2006 K Vintners Pheasant Vineyard Syrah

As the days get shorter and colder, Syrah is taking a bigger role in my daily drinking habits. To ring in one of my few nights off a month, I decided to pop open a bottle from my favorite producer, Charles Smith's K Vintners. I bought this bottle not too long ago in DC for about $40 bucks, which is on par with a lot of his single vineyard bottlings.

Color: Much like many of his bottlings, this is black, not purple, but black. Incredibly dense color from all angles.

Nose: More of a meal than a wine, there are tons of different aromas on the nose. Tons of dark fruit, blackberry, gamey meat, red cabbage, dark chocolate, and truffles. Really powerful and stings a little bit of alcohol.

Taste: Big wine, with some RIPPING fruit, lamb, chocolate, and dark powered cocoa. Wine is quite off balance though, as the alcohol on this one is way out of control. It really destroys the finish of the wine.

Overall: All in all, a great wine without the overall abundance of alcohol. 85 Points

Awesome Chardonnay

As the days get shorter and the semester gets longer, I unfortunately have not had all the time in the world to taste the goodness of Washington vino. On one of my few free moments, I was able to step into a local shop and taste one of the most profound Chardonnays I have ever had. Not just Washington Chardonnays, but any, period.

The Chardonnay in question is from a storied producer, Woodhouse Family Cellars. Their Hudson Shah Chardonnay, which I picked up for around $36.00 from the Wine Seller in Williamsburg, VA, is bar none one of the best white wines I have ever tasted. The scariest thing about it is that I tasted it after it had been open for 8 days, and at that point it showed such deep complexity and terrior driven beauty, it floored me.

Color: After the extended time to oxidize, the color of this wine was just immense. Almost copper colored, the deepness of the orange and golden hues was just breathtaking. The only other place you will really see such a color are a few of the Friuli whites from Radikon and Gravener. Simply breathtaking.

Nose: If I was served this blind, I would say Batard Montrachet every time. This wine was just loaded with petrol, lemon peal, pear, walnuts, and butterscotch. The wine was so well integrated at this point that the nose just lulled you in. Even after extended oxidation, this wine was just unimaginably good.

Taste: There is no way that this wine tasted 8 days old. The immense beauty of the petrol driven butterscotch is just amazing. Along with the petrol and butterscotch, there was a good amount of pear, guava, and lemon peal to round out the start. The midpalate was great with butterscotch taking the fore paired up with petrol spritzed pear. The finish was just immaculate, a petrol laced guava that lasted a good two minutes.

Overall: For the most part, I honestly dislike most domestic Chards. This one has really changed my view on what this country can do with the Chardonnay grape. Simply one of the most profound wines I have ever had the ability to taste. 97+ Points

The Boy that is a Man

Sorry for the delay, but the increase of workload in my MBA program and my new obsession that is older Rhones, I have not had the time to really drink much of the best of Washington. Tonight, I will rectify that. As a compliment to my new Rhone obsession, I decided to open up a bottle that I bought a few months ago online, the 2007 K Vintners "the Boy". A 90% Grenache, 10% Syrah blend is a nice homage to Chateauneuf du Pape, with the nice twist of brightness and earth that Washington state brings to the table. Now to the wine:

Color: Honestly this is such a beautiful color on a Grenache based wine it makes me tear up a little. There is such a nice transparency to the opaqueness (I know, does not make sense), it is striking. It really reminds me what I have seen in the 05 CDP's, an opaque black color with a huge core of beautiful ruby and crimson emanating from inside. Truly a sight to behold.

Nose: A little subdued when opened, this baby gets bigger and bolder with air. There are obvious notes of cherry, earth, graphite, tar, black fruit, and dusted chocolate and cocoa on this nose. It is so well integrated though, it takes a little work to differentiate between everything, a bit of sensory overload. Beautiful floral component ties everything together and extends to the back end beautifully. Very nice and indicative of some great winemaking and grape sources.

Taste: Cuff me up and take me end, I am a babykiller. This wine is sooooo young its insane. Even after decanting it for about 5 hours, there are loads of very sweet and delicious tannins present throughout. Under all of that there are layers upon layers of floral components, cocoa, earth, clay, red fruit, and a tinge of bitter dark fruit. Its finish is incredibly long and vibrant, bursting with sour cherries and floral components for about 80 seconds after you swallow. This will be a best years down the road, but right now is pretty damn good on its own. The structure on this baby is great and should last for atleast 10 years. Air REALLY does help bring this beast alive, but age will help make this Boy a man.

Overall Impression: If you want to get the same impression you can find from Chateauneuf du Pape with a little more brightness and approachability, this is your wine. This wine does a lot of what it should extremely well, along with bringing some insane polish and structure to the table. If you popped this in the middle of an 07 CDP tasting, even with the strength of this vintage in the Rhone, it would outshine a lot of whats on the table. If you can find it, get it. 94+ Points

Loving some Sorella

Andrew Will is by far one of my favorite producers in Washington State. Camarda simply crafts some amazingly long lived wines that rival some of the best wines in the state and world. Tonight to unwind from an incredibly long week at my new second home, the Mason School of Business at William and Mary, I uncorked the signature Meritage from Andrew Will, the 2002 Sorella. I picked up this bottle a few months ago at MacArthur Beverages in DC for the low price of $42. Enough preamble, lets get to it.

Color: Really, this wine reminds me a lot of the color I saw from the 2004 Quilceda Creek I had for my birthday. Just amazingly dark, rich, inky color, showing immense concentration. This wine is showing none of its 7 years of age, looking just like the majority of high quality new releases. It is almost viscous in nature, showing incredible legs as it slowly drips down the class. Whoa.

Nose: Much like the color, this wine is definitely still a baby. Take me to jail, I am a baby killing fool. This wine is just a refined explosion of dark fruit, earth, chocolate, and assorted brett and barnyard aromas. This is really straddling the New World/Old World fence well, but the vibrancy of fruit is really what pegs this as New World. Overall very very nice.

Taste: Age has treated this wine well. I have a feeling that this wine would have been a tannic monster in its youth, but a lot of those edges have been rounded out and smoothed with age. There is an immense amount of refinement to the wine, showing nice sweet fruit, earth, and baking spices. The length is whats most impressive, as it just goes and goes over the palate, building intensity over the palate even after swallowed. The finish is about 2 minutes overall, but seems like it lasts for days. The acidity on the wine is good, just enough to leave the mouth clean and takes away much of the weight in the back end. Overall, this is a great medium bodied, full flavored red wine.

Overall: Much like many of Andrew Will's wines, I would say just buy whatever you see. This Sorella has the polish and refinement that many of its contemporaries are missing and is showing immensely well. The wine can last for another 5-10 years easy, with its prime drinking window just opening. 95 Points

Wonders what everyone is smoking.

As I have started grad school, I was definitely comforted by the fact that my fair university is within 100 yards of my favorite wine shop, the Cheese Shop, in Williamsburg, VA. One day after class, I was asked by the staff to pick up a favorite Merlot in the shop, the 2005 Northstar Columbia Valley Merlot. I heard from the staff that it was trashed a little bit in the Spectator, so I wanted to see if the criticism was true. By the way, the Cheese Shop has an amazing price on this bottle, $29.99.

Color: Absolutely beautiful. A thick opaque garnet and black color that permeates throughout the glass. There is absolutely nothing that I can find wrong with it at all. It has a great a amount of concentration for sure. Overall, definitely indicative of a high scoring wine.

Nose: Boom. Really explosive, nice, and balanced. There is no hint of the nearly 15% alcohol, just a nice attack of cherry, red fruit, strawberry, cola, chocolate and earth. The nose goes on and on, filling the room as I drink this beauty. It is much of what I love about hotter vintage Pomerols, still having the earth, but a great amount of rich, beautiful fruit.

Taste: Balance is the best descriptor of this wine. There is an obnoxious amount of cherry and other red fruit, with a nice counterbalance of dark chocolate and earth to bring it around. It has a good amount of structure and sweet tannins, but nothing that would really indicate that this is a real long term ager. I would say that it can be enjoyed over the next 10 years, but will peak in the next 3-5. The wine is not terribly complex, but freaking amazing still.

Overall: I love this wine. The complexity and balance on the nose and the pure, great execution otherwise makes this wine a definite winner. It is certainly worth the 30 bucks I paid for it, and definitely on par or better than efforts from Duckhorn and other top Cali and international producers. 93+ Points

Nice Reward for a Long Week.

These past few weeks have been a flurry of grad school preparations at William and Mary and the eventual and sad end to what has been a great summer. To cap off my long orientation week, I pulled out a nice bottle of Merlot to have with a nice grass fed rare steak. The bottle in question, a 2005 Novelty Hill Merlot, was picked up a few weeks ago at Whole Foods in Richmond, VA for $20.99.

Color: Overall the color to this wine is very nice indeed. Dark garnet and black throughout, the wine when held to light shows a good amount of concentration and pretty color. The wine itself is slightly translucent at the rim, with dark core of black and garnet in the center. When pitched, there is little to no deviation in color. Very, very nice for the price.

Nose: This is textbook, I mean textbook Merlot. A nice plum component is present througout, continuing from beginning to end. Along with the immense amount of plum, there is a nice dark bitter chocolate component, cassis, black currant, strawberry, and a multitude of red fruit. Nothing too different or exciting, but executed very well.

Taste: Again, textbook Merlot. Plum, cassis, and chocolate dominate, with a liquer component that nicely compliments it all. It is not terribly complex, but in this case the wine is so well executed that it should not be. The black fruit on this is great and pure, going on and on throughout. The structure of the wine and tannins are there, but suggest the wine should be consumed within the next two to three years. The length is quite nice, but not remarkable, lasting for about 30-45 seconds after consuming.

Overall: If you are looking for a very well done Merlot that shares some of the great components of the New and Old World, this is a great introduction. At the price point, it is a certainly very enjoyable Merlot that is very well executed. It is not really all that different than its contemporaries in its region and price point, but again done very well. 89 Points

Saturday Merlot

Having a quiet Saturday night in, I decided to break open a wine in my collection that I am a bit flush with, the 2006 Seven Hills Merlot. I am a big fan of what Washington state does with this varietal, as it is a hell of a lot more exciting than the majority of California and shows enough sunshine and brightness to make everyone happy. I picked up this bottle at the Cheese Shop in Williamsburg, VA for about $28.

Color: The color of this Merlot is a nice beautiful dark garnet color, not as opaque or as obnoxiously dark as some Merlots from this region. It shimmers very nicely from the core of the wine, showing flecks of crimson and dark purple. It is a little transparent, as I can see my fingers through the glass, but doesnt distract from the overall beauty of the color.

Nose: This is a simple, but very nice beautiful nose. There are notes of red fruit, iodine, tar, and chocolate throughout. It does not really deviate from these four components as it gets air, just becomes a tad more intense. The fruit is very floral in nature, floating more than punching as it reaches your nose.

Taste: The taste of this wine is as simple as the nose. It is very floral throughout, with a medium body and decently large mouthfeel. It is very pleasant to drink, albeit not very inspiring or intense. There are notes of red fruit, a little earth, and floral components throughout.

Overall: This wine is a good, but ultimately not great wine. Very pleasant and nice, but does not really have the spark to make you want to have a repeat visit. It is lighter than most of its breatheren in Washington state, but shows enough good difference to make stand up to its peers. Overall I like it, but dont love it. 87 Points

Summer Nights, Satisfying Wines

Traffic in my fair Hampton Roads area is horrible. In order to make it on time to a friends birthday party I had to forgo the wines in my cellar and picked up some wine from the Cheese Shop in Williamsburg, VA. The two wines in question are again a creation of Charles Smith, the 2008 Kung Fu Girl Riesling and the 2006 Chateau Smith Cabernet Sauvignon.




First up was a great choice to break up the heat and humid weather we have been having in our area, the 2008 Kung Fu Girl Riesling. I have had the previous vintage of this wine before, all being good examples of the Riesling grape and also very balanced and clean for the price point. Due to the popularity of the wines in the area, they have gone up in price, but still a good value considering what some German ones go for. The 2008 rendition set me back $15.00, a fair price for the quality.

Color: This wine definitely has a nice, dainty, light golden color. I remember the 2007 version was slightly darker, but not much more so. The wine is not cloudy in the least, and defintely is impressive in the color department.

Nose: The nose is very pungent and shows all the trademark aromas of the varietal. The wine has loads of apples, apricots, grapefruit, and passionfruit on the nose. It does smell a little sweet, due to the somewhat off dry style of this wine. It is by no means what you would smell on a sweeter Dr. Loosen or other off dry Riesling, as it does not overwhelm with obvious sugarcane and sweet fruit on the nose. There is also some stone and minerality on the nose, showing the pedigree of the vineyard site and gives it some typicity.

Taste: The first impression of the wine for me is that the acidity, balance, and minerality of the wine are immense. The wine is quite linear on the palate and a bit simple, showing a huge amount of apple, some grapefruit, and a little tinge of apricot throughout. There is some stone and minerality, especially on the finish, that pairs up well with the acidity that lifts the wine at the finish. Overall a very nice product.

Overall Impressions: This is a good entry level example into the the Riesling grape and what i can do. It is by no means the best example overall, as I have yet to find something that really stands up to the best German and Austrian examples. The wine is a bit simplistic in its approach, but its execution and end product are impressive. For the money, I would say this is a buy. 88 Points



The second wine on tap for the night was the 2006 Chateau Smith Cabernet. This Cabernet cost me about $20.00, which is definitely towards the lower end of moderately priced Cabernet. In the realm of everything, Cabernets at this price point are typically a little oaked, sweeter, and lighter examples of the varietal. I had previously seen this wine panned by Gary Vaynerchuk on Wine Library TV, as he found it a bit simplistic, a bit flabby, and a bit boring. Lets see how it holds up tonight.

Color: Overall the color of this wine is quite light and transparent to be honest. There is a nice dark garnet color throughout, with some crimson flecks that show from the core. It is transparent, as I can see my fingers through it, even when not held to the light. It is a little thin looking, but not a huge deal in the long run.

Nose: There is a very overbearing peanut, seasalt aroma to this nose. It takes it over from the beginning, but as it opens up there is a bit of dark fruit, red currant, floral, and tobacco leaf aromas. It is quite complex once it opens up, but not necessarily that blows me away.

Taste: Much of what is on the nose tranlsates directly what I taste. At the beginning, there are is a huge peanut and salt component, but it soon gives way to dark fruit, floral and tobacco leaf. The mouthfeel is a little thin and the flavors do seem to drop off after the initial attack, showing a bit of a soft midpalate and finish. The mouthfeel is not the best but not the worst, coating the palate for a second but not lasting too terribly long. It is very balanced once opened and would be especially great with lighter foods, as it does not take over your palate.

Overall: This is a solid and good Cabernet for the pricepoint. You are not going to get the overoaked, oak chipped, goopy, off balance Cabernets that you would find in many other wine regions around the world. Beyond that I do think this wine is kinda just a little "meh", by no means a bad wine, just nothing that will set the world on fire. I would definitely serve this to friends, as it is a good food wine and not something that would put off the average wine drinker. 86 Points

Birthday Throwdown

This weekend, I started the mourning of the passing of my early 20's and ringing in the coming responsibility of turning 26. To ring it in properly, I grabbed two amazing bottles. The first is the 2004 Quilceda Creek Cabernet, a very highly rated Cabernet, and the second is the retaste of a 2006 K Vintners The Deal Syrah, another highly rated wine and one that I had previously given a 96. I bought the 2004 Quilceda from J. Emersons in Richmond, VA for $225.00 and the K Vintners Deal for $30.00 from Cities Grille Wine Club.



The 2004 Quilceda Creek Cabernet is a highly rated and highly sought after wine from the legendary Quilceda Creek Vintners. Quilceda Creek Vintners is one of the most respected and sought after winemakers and was started by the Golitzin family with the encouragement and guidance from their legendary relative Andre Tchelistcheff in 1978. The 2004 received a 99 from Dr. Jay Miller of the Wine Advocate and other recent vintages having gotten 100 or 99, this is certainly one of the highest rated domestic wines and the most consistently highly rated Washington efforts to date. This particular vintage is 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot, and 1% Cabernet Franc, with the the fruit sourced from Champoux, Tapteil, Klipsun vineyards.

Initial Impressions: Whoa, if you want to see some amazing Cabernet color, this is the wine. This wine is pitch black, with flecks of crimson and ruby shining from the core and rim of the color. Pitching the glass does nothing to the color, showing amazing concentration and extraction. The intial smell was amazing, showing some great bell pepper, chocolate, and dark fruit aromas. I decanted the bottle for over 12 hours, and the aroma morphed and became much more open as it sat in the decanter. Simply amazing so far.

Nose: You really dont have to try to smell this wine, it will simply grab you and make you know smell it. This is an explosive nose, or as one of my good friends said, "has serious balls". On the nose you will be bowled over with huge red fruit, dark chocolate, fig, tomato, cabbage, white and black pepper. black currant, and spice. It evolves in the glass even more to show even more dark fruit and a beautiful amount of cinnamon and cassis.

Taste: Much like the nose, this wine is such a bomb. It bowles you over with loads of red fruit, black fruit, fig, earth, and dark chocolate. As it gathers more air in the glass, it really comes into its own with huge cassis, chocolate, great amounts of chocolate, and earth. The mouthfeel is huge and completely coats the palate, making your entire mouth taste this great wine. The finish goes on forever with this wine, as i was tasting for more than a minute after every sip. The structure of this wine suggests it can last many years, with suggestions stating it will be good to drink until 2045. Decanting is very necessary for this wine, as it was incredibly tannic when opened. The air softened the intial tannins greatly and made the wine much more smooth.

Overall: This is a great wine, period. Probably the best Cabernet I have had from just about anywhere, rivaling many of the cult wines that are oh so popular from California. At a fraction of the price upon release, this is definitely the go to wine for those who love big, New World Cabernets. I am a huge fan of these wines personally, and in my opinion this is a near perfect example of this for me. 99+ Points




The next wine is a retaste of a previously tasted wine and quite possibly one of my favorite. The K Vintners Deal Syrah is an amazing New World bomb with a nice amount of Old World love to make it interesting. This particular wine has great amounts of different non fruit flavors, featuring the gaminess and vegetal nature of the Syrah varietal.

Initial Impressions: Much like the previous tasting, this wine does not lack color in any way shape or form. It is black, completely opaque, with a small tinge of dark plum surrounding the outside. It is so viscous it sticks completely to the glass and completely coats the glass. It has a very pungent nose of spice and chocolate.

Nose: Again much like the previous tasting, this wine definitely is a smorgasborg of aromas. It is amazingly dense, with meat, dark chocolate, vegetables, and dark fruit on the nose. Secondary aromas include dusty plum, dark black fruit, and mulberry. I did not pick up as much on the alcohol on the nose thankfully, as the air helped to round it out quite a bit. Overall a very nice nose.

Taste: Mcuh like previously stated, this wine is so big and beefy, its more like a meal that a wine. This could definitely divide a room, but it just fills the mouth with this huge, bombastic, meaty, and vegetal bomb. This wine has loads of different flavors, with a beautiful amount of beef jerky, venison, red cabbage, dark fruit, and a great amount of Asian spices. The tannins are less pronounced than when previously tasted, with no alcohol present. It has great structure and I can see this finally sorting itself out and peaking in the next 5-10 years. The finish lasts and lasts, going for over a minute.

Overall Impressions: Much of what I love about Syrah is in this wine. I really think that additional bottle age could make it open up even more, which would be at the expense of the obvious explosiveness. It is as good as when previously tasted, showing immense structure and concentration in the wine. Simply amazing. 96+ Points

Budget Cabernet

In need of a wine that would not break the bank, I ventured into my wine collection and pulled out a budget Cabernet that I hope would pair nicely with dinner. Out of the cellar came the 2006 14 Hands Cabernet Sauvignon, a $12-$15 Cabernet hailing from the great state of Washington. I picked up this bottle from a local wine shop, Red, White and Bordeaux in Gloucester, VA for the princely sum of $15.50.

Color: This really is run of the mill dark purple, ruby color that one expects from a Cabernet at this price point. It is not too concentrated and completely translucent and transparent in areas when held to the light. The consistency is kind of thin, and there is a delicate quality to the color many reserve for Pinots at this price point.

Nose: Not all that expressive at first, but does open up with a little air. Once open there is a fair amount of chocolate, red fruit, raspberries are very apparent, bell peppers, and earth. Surprisingly complex and herbacious nose, atypical of the fruit punch you get from many at this level. So far, nothing special, but a nice nose.

Taste: It is definitely an easy drinker. There is nothing here that is going to challenge a palate or be off putting to the casual drinker. It does have a nice red fruit component, a bit sugarfied and fake tasting, showing some fruit juice characteristics that are a bit boring. The structure is almost non existent, I do not think this wine would last more than two years, with no tannins to speak of. Overall, pleasant, but not all that great.

Overall: This is an enjoyable wine for somone who is looking to have a pleasant Cabernet that will not break the bank. For the money, this is a good value but not something I would buy enthusiastically again. 82 Points

Night of Interesting Aromas

To celebrate the 4th of July, I brought out two heavy hitters out of my collection from winemakers that I just plain adore. Each of these producers have very different takes on the varietals they utilize, especially in comparison to the fruit bomb heavy contemporaries. The wines in question, Christophe Baron's 2004 Cayuse Cailloux Vineyard Syrah and Charles Smith's 2006 K Vintners Guido, were two very different wines from what you usually experience in either New or Old World.


Wine numero uno for the night was the 2004 Cayuse Cailloux Vineyard Syrah. This winery is becoming increasingly harder to come by, with most of the wines going to mailing list customers. I was lucky enough to stumble upon this bottle on WineBid.com, payed a nice hefty fee to get it, spending about $60 bucks in for this particular bottle.

Initial Impressions: Much like many Syrahs from around the world, this thing does not lack in color at the very least. It has an amazing dark plum color throughout the glass, not showing a bit of tranparency, even when the glass it pitched. Very very impressive so far.

Nose: This is wild. I have never smelled such a strong vegetal kick in a New World Syrah. Literally, this smells like V8 juice, with peppercorns, dark fruit, and chocolate sprinkled on top for good measure. One of the most delectable and weirder noses I have ever experienced. I really enjoy the fact that it is different from many of the jampot, smokey noses that one experiences with Syrah or Shiraz. Overall this is a perfect nose.

Taste: Again, much like the nose, this is a largely vegetal driven dense example of a Syrah. It starts off with a huge tomato, V8 kick, leading seemlessly into dense layers of chocolate, dark fruit, red fruit, peppercorns, and red cabbage. The structure of the wine is immaculate, and the fruit is so big and pure that you could not even tell that there was alcohol in this wine, even though it is a monster at 15.5%. If I had to take away anything, the finish isnt incredibly long, but defintiely satisfying.

Overall: I have not had a wine that is this distinctive and different (in a good way) in quite a long time. This really shows the flair of the winemaker and the terrior of the vineyard perfectly. I would say that if you can find the wine, do so and do so quickly. It doesn't get much better than this. 96 Points




The second wine of the night we had was again from probably my favorite and most accessible producer in the state at this point, Charles Smith. I will admit that I adore his wines. I have not had one that I disagreed with, as his style really emphasizes secondary and tertiary flavors, just not the super extracted fruit and oak that is so prevalent in many wines. The wine in question tonight was the 2006 K Vintners Guido. 80% Sangiovese and 20% Syrah, this blend is meant to mimic the some of the Super Tuscans, such as the Gaja Promis. I bought the wine from Wine Library for about $32.

Initial Impressions: This wine really does mimic the beautiful garnet color that many Sangiovese based wines have. Not opaque by any stretch of the imagination, but has a very beautiful, delecate color to it that extends all the way until then end of the glass. It is not the most concentrated looking wine, which is a downer if you are into that, which I am not. Overall, very nice.

Nose: Much like the Cayuse, this nose is incredibly different and weird in a good way. The most apparent aroma on this wine from popping to hours later is peanut brittle and salted cashews. I don't know how the hell you get that aroma, but its very tasty and something I doubt I will get again. Outside of the peanut play, there is a good amount of chocolate, red fruit, rose petals, and perfume. Very nice.

Taste: Peanuts, peanuts, peanuts. This wine definitely is bringing the peanut brittle and salty cashews to the table. Really just punches you in the face with that, but lulls you back in with a nice cassis, chocolate, red fruit and floral explosion to the back end. The finish is acceptable, but not terribly long, but lingers with a nice amount of lilac and perfume on the back end. The wine needs some time in the glass to really come together, as its a little disjointed if you pop and pour. The structure is good, although the tannins suggest that its for near term consumption rather than for the long haul.

Overall: Again much like the earlier wine, the K really brings a different flavor profile to the varietal. I really enjoyed this wine and after letting it get its footing, its definitely a great wine to have with food or alone. I would suggest letting the wine air out for an hour before consuming. Overall, very nice. 90+ Points.

Weird Little Find

After visiting some family and spending some time with my beautiful little baby niece, I strolled over to the nearest wine shop, the chain of Total Wine and More in the Southside of Richmond. Lately in all of their stores, they are starting to get some very interesting and off the path wines, such as an array of wines from Whitman Cellars, the AlderRidge Meritage I tasted a few weeks ago, and the wine tonight, the 1997 Brian Carter Solece. Made in the Brian Carter, winemaker for Apex Cellars in the Columbia Valley, it is a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Franc, Merlot, and Malbec. I picked up the bottle from the Total Wine and More in Richmond, VA for $39.99.

Initial Impressions: This definitely is an older style of wine color wise, mirroring earlier old world clarets. It has a very delicate and pretty dark crimson color, a tinge of brown around the edges, and a little transclucent throughout. Definitely not a huge ballbuster of a wine colorwise, but definitely very attractive.

Nose: This nose is tremendous, almost making it worth buying just because of it. Very robust cherries and red fruit come out at the front, and the balance out with earth and chocolate as the wine opens up. There are some cream components to the wine and also a great amount of dusty chocolate aromas on the back end.

Taste: This wine is definitely showing the value of bottle age. This is not the rambunctious and precocious wines that I and a lot of people typically taste, showing tremendous polish and acidity in the back end. It definitely is more subdued as the fruit kinda creeps along on your palate rather than exploding like it would have in its youth. It has great structure, with tannins still present, although is at its apex in drinkability. The acidity can be a little overbearing at first, but blows off as the wine gets more air.

Overall: If you are more seduced by the polish of the Old World and love the acidity that some quality reds bring, I would highly suggest this wine. It is definitely not the ballbusters many have become accustomed to over the past few years coming out of the US, Rhone, and Australia. I would highly recommend if you buy this wine to drink it now, and also allowing it to air out for about an hour before consuming. 90 Points

Sinster Hand, Good Wine

Rhone is on my mind yet again. To change things up from my usual play of going straight for the Syrah heavy, Northern Rhone plays, I decided to go for a trip to the Grenache heavy south. To fulfill this urge, I decided to pull out a wine that has been in my cellar for a few months, the 2007 Owen Roe Sinister Hand. This wine in particular definitely fits the mold of a Southern Rhone wine, made of up predominantly Grenache (62%), Syrah (21%), Mourvedre (17%). I picked up the bottle at Bello Vino in Richmond, VA for $25.00.

Initial Impressions: This wine is definitely not what I was expecting from a Southern Rhone clone, showing a fair amount of transparency, a nice beautiful garnet color, and a Burgundian like consistency. It looks a little thinner and not much like what you would expect from a from a wine in this mold.

Nose: This is definitely a big boy nose. Showing a huge amount of plum, black fruit, and red fruit on the initial attack, it definitely makes its presence known. There is also an undeniable perfume component to the wine, showing a little spiciness and fruit that persists throughout the nose. It does smell a tad hot, showing the over 14% alcohol for such a delecate looking wine.

Taste: Much like the nose, the perfume aspect of the fruit and chocolate dominates this nose. It is incredibly well balanced, showing good structure and integration of all the components in a young wine. There are little tannins to speak of and it is not the most complex wine in the world, so I would really thing that this is meant for early drinking. The finish is moderately long and actually lifts due to the nice acid on the back end.

Overall: If you are looking to have the experience that most Southern Rhones or GSM Blends from elsewhere in the world, this is not it. It is a good wine overall, just not something I would get if you are used to the ballsier fair of these regions. 86 Points

First Quality Second Wine

Another pool night, another great wine. Tonight after a huge amount of Burgundy and Rhones, I decided to come back to Bordeaux via Washington. I picked up the DeLille Cellars D2, their second wine, using "declassified" grapes, or grapes not used in their higher end wines for a meritage. This wine is predominantly Cabernet and Merlot, with some Cab Franc and Petit Verdot added in. I believe that Wine Spectator gave this particular vintage an 89, a respectable but not a score that many people would gravitate to. I picked up this bottle from the Cheese Shop in Williamsburg, VA for $43.

Initial Impressions: Overall the color is quite nice, not mindblowing and overextracted black, but a nice pretty claret indicative of many Left Bank Bordeauxs I have had in the past. It is a very pretty dark garnet, with a nice lighter purple halo on the outside. Tipping the glass makes it thin out a little, and the color is not completely opaque. Overall, very nice.

Nose: Definitely pretty pungent and defintely showing a little youngness in the nose. There is a very grippy overlay to the nose, showing a good amount of potential hotness, which is a little scary. Along with this, there are loads of cherries, chocolate, vanilla, red fruit, and a little bit of blackberries. The heat on the nose is a little worrysome, but I will reserve judgement until I taste it.

Taste: Thankfully the heat from the nose does not play out here. There are loads of tannins in this wine, mainly sweet, but some very grippy on the back end. The structure of this wine is amazing and dense and will help it last for atleast 5 years, as it does need some time to settle down and even out. There are loads of strawberries, cherries, and other red fruits on the initial attack. Earth balances out the wine and helps it to differentiate itself from their counterparts from the south. Overall a very youthful wine, but still drinkable and showing immense potential.

Overall: If you are looking for a dense, layered meritage that you can cellar for a few years, this is it. It has a load of great flavors that are already present, a structure that really sets it apart, and an earthiness and quality that definitely makes this wine a great buy. 92 Points

Family and Vino

This past weekend, I was lucky enough to have a family get together with my parents, brother and sister in law, and my precious newborn niece, Rebecca Faith. To celebrate them being over and to pick something out that would go well with the steaks we were having, I pulled a nice little Meritage from Alder Ridge Winery. The 2002 Alder Ridge Red Meritage, is a Bordeaux blend with equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. It was an odd bottle when I bought it, and I was hard pressed to find any information about the winery or about the wine itself. I did see that it scored 88 Points from Wine Spectator upon release and I purchased it for $30 from Total Wine and More in Newport News, VA.

Initial Impressions: Overall the color is quite nice, showing a nice opaque garnet color. Tipping it does thin out the color a bit, showing decent concentration and no amount of over extraction. Overall, nice but not mind blowing.

Nose: Very old world on the nose, with a lot of earth red fruit, chocolate, manure, and blackberry predominating. This really does straddle the line between New and Old World, giving me the vibrancy of fruit from the New, but also giving a good amount of earthy goodness from the Old World. Overall a very pretty nose and definitely appealing.

Taste: Much like the nose, there is a load of fruit and earth. Red fruit predominates, along with chocolate, sour cherries, vanilla extract, manure, and earth. The overall structure is there, though the bottle age has definitely softened the tannins. The mouthfeel is acceptable, while not mindblowing, and the finish is moderately long at around 30 seconds and highlights the sour cherries.

Overall: This is a great example of what Washington can do. This wine straddles the Old and New World incredibly well, showing the vibrancy, earthiness, and balance we see from each. I would recommend this wine if you could find it, as it is drinking beautifully right now. 90+ Points

Vintage and Value vs. Prestige

Rooting for the Underdog has become as American as apple pie and watching the Cavs get destroyed by the underdog Magic, I decided to see whether the underdog in wine could also overcome a more expensive and prestigious foe. I decided to take a value oriented wine from a highly regarded vintage and pit it against a much more expensive and prestigious opponent. The underdog, the 2003 Powers Winery Cabernet Sauvignon will be faced off against a legend in the Washington area, the 2002 Woodward Canyon Artist Series Cabernet.

The strengths of each of these wines are varied. The Powers Cabernet comes from the 2003 Vintage, an extremely hot and generous vintage that is known for being one of the best vintages in Washington in recent memory. The Woodward Canyon Cabernet on the otherhand comes from a weaker vintage in 2002, but comes from an established and legendary winery within Washington state. I wanted to see whether the weakness of the 2002 vintage would be overcome by a value oriented competitor from a much stronger vintage. I picked both of these bottles up from Total Wine and More in Newport News, VA, with the Flowers costing $13.79 and the Woodward Canyon costing $38.79.

Round One: Woodward Canyon Cabernet


Initial Impressions: Overall there is no lacking of color in this wine, showing great concentration, a bit of a viscious consistency, and also a beautiful garnet color throughout. Really you could not ask for more from a Cabernet, no matter where it is from. So far, this is very impressive.

Nose: There is an amazing amount of cherries on this nose, almost smacking you in the face. Along with the cherry attack, there is a nice mix of vanilla, dairy, chocolate, dark fruits, earth, fertilizer, and a tingue of red fruit acidity. Overall a very complex nose and also quite delicious and interesting.

Taste: You can really taste the quality of the grapes and the refinement that time in the bottle has brought to this wine. The tannins, while showing a little grip, have largely subsided and yielded to a great amount of dark fruit, sour cherries, cranberries, earth, and chocolate. The wine overall has great structure, integrating all aspects of the wine into one cohesive unit. The finish is a little short and the mouthfeel is not amazing, but still a very nice Cabernet. A nice mix of the New and Old World.

Overall Impressions: If you are a Left Bank Bordeaux fan and want to see whats on the New World side without completely blowing out your palate and wallet, I would say this would be a great introduction. The polish on this wine is evident and is really well made. 91+ Points.

Round Two: 2003 Powers Cabernet Sauvignon


Initial Impressions: For a under $15 dollar Cabernet, the color is utterly shocking. While not as dark or concentrated as the Woodward Canyon, this wine does not lack color in any shape or form. There is a beautiful dark purple to black color throughout, with a little bit of translucent purple towards the edges when the glass is tipped. Very impressive overall, especially at this price point.

Nose: If you ever smelled your dads wallet as a kid, this is exactly it upon popping. The leather is enormous and dominates the nose. As the wine gains more and more air, the leather gives way to a nice amount of chocolate, sweet cherries, dried red fruit, and surprisingly a little apple core and rind. Nice nose overall.

Taste: Again leather is there in spades upon first sip, but the air does help to break that up and gives way to a great amount of chocolate, cherries, red fruit, and perfumey goodness. The mouthfeel is admittedly thin and a tad astringent, but overall nothing that would make me dump it if drinking with a meal. The acidity is nice and I think would be best suited with food. The finish is a problem in the wine, as it drops off quickly, with a little tinge of milk chocolate lingering for a few seconds.

Overall Impressions: Overall this wine is very pleasant and nice, just not nearly as refined, exciting, or interesting as its more expensive counterpart. I do have to say that this is a well done, albeit one dimensional wine. 85 Points

Winner: The 2002 Woodward Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon is the definite winner in the bunch, showing that sometimes prestige and cost can be a deciding factor. Both wines are certainly worth a look and at their respective prices, both represent nice values at each pricepoint. You certainly will not find either disappointing for the money and will not find the value you get in each in any other area domestically. So, I suggest trying each, I doubt you will feel let down.

The 100 Pointer

To celebrate the holidays and finely ring in the holiday of reflection and gratitude for our fallen soldiers, I decided to bring out possibly my favorite wine. I am a huge, huge, huge fan of Northern Rhones, with their beautiful structure, incredible texture and aromas, and their earthy, dense flavors. Unfortunately, many of these fine examples, from Guigal and Dalas can reach on the mid $300's or higher. Fortunately for me, there is a great domestic example in Washington State. The 2005 Old Bones Syrah from Charles Smith Winery is this example. To put it quite bluntly, it is a perfect example of everything right not only with Washington State and Syrah, but with wine in general.

For the uninitiated, Charles Smith produced three separate high end, estate grown Syrahs on his home property, the Royal Slope, and more affectionately known as the Royal Slut by the creator. Each of these Syrahs, the Heart, Skull, and Old Bones, are produced in incredibly low numbers and have become possibly the most sought after bottlings produced by Mr. Smith to date. Upon release, Dr. Jay Miller of Robert Parker's Wine Advocate gave this wine a 99 Point rating. All retail for under $100, but due to their low production and high demand, can only be found on the secondary market. I picked up this bottle from a fellow collector for $100, but retails at most places for around $135-$150, if it can be found at all.

Initial Impressions: I honestly have never had this lively or pungent of a nose coming out the bottle. As I placed the wine in the decanter to open up, which I HIGHLY recommend you do for at least six hours before drinking, this wine quite simply took over the room. There was an obvious tannic black fruit aroma from the get go, along with a nice concentrated grape and cherry aroma. The color is immaculate for this varietal, black as black can be with a nice halo of violet at the rim. Tipping the glass again does nothing, as the color tracks beautifully. It is completely opaque, even with little in the glass, showing amazing concentration in this cuvee. Perfect so far.

Nose: As one of my fellow imbibers stated, "This wine just punches you in the face with flavors and doesn't apologize." The aromas are just simply intoxicating and varied. For brevity, I should really only state what aromas and flavors are NOT on the nose. It is filled with huge amounts of black fruit, sour cherries, cassis for days, a little jalapeno spice, venison, pheasant, red cabbage, citrus, and a little celery stick. A wild and very powerful nose that straddles the line between the bombasity of new world with the complexity of the old. Man, I think I am in love.

Taste: Much like the nose, this wine does not lack in the power department. Coming forth with a huge hedonistic bomb of heavy milk chocolate, a little bitter cherry skin, a hint of citrus and citrus liqueur, strawberries, a host of assorted black fruit, vanilla extract, mocha, and an assortment of vegetables. The structure shows not flaw, integrating all the flavors into the wine while letting each and every aspect of this wine shine forth. It is VERY young, and would get less tannic with bottle age, but its vibrancy, integration, power, and just overall rock solid structure and composition make this an absolutely amazing wine.

Overall Impression: This is quite simply the BEST example of a Syrah, domestic or abroad, I have ever had, period. It has everything I could want out of this varietal, along with the polish, structure, and ageability, that I love. If you can, get this wine. 100 Points

Washington State Zinfandel?

Another weekend, another great Washington wine. At my wine nerd haven, I decided to break out a very interesting bottle that I purchased not too long ago, the 2006 Thurtson Wolfe Howling Wolfe Zinfandel. Zinfandel, which really hit its peak in popularity in the late 90s, is primarily known as a California varietal, with nearly all of the major producers hailing for that region. The wine maker, Dr. Wade Wolfe, has pointed Thurston Wolfe Winery in the boutique wine area, specializing in obscure varietals, small production, and interesting takes on traditional varietals. This particular bottle I picked up from Bella Vino in Richmond, VA for the price of $22.50.

Initial Impressions: Overall, out the bottle, this wine has really beautiful and lush dark purple all around. It is a bit lighter than many of the huge Syrahs and Cabernets, not showing the huge black characteristics that many of those wines have. It is a little translucent when put up to the light at the edges, but not as much as what you would see from many Pinots. There is definitely a very peppery nose out of the bottle also. Overall, pretty nice, but nothing too impressive.

Nose: This is a very pretty, balanced nose. There is an even attack of dark chocolate, red cherries, raspberries, and a whole lot of assorted red fruits. There is also a fair amount of Asian and American spices on the nose, with a bit of leather to round out the attack. Again balance is the best part of this nose, as everything plays well together and integrates nicely.

Taste: Balance defintely takes the day again. This wine has a great amount of cranberries, chocolate covered cherries, spices, sour cherry skins, and a little dirt. This wine has a great amount of structure and is definitely drinking young, having very firm tannins. What I particularly like about this Zin, especially in comparison with many of the other Zins I have had from California, is the lack of alcohol. Although this Zinfandel is about 15% alcohol, it does not taste like it in the least. There is no presence of it in the back end at all, and once you add a little air to it, the tannins round out and alcohol does come through. Overall, very nice and different.

Overall: For a Zinfandel from an atypical region, this is a great example of how the terroir of Washington can shape a known varietal. This wine is a great example of all that is right about this varietal. It is not the super concentrated punch that many producers try to push, and certainly does not have the polish of a top Washington state red, but definitely shows well. I really like this wine. 91 Points.

Affordable Cabernet

This past Monday I settled down in my dining room and decided to break out a wine I recently purchased to go with a beef based dish I was eating. In order to save some dough and drink from one of my favorite wine makers, I decided to break open 2006 The Honorable Cabernet Sauvignon by Charles Smith Wines. I picked up this wine from Total Wine and More in McLean, VA for about $20 even.

Initial Impressions: Much like a lot of Mr. Smith's wines, this Cabernet does not lack any color. Its a nice, dark, and viscous dark purple, showing great concentration. Tipping the glass does cause the color to run quite a bit, but not any less than its peers from other areas around the world. So far, so good.

Nose: If you love chocolate, you will absolutely love this wine. This wine smacks you in the face with a load of chocolately goodness, ranging from dark bitter chocolate to cocoa puffs. Along with the chocolate, there are definite black cherries, caramel, and cassis present. Not the most complex nose in the world, but certainly delectable.

Taste: For a wine that is made to drink now, this wine has a good amount of structure and back end tannins. There is a lot of milk chocolate, sour cherries, red fruit acid, black fruit, vanilla, and mocha characteristics. It is all pretty seemless and very tastey, pairing incredibly well with my beef dish. There are a fair amount of sweet tannins on the back end and the finish lasts for about a 30 seconds, which is impressive for many 20 dollar Cabs.

Overall: Most people would be hard pressed to find this amount of pure deliciousness from a comparable $20 Cab in California. Charles has once again given a very fair priced Cabernet that not only satisifies, but also gives you a little more for your money. This wine really does show that a wine can be great without being overly complex or austere in its youth. I would expect this wine not to last for more than 5 years, so drink up. 90 Points

K Vintners The Creator 2006

This past weekend, I was lucky enough to be invited to a friends house for a great cookout in some subtropical temperatures we were having here in Southeastern, VA. To help us get through the heat, we all enjoyed some nice white burgundies from Leroy and one of my favorite wines to have with steak and hamburgers, the 2006 K Vintners The Creator. This wine is a Cabernet Sauvignon (60%) and Syrah (40%) blend, sourced from the En Cerise and Morrison Lane vineyards. K Vintners made 365 cases of the wine, and retails from $50-$70. I picked up the bottle from Winelibrary.com in December of last year for $45.98.

Initial Impressions: I mean, who cannot love Rasta Jesus. Even if you absolutely hate their wines, they certainly do have some of the most creative and distinctive packaging in the business. The wine itself has an amazing color, just blackedy black colors throughout with a nice little tinge of purple towards the outside. Tipping the glass does not make the color change one bit, as its completely opaque and inky.

Nose: Honestly this wine smells more like a huge northern Italian and Spanish meal than a wine. There is an overloading of Italian sausage, bacon, everytype of chocolate imaginable, a little honeydew skin, a vegetable stew, and a huge amount of tomato sauce. This is seriously a huge nose for a wine, and definitely atypical of many wines you will get anywhere outside of a higher end Cote Rotie.

Taste: Just like the nose, this thing is loaded with huge gamey, full meal type flavors. There are definite chocolate components in this wine, along with a nice spicey saugsage component, a great amount of vegetables, and licorace. This wine is layered beautifully, with a great structure and a few elegant back end tannins towards the back end. Wow.

Overall: This is a great wine, seriously. It has so many different things going on with it that it can make your head spin, but is integrated well enough to pair very well with a huge meat or italian dish. I had a great huge handmade hamburger with this wine, with some heavy duty vegetables and this wine could not have gone better with it. If you can find this wine, treat yourself to it. 96 Points

Washington vs. California Part One

Last night, I had my usual get together with my local wine nerds and decided to step it up and do something I have been thinking about doing since I started this blog, a head to head tasting. Over the next few weeks, I will be comparing Washington state wines against their counterparts both domestically and abroad. Each of these wines will be of similar pricepoints, similar scores or accolades, and also similar styles for the varietal.

Tonight, I decided to pit two of my favorite Cabernets against each other, the 2005 Leonetti Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2004 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon. Each of these producers are very storied, produce consistently great wines from vintage to vintage, and retail for about the same price if you are able to get them.

The first on deck was the 2005 Leonetti Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced fruit in the Walla Walla Valley. For those who are not familiar with Leonetti Cellars, Leonetti is one of the oldest wineries in the area, started by Gary Figgins in 1977. Since then, Gary has focused his efforts on the Walla Walla Valley and has been making storied wines there since the late 70's. The wines typically score extremely well, many of the more recent vintages being rated well above 90 by the Advocate and Spectator. This particular vintage received a 94 from Parker's Wine Advocate.

Leonetti is primarily a mailing list wine, with a few retail outlets being able to get a few bottles every so often. Thankfully, I am relatively close to one of those places. I picked up the bottle from J. Emersons Fine Wine and Cheese in Richmond, VA for $99.00.

Initial Impressions: This wine quite simply has amazing color. It is primarily black, with some dark garnet tinges on the outer rim and also completely opaque. Tipping the glass does virtually nothing to the density, with the dark black color extending to the outer rim of the glass. First whiff of this wine brings about a nice amount of milk chocolate and dark cherries, with a little vanilla.

Nose: This nose already shows the balance and care in which this wine was made. Everything melds together beautifully and seemingly effortlessly. There are huge amounts of dark and powdered milk chocolate on the nose, which is by far the most apparent component. It is followed up by dried cherries, cherry skins, blackberries, and extracted blueberry juice. Everything seems to work very well together in this nose and it is everything one would look for I think in a Cabernet.

Taste: Much like the nose, the balance of this wine is absolutely amazing. Again, the flavors that are very present are integrated and layered beautifully on top of each other, allowing everyone to play a part in the delectable flavors that is sooo there in this wine. There are huge amounts of sour black cherries, milk chocolate, bitter dark chocolate, vanilla extract, rose petals, and the acidity of strawberries and other red fruit. The flavors are seemless in their integration and are solid and beautiful from start to finish. The mouthfeel of this effort is amazing, giving the feeling of velvety silk just draping itself perfectly over the palate. The finish just goes and goes, lulling you to take another sip of the wine with perfect amounts of silky chocolate and earth.

Overall Impressions: This wine is in my opinion one of the best examples of what the Cabernet grape can do. It has the brightness and bombastic nature of what you come to find in the new world, while having the balance and polish of a fine left bank Bordeaux. In my opinion it is a little young, but structurally is elegant enough now to drink and could last many years if put down. I quite simply love this wine. 97 Points

Its competitor is the 2004 Philip Togni Estate Grown Cabernet. While still generally not as well known as the Caymuses and Silver Oaks, Togni is one of the most respected vintners in the Napa Valley region, producing wines that are in my opinion as good as some of the best Napa Valley mailing list only wines sold for many times what Togni sells for. This particular vintage received a 95 rating from Parker in the Wine Advocate and a 96+ rating from Gary Vaynerchuk. I picked up this wine from Total Wine and More in Newport News, VA for $99.99. Without further ado, lets get to the wine.

Initial Impressions: Much like the Leonetti, this wine is loaded with dark, inky, black color with a little garnet. Certainly this stands up to the Leonetti in this respect. Tipping the glass does nothing to lessen the density in color that this wine has and just extends the dark black and garnet tones to the end of the glass. Absolutely beautiful.

Nose: A definite change from the Leonetti, the Togni is absolutely beautiful in a different way. There are huge amounts of Jalepeno and Bell pepper juice and skins at the front end, segwaying nicely into a well integerated mix of earth, dark chocolate, black fruit juice, and very sour cherries. Not quite as seemless as the Leonetti though, although a lot more bombastic and in your face.

Taste: Whoa, this is definitely what California brings to the table. I have not had this type of punch from a Cali Cabernet since I had a taste of Harlan and Bryant Family cabs ala 2001 from a very generous friends cellar. This wine kinda punches you in the face with a balanced attack of bell pepper skins up front, quickly segwaying into a bombastic attack of sour cherries, some earth, blackberry skins, strawberry like sweet acidity. There are some definite tannins present, showing that youngness of the wine and the value of putting the wine down for a few more years. The mouthfeel is ridiculous, coating the palate with a little less refinement that the Leonetti has. The finish lasts for minutes, not letting your palate go until its good and ready.

Overall Impressions: While not having the elegance or refinement of the Leonetti, the Togni definitely brings it with the huge amounts of loaded flavors and huge mouthfeel. It is an amazing example of a California Cab, but without the amazingly huge price tag that these mailing list only efforts are charging. I am simply in love with this wine, much like the Leonetti. Pick this one up. 95 Points

Decision: While both wines are stellar examples of everything that can be done with the Cabernet varietal, I would have to give the nod to the Leonetti Cellars Cabernet. The refinement and structure of this effort simply pulls it away from most of what Washington and California has to offer, along with perfectly melding everything together into one perfect little package.

Washington 1, California 0

Friday Night Value

Tonight after a pretty long day of around the house projects and some heavy lifting, I decided to reward myself with some wine. Seeing as these times are not terribly conducive to breaking out the big, bling bling bottles on demand, I decided to bring out some lower priced wines I picked up a few weeks ago.


The first wine in question, the Snoqualmie Whistle Stop Red, is a pleasant Cabernet (70%) and Merlot (30%) blend that retails for about $10-$13 when available. I picked up the bottle at Total Wine and More in Newport News, VA for $11.99.

Initial Impressions: Overall the wine has surprisingly great color, especially for the pricepoint. It has a great dark garnet color and is pretty much opague. The density of the color is great, barely having any color change when tipping the glass. Overall, it is great showing for the pricepoint.

Nose: A little tight, the nose is showing some nice hints of plum, red fruit, a little hint of milk chocolate, dark chocolate and a little alcohol. Its a pretty simplistic nose overall, with nothing being too hard to find and the nose not evolving all that much with time in the glass. It is certainly attractive, albeit simple, and on par with a lot of offerings in the $10-$20 spectrum.

Taste: Overall a nice amount of strawberries, red currant, cherries, and some faint hints of chocolate and mocha. Its a little hollow on the mid palate, tapering off with the strawberry flavors, then coming on strong with a lot of red fruit and some mild acidity. The finish is not terribly long, tapering off after about 15 seconds or so. There are no real tannins or structure to speak of, showing that this wine would probably fall apart after a few years. Not by any means complex, but it is a very fun wine and not offensive by any means.

Overall: This is a very nice simple wine, not something that will change your life or make you fall in love, but again I don't really expect it at this pricepoint. It is certainly a very pleasant wine, albeit a little boring. I would definitely pick this one up again, especially for parties, as it will be a nice inoffensive red for guest and those just getting into wine. 86 Points

Next up on the list is the Columbia Crest H3 2005 Merlot. H3, standing for Horse Heaven Hills, is a value priced Merlot from one of the more famous growing regions in Washington. This particular vintage picked up an 88 from Wine Spectator, quite high for the price point. I picked up the bottle for $12.99 at Total Wine and More in Newport News, VA.

Initial Impression: Much like the Snoqualmie, this wine is rocking with the color. It has a beautiful, opaque, blackish garnet color, that is nice and dense. This is a great initial impression for a wine at this pricepoint to make. There is not much of an initial nose, just a nice hint of plum and dark chocolate at the front end.

Nose: This nose is very, very attractive, on par with a lot of $30 efforts that you will see out of California and Washington. There is a beautiful plum component, with nice layers of chocolate, cassis, and faint spices coming through. There isnt a huge amount of complexity, but definitely a lot more than you would think for something at this pricepoint.

Taste: Much like the Snoqualmie, this is a very pleasant tasting wine, albeit with a more tannins and structure to hold it up. There is a great red fruit component, with cassis, mocha, and asian spices bringing up the rear. It is pretty straightforward, with not a huge amount of complexity or layers to it. There is a bit more structure when compared to the Snoqualmie, but not so much that I would think this could last much longer than two years. It is definitely something you want to drink now.

Overall Impressions: Much like the other wine, this is a very nice, pleasant, racy wine that gives the drinking a good amount of satisfaction, staying inoffensive across the entire experience, and an easy drinker. This is not something to put away for a special occasion, but a great overall choice for an everyday wine. 87 Points

The Deal

Ahh, another night, another wine. I came together with one a few of my good friends and fellow wine nerds to imbibe and compare notes on the wines we are having. Tonight, we had several wines, but the clear standout was the 2006 K Vintners The Deal Syrah.

For those who don't know, K Vintners is the brainchild of Charles Smith, the owner and creator of Magnificent Wine Company and Charles Smith Wines. Charles has a certain way with Syrahs, making them more in the Old World Northern Rhone style rather than the jampot fruit forward style typically found in domestic Syrahs. The majority of his wines are very viscous, chewy, meat, and vegetal driven wines, more in the mold of a Rhone than the US.

We decanted the wine for about an hour before drinking it, as it is a complete beast and is quite high on the alcohol at 15.5%. It rolls in for about $40 at most places, and we picked up this bottle for that from the Cheese Shop in Williamsburg, VA. Well lets get to the wine.

Initial Impressions: If you ever want to see a concentrated, viscous wine , you need to view this wine in the class. It is black, completely opaque, with a small tinge of dark plum surrounding the outside. It nearly sticks completely to the glass when you swirl it, with a lot of it just coating the glass. It has a very apparent initial nose of dark dark meaty chocolate with a little spices.

Nose: An amazingly dense nose, with huge amounts of gamey, vinison types of flavors on the nose. There is a nice amount of dark and bitter chocolate, along with a great amount of dusty plum and dark black and mulberry flavors on the nose. There is also a little alcoholy, mediciney smell to it, kind of like a minty Vicks Vaporub. Overall a very nice nose.

Taste: This wine is so viscous and big I want to chew on it. This could definitely divide a room, but it just fills the mouth with this huge, bombastic, meaty, and vegetal bomb. It is more of a meal than a wine, with a beautiful amount of beef jerky, venison, red cabbage, dark fruit, and a great amount of asian spices. The tannins are apparent in the wine, along with a small tinge of alcohol, showing a bit of its youth. Overall this feels like a brighter, more lively version of a Northern Rhone.

Overall Impressions: In terms of what I love about Syrah, this is it. While Aussie and most New World versions of the grape can be interesting and great, this effort really speaks to me on how this varietal should really be expressed. This is a truly special wine for the new world and should be sought out. I would personally put the bottles down for a couple of years to find their footing, but they are special now and can easily be drunk. 96 Points

Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells 2006

After a long, long day trip up to DC, about 6 hours of so on the road, I arrived back in my home area of Williamsburg and was jonesing for a little bit of vino to take the edge off and end the night on a good note. Not wanting to waste a good bottle, especially since my palate was destroyed by that point, I picked out a bottle I bought the previous week on a whim, the 2006 Indian Wells Cabernet Sauvignon by Chateau Ste. Michelle. For those who don't know, Chateau Ste. Michelle is one of the biggest and oldest wine producers in the state of Washington and through various partnerships produces some amazing wines, including their Erioca Reisling. I picked up the Indian Wells bottle from the local Farm Fresh for $16.99, which is on the lower end for mid-priced Cab. So, lets see if its money well spent.

Initial Impressions: Overall a very dark, blackish, ruby color in the glass and just reeks, and I mean reeks, sugary candied grapes and assorted Nerd candies. Overall its very attractive in the glass, with a nice dark color, thicker texture, and looking very concentrated and extracted. The intial nose suggests a huge amount of New World love in it, which is definitely the style they were going for on their website.

Nose: Put your nose in a huge bowl of assorted candies, that is this nose. It has a huge, and I mean HUGE, amount of sugary, candied fruits on the nose. There is a little milk chocolate on the back end, but no real depth or difference in flavors beside the whole attack of candy and sugar. This is definitely attractive smelling, but it is a little much and kinda puts me off on the wine intially. I have found this nose on the lower end offerings from Columbia Crest and many other large California producers, who roll in at under $10. Overall, not too promising at this pricepoint.

Taste: This wine I could definitely find for under $10 anywhere else in the world, and probably find a better wine. It is loaded with a huge amount of sugary, candied black and red fruits. Extremely explosive and overbearing, kinda like the date who just didnt take no for an answer. This wine is overall a huge New World Cabernet bomb, with no real depth, earthiness, or thickness on the palate. Comes off as slightly thin and incipid. Some may love this profile, unfortunately, I am not one of them.

Overall: This wine I would best compare to fermented Kool-Aid, loaded up with sugary, simple goodness. It is way way way too much for me in the sugar department, but could be a hit for those just getting into wine and those who just love this style. Overall, I am not feeling it. 74 Points

Pleasant Wine, Pleasant Night

Ahh, the NCAA Tourney Finals. Since my bracket died a slow painful death back in the Elite 8, I sat down tonight to enjoy the final between Michigan State (who I had going out in the Sweet 16), and UNC (who I had going out in the Final Four), with a nice, somewhat value oriented red meritage by Ryan Patrick. The wine in question, the 2006 Ryan Patrick Rock Island Red, is a bordeaux blend, with 70% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 14% Cabernet Franc. I picked up the bottle at Bello Vino in Richmond, VA for about $20 even.

Initial Impressions: Overall the wine looks a little thin and watery, has a medium to dark grimacey purple color, and resembles a lot of Merlots at this pricepoint and lower. Not a blockbuster, but not a huge disappointment either. The intial nose is pretty tight, with a faint amount of light chocolate and woody aromas coming through.

Nose: The Cab Franc really comes to the forefront of this nose. The nose is kinda tight, but bell and sweet peppers come to the forefront and dominate a lot of this nose. After searching around a bit, there is a component of red cherries and strawberries, along with a faint aroma of sugarfied dark chocolate. A little flat on the nose overall, but not totally dead.

Taste: Very different from the nose. Really easy drinking, with little structure or tannins to speak of. By no means a "sweet" wine, but does have some sweet characteristics to the tannins that are there. There is a nice milk chocolate component, with nice rounded flavors of cherry and strawberries coming along for the ride. It is pretty simplistic, but also very tasty and pleasant to the tongue. It is pushing the pricepoint a little, but still not overpriced in the least.

Overall: This is simply a good everyday or night type wine, depending on your tastes and what you look for. It is pretty simple and easy to drink, not asking a lot out of you as long as you dont ask a lot out of it. There are better values for the pricepoint, but I think a lot of people new to reds would find it nice because of its simplicity and sweetness. 85 Points

Big Name, Big Wine

I took the opportunity this past Saturday night to visit a old friend of mine in Virginia Beach and share a good bottle of Washington wine. One bottle in particular, the 2005 Columbia Crest Cabernet Reserve, was definitely calling my name. Wine Spectator recently gave the wine a huge 95 rating, and the wine went from being relatively easy to find to pretty much impossible over night, which is not too far fetched since the wine retails for about $30 in most places. I picked up the bottle two weeks ago at the Cheese Shop in Williamsburg, VA, for about $28. They still have a few bottles and I would definitely advise you to pick a few up if you can find them.

Columbia Crest, a name that most people know and some still for some reason group with a lot of the big box producers in California, is one of the oldest names in Washington wine. Started in the early 80's, which is ancient by Washington standards, Columbia Crest is known for making good, value driven wines that are known to be palatable, albeit simple, in and around the $8-$20 price point. Their reserve line, largely their take on a boutique wine, is possibly one of the BEST values out there. They continually get good ratings across the board and for the prices they charge, an out and out steal. A lot of people before the rating poo pooed the label, including myself to some extent, but man have they proven a lot of people wrong.

Initial Impressions: As soon as I pop the cork, a nice integrated oak component immediately makes its presence known, with a lot of dark, bitter chocolate and dark fruit also on the initial whiff. The cork is fine, no runs at all along it and a nice wet end. The color, oh the color is just gorgeous. A great dark, black inky, color to it, with a little bit of purple on the edges. Very impressive so far.

Nose: The nose is a little tight, but does show a lot of chocolate, oak, sour cherries, blackberries, cassis, mulberries, and a whiff of strawberries on the back end. Very tasty and delectable. The oak can be a little much, but if you drink a lot of mainstream Cali cabs, you're not going to really notice. Overall a very nice, albeit a little tight, nose.

Taste: Oh my god, if tasted blind, there is no way I would say $30. This wine has SO much polish, with well integrated sweet tannins, amazing structure, with layers upon layers of blackberry, sour black cherries, vanilla, raspberry, and strawberry flavors. This is so tasty, and while being nice and fruity, has a great mocha and dark choclolate component to even it out and not make it so New Worldy in its flavor profile. Don't get me wrong, this is defintely nothing to be confused with an Old World effort, but has a great amount of balance and is pretty much tailor made for most, if not all people, to atleast appreciate it.
Overall: For $28, I think it would be very hard for any company, big or small, to produce a wine as fine as this. This wine just simply kicks ass at any price point. I have to agree with the Wine Spectator and give this wine a 95. No reason not to. 95 Points