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

2007 Zaràfa Pinotage

After being introduced to Pinotage by a South African friend who also happens to be one of the Livermore Valley's finer wine makers, we have been on the hunt for a bottle as good as she makes for her own consumption. We found the 2006 Zaràfa enjoyable and a good bargain, even if it was not up to the quality of Mrs. Nolte's wine, so when Trader Joe's got the 2007 in we went for it. (note that the Southern hemisphere harvests their grapes in January)

I opened this bottle to accompany some prawns and asparagus that SG had cooked for dinner.

The presentation is OK. It comes in a Bordeaux bottle. It's a critter wine with the Girraffe on the label (one can assume that Zaràfa is Afrikaans for the beast), but that serves to hide the vintner (Mt. River) which is only mentioned in the small print. It did have a cheap plastic capsule covering an amalgamated cork (which left no tattoo of course). It sprayed wine when the cork was pulled.

It had a clean, pale, colour with fresh fruit on the nose.

After the swirl we got legs on one side of the glass, and a dirty taste with a slight hint of vinegar.

I ran it through the Vinturi and the colour got brighter, but the flavour got tart. I forwent the vinturi for the actual drinking.

The Verdict:

This wine was about $3 a bottle so with it being drinkable it makes an excellent value.

Style:	Afrikaner
Varietals:	Pinotage
Appellation/Terrior:	Western Cape
Vintage:	2007
Vintner:	Mountain River
Alcohol:	14% by Volume

NV Louis Roederer Brut Premier Champagne

This bottle was brought over by our friends Tom and Kris to celebrate the New year.

The presentation is OK. Neither label gives much more than the French legals, and the website is so difficult to navigate that I gave up (Death to those that over use flash!) The bottle also bears QEII's seal; so apparently they serve this bubbly at Buckingham Palace.

It comes in a Champagne bottle, with a composite cork typical of sparkling wines.

It gave a resounding pop as it opened. Quite satisfactory. It was chock full of micro sized bubbles that streamed non-stop from the centre of the flute. Smelled like Almonds and tasted like apples. Despite being a Brut, It tasted sweet. The colour was almost clear. Kris, like me, doesn't much like sparkling wines, but she liked this one.

The Verdict:

Typical Champagne, if higher quality than I am used to

Style:	Champagne
Varietals:	Pinot Noir, Chardonay, Pinot Meunier
Appellation/Terrior:	Reims
Vintage:	NV
Vintner:	Roederer
Alcohol:	12% by Volume

2003 Mountain River Pinotage/Shiraz Reserve

SaraGrace bought this bottle over the summer when we first discovered the joys of Pinotage.

The presentation is good. The rear label gives some decent info. It comes in a Zin bottle.

I didn't get to see the cork as SGK popped it open before I came home and disposed of it.

It had a bright lively colour.

Lots of earth and brandy on the nose.

After a completely and utterly legless swirl, I got berries and leather.

It tasted dirty and full bodied. I liked it. The body reminded me of a Rhône blend.

I put it through the Vinturi and it brought purple and blood to the colour and more berries on the nose. It also removed the dirt from the flavour and replaced it with prunes. I prefer the dirt, so even though it improved the colour, the rest of the bottle got swilled sans vinturi. SG didn't like it because she thought it tasted tart.

The Verdict:

I liked it

Style:	Afrikaner
Varietals:	Pinotage, Sirah
Appellation/Terrior:	WO Western Cape, South Africa
Vintage:	2004
Vintner:	Mountain River
Alcohol:	14% by Volume

2004 Schramsberg Blanc De Noir Brut

SaraGrace bought this bottle for the holidays. With the yumminess of the Malvasia Bianca in mind she wanted to try something new.

The presentation is great. The tasting notes are excellent. It comes in a clear Champagne bottle. The label gives more than the legal minimum with details on production (Méthode Champenoise, barrel fermented, etc.) and grape mixture. There is appellation listed as this cuvée comes from several appellations. It is distressing though that they did not at least list California - leads one to believe that more than 15% of the grapes come from elsewhere.

It had an composite cork typical of sparkling wines. The cork showed 1/8 inch penetration.

It had a colour reminiscent of a Chardonay with a like nose. Teensey bubbles.

It had a crisp slightly sweet anise flavour. After pouring a full flute, I got an almost cheesy taste on inhaling the CO2; but that could have been the pizza in the oven.

The Verdict:

OK, but I'm not a bubbly fan

Style:	Champagne
Varietals:	Pinot Noir, Chardonay
Appellation/Terrior:	None
Vintage:	2004
Vintner:	Schramsberg
Alcohol:	15% by Volume

NV Stony Ridge California Malvasia Bianca

We bought this bottle of bubbly at the Crooked Vine tasting room which is co-located with Stony Ridge. It was an unusual purchase as we don't usually buy bubblies, but it was unusual in that the grape Malvasia Bianca is not a normal component in a sparkling wine, and it tasted wonderful.

The presentation is OK. It comes in a Champagne bottle. The label gives the legal minimum. There is no indication anywhere on the bottle of when either the grapes were grown or when it was put bottled. With a non-vintage wine you typically will see the range of years "hidden" on the label somewhere indicating when the grapes were grown to differentiate it from the non-vintage bottlings of other years. This is not so with his particular wine. The only way to tell is to see the tasting notes. The cherub on the label is nice, but doesn't do the original (carved in a giant cask in their tasting room) justice.

It had an composite cork typical of sparkling wines.

It had a golden colour and cinnamon on the nose.

The Verdict:

My favorite sparkling wine.

Style:	Champagne
Varietals:	Malvasia Bianca
Appellation/Terrior:	California
Vintage:	NV (2005)
Vintner:	Stony Ridge
Alcohol:	12% by Volume

1993 Stag's Leap Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

I bought this bottle in 1998 as a gift to my mother. She decided to crack it open Christmas eve.

The presentation is good. It comes in a Bordeaux bottle. The label gives the legal minimum and an explanation of Stag's leaps different Cabernets. The atypical rack on the eponymous stag shown on the label is quite attractive.

It had a real cork with ¼ inch penetration. The wet end of the cork was black and it broke with the pressure from the corkscrew. It left a shit brown tattoo. The condition of the cork is indicative of the storage conditions for this bottle. It was only last year that my mother got a proper cellar, so it's not surprising that this bottle is showing more than its 14 years. The ullage (fill level; indicative of air exchange through the cork) was still at a respectable base neck level, so I was not too worried that the wine had spoiled.

The wine itself had a rich tawney colour and brandy like aromas. I smelled tea. A legless swirl brings sweetness to the nose, not unlike a port.

It tasted like a rich beef stew. There was some sediment in my glass, and around the neck of the bottle were small flecks of tannin. Phyliss smelled chocolate.

The Verdict:

Given the storage conditions we should have opened this wine a few years ago, but it was still very drinkable.

Style:	Bordeaux
Varietals:	Cabernet Sauvignon
Appellation/Terrior:	Napa Valley, California
Vintage:	2004
Vintner:	Stag's Leap
Alcohol:	13.8% by Volume
Price:	Don't remember