This is a Shiraz, Cab, Merlot and Cab Franc blend.
This bottle was looking at me for a long time, not sure why I kept passing it up. Lets just say blueberry, blackberry come the closest. I wouldnt at this point decant at all.
We really liked this easy to drink shiraz, maybe are expectations were low. Either way it was enjoyed. Not going to put a rating on it, probably hard to find now. But dont let bottles go to waste wating on the perfect moment to open. We got lucky on this one, so dig around and pull out that bottle you saved. Cheers
2009 Sea Smoke Gratis Chardonnay
This has been a suprise! Came in the mail as a former club member. Why was I a member, Pinot of course. But wow is this an incredible Chard. Love the color nice medium yellow, great nose, not overly oaky at all. Just right. The acidity is low, the fruit is great. I have to say we loved drinking this wine.
OK, Sea Smoke known for Pinot. This Chard is a home run. The sad part is, its not for sale. Nope. Hence the name Gratis, so... Get a membership, go to Sea Smoke and search this one out.
On my scale of of gotta own and love to drink, a full 9 out of 10 here.
This has great fruit, black cherry, maybe some chocolate. A little
licorice too. It has a lot going on. The nose is beautiful, dark fruit
bowl of mixed black berries, black cherry.
Being a Beckstoffer farmed grape, its got all that fruit flavor you
expect. It then has this great long finish, a real mouth full of crisp
clean fruits, tannins. Drinking this wine was great.
So it had all that fruit,but then came in with licorice, pepper,
spice. There is a lot going on here. One of my friends first impression
was Cabernet. The pepper came through for her. But there is no denying
this is a Merlot!
This is almost all cab 4% malbec thrown in, since they make a pretty good malbec.
Deep red cherry nose, its subtle though. On the palate you get the
berry, some tobacco flavors, casis. Its doing a good job of tasting
like a cab, NOT from Agentina. I find it easy to drink as did those
around me. Poured straight from the bottle and it was nice so don’t
worry if you order it out. Put it through the Vinturi and it really
opened up the fruit flavors. I think decanting would be good if you
have one, or the Vinturi makes it easy.
The finish I thought was a nice tannic feel in the mouth, did not
hang around long enough for me. I would have preferred a bit more in
the body of the wine too. But for $20 I think this is a nice wine.
As you may have read WCW is a big fan of Cosentino. This wine in particular was a reason I jumped in a bunch of years ago.
However this vintage left me wanting more for the gang over there
off 29. The fruit was like a dark chocolate covered black cherry, dense
and as some like t say “jammy”. It hung around OK, but after the fruit
let loose so did the rest of the wine.
Cosentino has plenty of others, this one just has a great price
point and generally speaking its a good $20 buy. First time Zin
drinkers or buyers may really like the fruit, there is no heat, its not
ringing with booze like a lot of Zins.
This guy says Cabernet, but is a blend. 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot and Malbec.
While it may not make anyones top 100, its not bad.
Its a dark red wine. Black Cherry even a bit of plumb on the nose.
Look for a brighter berry taste, not quite raspberry but close. Long
full tannins, it can really fill the mouth for a wine under or near $20
This is a great wine to keep around, and pop mid week or just as
that bottle we drink later. It wont break the bank and wont disappoint
your wine buddies either. However, if you don’t really like a big wine,
you may not like this one.
We like to call it one of the “daily drinkers”
Also note this is a fun winery to visit while in Napa!
OK this is the bomb! I mean this is one of the rock stars of Pinot.
The TEN and Southing are equally good, TEN coasting a bit more.
Been a club member for a while just so I could get may hands on these gems once a year and they have not disappointed.
Glorious fruit like tart berries, and earthy tones as expected from
a pinot. Beautiful light garnet color and a floral nose. The finish is
what gets you, a glass of this can really last. It hangs on to your
pallet forever. Let sit open for like an hour if you can!
Its expensive, yep. Its real good,yep. Make a special occasion and
pick this up and. If you have to have friends, mine seem to sixth sense
when I am opening wine so be careful.
Big huge wine! 55% Merlot, 35% Cabernet, 6% Cab franc, 4% Malbec and 100% great to drink! This is a real beauty!
Big ruby red color, Big full nose. Black Cherry, Casis flavors are
bold the tannin is just right right in the mouth long, long finish. You
can really enjoy each mouthful.
Drank with friends last night with appetizers, it was the star.
Anyone who likes big reds will love this. We did, Of course I was
buying who wouldnt love that!
Larkmead is located just north of St. Helena, Beautiful location fully recommend a visit and tasting.
New and improved site should be coming soon. Its been a while I know! But the real job, you know the one that pays the bills and will get our daughter through college....
OK the summer is here and I am looking at nice warm weather wines. Typically you are expecting big reds, I know. Look for some crisp white wines like Pomelo Sauvignon Blanc, and Cosenting Pinot Grigio to appear soon!
Today I am heading over to Caruth Winery in Solana Beach Ca. Looking forward to some good stuff
Cheers, Jeff
New and improved site should be coming soon. Its been a while I know! But the real job, you know the one that pays the bills and will get our daughter through college....
OK the summer is here and I am looking at nice warm weather wines. Typically you are expecting big reds, I know. Look for some crisp white wines like Pomelo Sauvignon Blanc, and Cosenting Pinot Grigio to appear soon!
Today I am heading over to Caruth Winery in Solana Beach Ca. Looking forward to some good stuff
Cheers, Jeff
