Wine for the enthusiast in upstate NY

Larkmead Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 19:31:20 -0500

Day two of a four day weekend called for a terrific California Cab. Fortunately I had one in the house - the '07 Larkmead Cabernet. Deep, dark garnet red, inky. The nose has intense dark red fruit, some earthy AND floral components, a bit of spice, minerality, some lead pencil. It's mid- to full-bodied, bright acidity, cherry, raspberry, cola, and a mid-length finish, but intense to the end.

I drank it with cheeses including Maytag Bleu Cheese (awesome), a fresh goat cheese (darn good), brushetta (surprisingly this worked really well, balanced acidity to acidity, with fresh tomato against the fruitiness of the wine), with peppered salami (yep, goes with Cab!) and a regular sopresseta-style salami (fatty with the acidic Cab, great pairing). It didn't go well with the hard parmesan or the cheddar though (no expectation that it would, just tried it for the heck of it as it was on the plate).

This wine is currently second on my list of favorite Cabs - Snowden The Ranch 2007 is in first place, and these are remarkably similar, but the Larkmead is a bit more money at about $65 here in Central New York. But the Snowden isn't available anymore...

Larkmead's website: http://www.larkmead.com/wines/07nvcs.php

Cellartracker's page: http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=639647

2005 Château Talbot Bordeaux

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 19:31:28 -0500

A fourth growth Grand Cru Classe Bordeaux. Sweet fruit on the nose, some black, some red, some blue, but nothing really distinct - maybe a bright cherry, and then some astringent notes. Oak is subtle, no spice, and only a bit of vanillin. The wine is pretty, translucent red, looks like light to medium weight in the glass, not much viscosity. Tasting it affirms my initial thoughts - fruit, not much complexity, and quite sweet. It's mid-weight, too light for my Cab tastes. It's well balanced, though tannins are more present than I like in a well-balanced wine. I enjoyed the wine, but think it may have been more because I was supposed to enjoy it because it was a fabulous '05 Bordeaux, than because it was great to drink. About $50 a few years ago when I bought on a pre-sell. Tasted August 2010.

Paul Hobbs Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 Napa Valley

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 21:26:12 -0500

I'm slowy becoming a California Cabernet lover. It's tough to love California Cabs though - they're pricey for the names. And the no-names are unpredictable (yes, I know, that's what ratings and reviews are for). My friends at The Wine House in Manlius provided an opportunity to pre-order several 2007 California Cabs earlier this year, and they're in. They know my tastes in wine, so it helps to have them recommend the ones they think I'll like, with characteristics I appreciate (fruit, and plenty of it, in a great structure), without the things I hate (bitterness, or any green vegetal components). The Paul Hobbs Cabernet from Napa Valley is bang on perfect!

Paul Hobbs' website says this wine has fruit from four vineyards, (Beckstoffer To Kalon, Hyde, Stagecoach and Beckstoffer Dr. Crane). I've had few wines with Stagecoach fruit, and Beckstoffer fruit, but never a blend. Nicely done. The wine is a bright bold purple. The nose is subtle but complex. Fruit, including dark fruits like blackberries and cassis, minerality, and floral components are apparent. On first taste it's intense, concentrated red and black fruit at the tip of the tongue, moving to the mid-palate it's expansive full bodied, more fruit, and then the structure appears - sweet tannins. Balanced acidity. Mouthwatering finish that goes on for a minute or more. Smooth from front to back. Ready to drink right now, minimal decant might be worth it, but it's excellent immediately. About $80 to $85 here in New York.

Paul Hobbs winemaker notes are at http://www.paulhobbswinery.com/wine/wine/181/

CellarTracker at http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=678095

2005 Newton Merlot, Napa Valley, California

Sun, 08 Aug 2010 19:01:34 -0500

Deep purple (the color, not the band), highly reflective, gorgeous color. Very viscous in the glass. Nose has blue and black fruits. Floral notes. The wine is medium bodied, very plush. It's fairly balanced but perhaps needs more time for the tannins to integrate. Very acidic on the first taste, with tartness, red fruit, currants, earthy,slightly bitter mid-palate, long finish with fruit to spare! About $60.

2005 Chateau Bourgneuf Pomerol Bordeaux

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 19:43:01 -0500

My second '05 Bordeaux, this is less intense than the Clerc Milon, but as beautiful in the glass. It's a bright cherry red, slightly translucent wine. Blackberry and other black fruit, anise, then old world components appear on the nose. It's medium to light bodied for a Merlot/Cab Franc blend, and the wine is relatively well balanced. The fruit is there, including black currants, dark cherries, blackberries, no intrusive alcohol, it's a soft Merlot but with characteristics I normally associate more with Rhone varietals (must be the Cab Franc) - some anise, dark cherry, thinner than most Merlot. There are tannins present, but I don't think they are nearly as intrusive as Parker did. Lots of taste on the front of the tongue, tannins on the gumline at the front, nice mid-palate, long finish that lasts at least a minute. About $50 on a pre-order a few years ago, tasted July, 2010.

Bodega NQN 2006 Colección NQN Patagonia Universe Red Blend

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:57:35 -0500

This is my new favorite wine label - the front label is silver and black with stars in the sky including the famed Southern Cross constellation. The back label has a Skype address. And an e-mail address and web address (www.bodeganqn.com.ar).

Opening the bottle for the decant showed amazing aroma and in the glass while it opened it was present at least two feet away - intense, dark fruit.It's dark purple, opaque, and reflective. Close to the glass it reveals cooked dark fruit, juicy plums, black currant, and fresh dark fruit on the nose, well blended. There is a bit of spice on the nose, maybe some cocoa. The taste is full bodied, full on Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon blended at 65%/35%. (There isn't even a hint of green pepper or herbacious components that I find objectionable in some South American blends with Cab at this price level.) The dark fruit notes continue through the taste, a bit of heat, but well balanced with the fruit and tannins with structure and a bit of grip but not intrusive. The finish is long, full of dark fruit, mouth watering but with tannins present.

Tasted July 2010, about $20.

Cain Concept The Benchland 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 19:01:38 -0500

Dark ruby red, opaque. The nose is primarily dark fruit, with some red, but no components I can isolate. It's a big red, viscous in the glass, heavy mouth weight. Great balance and structure, moderate length finish. It has a good initial impression, good mid-palate flavor, and nice long finish. But I can't pull out much individually from the wine. It went well with a grilled porterhouse, complementing it nicely. I decanted it for about 2 hours before drinking it, tasting a bit immediately. Some of the dark, inky nose and taste blew off during the decant.

Winemaker notes are at https://www.cainfive.com/PDF/2006-Cain-Concept.pdf and his note says it's focused and pure compared to the 2004 which is complex. I think it's got great intensity, and if that's what he means by focused and pure I agree. It's a blend with 78% Cab, 22% Merlot, and 2% Cab Franc. It's unfiltered and had a good bit of sediment.

Miles would probably turn his nose up at the blend (sorry, watched Sideways last night), but it's an excellent wine, well integrated, and great to enjoy on its own or with food. Cain's site is at https://www.cainfive.com/wines/ The wine takes it's name from the Benchlands of Napa Valley, areas on the edges of the valley. The site is well done, lots of information about the vineyards, winery, wines, and their philosophy.

Tasted July 2010, about $49.

2007 Mara Pinot Noir Laughlin Road Ranch, Russian River Valley

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:25:30 -0500

Bright translucent cherry red in color, transparent rim. Nose is definitely Burgundian - e.g., earthy, forest floor, then fruit. Red fruit is dominant in the taste, then the French oak appears, with some spice, vanilla, pepper, and other barrel-related components. Acidic on the tip of the tongue, medium body, red fruit, black pepper on the back, long duration of spice and fruit - about a minute, and it's mouthwatering. The wine is balanced, alcohol isn't too high. Fairly consistent with most good Sonoma Pinot, but with Burgundy styling, nice wine. Tasted July 2010, about $48.

Gorman "The Bully" Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 19:12:15 -0500

I love this winery's red wines. Deep purple, intense color. The nose is dark fruit, cassis, blackberry, and the taste follows through. Blackberries, dark cherries, toasty oak. It's full bodied, plush and well balanced. The fruit is very present, and it has smooth tannins, terrific front to back, ideal Washington state Cabernet Sauvignon with a little bit of Merlot and Petit Verdot blended in. Tasted July 2010. About $55 out here in New York.

Gorman is at http://www.gormanwinery.com/ and there are several reviews and interviews with Chris Gorman around the web. He also maintains a Facebook and Twitter presence - Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/GormanWinery where he posts updates from time to time on harvesting, vinification, bottling, along with pics.

Bacio Davino Janzen Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 20:10:45 -0500

Gorgeous bottle label graphics. Deep, purple-black in color, completely opaque. The nose is black fruit, spice, clear French oak, spice box, dark California Cabernet in it's entirety. The taste follows along with that - balanced acid, tannins, dark fruit, cassis, blackberry, full mouthweight, silky, dusty. Intense fruit, lasts at least 30 to 40 seconds, mouthwatering. This begs for a steak, but is beautiful on its own. About $45, tasted July 2010. The Wine House in Manlius has a terrific California selection, and always steers me in the direction that I enjoy.

Bacio Davino Cellar's notes are at http://www.baciodivino.com/pdfs/Janzen2007.pdf - they say about 1450 cases were made. It's early for the wine, and I'd suggest letting it age a few years to reach it's potential. Approachable now, fabulous later I suspect.

Snowden Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2007

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 22:09:44 -0500

A couple who are friends shared the Snowden Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve which they had obtained from Snowden't mailing list. Last year's 2006 The Ranch (their lower level) was one of my favorite wines, so I was thrilled to get to taste the Reserve from 2007.

It's early for the wine, but that wasn't a negative when tasting. It was a beautiful cranberry color, and it's nose was fresh berries, red cherries, bing cherries, quite different than the reviews or the winemaker's notes. Absolutely a terrific, balanced wine with delicious fruit, nice tannins, and medium bodied. Mid to long-finish.

Snowden's site is at http://www.snowdenvineyards.com/ourWines-snow.htm and includes barrel sample scores from The Wine Advocate and International Wine Review. Unfortunately it appears to already be sold out from the winery, and hasn't arrived anywhere else. About $75, tasted June 2010.

Landmark Steel Plow Sonoma Syrah 2007

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 21:54:14 -0500

Image via Wikipedia

The Landmark Steel Plow Syrah is a dark purple/burgundy, spice, blackberries, dark fruits on the nose, followed by spicy pepper, blackberry, and fruit tastes. Very balanced, nothing out of place, terrific Syrah with a long finish. Tasted June 2010, about $33.

Landmark's website: http://www.landmarkwine.com/home.html

JR Wines Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 21:39:48 -0500

Deep, intense red/purple, opaque, viscous, on the nose it's dark fruit immediately, then red to follow. Tasting gived great red fruit, dark cherries, currants, with dusty, beautiful tannins. It's mouthwatering, mid-weight for a Cab, and then there's spice and pepper. Tasted June 2010 at The Wine House in Manlius.

John Ramsey is the owner, and he gave a wine talk and tasting at The Wine House recently. His Zinfandels are terrific as well, and it's pretty amazing that he'd come and give a talk locally. JR Wines is at http://www.jrwines.com/index.html - their wine notes are at http://www.jrwines.com/wines.html and you need to scroll down a bit to get to the 2006 Cabernet.

Chappellet Mountain Cuvee 2007, Napa Valley

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 21:22:53 -0500

Chappellet's Mountain Cuvee is a blend of Cab, Merlot, and a tiny bit of Malbec, Cab Franc, and Petit Verdot. The winemaker's notes indicate it's made to drink early. It was a medium red, translucent, seemed to have cooked fruit, particularly prunes, plums, and other dark fruit. It was mid-weight, and the taste followed through with dark fruit. It seemed too hot on the nose, but not in the taste, and it's 14.9% in the winemaker notes. It had been open over an hour when I tasted it. Chappellet has a PDF available at http://www.chappellet.com/assets/client/File/2007_Mountain%20Cuvee.pdf with information about the growing season, harvest, and more. Good value if you can find it priced right. Tasted June 2010.

Cellartracker: http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=767809

Bergstrom "Cumberland Reserve" Pinot Noir 2007, Willamette Valley, Oregon

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 15:43:08 -0500

Medium ruby, bright, nose of dark cherries and smoke. Flavors of red fruits, berries and cherries, some black pepper and licorice, nice and tart, nice acidity, well balanced, mid-length 15 to 20 second finish. Tasted June 2010, about $50.