Wines of August 2023

    Survived a hot month - lots of 100 degree days in my area. Discovered the difference between sparkling wine, Frizzante and Pet-Nat wines. I'll tell you about it another time. Now some wines:

2012 St. Francis Lagomarsino Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Russian River Valley, USA

Red - Bold and Structured

Critic tasting note: "Tar and black fruit loll on the full-bodied palate here, the wine well composed to highlight dark, leathery cigar and a hint of cedar. Smooth and round on the finish, it's a varietal rarity for the appellation." - 90/100, Wine Enthusiast

A gift from my brother, this is a great wine drinking in its prime. The tannins have faded into the body of the wine, but the dark red fruits still fill the mouth, with echoes of wood and tobacco. Long finish – a wine made for a steak. Superb wine – the label is a little non-descript.

2012 Easton Cabernet Sauvignon, Sierra Foothills, CA

                From the Shenandoah Valley, Sierra Foothills, California Easton Estate 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon is fragrant with cedar and sweet spice, black cherry and smoky on the nose. Beautiful and bold and tannic with dark cherry, plum, savoury herbs, smoky toasty oak and cake spice flavours on the palate, Pair with a well-marbled prime rib done rare.

Color is dark purple, with complex aromas of cedar, tobacco, and asian spice box. The fruit is blackberry/cassis/olive with a pleasant St. Julien-like texture, mineral-infused flavors, and sappiness. The wine has good balance, intensity, a plush texture, and length. It is a youngster now and slow to open, which bodes well for age ability. We think this is the best Cabernet Sauvignon we have made from this site to date.

I bought this for my daughter last Christmas, so I opened it when we went to their house after they moved. Cork broke because it had been stored upright. The wine still had good color and good red and black fruit flavors. Good body and a moderate finish really made this a good bottle of wine. I think it’s $35 -40, well worth it.

2019 Casa Castillo Monastrell, Jumilla, Spain

RP91Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The entry-level red, the old Monastrell, has been reverted to the varietal name, even if in 2019 it has some 15% Garnacha because it was a very good year for the variety (because it was harvested before the rain). As with the other wines, I had the chance to compare the 2019 Monastrell with the 2020. This 2019 fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and matured in 500-liter barrels and 5,000-liter oak foudres for 10 months. It has an expressive nose of Mediterranean herbs and a combination of ripeness and lightness, a little in the style of 2016, a little more fruit-driven. They had to sort and discard and produced less wine. It's medium-bodied and has very good balance and fine tannins. 160,000 bottles produced. I tasted the September 2020 bottling, but all the bottlings are from the same master blend. Best after 2022.

A nice Spanish wine for just over $10 – this has good fruit, nice balance. Buy several and enjoy over a few years; not a “special time” wine, but an everyday drinker. Buy several of these.

2020 Stoke’s Ghost Petite Sirah, Monterey, Ca

Inky and dark, this Petite Sirah is brimming with black cherries, blackberries and cassis flavors.  Violet notes and hints of white pepper enchant, while intense jammy fruit stains the front teeth.  Stokes' Ghost is full-bodied with balanced tannins and a finish that lingers on the palate.  This rich, deep wine is just what the doctor ordered.

This ghost makes itself easily approachable! Aged in American, French, and Hungarian oak for 12 months, the wine is an earthbound and extracted extrovert, concentrated in a well-structured frame. Teeth-grabbing slate and plum-skin tannins are enveloped in blackberry, bramble, and dark chocolate.

This is an intense Petite Sirah – nothing about it is petite! Dark red wine that has a berry nose that follows with a big jammy mouthfeel of red and black fruits with nuances of spice.  Just a blockbuster wine that has some tannic backbone to last several years in a cellar. Closed out at around $20 – it’s about$35 on the internet. Well worth it, even at the higher price.

2022 Domaine De Couron Viognier, Cotes du Rhone, France

 

Vinification:        Native yeasts.  Harvested entirely by hand.   Very short contact time between crush and pressing.   Full malolactic fermentation as the Viognier ferments slowly and coolly under 60°F in concrete. Brief maturation in stainless steel.

Tasting Notes    “Aromas of yellow flowers, honeysuckle and peach.  Flavors of pronounced white peach and passionfruit with a seductive, zesty finish. Brings back summer in just one sip”

This is a nice wine.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  It has a very pretty nose.  Peaches with a floral note.  Slightly viscous texture.  On the palate, nice acidity.  Peach fruit notes.  Good finish.  This is refreshing and an excellent value.  Nice on its own, but better with food.  This would be nice with lighter foods such as fresh seafood. 

I have always been fond of this varietal – it has a better body than chardonnay, better fruit than Sauv blanc – it just makes a good wine. This was a good example of Viogier, made correctly. The white peach and hints of citrus with a good body and acidity, good with lighter fare or just on its own. Priced around $15, well worth it – great summertime or anytime drinker.

2022 Field Recordings Freddo, Paso Robles, Ca

Winemaker Notes:  Serve chilled. Pop this one in the fridge, and when the label turns blue, you know what to do.

Winemaker Andrew Jones has a keen eye for diamonds in the rough: sites that are unknown or under-appreciated but hold enormous untapped potential. He strives for unique wines that are loaded with personality and a one-of-a-kind experience. The Freddo is carbonically macerated for two weeks had and has a juicy strawberry-cranberry sorbet vibe with crushed cherries blended in. Enjoy this slightly chilled with an antipasto plate by the pool.

VARIETAL  79% Sangiovese, 16% Dolcetto, 5% Valdiguié

This wine is meant to serve cold – not one to keep for very long in your cellar. No real tannins, but just upfront red fruits, moderate body and short finish. Fun wine for a hot weekend. Priced around $20, so not bad for the price.

2022 G.D. Vajre ‘Clare J.C.’ Nebbiolo Langhe, Italy

DESCRIPTION: Produced with grapes from the younger vines of Nebbiolo, JC Claré reminds us of the true and forgotten history era of the piedmontese Nebbiolo, when from 16th century until the early 1950’s, it still was vinified and enjoyed in its lightest and fresh garment. VARIETY: 100% Nebbiolo VINEYARD AND TERROIR: A range of vineyards starting in Barolo, opening up to Novello and reaching out to Bricco Bertone in Sinio.

TASTING NOTES: Light ruby color, slightly sparkling and very fresh, eye-catching. Spices and red fruits and a vibrant minerality, the JC is to be consumed fresh and a versatile wine: to be drunk in summer time and an ideal companion for cold cuts and lightly fried foods. An unprecedented expression of Nebbiolo with which one will be able to surprise even the most skeptical friends!

 I associate nebbiolo with Barolo, a long aged Italian wine. This is a young style wine with nice body, dominate red fruits with acidity to match foods. Lighter than other reds, but not so light you skip over flavor. Good wine for summer meals. Priced around $22, well worth the price. 

2022 Intellego ‘The Pink Moustache’, Swartland, South Africa

In this instance, facial hair symbolizes the three different styles of wine red(beard), rose (clean skin) and the light red(moustache). This wine represents the lighter red style and the word pink describes the colour as it’s a mix between a pink/light red colour.

Grapes: 48% Cinsault - 33% Syrah - 19% Mourvèdre

Bright magenta. The nose is awash with red currants, cherries, and strawberries with a herbal nuances and freshly ground peppercorn. On the palate, the party continues with tobacco leaves and such a pleasant tickle of tannins. Throw this bad boy in an ice bucket, grab a blanket, and head to the park.

Pretty little wine, with an interesting mix of flavors. Pleasant but not something I would spend my money on – priced around $26.

2019 Domaine Maire Arbois Pinot Noir, Jura, France

The Pinot Noir grapes were handpicked and sorted on sorting tables at their arrival at the winery. Then they were put in thermos-regulated stainless steel tank for a total maceration of 12 days, followed regularly throughout the fermentation with occasional pumping and stirring. Then the press and drop juices were assembled and withdrawn for malolactic fermentation on fine lies. 100% of the cuvee was then placed into 2 to 3-years oak casks for 6 month ageing period allowing to enlarge the aromatic palette. Bottling in June with a light filtration.

NOSE  Pleasant, straight and fine, with delicate small wild berries notes.

PALATE  It is a round, supple, velvety and greedy wine with light rounded tannins and a very present fruit.

This was a smooth little wine, I wrote down it was “moderately intense”. Pretty light red color, the wine had red berry and cherry hints in the mouth. Decent structure for foods, not much of a finish; not a bad little Pinot Noir. Priced around $27, not sure I would buy many of it.

Hope all is well as we finally head toward fall. Keep popping those corks and I'll meet you out behind the grapevines.