Underground Cellar

Do me a solid and look at that. Just look at it. Now look at the next one.

Is this Christian Grey's wine subscription? How do I insert a fire emoji into a blog? Wait... check out the next one...

Helllllooooooooo.

I don't think I need to say anything else. You know you want this. Just go to UndergroundCellar.com and get yourself one. You deserve this shit.

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Best of Fall 2019!

Today is the first day of Winter so here are the Top 5 wines that I reviewed and rated this Fall!
Deciding on 5 through 3 was not an easy task because I had to choose between six wines that I rated 4.5 in price vs quality!

#5. Masottina Prosecco Treviso Brut

Region: Prosecco, Veneto, Italy
Review Release: September 26th, 2019

man, this is some awesome Prosecco for $14. It's got a rather floral nose with white flowers, fruit aromas of  lemon and apples, and a little bit of honey. There's flavors of pears, apple, lemon, and herbs. On the midpalate it's light and crisp and fluttery, but then it goes ahead and finishes creamy as the carbonation froths up in your mouth.

This is probably the best deal for a Prosecco in this price range that I've had in a long time. Elegant yet still fun, bright and happy, and just good quality for the price.

READ THE FULL REVIEW / WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $14

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

#4. Yalumba "The Y Series" Viognier 2018

Region: South Australia, Australia
Review Release: November 1st, 2019

The color of the wine is a pale yellow with a greenish hue. There's a lot of honeysuckle and vanilla on the nose, but there's also aromas of apricots, lychee, lemon zest, and menthol. On the palate it's light bodied with a sharp acidity and a bit of an oily mouthfeel. There's flavors of apricot, tart lime, and banana. Then it finishes with a mixed bowl of tropical fruits and a drop of sweetness.

This is fantastic, just a happy wine, and an outstanding deal for $12. And it's even better with food; lobster, baked scallops, chicken piccata, ham, or even hot dogs! You know what? I really think this wine would make an outstanding pair with hot dogs! Let's try it!

READ THE FULL REVIEW / WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $12

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

#3. Bogle Phantom Red 2015

Region: California
Review Release: November 24th, 2019

So the color of the wine is freakin' purple. And man, I loooove the nose! There's black cherries, blueberries, chocolate, black licorice, toasty oak, and like a drop of black olive juice. I need to go change my underwear. It's medium bodied with a semi-rich mouthfeel with dusty tannins and moderate acidity. On the midpalate there's flavors of blackberries, black cherries, vanilla, mocha, maple, and a little bit of dirt. There's a savoriness and heat to the long lasting finish, with flavors of blackberries, mocha, and zippy raspberries.

The Phantom Red is one of those popular $20 wines that sells extremely well, especially among casual wine consumers who really don't know know all that much about wine. So it's easy to think that it's just overrated, overpriced, and overproduced. To that thought I say this: There's a lot of Zinfandel characteristics in this wine. I hate Zinfandel. And I think this is killer. 

READ THE FULL REVIEW

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $20

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

#2. Panthera Russian River Chardonnay 2017

Region: Russian River, Sonoma, California
Review Release: December 1st, 2019

It's light gold in color. The nose is dominated by vanilla, followed by pineapple, apple, butter, honey, and ginger. Damn I love the smell of oaky Chardonnay. On the palate it's full bodied with a rich mouthfeel and a bright acidity that lifts up the weight of the wine. There's flavors of vanilla, pineapple, apple, banana, and butter. Then it finishes with a thick coating in your mouth of apples and banana.

I'm still in love with this wine. It's oaky and buttery and hedonistic and gorgeous. And it's my wine pick of the month, so go get it!

READ THE FULL REVIEW

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $45

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

#1. Two Hands Angels' Share Shiraz 2018

Region: McLaren Vale, Australia
Review Release: November 3rd, 2019

This is 100% Shiraz from McLaren Vale, Australia, and oh that color is straight up purple and it's beautiful! And what a wonderful jamminess this wine has! There's aromas of big juicy plums, grape jelly, lavender, vanilla bean, and black table pepper. And there's nothing subtle about any of those. On the palate it's medium bodied with a silky mouthfeel yet a grainy tannin and low acidity. The flavors imitate the nose and are just as big and juicy and expressive, and then it finishes lengthy and boozy and lustly.

Hell friggin yeah. Hell. Friggin. Yeah. I was expecting something with a bit more intricate, something a bit more French Syrahish in style, but this does not hold back from all the Australian Shiraz that it is and was really meant to be... and it's so goddamn good. It punches you right in the face and I love it.

READ THE FULL REVIEW / WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $33

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

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Lion Tamer Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

We all know that Hess has had that lion on their labels forever, and that's because it's been the family emblem forever. Expanding on that theme, they've started a line called The Lions Head, which is made up of the Panthera Chardonnay (my wine pick of the month), this Lion Tamer Cabernet, and a Lion Tamer Red Blend (which I'm not reviewing).

The 2017 Lion Tamer Cabernet Sauvigon is 81% Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Petite Sirah, and 8% Malbec. It's actually called "Lion Tamer" because of that 8% Malbec. The grape has earned the nickname of "Lion Tamer" at Hess because of its ability to tame powerful tannin as a blender. Anyways, it was aged in 33% new French and American oak for 20 months, and it has a 14.6% ABV.

As Hess has found, Malbec has proven to work very well with California Cabernet when you add a splash or two... but Petite Sirah? I loooooove Petite Sirah but generally those Cabs with PS aren't all that varietally correct and just crowd pleasing fruit bombs taking advantage of the Cabernet Sauvignon name (same as when it's added to Pinot Noir). This one? Yeah, the PS is clearly there but I'm not even mad. This is outstanding.

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Wine Review: Bogle Phantom Red 2015

Bogle Vineyards gave me two bottles from their Phantom line to share with friends, family, or followers on social media. So I said "forget the friends and family, I'm reviewing them!" First itw was the 2017 Chardonnay on Thursday and now it's the 2015 Red Blend!

Though the Bogle family has been farming in the Clarksburg region for six generations, their involvement in the wine business spans back 50 years. In addition to passing down a strong work ethic and dedication to quality, the success of Bogle over the years is rooted in the day-to-day involvement of the Bogle family. - Read more about the history of Bogle

2016 was the first vintage for the Phantom Chardonnay, but the red blend was created in 1999 around Patty Bogle’s dining room table as the family blended some of their finest vineyard offerings. The name "Phantom" seemed fitting as "Bogle" is the Scottish word for "ghost".

The 2015 Phantom Red Blend holds the California appellation and is a blend of 44% Petite Sirah, 44% Zinfandel, 10% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon. It saw 24 months in 1 and 2 year old American and French oak, and has a 14.5% ABV.

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Wine Quickie: Artezin Old Vine Zinfandel 2017

Artezin is Hess Family's ode to the craft of Zinfandel, and for $16 it's one of my favorite suggestions for Zins in the $15 to $20 price range. This wine is 85% Zinfandel and 15% Petite Sirah out of Mendocino and sustainably farmed. It's garnet in color with violet highlights. There's a lot of tarragon on the nose along with plums, pomegranate, black table pepper, and black iced coffee. On the palate it's full bodied and rich, has soft and sweet tannin, and flavors of plums, raspberries, cinnamon, and tarragon. And I gotta say it is pairing INCREDIBLY well with this Gouda! Good stuff!

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Wine Reviews: Best of Winter 2018/19!

Today is the first day of Spring, so here's the best wines that I reviewed for this Winter season!

#5. Corvezzo Terre di Marca Rosé "Sur lie" Frizzante

Region: Veneto, Italy
Review Release: December 23rd, 2018

I freaking love this. I love its personality. It's so very interesting on the nose and so fun and thirst quenching on the palate. That tart acidity on the finish is just begging for some food, too. Suddenly I really want fish tacos to pair with this. Unfortunately it doesn't look like this is available in United States right now, but it's sold for roughly $13 in the European Union. So I'm running with that. And I'm giving a damn good score.

READ THE FULL REVIEW / WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $23

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

#4. Emilio Hidalgo Fino Sherry

Region: Jerez, Spain
Review Release: February 1st, 2019 (Wine Pick of the Month)

This is 100% Palamino. The color of the wine is a golden yellow. Caramel leads the charge of aromas, followed by dried apricots, prunes, brown sugar, and almonds. Fantastic nose. On the palate it's a lighter bodied Sherry, as it should be, with a nice salinity to its mouthfeel and bright acidity. There's flavors of apricots, almonds, Greek olives, and yeast. It feels and tastes so good on the finish that there's no rush to take another sip. Which is a good thing because it has a 15% ABV. Take your time and enjoy.

READ THE FULL REVIEW

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $16

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

#3. Ventisquero "Grey" Glacier Garnacha Cariñena Mataro 2017

Region: Colchagua Valley, Chile
Review Release: January 17th, 2019

The wine is purple in color. On the nose there's aromas of cherries, strawberry jelly, black olives, cinnamon, and burnt toast. The nose is freakin' awesome. In the mouth it's light to medium bodied with a slippery mouthfeel, a pep to its acidity, and sweet tannins. It's got a smokey and savory profile surrounding fruity flavors of cherries and strawberries, and spice flavors of vanilla and cinnamon. Then it finishes savory with flavors of tangy strawberries and gritty leather.

This is absolutely delicious and I couldn't recommend it more for a $20 Grenache blend. The way the savoriness of the midpalate and finish plays with the flavors really make this wine highly enjoyable, and I can't wait to try it with some cheese. With that said, it gets a perfect score in price vs. quality.

READ THE FULL REVIEW / WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $20

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

#2. Casa Agricola Santos Jorge Herdade dos Machados Reserva 2012

Region: Alentejo, Portugal
Review Release: March 1st, 2019 (Wine Pick of the Month)

The wine is a dark and inky ruby red in color. The nose is stellar with aromas of black cherries, rose pedals, cloves, vanilla and cracked pepper. True to previous vintages, it’s bold and hedonistic in the mouth with big dark fruit, rosemary and cedar. The tannin is soft but the ethanol shows its strength on the minty, cleansing finish.

Outstanding. Just outstanding. Pair with beef stew, pot roast, or barbecue.

READ THE FULL REVIEW / WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $16

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

#1. Matchbook Estate Bottled Petite Sirah 2016

Region:  Dunnigan Hills, California
Review Release: January 3rd, 2019

The color of the wine is a gorgeous ruby red. There's aromas of plums, vanilla, black pepper, and bay leaf. On the palate it's medium to full bodied with a rich mouthfeel that becomes a cloud of lushness when swirled around in the mouth. The tannins are both sweet and grippy, and the acidity is present but takes a seat in the back. There's flavors of blackberries, red apple, black pepper, and vanilla. Then it finishes juicy with the tannins tightening their grip.

For $17 this is a freakin' dream, and a run-away perfect score for a $20 Petite Sirah. The Giguiere's did a hell of a job with this one. It's an absolute joy to drink!

READ THE FULL REVIEW / WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO

QUALITY VS PRICE RATING

Price: $17

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

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Wine Quickie: Crux Russian River GSM 2014

Crux is a small winery that focuses on small lots of Rhone varietals within Russian River Valley. Their GSM is 58% Grenache, 22% Mourvedre, 18% Syrah, and 2% Petite Sirah. It's garnet in color with aromas of raspberries, prunes, anise, and black table pepper. On the palate it's medium bodied with a sweet-ish fruit forward profile of raspberry sauce, cherry cola, vanilla, and tobacco. It's a bigger and juicier GSM than I expected, but you can hand it to me with some BBQ any day of the week. Yum! Thank you to Lin (@boozychef) for the hook up!

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Wine Review: Matchbook Estate Bottled Petite Sirah 2016

Matchbook Wine Company is back yet again on the blog, and this is wine #2 of 4 that I'm reviewing for this go-around. The Arsonist Red Blend 2016 was my January Wine Pick, now I'm reviewing Matchbook Estate Bottled Petite Sirah 2016, then I'll review Tinto Rey Verdejo 2017 and Chasing Venus Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018. 

To learn more about Matchbook Wine Company, one of my favorite wineries, you can read all about their great story in my article "A Brief History of Matchbook Wine Company".

The Estate Bottled Petite Sirah 2016 is their very first Estate Bottled Petite Sirah. It's 77% Petite Sirah, 17% Syrah, and 6% Tannat. Just twenty minutes after harvest, the grapes were gently crushed and then put in small temperature controlled stainless steel tanks to ferment. They pumped the tanks over twice a day until nearly dry, then pressed and aged the wine in a variety of French, Hungarian and American oak barrels for 16 months. Barrel lots were selected for their robust structure and intense flavor.

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Wine Review: Buck Shack Small Batch Red Wine 2016

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 #5 of 8, and you can read all of the reviews I've done so far by clicking here.

On the Shannon Ridge property was a skinning shed called the "Ye Old Buck Shack" that had stood there for a hundred years. So they restored it and converted it into a whiskey bar, and named a line of their wines after it. Buck Shack has a Cabernet Sauvignon, Bourbon Barrel Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Red Wine blend. Today I'm reviewing the 2016 Red Wine, which is a blend of mainly Syrah and Petite Sirah, and then small amounts of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Barbera. All I can tell you further is that they "laid these wines down in some expensive new barrels and let it age". So I don't know what kind or for how long. It has a 14.7% ABV, though.

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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: Little Black Dress Rosé 2017

It feels like it wasn't that long ago when rosé was just suddenly everywhere... but it wasn't a consumer driven push. The wineries and marketers were responsible and the people weren't buying it. Whelp, the strategy worked because since then things have changed. Rosé is HUGE with consumers. And I feel like I've tasted and/or reviewed a thousand of them already this spring (my wine pick for the month of June is even a rosé).

Today I've got Little Black Dress's 2014 Rosé. It's made from Zinfandel and Petite Sirah out of Mendocino County, California, and it has an ABV of 12%.

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Wine Review: Artezin Mendocino County Old Vine Zinfandel 2016

Holy crap, it feels like I've had this bottle forever. To be honest I've been kind of dreading it, because Artezin looks like a great thing with a great crew behind it but... it's *yuck* Zinfandel. I'm not going to get into my issues with Zin for the hundredth time, but let's just say that myself and Zin have issues.

Artezin, a part of the Hess Family Wine Estates, was founded in 2002 and has had Randle Johnson as its winemaker since the beginning. Artezin is focused on expressing classic Old Vine Zinfandel from Mendocino and parts of Sonoma by working with family-owned farms that have been growing Zin for generations.

The 2016 Mendocino Zinfandel is 84% Zinfandel, 14% Petite Sirah, and 2% Carignan. It was aged for fifteen months in French and American oak, and has an ABV of 14.9%.

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November Wine Pick: Cooper & Thief Red Wine Blend 2014

This WINE PICK of the month was written for the Luke's of Cape Cod website.

I’m not one that has really enjoyed the “let’s age everything in Bourbon barrels” trend that’s going on. Especially when it comes to wine. So I was shocked when I tried Cooper & Thief’s Red Wine Blend and absolutely loved it. This is a blend of 38% Merlot, 37% Syrah, 11% Zinfandel, 7% Petite Sirah, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 3% miscellaneous blenders. It spent three months aging in Bourbon barrels, soaking up the flavors and gaining additional alcohol.

Even without the Bourbon barrel aging, the quality of this blend would still put it in the $20’s. It’s also bold enough to stand up to Bourbon barrels for that long. A lot of the bourbon barrel aged wines are just okay in quality and are only in the barrel for two or three weeks, pinning their appeal on the “bourbon barrel aged” labeling, so they’re usually a disappointment. Not this baby.

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Wine Review: Vindie California 2014 Red Blend

Vindie is a wine label created by Jeff Bundschu of the Gundlach Bundshu Winery and Rand Rognlien of Music Nomad, with winemaker Alison Crowe. The whole concept of the wine is for it to be paired wiiiith.... music. Yup! Music! That actually makes sense to me. I write all of my reviews to vastly different forms of music and, even though I don't think it influences whether I like the wine or not, it definitely influences the tone of the review. So I really like the idea of providing music for people to listen to that pairs well with their wine.

You can read more about this concept in my review of their Sonoma County 2014 Chardonnay, but here's a quick rundown:

There's a code that you scratch off on the back label, which you redeem on VINDIEWINE.COM to gain access to a playlist of eight songs by independent artists chosen for your bottle of wine. I made sure that it works on mobile, which I felt was pretty damn important. After redeeming your code it may tell you that there was an error with your code... but if you look to the left on your computer or scroll down on your mobile device, you'll see that your playlist was pulled up. Click on it, pour some wine, and enjoy.

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Wine Review: Craveyon CloudWines Monterey County 2014 Petite Sirah

Craveyon CloudWines is an internet based wine retail / subscription / event company out of Temecula, California. They "provide Craveyon wines and wine subscriptions through an approachable cloud platform." Honestly, I'm really not sure what that means. But subscription is free and you save some nice dough on their wine when you do subscribe, and you and your friends are invited to free monthly events in Southern California or near where you live. How can you lose? Check them out at http://craveyon.com/ or read my review of their Paso Robles 2013 Counoise.

All the time you get the Petite Sirah name problem, right? "Petite Sirah? I like my wine big like the regular Syrah!" And in your head you hear that buzzing sound when somebody gives a wrong answer in a game show. Petite Sirah, also known as Durif, is the naturally occurring lovechild of Syrah and Peloursin. It gets the petite part of its name because the actual grapes are smaller than Syrah. So during winemaking the skin in the skin-to-flesh ratio is greater, which makes for a BIGGER wine. Make no mistake: Petite Sirah is not petite.

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Wine Review: Marietta Old Vine Red Lot Number 61

I recently had a customer that was so adamant about a wine that it was inspiring. He wanted to order a case for himself and said we should carry it as well. He went on to talk about Robert Parker's longtime admiration for the wine, described the wine perfectly with glowing eyes, and recalled past lot numbers and how they fared in reviews. When I went to get him a case price I saw that it was from a distributor we normally don't deal with and it would be a three case drop just to have it delivered. I saw no problem with taking in two cases to stack based on his recommendation.

That wine was Marietta Old Vine Red Lot Number 61. When it came in I bought a bottle for myself and now I'm about to have it for the first time.

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Wine Review: L.A. Cetto 2011 Petite Sirah

December is L.A. Cetto Month thanks to International Spirits and Wine!

This is the 2011 Petite Sirah from L.A. Cetto. Estate bottled in Valle de Guadalupe (Guadalupe Valley) in the state of Baja California, Mexico. The ABV is 13.5%.

For some background on the L.A. Cetto winery and links to the other reviews in this series, please check out L.A. Cetto - A Brief History of the Mexican Winery. To learn more about Mexican wine in general, I've written a complete history on the subject: Mexico makes wine too, muchacho.

Petite Sirah isn't the same grape as Syrah, although they are related. The "petite" part of the name refers to the grape size and because there's more of a skin-to-flesh ratio it actually produces a bigger wine than Syrah. It's blended into many wines now to increase mass appeal so chances are you've had your share of Petite Sirah and you just don't know it. It adds dark fruit, roundness and easy approachability. If you're a fan of Meiomi Pinot Noir then you're probably more of a Petite Sirah fan than a Pinot Noir fan. And there's nothing wrong with that. Petite Sirah is delicious and a great wine for unwinding.

This one was aged six months in oak and six months in the bottle. It's a deeply pigmented ruby, as you should expect from the varietal.

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The Sideways Effect: Why Miles is on Team Merlot today

It's been 10 years since Sideways came out and everybody has their own personal rant on it by now. I'll get mine out of the way early in the creation of this blog. And I hope to bring a different perspective you may not have thought of before. Or else why bother? It would be redundant at this point, right?

So at some point in the past month Sideways was on television and I was bored so I watched it again. Awesome movie. But it single handedly killed Merlot, the #1 red varietal at the time by far, and started the rise of Pinot Noir sales in America.

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