Category Archives: Price: 11-15 bucks

Naked is Good: Unoaked Chardonnay – Part 3

August 26, 2009 Jim/VINEgeek 1 Comment

This is part 3 of my Unoaked Chardonnay series. Previous entries:

Part 1 – Clos LaChance Unoaked Chardonnay 2007 Monterey County

Part 2 – Toad Hollow Unoaked Chardonnay Francine’s Selection 2007 Mendocino County

Four Vines Naked Chardonnay 2008 Santa Barbara County

FourVines_NakedChard_BottleShot I originally intended this to be a 2 bottle series — just pick up two readily available unoaked Chardonnay’s and do a little compare and contrast. I was a bit disappointed with both bottles so I decided to extend the series. I stopped by Whole Foods (the flagship location at Austin HQ) and grabbed two more.

Producer: Four Vines

Grapes: 100% Chardonnay

Appellation: Santa Barbara County – one of the southernmost regions in California yet one of the coolest.

Vineyards: (from the winery) “Fruit is harvested from three south facing hilltop vineyards in the Cat Canyon in Northern Santa Barbara: Los Alamos, Loma Verde and El Camino.” Cat Canyon is in the unofficial sub-AVA of Los Alamos Valley. Info on Los Alamos Valley here and here.

Winemaking: Stainless steel fermentation, no MLF (malolactic fermentation), some aging on the lees.

Alcohol: 13.9%

Price: $13

Package: Screwtop closure. Label is a bit dull, they certainly could have done more with the Naked concept that they seem to have trademarked. Oh wait… if you look closely at the vines on the label and unfocus like you’re looking at one of those Magic Eye books you can see they they were drawn to look like four dancing naked women. A little too subtle, guys.

My tasting notes: Now we’re talking! Bright green apple aromas leap from the glass, with a hint of allspice maybe. More green apples on the palate, with a little pineapple juice. This is what I was expecting from these unoaked Chards: bright clean fruit, crisp and refreshing, while still rounder and more voluptuous than Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Riesling, etc. Nice. I think the cooler climate of Santa Barbara, and Los Alamos/Cat Canyon in particular, makes a big difference.

Overall assessment: A bit one-note perhaps, but delicious. Would be great for a party, Naked® or otherwise. B

Free association:

PinupApple

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jjsphoto/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

Other info:

Winery’s tech sheet.

CellarTracker tasting notes.

A review from KensWineGuide.com

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Unoaked Chardonnay – Part 2

August 24, 2009 Jim/VINEgeek Leave a comment

This is Part 2 of my Unoaked Chardonnay face-off: Toad Hollow Unoaked Chardonnay 2007 Francine’s Selection (Part 1 was the Clos LaChance Unoaked Chardonnay 2007 Monterey County.)

I didn’t know this before I starting researching this post, but Toad Hollow is one of the pioneers of unoaked Chardonnay in the US, their first vintage being 1993. So I’m glad I picked this one up; it should serve as a good benchmark. The only caveat is that they employ malolactic fermentation (MLF) while the Clos LaChance does not.

Producer: Toad Hollow

Grapes: 100% Chardonnay

Appellation: Mendocino County (AVA, California)

Vineyards: 90% Mendocino County and 10% from Sonoma County

Winemaking: No oak aging (9 months in stainless steel tanks), but it does get 100% MLF and 8 months on the lees.

Alcohol: 13.9%

Price: About $12

My tasting notes: A bit more golden than the Clos LaChance, but less so than most Chards. It’s a little tight on the nose – once it warms up a bit I get melon, a bit of tangerine and a sort of plastery aroma. More melon on the palate with a pleasantly rich/viscous/oily mouthfeel from the MLF. I wouldn’t describe it as crisp, though it’s not flabby either. Lingering finish, but the flavor you’re left with is a little odd, actually. (I don’t get the same spice notes I got from the Clos LaChance, which were confusing me.)

Overall assessment: I really went back and forth on this one. Compared to the Clos LaChance, it is not as expressive of fruit, but it is perhaps more interesting overall. I still didn’t get the crisp green apple zing I was expecting this unoaked Chardonnay experiment to produce. In the end this is a pleasant and interesting wine, but the aftertaste is a bit off-putting, which keeps this from scoring better. C (I certainly wouldn’t go this far.)

Free association: “Lost in our convictions, lips stained with wine / As the sun sank west of the Mendocino county line” – Mendocino County Line by Willie Nelson/Lee Ann Womack. (YouTube video here)

Unoaked Chardonnay Summary: I may have to extend this little series. These two left me disappointed. I think there are steelier, crisper, zingier examples out there that might appeal to my palate more. Perhaps you need to move up the price ladder to find good ones. After all, without the buttery/oaky “makeup”, the quality of the fruit is all the more important. If you have any recommendations, please leave a comment.

More info:

Several other folks liked this wine including: Wine Enthusiast (90 pts., Best Buy), The Wine Curmudgeon, and Good Wine Under $20.

A few tasting notes & ratings on CellarTracker.

Nice article from Wines & Vines on unoaked Chardonnay that mentions the Toad Hollow (article is a couple years old)

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Marques de la Concordia Rioja Crianza 2005

August 14, 2009 Jim/VINEgeek 2 Comments

The crayons on the table give you a sense of my tasting environment.

I’ve been drinking a lot of the “new-fangled” Spanish wines lately, but it’s been a little while since I’ve had a Rioja. Let’s see what this one’s got under the hood.

Producer: Marques de la Concordia

Grapes: 100% Tempranillo (I haven’t been able to find total confirmation of this, but several references to it for other vintages, at least on retailer websites)

Appellation: Rioja (D.O.C., Spain)

Vineyards: calcareous clay, hillside vineyards

Aging: 18 months in new French & American oak casks (This is a Crianza, which means it was required to spend at least 1 year in oak)

Alcohol: 13.5%

Price: $11.40 at Spec’s in Austin

My tasting notes: Grapey-purple, not opaque. On nose, I first get a lot of sawdust, but with coaxing the berry fruit shows up. First glass, drunk soon after pulling the cork, seemed hollow. Second glass better. The oak is coming through a bit harsh. Fruit is there, some plum and blueberry. A touch of spice. Finishes a bit creamy.

Assessment/score: Changed a lot as it breathed. First reaction was that I didn’t like it so much. Then I’d find myself thinking, why didn’t I like this before. Then I’d be back to thinking it just isn’t satisfying. I’m settling on… meh. C

Free association:

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/infinitewilderness/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

Another blogger’s take on this wine is here (End of the Vine).

More people’s tasting notes at CellarTracker.

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Cline Ancient Vines Mourvedre 2005

August 6, 2009 Jim/VINEgeek Leave a comment

I’ve opened several bottles from Cline recently and I was in the mood for this Mourvèdre. Cline is one of the few Cali producers that focuses on this grape and they’ve got some historic old vines to work with.

Producer: Cline Cellars MV05AV

Grapes: Mourvèdre (100%, I think … but it’s not stated on the label or tech sheet)

Appellation: Contra Costa County

Vineyards: While Contra Costa County is generally very hot, the vineyard site for this (and other Cline wines from the appellation) are cooled at night by the adjacent San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers.

Aging: 10 months in American oak (25% new), dark toast, before being transfered to neutral barrels.

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: I don’t recall what I paid for through the club, but these usually retail around $15.

My tasting notes: Candy on the nose, plus mint and maybe tobacco. More candied fruit on the palate. Like if Now & Later made a flavor called “chocolate-covered sugarplum.”

Assessment/score: The old-vine intensity manifests in a very candied way which is a bit “too much.” I don’t recall this in past vintages of this wine. For me, this is a C+ tonight. I’d drink it again (it may mellow with more time in bottle), but if I were buying, I’d look for other vintages. I’ll look forward to trying the ’06 or ’07.

Free association:

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Drink Pink, Take 2: Routas Rouviere 2007

August 4, 2009 Jim/VINEgeek Leave a comment

After recently enjoying a rosé, the Bonny Doon Vin Gris de Cigare 2007, and asking myself why I don’t drink pink more often, I picked up another — this time from France.

Producer: Chateau Routas

Grapes: 40% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 30% Cinsault

Appellation: Coteaux Varois en Provence (AOC, France).

Vinification/Aging: [from the producer’s website] The grapes are cooled and kept on their skins for 12 to 24 hours immediately following harvest, then gently pressed. All the Syrah and half of the Grenache go straight to neutral oak barrels after being pressed where they go through their primary and malolactic fermentation. The remaining Grenache and Cinsault are fermented in stainless steel tanks and blocked from malolactic fermentation. The two different lots are aged separately for five months and blended prior bottling.

Alcohol: 13%

Price: I paid $11 at Spec’s in Austin.

My tasting notes: Very nice salmon/apricot color. On the nose, I’m struck first by soapy aromas, like a heavily-scented hand soap — Wild SugarBerry Blossom, or something like that. There’s a bit of crayon box, too. And slightly oxidized aroma like sherry. Maybe I have an off bottle. Mrs. VINEgeek adds that there is a “creek water” element to it. In the mouth, it comes across somewhat sugary on the initial attack, like sugar-coated strawberries and raspberries, followed by bit of that oxidation I smelled (though not so much as to make it unpalatable). It has good acid and finishes dry.

Overall assessment/score: I hesitate to give this a score since there’s a chance I got an off bottle. Even without the possible oxidation, I think it was a bit out of balance. For my palate, this is not nearly as nice as the Vin Gris de Cigare. Here are some other people’s thoughts. Also, Wine Spectator gave it an 87.

Free association:

who_owns_bath_and_body_works-741300

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Montsant = Poor Man’s Priorat

July 30, 2009 Jim/VINEgeek 1 Comment

Capcanes Mas Donis Barrica 2005 Montsant

MasDonis2005_bottle Even though I try not to be a score-shopper (“90+ only, please!”), it’s hard to pass up a 91-pointer for under $12 from an up-and-coming appellation: Montsant. It’s a relatively new Spanish D.O., formerly a sub-region within the Tarragona D.O. It essentially surrounds the Priorat D.O., which is home to many high-dollar cult wines. Like Priorat, Montsant is planted mostly to Garnacha (Grenache) and Cariñena (Carignane). Let’s check it out.

Producer: Celler de Capçanes

Grapes: 85% Garnacha, 15% Syrah

Appellation: Montsant (D.O., Spain)

Vintage: 2005

Vineyards: 80+ year old Garnacha vines and 30+ year old Syrah vines

Aging: 8-9 months in new and old French and American oak “barricas”

Alcohol: 14%

Price: I paid $11.60 at Spec’s in Austin

My tasting notes: This wine brings a lot to the table aromatically. There are berries at the core, but draped with layers of violets, clove, cedar, tar, Swiss Miss hot chocolate powder. I even caught a kind of a swampy smell. In the mouth, it’s pretty rich with jammy berries and spices, and a pleasant minerality. It gets a little hot & prickly at the end, but not too bad.

Assessment/score: Very interesting wine for the price. It could easily pass for a $20-25 bottle, I think. Worth seeking out. B

Free association:

SM_Curved-v2

Robert Parker has given this wine 90+ points in several of the last 5 or 6 vintages. Here are his notes on this 2005:

“It offers up an expressive nose of slate, mineral, licorice, violets, black cherry, and blueberry. Layered, long, and complex, this spicy, hedonistic effort has 2-3 years of aging potential but can be enjoyed now without guilt. It is a great value.”

Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate
91 Points

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Rubizzo Sangiovese di Toscana 2007

July 26, 2009 Jim/VINEgeek 1 Comment

Rubizzo_SangDiToscana2007 Picked this up on a whim at the grocery store for a spaghetti and meat sauce dinner.

Producer: Rocca delle Macie (pronounced ROH-kah DELL-eh mah-CHEE-ah)

Grapes: 95% Sangiovese, 5% Merlot

Appellation: Sangiovese di Toscana (IGT)

Vineyards: estate vineyards

Aging: unknown

Alcohol: 13%

Price: $13

My tasting notes: The first whiff bursts with juicy cherry aromas followed by some leathery notes. Subsequent sniffs don’t elicit the same bright fruit…I start to get more dried flowers with the fruit in the background. (We have this bunch of roses that I gave to my wife at least a decade ago and she dried and kept — the smell of those dried roses is what comes to mind.) On the palate, the cherry notes remain, though now a bit darker and mixed with spices. Makes me think of a Persian dish of rice and cherries that I’ve had a few times. There is also a iron/graphite minerality to this. Finishes very dry.

Assessment/score: As I write this, I feel like it’s sounding better than it actually tastes. Not that I’m not enjoying it…it’s a solid bottle. I like it just fine. But I don’t “like it like it”, as we used to say in the 6th grade. B-/C+

Free association: Tropic Thunder – On paper I should have liked this movie more than I did. Jack Black, Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. … all actors I like. And funny previews. But at the end of the day, it didn’t add up to a memorable movie.

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Bonny Doon Vin Gris de Cigare 2007 California

July 26, 2009 Jim/VINEgeek Leave a comment

VinGrisCigare07_bottle_600pxh_300dpi Maybe because I had just posted about the Bonny Doon Mourvedre, I picked up this bottle on a recent replenish-the-stock-of-everyday-wine trip to the wine shop. I don’t drink much of the pink stuff, generally. It has a top-of-mind awareness problem with me. I just don’t think about it very often. When I go to the wine shop or grab a few bottles at the grocery store, I tend to think of value reds from Spain or Portugal or the Rhone, Argentine Malbec, Sonoma Zins. Or whites like New Zealand SBs, Albarino, Vinho Verde, various Alsace whites. Rosé as a category just doesn’t cross my mind.

I opened this one for one of our “grazing dinners” as my wife like to call them: prosciutto and melon, caprese salad, olives, some cheese, etc. Let’s see how it did.

Producer: Bonny Doon Vineyards

Grapes: 47% Grenache, 27% Cinsault, 14% Syrah, 7% Grenache Blanc, 5% Roussanne

Appellation: California (though it’s hard to tell from the label — it just says “Pink Wine of the Earth”)

Vineyards: unknown

Aging: unknown

Alcohol: 13.5%

Price: I don’t remember exactly what I paid, but it’s in the $12-14 range.

My tasting notes: Beautiful color. Strawberries and a distinct balloon aroma on the nose. On the palate, it has nice fruit leaning toward strawberry and cherry and possibly peach. Hints of earth and herbs. There is a really great texture to this wine; good weight. Am I imagining a little bit of an oily quality? Finishes dry and delicious.

Assessment/grade: I really like this. Beautiful color, nice aromatics, great mouthfeel and flavor. What’s not to like? Why don’t I drink this more often? B

Free association:

credit: D Sharon Pruitt (flickr account: Pink Sherbet Photography)

More details on Bonny Doon’s sell sheet for this wine here.

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Chateau Liversan Haut-Medoc 2005

July 2, 2009 Jim/VINEgeek 1 Comment

Producer: Chateau Liversan (Domaines Lapalu)

Grapes: 50% Merlot, 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Cabernet Franc (that is according to the label; I find different %s in different places online)

Appellation: Haut-Medoc (AOC), France

Vineyard: 96 acres; gravel limestone on a chalk subsoil acts

Aging: 12 months in oak

Alcohol: 14%

Production: 20,830 cases

Price: I believe I paid around $15 at Costco.

Tasting Notes: Nice dark color. Nose starts off pretty tight. With time I pick up some blueberry, whiskey barrel and a definite lotion-y smell. (Not some fancy herb-infused botanical beeswax aromatherapeutic stuff, but basic Curel or something.) On the palate, it’s a little thin and angular for me. The tannins attack my tongue, almost sealing off my taste buds to prevent them from tasting any fruit that might be hiding in there. I pick up very little else; maybe some cranberry and some graphite. Finishes very dry.

Assessment/Score: Hmm. The nose is pretty cool once it opens up, but it’s just tight tight tight in the mouth. Definitely not “delicious”, but seems like it would do better with more time in bottle. For drinking right now, I have to go with C+.

Free association:

Wine Spectator (85 points): Mineral, blackberry and licorice aromas follow through to a medium body, with firm tannins and a medium finish. A bit simple on the palate, but pleasant. Best after 2010.

Lots of other tasting notes at Cellar Tracker.

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Quinta do Valdoeiro 2005 Bairrada

June 25, 2009 Jim/VINEgeek Leave a comment

Portuguese red table wines are a fast-growing category. I’m drawn to them because of all the indigenous grape varieties that you don’t find elsewhere, like this bottle which is a blend of Baga (the most widely planted red grape in Bairrada) and Touriga Nacional. Both are small-berried varieties that produce high tannin levels.

Note: the specifications below are from the bottle labels, but it doesn’t all match up with what’s on the spec sheet from the producer’s website. Most notably, the spec sheet says there is Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend.

Producer: Vinhos Messias — Quinta do Valdoeiro Quinta do Valdoeiro 2005 Bairrada

Grapes: 50% Baga, 50% Touriga Nacional

Appellation: Bairrada (Portugal)

Vineyards: Clay soils

Aging: 6 months in French oak

Alcohol: 12.5%

Price: I paid $11.40 at Spec’s in Austin

My Tasting Notes: Good dark color. On the nose, I get lots of cherry and dark fruit notes with a good dose of sweet oak. A couple of times, I catch a Windex-like aroma, but it’s not persistent. It’s pretty juicy in the mouth with the cherry/berry elements carrying through and a bit of a green/herbal aspect sneaking in. Nice tannic grip at the end (those small, thick-skinned grape varieties) and a nicely lingering finish. With the dark fruit and the oak and the tannin, this wine acts a bit like a BIG wine, but it doesn’t feel big and heavy in the mouth. And at 12.5% with good acid, this makes a fine little wine for weeknight fare (like tonight’s stuffed bell peppers).

Grade: I’ll be buying more of this. B

Free association:

grand cru geekery