Notes From The Cellar » 2008

☆ 2008 Willamette Valley Vineyards Riesling

Steve — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:20:52 +0000

Sweet Oregonian Converts My Bitter Palate

I used to hate “sweet” wines.

I put “sweet” in quotation marks for a reason. I don’t mean to refer to dessert wines– in fact, Tawny Porto has long been something I have treasured.

No, I mean your Gewurztraminers, late harvest wines in general, and of course, most Rieslings that did not bear the “Dry” adjective stamped right on the label.

But, apparently, tastes change.

Many moons ago, I made a stink on Twitter by saying something along the lines of “Burgundy still kills it with pinot noir.” Not exactly a controversial statement, or so I thought. California– and more so, Oregon– wineries responded to me staking a claim to the pinot noir crown.

And Willamette Valley Vineyards decided to put their money where there mouth is. Or, perhaps more specifically, but certainly less poetically: to put their wine where my mouth is.

They sent along a couple selections of their pinot, suggesting I put their offerings through the Pepsi Challenge with the finest Burgs I can get my hands on. And I will. But as of this writing, I can’t really afford anything from Burgundy one would consider particularly “fine,” and so the eventual Oregon-vs.-France-by-way-of-my-little-condo-in-Walnut-Creek,-California Battle Royale de Pinot will have to wait.

In the meantime, WVV also decided to hand off a bottle or two of white. One of which, was this: their 2008 Riesling.

Notice it does not say 2008 Dry Riesling.

The label admonishes that “prime drinking time” is 2009-2011, and so, not wanting to let a good thing go bad, I popped the cork and took this wine for a spin just recently. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I figured it was now or never.

I’m glad it was now.

I’m still not sure I like “sweet” wines. But I know something I do like: balance. And this wine has it in abundance. There is sweetness here, enough of it to notice, but not enough of it to drown out other flavors (my normal complaint regarding excess RS). More than that, there is acidity up the wazoo. Plenty of acid, some weighty residual sugar, and a pleasant, crisp flavor profile all welcomed me when I first put glass to lips.

This isn’t a gush, though; there are issues I have here. The nose kicks off with a kind of unfortunate rubbery smell. Kind of a tire-meets-wet-road thing. It’s not huge, but it was impossible not to notice. The nose also plays around with more of what’s to come, tossing you a ripe, juicy green apple along with its more industrial component.

On the palate, luckily, any hint of the nose’s rubber is gone, out of town, non grata. Not there. A bit one-note, the wine pretty much sits around the green apple arena of flavors, but it is very crisp and refreshing.

The mouthfeel is a bit viscous, what I would call “medium-full” bodied. That sweetness is here, and attacks the front of your palate, the tip of your tongue and all those salivary glands you have up front there (trust me, there’s quite a few). As the wine passes through your mouth, just when you think you can’t take any more sweetness, the back nine are given a nice kick of acidity, almost enough to get you in the lymph nodes like A1 Steak Sauce.

The overall experience, then, is a pleasurable one: you’re left with a more lingering memory of the acidity than of the sweetness, and the whole time you’re tasting the most exhilaratingly crisp Granny Smith apple.

Tart, sweet, acidic, crisp, with a full-bodied feel. If you like your wines like you like your French cinema– complex, contradictory, packed with imagery, with just a hint of something that smells funny– you really ought to give the 2008 Willamette Valley Vineyards Riesling a shot. I’m glad I did.

2008 Willamette Valley Vineyards Riesling

Hi! If you're seeing this message in your RSS feed reader or email, then pay no mind, move along, all is well. However, if you are seeing this message on a website, then the owner of that site is unscrupulously stealing my material! If you'd like to support the actual creator of this content, please leave this website by way of my own: Notes From The Cellar and leave these parasitic jerks in the dust! Thanks so much!

☆ 2008 Cakebread Cellars Sauvignon Blanc

Steve — Wed, 04 May 2011 16:00:45 +0000

More Than Just A Summer Sipper

The days are getting warm again.

As my diligent temperature-tracking tool for my hometown of Walnut Creek, CA, will attest, it got up over 81° F on Monday. May is here, Spring is in full swing, and barbecue season is right around the corner.

Fittingly enough, this is a wine I drank for the first time last summer. It’s just the kind of wine I want to turn to in the coming months, with their hot days, warm nights, perfect barbecue weather, and all that. A picnic in the park! See, I just thought of another place to drink this wine!

Cakebread Cellars has put together this very nice sauvignon blanc from not just sauv blanc, but from sauvignon musqué (an aromatic clone of sauv blanc) and semillon, with which sauv blanc is blended in almost every Bordeaux Blanc in France.

The wine goes through a very specific, and I find quite interesting, fermentation and aging process. 67% of the 2008 sauv blanc was fermented in steel tanks, then aged in neutral French oak barrels; 18% was fermented and aged in barrel; 15% was fermented and aged in tank, with no barrel time at all. A blend of processes like this makes for a very complete, well-rounded wine.

The 2008 Cakebread sauvignon blanc is light yellow in the glass, but like a lot of sauv blancs that I love (and I do love me some sauv blanc), there is a nice hint of green to the color of the wine. On the nose are crisp notes of apple and pear, very clean. The wine itself, though, is a touch more tropical, with notes of mango and melon to go along with the apple from the nose, plus a hint of sweet citrus and clean, biting minerality that I quite liked.

It might be a touch too sweet for me to get to a “freak out” stage for this wine, but overall, it’s an incredibly well-rounded, tasty, refreshing, and interesting white wine. More than just your average summer sipper, for sure; but definitely good to sip in the summer.

☆ 2008 Tierra del Corazon Cabernet Sauvignon

Steve — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 17:00:36 +0000

Dark, Smoky South American Shines

I’ve had one other Maipo Valley cab and while the grade here is the same (B+), they really couldn’t be more different wines.

The 2008 Tierra del Corazon Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon is an impressive Chilean cabernet by winemaker Roberto Carranca, Winemaker at Viña Indomita. It’s tough to find info on this specific wine, except in reference to the exact way I came about it: as part of Virgin Wines’ Explorers’ Club.

Still, it’s something worth sharing with you.

The 2008 Tiera del Corazon is dark in the glass, with a nearly-black core, lightening to bright, ruby red edges.

On the nose is a lot of smokiness. Some spice and oak, but lots of smoke. On the palate, there is very little red, or for that matter, black fruit. This medium-bodied, medium-finish wine is smoky smoky smoky, with hints of cedar and oak, tobacco and clove that dance around.

It doesn’t have the structure of a great Old World cab, and it’s not the crowd-pleasing fruit-forward New World style, either. But if the smoke’n'oak aroma paradigm is up your cabernet alley, then you’ll probably dig this.

☆ 2008 Henry Natter Sancerre Blanc

Steve — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 17:00:18 +0000

Super-Stinky Sauv Blanc From France

Usually, I really like stinky sauv blanc. I have reviewed, quite favorably, stinky sauv blancs from the Natural Process Alliance and Clos Pegase. But this wine, from the Sancerre region of the Loire Valley, took stinkiness a step too far, even for me.

That’s not to say it’s bad, per se. But I have a hard time recommending something like this. It’s an acquired taste. If you’re a Sancerre fan, I’m willing to bet this will be up your alley. It clocks in under $30 and if this stank is your thing, you’ll probably want to try it.

But for most people—myself included—this just doesn’t tickle the ol’ proverbial fancy.

The ’08 Natter is gorgeous in the glass, however. A rich, golden shine looks incredibly inviting. It almost appears chardonnayesque, but don’t let that fool you. On the nose, the stank arrives.

Most of what I could discern from the nose of this 100% sauvignon blanc juice was manzanilla olive and fish oil. It was hard to smell past those two rather overpowering aromas. Upon tasting the wine, you get what you might expect from those aromas on the nose. The wine is light bodied, and comes off very briny. Almost a bit like the brine that manzanillas are jarred in.

There is a hint of sweetness, too. And the odors and flavors, while unmistakable, are not altogether unpleasant. But unless you know already that this wine is for you, I’d be willing to bet that it’s not.

☆ 2008 J. Lohr Estates Seven Oaks Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon

Steve — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 17:00:21 +0000

Surprising, Young Paso Cab Blend

Last autumn, I participated, if only briefly, in the judging process for the Cabernet Shootout. I discovered that day a few truths: first, tasting and judging a whole slew of wines in one afternoon really isn’t for me. Second, I really quite enjoy Paso Robles cabernet sauvignon.

First off, who is J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines? A big, big, big winery. The 16th largest in California, with an annual production of over 1,000,000 cases. That’s over 2.3 million gallons of juice every year.

So, this is no boutique shop. No newcomer, scratching for attention. Probably not the kind of winery that sends samples to wine bloggers, for instance. This bottle, I tasted because a friend brought it over to the house, and wanted to know my opinion.

My opinion, frankly, surprised me. This ain’t so bad!

First things first, the 2008 J. Lohr Estates Seven Oaks Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon is not just cabernet sauvignon. It’s a blend of many red grapes: 78% cab sauv, 9% petite sirah, 4% syrah, 3% merlot, 3% petit verdot, 2% cabernet franc, and 1% (and this is my favorite part) “other reds.”

Ha! “Other reds,” seriously? That’s creepy.

But what of the wine? It’s got a dark, almost black core in the glass, and lightens to ruby red edges. On the nose are very cabernet-esque aromas of blackberry, raspberry, and cedar.

The wine is medium-bodied, with something of a short finish. It’s fruit-forward, with more blackberry and raspberry on the palate, but also some nice, though tight, tannin structure that makes me think it will age, if only 2-5 years or so.

It’s really quite enjoyable, and shows an age-worthiness and structure that seems out of place of its production level and its sub-$10 price point. Which makes it the first-ever recipient of my Supermarket Surprise badge.

☆ 2008 Pietracupa Fiano di Avellino

Steve — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 18:45:37 +0000

Southern Italian Charmer

I have to admit, it’s been rather difficult tracking down information on this particular producer, and this particular wine. I can tell you a few things:

It comes from Fiano di Avellino in Campania, Italy
It is made from 100% fiano grapes
It will run you about $25 or so
It’s pretty yummy

I’ve reviewed a Fiano di Avellino before, and liked it well enough (but not that well). This one, I enjoyed quite a bit more.

To celebrate my getting back on the Italian wine horse (I’ve written more than a few words about Italian wine in the past), I’m looking back at this Italian white that I had a few months ago. Thank goodness, I take great notes.

The Pietracupa Fiano is a shimmering, faint gold color in the glass. The nose is incredibly clean. I get aromas of fresh rain, some rose petal, and a chalky minerality—almost granite smell—that comes off very light, very unencumbered, and very pretty.

The wine is medium-bodied and dry, and is mostly earthy and twiggy in its flavor profile. It’s got quite a bit more complexity to its flavors than most whites I’ve had, Italian or otherwise. There’s a kicker of a flavor in here, too—truffle oil. Yes, really.

A charming, clean, complex, pretty white wine from the south of Italia. All in all, you can’t go wrong with it—assuming you can find it.

☆ 2008 La Crema Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

Steve — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 17:00:14 +0000

At La Crema, Specificity Counts

La Crema is a pretty big winery.

With vineyards in Sonoma and Monterey counties, this 150,000 case-per-year subsidiary of the massive Kendall-Jackson brand makes some good wine, and makes some wine I just can’t get into.

And I think I figured it out.

La Crema makes wine from one of five listed AVAs. All of their wine will be stamped on the bottle as either Russian River Valley, Anderson Valley, Los Carneros, Sonoma Coast, or Monterey.

The Monterey AVA is huge, as is the Sonoma Coast AVA. The Russian River Valley is a sub-AVA of Sonoma Coast, and Los Carneros and ~~Anderson Valley~~ are two additional small sub-AVAs in Sonoma. So what am I getting at? (Edit: As I was corrected in the comments, Anderson Valley is in Mendocino, not Sonoma.)

La Crema wines marked Monterey and Sonoma Coast have always disappointed me. Those stamped with one of the smaller AVAs (Russian River Valley, Anderson Valley, or Los Carneros) always seems to impress me at least enough to want to drink more of it.

And this bottle fits that paradigm quite nicely.

A Christmas gift from my brother and his wife, I opened the La Crema on a quiet night at home. Just me and my sweet pea, watching TV, eating dinner, and enjoying this bottle quite a bit.

The 2008 La Crema RRV Pinot Noir is a deep burgundy red in the middle of the glass, and lightens to this not-quite-pink, pinkish-ruby on the edges. On the nose are bright, clear aromas of strawberry and ripe red cherry, plus something a bit earthy, a bit dirty that I liked very much.

The wine is light in body and medium in finish. It shows off traditional pinot noir notes of cherry and mushroom, and has an overall smokiness I found very pleasing, plus just a hint of candy sweetness.

Really a very good pinot noir. Definitely more on the “bright fruit” end of the pinot noir spectrum, as opposed to, say, earth and forest floor. But if you’re into that, this one is a very good choice.

☆ 2008 Foris Rogue Valley Chardonnay

Steve — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 17:00:06 +0000

Rogue Valley Chardonnay Comes Complete With Splinters

I have friends who drink wine.

The best part about wine, and about having friends who drink it, is that different people like different kinds of wine. Sure, it might make it more difficult to plan a party while keeping everyone’s wine preferences in mind, but it does make for lively conversation.

I have a friend who very much enjoys chardonnay, as do I. The thing is, I like the Chablis style, little-to-no oak barreling, steel fermentation. Crisp, clean citrus and apple flavors. She, on the other hand, prefers the traditionally-Californian style of the big, buttery, creamy, oaky chardonnay.

The problem for her is, I had to amend “Californian” with “traditionally” in that last paragraph. Many of California’s traditional purveyors of buttery, oaky chardonnay (like, say, Navarro in Mendocino, or Cakebread in Napa) are turning in recent vintages to the cleaner, “smaller,” more food-friendly version of chardonnay like that done in Chablis, France. Even Chablis’ oaky cousin, the white Burgundy, never got to the splinterifficness of the over-oaked chardonnays of California.

While I like this turn of events, I also like being able to point friends in the direction of wines they will like. And so, I cannot wait to tell her about this offering from Oregon.

The barrel-fermented 2008 Chardonnay from Foris Vineyards in Oregon’s Rogue Valley AVA fits the “oaky, buttery” paradigm quite well, although with a hint of apple that does lend it some character.

In the glass, the wine looks like it will be a Chablis-style chard, quite deceptively. The wine is a bright, light lemon yellow color. The nose reveals a creamy, buttery aroma however, though it is tempered by a bit of red delicious apple.

On the palate, the wine shows its true colors: it’s full bodied, with plenty of oak and butter, though it is a bit flabby and feels unstructured. There is a hint of the apple from the nose here, but for the most part, you’ll be picking wood out of your teeth after this wine.

Not my cup of tea, for sure… but also not “bad,” per se. Just know what you’re getting in to.

☆ 2008 Lambert Bridge Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel

Steve — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 17:00:15 +0000

Supple, Refined Sonoma Zin

One of my favorite dichotomies in California wine is the massive gulf of disparity between Sonoma and Lodi zinfandel. Both areas are well-known for California’s Grape,^™ but both areas do it so very differently.

Zins from Lodi tend to be what I think most people get the idea that zinfandel is, which is big, spicy, high in alcohol but not exactly a fruit bomb. Not totally food-friendly unless you’re pairing it with something that can hold its own (a peppered steak, or maybe some pretty heavy curry).

On the flipside, zinfandel from Sonoma tends to be a bit brighter, more supple and refined. Less spicy, lower in alcohol and more food friendly. It can also be, well, pretty boring at times.

The 2008 DCV Zin from Lambert Bridge is definitely not one of the boring Sonoma zinfandels.

85% zinfandel and 15% petite sirah, this blend from Lambert Bridge’s own Winery Ranch Vineyard is an excellent example of the supple, refined side of California zinfandel. The introduction of the petite sirah, however, gives it a bit of an edge that keeps it from being too flabby or uninspired.

The wine is ruby in the center, and a light pink to the glass’s edge. On the nose is a very nice mixture of fruit and texture aromas, where raspberry and espresso mingle with tobacco and a hard-to-define chalkiness that comes off very rustic, very authentic. The wine is medium-bodied, soft and supple in the mouth. The dominant note is black cherry, but more of the chalky rusticness from the nose appears here on the palate.

What you won’t find are rough edges, super-high ABV (14%), or a lot of spice notes. A little rustic, a whole lotta refined, the 2008 Zin from Lambert Bridge is a very good example of what Sonoma has to offer zinfandel fans.

☆ 2008 Turley Dusi Vineyard Zinfandel

Steve — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 18:45:27 +0000

Hot Paso Zin For Your Cold Autumn Nights

It’s cold!

For those of you without the good fortune of calling the San Francisco Bay Area home, let me introduce you to the term “weather wimp.”

Weather Wimp, n., one unaccustomed to extreme changes in weather conditions and temperature, and who will embarrassingly complain about daytime temperatures outside the range of 65°–85° Fahrenheit.

This obviously changes a bit from season to season. We weather wimps are not unreasonable. We don’t expect 85 degree weather in November. But we also can’t handle 35 degrees in November. During the day. With the sun out.

In order to salve my worried soul over the implications of such CLIMATE CHANGE (sorry, was that emphasis distracting?) on my future and the future of my as-yet-to-be-conceived children, I turn to you, dear reader, with a tale of hot wine for cold nights.

Now, “hot” isn’t always a good thing. Usually, in fact, it’s used in a derogatory manner to describe wine that shows off too much of its alcohol; that is, to put it bluntly, unbalanced. Perhaps nigh undrinkable.

But I also think of “hot” wine as big, bold, fruity, and yes, alcohol-heavy wine from hot regions of the world, like Australia, parts of South America, and California’s Central Valley, like Lodi or Fresno.

Or Paso Robles.

Dusty, windy, seemingly inhospitable, to an outsider appearing to be fit for neither man nor beast, Paso Robles provides the world with some very impressive wine. The hot region within California’s sprawling Central Coast AVA is home to, among many others, Dusi Vineyard.

Turley Wine Cellars, located just a hop, skip, and a jump down 101 from the city of Paso Robles itself, is one of more than a few winemakers to make zinfandel from Dusi Vineyard grapes. And what kind of zinfandel is it, you ask?

It’s pretty. It’s really quite pretty. Bright, brilliant red-pink in the glass. Lots of zinfandel hangs out in the darker hues, but this is nice and bright. Warm, and inviting. It stays pretty on the nose, too, with underripe strawberry and some succulent red apple notes. Finally, it’s pretty on the way down, as well: a sort of candied cherry mixes with some earthtones to mellow out what was beginning to be a too-pretty, too-sweet affair.

And the alcohol is here. This isn’t, by any means, a food-pairing wine. But on a cold autumn night, with temperatures hovering in the high 30s or low 40s, your favorite weather wimp likes to be warmed up. And this is a hot Paso Robles zinfandel that can do just that.

Verdict: 89/100
Price Point: $50-$60