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!

Great Wines Worth Seeking Out

Wednesday was a big tasting day at 58 Degrees & Holding, the fine wine shop I work at in Tucson.  Below is the list of wines I tried, my opinion of quality on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best, critic ratings if applicable, and a link to find out more information on each. 

2006 Bogle Sauvignon Blanc, California
- 8.5 (NWB)
2007 Frog's Leap Sauvignon Blanc, Rutherford
- 9.0 (NWB)
2006 Calera Chardonnay, Central Coast
- 9.0 (NWB)
2006 Bogle Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, Sonoma
- 8.6 - value-buy (NWB)
2006 ZD Pinot Noir, Silverado Trail, Napa Valley
- 8.7 (NWB)
2006 Calera Pinot Noir, Central Coast
- 8.9 (NWB)
2004 Calera Pinot Noir, Mills Vineyard, Mt. Harlan, Monterey, California
- 9.1 (NWB)
2005 Plumpjack Merlot, Napa
- 8.5 (NWB)
2005 Cade Cabernet Sauvignon Cuvee, Napa (Owned by Plumpjack)
- 9.2 (NWB)
2004 Robert Craig Cabernet Sauvignon, Mt. Veeder
- 9.0 pts (NWB); 92 pts (WS)
2006 Lagar de Fornelos S.A. Lagar de Cervera Albarino, Rias Baixas
- 8.9 (NWB); 85 (WS)
2004 Quinta Do Vallado - Douro, Portugal
- 9.0 (NWB); 88 (WS)
1999 Torre De Ona Baron De Ona Rioja Reserva - Rioja, Spain
- 8.7 (NWB)
1995 La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 890 - Rioja, Spain
- 8.0 (NWB)
2003 Celler Laurona Montsant - Tarragona, Spain
- 9.3 (NWB); 91 (WS)
2003 Clos Martinet - Priorat, Spain
- 8.9 (NWB); 86 (WS)
2007 Cousino-Macul Chardonnay - Maipo Valley, Chile
- 8.5 (NWB)
2005 Mapema Tempranillo - Mendonza, Argentina
- 8.9 (NWB); 87 (WS)
2003 Finca Los Maza Reserva Malbec - Mendoza, Argentina
- 8.5 value-buy (NWB)
2005 Altas Las Hormigas Colonia Las Liebres Bonarda - Mendoza, Argentina
- 8.7 (NWB); 87 (WS)
2005 Ben Marco Cabernet Sauvignon - Mendoza, Argentina
- 9.1 (NWB)

NWB = Niche Wine Blog

WS = Wine Spectator

2004 Pine & Post Cabernet Sauvignon - Washington State

So, every once in a while I have the urge to buy a bottle of wine under $10 from the grocery store, partially for fun and partially to see what sort of pleasure, if any, comes from such an inexpensive bottle of wine.

This week, I purchased Pine & Post Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington State for $6.99.  This wine falls under Precept Wine Brands, a company that currently produces wines from California, Washington, Australia/New Zealand, and various European countries.  Its aim is to represent the best quality wines at very reasonable prices. 

Pine & Post Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are planted on the east side of the Cascade Mtns, which protect them from the marine climate of the Pacific Coast.   Due to relatively low rain fall, by Washington standards, vine vigor is controlled to promote a pretty decent flavor profile in the grapes.  Thanks to warm temperatures during the day, grapes ripen very well, yet the grapes still maintain great acidity due to cool nights. 

This particular wine has rich, concentrated fruit thanks to this vintage having a warm growing season followed by a cool harvest and little rain that allowed for good ripening. 

The wine is a dark ruby purple color.  It has dark fruit characteristics of plumbs, black cherries and currants.  There is a hint of spice and cedar, but I would definitely say more fruit forward.  The tannins are softer, allowing it to be a food friendly, drink-now wine.  While it's balanced now, I don't expect it to last too much longer.  If you're looking for an everyday wine, with nice fruit and typical characteristics of cab sauv, but without harsh tannins, this is a good wine to have around. 

Blend: 83% Cab Sauv, 12% Cab Franc, 5% Syrah
Alcohol: 13.5%

Cool Summer Whites Flight - Armitage Wine Lounge and Cafe: Tucson

I enjoyed a flight of three fun white wines last night at a wine lounge called Armitage, in Tucson.  The wines were:

Mionetto Il Moscato - Veneto, Italy
- A fun little sparkler; fresh, crisp with a floral, yet fruity bouquet.  With lighter effervescence than a traditional sparkling wine/champagne, this is a fun, easy-drinking summer wine. $10

Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc/Viognier - Napa Valley, CA
-It was easy to pick up the distinct differences in character between the Chenin and Viognier.  Fruity, floral and fragrant with pear, lemon leaf, melon, citrus, jasmine.  The two together provided nice compliment, decent balance and structure.  The CB grapes were sourced from vineyards in Clarksburg, CA and the Viognier grapes came from Bear Creek Winery, in Lodi, CA.  Another fun wine with a slightly off-dry finish. $13.50

Tangent "Ecclestone" - San Luis Obispo, CA
- A very interesting wine from Central, CA that definitely would have run you through the mill in a blind tasting.   This white blend is comprised of Pinot Gris, Riesling, Viognier, Pinot Blanc, Albarino and Muscat.  Each varietal brings something different to the table that makes a complex, yet intriguing character.  There are hints of lychee, apricot, citrus fruits, orange blossom coupled with nice minerality and a hint of pine.  Initially, I thought it may have been oaked, but that was probably the natural pine notes coming through from the grapes, as this wine was stainless steel fermented - no barrel contact.  $20

They are all reasonably priced so if you get a chance, try these wines!

2004 Byington Cabernet Sauvignon, Chelle Mountain Vineyard

Initially, the land on which Byington Winery & Vineyard now sits was purchased by Bill and Mary Byington as a family retreat.  However in the 1970s, the Byingtons were approached by a winemaker interested in leasing a portion of their land for vineyards.  Since Bill was an avid wine collector, he willingly agreed.  Twenty years later, Bill decided to plant nine acres of Pinot Noir, the crown jewel of the Santa Cruz Mountains, and Byington was established in 1987 with that years vintage release. 

While I have yet to taste their Pinot Noir, or any estate wine for that matter, I did taste the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, Chelle Mountain Vineyard, from Paso Robles.  The vineyard is situated on a ridgetop on the west side of Paso Robles in the York Mountain area.  Its positioning means the vines receive the full effect of coastal winds and wide temperature variations, but that doesn't hinder the quality of the grapes or the wine.   

This Cabernet is a deep, dark black plumb color and at 17% alcohol, it's definitely intense and concentrated.  The fruit forward nose gives hints of cassis and plumb, herbs, black tea and cedar.  The oak used is 30% new American barrels so it's not exactly subtle, but not TOO overpowering.  This is definitely a weighty, full-bodied wine with rich tannins and a medium-long, dry finish.  This is definitely a wine that will go well with red and game meats.  Its complexity and structure will allow it to age - as stated on the label, it can be enjoyed for the next 3-7 years.  I personally would enjoy this wine if it were a little lighter and had less alcohol.  But a fine effort nonetheless.

You can purchase this wine for $32 on the Byington Vineyard & Winery website.

White Oak Vineyard & Winery

The story of White Oak Vineyard & Winery  is one of uniqueness.  After growing up in Los Angeles, CA, the vineyard's founder and owner, Bill Myers, worked for many years as a building contractor and salmon fisherman in Alaska.  Until one day, in the 1970s, he decided to move to Healdsburg, CA and sell his boat in order to buy a vineyard in Alexander Valley.  And, thus began his winemaking experience and the future of White Oak.  By the 1990s, White Oak quickly became largely known for its well crafted Chardonnay, Zinfandel, and Sauvignon Blanc varietals.  I suspect Myers felt as though there was still something missing in his successful wine ventures, as before too long he formed alliances with other businesses, looking to expand the vineyard and winery.  Today, White Oak consists of over 700 acres of vineyards, several of which are old reserve Zinfandel vines, dating back to the 1920s and 1930s.  Many of the White Oak wines are available for purchase, however there are some that are only offered through the tasting room.  This is definitely a winery that should be on your list to tour when visiting Healdsburg's Lower Alexander Valley, in Sonoma County. 

The particular White Oak I am ranting, or raving about, depending on how you look at it, is the 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon.  Comprised of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2% each of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, this wine was a dark, rich ruby-violet color.  On the nose, it was quite complex, carrying a substantially musty, minerally aroma of terrior.  I was also picking up hints of chocolate, dark fruit, such as current and raisin, and a slight hint of vanilla.  While definitely offering a richness and full-bodied texture on the palate, I wasn't able to fully taste all that was offered in the way of aroma, which was somewhat of a disappointment.  There was a long finish that resonated  slight oak flavors though, which was nice.   

Overall, this wine is worth it for the sale price.  However, I have tasted higher quality wines in its price range.  I am not intending to down grade this wine, as it is of good quality.  But it didn't shine through they way I'd hoped.  I will most likely buy cab of another vintage, or something similar from White Oak, as I have had some great wines from them and would like to compare. 

If you've tasted this, or any other wines from White Oak, I'd like to hear what you think.