2007 Marquis Philips Roogle Shiraz, South Eastern Australia - Dark, grapey purple color with a (surprising) bit of sediment. Grapey, raspberry, acidic nose. Yes, you can smell the acidity in this one. Fruit is sweet and simple with an "artificial" acidity and no tannins to speak of. Nothing great here, but a perfectly decent, inexpensive quaff with burgers.
2009 Four Vines Naked Chardonnay, Santa Barbara County - As the name suggests, just pure Chardonnay fruit here. Massive banana, pineapple and peach on the nose and palate. Electric golden color. Refreshing acidity. Touch of sweetness makes it refreshing on a hot Saturday afternoon on the back porch.
2007 Domaine Terlato & Chapoutier Shiraz-Viognier, Victoria - Absolutely stellar wine! Inky dark color. Beautiful Northern Rhone nose of meat/salami/fennel with prune/cherry fruit notes. A tad alcoholic. 14% Great concentration on the palate with cherry, oaky, smokey, apricot notes. Moderate tannins and good acidity. Great pairing with pork sirloin with pan sauce.
2009 Four Vines Old Vine Cuvee Zinfandel, California - raspberry leaps from the glass. You can smell it from 5 feet away. Jammy raspberry, blueberry and a bit of spice. Thick and sweet on the palate with jammy zinberry fruit. Peppery finish. Nothing complex here, but delicious. 14.4% alcohol and nice acidity on the finish keeps the fruit from being too cloying.
NV Riondo Spago Nero Prosecco, Veneto - This venerable favorite is consistent with its apple, pear and ginger aromas and flavors. Seemed a touch flat. Natural cork suggests this may have been an older bottle.
2010 Adelsheim Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley - One of my favorite domestic Pinot Gris. Beautiful melon, lemon nose with wet stone/mineral notes. Wonderful acidity.
NV J. Bookwalter Subplot No. 25 Red Wine, Columbia Valley - 48% Merlot, 33% C.S., 5% Syrah, 4% C.F., 4% Malbec, 4% P.V. and 2% Barbera. Slightly syrupy blackberry fruit and American cooperage on the nose and palate. Good acidity. Moderate tannins. Touch alcoholic.
I promise my commenting on past posts will stop at some point.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like we have very similar tastes in wine. I ADORE Four Vines...I do worry about the Purple Wine Company buyout, though. I hope it doesn't lose it's charm like so many do when ownership changes hands. I'll keep buying, though - great value, & delightful. I have a bottle of The Monarch that I want to get into soon.
Marquis Philips "Sarah's Blend" has been a favorite of mine. I haven't bought it for quite some time, but thanks for reminding me that I like MP!
No problem! I'm glad people are interested enough to go back and read this stuff! I did see that about Four Vines. I, too, hope the quality remains the same. I'm not exactly excited by 4V being owned by the same people who own Avalon, Mark West and Rock Rabbit.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could get Anarchy and some of their really cool blends here in Kansas. The distributor here only carries the cuvee Zin, Naked Chard and the Maverick Zin (which is a bit too sweet for me).