Category Archives: Wine

May 25, 2018 by Andrea

Limerick Lane, Syrah Rose – 2016

• Basic info: Limerick Lane, Rose of Syrah, Sonoma, CA – 2016
• Type: Rose
• Price estimate: $17 (local wine store)
• Look: Transluscent pale salmon in color
• Smell: Strawberry and peach. Very light aromas
• Taste: White cherry, strawberry, peach, with a tiny citrus. Long finish, especially for a rose with mineral and peach notes.
• Conclusions: Beautiful wine. Clean, fresh and and totally enjoyable.
• Other notes: When we saw the rose from Limerick Lane at our local wine store, I have to admit, I got really excited. We are still saving a bottle of the zinfandel from them for a semi-special occasion but this is within the everyday drinking range, so we popped it open and it was as good as I hoped. I’m hoping the wine store has more the next time we are there.
• From the bottle: No bottle notes. 12.6% alcohol by volume.

May 18, 2018 by Andrea

White Rose Estate, Pinot Noir – 2011

• Basic info: White Rose Estate, “The Neo-Classical Objective” Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, OR – 2011
• Type: Red
• Price estimate: (I honestly forget)
• Look: Prune colored, medium dark red with a tinge of brown at the edges
• Smell: oak, ash, bramble
• Taste:Raspberry, wine, oak. Medium finish with some dark berry.
• Conclusions: This wine was definitely past it’s prime and it may have been a little spoiled or oxidized. The color gave us some clues that it wasn’t going to be great, but the taste was just off.
• Other notes: When we went to the winery in 2016 we brought home two of these and the first was fantastic. Over the last two years, this one just did not hold up. I think it went “off” just enough to make it not pleasant to drink. It was ok with food, but really, the bottle was not good.
• From the bottle: No bottle notes and I forgot to check the abv numbers so …

May 11, 2018 by Andrea

1692 Spier – Pinotage & Shiraz, 2017

• Basic info: 1692 Spier Discover Collection, Pilotage & Shiraz blend, South Africa – 2017
• Type: Red
• Price estimate: $8
• Look: Opaque, dark ruby color with good legs that stain the glass a little
• Smell: oak, smoke, hot. Smells like wine.
• Taste: Dark berries and earth. Short finish. Berries are not discernible. Acid level is ok.
• Conclusions: Easy to drink and I don’t feel guilty for opening this one on a just because day. With a higher alcohol content, I can only have one glass, but it is fine for a wine with dinner as food does bring out some of the flavors. It is perfectly acceptable and pretty good for an everyday drinking wine, especially since it was under ten dollars.
• Other notes: I looked at my spreadsheet of wine (don’t judge) and realized that we have a number of bottles that are super good, but a little more expensive than I really want for an everyday wine. Don’t get me wrong, I’m going to drink them, but I thought sprinkling in a few less expensive wines would be appropriate. We plan to open the better bottles too, but I like having something under $20 so I don’t feel guilty. Pinotage is one of the varietals I really love and the blend with this one is good. It isn’t memorable or a wine I would break out if I was trying to impress someone, but it’s not bad for something a little different. I also don’t want my taste buds to get super use to the really good stuff.
• From the bottle: No bottle notes. 14.5% alcohol by volume.

May 4, 2018 by Andrea

Gros Ventre, Vermentino – 2017

• Basic info:Gros Ventre, Vermentino, El Dorado, CA – 2017
• Type: white
• Price estimate: $24 (from winery)
• Look: very pale yellow with a slight green tinge.
• Smell: lemon grass, apricot, and a bit of honey
• Taste: Citrus, melon, tart but still smooth. White peach in the middle and a mineral/melon finish.
• Conclusions: Very good. Perfect summer sipping wine. Lots of interest and great flavors that change as the wine warms a little. Very citrus tasting when ice cold, but the melon really shines when it has sat for about ten to fifteen minutes.
• Other notes: Last year this was the wine that made me rethink whites. I went back and looked at my notes and the 2016 had more apple flavors and just wowed me. This one is different, we really liked it, but it didn’t have that “oh wow” moment and while we really enjoyed the bottle, it just wasn’t the same. A few weeks later we opened a second bottle of this and it was the 2016 all over again. Apple, peach, melon, mineral and a touch of saline. It was perfect and that same “oh wow” that our first bottle this year lacked.
• From the bottle: From the winery, “Our 2017 Vermentino is perfect for warm weather drinking. It’s bright and approachable, with notes of white flowers, lemon zest, and touch of briny-ness that screams for oysters. It was co-fermented with a splash of Picpoul Blanc that adds freshness and minerality to the finished wine.”  12.4% alcohol by volume.

April 27, 2018 by Andrea

Bedrock Wine Company, Mixed Blacks – 2016

• Basic info:Bedrock Wine Company, Weill a Way Vineyard, mixed red blend, Sonoma, CA – 2016
• Type: red
• Price estimate: $36 (from winery)
• Look: opaque, dark purple
• Smell: Wine. Not much on the nose on this.
• Taste: Blackberry, black cherry, raspberry with a little licorice and a bit of granite. Long finish with lots of dark fruit and some ripe plum flavors.
• Conclusions: I am so very happy that I have several bottles of this wine. Lots of flavor, super enjoyable and the wine changes a bit over the course of drinking it. It is a fantastic wine and hits all the rights notes for me.
• Other notes: I know I’ve gushed about wines from Bedrock over and over, but really there is a lot to gush about. Bob and I have not had a bad, or even mediocre bottle yet and we are now on shipment two from them. They have a range of prices for wine and I really like that since my wine budget can’t take over thirty dollar bottles every day. With this wine, however, it is worth every penny and it lasts multiple days because at almost 15% alcohol one glass (and a light pour at that) is all I can handle. The first day we had this is was a little tight, but after about 20 minutes in the glass, it opened beautifully. The next day – holy cow it was just about life changing. Super smooth and tons of flavor. I was pretty happy that Bob loved it about as much as I did. This one is one to share and to savor.
• From the bottle: No bottle notes, but I did find this on the Bedrock site after drinking it and taking all of my notes: “The 2016 Weill a Way Mixed Blacks emerges from younger vines in a relatively cool site for Zinfandel-based wines. There is lovely density to the inky blue/purplish fruit. Soft, plush fruit and silky tannins give the wine its considerable near term appeal and allure. This is one of the more approachable wines in the range. Zinfandel, Grenache, Mataro, Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet and Tempranillo are all feature in this distinctive, alluring wine from Bedrock. 92 points -Antonio Galloni” 14.8% alcohol by volume.

April 25, 2018 by Andrea

Desire Lines Wine – Riesling, 2016

• Basic info: Desire Lines Wine Company “Cole Ranch” Riesling – Mendocino, CA, 2016
• Type: White
• Price estimate: $22 (from winery)
• Look: Translucent yellow. Some legs when it warms.
• Smell: Lemon, honey, melon, granite and lemon balm
• Taste: Soft and round with notes of lemon, melon, lime, petrol and a touch of honey. The finish is long – very long for a refrigerator cold white wine – with more melon, honey and a bit of lime.
• Conclusions: Oh my goodness this was good. Not just good, but downright fantastic. Both Bob and I took a sip and just stopped, then went back for a second sip because we could not believe it was that good. Yep. This one knocked my socks off.
• Other notes: This is a pretty new winery: new as in I believe this is their first public release. I got lucky and found them because I follow Bedrock Wine Company on Instagram and they posted about it and I thought, sure let’s try it. Oh my goodness I am so glad we did. This Riesling is the best of what I like in a riesling combined with the best of what Bob likes in a Riesling with a surprise or two thrown in. Dry and mineral for me, a touch of sweetness for Bob and a round, soft wine for us both. My first thought, after the initial “oh wow” was malolactic fermentation and I didn’t think Riesling did that. But it did and oh it was incredible.
• From the bottle: No bottle notes and no review notes. 13% alcohol by volume.

April 20, 2018 by Andrea

Ludwig – Gruner Veltliner, 2016

• Basic info: Neumayer “Ludwig” Gruner Veltliner, Traisental, Austria, 2016
• Type: White
• Price estimate: $22 (Somm Select)
• Look: Translucent very pale yellow with a slight green tint
• Smell: Lemon flower, green apple and granite
• Taste: Green apple, lemon, lime, mineral undertone. Crisp and tart. Medium finish and very pleasant mouthfeel – light but not thin.
• Conclusions: Good, solid wine. Great flavor and interesting enough but not a home run. It is easy to drink and very enjoyable, but it isn’t one I would remember and search out six months from now.
• Other notes: I liked this wine, but I didn’t love it. I wanted to really love it because I like the varietal, but it was just very good. It is the A-/B+ of the wine – really good and very hard to criticize, but it wasn’t perfect and didn’t blow me away.
• From the bottle: No bottle notes, but from SommSelect, “In the glass, the 2016 “Ludwig” is a pale straw-gold with hints of green at the rim, with exceedingly bright and expressive aromas of green and yellow apple, white grapefruit, white peach, lime blossom, cucumber peel, daikon radish, white pepper, and wet stones. The wine is a joyful push-pull of fruit and mineral sensations, with surprising depth and palate persistence and perfect tension.” 12.5% alcohol by volume.

April 13, 2018 by Andrea

Ode to Lulu – Rose, 2017

• Basic info: Bedrock Wine Company, “Ode to Lulu” Rose blend (Mourvedre, Carignan & Grenache), California – 2017.
• Type: Rose
• Price estimate: $19 (from winery)
• Look: Light salmon in color; translucent
• Smell: peach, strawberry, honey, raspberry. Not to wax poetic, but it smelled light a summer morning in the peach orchards.
• Taste: Peach, strawberry, apricot, melon with a little herbal and “cut grass” note on the finish. Finish is long and complex, especially for a rose. Little under-ripe strawberry and a touch of sweet summer berry.
• Conclusions: Fantastic, amazing pure joy to drink wine. I like rose wine so it’s not surprising that I liked this wine, but it is a very different rose than I normally have – fruitier and more pronounced melon and berry flavors. It isn’t a sweet pink wine by any stretch, but it is pretty amazing. Bob and I both loved this wine and thought it was simply stunning.
• Other notes: This is the fourth or fifth wine we’ve had from Bedrock and not a single one has even remotely disappointed. The flavors in the wine are clean and clear, but the wine itself is complex and interesting. This is a great sip and enjoy wine and I’m very, very glad we have a second bottle tucked away.  I should also note that these are all old vine grapes in this wine, something the historian in me greatly appreciates.
• From the bottle: “This shimmering and limpid rose comes from old vines planed between 1888 and 1922. Picked at low sugars and vilified with native yeasts, the ope is to make a unique nada graceful wine. As always, we hope the great Lulu would be proud.” 12.3% alcohol by volume.

April 6, 2018 by Andrea

Hundred Suns – Pinot Noir, 2015

• Basic info: Hundred Suns “Old Eight Cut” Pinot Noir – Willamette Valley, Oregon – 2015
• Type: Red
• Price estimate: $30 (Backcountry Wine)
• Look: Ruby red and slightly translucent at the edges
• Smell: Fresh berries especially strawberry and raspberry
• Taste: (I’m going with Bob’s description here because I had a hard time discerning anything.) Plum, hint of minerality with a lot of fruit. Good finish with a taste reminiscent of a Tootsie Roll.
• Conclusions: Incredibly good wine. Super smooth and fairly light without being thin. This isn’t a big, heavy wine, its subtle and clean. I thought it was very good, Bob was pretty gaga over it.
• Other notes: I think this is one of the first wines where Bob and I have greatly departed on our impression of it. (The Georgian rose was the only other one I can think of.) He really, really loved this wine and I thought it was good. It isn’t one I would seek out and try to order half a case of, but I think if I asked Bob, he would. (I’m not asking because I already have a bunch of wine that I need to work through in the house – there just isn’t a great place to store wine here outside of our two small wine fridges.) Don’t get me wrong, I liked this one a lot, just not as much as Bob did.
• From the bottle: No bottle notes, but from Backcountry Wine notes, “100 Suns is a brand new label from Grant and Renee Coulter. … It drinks plush and flawlessly balanced with chocolate and savory notes that lead to a rich plummy finish complete with powdery tannins.” 14.4% alcohol by volume.

March 30, 2018 by Andrea

Setteanime – Merlot, NV

• Basic info: Setteanime Merlot, Marca Trevigiana IGT, Italy – No vintage
• Type:Red
• Price estimate: $21 (local wine store)
• Look: Dark red and opaque
• Smell: Wine. (Honestly, I could not distinguish a specific aroma here)
• Taste: Little effervescence on the first sip. Lots of dark fruit – some grape and plum notes. Light minerality, especially on the finish. Medium finish.
• Conclusions: This is a good drinking wine. It isn’t one that is super memorable, but the wine is smooth, clean and balanced. It doesn’t take a lot of thought to enjoy, which is pretty much a great weeknight wine.
• Other notes: When we talked with the rep for this winery at our local wine store, he mentioned that they don’t do specific vintages because the wine is crafted to drink young – within the year it is released. I’m still not certain why that would negate having a vintage on the bottle, but I’m sure it has to do with flexibility for blending or something like that. We’ve had the sparkling wines from this producer before and I love those.
• From the bottle: No bottle notes, but from the wine store notes, “Ruby red with hints of garnet this wine has a wonderful bouquet of blackberry and black current. It is elegant yet velvety smooth with notes of natural softness. On the palate it has a youthful taste of fruit in bloom.” 12.5% alcohol by volume.