V Sattui - Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Price: $30.00
Region: Napa, California
Year: 2006

Well, I missed a week for the first time in a while, but time to jump right back in. I was hoping to get two reviews written up tonight, but might just try to do the 2nd one over the next couple of days instead. I actually had this wine two weeks ago, when we had just received another big snow storm. This was the second or third of the year (lost count). Anyway, I didn't feel like tracking through the snow, so I went downstairs and grabbed a bottle I had been saving for a rainy day... or in this case, a snowy day. I didn't remember to write down what I had for dinner with this particular bottle, but if my memory servers me correct, we made a fairly simple pasta dish.

I'm cheating a little bit on this review because I did have a taste of this wine back in January when I was in San Fransisco for a week of training. I was fortunate enough to get done early, and headed up to the winery for lunch and a little wine. I knew it wasn't going to be one I turned my nose up at, but I was still looking forward to a couple of glasses to have a little more to go on. I was not overly surprised at the color being a Napa Valley Cab, but never get tired of the sight of a dark red wine like this one. I also very much enjoyed the aroma, with a fairly noticeable fruit smell that I would liken to blackberries. I'm not sure I'm getting any better at picking out certain smells, but every one in a while I go with the first impression, and that's what happened here. So, when I finally took a sip, and then another, I knew I had made a good choice in picking a bottle of this up. It was a very smooth wine, with a flavor that hung on for quite a while. The predominant flavor hit the back of the tongue, which always carries a little bit of spiciness to me, but it definitely didn't disappear right away. My kind of wine for sure. I would say you could probably fine similar quality wines for a bit less money at your local store, but if your driving through Napa anytime soon, you just can't go wrong by pulling into the V Sattui parking lot. You won't be disappointed. I know I haven't been yet.

Rating: 4.0 (Worth a trip to their website)

Carro - Tinto

Price: $9.99
Region: Spain
Year: 2008

Sometimes it happens that I head into the store with one thing in mind, and for no particular reason, head out with something completely different. After a few of weeks of being completely out of my routine, I settled back into a fairly normal weekend for me. I was stopping to grab dinner on my way home from work on Friday, and stopped by at the most convenient store, which happens to be one of my least favorite. For some reason, I was pretty much set on grabbing a bottle of California Cabernet. To be honest however, I never even made it over to that aisle. On my way over, I took a detour, and ended up looking at some rather well priced Spanish wines. This particular bottle of Carro Tinto just happened to catch my eye. When I looked at the back, I saw it was primarily made from three grapes, two of which I knew fairly well. The third, and predominant grape however, I had never even heard of, and that was Monsatrell. Given that the other two were grapes I'm very fond of, Syrah & Tempranillo, I thought it was a good gamble at $10.

Right when I poured my first glass, I noticed that this wine had a nice moderate color, with good clarity. Definitely not very dark, but not weak looking either. The smell on the other hand, while being very pleasant, and slightly floral, was quite strong. It was actually an aroma I enjoyed very much. When I took my first sip, I was a bit surprised. I was expecting a middle of the road type wine, almost like a California Merlot, but this wine was much more. It was very smooth, with good length, and very nice tannins. I know this following term is one you'll see in some reviews of high end Cabernet, but it was almost a bit chewy, with a nice hint of spice (must be the Syrah). Anyway, from beginning to end, I found this wine very enjoyable. A nice smelling wine, that was fairly smooth given the price, and had a nice flavor. I will definitely give it another try sometime.

Rating: 3.75 (A nice find)

Poggio Morino - Morellino Di Scansano

Price: $15.00
Region: Tuscany
Year: 2006

The weather has definitely been a bit crazy around here lately. Lots and lots of snow. I haven't had the chance to run out and pick out a new bottle of wine, but luckily I still had a couple left over from our recent wine tasting. This bottle was another one our friends bought for us that we tasted that night. Now, given that it was the first Italian wine I've had in a little while, and the fact we get a lot of take-out from a nice Italian Cafe that is close by, you would think that would be what I had with this bottle, but it just didn't work out that way. Instead, we stopped by our favorite burger joint for some good old hamburgers and fries. Sometimes the food-wine pairing just doesn't work out, but that definitely isn't going to stop me from opening a bottle of wine. Regardless of the food, I was hoping for a nice smooth wine for a Friday night.

I took a quick look at the label to see if I recognized the predominate grape that is used for this wine, but I didn't. Sometimes that makes it a bit more interesting and forces more of an open mind. When I poured my first glass, I noticed the wine had good clarity, with a hint of ruby to it. It kind of flashed red a bit as I poured it into my glass. I tried something a bit different when going to smell the wine. I read recently that I was doing it all wrong, which really isn't much of a surprise. Instead of a prolonged sniff, I read that you should take a series of shorter sniffs, kind of like a hunting dog. That seems to make sense to me, so I gave it a try. My impression was that it definitely intensified the smell, but that didn't necessarily help me in identifying smells that some people seem much better at picking up than me. It did have a pleasant smell, and I would say somewhat earthy. It kind of reminded me a little bit of a Shiraz. With no preconceived notions at this point, I gave it a taste. It actually tasted much like it smelled, with a hint of earthiness to it. The taste hit the back of the tongue, but didn't fade away immediately. it was a little different, but I very much enjoyed it as a change of pace from my normal reds. I would say overall it is a good medium-bodied red, that would go well with pasta, even though I enjoyed it with hamburgers.

Rating: 3.5 (A solid Italian wine)

Altos Las Hormigas - Malbec

Price: $10.99

Region: Argentina

Year: 2009

Some time back in October, we attended a wine tasting for a local breast cancer charity. One of the auction items that day was a wine tasting for up to 20 couples at the same store . We decided to split the auction item with some good friends, and it just so happened that this past weekend was the day we decided to hold this wine tasting. We each brought four other couples with us, so the final group was a nice even 20. The tasting was scheduled for late afternoon, so once 3:00 rolled around, it was off to a very nice, sort of upscale, local wine store. They had a nice variety of wines for us to taste, ranging from a California Riesling, to an Australian Shiraz. As isn't too much of a surprise, I was not overly impressed with the whites we tasted, but based on the small samplings, thought a couple of the reds had some promise. I actually decided not to purchase any of the wines that we tried, but given that we have some very generous friends, I found out as we started our walk to dinner, that one couple had bought us three bottles as a sort of thank you.

We now have a couple of bottles of wine to try from our most recent tasting, which always make for something to look forward to. The first one I decided to try this past weekend, was the 2009 Malbec. I think this was mostly because we were having beef stew for dinner, and it seemed like the logical choice, but it was always because of a comment someone had made on my blog the last time I reviewed a Malbec. Back in November, I reviewed the Alamos Malbec on a whim (http://winereviewsyoucanunderstand.blogspot.com/2009/11/alamos-malbec.html). Being that I love wines like Shiraz, and Cabernet, I was thinking Malbec would be the next logical choice, given they are mostly very well priced and have good word of mouth. Anyway, the Alamos left a bit to be desired, and someone left a comment to make sure that I didn't give up on this particular variety. So, with that in the back of my mind, I wanted to give it another go.

This is definitely a bold looking wine. Very dark and jammy in color. A nice wine to look at for sure. As far as the smell, it was pleasant enough, but just seemed a bit young. It didn't have that stand up and take notice type of aroma, but again, not bad. With the last Malbec I tried, it was the overall taste that made the rating take a bit of a hit. It was definitely thin, and a little bitter. This wine however, started out with a nice flavor that hung around for a bit, and finished smooth. My initial impression was somewhere between a Shiraz & a Cabernet. This wine didn't "wow" me, but it was definitely a good counterpart to the beef stew, and it is nice to have a change of pace sometimes. I think I may now be on a search for a really good Malbec that comes in at a reasonable price. Wish me luck....

Rating: 3.5 (Getting warmer...)

V Sattui - Crow Ridge Zinfandel

Price: $33

Region: Napa, California

Year: 2007

One more entry from my trip to San Francisco a couple of weeks ago. My class ended a bit earlier on Friday than I expected, and my plane wasn't leaving until 7:30 PM, so with a few hours to burn, I could think of nothing better to do than drive 60 miles or so north to grab lunch and a quick little tasting at a great winery. When my wife and I visited Napa back in 2004 for our 10th wedding anniversary, this was definitely one of our top three favorite stops. The great thing about V Sattui, besides the wine, is their small deli "like" shop and picnic area. A wonderful place to grab a nice meal, and sit outside on their beautiful grounds. After buying their special of the day, a homemade meatball sandwich, I went back in for a quick tasting before heading back to the airport. This is going to be less of a review, and more of a recommendation to stop by V Sattui, if you ever have the chance.

There were two different options for their tasting. I took the cheaper one ($5), only because it had a wider variety of options. The more expensive tasting was only $10, and had some higher end wines, but not as many wines to choose from. There were two wines that definitely caught my attention. The first of which I have pictured above, the Crow Ridge Zinfandel. Interesting enough, this wine was not actually on the tasting sheet for this tasting. The Zinfandel I first tasted was call "Bar 49". I wasn't overly impressed with this wine, as it was very mild for a Zin. When the very nice lady behind the bar noticed the look of "ehh, it's OK", on my face, she quickly went and grabbed this Zin and asked me to give it a try. I am very glad she did. This is what I would expect from a solid Zin, and even a little more. It had a very unique, but very nice flavor, and was very smooth. Also, a great aroma that I had to take a second sniff of before taking a sip. As the original intent of this wine blog was to look at wines in the under $15 category, I won't compare a wine that cost twice that, but if you buy wines in this range, this one is a steal. The 2nd wine I really enjoyed was their Napa Valley Cabernet. I actually liked this one so much I bought a bottle to bring home. I'll have the opportunity to review that one some time down the road. I was also going to grab a bottle of the Zinfandel, but I wanted to get a bottle for my wife, and she is not a big fan of Zinfandel. Instead, I bought a bottle of their Petit Sirah, which we'll give a try one of these days as well.

Since V Sattui only sells their wines direct to the consumer, you won't find any of their wines in your local store. For some states however, you can go directly to their website, and they will ship you an order. I made due with a couple bottles to go, and I am looking forward to trying them both out. I would definitely give this particular Zinfandel high marks, probably somewhere in the 4.25 range, but my real recommendation is to give a variety of their wines a try. They definitely do a great job!!

Rating: A Great Winery....

Talley - Pinot Noir

Price: Around $35

Region: California

Year: 2006

Definitely not your typical wine review week for me. I know it has been 2 weeks since my last review, but I have a good excuse. I was on a trip for work, and lucky me, I got to go to San Francisco. Definitely one of the best cities I have ever visited. Not to mention the fact that Napa is only an hour north. Now, being from east coast, I have only visited San Francisco two other times, so it is definitely a treat when I get to go. The other thing that makes this review a little out of the ordinary is that I had this particular wine at a great wine bar, and just jotted down some notes when I got back to my room. So, here goes...

This wine was actually part of a "flight" of three different wines that I tried. I knew without writing down the names of each, I would have a hard time remembering all of them, so I just went with the one that made the biggest impression on me. Amazingly enough, it was a Pinot Noir, and not one of the very good Cabs or Syrahs that I tried. Go figure. I'm 100% I have the winery and grape, but only about 95% sure I have the right year. That being said, I'm pretty sure it was a 2006. When I just looked up the winery online, this picture seemed the most likely, and it appears to go for around $35. A bit more than the wines I usually review, but this was a special occasion for sure.

The thing that caught me by surprise originally was this wine was a bit darker than what I would typically expect from a Pinot Noir. It had a real nice color, and very good clarity. What really stuck out to me, and made this wine memorable for me was the aroma. The word that first comes to mind is smokey, but it was way more complex than just that. It had a nice earthy feel to it, with what I would call a dried fruit smell. Without a doubt, one of the more distinctive smelling wines I've had in a while. So, when it came to tasting this wine, I was so not surprised how smooth, flavorful, and downright good this wine was. I actually saved another wine for last in this flight of three wines, but given to do over, this would have definitely been the clean-up hitter. Next week I'll review one of the wines from one of my favorite wineries in Napa that I had the pleasure of visiting last week.

Rating: 4.5 (A Home Run of a wine)

Price: $18 (3L)

Region: California

Year: 2007

It has been quite a while since my last post. I know it gets crazy around the holidays for everyone, but it just seems that when the routine changes so drastically, this is one of the things that gets missed. That isn't to say I didn't have plenty of good (and some bad) wine over the last three weeks. In fact, I have quite a backlog to choose from. The first wine I plan on reviewing is another selection from Black Box. As you can tell from my top 5 list, the Black Box Merlot is one on the list for its blend of quality, and absolutely great price. I wanted to see if the Cabernet could stand up to its sibling.

I didn't write a whole lot of supporting notes down, so I'm not 100% sure which weekend I bought this wine, but I'm pretty sure it was the week before Christmas. I had a list of a little more expensive wines I wanted to try out for Christmas, so with the equivalent of 4 bottles of win, this one was to hold me over until the holidays started in full force. Not much surprise on the color being it was a Cabernet. For a grape like this, as long as it doesn't look pale when being poured, I'm pretty happy. The interesting thing about the smell was it was a bit more fruity than I expected. Kind of a bit similar to the Merlot if I remember correctly. So, when I took my first sip, I was happy to find it was a nice smooth wine, but it definitely didn't have that nice "chewiness" you get from a good Cabernet. You could tell it was an inexpensive selection, but overall, it was a nice wine. That is especially true again, given the price breaks down to about $5 for a 750 Ml bottle. This was wasn't quite the home run in my book as the Merlot, but a very good everyday wine, and one that last for a good while given a couple of glasses a day.

Rating: 3.5 (A solid drinking wine)