Unfortunately, not too many producers make a Cabernet Franc – it’s either because they don’t have access to quality fruit or perhaps worry that not enough folks would buy it. Thankfully, Justin Wylie of Va Piano Vineyards has neither of those concerns as he has his own estate fruit and has no problems selling all he makes of this wonderful wine only to the winery’s wine club.
Vineyard Sources: Va Piano Vineyards Block 8 Cab Franc, Va Piano Vineyards Block 3 Merlot
Appellation: Walla Walla Valley
Oak Composition: 40% New French / 60% Neutral French
Barrel Aging: 21 months
Chemistry: Alcohol 14.4%
pH 3.66
TA .59g/100ml
Case Production: 150 cases
Price: $48
Nose: Black cherry, hazelnut, cigar wrapper, dark chocolate, cola and tar bubble.
Taste: Raisin fruit roll-up, mocha, pencil lead, match stick and dried blueberries. Firm tannins with a good acidity lead into an inviting finish that begs you for more. This is a new-world-style Cab Franc in that it doesn’t have the “veggie” action we tend to see from the old world. Lots of reach-around on this bottle – should age well for another 10 years or more.
CC Wines is a joint venture between famous Sommelier, Richard Betts and Castle Brands – his motto’s are: “I will not drink bad wine” and “wine should be a grocery, not a luxury”. It’s clear to me, after spending time with both the cab, that those concepts have carried through into the wine.
This is a stunning cab in that it’s from Napa – which isn’t cheap these days – and destroys many other Napa-area cabs I’ve had for a fraction of the cost.
Technical Data:
VA: .091
pH: 3.80
TA: .62
RS: .07
Alc: 15.58%
Price: $20-$25
Nose: If you took some rainier cherries, wrapped them up in a dirty old cigar wrapper and found a way to smoke it – that’s what this nose reminds me of. Layers of cherry, chocolate, vanilla and modeling clay.
Taste: Hello smoothness, how fond I am of thee – okay, this is a serious cab and opens up even better after some decant time. The tannin structure is right on the money as is the mid palate and finish. This – to me – this what good California Cab is all about. The crazy thing is, that 15.58 is a bit on the higher side for me, but the fruit does a great job of masking some of the heat ans comes off very well balanced. Complexity, smoothness and a finish that simply is BEGGING you to have a steak with it.
My only real concern with this wine is the misleading pricing from CCWines – they clam it’s $20, however, when you search the online merchants from its website, the cheapest this cab sells for is $23. When I asked CC about this, they claimed that they have no control over what the retailers ultimately sell it for. I know this may seem like I’m splitting hairs but I feel I have an obligation to point out areas that I feel could be potentially misleading.
Having said all that, this wine is still well worth it, even at $25 .
Robert Smasne’s wines have garnered a lot of good press over the past couple of years – he has a good knack for sourcing quality fruit and not dinking with it too much. This is great for folks like me who have a profound appreciation for wines that stay relatively true to the terroir.
Malbec has exploded in the world of wine in that time as well and for food reason. It’s very fruity, has really nice flavors and generally goes great with food as well – especially meat dishes.
Technical Data:
Varietal – 100% Malbec
Vineyard – Phinny Hill
Appellation – Horse Heaven Hills
Aged 28 months in 100% French Oak
Price: $35
Nose: Black cherries, blackberry pie filling, pepper, spice and a splash of clove and black licorice.
Taste: Deep black fruits that come thining thru with a hint of peppered venison jerky. Good mouthfeel, tannin structure and overall finish make this an easy malbec to keep going back to.
Conclusion: I’ve had equal quality from Argentina Malbecs for $20 – so for me, it’s kind of a tough sale at $35. Having said that, I understand why it’s priced the way it is – it’s from small production and the cost of fruit is more up here in WA as well. If you want a quality WA malbec and like supporting the “home-team” then give this one a whirl.
Petite Sirah does very well in the heat of California and the vineyards in Ed Dorado country – in the Sierra foothills – are well known for their elevation and cooler nights which is a great combination for great fruit. Crystal Basin Cellars is in this area, in a city called Camino, and has been producing quality red wines for awhile now. I was first introduced to its wines last year and have been a huge fan ever since.
Technical Data:
Alc: 14.2
Brix: 25.5
ph: 3.75
Price: $27
Nose: Peppered jerky, bell pepper, blueberries, blackberry and the inside of an old leather shoe.
Taste: Very good combo of black fruit flavors coming through with a light dusting of cinnamon and blueberries. I get a good black licorice-laced leather component across the mid palate with very nice tannin structure. A young wine that drinks good now and should age another 5-8 years or so. Goes great with barbeque, steaks, hamburgers or even wild game.
Producer Roberto Felluga has a sense of passion and drive in the way he talks about his family’s long-standing (now in its fifth-generation) business. His family’s winery produces two different brands under the same roof – Marco Felluga and Russiz Superiore and each one has its own distinct style.
Here’s a map so you can see where the two wineries are at geographically:
The wines that have the Russiz Superiore brand are all aged in oak – even the whites and all the grapes come from the immediate property.
On the other hand, Marco Felluga wines are vinified in stainless, the vineyards are in Farra d’isonzo, Cormons, San Lorenzo and San Floriano - all still within Collio. It’s cellar is in Gradisca d’Isonzo.
Roberto and his staff sat us down at a super-long table and proceeded to pour us each one of their lovely wines – each one had its own distinctness to it and his red was one of the highlights of my trip. I realize, that Collio’s production consists of 80% white but one should not discount their ability to churn out very food-friendly red wine as well. The thing that strikes me so profoundly about the wines here are their near-perfect “sense of place, this is where it’s made damn-it” – yes, terrior.
Soil, sandstone, rock, basalt, sea-floor – it’s all in there and Roberto does an awesome job of expressing all that in his wines. It’s hard to fully express through pictures alone, what it’s like to walk through a winery like this – one that’s been around so long and has a pedigree of producing such amazing wines – luckily, for us in the USA, they do have an importer so chances are your favorite wine shop may carry these wines already or should be able to order them in.
If you want an awesome expression of Collio and would like to “travel there” without leaving your home, then you should taste the Russiz Superiore or Marco Felluga wines soon.
There’s no question that Argentina – as a wine producing region – is on fire and that has mainly been because of its successful malbec wines. Due to a variety of reasons such as cheaper labor, land and grape prices, you can often find wine from Argentina are far superior quality-per-dollar than other leading regions.
2009 Malbec:
W.E.P. Rating: 90%
Technical Data:
Composition: 100% Malbec
Vineyards: Valle de Uco, 1100 m.a.s.l., Agrelo 1050 m.a.s.l.
Oak aging: 6 months in American oak barrels.
Analytical Data
Alcohol % v / v: 14.
Residual sugars: 4.90 g/l.
Total acidity tartaric: 5.15 g/l.
Volatile acidity in acetic: 0.48 g/l.
Color: Intense red with purplish highlights.
Price: $12
Nose: Plums, cedar smoke, tanned leather, cocoa, cinnamon and clove with a hint of blackberry.
Taste: I get a good mix of blackberry and plum-pie filling right off the bat – this is very fruit-foward, new-world style malbec. Decent tannins and overall mouthfeel, however, the finish is a bit too short for me – overall not a bad wine for the money.
2008 Cab:
W.E.P. Rating: 80%
Technical Data:
Composition: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Vineyards: Valle de Uco, 1100 m.a.s.l.
Oak aging: 6 months in American oak barrels.
Alcohol % v / v: 14.2.
Residual sugars: 4.03 g/l.
Total acidity tartaric: 5.17 g/l.
Volatile acidity in acetic: 0.60 g/l.
Color: Deep ruby red with mahogany shades.
Price: $12
Nose: Spiced cherries, top soil, leather, sea foam, chocolate, roses and tar.
Taste: The top-soil effece and tar come on really strong at first and then lead way into a spiced-cherry frenzy. Decent mid-palate, however, the tannins are sort of weak for me and it always doesn’t finsih near as strong as I’d hope for. Not a bad effort at all, however, there are far more interesting cabs out there.
Family-owned and operated Gifford Hirlinger resides right on the border of Washington and Oregon on well-named Stateline Road near Walla Walla. Its winemaker, Mike Berghan, loves what he does and if you ever get the chance to talk to him, you’ll see the passion teaming from him.
His family started the winery several years ago and have enjoyed a good amount of fanfare, awards and it’s no surprise. His wines tend to do a good job of reflecting the Walla Walla terrior without breaking the bank as many wines of that region tend to do.
Mike uses estate-grown fruit which means he has superior working-knowledge of the vineyard management and that helps help in making wines that don’t get in the way of the terrior coming through.
Technical Data:
Case Production: 342
Varietal Composition: 79% Malbec, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Tempranillo
Barrel Aging: 18 Months
Oak Program: 40% New Hungarian Oak, 60% Neutral Hungarian Barrels
Price: $26
Nose: Spicy plums and blackberries have a date with a touch of cedar box and spice. Lots of dark, spicy fruit on the nose here.
Taste: Inky plumsauce with spiced blackberry jam on top. Good tannins, a touch of vanilla and dark chocolate. Really nice finish that lingers nicely.
Some wine lovers out there haven’t even heard of the grape, Petit Verdot so that alone makes them somewhat intrigued. What is it? Well, it’s one of the six red Bordeaux varietals that for the longest time was only used for blending. The reason for this is because it generally has a longer ripening time than the other Bordeaux grapes in France so it sort of fell out of favor there. However, in the New World, where hotter temperatures can help it ripen faster, it has attracted a lot of winemakers.
Richard Funk, owner and winemaker of Saviah Cellars in Walla Walla Washington has fallen in love with this wonderful grape and his current 2007 release totally reflects that love and passion.
Technical Data:
Appellation: Walla Walla Valley
pH 3.63
TA 0.54 g/100mL
Alcohol 14.7% By Volume
Fermentation: 36-hour cold soak; Open top fermenters with cap punched down by hand three times per day. Secondary fermentation finished in barrel.
Barrel Aging: 100% New French oak barrels
Aged 21 months
Cases Produced: 190 cases
Bottling Date: June 11, 2009
Release Date: October 1, 2010
Price: $30
Nose: Smells like a blackened prime-grade New York Steak – very “meaty” on the nose. Good aroma’s have charred wood, plumsauce, boysenberries, blueberry and blackberry jam.
Taste: First off, this wine kicks some major ass – it’s like a Slip-N-Slide flavorama of black licorice, blackberry jam, squid ink, plums and beef. The mouthfeel couldn’t be better and the overall “hang time” of the finish is obnoxiously long – in a good way. Easily the best Petit Verdot I’ve had anywhere at anytime. Would pair well with grilled steaks, veal meatballs or game.
I can’t think of a more passionate dude in the Washington wine industry than winemaker, Gilles Nicault. His zeal for wine, passion for life and people can only be truly appreciated if you get the chance to meet him in person. One could say that being french-born slanted him to be this way but his level of passion is hard to fake or duplicate. Gilles puts his whole heart into everything he touches and because of that, everyone should have the chance to try his wines – even if at the end of the day your palate doesn’t agree with them.
Long Shadows hires talent from around the world to work with Gilles on various projects – this is part of the success model for the winery as they get to to employ the expertise from some of the world’s most celebrated winemakers.
2006 Pirouette – W.E.P. Rating: 80%
Technical Details:
Blend: 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 15% Petit Verdot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 5% Syrah
Alcohol: 14.6%
pH: 3.93
TA: 0.53 grams / 100ml
Release Date: May 2009
Production: 1,733 cases
Price: $55
Nose: Waves of dark chocolate covered blueberries and blackberries. white pepper, wild game, road tar and spice.
Taste: Nice doses of black and white pepper with fresh deer meat, a touch of baby poo, radishes, blackberry, plusm, anise, and chocolate. This is an interesting wine in that it offers some nice layers of complexity and had good acids, but for a $55 wine the finish seems a bit awkward for me. It finishes with some black licorice, pencil lead and ink but all that goodness gets a bit choked out by being a touch too hot – I’d like to try this wine again in 3-5 years.
Taste: Nice dose of what I’m going to call “dirty cherries” – it’s like you took a handful of cherries, dropped them in the dirt and then ate them – Good stuff. Across the mid-palate, I get some cool flavors of lavender, rose petal, charcoal, black raspberries and leather. Good finish that lingers nicely with flavors of black pepper and spice – would be a great pick for a grilled rib-eye steak.
Nose: Crayola crayons, christmas fruit cake, cherry, blueberry, glue, star anise and some fresh road-kill.
Taste: Blackberry-laced leather straps that have been covered in molasses, cherries, pie crust, chocolate, nutmeg and wild game. There is a lot going on in the taste of this wine – it’s very complex, offering a great variety in layers of flavors. Good acidity and tannin structure – for me – make this wine an easy pick for lasagna or meat-filled ravioli or any sort of italian-styled meat and red-sauce dishes. Good velvet-action on the palate with a finish that hangs out like that annoying neighborhood kid who doesn’t “get it” on when it’s time to leave.
Lynfred Winery is a 30-something year old establishment just west of Chicago, IL. The winery opened its doors in 1979 based on the dream of Fred and Lynn Koehler. Now in a facility encompassing some 24,000 square feet, Lynfred maintains ‘Tasting Devine’ in nearby Wheaton, IL, and Naperville IL. Like to stay all night? Good – Lynfred also operates Lynfred Suites, Bed & Breakfast! For more info, please see www.lynfredwinery.com
There’s a saying regarding the sum is greater than its parts. Diving into my latest sampling from Lynfred Winery, I was hoping to find my next-best-favourite wines. On paper, the Cab Sauv-heavy Cuvee had all the right players, co-starring with Zin, Merlot and Petite Syrah. While this wine was crafted in Illinois, it features grapes grown in Washington and California, by favorite growers of the wine maker.
Technical details:
44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Zinfandel, 14% Merlot, 12% Petite Syrah, 7% Syrah, 5% Petite Verdot, 1% Pinot Noir and 1% Grenache
Aging: French and American Oak
Alcohol: 13.5%
Residual Sugar: .2%
pH: 3.63
Total Acidity: 7 g/L
MSRP: $30
On the Nose: Sniffing through my Riedel, after sitting open about 20 minutes, I picked up notes of Licorice, Blackberries, Spices, a kind of musty-leather, and the smell of an old, wet Clarinet reed.
On the tongue: Strong vegital mixed with bitter-sweet cocoa. Jammy and fruity – tasted like rose petals and smokey butter. I drank this wine with a large slab of fresh-grilled T-Bone steak, and frankly, the steak was too much for the Cuvée. Suggested foods based on the information card received with the wine suggest peppercorn steer, brownies, and New York strip steak. Because of that I was a little surprised at how the Cuvée had a difficult time with my meal – sides were wasabi mashed potatoes and grilled zucchini. I suspect the bottle I sampled was a little off, as I was left with a slightly bitter aftertaste. I’m going to have to give the Cuvée another shot – because the blend, the grapes, and Lynfred’s other products are right up my alley.
While over all the wine was acceptable, and I’d gladly serve it, the bottle I sampled, at an MSRP of $30 left me wanting. Especially compared with the Zin I’ve recently reviewed from Lynfred, I didn’t feel the Cuvée was right for me at that price point – thus my
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