A lovely representation of Right Bank Bordeaux by the glass. Essentially declassified St. Emilion grapes, we have a blend of Merlot (70%), Cabernet Sauvignon (20%) and Cabernet Franc (10%). The resulting juice is light in body, elegant in style, and definitively old world in character. At first look we have a delicate garnet hue with…
Read More2007 Yamhill Valley Vineyards Pinot Noir is sourced from McMinnville and Willamette Valley AVA’s in Oregon. As the extraction factor in Pinot seems to reach ever higher peaks of density, I find myself wondering what on earth has happened to the glorious feminine side of this grape. The masculine style of this varietal is becoming rapidly…
Read MoreThe 2009 Three Knights Los Carneros Pinot Noir is a Trader Joe’s exclusive ($8.99), produced by Bronco Wine Company, the makers of 2 Buck Chuck and many other Trader Joe’s labels.There is no actual Three Knights Winery and Bronco Wines makes their wines as inexpensively as possible, so they don’t spend money on information on…
Read MoreThe 2010 Paso A Paso (translates to step by step) Organic White wine is a mystery wine, it is a White blend, but the bottle does not list the grapes or a Winery. The grapes are certified organic from vineyards in La Mancha, Spain and the wine is a Jorge Ordonez Selection. Jorge Ordonez is an Importer,…
Read MoreThe 2009 Chateau Auguste Merlot is something of a rarity for Bordeaux Red wines, it is a 100% single varietal Merlot and most Bordeaux wines are blends. Chateau Auguste is located south of St.-Emilion (Right Bank), which is primarily a Merlot and a little Cabernet Franc growing area. The Chateau Auguste vineyards are certified organic…
Read MoreThe 2010 Araucano Pinot Noir is 100% Pinot sourced from several cool weather vineyards in the Curico, Maipo, Maule, but mainly from the Lolol growing regions in the Central Valley of Chile. The Pinot Noir vines in this area are relatively young, the average age of the vines is 7 years old (it takes 3…
Read MoreThe 2008 Milbrandt Vineyards Traditions Merlot is 78% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Malbec and 1% Barbera sourced from several of their Estate vineyards in the Wahluke Slope sub-AVA in the Columbia Valley in Washington State. Milbrandt has 12 vineyards in the Columbia Valley and if you have had a wine produced in Columbia Valley…
Read MoreThe 2008 Cline Sonoma County Syrah is 100% Syrah sourced mainly from Cline’s family owned and sustainable farmed vineyard in the Sonoma Coast AVA along with grapes that are also sustainably farmed from 2 vineyards located on the Sonoma side of the Carneros AVA in Northern California. The Syrah is aged on French oak barrels…
Read More90+ Cellars are Negociants with a twist, not only do they buy wine from various wineries and put their own label on the bottle, they only buy wine that has received, at some point, 90+ points from one of the leading Wine publications. The Lot 37 Shiraz is sourced from a winery (as a Negociant…
Read MoreThe 2010 Cono Sur Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from various Vina Cono Sur Santa Elisa Estate vineyards located in the Central Valley of Chile. The Central Valley runs the entire length of Chile, with the Andes on one side and the Coastal Range on the other. Cono Sur is not just a play on words,…
Read MoreThe 2009 Wine Guerrilla Zinfandel is 85% Zinfandel and 15% Petit Sirah sourced from vineyards in the Dry Creek Valley and Russian River Valley AVA’s of Sonoma County, California. The seems to be 2 bottlings of the Sonoma County Zinfandel, there is another bottle that also has Cabernet Sauvignon and Carignan blended in, 1,100 cases…
Read MoreThe Albero Cava Brut is a $7.99 Trader Joe’s exclusive, sourced from certified organic grapes (CCPAE SPAIN) grown on the Estate vineyards of Bogedas Iranzo (Spain’s oldest Estate vineyards, founded 1335) which is located in the Penedes DO near Barcelona by the Mediterranean Sea. The grapes used, Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel-lo are the traditional grapes…
Read MoreThe 2009 Antano Viura is 100% Viura (also called Macabeo, which along with Xarel-lo and Parellada is the 3 grapes that go into Spanish Cava) sourced from old vine vineyards grown near the town of Labastida in Rioja, Spain. The alcohol content is 12.5%. The color is pale sunshine yellow. The nose is apricot and…
Read MoreThe 2010 Perrin Nature Cotes du Rhone is 95% Grenache and 5% Syrah sourced from a single certified (ECOCERT) organic vineyard located outside the village of Tulette near Domaine de Guarrigon in the Cotes du Rhone AOC of the Rhone Valley, France. A traditionally made wine that is aged in both stainless steel tanks and…
Read MoreThe Benefactor Cellars South Eastern Australia Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 is one of Trader Joe’s $4.99 special wines. All Trader Joe’s says about the making of this wine is that they were able to purchase several lots of finished Cabernet Sauvignon and they blended the various lots together. I don’t know if that means Cabernet from…
Read MoreThe 2008 Cave Springs Riesling is 100% Riesling sourced from, 57% 20 Mile Bench, 20% Beamsville Bench, 17% Lincoln Lakeshore and 6% Creek Shores sub-appellations of the Niagara Peninsula VQA (Vintners Quality Alliance) near Lake Ontario in Canada. The wine is fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks and the alcohol content is 11%. The…
Read MoreIf you were a cool breeze (my nickname in high school), you’d love blowing through the “Templeton Gap” – a series of mountain passes near Paso Robles – just to get to the rolling hills of Cass Vineyards. Your job is to cool their 100% estate-grown Rhone varietals so they can ripen into majesty. In…
Read MoreThe 2009 Trader Joe’s Reserve Carneros Pinot Noir sells for $9.99, at least 85% of the grapes are grown in the Carneros AVA of California and the alcohol content is 13.9%, is about all I know for sure about this wine. This is a Trader Joe’s negociant wine, so who grew the grapes and who…
Read MoreThe 2008 Alias California Merlot is 80% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Syrah sourced from multiple California wine AVA’s. Alias is a project put together by 8 unnamed winemakers (hence the Alias name) who are attempting to make “affordable luxury” wines. The website listed on the bottle is not operational, a…
Read MoreThe 2009 Underwood Cellars Oregon Pinot Noir is 100% Pinot Noir sourced from 3 wine AVA’s (82% Umpqua Valley, 10% Willamette Valley and 8% Rogue Valley) in Oregon. The Umpqua Valley is a cool weather growing area, the Rogue Valley is the highest elevation and is the warmest growing area and the Willamette Valley has…
Read MoreThe 2009 Seven Hills Viognier is 100% Viognier sourced from a single vineyard, Talcott Vineyards, which is located in the recently established Wahluke Slope AVA, which in turn is located inside the Columbia Valley AVA in Washington State. A reasonably small production wine, only 960 cases produced. The wine is aged in new French oak…
Read MoreThe 2009 Barton and Guestier Rose’ is a blend that included a grape you probably have not had before, 70% Grolleau Noir and 30% Cabernet Franc. Grolleau Noir is grown mainly in the Anjou AOC of the Loire Valley in France. Barton and Guestier have been making wine since 1725. A Rose’ is made from…
Read MoreA 9/11-themed wine? Appropriate? Tacky? Only 10% goes to charity? What’s next – t-shirts? Coffee mugs? What do you think? Read the whole story …
Read MoreThe 2009 Proyecto Garnachas de Espanas is part of a special project featuring 5 different Garnachas/Grenache sourced from single vineyards located in 5 different growing areas in Spain. The Moncayo Garnacha Savage is sourced from a single 55 year old vineyard near the town of Santa Cruz de Moncayo in the Ribera Del Queiles in Aragon, Spain. The…
Read MoreWhat did you do this weekend? I attended the 9th Annual Naperville Wine Festival and while I drank some wine, listened to some music, ate some food and met and talked to a bunch of fellow winos, I was doing so for charity – the Naperville Area Humane Society. For the first time in its…
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