Tasting notes and wine reviews | Notes From The Cellar

August 30th, 2010

Fruit-Forward Oregon Pinot Worth More Than Just a Taste

2008 Soléna Estate Hyland Vineyard Pinot Noir

Oregon’s doing something right with pinot noir, I don’t think anyone is really arguing otherwise at this point.

Sure, you can argue, as I have, that nothing happening over on this side of the world matches up to the best of Burgundy, but when the great pinot noir regions of the western hemisphere are named off, Oregon cannot be excluded.

And if you know your Oregon pinot, you know Willamette Valley. McMinnville is a sub-appellation of the WV that sits at the north end of the valley, south of Portland. An elevation-restricted AVA, qualifying vineyards need not only be within the geographic borders of the McMinnville AVA, but they must sit between 200 and 1000 feet above sea level.

These people are specific about their wine.

Not surprisingly, the AVA is dominated by vineyards of pinot noir, with a smaller amount of other Burgundian varieties like chardonnay, pinot gris, and pinot blanc. One of the most storied vineyards within the AVA is the Hyland Vineyard, a pinot noir-dominated vineyard that has produced award-winning pinots for decades.

This is Oregon. I wasn’t going to say “centuries.”

Anyway, this wine is Soléna Estate’s Hyland Vineyard pinot noir, all pinot, all from the single vineyard. The wine is a dark, vibrant ruby red at its core, and lightens a bit to a dark pink at the edges.

The nose is a mixture of bright ripe strawberry, and darker, stewed fruit, mostly cherry and plum. The wine is medium-bodied, with a long, lustrous finish. The stewed fruit from the nose is all over the palate, but so is a hint of mossiness that starts to get us towards that “forest floor” element that Burgundies always seem to feature. Not quite, though.

The 2008 Hyland Pinot from Soléna clocks in at a bit-high-in-my-opinion 14.5% ABV, but it’s balanced very nicely. The alcohol dominates neither the nose nor the palate, and the whole experience is very pleasant.

In fact, it’s more than pleasant. This is an excellent fruit-forward pinot noir. The “New World” doesn’t always have to compete with France and Italy. Sometimes, we can make our own rules, and rule our own wines. Viva Oregon pinot!

Verdict: A-

Soléna Estate

Tags: 2008, A-, McMinnville, New School Superstar, pinot noir, Solena Estate

View Comments

August 24th, 2010

Napa White Shows Off Less-Common French Grapes

2008 Tallulah Como

I like white wine. I actually do. If you’re reading this, chances are decent that you yourself are a wine blogger, or at the least you’re kind of a wine nerd. So maybe you haven’t experienced, recently, the concept that so many people have in life, which is that they are either “white wine” drinkers or “red wine” drinkers.

Me, I’m a wino (and a discussion about “taking that term back” would be a worthy one, for another time).

While I once would have sworn up-and-down that red wine is the only wine for me, I have long ago now (or so it seems) accepted that good wine comes in many different—ahem—varieties.

And this, dear readers, is the kind of white wine I get especially excited about.

First off, the varietal makeup here is not something you’re going to be particularly familiar with, as it’s predominantly a lesser-drunk-here-in-the-States Rhône Valley grape (marsanne), mixed with an only-slightly-more-common Rhône grape (viognier) and the Queen of White Wine (and of Burgundy), chardonnay.

More precisely, the 2008 Como from Tallulah Wines is Napa Valley juice, and 53% marsanne, 37% chardonnay, and 10% viognier.

So, what’s it like? Tasty. Tasty, tasty, tasty.

The wine is bright in the glass, and gives off a bright, sharp yellow-gold color. The nose starts off a bit predictable—featuring a pear note off the bat—then starts throwing you curve balls, as some light spices mix with ripe melon and apricot aromas.

The wine is medium-to-full bodied, which I found I expected due to its color and viscosity when swirled. The spice notes from the nose mix with a tropical cornucopia of citrus (mostly orange), pineapple, and cantaloupe.

The fuller-bodied nature of this wine keeps me from describing it as particularly “crisp,” but the tropical, melon-revolving aromas and flavors are so refreshing, that this still works wonders as a chilled summertime white.

Even if you’d never heard of marsanne.

Verdict: A-

Tallulah Wines

Tags: 2008, A-, chardonnay, marsanne, Napa Valley, Tallulah Wines, Tropical Vacation Approved!, viognier

View Comments

August 23rd, 2010

Hot Summer, Cool Wine, Vivo Portugal!

2008 JM Fonseca Twin Vines Vinho Verde

They say the summer’s been hot. Has the summer been hot for you?

Here in the Bay Area, the summer of 2010 will end up going down as maybe the coldest in a half-century. No 100+ degree days, only a handful of days over 90, even in the East Bay valleys, notorious for their triple-digit July and August heat waves.

But still, you don’t all live here. More likely than not, you, the person reading this, does not live in the greater Bay Area, and perhaps your summer has been really freakin’ hot. If that’s the case, read on. If it isn’t, read on as well.

What? I’m not about to suggest you go read someone else’s wine blog.

2008 JM Fonseca Twin Vines Vinho Verde

That’s the bottle. Pretty, yes?

So’s the wine. If you haven’t had a Vinho Verde before, you probably should. From Portugal’s Minho region, in the northern part of the country, these light white wines are blends of alvarinho, treixadura, loureiro, and other local white grape varieties. They’re crisp and refreshing, generally. And for the people tired of reading my reviews of wine that costs over a hundred dollars a bottle, Vinho Verde tends to be rather cheap.

So what’s the deal with JM Fonseca’s Twin Vines? It’s a very light yellow in the glass, pretty and almost clear. On the nose, pear and a pleasant grassiness match up with a light nuttiness, perhaps almond? It’s nice, and subtle, whatever it is.

The wine is light-bodied and crisp, and features a touch of frizzante. What is frizzante, you ask? It’s a light bubbliness. This isn’t sparkling wine, of course, but there is a touch of sparkle on your tongue when you drink it. The finish is short, and the pear and nuttiness from the nose round out the palate.

This isn’t mind-blowing wine. Nor is it meant to be. On a hot day, this kind of bright, crisp, flavorful white wine is just what the meteorologist ordered.

Oh, and the cost? Not bad at $5-$10 per bottle. Not bad at all.

Verdict: B

Tags: 2008, albarino, B, JM Fonseca, loureiro, treixadura, Vinho Verde

View Comments

August 12th, 2010

Meet Marita

2005 Marita’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

This, my dear friends and people who read me because they hate me but want to see what I’ll do/say next, is some friggin’ Napa Valley Cab.

Marita’s Vineyard Special Private Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (say that fivefold fast) is a pretty fantastic bottle of wine, if I do say so myself (and I do). Limited to 225 cases, this 100% hillside cabernet sauvignon is something everyone should try.

Unfortunately, by virtue of the fact that it runs a buck-and-a-half per, not everyone’s going to be able to. C’est la vie, n’est-ce pas, mes amis?

First off, the wine comes in one of the heaviest glass bottles I’ve ever encountered. Seriously, when I opened the box the bottle came in, I thought for a second it was a 1 liter bottle or something. It’s not, it’s a standard 750, but a good 10% taller and maybe 20% wider than most of the other 750s I have in my cellar. And heavy. Even empty (and hooo boy did I finish this one) the bottle felt like it might be half full.

I know the point of thick, heavy glass bottles is to lend a measure of elegance, perhaps even gravitas, to the wine. I couldn’t help thinking about the environmental impact of all that extra glass. Extra energy to make the bottles, if not recycled properly, extra glass in the trash/landfills and all.

It’s the exact opposite delivery mechanism mentality from the NPA, for instance.

But whatever, I’m not actually that concerned about it. Much more concerned about the juice, so shall we?

2005 Marita's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

First things first: the wine is damn near black in the glass. It lightens to a rich ruby at the very edges, and mine showed just the slightest hint of tanning near the edge as well.

The nose is incredibly nicely balanced between some fruit aromas—mostly blackberry and rhubarb—and the other side of the cabernet aroma world, namely hints of leather and cigar box and cedar. On the palate, the wine is full bodied, and announces its presence with authority.

But it’s not a fruit bomb. It doesn’t “punch” you, as it were. And at 14%, it isn’t overly alcoholic for its robustness and size. It’s well balanced, all in all. The finish is long, the entire experience is lustrous and smooth, with soft, lush tannins and an overarching elegance that just rocks. It fucking tastes good, too, with fruit aromas of blackberry and black cherries that dance around.

Altogether, this is elegant, grown-up, still delicious wine, with lots of nuance and incredible balance. This is Napa Valley cab, writ large.

Verdict: A-

(full disclosure: this wine was provided to me as a press sample from VinTank)

Tags: 2005, A-, cabernet sauvignon, Legit Juice, Marita's Vineyard, Napa Valley

View Comments

August 9th, 2010

Introducing: The Cellar Badges

I am excited to join the Revolución, as it were, of my good friends at VinTank, as Paul Mabray recently described on their We Are VinTank blog (Scores, we don’t need no stinkin’ scores!). I join my good friend Ward Kadel and revered Master of Wine Mark de Vere in this endeavor, in this new journey into the undiscovered country of The Wine Badges. Not that I will completely stop scoring wine or anything… but this is new. New is fun. And fun is what this guy is all about.

This information will have a permanent home here, and linked in the sidebar.

The Cellar Badges are a new paradigm in wine scoring. Viva la Revolución!

Instead of scoring wines using my not-exactly-patented grading system, wines reviewed under the auspices of The Cellar Badges will be assigned a badge (hence the name). Each badge grants to the wine lucky enough to receive it certain recognition, recognition of characteristics.

What characteristics? Depends on the badge.

Classique des Classiques — Highly typical wines of one of the most classic French-roots varieties (cab sauv, merlot, syrah, pinot noir, malbec, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, semillon, chenin blanc, viognier).

Supermarket Surprise — Surprisingly good wine, possibly available in supermarkets, and priced under $15.

Tall, Dark, and Handsome — A wine that is very dark in the glass and features dark notes (espresso/coffee, tobacco, chocolate, etc).

Tropical Vacation Approved! — A white that shies away from both the “butter/oak” paradigm and the “apple/pear” paradigm to feature tropical notes like pineapple, banana, mango, etc.

I Can't Believe It's Not Brunello I Can’t Believe It’s Not Brunello — Sangiovese other than Brunello di Montalcino that rocks socks.