Tag Archives: 2005

Mourvèdre Monday #24: Castaño Hecula 2005

August 30, 2010 Jim/VINEgeek Leave a comment

Back to Spain for Mourvèdre Monday. This one’s from Bodegas Castaño, one of the biggest producers of Monastrell in Yecla, in southeastern Spain. This wine got 90+ points from Parker for 5 straight vintages, including this one. Let’s see what’s up.

Producer: Bodegas Castaño

Grapes: 100% Monastrell

Appellation: Yecla

Vineyards: From 30+ year old vines in two vineyards: Las Gruesas and Pozuelo. Both with soils of sand, clay and limestone.

Vintage: 2005

Winemaking: 6 months of aging. It’s not clear from tech sheet in what vessel, but I would guess tank or neutral oak.

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: Around $12

Tasting notes: Dusty fruit on the nose playing second fiddle to dried flowers and a sweaty, meaty aroma. I catch a fleeting licorice note as well. On the palate there are rich blackberry and red fruit flavors with an interesting mossy background note. Finishes short and dry with a little heat.

Overall impression: Some intriguing elements that don’t quite come together into a harmonious whole as well as I would like. Still an nice bottle that I enjoyed spending the evening with. And a nice value at around $12. B

Free association:

More info:

90 points from Parker and Tanzer. Parker gave this wine 90 or 91 points in vintages 2002-2006.

Jeff over at Viva La Wino reviewed this one last year and loved it.

Price: Over 20 bucks, Tasting Notes

Mourvèdre Monday #9: Hewitson Old Garden 2005

March 15, 2010 Jim/VINEgeek 5 Comments

For this week’s Mourvèdre Monday, we’re hopping in the wayback machine. I mean waaaaaaaaayback. I’m talking the oldest known Mourvèdre vines in the world. I’m so excited I just might wet myself.

Producer: Hewitson

Grapes: 100% Mourvèdre

Appellation: Barossa Valley, Australia

Vineyard: All the grapes for this wine come from the “Old Garden” planted in 1853. Eight. Teen. Fifty. Three. They were already calling this the “Old Garden” in the 18-freaking-80s when it was 30+ years old. The vines are dry-farmed, hand-pruned and hand-harvested bush vines.

Vintage: 2005

Winemaking: About 18 months in 100% new French oak barrels.

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: $29.40 at Spec’s in Austin

My tasting notes: There’s a slight orange-ness at the edge, like Spanish-style clay roof tiles. The nose is complex and layered: Plum, mixed berries, spice, Dr. Pepper, a bit of cream from the new oak. On the palate, there is rich red fruit (esp. cherry) that stays away from being too intense/extracted. There’s a wet-earth minerality to this that I like a lot, as well. It’s smooth textured with good acidity, but not as much backbone as I expected. Not an especially lengthy finish. After a couple of hours open it starts to lose it’s gravitas and begins to taste like a mediocre Lodi Zin or something.

Overall impression: I had really high expectations for this wine and it wasn’t quite what I expected. I imagined these ancient vines producing a robust, intense wine that would impress me with its strength. Instead, it seemed to me more like a interesting, dapper old man. Still, an enjoyable bottle that I’m glad I got to taste. I’ll be on the lookout for other vintages in the future to keep tabs on this unique wine. B

Free association:

More info:

Check out this short video from Hewitson on the Old Garden vineyard.

A collection of reviews on the Hewitson website.

Other reviews at The Wine Front, CellarTracker (avg: 89) and Cork’d.

Price: Over 20 bucks, Tasting Notes

Rosenblum Rhodes Vineyard Petite Sirah 2005

March 12, 2010 Jim/VINEgeek Leave a comment

Rosenblum has always appealed to me because of it’s focus on Zin and it’s extensive lineup of vineyard-designate wines. I saw this Petite Sirah on the shelf a while back and the vineyard name struck a chord with me (see below), so I picked it up. Let’s check it out.

Producer: Rosenblum Cellars

Grapes: 100% Petite Sirah

Appellation: Redwood Valley, a relatively cool climate zone within the Mendocino AVA.

Vineyard: Rhodes Vineyard — 60 year old, dry-farmed and head-pruned vines

Vintage: 2005

Winemaking: Aged in 60% French, 40% American oak.

Alcohol: 13.8%

Price: $20-25

My tasting notes: The first thing I smelled when I stuck my schnoz in the glass was salted peanuts! Not an aroma I was expecting. (I love salted peanuts, by the way.) I also pick up some tobacco and sweet oak aromas. Not a ton of distinct fruit on the nose. There’s fruit there, but seems cloaked in a layer of dust or something. In the mouth, this wine starts off with tart blueberry fruit and morphs a bit toward pomegranate and tart cherry. The fruit has that old vines intensity, but the wine feels thin on the palate and it finishes with dry tannins – I feel like I’m chewing the skins of the grapes.

Overall impression: Despite the thinness of the fruit, I think this is an alright bottle of wine. Not the “life of the party” style of many Petite Sirahs, but there is something appealing in the balance of this wine for me. B-

Free association: My alma mater…

More info:

CellarTracker reviews (mean: 87)

Price: Over 20 bucks, Tasting Notes

Cline Small Berry Mourvedre 2005

October 19, 2009 Jim/VINEgeek 4 Comments

Cline_SmallBerry_Mourvedre_05_FrontLabel As I’ve noted in earlier posts, I’ve been a big fan of Cline wines since my very first trip to wine country in the mid-90s. Theirs was my first introduction to Mourvèdre and I’ve been a “Mourvèdre-head” ever since.

Producer: Cline

Grapes: 100% Mourvèdre

Appellation: Contra Costa County

Vineyards: From a 9-acre block of 100+ year old vines in sandy soil. Dry-farmed (no irrigation) and head trained (not trained onto a trellis system). There are eucalyptus trees near the vineyard, which show up in the profile of this wine (see below).

Winemaking: Fermented in stainless steel, then 15 months in medium-toast French and American oak barrels (a mix of new and used).

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: This wine retails for around $32, I believe. (I purchased it via Cline’s Pendulum Club.)

My tasting notes: Wow – the aroma of this wine leaps from the glass and all I can think of is Andes Candies – you know, those foil-wrapped chocolate and mint candies. (My wife says it reminds her of Mystic Mints.) Some red fruit as well, but the chocolate/mint really dominates. On the palate, it’s soft-textured, plush even. Red and blue fruit flavors with a minty cool finish. Wild stuff.

Overall assessment: I’ve had several prior vintages of this wine and the mint always stands out (more strongly in this vintage than any I can remember tasting). It comes from the eucalyptus trees near the vineyard. If you’re dubious, there is science supporting this. That clear expression of the vineyard site is exciting to me. The flavor profile may not be for everyone, and I can’t say it’s a strong value, but it’s a distinctive wine that I look forward to trying every year. B+

Free association:

AndesCandies

More info:

The winery’s tech sheet.

Tasting notes at CellarTracker.

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Boots Grenache 2005 Barossa

October 8, 2009 Jim/VINEgeek 1 Comment

Producer: Trevor Jones (Boots label)

Grapes: Grenache

Appellation: Barossa (Australia)

Vineyards: Old bush vines

Winemaking: This wine sees some time in French oak, but just how long isn’t clear from the label or website.

Alcohol: 14.5%

Price: $12-13

My tasting notes: Very light color. Bright nose of pine forest, cherries (cherry cough syrup, really) and Wint-O-Green LifeSavers. Some oak coming through as well. On the palate, this wine is silky and pleasant with cherry, herbs and a maple syrup quality. But it lacks backbone. There’s a bit of tannic grip at the end and a dry finish, but overall it feels unstructured.

Overall assessment: Not what I expected from a Barossa wine; it’s certainly not BIG and jammy. This wine walks the fine line between interesting and odd. I think I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt and calling it interesting. C+

Free association:

odd_shaped_glasses

More info:

This wine scored an 89 in The Wine Advocate (Jay Miller).

A few tasting notes at CellarTracker.

The Grateful Palate is the importer. Here’s their page on this wine (though it appears to not be updated to the 05).

Price: 11-15 bucks, Tasting Notes

Lodi Old Vines Zin Part 1: Spellbound

August 31, 2009 Jim/VINEgeek Leave a comment

I enjoyed doing the Unoaked Chardonnay series last week so I decided to do another series. And after a week of nothing but white wine (which is very unusual for me), I decided to go to my sweet spot: Old Vines Zin. I kept it in the everyday price range ($10-15 for me) and picked a single appellation – Lodi – to focus on, hoping I’ll learn a bit more about it along the way. Maybe after I do 3 or 4 from Lodi, I’ll do 3 or 4 from another AVA (Paso Robles?) for a little compare/contrast.

Spellbound Old Vines Zinfandel 2005 Lodi

Producer: Spellbound

Grapes: 99% Zinfandel, 1% Petite Sirah

Appellation: Lodi (map)

Vineyards: 52-year-old vines

Winemaking/Aging: Stainless steel fermentation. Aged in 50% French and 50% American oak (no indication of length of aging).

Alcohol: 13.5%

Price: I paid $15

Package: Synthetic cork closure. Kinda cool-looking bottle. The black & white label with the shadowy moon is pretty evocative. Just right for a Halloween party or your next coven meeting.

My tasting notes: Color is a bit lighter than most Zins in my experience. But the nose doesn’t hold back. I leaned in for my first sniff, planning to park my nose deep in the glass, and I literally stopped and jerked back. It positively reeked of candy and berry juice. So sweet-smelling! It mellowed a bit later, but the overall impression is of raspberry jam spread on the backside of a strip of leather or a plank of wood. On the palate, it stays in that intense, sweet, candied berry range with a little floral quality. Imagine Hawaiian Punch steeped in a handful of potpourri. (Anyone remember the store called World Bazaar that used to be in all the malls back in the 80s? You needed a gas mask to survive a trip in there with your mom.) It’s a medium-bodied wine, with a moderately long finish that leaves an impression mainly of oak.

Overall assessment: I’ll admit to having a positive bias toward old vines Zin — it’s the style of wine I want to like the most. But this one falls short for me. It doesn’t bring complexity so much as intensity in a very candied fruit way. I could see some people really liking the intense fruit — the flavors are very bright and clean. But I think it needs some darkness (mocha, earth, meatiness) to match the label and to make it feel more … serious. C+

Free association:

Punchy

Other info:

Winemaker’s notes.

The wine scored 88 from Wine Enthusiast and 80 from Wine Spectator, with pretty different tasting notes (collected here).

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

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:

Spellbound Old Vines Zinfandel 2005 Lodi

grand cru geekery