2005 Big White House Mourvèdre

I fell in love with the not so common Rhône varietal Mourvèdre a while back under the Californian name of "Mataro". While I liked that one, it is the one made by young John Evans that really gets me going. I first bought this wine (2 bottles) on my first visit to Big White House in May of 2007, then again (3 bottles) when we stopped by for a picnic three months later, and last week decided that I couldn't live without more so bought out John's last inventory (13 bottles) that's not slated for his library.

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

The label was faded - which to me would normally indicate that the wine had been stored in the sun (a distinct no-no), but in this case I watched John label them in front of me after pulling them from the back of his warehouse, so it was the label that sat in the sun, not the bottle in this case. The rear label includes what appears to be a description of the 2004 Mourvèdre; not sure if this is a typo or a mislabeling - and the cave dog's email box if full, so until I return to the winery, we won't know.

It had a pale colour, and was stereotypically sour on the nose. Sour in a good way.

The swirl gave legs galore, with a distinctive Mataro smell. Sour dirty leather, or perhaps leathery dirt. The sour evoked citrus to my wife. She says lemony, I say awesome. It makes me crave salami.

Sour plums. Saw dust. Leather, leather, leather. Awesome Mourvèdre.

I made the mistake of pouring some in my pasta sauce. I should have drank it instead. As a matter of fact, I stole my wife's glass and finished it before she could stop me.

The Verdict:

One of my all time favorite wines

Style:	Rhône
Varietals:	Mourvèdre
Appellation/Terrior:	Davis Vineyard, Lodi, California
Vintage:	2005
Vintner:	Big White House
Alcohol:	14.8% by Volume
Price:	$22.00

2005 Cline Ancient Vines Contra Costa Zinfandel

This wine was one of the mixed case we picked up at Costco about a year ago. We chose it because Matt Cline is the winemaker at our favorite house of Zin - Trinitas.

This was the 1st bottle of the 3 I had with Mandy when she came to visit. An '05 is a little on the young side, but I was scraping for something to drink that would not upset my wife. That damn diet again! I figured that if this was outstanding that being a Cline it would be easy to replace.

The presentation was excellent. It came in a traditional Zinfandel bottle. I'm not sure what the 3¢ stamp on the label is supposed to signify, but as it's canceled with an Oakley postmark my guess would be that it has something to do with the acquisition of Cline's Oakley vineyards. The front label has the legals, and the rear contains some good supporting info like Cline's definition of Ancient (80-100 years), why you should care that the grapes are that old, tasting notes, and terrior. They even declare where the minority of the grapes come from (Lodi) which they do not have to do with a County designated wine like this one.

Cline's website is excellent. It gives great info on their vineyards, practices, and history. The tasting notes are also similarly detailed.

It was stoppered with a real cork that left no tattoo. Given the youth of the wine, I was not surprised at the lack of sediment that this implies.

It had a good colour, but was more translucent than I would expect given the varietal and age of the vines.

Initial nose was charcoal and anise.

The swirl yielded a single leg; unusual as with the 14½% ABV I would expect more. The swirl also brought dark fruit to the nose, but none at all on the taste.

After a few minutes open, I did get a hint of fruit. More with every sip, but I don't think It will ever yield any Jam.

I decided to decant it, and we all headed out to Rosenblum for a tasting whilst the Cline breathed in the decanter. Upon our return, it had indeed opened up better, gaining a meaty texture like a mushroom. More fruit. SaraGrace got Cherry's and Plums, and Mandy said it was "Yummy".

I do have another bottle, and I will hold it for at least a year, if not more and probably decant it the morning of the day I plan on drinking it.

The Verdict:

Not as full flavoured as an old vine zin should be. This wine also suffers from being sold to young. It will age to be at least a good wine, but by the time I can tell if it will be outstanding, there will no longer be any available for purchase.

Style:	Zinfandel
Varietals:	Zinfandel, Alicante Bouschet, Carignane
Appellation/Terrior:	Contra Costa County, California
Vintage:	2005
Vintner:	Cline
Alcohol:	14.5% by Volume
Price:	$18.00SRP

2004 Rodney Strong Knotty Vines Sonoma Zinfandel

This is the second bottle we opened up on Friday night. We had bought this about a year and a half ago at Costco as a part of a mixed case; most of which were Zinfandels that the vintners had claimed were "old vine". As there is no governance over the use of "old vine" you have to take any vintners claim to old vines with some sceptiscism. Old to one vintner may mean 20 years, whilst anything under 80 to another is young. Fortunately, Mr. Strong dates his vines on the rear label - at least some of them come from 100 year old vines.

Mr. Strong also claims "Estate" on the label - in this case it's a meaningless claim because Mr. Strong's estate is non-contiguous and in several different AVA's.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this wine as I usually don't expect an excellent wine from a vintner of this size.

The colour was almost as purple as a Petite Sirah (but then again it could be that my glass was still stained from the Petite we had just finished). The nose had white pepper on it and the first taste was of black currants. MMMmmmm.

My wife got citrus on the nose and apples on the tongue. I couldn't get the citrus even after an additional swirl, but after she mentioned it I got both apples and pears on the palette.
By the end of the bottle, I was getting concord grapes sans-fox and SaraGrace was getting lemons.


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

The Verdict:

I would buy more and drink it now.

Style:	Zinfandel
Varietals:	Zinfandel
Appellation/Terrior:	Sonoma, California
Vintage:	2004
Vintner:	Rodney Strong
Alcohol:	14.5% by Volume
Price:	$18.45

2001 Villa Encantado Sonoma Dolcetto

This was yet another Wine Shop at Home wine. Villa Encantado (Spanish for enchanted villa) is actually a private label produced by Viansa in Sonoma (not to be confused with the vintner in Solvang).

Dolcetto is Italian for sweetling. And this wine is indeed sweet. It had a cherry nose and a light red colour more reminiscent of a rosé than a red; indeed this wine might even taste good <aghast>chilled</aghast>. No; seriously this Dolcetto is so light and fruity that it goes down like Kool-Aide on a hot summer day. It's as smooth as a wine cooler.

The presentation was good. It came with a real cork in a traditional bottle. While the label was weak in the information they give; they get bonus points for the bottle as it's unusual. The cork was literally encrusted with crystals.

The Verdict:

I bought more.

Style:	Italian
Varietals:	Dolcetto
Appellation/Terrior:	Sonoma, California
Vintage:	2001
Vintner:	Viansa"
Alcohol:	11.2% by Volume
Price:	$18.39

2002 Pura Vida Howell Mountain Zin

Like the last wine was an example of the good side of wine clubs; this wine is an example of the downside. It was part of our Wine Shop at Home shipment for March, and turns out to be a custom label second.

Custom labels, or vanity labels make popular gifts; frequently real estate agents or other personal service professionals will have some made up to give as thanks to their clients. Or perhaps you got married at a winery and wanted to give your guest a gift of your own "personal" wine. There's really nothing wrong with custom labels, except that they are rarely better than average.

What makes me believe that this is a custom label wine is that:

1. There is no URL on the bottle
2. Googling for Pura Vida returns no winery
3. On the bottle it says "Cellared and Bottled by Terroir Napa Valley Wines"
4. On the Terroir Napa Valley Wines web site they do not list the Pura Vida Label
5. And the Wine Shop at Home resells custom labels straight from their web site.

I opened this bottle to accompany some BBQ venison tenderloin steaks. It had a light colour, like a pinot. First sniff gave me charcoal, shortly followed by fruit. very skinny legs only presented themselves at the end of the drain. Then a re-sniff gave me apricots and cherries.
The taste was light with definite oak. It had a boozy finish.
After the first 1/2 glass, I let it sit while I attended to the steaks.

The wine improved slightly with the accompanying meat. It aquired a smokey flavour.
The glass I had after dinner showed the spice and oak I expect from a cab. Why ruin a Zin with Bordeaux flavours???? It also did not open well as it acquired a slightly sour if not bitter taste after breathing in the bottle for a couple of hours.

The presentation was ok. It came with a real cork in a Bordeaux bottle, with no extra data on the label. The tasting notes that accompanied it gave good information about an AVA that I am not familiar with (Howell Mountain), but little about this wine in particular.

The Verdict:

Not so bad I wouldn't cook with it. Should be a $7 bottle of wine.

Style:	Bordeaux
Varietals:	Zinfandel
Appellation/Terrior:	Howell Mt., California
Vintage:	2002
Vintner:	Terroir Napa Valley Wines
Alcohol:	15.2% by Volume
Price:	$18.39

2004 Steele Catfish Zin

The wife and kids left for Florida on Tuesday, which gives me the chance to BBQ up some venison that I've had in the freezer for a while now (The wife won't eat Bambi), so I had my friend Doug bring over some salad and jerk sauce for the deer and popped open a bottle of Catfish to sip on while the coals got hot.

Catfish is Steele's signature Zin. It's a field blend of century old Zinfandel and whatever else was planted to replace dying vines in the last 100 years. This particular Catfish came in my wine club shipment. When I was last in Kelseyville I bought the 2003 Catfish so was eager to try this one.

The 2004 Catfish is superior to the 2003. It had a much better balance. Thick legs with a beet red colour. The nose was weak enough that I actually snorted some before I could smell it. There was no presence of jam. The great balance in this wine overcame all of this, and it was very enjoyable.

The presentation was great. It came in a proper Zin bottle, stoppered with a real cork. The catfish intertwined into Steele's regular stained glass logo is nice. The rear label gives a great overview of the wine, and the tasting notes give you even more.

The Verdict:

I enjoyed it. Doug really liked it. $20 is a very fair price for this wine.

Style:	Zinfandel
Varietals:	Zinfandel, Merlot, Carignane, Alicante Bouschet, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, others
Appellation/Terrior:	Clear Lake, California
Vintage:	2004
Vintner:	Steele
Alcohol:	13.5% by Volume
Price:	$20.01

2005 David Bruce Central Coast Pinot

The weather in Alameda has been fantastic this last couple of weeks, so much so that we're running out of meat to grill on the barbie. Yesterday when my wife was out buying Kobe beef, pork loins, and other choice smokeables she also picked up a bottle of Pinot on the recommendation of someone at Costco who claimed it to be "chewy" (As in gum; not Wookie).

Now, I'm not normally a Pinot fan, as they tend to lack the fruit and body of my preferred wines (I like my jam) but on a hot day, a light wine is appreciated. and this one was light and airy. I drank it like kool-aid, so it's good that it was also lower in booze content than I'm used to or else I'd of got sploshed.

The presentation was OK; it came in a Burgundy bottle with a painting of David and Goliath. The label lacks any data whatsoever except that required by law. They loose points for that one. The website also has nothing. Obviously Mr. Bruce is trying to market his wine on the quality of the artwork on the label. I don't usually drink wines this young either, but it's a good thing I did as it had an agglomerated natural cork; Which if you read my closure post, is bad news if you want to cellar your wine.

No legs, but I wouldn't expect any either. Now, Pinot usually tastes like grapes, and this wine was no exception, but it also had cranberries. Which is good. Don't take this the wrong way, but this is the wine that Ernest & Julio wanted drinkers of Hearty Burgundy to think they were getting.

The Verdict:

I enjoyed this wine, it's appropriate for a hot day. At $20 it's over priced. It's worth $10

Style:	Burgundy
Varietals:	Pinot Noir
Appellation/Terrior:	Central Coast, California
Vintage:	2005
Vintner:	David Bruce
Alcohol:	18.8% by Volume
Price:	$19.57

A Trinity of Trinitas: Trinitas 2003 Mataro

Last Friday; My mother, her girlfriend and another of her friends all showed up tonight for dinner. We BBQ-d a couple of tri-tips and needed some wine to accompany. Since my mother and her friends all live in Concord; I figured a selection of Contra Costa wines would be in order; so over the course of the evening we opened 3 different bottles from Trinitas. This is the third bottle of those three.

Trinitas is Matt Cline's Hobby vineyard. Matt is the wine maker for the largish vintner Cline (which owns a lot of vineyards in Oakley). He married a scion of the Jaccuzi family; Erin. The Trinitas label is a partnership between Matt and Erin and Busch and Rodeno families of Oakley. Their goal is to show off the terrior of heritage vineyards in Contra Costa County.

I bought this particular wine based upon my good experiences with their 2002 Bigelow Zin. I opened it without any idea what I was getting into.

The presentation was OK. It came in a Bordeaux bottle; but then this wine is a blend of Rhône; and Burgandy varietals so the bottle cannot be traditional. It came with a real cork.

The labeling was good - all the necessary information is present (Vintage, Vintner, Terrior, Varietal, and Booze content) and in the right places. Oddly, Trinitas has chosen less-used names for two of their grapes; Mataro for Mourvèdre and Black Malvoise for Pinot Noir. The rear label gives tasting notes and history of the region as well as the goal of the vintner; but does not hint at fermentation techniques oak? brix? punch down? etc.)

There were some legs, and a rich nose. The colour was brilliant. It tasted of strawberry jam followed by booze. The boozy taste makes me say that this wine is unbalanced, but it is good.

The Verdict:

I enjoyed this wine, but with the alcohol after taste am not sure I would choose another 2003 - When they release the 2004 though I will likely try it to see if 2003 was an exceptionally sugar rich harvest (accounting for the extra booze)

Style:	Meritage
Varietals:	Mourvèdre, Petite Sirah, Pinot Noir
Appellation/Terrior:	Contra Costa County, California
Vintage:	2003
Vintner:	Trinitas
Alcohol:	14.5% by Volume
Price:	$21.75

2002 Truchard Carneros Zin

Over a year ago my wife signed us up for The Wine Shop At Home, mainly because her good friend Meg was a consultant there, but also to get exposure to wines we wouldn't otherwise find. The Wine Shop At Home is an MLM company (if you want to learn more about MLM companies check out the great information at SaraGraces.com), so this also gave Meg an excuse to come out and visit us for a wine tasting party. Good fun.

The upside of The Wine Shop At Home is that we get 2 wines delivered to us each month (and 4 in December). Now, these wines are pretty hit and miss - as often as you get an excellent wine, you will get one that rates just fair. My biggest complaint though, is that most times the wines are on the young side, meaning that I cellar them and by the time they are ready, The Wine Shop At Home no longer carries it. Bummer. This is why any time we get one that does not suffer from excessive youth, we try it right away.

Since the Truchard was a 2002 it was definitely the right age for a Zin, so we popped it open.

The presentation was non-traditional. It came in a Bordeaux shaped bottle that was the brownish green typical for a Burgundy style wine. It did have a real cork. The labeling was fair - all the necessary information is present (Vintage, Vintner, Terrior, Varietal, and Booze content) but the information on the rear label was more about the colours they chose for the label than the techniques they used to create it.

The nose was not big, but the body was full of fruit. Pomegranate and plums. very nice, but lacked balance with the alcohol - you were left with a strong booze after taste. Colour was average, and unfortunately I did not note the legs because I was using a striated glass (my regular tasting glasses being all in the dishwasher at the time)

The Verdict:

Slightly overpriced. This is a $15 bottle of wine, and if you can find it for $12 It would classify as a good deal.

Style:	Zinfandel
Varietals:	Zinfandel
Appellation/Terrior:	Carneros, Napa, California
Vintage:	2002
Vintner:	Truchard
Alcohol:	14.2% by Volume
Price:	$18.89