux Supérieur 2015 is deep garnet. Dark red fruits, cocoa, vanilla, and almond on the nose. While full-bodied and supple, with fresh berries and earthy, dried fruit. Yet, finishes with fine and silky tannins. Drink now or should shine for five years or more.

89 Points              Wine Enthusiast

While this Ducourt wine does have wood-aging flavors, it also has plenty of black-currant fruitiness to bring out the crisp character. The ripe Merlot of the vintage is very evident in this potentially delicious wine. Drink from 2018.

When first opened, this seemed a little lacking. After being open a while and the next day, the fruit came alive and it was a nice bottle of juice. Nuanced like Bordeaux, light tannins, made a good match with red meats (and pork). Finish is light but enough to make you drink more – priced under $15 – a very good buy.

2013 Arrowhead Red & Gold Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma, County, CA

For the oenophile, Arrowhead Red & Gold Reserve is serious stuff. This single vineyard, estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon comes from Knights Valley in Sonoma, an area that earns top scores from the wine industry's top critics.

Despite the obvious marketing ploy and that I would have preferred to drink this when the Chiefs were in the Super Bowl, this is a well made nice wine. Good tannins, bright fruit held together with an acidic base to make food pairing easy. On sale at $20, well worth that price.

2015 Trione  River Road Ranch Pinot Noir, Sonoma, CA

Pale to medium ruby-purple colored, the 2015 Pinot Noir River Road Ranch opens with notes of crushed black cherries, mulberries and raspberry tart with a wonderfully spicy undercurrent of cinnamon toast and allspice notions. Medium to full-bodied, it gives a lovely savory character in the mouth with soft tannins and background acid, finishing with all those spices coming through. 1,269 cases produced. – Wine Advocate 90 Points

River Road Ranch encompasses 125 acres in the heart of the Russian River Valley appellation. Located on the western bench of the Santa Rosa Plain, the vineyard thrives in well-drained soils. The region’s fog-cooled nights are ideal for this varietal. We hand-harvested the Pinot Noir from distinct blocks, clones #115, #777, Pomard and UCD#37, a classic California selection. Each clone contributed distinctive flavors and textural characteristics.

This is a very good Pinot Noir – long finish, silky fruits like cherry with a little earthiness. Wonderful balance to be very food friendly. Very good – little out of my normal wheel house at $33 for a Pinot but a nice splurge.

2015 Trione “Henry’s Blend” Home Ranch, Alexander valley, CA

Winemaker Notes:

This wine is complex and ever changing, it’s rich and inviting on the nose. The first impression is subtle notes of black currants, Bing cherries and blackberries overlain with hints of cedar, sandal wood and a smoky rainforest. The finish is mouthwatering and leaves the palate wanting more. One bottle is not enough. This wine is drinking fantastic now but has the tannins and complexity to age another 6-7 years.

This Bordeaux-Style blend is 35% Cabernet Sauvignon from our Cloverdale and Home Ranch, 34% Merlot from our Geyserville Ranch, 13% each Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc and 5% Malbec all coming from blocks near the winery at our Home Ranch property. 1,516 six-packs were produced.

This is a Bordeaux style blend is a stunning wine. Big nose of red and black fruits with a broad mouthfeel – heavy dark fruits with a tannic backbone for a long finish. I found it compelling, gaining complexity with evry sip – matched a meal of steak very well.  Priced around $45 – it was on sale for $35. Well worth the price.

2015 Trione block 21 Cabernet Sauvignon , Alexander  Valley, CA

This wine is a classic Bordeaux blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot and 2% each of Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. The 2013 growing season was moderate, thus promoting slow ripening and full flavor development. We hand-harvested and fermented each variety separately, then moved the wines to barrel, where they aged twelve months. Once we determined our blend, we returned the wine to barrel for an additional twelve months, to ‘marry’ the varietals. We used tight grained French oak barrels (45% new) from coopers Quintessence, Vicard and Bossuet.

Aromatic entry filled with hints of clove, allspice and nutmeg. The impression on the palate is soft, with silky tannins and lingering hints of mocha and cedar cigar box. Also present are the fruit profiles of plum, currant, blueberries and boysenberry. The finish is long and persistent which shows the beautiful balance of tannin/acidity/oak in the structure. This wine is showing the benefit of barrel and bottle age and is drinking perfectly now and will age gracefully for the next 5-10 years.

This bad boy is a candidate for aging a number of years. The tannins were mouth drying, yet dark fruit and cigar box flavors came out. Very long finish- a wonderful showing of Alexander Valley fruit. Priced around $70, was on special for $60. Very impressive wine from the folks at Trione.

Well, another month has flown by. Keep popping those corks and I’ll meet you out behind the grapevines.