2005 Rosenblum Monterosso Reserve Zinfandel

This was from one of our wine club shipments. It's marked as a "Reserve" which at Rosenblum means that one would normally have a tasting fee associated with this wine.

The presentation is OK. It comes in a Bordeaux bottle, with a foil capsule and a fake cork.

It was a beautiful ruby colour. Before i could even sniff my glass, My mother-in-law had taken a sip and pronounced it sweet. Now, Helen is not a big wine drinker, and what she interprets as sweet is the fruit forward nature of this wine. It tastes like Jam, and Jam (in a jar) is sweet, therefore to Helen this wine is sweet.
The fruitful nose confirms this to be the case.

A swirl gives a thin sheen on the interior of my glass that devolves into legs down the near side of the glass. It also dirtied up the colour somewhat, and added some rubber to the nose.

The taste starts with cherries and ends up with cranberries. I anticipate that more dirt flavours would emerge as the wine oxidized; but it was so good right now that it never got a chance to.

The Verdict:

Awesome

Style:	Zinfandel
Varietals:	Zinfandel
Appellation/Terrior:	Monte Rosso Vineyard, Sonoma Valley, California
Vintage:	2005
Vintner:	Diageo
Alcohol:	15.2% by Volume

Battle of the Rhône's

So I wanted to see how close one of the prominent "Rhône Rangers" of California could come to an honest-to-god French Rhône wine, so I hopped on down to Nob Hill and bought a Rosenblum Château La Paws Côte Du Bone Roan and the only Appellation Côtes du Rhône Contrôlée that they stocked - a Cellier des Dauphins Prestige Côtes du Rhône.

Presentation

Closure

Dauphins: The plastic capsule encased a synthetic cork that left no tattoo.
Rosenblum: The foil capsule enclosed a synthetic cork that also left no tattoo.

Bottle

Dauphins: Squat, lightweight, puntless pale green bottle. Not in the Rhône shape, but with an embossment that is typical of Rhône bottles.
Rosenblum: Traditional y shaped Rhône bottle in a heavy, dark green glass and a deep punt.

Labeling

Dauphins: Typical French labeling; no indication of what varietals are in the wine, only what varietals might be in the wine, and then only if you memorized the AOC rule list.
Rosenblum: Rear label gives varietals, but not ratios. Some tasting notes provided.

Website

Dauphins:Their English language version of the site for this wine is targeted at the UK market, and it's not clear if the wine is the same in both markets. The UK info is good - even giving pounds of fruit used in fermentation.
Rosenblum: Detailed PDF that expands upon what is on the rear label

The Tasting

Initially, both wines smell very similar, after a swirl the Dauphins came out on top with more earthy smells in the aroma. The Rosenblum had a richer colour. The Rosenblum had a classic syrah burnt rubber on the tongue, but over all the Dauphins was better balanced (this is supposed to be a blend, not a Syrah dominated wine), and improved over the hours sitting in my glass. After leaving both wines overnight, the Dauphins was still better than the Rosenblum which got a little sour.

The Verdict:

While neither is great; The French wine wins.

Vintner:	Cellier des Dauphins
Style:	Rhône
Varietals:	Grenache, Syrah, Cinsaut, Carignane, Counoise, Mourvèdre
Appellation/Terrior:	Appellation Côtes du Rhône Contrôlée, France
Vintage:	2005
Alcohol:	13% by Volume
Vintner:	Rosenblum
Style:	Rhône
Varietals:	Carignane, Syrah, Zinfandel, Mourvèdre
Appellation/Terrior:	California
Vintage:	2005
Alcohol:	14.9% by Volume

2004 Rosenblum Rhodes Vineyard Petite Sirah

This bottle cam as part of my Red Rangers wine club.

The presentation is good. It comes in a Rhône bottle with an amalgamated synthetic cork. The label gives decent info, and the tasting notes more so.

It has a purple lipstick colour with lots of fruit on the nose. The legs fell in a single sheet, breaking up in the last ¼ inch. Lots of leather.

The Verdict:

Dirty, Thick, and beautiful

Style:	Rhône
Varietals:	Petite Sirah, Syrah
Appellation/Terrior:	Rhodes Vineyard, Redwood Valley AVA, California
Vintage:	2007
Vintner:	Rosenblum
Alcohol:	15.7% by Volume

Rosenblum Red Rangers

Rosenblum has two tasting rooms - one in wine country and the other at the winery in Alameda CA, less than 2 miles as the crow flies from my front door. It was founded by a hobbiest, Veterinarian Kent Rosenblum and has evolved into a good sized operation with about 50 single vineyard wines. Rosenblums wines are what is refered to as "Fruit Bombs" by most aficianados. It's a style well adapted to Mataro, Petite Syrah and Zinfandel but IMHO less well adapted to the other Rhône, Burgundy, and Bordeaux varietals that the good Dr. makes.

Rosenblum's wine club is slightly different in their wine club memberships; most winery's offer a Whites only, a Reds only or a mixed club. Rosenblum offers 3 clubs as well; Premier, Red Rangers, Explorer's Club. The difference primarily lies in your commitment: Monthly, Bimonthly or Quarterly.

The club gives a less than stellar 10% discount and complimentary tastings.

They also promise admission to the annual club party and BBQ.

We joined this club for two reasons:

• They are close - Every time Rosenblum changes what they pour in the tasting room we can easily drop by and taste it for free. And when you like The Good Doctor's style of wines, that's a big deal.
• The party - The wine club BBQ is a much heralded Alameda event.

The Verdict:

We like their wine enough for reason #1 to be almost enough to keep us as members; and as they have not had the BBQ since we've become members; we'll see if reason #2 is enough to throw it over the top come June.

2004 Rosenblum Redwood Valley Annette's Reserve Zin

We bought this wine when we dropped by the vineyard to pick up our club shipment. Pam was working the tasting room and as usual knew exactly what I like.

This Zin is more transparent in colour than most of the good Doctor's wines, with a browner tinge than you would expect from a young wine like this one, with a hint of sediment. It had legs even before the swirl, so it promised to be big!

This wine had the aroma of pluots that I have come to associate with Rosenblum. There were also hints of cinnamon. It tasted of plums, apricots, chocolate, chocolate and chocolate some more. Very tasty. There is a pucker of tannin that follows a full mouth gargle, and nutmegs on the finish.

We had this wine with left-over Indian food (dahl bhat and chicken makanwala). Who says that whites go better with Asian food? This Zin held up to the complex flavours of an Indian curry with bells on. I would say that it went better with this curry than the '99 Pacini went with the Kobe beef.

The presentation was good. It came in a Bordeaux bottle with an agglomerated synthetic cork. The back label gives some info, and the tasting notes give more.

The Verdict:

Yum. Glad I bought two. Want more.

Style:	Zinfandel
Varietals:	Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Carignane
Appellation/Terrior:	Redwood Valley, California
Vintage:	2004
Vintner:	Rosenblum
Alcohol:	15.5% by Volume
Price:	$28.55

2004 Rosenblum Rockpile Petite Sirah

We bought this wine the day before my wife left for Florida and she's been bugging me to drink it since. I wanted to cellar it up for a while; but she won :-) and last night we hickory smoked a tri-tip and opened her up.

This wine has a colour reminiscent of Welch's grape juice; indeed after the swirl you even get the persistent bubbles in the meniscus just like you do with Welch's, and my glass acquired a purplish pink colour from the swirl.
The initial nose was of apricots. After the swirl the nose opened up to cherries.
My first taste was thick and dry. Typical of Rosenblum, it was jammy (how do you get dry jam?).

After a half hour, the cherries joined the apricots on the palate. I suspect this wine is unfiltered because of the little cinnamon-like sparkles of sediment that collected in the bottom of my glass.

This was a fun wine to drink - leaving my wife with a purple clown smile from the rim of her glass.

The presentation was good. It came in a traditional Rhône bottle with an agglomerated synthetic cork. The back label gives some info, and the tasting notes give more.

The Verdict:

It wasn't quite ready. This wine would benefit with more time in the cellar.

Style:	Rhône
Varietals:	Petite Sirah
Appellation/Terrior:	Rockpile, California
Vintage:	2004
Vintner:	Rosenblum
Alcohol:	16.0% by Volume
Price:	$39.15

Rosenblum Cellars' Alameda Tasting Room

I like tasting rooms. You can drink a little wine, get a feel for the style of the vintner, and learn more about how the wines you are drinking were affected by the methods of the winemaker. You can also usually get vintages not available elsewhere; indeed some winerys only sell their wine at their tasting rooms or to their club members.
There are 4 winerys that are easy to visit during a lunch break if you work in Alameda; with one in Alameda proper (there used to be 4 in Alameda itself; but they were co-located with Rosenblum and eventually had to move due to space restrictions). The one I'm going to write about today is the one in Alameda, Rosenblum Cellars.
Urban winerys like Rosenblum are at a disadvantage to those located amongst the vineyards in that most people don't go looking for a tasting room located in an industrial complex, (and they also can't produce estate wines; but that's a different topic) And Rosenblum is no different; you would never expect it to be where it is.
The tasting room itself is upstairs overlooking the big receiving area, and is open to it. It simultaneously feels cozy and airy - a difficult thing to do. I have been there twice now; once midweek at lunch time and then again on a Saturday. The weekday tasting was definitely the better of the two; we were the only ones in the tasting room and therefore got to monopolize the time of the pourer. It also helped that we came on a day when they were changing the wines available in the tasting room; as we got to taste twice as much wine.
I returned on the Saturday because Rosenblum's website said that they offer tours at 1:00 and 3:00. Upon arrival, the tasting room was filled to overflowing with people spilled into the receiving area (with additional tables set up to service them). And no tours. They should remove the mention of a tour from their website as the lady pouring our wine said that they do not do tours when it's crowded; which is every weekend.
My other negative comment is that their weekday tastings hours are 11:00-6:00; this does not leave much time to drop in after work. You would think given their location at the ferry terminal, that staying open after work would attract a few commuters?

The $5.00 tasting fee is free to club members.

The Verdict

It's a good tasting room. There is a larger number of wines being poured than most; and you can look at thier website to see what is being poured before you even go in.

2003 Rosenblum Base Camp Syrah

When I last went to Rosenblum for a tasting; they were not pouring the Base Camp Syrah. I was attracted to it though, as it was an older vintage (for a Rosenblum), and Santa Barbara IMHO produces California's best Syrahs. It didn't hurt that it was discounted either; $14.00 is a great deal for any Santa Barbara Syrah.

The presentation was good. It came in a typical Rhône bottle. It had a real cork, which is a departure for Rosenblum, which usually features agglomerated synthetic corks.

The labeling was fair - all the necessary information is present (Vintage, Vintner, Terrior, Varietal, and Booze content) but not much more.

It was leggy, and the nose was full of jam, which is unusual for a Syrah.
The flavours brought out chocolate cacao. My friend Stephanie said it tastes like a desert wine. This wine begs the question: Why jam in a Syrah? Jam is usually reserved for Zins or Petites; in other words bigger grapes that don't get overwhelmed by the fruit. That said I liked it.

The Verdict:

While the Jam overwhelmed the "Rhoneness" of a Syrah; I went back to the winery today and bought more.

Style:	Rhône
Varietals:	Syrah
Appellation/Terrior:	Santa Barbara, California
Vintage:	2003
Vintner:	Rosenblum Cellars
Alcohol:	14.9% by Volume
Price:	$14.69

2004 Rosenblum San Francisco Bay Zin

I bought this bottle when I went to the lunchtime tasting with some friends from work. Rosenblum only had splits left at the winery, so that's what I ended up with. I figured that being splits, that they would be perfect for my wife to take with her to Florida next week.

Alas, last Friday I was possessed by Bacchus and he needed an extra glass of wine, so I drank this bottle immediately after the three Trinitas wines (of the past three posts), and my wife fell asleep while watching Star Wars, (causing me to finish the split) so I was a little lit when I made my notes :-)

A typical Rosenblum, meaning it's a little on the young side, but it was good never the less. The presentation was good; the split bottle was Bordeaux style, but hey it's a split. It had an agglomerated synthetic cork that left a tattoo on the webbing between my thumb and forefinger, showing great sedimentation.

The labeling was good - all the necessary information is present (Vintage, Vintner, Terrior, Varietal, and Booze content) and in the right places. The tasting notes on Rosenblum's web site give much more information, with datum down to the vineyards and personal history of the growers. That's the type of information that I like to see; too bad there's no room on the label for it.

I don't remember any legs (I was buzzing remember?) but, given the high alcohol content of this wine I assume that there must have been. It tasted of blueberry jam.

The Verdict:

I enjoyed this wine, and will certainly try the other split when I'm sober enough to give it a proper evaluation. Bacchus sure liked it, and at about $17.00 a (split adjusted) bottle this is a good buy, and should prove excellent in a few more months.

Style:	Zinfandel
Varietals:	Zinfandel, Petite Sirah
Appellation/Terrior:	San Francisco Bay, California
Vintage:	2004
Vintner:	Rosenblum Cellars
Alcohol:	15.6% by Volume
Price:	$8.16 (split)

2005 Rosenblum Heritage Clone Petite Sirah

Wednesday at lunch some co-workers asked me if I wanted to join them for lunch at Rosenblum. It sounded like fun, so off we went. Little did I know that that lunch would be liquid only, but lots of fun was had.
Previous to this, my only exposure to Rosenblum's products had been at restaurants, and my company's informal monthly wine tasting events. My impressions there had been that every Rosenblum was young. What I found at the winery did not change that impression (indeed even the guy behind the counter agreed with me) - Rosenblum's releases all would benefit from another 8-18 months in the cellar. What did impress me is the gigantic selection of individual wines - Rosenblum makes an awfully large number of single vineyard vintages. They currently list 34 different 2004 wines for sale on their site. Wow. I am a big fan of single vineyard vintages - you get a much better feel for the terrior that way IMHO. The other thing that I like about Rosenblum is that they source a good number of their grapes from Oakley - and the flavours that the ancient vines in this region, combined with the earth and the sun and the river air of Oakley impart to a wine make it amongst the yummiest terriors I know of.

I would normally not drink a wine this young, but the tasting room left me craving more.

The presentation was good. It came in a typical Rhône bottle. It had an agglomerated synthetic cork.
The labeling was fair - all the necessary information is present (Vintage, Vintner, Terrior, Varietal, and Booze content) but in odd places and sometimes inconsistent; for instance the booze and appellation are both listed on the rear label - and the appellation is listed as San Francisco Bay, but the verbiage states "...from Napa and Sonoma to the base of Mt. Diablo." I'll give you that Oakley is at the base of Mt. Diablo, and within the San Francisco Bay AVA; but Napa and Sonoma are not - and given the listing of the San Francisco Bay appellation, grapes from Napa and Sonoma combined can only make up less than 15% of the fruit used in making the wine, so why list it? The only reason I can think of to do so is to market this wine to consumers who have no clue about wine regions outside of Napa; but then again with this wine only available at the winery - are they likely to get any consumers like that?


There were some legs, the nose was medium, and oh what a body! It had the body of a desert wine, and was extremely yummy. With a colour like purple lipstick, this is a wine full of fruit. Plums and Mangoes. Pomegranate and Blackberry. If this wine was a jam, it would be awesome spread upon a scone with or without clotted cream.

The Verdict:

With the discount that I got at purchase time (I joined their wine club) it is highly worth it. This wine is wonderful now, will be superb at Thanksgiving and truly great next year.

Style:	Rhône
Varietals:	Petite Sirah
Appellation/Terrior:	Oakley (San Francisco Bay), California
Vintage:	2005
Vintner:	Rosenblum Cellars
Alcohol:	14.4% by Volume
Price:	$14.69