Tag Archives: 2004

Mourvèdre Monday #20: Bonny Doon Mourvèdre 2004

Opening one of Randall Grahm’s wines is always an event for me. I had the 2003 version of this wine in my cellar for 4 or 5 years before I gave in to temptation and pulled the cork; I was not disappointed. Though this is a 2004, I didn’t have to cellar it for half a decade. It was a special release from “Randall’s Closet of Curiosity” made available to DEWN members earlier this year.

Producer: Bonny Doon Vineyards

Grapes: 100% Mourvèdre

Appellation: Says Central Coast on the bottle, but the info in the winery newsletter suggests it’s from Contra Costa County (perhaps not within that official AVA?). CCC has some of the oldest Mourvèdre vines in California.

Vineyards: Rose Vineyard – very old vines in sandy CCC soil

Vintage: 2004

Winemaking: couldn’t find any details here other than that they use “a light touch in the cellar”

Alcohol: 13.5%

Price: $18

Tasting notes: After some initial funk blows off, the nose is all crushed rock and raspberries with a smoked meat note. On the palate it has good acid and bright flavors with more red berry and cherry fruit, but with a dark streak (hinting toward blackberry and plum). It’s like a gourmet Jolly Rancher, if there were such a thing (and there should be — get on that, Thomas Keller).

Overall impression: I’m digging the minerality on the nose and the overall purity of the wine. Really good stuff. B+

Free Association: Isn’t that a badass label? I want that on a t-shirt. It reminds me of this Lizard Man drawing from the old D&D Monster Manual.

More info:

CellarTracker reviews (avg: 87 pts)

Foppiano Merlot 2004 Russian River Valley

I was in Spec’s the other day with no real direction to my shopping, just browsing around. I saw the Merlot section and thought “why not?”  I rarely buy Merlot, but I was feeling a bit guilty for not being more open-minded. I saw this bottle with a healthy dollop of Cabernet Franc (and a bit of Cabernet Sauvignon) and from Russian River Valley, which has a generally cooler climate than many places Merlot is grown in California and is known for Pinot Noir and elegant Zinfandels. I’ve visited the Russian River Valley 2 or 3 times and I’ve had Foppiano on my list of places to stop because of their reputation for Petite Sirah, but I never managed to make it there. So I thought I’d give this bottle a shot. Let’s check it out.

FoppianoMerlot04_labelProducer: Foppiano

Grapes: 87% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon

Appellation: Russian River Valley AVA (California)

Vineyards: Estate vineyards on benchland.

Winemaking/aging: no info

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: $12

My tasting notes: This wine offers dusty red & black fruit on the nose with some green vegetal notes from the Cabernet Franc. On the palate, it’s all cherries and a bit of vanilla. Finishes very dry.

Overall impression: The Cab and Cab Franc provide some backbone to this pleasant, but unexciting Merlot. It’s fine but not something I’d seek out again (though I still want to try some of the Petite Sirah). C

Free association:

YawningSign

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


More info:

Wine Enthusiast scored this wine an 83.

Wannabe Wino mentions this bottle in a report on her visit to the winery.