Merlot
2007 Thierry et Pascale Matrot Chardonnay Bourgogne Blanc
Citrusy, pithy, minerally…off balance and a bit challenging for me. Picked up as another recommendation for a wine that pairs well with butternut squash soup, but didn’t compare to the 2008 Domaine d’Ardhuy Bourgogne Blanc (tasting notes on this wine posted earlier today) – in fact, I have a full bottle of this wine left while the d”Ardhuy was finished at dinner last night (and both were served with dinner). My rating: 84
2008 Domaine d’Ardhuy Bourgogne Blanc
I went to McCarthy & Schiering wine shop in Seattle looking for a good wine to pair with butternut squash soup and, man, did they nail it with this French Chardonnay. Good wine on its own, with more crispness than a US Chardonnay. Good citrus, apple and mineral notes. But, with the soup, it was a perfect blend of flavors complimenting each other. Whenever I make butternut squash soup again, this is the wine I will have on hand to enjoy it with. My rating: 88
2008 Woodward Canyon Chardonnay
Lemon, peach, sour apple, in a crisp and full white wine. surprisingly little oak and a long, lingering finish. Really nice wine, but a bit pricey for a Washington state white wine, so keeping my rating at an 89 (don’t always do this, but only in situations where i feel the QPR is off a bit). My rating: 89
2008 Lucien Albrecht Pinot Gris Cuvée Romanus
Excellent Pinot Gris and under $20. Crisp lemon and citrus, with a smooth, buttery broad palate and long finish. Recommendation from the sommelier at Cafe Campagne in Seattle and absolutely hit the mark. If I could find any of this online, I’d buy a case without hesitation. My rating: 90
2007 Domaine Roger Perrin Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Very nice Chateauneuf-du-Pape, with a huge aroma – blackberry, bacon, mocha and chestnuts. On the palate, great acidity and a decent finish. doesn’t live up to all the hype of the 2007 CDP vintage, but, then again, this is a $27 bottle and I think the QPR is very high on this wine. My only regret is that I didn’t buy more than I did (only bought two bottles). My rating: 90
2007 Terra Blanca Roussanne
Reserve Terra Blanca Estate Buttery/creamy, meyer lemon, leeche and some minerals. Nice, easy drinker, but may be too buttery for some tastes. My rating: 87
2006 Long Shadows Wineries Pedestal
I had a glass of this last night at the met in Seattle and didn’t take too many notes, but suffice it to say this is a beautiful wine. Dark, lush, ripe fruit and so incredibly well balanced, smooth and silky. Long, lush finish and zero heat. I thought I would need to wait on the ’06’s that I have in my cellar, but this is already showing very well. My rating: 94
2007 Tamarack Cellars Firehouse Red
Raspberry, blackberry, mocha, smoke (from the Carménère …rare addition for a US blend, at least in my experience) and pepper – it’s lush, broad on the palate and well balanced, with a long, lingering finish. This is an incredible wine for the price (about $15) and if I can find any more, I’ll pick up everything I can let my hands on. My rating: 90 And, the blend on this thing is crazy (see below) – makes me want to be there for that blending party…probably takes a week to figure it all out.
BLEND
- 31% Cabernet Sauvignon (15% Walla Walla Valley, 9% Columbia Valley, 4% Wahluke Slope, 3% Rattlesnake Hills
- 27% Syrah (17% Columbia Valley, ◦6% Horse Heaven Hills, 2% Wahluke Slope, 2% Walla Walla Valley)
- 16% Merlot (9% Walla Walla Valley, 4% Columbia Valley,2% Rattlesnake Hills, 1% Wahluke Slope
- 14% Cabernet Franc (◦8% Horse Heaven Hills, 3% Walla Walla Valley, 3% Wahluke Slope
- 7% Malbec (Columbia Valley)
- 3% Sangiovese (Columbia Valley)
- 1% Carménère (Walla Walla Valley)
- 1% Petit Verdot (Walla Walla Valley & Columbia Valley)
2005 Frédéric & Daniel Brunier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Domaine La Roquète Cherries, strawberries, fennel and butterscotch. Bright acidity, medium body, medium finish. Very nice CDP. My rating: 88
2005 La Crema Chardonnay California
Every time the price goes up on this wine, the quality seems to go down – this was a much better wine when it was $10 then it is now at around $15. My rating: 84
2006 Havens Wine Cellars Merlot
Really bummed out with this one. Bought a case at what I thought was a steal for $6.99 a bottle at K&L Wines, one of my favorite and most trusted wine sources. Opened one bottle and thought it had gone bad, so opened another, which was okay the first night buy the second night it tasted like the first bottle. Not worth giving tasting notes on this one except to say it tasted like wine in a can – very tinny and bitter. My rating: 70
Continue reading about Wine tasting notes from a week gone by…
Price: $12.00 @ Friend/Gift
What They Said:
Cameron Confidential: Lot 112 Napa County Merlot represents exceptional value. Sourced from the un-appellated Coombsville and Jamieson Canyon regions (which is why it has the Napa County designation), this wines has the beautiful, supple structure and classic fruit profile of great Napa Merlot (which requires a few minutes of swirling [...]
Continue reading about 2005 Cameron Hughes Lot 112 Napa Valley Merlot
| 2006 Abeja Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley | |||
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This is way bigger than i thought it would be – reminded more of a California cab than a Washington cab. big fruit, big oak and a bit hot on the finish. decent fruit and a huge mouthful, but has a pithy, somewhat bitter finish. lush tannins and I’m going to try this again tomorrow night to see if it opens up any more. 2nd day follow-up: not much change. My rating: 88 |
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| 2007 Cadence Cabernet Sauvignon Camerata Cara Mia Vineyard | |||
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My first experience with Cadence, but have been wanting to try their wines for a while. This one did not disappoint – a very well balanced Cab from WA, with notes of blackberry, blueberry, espresso and dark chocolate. A huge mouthful, including a lingering finish and enough acid to cut through some of the lush ripe fruit. Still feels young, even after having decanted it for three hours. The disappointing part of this wine is the price – at $55, this is too expensive. At $30, I probably would have given it a 90, but this wine is just too expensive in my opinion. My rating: 88 |
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| N.V. Bortolomiol Prosecco Valdobbiadene Brut | |||
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I’m a huge fan of Prosecco and this is one of the better ones I’ve tasted. Some good lemon citrus and pith and the nose with an added dryness and minerality that makes this an easy drinker and interesting at the same time. My rating: 88 |
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| 2007 Schild Estate Shiraz Barossa Valley | |||
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Cherry chocolate tobacco rolls, with a hint of herb and sage on the finish. Big fruit on the palate with an even delivery throughout the palate. Really liked this one and I’m not typically a fan of Shiraz. #43 on Wine Spectator’s 2009 Top 100. My rating: 89 |
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| 2007 Santini Wines Trentatre Salento IGT | ||||
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Blackberry and dark cherry (ripe), with oak, vanilla and powdered cocoa. This wine is a mouthful, with a broad distribution on the palate and a decent, but hot, finish. more acidity than would be expected in this blend, which helped cut through the lasagna we had with it. Overall, a very nice wine for $6. 33% Montepulciano, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, this one was an interesting combo of elements, One i haven’t seen before, but I was longing for more of the Montepulciano to come through. My rating: 86 |
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| 2006 Luna Vineyards Merlot | |||
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This is a cherry covered chocolate – big fruit, chocolate on the finish with a nice stretch of very mild leather and darker fruits, like blackberry. I haven’t had a Merlot in a while, so it was nice to see dive into one again. Tight at first, hot on the finish, but after a 2nd glass, decanted for 15 minutes, it really opened up and became a more broad wine on the palate. Some nice acidity, which adds to the balance. Overall, very pleased with this wine. [note: this bottle was sent to me as a sample] My rating: 89 |
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| 2007 Luna Vineyards Pinot Grigio | |||
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A nice citrusy, minerally, easy drinker. In fact, I was surprised by how much i did actually like it. I think I would like it even more on a hot summer day, out on the back deck. [note: provided to me as a free sample] My rating: 86 |
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| 2006 Justin Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon |
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Well, here’s another case of not agreeing with wine spectator who gave this wine a 79. 79? Median of 88 from CellarTracker tasters, with only one coming in at 80 [from a user called duckyfufu], who sounds like he might have had a corked bottle. I liked this one, as did my wife and her mom and dad, who generally don’t drink Cabernet Sauvignon. for me, cherries, dark chocolate, vanilla and anise seed. Surprisingly prominent acidity, that helps cut through the palate, with a very nice, long finish. Just a tad hot. This is a nice $20 Cabernet from Paso Robles, from a very trusted producer. My rating: 89 |
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| 2007 Odfjell Carménère Armador | |||
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Been trying a lot of Carmeneres lately and this is the one I’ve been looking for. All the smokey, peppery characteristics of Carmenere, but also the most balanced and easy drinking of the dozen it so I’ve tried. blackberry, plum, tobacco, smoke, white pepper. Very nice acidity. If you haven’t tried Carmenere, this is a great one to start with. My rating: 89 [sent to me as a sample from Wines of Chile] |
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All tasting notes first published on Cellar Tracker!
Continue reading about Wine tasting notes from a week gone by…
Hello from Selene!
Wow, has this year flown by! Just as quickly we sold out of the 2006 Merlot, which means it’s time to release our 2007 Selene Merlot Frediani Vineyard!
As a vintage, 2007 was our first drought year in a while but the season was otherwise nicely measured, with good weather for bloom, veraison, [...]
2006 Poggio Mandorlo Ombre Rosso di Toscana 
One of the red wines from our trip to Italy and, arguably, one of the best we had there. Found it in an amazing wine shop n Volterra, an ancient walled city in Tuscany, called Enoteca Scali. 4,000 cases made of this wine and I’ve been trying to find it ever since we got back. Very dark cherry and tart plum, with notes of coffee, spices and earthy must. This is a lush wine – a bit tight when I tasted it, but balanced and full enough that it should be an amazing wine in about 3 – 5 years.
My rating: 92
2005 Long Shadows “Pedestal” Merlot Columbia Valley
Have been a big fan of the Long Shadows wines for some time now and this one lived up to the expectation. A recommendation from a good, very trusted wine friend, I was actually more entranced by this wine than I thought I would be. Huge nose, with dark cherries, plum and mocha, followed by some mellow Christmas spice notes (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove). Tannins are a little chalky still, but will mellow over time and I’m glad I have a few more in the cellar so I can taste it when it does.
My rating: 92
2006 Long Shadows Chester Kidder
Another in the Long Shadows line-up. If you remember, I reviewed the 2004 Chester Kidder when I was in Portland over the summer (Long Shadows ChesterKidder) and really enjoyed it, giving a 92+ rating. The 2006 didn’t fall too far from that tree. On the nose, it’s dark cherry, chocolate, espresso, smoke and roasted nuts – a much more complex nose than the 2004. But, it is still very young. When I opened it, it took about 45 minutes to come into its own, with a very tight and bitter start. But, it did open up and delivered good fruit and acidity, with just the right amount of toast and nuttiness. The thing I found amazing about this wine is that, even at 14.9% alcohol, it had zero heat. None at all. Will be a beautiful wine 5 – 7 years down the road.
My rating: 91
Today we brought in just under 3 tons of Merlot from Frediani Vineyards up in Calistoga.
Mia was up and out before daylight to get up to Calistoga and watch the pick. She also had some other vineyards to walk through and sample before heading to the winery for the processing of the Merlot.
You might [...]
Mia was up bright and early yesterday for the first pick of reds. She was up at Bressler Vineyards for their Cabernet Franc and Merlot picking. The fruit came in really clean and it’s all in a tank soaking away.
Mia sampled the Bressler Petit Verdot (24.6 brix) and the Cabernet (24.4 brix) while [...]
Mia and I went out to Frediani Vineyards today to walk through the Merlot vineyard. We are picking the Cabernet Franc on Friday, September 25, and wanted to see if the Merlot was going to be ready to pick at the same time. The Merlot has been dragging it’s feet, so the sugars [...]
Price: $3.99 @ Trader Joe’s
What They Said:
Per the bottle “Mount Linden wines are blended using a careful selection of choice grapes from California’s top winemaking region to produce exceptional wines true to their character. Mount Linden wines focus on rich, pure flavors of California’s best vineyards. The lush, cherry fruit of this Mount [...]