2004 John Evan "The Petran" Petite Sirah

Last summer SGK and I spent quite a bit of time exploring the Livermore AVA for good wineries. One of the ones we discovered Big White House. We were impressed with the enthusiasm of the wine maker, John Evans The Younger. Big White House has two labels - Big White House and John Evans. There is a third label that shares the tasting room; El Sol. We have been back to this tasting room many times, but during our first visit there, we did a barrel tasting of some of the futures, and this bottle came from that lot.

The presentation is outstanding. It comes in a heavy Rhône bottle, with a hand-dipped wax capsule and the front label is an original piece of artwork by the wine maker's sister of the entrance to Petra. The real cork was even specific to this wine as it was imprinted "The Petran"

Now, both the fact that this is a brand new release, and the packaging includes a real heavy bottle sealed in Wax indicates to me that John intends for this wine to be put down for a while. We fully intend on putting down the other 11 bottles, we just couldn't wait to try this one.

The cork left no tattoo, but as I know this wine was bottled only a month or so ago, I did not expect one.

The initial colour was like dried blood - I would normally expect that in an older, bottle aged wine just past it's peak. There were lots of fermentation smells on the nose.
Give it a swirl and you do get deeper purply colour that one associates with a Petite Sirah. The swirl also brought some fruit to the nose, but not what I've come to expect from a big Petite Sirah. This guy's got some tannins and tastes real big.
It's got a "pebble in the pond" pattern to the legs that's really cool to look at.
I ran some through The Vinturi, which brings out the red, softens the nose and best of all , infuses the flavour with nice earthy tones.

We served this Chicken Pasta Diavola. The big taste balanced the spice in the Calabrese dish wonderfully. This is not your normal Petite.

The Verdict:

It was good now, but I'll respect John and cellar the rest for a while.

Style:	Rhône
Varietals:	Petite Sirah
Appellation/Terrior:	Clarksburg, California
Vintage:	2004
Vintner:	Big White House
Alcohol:	14.5% 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

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 St. Francis Sonoma Old Vines Zinfandel

This is the third bottle we opened up on Friday night. It was one of the Costco mixed case bunch.

This wine had a rich burgundy colour with peaches on the nose. The fruit smell was not strong enough to hide the alcohol smell from the 15.5% in this bad boy. As the high booze content would suggest, this wine was anything but legless.
On the tongue I got plums and chocolate. I was surprised again that this "Costco special" would be as pleasing as it was; but then again perhaps I'm just addicted to zins...
Later on in the evening a distinct buzz had been achieved and a second glass gave me a nose that was close to the burnt rubber you get in a syrah - and I thought I could taste it too. Another tasting the next evening banished that note as a delusional drunk thought as it was as good on the second day as it was on the first.

The presentation was good. It came in a proper Zin bottle with a synthetic cork. The back label gives some info, and the tasting notes, while for a previous vintage, at least give what they mean by "old vines".

The Verdict:

I would buy more, and would like to try their other Zins.

Style:	Zinfandel
Varietals:	Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet
Appellation/Terrior:	Sonoma, California
Vintage:	2004
Vintner:	St. Francis
Alcohol:	15.5% by Volume
Price:	$18.65

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

2002 Kunde Estate Zin

This is the second of three bottles that we opened up for the Venison BBQ on Wednesday. It is a wine that I picked up at Safeway earlier this year. What attracted me to it was again the 2002 year - wines at Safeway don't usually get that old, and 2002 was a bitchin' year for zin.

This is an estate wine, which legally only means that the vintner owns the vineyard and fermented and aged the wine on the premises. Since the perceived value of estate (amongst those that do not know what it means) is high, plonk makers over use it. On the flip side, at a family run vineyard (as the photo of the Kunde family on the label attests to) this usually means wine from their house, so they are more careful with it (which was the original point of the estate designation on American labels).

The presentation was good. It came with a real cork in a Rhône coloured Bordeaux bottle, with no data on the label. The reason this rates better than an OK is the tasting notes are fantastically detailed.

The wine opened to a big fruity jammy nose full of raspberries. Mmm mmm. The first sip gave a fruit taste with a hint of charcoal. Subsequent sips were predominantly blackberries. There were legs all over the place.
Doug called it big but not monster and claimed a smokey finish.

The Verdict:

Oh Yea. Loved it. Bought the last 14 bottles at Safeway. Liked it enough that I would like to visit Kunde and taste some of their block designated wines.

Style:	Zinfandel
Varietals:	Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Grenache, Mourvèdre
Appellation/Terrior:	Sonoma, California
Vintage:	2002
Vintner:	Kunde
Alcohol:	14.1% by Volume
Price:	$17.39

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)

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

A Trinity of Trinitas: Trinitas 2004 Old Vine Cuvée

My mother, her girlfriend and another friend all showed up on Friday night 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 second bottle of those three. Read yesterday's post for the first.

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. This wine is a piece of California history - reading the blend of grapes in this puppy is like pulling layers of history off of California's plantings. I would love to believe that this is a field blend of grapes from vineyards that have evolved over the centuries (19th, 20th and 21st).

I am very glad that I had cow on the BBQ as one sip and swirl was enough to see that this wine was meant for beef. The tri-tip was on indirect heat with dried lavender thrown onto the coals to generate smoke (sort of an "Herbs de Provence" smoker) and the lavender really complemented the wine. By accident I ended up with a superior pairing.

The presentation was good. It came in a Rhône bottle; but then this wine is a rather odd blend of Provençal; Rhône; and Zinfandel 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. 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.) Oddly, Trinitas has chosen less-used names for two of their grapes; Mataro for Mourvèdre and Black Malvoise for Pinot Noir.

There were some good legs, and a nose full of jelly. The colour was a brilliant burgundy. This is truly a heritage wine; the richness of the old vines really shines through.

The Verdict:

Awesome for accompanying smoked meat a BBQ. Well drinkable at other occasions as well. at less than $20 if you are having meat - buy it. I am planning my next BBQ now just so I have an excuse to drink my next bottle of this superior vintage.

Style:	Heritage
Varietals:	Zinfandel, Mourvèdre, Carignane, Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet, Pinot Noir
Appellation/Terrior:	Contra Costa County, California
Vintage:	2004
Vintner:	Trinitas
Alcohol:	14.0% by Volume
Price:	$15.66

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