Niche Wine Blog

2006 Ochoa Garnacha & Tempranillo

                                                        

A lovely family winery situated in Olite, the ancient capital of Navarra. Bodegas Ochoa is one of the oldest wine producers in this region. In caring for the vines, they practice a combination of hand planting, pruning and harvesting, coupled with mechanization. The vineyards rest on lime and clay slopes that face south, which gives the best exposure to the sun. The wines are fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, with lengthy maceration and heavy use of pumping-over for color. When it comes to aging, the winery uses oak that has been naturally weathered outdoors for two years. The type of oak used and the length of aging depends on each wine.

The Ochoa, estate bottled Garnacha & Tempranillo (50-50%) is a very aromatic young red wine. It is a deep red color - think reddish black plumb. On the nose, dark fruit comes up right away - black berries, black plumb, cassis, fig, licorice (if you've ever had allsorts, that's what I'm talking about).  I'm also getting a little bit of spice and cedar, but for the most part it's fruit. On the palate, I get black fruits, not so much of the licorice. I get a little more wood and spice coming through. The finish is decent for being a young, inexpensive value wine. The fruit doesn't drop off like some other wines.

You can get it for around $12

Veramonte Winery

                                                 

Veramonte Winery is located in the beautiful Casablanca Valley, one of Chile's top wine growing regions.  Casablanca Valley sits near the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Coast. It is a vineyard-based winery, which means it places its philosophical reliance heavily on the terroir of the site. The people of Veramonte Winery believe wholeheartedly that terroir designates the character and quality of the wines produced. 

Veramonte has two wine labels, Reserva, red and white varietals and Primus, a red blend.  Recently, I had the opportunity to taste the 2008 Veramonte Reserva Sauvignon Blanc, complements of the winery, and the 2005 Primus, which I purchased on my own.  I enjoyed them both very much.

The Sauvignon Blanc was light straw in color with a slight green tint to it. It was nicely balanced and had nice acidity. Quite an array of aromas on the nose - citrus lemon, stone fruits, such as pear, and melon - cantaloupe. There is a nice herbal note to it as well. On the palate, medium bodied, zesty acidity, along with the same citrus, herbal and melon notes. I got a slight hint of endive, which could be attributed to the herbal. Definitely a great cocktail wine for sipping or for pairing with sushi, oysters, other seafood and salads.

Primus is a blend of Carmenere, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. It is luscious and could even be considered a tad sweet. It is deep ruby, or garnet in color. It is a pretty big wine, but the tannins are soft enough making it approachable now. On the nose, I get a lot of spice, jammy dark fruits, it's quite herbaceous.  I also get some black tea, cedar and tobacco - cigar box, if you will. It is full-bodied, but velvety and luscious on the palate. I get the same spices and fruits - blackberry, plumb, black cherry. I get a hint of fresh mint on the palate as well.  Overall, very well balanced with nice acidity. It has 14.5% alcohol, but it doesn't come through too strong. This wine spent 12 months in oak - 85% French, 15% American, 25% of that was new oak.  This wine will go well with many red meats - grilled, roasted and seasoned many ways. It will also go well with some heartier soups and stews.

Coronado Vineyards - Willcox, AZ

Last weekend, I went down to explore the wine region of Southern AZ.  One vineyard I went to was Coronado Vineyards, which is in the town of Willcox, about an hour from Tucson.  It sits between Mt. Graham and the Dos Cabezas mountains, in the Coronado National Forest.  The winery opened in 2006 and currently produces some of Arizona's finest wines.  The elevation in Willcox reaches roughly 4300 feet.  This, coupled with the warm days, cool nights and rich soils the high desert has to offer, produces wines with intense flavor, quality and character. 

Coronado vineyard also serves lunch and dinner.  They provide full-service catering and offer a beautiful setting for weddings and other private events. 

While they currently offer nine different wines, I tried three - the Riesling, Meritage and Cabernet Sauvignon.  The Riesling was dry to slightly off dry in style.  It had nice tropical fruit, pear and honey flavors, a good amount of acidity and the finish was medium in length.  The Meritage was a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cab Franc and Merlot - very Bordeaux in style.  There was nice dark berries, currant, cedar, tobacco, herbs and hints of oak.  Finally, the Cabernet Sauvignon had subtle red and black fruits.  It was a little lackluster - the finish was mediocre and the fruit was lacking.  Overall, it was a fine effort.  By far, my favorite was the Meritage - yummy!  

If you're ever in the area, you should definitely check out the AZ vineyards/wineries.  They make some great wine and they're getting even better.  Currently there are 28 in the area and a few more are planned.

Keeling Schaefer Vineyards: 2006 Two Reds Grenache

Keeling Schaefer Vineyards is in Cochise County, in Southern Arizona.  It sits at roughly 5,000 feet above sea level.  When people think of Arizona, they most often do not think about growing grapes and making wine.  However, with the Southern AZ growing regions being anywhere from 4,000-5,000 feet in altitude, the climate is quite temperate.  The days are sunny and warm and the nights are cool - perfect growing conditions for many grape varieties.  In fact, Arizona growing regions mimic the Rhone Valley of France.  As such, Rhone style red and white grape varieties do quite well here.  Other varietals such as Tempranillo, Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon also do well.  Arizona has great potential to become a great wine growing region.  One example is Keeling-Schaefer Vineyards.

Tonight I tasted the "Two Reds" Grenache.  Its a blend of 85% Grenache and 15% Syrah.  It's dark ruby red in color.  There's a ton of spice on the nose, starting with intense clove, black cherry and pepper - quite frankly, I think of the soft drink Dr. Pepper when I smell this wine.  It has medium-firm tannins, but it well balanced and flavorful.  One drawback is the alcohol.  See, Arizona has monsoon season from June to August every year and this particular year the monsoons greatly impacted the growing season.  There were sunny mornings followed by stormy, rainy afternoons.  This slowed the ripening process, causing the berries to stay on the vines longer and increased the sugar, which increased the alcohol.  All in all, a very nice effort from this vineyard, but I think it would have been better had mother nature cooperated. 

I think there are great things to come of the AZ wine growing region.  It may not be as well known now as Napa, Washington, or Oregon, but I think it has the potential to compete with these areas in the not so distant future.  Stay tuned...

2007 Bergevin Lane Vineyards Columbia Valley Rose

Bergevin Lane Vineyards is located in Walla Walla, WA.  It is, in part, the creation of two women who wanted to leave the chaotic life of 9-5 behind and do something they loved.  One of their father's has many years of industry experience and he has helped them tremendously.  The winery officially opened in 2003 and in the last five years they've had to prove themselves to the wine market, they have done a superb job. 

Winemaker Steffan Jorgensen has many years of winemaking experience in France, Chile and Sonoma, CA.  The hard work and experience has brought much success to the BLV family.  Many of their wines have received 90-pt scores from Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast and Wine Advocate.  The winery makes red and white blends, Viognier, Syrah, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.  Their goal is for the wines to exude balance, structure, terroir and fruit-forwardness. While I have not tried any of these wines, I have tried their rose, which is out of this world!

The rose is made from free-run juice of Syrah, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot.  It is barrel fermented in neutral oak barrels.  They state this is to enhance mid-palate richness.  Whether or not it actually does I cannot specifically say, however this wine does have a mid-palate and it is definitely enhanced.  It has nice strawberry-watermelon color.  The nose is fragrant and bright.  I get mostly fresh fruits - strawberry, watermelon, raspberry and cherry, with a hint of blackberry.  There is a floral aspect to this wine as well, freesia, maybe.  This wine will pair well with many foods and it does fine on its own.  Or, as the BLV family says - It pairs well with an ice bucket and a hot day!

After researching, I didn't find any information on their website about this rose.  But, if you're ever in AZ, you can pick it up at 58 Degrees & Holding!