Category Archives: Red Wine

Pierre Dupond La Renjardiere Cotes du Rhone Rouge 2015

22 January 2018 By in Red Wine Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

W Dupond 2015Rhone Red Blend from Southern Rhone – Cotes du Rhone, Rhone, France

60% grenache

20% syrah

10% mourvedre

10% cinsault

14.0% alcohol

Opened 17 Jan 2018

els: 8.6/10

Tastings: 88

The Cotes du Rhone wine region stretches along the Rhone River, beginning at Vienne in the north to Avignon, 125 miles to the south. The Central Massif defines the western boundary and the foothills of the Alps, the eastern boundary. The region is designated with 4 levels of distinction: at the bottom and the most basic are the Cotes du Rhone wines, this wine falls into that category, followed by 95 Cotes du Rhone-Villages, then, with another step up there are the 18 Cotes du Rhone-Named Villages and finally at the top are the 17 Crus. Cotes du Rhone wines must contain at least 40% Grenache as their main grape, followed by a minimum of 15% from the secondary grapes: Syrah and Mourvedre.  Accessory grapes, such as Cinsault, can not provide more than 30% of the total.

The La Renjardière is a 300 acre+ vineyard, just north of Chateauneuf du Pape and the city of Orange. The vineyards reside on the right bank slopes of the Rhone with soils consisting of sand, clay and limestone with round pebbles which make walking without shoes difficult, but provide a wonderful assist for drainage. The vineyard’s Mediterranean climate has growing season temperatures ranging from the high 40s at night to the low 80s °F during the day.

The wine has a dark ruby-red color with a nice garnet rim. It exhibits a medium but distinct nose of  cherry and strawberries. The tongue tells me that plums and black fruits are nearby. Tannins are easy, acidity isn’t overpowering, or in other words a balanced, mild wine with a medium to long finish, reminiscent of a young woman with small, but invitingly round breasts. The wine should be good for a few more years.

A good everyday red at a good price.  Serve with cheese, lamb, or pork.  Decant and aerate for one hour before drinking.

$12.99  wine.com

Wirra Wirra Church Block CSM 2013

20 January 2018 By in Red Wine Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

W Church Block 2013Other Red Blends from McLaren Vale, Australia

50% cabernet sauvignon

37% shiraz

13% merlot

14.5% alcohol

Opened 10 Jan 2018

els: 9.2/10

Australian Wine Companion:  94

James Suckling:  92

Wine Enthusiast:  91

Wine Spectator:  90

Wilfred Wong:  90

Vinous:  89

The McLaren Vale wine region is centered around the eponymous small town populated with approximately 4000 people, located 20 miles south of Adelaide in South Australia.  The wine growing region, triangular in shape, is less than 20 miles in length and 8 miles in width, nestled between the Gulf of St. Vincent on the west-northwest and the Willunga Fault and scarp, known as the Sellicks Hills Range, along its southeastern edge. McLaren Vale grew famous with its Shiraz wines but today its 88 wineries produce world-class reds and whites; including Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Mourvedre, Chardonnay, Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc. It is not uncommon to find 100-year old vines in McLaren Vale vineyards.

The Wirra Wirra winery was established in 1969 by Greg Trott and others, out of the ruins of the 1894 winery started by a gentleman delightfully named, Robert Strangways Wigley. Greg Trott’s first Wirra Wirra labeled wine was the 1972 Church Block CSM, named after a vineyard adjacent to a small church.

The vineyards of McLaren Vale are subjected to a Mediterranean climate with dry summers and wet winters, perfect for growing red wine grapes.  Rains bring between 20 and 30 inches per year; the rains peaking in the southern hemisphere May to September winter.  Growing season temperatures range from daytime highs in the mid-80s to night time lows in the mid-50s degrees Fahrenheit. Frost and snow are almost unheard of anytime during the year.  The soils are generally well-drained, thin loamy sands with clays and clayey limes underneath.

This wine has a brilliant ruby-red hue with a narrow pink rim.  Redolent of black berries and plums. An intense taste of red fruits with lasting tannins, and a very long, balanced finish.

An outstanding red wine at a great price.  Serves well with beef and lamb. Tastes great by itself.  Tannins suggests that this wine will serve well for many years to come. A very versatile wine. Decant and aerate for one hour before drinking.

$14.99-21.99  wine-searcher.com

Santa Julia Reserva Malbec 2016

17 January 2018 By in Red Wine Tags: , , , Leave a comment

W Julia 2016.jpgMalbec from Uco Valley Mendoza, Argentina

100% malbec

13.0% alcohol

Opened 15 Jan 2018

els: 9.0/10

Wine Advocate: 91-90

Descorchados: 89

Wine Enthusiast: 87

Santa Julia is one of the three brands produced by the Zuccardi Family who have been active in Mendoza area vineyards and bodegas since 1950. The family founded the company in 1963. The Julia brand, named after the founder Jose Alberto Zuccardi’s daughter, was inaugurated in 1982 with the first wines exported in 1990. Today the wines are sold in 45 countries.

Santa Julia Bodega has 2 vineyards in the Uco Valley; Finca La Ribera of 210 acres, and Finca Vista Flores of 106 acres, both at an average elevation of 2900 feet above see level. Temperatures, during the growing season, range from the mid-80s°F during the day to the mid-40s°F at night.  Rainfall averages 1 to 3.5 inches per month with the driest month occurring during April.

The grapes are harvested towards the end of April, fermented at 77°F and allowed to macerate for 20 days. Part of the harvest is then aged in French oak barrels for 10 months.

The wine has a brilliant garnet to ruby-red hue with a faint narrow pink rim.  Light aromas of fruit, red berries and a hint of herbs. A taste of red fruits with a nice dry medium and balanced finish, like a kiss of a pretty, young girl.

An outstanding red wine at a great price.  Serve with cheese, pasta, or pizza. Tastes great slightly chilled: 62-65°F.  Decant and aerate for one hour before drinking.

$10.99  wine.com

Tahbilk Shiraz 2012

3 January 2018 By in Red Wine Tags: , , Leave a comment

W Tahbilk 2012Shiraz from Nagambie Lakes, Australia

100% shiraz

13.7% alcohol

Opened 26 Dec 2017

els: 9.0/10

Australian Wine Companion: 92

Wine and Spirits: 91

Robert Parker: 90

The Wine Front: 90

Cellar Tracker: 89

Tahbilk established itself in 1860 as the first winery in the Goulburn Valley of Central Victoria, Australia, and is one of the oldest wineries in Australia. The Daung-wurrung, a Victorian aboriginal clan, in their native language called the area tabilk-tabilk or the ‘place of many waterholes’, so named because the local Goulburn River dried up periodically and left isolated bodies of water: ‘waterholes’; in the river and along its billabongs. Reginald Purbrick purchased the winery in 1925 and 5 generations of family have been making wines there ever since.

The Shiraz vineyards encompass about 75 acres and contain vines planted between the 1930s and 2000s. The vineyards are situated less than 500 feet above sea level experiencing cool nights of about 50 degrees Fahrenheit and the days hover in the low 80s during the growing season. Rain is sufficient at about 1.5 to 2.5 inches per month. The soils are sandy.

The wine is fermented in open-topped oak barrels and aged in 100 year French oak barrels.

This is a brilliant, garnet colored wine with a pale pink rim. Aromas of red fruits and dark berries, with a hint of oak. Very nice tasting, balanced, medium bodied and smooth, with thick tannins; producing a long, dry, satisfying finish. A classy girl of a wine, reminiscent of long, perfect legs, anchored to glossy stiletto heals, and, unfortunately, partially retiring inside a white silk dress, slit long on the left thigh; the dress continuing upward along luscious curves  with a single, lonely strap across the right shoulder.

An outstanding wine. Serve with beef, lamb or wild game. Decant and aerate for one hour before drinking.

$13.99  wine.com

La Rioja Alta Vina Alberdi Reserva Tinto 2010

26 December 2017 By in Red Wine Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

W Alberdi 2010Tempranillo from Rioja, Spain

100% tempranillo

13.5% alcohol

Opened 21 Dec 2017

els: 9.0/10

James Suckling: 95

Robert Parker: 91

Cellar Tracker: 90

Wine Spectator: 89

La Rioja Alta, founded in 1890, within the Station Quarter of Haro, Spain, offers some of the finest  wines coming out of the Rioja producing region. The Vina Alberdi brand was added to the firm’s lineup of great wines in 1978, making its newest label, out of 5, and the only one made with 100% Tempranillo grapes.

The Rioja region’s wine history is tied into the arrival of the Phoenicians, and their wine making skills, 3000 years ago, with their arrival and founding, in the 11th century B.C., of what is now city of Cadiz along the southwestern Spanish-Atlantic coast. They likely continued their migration to the Rioja region via sea routes along the Atlantic-Iberian coast. The Romans continued, and expanded, the wineries in the Rioja area starting around the 2nd century B.C.; credited with the planting many of the vineyards in the area. During the Middle-Ages, Christian pilgrimages through the area provided a continuous market, and free advertising, for these northern Spanish wines.

In the 19th century the French vineyards were devastated and destroyed by the very small critter: Daktulosphaira vitifoliae.  With the resultant collapse of the French wine industry many of the country’s wine artisans migrated south into the Spanish wine growing regions, bringing with them their expertise and customs, especially from the Bordeaux region.  La Rioja Alta’s first winemaker in 1890 was the Frenchman, Monsieur Vigier, coming during the period, in the late 19th century, of the greatest vineyard destruction in France where 65-90% of the vineyards succumbed to the Phylloxera.

La Rioja Alta’s estate owned vineyards: Las Monjas, Bardal and Las Cuevas, which provide the Tempranillo grapes for this wine, grow at 1600 to 2000′ above sea level, a few miles from Haro. The soils are chalky and clayey, nurturing vines that were planted more than 40 years ago. Growing season temperatures range from a the low 50s at night to the low 80s Fahrenheit during the day, with atypical  20 degree, night-to-day, temperature swing. Rarely does the area experience freezing temperatures. The spring and summer months average 1.75 to 3 inches of rain per month.

The Tempranillo grapes are manually harvested and the wine spends 12 months in new American oak barrels and an additional 12 months in 3-year-old, or more, barrels.  Every 6 months the wine is romantically racked (trasegamos) by the light of a candle. The 2010 vintage was bottled in 2013.

This is a brilliant, dark cherry-red wine with a peachy-pink rim. Aromas of red fruits and berries, with a hint of oak and caramel. Very nice tasting, balanced, medium bodied and smooth, with a crisp acidity and just right tannins, producing a long, dry finish. The wine evokes visions of the gently undulating curves of a gypsy dancer in an iridescent, flowing chiffon red dress; her body pulsating and pressing to the slow Bolero beats in a smoky, steamy, waterfront Cadiz club.

An outstanding wine. Serve with cheese or light fare. Decant and aerate for one hour before drinking.

$11.00-33.00  wine-searcher.com

Rutini Malbec 2013

19 December 2017 By in Red Wine Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

W Rutini 2013Malbec from Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

100% malbec

14.0% alcohol

Opened 15 Dec 2017

els: 9.0/10

Cellar Tracker: 92

Wine Spectator: 91

Wine and Spirits: 89

Wine Enthusiast: 88

Felipe Rutini was born in 1866, into a winemaking family in the central Italian agricultural Province of Ascoli Piceno, which is less than 20 miles west of the Adriatic Sea. He graduated from the Royal School of Agriculture as an agricultural technician in the city of Ascoli Piceno. Disillusioned with the Italian unification and the constant wars in Europe, he made his way to Mendoza, Argentina at the young age of 18 and a year later founded the La Rural winery in the district of Coquimbito, currently located in the southeastern portion of the Mendoza metro area. People definitely made their mark earlier in life during the days of horses and steam.

His sons, after their father Felipe Rutini’s death in 1919, took over the winery and were the first to plant vineyards in the Uco Valley, around Tupungato, in the year of 1925. The winery eventually established two more vineyards in the southern portion of Uco Valley in the San Carlos Department. All 3 of these vineyards: Gualtallary, The Consultation, and The Altamira; totaling approximately 620 acres, are a source of grapes for this Malbec. In 1994, the Rutini winery and vineyards were sold to Argentinian investors including the wine makers: Nicolas Catena and Jose Benegas Lynch.

The vineyards are situated 3100 to 4100′ above sea level in the shadow of the Andes Mountains and the 21,500′ Tupungato volcano. The soils are well-drained, alluvial to colluvial, rocky sands to loams, one to four feet thick. Temperatures reach into the 80s during the growing season days and dip into the mid-50s at night.  Rain varies from 1 to 3.5 inches per month.

The grapes are manually harvested and the wine spends 12 months in new French and American oak barrels. Later vintages are stored in new and second use oak barrels.

It is a dark plum-colored wine with blackberry and earthy aromas. Huge tannins and shanghaied acidity produce a long grope of a finish. I drank a bottle of this wine several years ago and it was mediocre, plain and uninteresting, at best.  It has aged well in the bottle and exhibits a greater punch and grab now. Also it was about half the price a few years ago, re-enforcing the maxim: buy early, drink later. Serves well with red meat.

An outstanding wine. Decant and aerate for one hour before drinking.

$32-40  wine-searcher.com

Pecchenino San Luigi Dogliani Dolcetto 2016

15 December 2017 By in Red Wine Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

W San Luigi 2016Dolcetto from Dogliani, Piedmont, Italy

100% dolcetto

13.5% alcohol

Opened 11 Dec 2017

els: 9.0/10

Wine Spectator: 91

Wine Advocate: 90

The Pecchenino wine estate has been passed from father to son since the late 18th century. The estate, since the 1970s, has tripled in size and now encompasses approximately 62 acres northeast of the commune of Dogliani, a small town of about 5000 people, which is  less than 40 miles southeast of Turin.  The estate has 70% of its acreage planted in Dolcetto vines with the remaining 30% dedicated to their better known cousins: Barbera, Nebbiolo, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

The Dolcetto, known in area since at least the early 1400s, is a cool weather, dark-skinned grape with high tannin levels but low acidity, necessitating an early consumption since it will not age well in the bottle much beyond 4 or 5 years. This is not catastrophic, actually just the opposite, since the 2016 vintage is a nice wine to drink right now while you wait for the regions Barbera and Nebbiolo wines to age for 3-5 years.

The Pecchenino soils consist of unconsolidated calcareous alluvium, somewhat fertile but lacking in substantial organics. The vines are perched at an altitude of 1275-1400 feet above sea level, with a generally southern exposure.  Temperatures range from the low 80s during the growing season days to the mid 50s at night.  Rain amounts of 1-3 inches per month are typical.  October is the wettest month with up 3.5 inches expected and July is the driest with an average rainfall of a little more than 1 inch.

A brilliant, medium colored red wine with fruity and earthy aromas. Nice tannins and not too dry, producing a pleasant and satisfying finish. Serves well with, and not trying to be cliché, pizza and pasta.

An outstanding wine. Decant and aerate for at least one hour.

$11.98-17.99  wine-searcher.com

 

Castello d’Albola Chianti Classico DOCG 2011

12 December 2017 By in Red Wine Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

W D'Albola Chianti 2011Sangiovese from Tuscany, Italy

95% sangiovese

5% canaiol

13.0% alcohol

Opened 7 Dec 2017

els 8.8/10

JS 91

WS 90

RP 87

The Castello d’Abola estate, drastically renamed Castello di Albola, located in the village of Radda, is smack dab in the middle of the Chianti Classico DOCG. The wine takes its name from the Abola Castle, built sometime around the 1400s and beautifully restored by the current owners: the Zonin family.

Vineyards and wineries have existed in Tuscany Chianti area for at least 2500 years, likely even further into the past, back during the pre-Roman times of the enigmatic Etruscan civilization; who are believed to have introduced wine production to the French. A truer definition of altruistic and noble charity cannot be found.

The vines for this wine are grown at the highest elevation of any vineyard in the Chianti DOCG, rooted in clayey limestone soils that receive anywhere from 0.25 to 1.8 inches of rain per month during the growing season.  Temperatures can reach into the mid-80s during the day and drop into the mid-40s Fahrenheit at night.

This wine exhibits a brilliant ruby-red  to garnet hue, redolent of sweet fruits and pepper. A medium body, balanced and structured wine along with a moderate but pleasant finish. A nice table wine for everyday fare or drink alone while watching the sun sink slowly towards the west.

A good wine. Decant and aerate for at least one hour.

The 2011 is close to impossible to find anymore, at least in the US.  I’ve found one store in the UK and one in Canada that are charging an exorbitant price that you should definitely pass on.  I paid $15.99 for a bottle in 2015, which is (was) an inexpensive to a tad over-priced for wine of this quality.

Michel Gassier Cercius Rouge 2013

9 December 2017 By in Red Wine Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

W Cercius 2013Rhone Red Blends from Cotes du Rhone, Rhone, France

85% grenache

15% syrah

15.5% alcohol

Opened 7 Dec 2017

els 9.0/10

RP 91

Cercius, from the Latin term for a wind between north and west, is a delightful vieilles vignes (old vine) Cotes du Rhone blend from the Plateau de Domazan, located about 8 miles west of the Avignon; the 14th century Papal seat which was then part of the Kingdom of Arles within the Holy Roman Empire.

Wine was likely grown and produced in the Rhone Valley as far back as the 6th century BC, believed to have been established by either the Greeks or Persians, with the vineyards and wineries maintained until the end of the Roman Empire in the late 5th century AD. It wasn’t until the late Middle Ages when the Avignon papacy re-established the Rhone area vineyards and wineries, mostly for their own use, beginning with Pope Clement V around 1309.  The rest, as they say, is history.

The 80-year-old plus vines are nurtured by clayey limestone soils topped with a layer of pebbles which contend with blustery, northwest winds, traveling over and down the 6000 foot peaks and slopes of the Central Massif, blowing into the  Michel Gassier’s Rhone Valley vineyards, proudly defying Mother Nature’s blustery assault at 500 feet above sea level.  The growing season climate for the area provides for hot days above 80 degrees Fahrenheit and cool nights with temperatures dipping into the mid-40s to low 50s.  Rainfall averages 2.5-4 inches per month.

The grapes are hand harvested, destemmed, allowing natural yeast fermentation in concrete tanks for 6 months.

The wine exhibits a deep ruby-red color; a wonderful aroma of lilacs, violets and sweet fruits. It’s well-balanced and full-bodied and the finish is long and satisfying.

An outstanding wine. Decant and aerate for at least one hour.

$12.99  wine.com

 

Highway 12 Highwayman Proprietary Red 2012

6 December 2017 By in Red Wine Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

W Highwayman 2012Other Red Blends from Sonoma County, California

Proprietary red blend:

     cabernet sauvignon

     cabernet franc

     merlot

14.8% alcohol

Opened 2 Dec 2017

els 9.1/10

Highway 12 is a North Coast, Sonoma County winery producing 3 brands of differing quality wines from the vineyards of Sonoma and Carneros regions: Highway 12, Carneros Highway, and their flagship wine: Highwayman.  The Highwayman lineup includes 1 white and 4 reds: Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and 2 red blends.  Their Proprietary Red was the initial wine in this lineup with the blend of grape types and percentages changing from vintage to vintage.  The 2013 vintage is a blend of Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot as opposed to this 2012 vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot.

Highwayman, the wine, commemorates the fabled gentlemen robbers of days gone by, who relieved, accessible and unguarded, or guarded, travelers of their possessions on the desolate stretches of road in many a nation’s country-sides. In California, a highwayman was known as a road agent, the most famous of which was probably Charles “Black Bart” Boles, a bandit with a particular affinity to Wells Fargo Coaches and their money boxes. He plied his trade of questionable legitimacy for 8 years during the late 19th century, along the deserted roads of northern California.  Black Bart, always armed with a shotgun but never fired during any of his roadside capers, acquired his name by leaving snippets of rhyming poetry at the scene of his crimes. Below is a sample of his poetry that he left at a robbery in 1877, with a slight, germane, editorial modification:

I’ve labored long and hard for (wine and) bread,
For honor, and for riches,
But on my corns too long you’ve tread,
You fine-haired sons of bitches.
 
— Black Bart, 1877.

Fortunately for all of us, highway robbery is now practiced by a better class of erudite individuals.

This wine has a black ruby-red hue, aromas of sweet black and blue berries, with whiffs of spicy herbs and earth, producing an enjoyable, full-bodied, long finish. It exhibits a powerful but balanced and delightful taste of chewy tannins and fruit. Perhaps a tad heavy by itself, better if served with a medium rare rib-eye.

An outstanding wine. Decant and aerate for at least one hour.

$19.38  wine-searcher.com