Primus Cabernet Sauvignon, Carménère, and The Blend

I remember way back in the day when I was first getting into wine, the Primus Red Blend was staple of mine. And here I am being reminded why. It's a Cabernet Sauvignon based blend with Merlot, Carménère, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc, and it's just SOLID. It's bold with a lush mouthfeel and soft tannins. Just a very well balanced red blend that shows dark fruits and spices. The Carménère is everything that you want out of a Carménère; medium bodied with cherries and green pepper. And the Cab? I mean, I love Chilean Cabs and this is just a classic Chilean Cab with a structured body, currant, and graphite. These are all delicious. Suggested retail price is around $25, but I bet you can find them on sale for less. If you see them, pick them up and enjoy!

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The Arsonist Red Bend 2017

This is 53% Petite Verdot, 24% Malbec, and 23% Cabernet Sauvignon from Dunnigan Hills, California, that was aged in oak for 24 months.

Right off the bat there's a lot of black licorice and oak, followed by  eucalyptus, root beer, vanilla, dark chocolate, orange peel, and decaying roses. It's rich and big and raisinated with soft tannin, uplifting acidity, and loaded with character. Once you taste this $20 blend you'll keep going back for more. Pair with a big ol' ribeye, cheeseburgers, or raspberry cheesecake.

Listen to Mike and Joey talk about this wine on Grapes & Capes Episode #7 "Pyromania"!

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Grapes & Capes Episode #7: Pyromania

The building is on fire as Mike and Joey drink two wines from Matchbook Wine Company's The Arsonist label and read about the ultimate pyromaniac villain Heat Wave in The Flash #218 (2005)!

Listen on Anchor / Apple / Google / Spotify

Breaker / Overcast / Pocket Casts / Radio Public / RSS

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Wine #1: The story of Matchbook Wine Company, The Arsonist Chardonnay 2018, pairing it with Chinese food, Royal Palace in Dennisport, Wok 'n Roll in South Yarmouth, finding the right Chardonnay to win you over, wines for Thanksgiving

Comic, Part 1:  The creation and origins of Heat Wave, The Flash #218 (2005) "Heat Wave" pages 1-12, the darkness and brutality of Heat Wave while feeling sympathy for his character, more Game of Thrones (should we just make a GoT podcast, I mean jeez), Donny Cates

Wine #2: The Arsonist Red Blend 2017, Petite Verdot is the miracle grape

Comic, Part 2: The Flash #218 (2005) "Heat Wave" pages 13-22, Siri never helps, the connection that keeps Heat Wave and Captain Cold connected forever

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Tinto Rey Verdejo 2018 & Matchbook Petit Verdot 2017

Ooooooooh! It's Matchbook time again! I can't say enough about these guys, and these are probably the two wines by them that I talk to people about the most. The 2018 vintage of the Tinto Rey Verdejo is... just imagine me pinching my fingers, kissing them, and then flicking my wrist out while saying "MWAH!". Italian kissy fingers. It's got this medium to full body with a creamy mouthfeel and the perfect amount of acidity to play along with those. There's much more citrus than previous vintages but the notes of pear and honeysuckle are still there. It's just so good. Their best vintage yet. And since the first time I tasted Matchbook Petite Verdot I have not stopped raving about it. This stuff is absolutely killer and I have not met a person who hasn't tried it and not been taken back by surprise. The 2017 vintage is no exception. Big and juicy with blackberries, raisins, and violets. Full bodied, high in ethanol fumes, bright in acidity, and tight tannins. This PS is a rock star.

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The Arsonist Red Blend 2017

April is Matchbook Wine Company Month, with reviews focusing on their wine all month! To see all of my reviews by this winery for the last five years, check out my Matchbook label. To learn about their history, read my article "A Brief History of Matchbook Wine Company".

Dracarys! The Arsonist is their label for wines a price point or two higher than their flagship Matchbook label, and their 2017 Red Blend is 53% Petit Verdot from Dunnigan Hils, 24% Malbec from Dunnigan Hills, and 23% Cabernet Sauvignon from Chalk Hill.  It was blended before being aged in French, American, and European/American hybrid oak barrels for 24 months, 30% of which are new. The final ABV is 13.9%.

As always the color is a beautiful garnet. On the nose there's aromas of black cherries, blackberries, orange blossoms, anise, and... yes... as I say every vintage: root beer. Why is that? Am I just crazy? The palate has a much brighter fruit to it this year though, with flavors of red cherries, cranberries, mocha, and root beer, on a full body with a rich mouthfeel and grippy tannin. It finishes with cranberries, mocha, and a spike in mouthwatering acidity.

This is one of those wines that everybody loves once they've tried it, and 2017 is probably the best vintage that I've had of it. Dude, it's AWESOME. A fruit forward stress relief wine by itself, but also making me really want a Porterhouse right now. Arsonist finishes Matchbook Month with two Highly Recommended ratings!

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $20

Rating: 5/5 = Highly Recommended (what does that mean?)

The bottle used was supplied free of charge for the purpose of this unpaid review. To have your wine reviewed follow this link.

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Best of Summer 2019!

It's the first day of Autumn so here are the Top 5 wines that I reviewed and rated this summer! Funnily, the top spot actually goes to the review that came out just two days into the season!

#5. Hazelfern Cellars Pinot Noir 2017

Region: Willamette Valley, Oregon
Review Release: June 30th, 2019

The color of the wine is ruby red with some pretty good clarity to it. And the nose is sooooo goooood with raspberries, cherries, mocha, toffee, wet dirt, and copper. Uuuuuungh. I don't even care about drinking this, I just wanna smell it all night. On the palate it's light bodied but has a rich mouthfeel with a bright acidity and grainy tannin. There's flavors of raspberries, strawberries, vanilla, cola, wet wood, and even some apple. It finishes with strawberries and cola, and with a silky smooth mouthfeel but with some heat to spice it up.

Wow. This is everything I expect out of an almost-$50 Pinot and then some. It's both elegant and rustic, while being both fruity and earthy, and both light bodied and rich in mouthfeel. This is a very well done Pinot and quite the enjoyable experience.

READ THE FULL REVIEW / WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $48

Rating: 4.5/5 = Recommended / Highly Recommended (what does that mean?)

#4. VINI Pinot Grigio 2017

Region: Thracian Valley, Bulgaria
Review Release: August 18th, 2019

The wine has a 12% ABV and it's a light straw yellow in color. It still smells like those little prepackaged cups of sliced peaches in peach juice, with almonds and vanilla, but I'm detecting the addition of some pineapple and hay this time around. It's light to medium bodied with a rich mouthfeel and a nice acidity that's, yet again, rather mellow for a Pinot Grigio. The peaches come back on the flavor, but there's also melon, a tiny squeeze of grapefruit, and a little bit of spearmint.

Pour me this Pinot Grigio any day of the week, man, because it is excellent. For $10 you're getting a Pinot Grigio with character and life, and one that is well above the vast majority of its competition in the same price range. Kris? Ecco Domani? Put them down right now and pick this up.

READ THE FULL REVIEW / WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $10

Rating: 5/5 = Highly Recommended (what does that mean?)

#3. Dane Cellars Valeria 2016

Region: Sonoma Valley, California
Review Release: July 4th, 2019

The color of the wine is ruby red with violet highlights. Speaking of violet, you get plenty of violet on the nose! But there's also strawberry sauce, orange rind, dark chocolate, beach sand, and of course that high ethanol presence that you expect out of Grenache. On the palate it's on the lighter side of medium bodied with a fluent mouthfeel, grainy but soft tannin, and an acidity that hides behind the effects of that high ethanol. There's flavors of cold brewed coffee, black cherries, strawberry sauce, graphite, and a little dirt. It finishes super silky smooth with just a little bit of grainy tannin standing up in protest.

Oh my goodness. Bart has truly made something special here. Valeria is elegant and smooth but it still has grit and heartiness.

READ THE FULL REVIEW / WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $40

Rating: 5/5 = Highly Recommended (what does that mean?)

#2. Domaine Bessa Valley Enira 2009

Region: Thracian Valley, Bulgaria
Review Release: August 25th, 2019

The color of the wine is brick red but holy Moses just forget about color for right now! Chocolate liqueur. Raspberry liqueur. Cinnamon sugar. Cherries, mint, and graphite. God fucking damnit this wine has a sexy nose. On the midpalate it's medium to full bodied with a velvety and lush mouthfeel, with smooth tannin, tamed acidity, and just the right amount of umami. There's flavors of cherries, blackberries, chocolate, cinnamon, and sinful lust.

For the regular price of $26 I'd give this wine a 4.5/5 in price vs quality. It's outstanding. But you can get it right now for $18 (at the publication of this review) and that totally brings it up to a 5/5 and a no brainer. This is absolutely killer for the cost. Buy it up: https://bulgarianwine.com/wines/enira-2009-by-bessa-valley-winery/

READ THE FULL REVIEW / WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $18

Rating: 5/5 = Highly Recommended (what does that mean?)

#1. Ashkar Shafaya 2014

Region: Galilee, Israel
Review Release: June 23rd, 2019

Now let's get to this friggin' kickass wine because OH MY GOOOOODNEEEEESSSS THE JUICINESS!

The color of the wine is a ruby red. It's so black peppery on the nose that it almost makes you want to sneeze! There's also aromas of cassis, plum, cigarette tobacco, and licorice. Oh lordy lordy this nose is STELLAR! I think I'm in love! On the palate it's full bodied with bright acidity, a fine dusty tannin, and a rich mouthfeel. The cassis and plum from the nose return on the palate super-juicy and explosive, and they're joined by blackberry, chocolate, and graphite. Then it finishes with big juicy plum, caramel, and graphite, and a little grip from the tannin. Oh man.

This wine is big, juicy, expressive, alive, and gorgeous! I simply can't rave enough about Shafaya!

READ THE FULL REVIEW / WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $24

Rating: 5/5 = Highly Recommended (what does that mean?)

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Wine Review: Domaine Bessa Valley Enira 2009

It's the Fifth Annual Bulgarian Wine Month thanks to BulgarianWine.com! You can read all of the content and reviews from Bulgarian Wine Month under the Bulgaria label.

To read about the fascinating history of Bulgarian wine, check out Bulgaria - Part 1: Three-Thousand Years of Wine History. To learn about the grapes, wine regions and Bulgarian wine's place in the market, read Part 2: The Current State of Bulgarian Wine. And if you'd like to see what Bulgaria's national drink is all about, find out in Part 3: Invincibility of Rakia.

The Bessi were a tribe of Thracians and the Bessa Valley within the Thracian Valley of the Thracian Lowlands is their namesake. Bessa Valley Winery was founded in 2001 when 800 properties were purchased for its creation. German Count Stephan von Neipperg, owner of Bordeaux's Chateau Canon La Gaffeliere and La Mondotte, assists with the winery's production. The Count wanted to be a part of bringing quality wine back to Bulgaria. He's quoted as saying "I’ve chosen Bulgaria because of the magnificent terroir. With Enira we revive the image of the Bulgarian wines worldwide."

I've got three wines by Domain Bessa Valley lined up to finish off Bulgarian Wine Month! I started with their Petit Enira 2011, now I'm reviewing their Enira 2009, and then I'm sweeping up with their Enira 2010.

This vintage is 66% Merlot, 12% Syrah, 12% Petit Verdot, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes are hand picked, then carefully selected on sorting tables. Cold maceration of whole berries is performed from five to eight days at 60ºF. Alcohol fermentation with addition of selected yeast strains is controlled at 79-82ºF during eight to ten days, followed by maceration from five to eight days in concrete tanks. Malolactic fermentation continues in tanks, then it sees aging for about twelve months in oak barrels.

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Wine Review: Domaine Bessa Valley Petit Enira 2011

It's the Fifth Annual Bulgarian Wine Month thanks to BulgarianWine.com! You can read all of the content and reviews from Bulgarian Wine Month under the Bulgaria label.

To read about the fascinating history of Bulgarian wine, check out Bulgaria - Part 1: Three-Thousand Years of Wine History. To learn about the grapes, wine regions and Bulgarian wine's place in the market, read Part 2: The Current State of Bulgarian Wine. And if you'd like to see what Bulgaria's national drink is all about, find out in Part 3: Invincibility of Rakia.

THRACIAN WARRIOR
by Rocio Espin Pinar

The Bessi were a tribe of Thacians and the Bessa Valley within the Thracian Valley of the Thracian Lowlands is their namesake. Bessa Valley Winery was founded in 2001 when 800 properties were purchased for its creation. German Count Stephan von Neipperg, owner of Bordeaux's Chateau Canon La Gaffeliere and La Mondotte, assists with the winery's production. The Count wanted to be a part of bringing quality wine back to Bulgaria. He's quoted as saying "I’ve chosen Bulgaria because of the magnificent terroir. With Enira we revive the image of the Bulgarian wines worldwide."

I've got three wines by Domain Bessa Valley lined up to finish off Bulgarian Wine Month! First it's their Petit Enira 2011 (which I'm reviewing right now), then it's their Enira 2009, and sweeping it all up will be their Enira 2010.

So the Peitit Enira is obviously a lower tier of Enira, and what we've got here for the 2011 vintage is 70% Merlot, 15% Syrah, 5% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes are hand-picked, then carefully selected on sorting tables. Cold maceration of whole berries is performed from three to five days at 57-60ºF in order to reach desired color and fruits flavors. Alcohol fermentation with addition of selected yeast strains is controlled at 79-82ºC during eight to ten days, followed by maceration from five to eight days in concrete tanks. Malolactic fermentation continues in tanks, then it's aged for about ten to twelve months in French oak barrels (30% two years-old, 70% three-years old).

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Wine Review: Orbelus Melnik 2013

It's the Fifth Annual Bulgarian Wine Month thanks to BulgarianWine.com! You can read all of the content and reviews from Bulgarian Wine Month under the Bulgaria label.

To read about the fascinating history of Bulgarian wine, check out Bulgaria - Part 1: Three-Thousand Years of Wine History. To learn about the grapes, wine regions and Bulgarian wine's place in the market, read Part 2: The Current State of Bulgarian Wine. And if you'd like to see what Bulgaria's national drink is all about, find out in Part 3: Invincibility of Rakia.

Near the border of Greece in the Struma Valley of the Bulgarian Thracian Lowlands is a town called Melnik, and that town has an indigenous black grape variety named after it that Struma is known for. Even after five years of tasting all of these Bulgarian wines this is the first time that I will actually try a Melnik. As I said a few reviews ago, August is my favorite month on the blog because of stuff like this. Where would I ever come across a Bulgarian Melnik on Cape Cod? Let's waste no further type and start drinkin'!

Orbelus, the producer of this Melnik, was founded in 2000 with the mission to "produce high quality red and white wines in a nature conscious manner, guaranteeing its products’ ecological purity." So, naturally, they are Certified Organic under the laws of Bulgaria.

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Wine Quickie: Matchbook Petit Verdot 2016

Matchbook Wine Company is one of the best winery friends of the blog and they're located in Dunnigan Hills, California. The 2016 vintage is the very first of their Petit Verdot varietal and it consists of 88% Petit Verdot, 11% Malbec, and 1% Teroldego. Each variety spent 13 months in oak barrels separately, and then after being blended it spent another 13 months in oak barrels. There's definitely a lot of wood all over this wine, and also violets, prunes, raisins, blackberries, and mocha. It's medium bodied with a bit of a tart acidity, but the ethanol is hot, the tannins are tight, and the finish is bitter, so it's still young and I'd recommend that it be decanted if you want to drink it now. Overall it's a really good wine and I highly enjoyed it, but honestly it's worth spending the $3 more to get their Arsonist Red Blend, which is Petit Verdot based, because that takes things to another level.

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Wine Quickie: Chateau Batailley Pauillac Grand Cru Classé 2014

Oh my goooooodneeeeesss! Poured some wine at an event one night and ended up coming home with half a bottle of this gorgeous $90 Bordeaux. It's medium bodied with excellent structure, tight and dusty tannin, and uplifting acidity. It's super spicy with pepper and clove and exotic spices, earthy with wet wood and black tea, and the fruit of currant and stewed plum and strawberries, and just a little touch of spearmint. Nommy nommy, I have been spoiled!

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January Wine Pick: The Arsonist Red Blend 2016

The Arsonist is made by Matchbook Wine Company, one of my favorite wineries, and you can read all about their great story in my article "A Brief History of Matchbook Wine Company". The Arsonist Red Blend is my January Wine Pick, and I've got a few more Matchbook wines coming up after that to review.

The Arsonist Red Blend 2016 is 52% Petit Verdot, 26% Malbec, and 22% Cabernet Sauvignon out of Dunnigan Hills, California. I reviewed the 2012 vintage for the website back in 2015, I got to taste the 2013 and 2014 vintages but it was off of the site, and I reviewed the 2015 vintage for the site in 2017. Since the 2013 vintage it's been one of those wines that everybody loves once they try it. And today I'm making the 2016 vintage my wine pick of the month for January of 2019.

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Wine Review: Suhru Ember 2013

Suhru was founded in 2008 by Russell and Susan Hearn. Russell is also the winemaker of Lieb Cellars, whose wines I've have had the pleasure of reviewing many many times and thoroughly enjoy. During his wine career, Russell worked his way around the globe: New Zealand, Burgundy, California, Massachusetts and, in 1990, Virginia. Hearing about the wonderful Chardonnay being made on Long Island, he took the trip there with other winemakers to see what's doin'. And he's been there ever since.

This is the winery that Susan and Russell always dreamed they would have. Suhru's goal is to source excellent fruit from the regions in New York where each variety grows best, creating vibrant, balanced, and approachable wines for all to enjoy.

This is wine #2 of 6 that I'll be reviewing by Suhru. I already reviewed the 2017 Pinot Grigio and now I'm on to the 2013 Ember, which will be followed by the 2017 Sauvignon Blanc, 2016 Dry Riesling, 2013 Shiraz, and NV Brut. To see all of them, or the ones that have been published already, just check out the month on the blog.

The 2013 Ember is out of the North Fork of Long Island and is a classic Bordeaux blend. The Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot are grown at a single vineyard in Mattituck while the Malbec is grown at a vineyard in Peconic. The wine was fermented in open tanks and spent twelve months in Hungarian oak.

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Wine Review: Vigilance Cimarron 2015

October is Shannon Ridge Month on TheWineStalker.net!

In 1995, Clay Shannon discovered a magnificent piece of property in the hills overlooking Clear Lake in Lake County, thirty-five miles north of Napa’s famed vineyards. He quickly set out to develop vineyards, Clay’s vision was simple: "We wanted to grow the best fruit in the world,” says Clay, “but we wanted to do it in a way that made us happy living there... The landscape is rugged and wild, and so are our neighbors – we’re surrounded by wildlife. We’ve got ducks, geese, deer, raccoons, quail, golden eagles, bald eagles, wild turkey, chipmunks and bobcats that visit us regularly. We are also visited commonly by bears, mountain lions and elk." 

Shannon Ridge is passionate about preserving their land, not only for great vineyard sites, but for the wild creatures which share the property. Their sustainability practices integrate a flock of sheep that clean the vineyards, remove the excess canopy, and reduce the need for chemicals, while providing natural fertilizer. “Sustainability wasn’t some philosophical concept;" says Clay, "it is the way we live our lives.”

All of October is dedicated to Shannon Ridge! This is review #3 of 8, and you can read all of the reviews I've done so far by clicking here.

Vigilance wines are crafted from fruit harvested on their 250 acre Rolling Knolls Vineyard in the volcanic soils of Red Hills AVA. The 2015 Cimarron is a blend of 52% Syrah, 26% Grenache, 15% Mourvédre, 5% Petit Sirah, and 2% Petit Verdot. Like the Chardonnay, I do not have much info on the winemaking. But I do know that it was aged in French and American oak for twelve months, has a 13.9% ABV, and will run you about $14.

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Wine Review: Lieb Cellars Reserve Merlot 2015

June is Bridge Lane & Lieb Cellars Month on TheWineStalker.net!

I've had a great relationship with Lieb Cellars for four years now and their wines have been on this blog many times. To learn more about both Lieb Cellars and Bridge Lane, check out my article A Brief History of Lieb Cellars - On the North Fork of Long Island, New York from 2016. With everything you need to know about them there I'm gonna jump right into the reviews. Click here to see all of the reviews done so far this month.

A few years ago I reviewed the 2014 vintage of this wine but today I've got the 2015 Reserve Merlot. It's 81% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec, and 2% Petit Verdot. Yeast strain T23 (from a Spanish Rioja fermentation) was used for open top, punch down fermentation. It macerated for twenty-two days, saw 100% malolactic fermentation with Hansen Viniflora bacteria, then spent ten months in Hungarian oak. Harvest was in October 2015, bottling was in January 2017, and it has a final ABV of 12.9%.

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Wine Review: Bridge Lane Red Blend 2016

June is Bridge Lane & Lieb Cellars Month on TheWineStalker.net!

Bridge Lane is the entry level label for Lieb Cellars out of the North Fork of Long Island, New York.  One of the cool things about Bridge Lane is that it comes in all sorts of sizes, and you can see each size drawn on the label. From left to right: bottles, boxes, cans, and kegs. Yup. Kegs!

I've had a great relationship with Lieb Cellars for four years now and their wines have been on this blog many times. To learn more about both Lieb Cellars and Bridge Lane, check out my article A Brief History of Lieb Cellars - On the North Fork of Long Island, New York from 2016. With everything you need to know about them there I'm gonna jump right into the reviews. Click here to see all of the reviews done so far this month.

This red blend is 44% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc, 13% Petit Verdot, 12% Malbec, and 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, all from New York State. Fermentation took an average of twelve to sixteen days at 62°F with fourteen days maceration. 100% of the wine went through malolactic fermentation and it saw six months of 100% Hungarian oak barrels. Harvest was in October 2016, bottling was in April 2017, and it has a 12.9% ABV.

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Wine Review: Mercer Sharp Sisters Red Blend 2015

I'm reviewing three wines by Mercer this month. I love this winery, guys, because they make good wine in the most comfortable of price ranges for the average fine wine consumer. They're a relief to see on a wine list full of Mirassou's and Dark Horses (aka fermented Pixy Stix), because you know they're going to be solid. I also love Mercer because I love Horse Heaven Hills. And because I love Washington State. I'm starting off with their 2015 Sharp Sisters Red Blend, then going to their 2016 Sauvignon Blanc, and topping it off with their 2015 Malbec.

The Mercer family came to the United States in 1747, and they made it to Washington in 1886 when Willis Mercer decided to hang his hat in Prosser. Here they were mainly sheep herders, and for almost two hundred years they used Willis' land for sheep and other forms of farming before wine got involved. It wasn't until 1972 that they decided to try some viticulture. Bob and Linda Mercer started growing grapes on their "Block 1" lot, the very first vineyard in Horse Heaven Hills. The Horse Heaven Hills AVA is now a rather large region within the Columbia Valley of Washington, and it makes some of the best new-world Merlot I've ever had.

The 2015 Sharp Sisters Red Blend is 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Syrah, 18% Merlot, 14% Petit Verdot, 10% Grenache, and 2% Carignan, all from estate vineyards. The Merlot is from Dead Canyon Vineyard, the Cabernet Sauvignon is from Eagle & Plow Vineyard, and the Petit Verdot is from Milt's Vineyard. Then the Grenache, Syrah and Carignan are all from Spice Cabinet Vineyard. Each lot was aged for 18 months in French and American oak barrels separately, and blended before being bottled. It has a final ABV of 14.8%.

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Wine Review: Moraga Estate Red Wine 2013

To learn about this winery out of Bel Air in Los Angeles, California, check out my review from Sunday for their 2015 White Wine.

Their 2013 Red Wine is a Bordeaux-style blend made from primarily Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot as a secondary, with splashes of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. It saw eight to ten months in 100% new French oak and two years of bottle aging.

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Wine Review: Seven Hills Walla Walla Valley Red Wine 2014

This blend out of the Walla Walla Valley in Washington State is 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Malbec, and 5% Petit Verdot. It spent 23 months in French, American and European oak barrels (35% of which were new), and has an ABV of 14.7%. But you know what? This wine came with a really nice letter from Casey McClellan, the winemaker, so I'm going to post it here for you to learn more about this wine and the winery in his own words.

Dear Joey Casco,

My family first arrived in Eastern Washington in the 1880's, putting down roots while farming wheat in this fertile region. One hundred years later, my father and I worked side-by-side on the Walla Walla valley's first significant planting of Bordeaux varietals in what became the original blocks of Seven Hills Vineyard. My wife, Vicky, and I founded Seven Hills Winery in 1988, and I've been refining my craft as a winemaker over the past three decades.

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Wine Review: Lieb Cellars Reserve Petit Verdot 2014

Lieb Cellars is back yet again on the blog for Round 3! To read all the reviews I've done on this Long Island winery, as well as their great story, check out A Brief History of Lieb Cellars - On the North Fork of Long Island, New York!

This go around I'll be tackling two Bridge Lane label items, 2015 Sauvignon Blanc and 2016 Rosé, and two Lieb Cellar label items, 2015 Reserve Pinot Blanc and 2014 Reserve Petit Verdot.

Do you even Petit Verdot, bro? I can't believe I just said that but I just had to. Petit Verdot is the new Petite Sirah: everybody loves it and they just don't know that they do. So when Lieb and I decided that it was time to rekindle passions of lust, I had to give their PV a try. It's not just the magical blender anymore. It's rising as a varietal to be reckoned with. This one was hand harvested, aged in Hungarian oak for 10 months, and has an ABV of 13.2%.

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