The Wines of June 2021

June has been an unusual month - Hot, then cool and rainy, then hot again. Can't make up is mind

How about some wine talk?

2016 Lioco Carignane ‘Sativa’, Mendicino, Ca

Fresh asphalt, blackberry, and tuberose aromas. The palate has flavors of cassis, umeboshi, and violet pastille. This wine pairs well with shepherds pie, bistro burger, and carne asada tacos.

From a historic Mendocino vineyard pitched on the lofty slopes of Cloverdale’s Pine Mountain. Jim McCutchen boasts 70-year old, head-pruned, dry-farmed vines planted on south-facing exposures at 2200-2400 feet. The soil is a mix of hard shale & clay. This rapidly vanishing California grape variety—made in this ‘old-timey’ way—harkens back to the Golden State’s earliest winemaking efforts.

WW91Wilfred Wong of Wine.com

COMMENTARY: To many of us (myself included), top-quality Carignan belongs in the "geek" part of the business. The 2016 Lioco Sativa is an excellent wine. TASTING NOTES: This wine is beautiful, pristine, and alive. Its refreshing aromas and flavors of ripe red fruit, earth, and dust make a lovely dinner wine. Pair it with herb-crusted lamb chops. (Tasted: August 19, 2019, San Francisco, CA)

I agree that this grape is ignored, considered old school and a generic grape for blending. This bottle will change your mind. Moderate color, upfront nose of red fruits and full flavors of red fruits and hints of herbs and earthiness. Pleasant as a stand-alone sipper, but really nice with a meal. I got it on close out, under $15, but well worth $20-25.

2017 Cerro Anon Crianza, Rioja, Spain

Berry and plum aromas are lightly spiced and show a touch of baby powder. On the palate, this is bright and juicy, with chalky tannins. Spicy berry and plum flavors are aided by a touch of charred oak, while this is toasty, dark and chocolaty tasting on the finish. Drink through 2023.

RATING 90 WE

A blend of 80% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha and 10% Mazuelo and Graciano. Matured for 14 months in oak and at least 8 months in bottle.

A fine example of Crianza Rioja. An intensely dark cherry red with sparks of ruby. Initial fruity aromas are followed by spicy notes and aromas from the oak cask ageing. On the palate it is very structured and smooth. The tannins are ripe and mellow and the finish long and refined.

Nicely structured wine with those red fruits with some spice notes. Not a long finish, but not short. Some tannin, but not heavy. Really nice wine for $10 – stock up on several, it goes well with food off the grill.

2020 Cotes du Rhone Reserve de L’abbe Rose, France

Red wines may be the first thing that comes to mind about the Cotes du Rhone, but rose should also be on your radar. The youthful 2020 Foncalieu Reserve de l'Abbe features the region's top two grapes, Syrah and Grenache, in a fragrant blend where wild strawberry, stone fruit, spice, and mineral notes refresh the senses. For under $10 a bottle, it's worth keeping a case of this enchanting French beauty around!

Somewhat light in color, a decent pink wine that has some red berries with some minerality. OK with food but more of a porch pounder on hot days. Around $10.

2017 Grand Horse Old vine Zinfandel, Lodi, Ca

This Grand Horse 2017 Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel is beautifully balanced with notes of red cherry, currant and sugar plum. Medium weight, smooth tannins and crisp acidity keep the bright fruit lifted and focused.  American oak barrel fermented.

Another weekday wine – pleasant fruit, decent acidity and a light finish. No tannins, not much spice, but decent with food. Another $10 bottle.

2020 Domaine Bousquet Rose, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

Domaine Bousquet’s premium varietal series comprises a blend of estate and purchased fruit from the Uco Valley. The grapes benefit from major diurnal temperature swings, achieving exuberant ripeness while retaining the juiciness that invites a second glass. The wines are vinified with a French sensibility. The wines are un-oaked – an on-trend sensibility of little or no oak to let the fruit shine through and make the wines extremely food-friendly.

It has an elegant pale salmon color. The nose shows aromas of red fruits, with hints of fresh cherries and orange peel. In the mouth, it`s Lively with fresh acidity and fruity palate

It goes well with seafood, fish, and Asian food.

This wine is a darker pink, but not too dark. Flavors of red berries and some citric flavor – nice acidity to match with food. Good body weight and good as a sipper. Around $10, worth drinking this summer.

2018 Ver Sacrum Monastrell, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

This wine is 100% hand harvested Monastrell(Mouverdre) from a single vineyard in the Los Chacayes IG within the Uco Valley. The nose is bright with notes of sweet black cherry and cocoa that lead into a soft, round mid palate with hints of tobacco and dried leaves.

In a range of wines this quirky and intriguing, it's quite something to be the quirkiest of all. We think this wine gets that accolade. A little darker than the GSM and Garnacha, the nose is delicate, fruity and floral. It's also a tad denser and more compact in the mouth with hints of black fruits accompanying the red, and lovely savoury hints. Again, amazing length. 100% of the wine is aged on the lees in eggs for 6 months followed by 8 months in bottle prior to release.

“Bright, medium cherry-red… Juicy, tactile, high-pitched red berry, white pepper and spice flavours convey an impression of savoury dryness. A penetrating, lively wine without any oaky impingements.”

Aged in Concrete eggs, yet there was hint of coffee in the nose. Usually that comes from the barrel, but this came from where the grapes where grown. Dry, slightly lighter in color, but flavors of red berry and hints of spice. Short finish, but decent acidity to go with food. Around $16.

2010 Cuvee Del Maule Red Blend, Cauquenes, Chile

Jammy, juicy, earthy, spicy, with notes of “green pepper” and “black peppercorns.” Fruit-forward in the manner of a New World wine yet not quite full-bodied. The fruit? Ripe-sweet blackberry and cassis. Has good structure (round tannins, bright acidity) but not a lot of depth. Minerals and herbs (tobacco? mint?) come out on the finish. Very drinkable though not a keeper. Probably a great match with red meat on the barbecue. A natural wine made from the Earthquake Harvest: 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Carignan, 16% Carmenere, 10% Pais, 7% Merlot, and 3% Zinfandel.

A unique blend, this wine had deep flavors and nice balance. Red berries and some earthiness comes though – nice acidity for food. Not a long finish, very little tannins, so drink soon. Great with food off the grill – around $16. (Another French family that came to Chile to make wines)

2017 Proemio ‘Terrior’ Red Blend, Mendoza, Argentina

Cherry aromas are punchy and high-toned. On the palate, this blend of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot is rugged but with soft pockets that allow it to expand. Flavors of dark berry fruits, cocoa and coffee finish quickly, leaving light notes of chocolate and toast.

RATING 87 WE

Fruit dominates on the expressive nose of this wine - think warm berry compote, ripe plums, and cherries. Underneath, there's an appealing spicy-savoury backdrop reminiscent of Chinese Five Spice with a hint of campfire smoke.

This wine is a berry bonanza on the palate! All the red fruit from the nose comes through loud and clear with flavours of wild strawberry, tart raspberry, and ripe cherry. It's fully dry though, so don't be fooled by all the juicy fruit flavours. Medium-bodied and with fine, moderate tannins to provide structure and a pleasant, dry finish with echoes of warm spice.

The red fruit shines through on the nose and on the palate – a little lighter in weight than I expected. This also had a coffee note – although they used staves in the concrete vats to add some oaky flavors to the wine. Good with food, moderate tannins and a moderate finish – around $20.

2020 Laurent Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Maipo Valley, Chile

100% Cabernet Sauvignon

A bold, aromatic blackberry pie from the 'Napa of Chile.' Packed with telltale Cabernet flavors of cassis and wild blackberries and rounded out by a New World polish, this is a right-down-the-middle Cabernet for weeknight steak or pot roast.

Dark, ripe fruits with notes of leather and minerality; a little active on the tongue at first, giving a fresh pop of interest. Organic, unoaked and using indigenous yeasts, this is a natural value!

Taste: Bold and aromatic bright cherry, blueberry and brambly raspberry. Low tannin

This is a wine for beef – Cabernet from Chile without too much funky earthiness. Comes across fairly soft, being unoaked, but fills the palate with dark fruits and a touch of minerals.  Matches well with food, heavier fare, and is a nice change for Cabernet. Priced under $20 from a French family making wines in Chile.

Well, that's another month. Stay Safe and keep popping those corks - I'll meet you out behind the grapevines.

 The Wines of May 2021

Another month and we are getting to go places with less masking. Get vaccinated if you haven't.

So, I killed off my over 20 year old bottle of Weller's Bourbon. Then I find out, that Weller's is now an "allocated" item at my liquor store - they only get a few bottles per month. How about that, I was hip before it became hip. I settled for a bottle of Buffalo Trace - they now own Weller's.

Now to the wines

2019 Chateau Guichot Famille Petite Vignobles, Bordeaux, France

You know the wine is not well known when you only find things about the White and Rose they produce. It was an adequate wine, some red fruits, a little acid to be food worthy, no real tannins or aftertaste. What you expect for a $10 Bordeaux

2018 Montes de Leza Tempranillo, Rioja, Spain

100% Tempranillo, this is the first wine of the Lozano family produced in its own winery located in the north of Spain. Each bunch of grapes has been carefully selected during the harvest.

It presents a very elegant nose to new wood and pleasant fresh notes of red fruits. The aging in new barrels makes this wine very balanced and shows very well integrated into the whole. The entrance in the mouth is wide and round. In addition it has good structure, Acidity friendly. The end is persistent that leaves us a memory of red fruit.

A pretty decent little Tempranillo from Rioja. Decent body, nice fruit flavors with a little touch of fruit on the end. Worth the $10 it cost, should pick up some more for “Week night” wines.

2019 Centine Paradiso Sant’ Adrea Nero di Troia, Puglia, Italy

Cantine Paradiso, Nero di Troia has varietal red berry fruits which dominate the nose. The palate offers balanced structure, good persistence and a nice twist of acidity.

Tasting characteristics : a ruby ​​red wine with purple reflections. Varietal red berry fruits dominate the nose. The palate offers balanced structure, good persistence and a nice twist of acidity

Food pairing : a wine to drink through the meal and a fine partner for vegetable or white meat-based preparations. Equally delicious when enjoyed on its own

This was a very good bottle of wine – nice fruits in the nose and mouth, good body and acidity to make it a real good food wine. Priced under $12, well worth getting a few.

2017 Waterdog Red Vinho, Portugal

Loving, loyal and intelligent, Portuguese Waterdogs are a treasured breed originally from the southern coast of Portugal – near where our winery originates. Waterdog red wine, a blend of Castelão, Trincadeira and Touriga Nacional grape varieties, have a fruity palate with notes of red berries and a touch of wood. Aged for 6 months on French and American Oak. Enjoy it with BBQ, roasts and pasta dishes.

Wine Enthusiast: 90 Points

This is a new wine from this producer, a blend of three grapes that is designed to be drunk young. In that, the wine succeeds, with its fine tannins cushioned by layers of black fruits and balanced acidity. Drink the wine now.

Another unusual grape blend, but very tasty. Good fruits ,both red and black with some vanilla, acidity for food and a touch a dryness on the finish. Screw cap available for around $12, really nice when grilling.

2018 Domaine de Ju Red wine, Ventoux, France

Raspberry and strawberry preserves are dusted with crushed earth and tea leaves in this big, juicy blend of Grenache (60%), Syrah (35%) and Carignan (5%). Vinified without oak, it's firmly focused on rich, fleshy red fruit flavors but there's an undertone of sweet spice that lends a sexy kick. Best enjoyed young. 89 Points WE

Lying just east of the Rhône, the beautiful vine clad Ventoux region is dominated by the giant Mont Ventoux. It's a region prized for its fresh, red fruit and spice character wines. Like this Gold medal winning Grenache based red from Domaine de Ju.

A bright tasting wine with an undertow of spice that made it very good. Red fruits dominate the nose and palate making it a good food and sipping wine. Another $11 bottle that I would drink again and again.

2020 Ver Sacrum “Geisha de Jade” White Blend, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

This wine is a blend of 40% Marsanne and 60% Roussanne all from a single vineyard in the Los Chacayes IG in the Uco Valley. The nose jumps out of the glass with notes of orange peel, apricot, candied peach, and tangerine all woven together with white flowers, lavender, and a touch of coriander. The palate shows good acidity to match the full bodied character and the wine finishes with notes of honeydew melon and just a hint of flor. Rockstar juice in a bottle!

 

You just don’t see white Rhone varietals growing in South America, but here it is. Very refreshing -  like a Chardonnay that went on a diet and bulked up. A short finish, but dry – very interesting wine. Available around $17 or so.

2019 CVNE Vina Real Rosado, Rioja, Spain

 Attractive salmon pink in color with a rose pink rim. This is an aromatic wine, the nose revealing floral aromas along with peach, apricot and background notes of strawberry and citrus. Delicious balanced, palate, rounded with a lightly acidic aftertaste and a long, fruit-driven finish. An elegant wine which can be enjoyed at any time, with food or without.

RP90Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2019 Viña Real Rosado is a clarete produced with white and red grapes: 70% Viura and 30% Tempranillo and Garnacha. At 12.5% alcohol and with good freshness, it was produced in a light and approachable style and bottled early to preserve the primary character. This almost has more character of a white wine than a rosé, obviously very pale and with great freshness. It's balanced with moderate ripeness and a dry and serious palate with a long, dry and chalky finish that I like very much. Rating : 90+

 

Good fruit flavors in this Rose, even though it is a pale pink. I noted the freshness and balance; the finish was dry. Very drinkable and only around $12.

2018 Ver Sacrum GSM, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

13% alcohol. Bush vines. 70% Garnacha, 15% Monastrell, 15% Syrah, planted 2012. The grapes are co-fermented. First of all they have 8 days semi-carbonic maceration, then they are pressed to a 3000 litre unlined concrete egg for fermentation to complete for 20 days off skins, then the wine spends 8 months in old oak. There’s a bit of reduction on the nose, which shows bright berry fruits. The palate is juicy, light and bright with a vibrancy to it, as well as compact cherry and plum fruit. It’s a really pretty, drinkable wine with perhaps some latent seriousness under the currently quite simple fruit. The freshness, carbonic character and purity are all lovely. On day two it has shed the reduction and it’s silky and delicious. 93/100

G.S.M. is an Australian term for a southern Rhône Valley-style blend of grenache, syrah and mourvèdre. Argentina is better known for malbec, of course, but Ver Sacrum chose to focus on other grapes in its high-altitude vineyard in the Uco Valley of Mendoza. This bottle is 70 percent grenache, with 15 percent each of mourvèdre and syrah. It’s intense and juicy, yet well-balanced and precise, full of red fruit and herbal flavors. - Eric Asimov of The New York Times

This wine is a little lighter than most GSM’s, but had good fruit in the nose and on the palate. A moderate finish with integrated tannins, a real nice food wine and sipper. Only priced at $16 or so.

2016 Feudi di San Gregorio ‘Rubrato’ Aglianico, Irpinia, Italy

An intense ruby red color, this Aglianico displays aromas of wild berries, licorice and herb. It's well-balanced with savory notes of balsamic, and pairs well with hard cheeses, eggplant parmigiana or hearty beef stew.

JS94James Suckling

Great fresh-plum and herbal character on the expressive nose leads into an aglianico that manages to be concentrated with no trace of opulence. Fresh, without being overly tart, at the long, dry and mineral finish. Drink or hold.

 

I noted the dark and red fruits, herbs and spice on the palate. The tannins were fairly light, but brought some body to the wine. Nice moderate finish – good with food, also. Priced around $25.

2016 Bodega Ordonez ‘Vatan’ Tinta de Toro, Toro, Spain

Showing even better than when I tasted it last year, the 2016 Vatan (100% Tinta de Toro) is still a baby and sports a deep purple color as well as blockbuster notes of blackcurrants, melted licorice, violets, ground pepper, and earth. It starts out tight and backward on the palate but slowly opens with air. It’s full-bodied, opulent, and powerful, yet still stays light on its feet, balanced, and lively. It still needs another 2-3 years and is going to evolve for 15-20 years or more.

COMMENTARY: The 2016 Bodegas Ordoñez Vatan does an excellent job of combining power and style. TASTING NOTES: This wine brings enticing black fruit aromas and flavors upfront and center. Pair it with the first cut of a prime rib, if you can get it away from your dining partner.

This wine had a great fruit nose, then flavors were like a blockbuster. Heavy red fruits and big tannins, with a very long finish. This wine needs at least a few years in the cellar to tame down – it is a massive wine. Priced from $35-40, this is a beast that needs to calm down and would hold for years.

I hope you all are safe and well. Keep popping those corks and I’ll meet you out behind the grapevines.