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Showing posts with label Pinot Noir. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pinot Noir. Show all posts
Sunday, April 21, 2024
Veramonte Organic Wines and Patagonia Provisions
Wednesday, March 10, 2021
Grapes & Capes Episode #17: Ravines & WandaVision
Mike and Joey sip on wines by Ravines Cellars and discuss the WandaVision series.
*** Help Support the Podcast ***
- RAVINES CELLARS DRY RIESLING
- Germany vs Finger Lakes
- Truro Vineyards
- Dry vs fruit
- Technical Difficulties
- WANDAVISION
- Are we the last generation to watch Lucy?
- Why do babies not exist in major comic book events?
- RAVINES CELLARS PINOR NOIR
- What we're reading now
- DC Future State
- Germany vs Finger Lakes
- Truro Vineyards
- Dry vs fruit
- Technical Difficulties
- WANDAVISION
- Are we the last generation to watch Lucy?
- Why do babies not exist in major comic book events?
- RAVINES CELLARS PINOR NOIR
- What we're reading now
- DC Future State
Saturday, February 13, 2021
Grapes & Capes Episode #16: Rumble at Ron Rubin's
*** Help Support the Podcast ***
- Prologue, iTunes review
- Ron Rubin Winery
- RON RUBIN PAM'S UN-OAKED CHARDONNAY 2018 ($14)
- Do not be scared by screwcap enclosures
- Pineapple Chili Wings
- The Green Lantern Corps #18 (2007)
- What's up with Kyptonians and lead
- Origins of Sodam Yat and Superboy Prime
- WandaVision and Dr. Who
- RON RUBIN RUSSIAN RIVER CHARDONNAY 2018 ($20)
- Chardonnay love affair
- Getting into Port
- The Immortal Hulk #23 (2019)
- RON RUBIN RUSSIAN RIVER PINOT NOIR 2017 ($25)
- Local Restaurants
- Cursing
- You do not have to hoard wine
- The Immortal Hulk #24 (2019)
Intro Music: "Know Your Enemy" by Rage Against The Machine
Thursday, January 7, 2021
Morgan "Twelve Clones" Pinot Noir 2018
The 2018 Twelve Clones Pinot Noir by Morgan Winery is from the Double L, Rosella's, Boekenoogen, KW, and Tondré vineyards in Santa Lucia Highlands, California. It saw 9 months in French Oak, 35% of it new. It's got some nice dirt and earthy spice on it, with tart and juicy cranberries, plums, wilting roses, and a perky acidity on the finish followed by grainy tannins. Burgundian in style and very versatile with food pairing. $35 and worth it!
Friday, January 1, 2021
Grapes & Capes Episode #12: Hope and Hijinks
Mike and Joey sip on wines by Morgan while talking about some uplifting stories to ring in the New Year, and give their opinion on Wonder Woman 1984 because why not?
Breaker / Overcast / Pocket Casts / Radio Public / RSS
*** Help Support the Podcast ***
Prologue: Wonder Woman 1984, being a podcasting parent
Wine #1: Morgan Metallico Unoaked Chardonnay 2019, Metallo, Superman the animated series
Comics #1: Superman #7 (2016), Superman in New 52 and Rebirth, what makes Superman the greatest, Rebirth costumes, the aging and destruction of Jon Kent
Wine #2: Morgan Twelve Clones Pinot Noir 2018
Comics #2: Quantum and Woody Volume 1, hide yo kids hide yo wife
Wine #3: Morgan Double L. Vineyard Syrah 2018
Tuesday, December 1, 2020
Mossback Russian River Pinot Noir 2019
Mossback's 2019 Pinot Noir by Matchbook is everything that you want out of a Russian River Pinot Noir. Dark berries, cranberries, chocolate, rose petals, and green peppers. All on a medium body with a smooth mouthfeel, a little bit of a grippy tannin, and a bitter chocolate and coppery finish. It's quite elegant with a drop of rusticness. For $25 I'm all about it!
Listen to Mike and Joey talk about two other wines by Matchbook on Grapes & Capes Episode #7 "Pyromania"!
Sunday, July 26, 2020
Ron Rubin Winery ~ Pinot Noir 2017, Chardonnay 2018, Pam's Unoaked Charonnay 2018
It's been a rough time for everybody this year, and I haven't had a more fun time throughout it all so far than opening up these bottles of Ron Rubin on the porch on this beautiful night on Cape Cod. Pam's Unoaked Chardonnay is like drinking the pear juice out of a can. Do not even think that is a bad thing right now or we'll have words, mister. Yeah, it has some sweetness, but damn is it crushable. The Russian River Chardonnay is much more sophisticated but can also be summed up simply: it's literally like drinking apple crisp. Baked apple, crumbly crust, and baking spices. Holy crap it's awesome and everything I want out of a Chardonnay. Then there's the Pinot Noir. It's got this alluring metallic thing going on, much more silver than the copper that I usually get on Pinot Noirs. There's also a full trading post of spices, licorice, and the fruit takes the background with plums and blackberries. The tart acidity is just begging me for something to eat. I can't let it down. Time to see what we have for snacks...
Thursday, March 5, 2020
Hess Select Central Coast Pinot Noir 2018
It was just in January that Hess had a few reviews on the blog and they're back again for three more, and this time they're all from their Select selection.
I'm starting off with their 2018 Central Coast Pinot Noir. It's 100% Pinot Noir from the 667 and Pommard clones. The Sarmento Vineyard in Santa Lucia Highlands is "featured" in this vintage, although I'm not entirely sure what that means exactly. Is it actually single vineyard or just mostly from that vineyard? The color of the wine is a luminous garnet. The aroma shows raspberries, plums, vanilla, clove, and a little touch of mint. On the palate it's light to medium bodied with a present but tamed acidity, soft tannin, and a gritty earthiness among the aroma descriptors. Then it finishes silky and lip-smacking.
It's a solid Pinot Noir and I enjoyed drinking it, but for a $20 Pinot Noir you can definitely do much better. That said, I don't think you would be disappointed in the purchase.
QUALITY VS PRICE RATING
Price: $20
Rating: 3/5 = Satisfying (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.
The bottle used was supplied free of charge for the purpose of this unpaid review. To have your wine reviewed follow this link.
Wednesday, January 1, 2020
Piper Heidsieck Cuvée Brut Champagne, January Wine Pick
It's January of 2020 so it's time to toast to the New Year! My wine pick of the month is Piper Heidsieck Cuvée Brut Champagne, which has been one of my favorite bubblies for many years. It's pale yellow in color with aromas of green apples, pears, lime peel, and toast. On the palate it's medium bodied with a creamy mouthfeel and a bright acidity. For flavors it's heavy on the lime with teammates of red berries, brie crust, and ginger. This is an excellent deal in Champagne for the price, and just one hell of a wine!
QUALITY VS PRICE RATING
Price: $45
The bottle used was supplied free of charge for the purpose of this unpaid review. To have your wine reviewed follow this link.
Sunday, October 6, 2019
Wine Review: Kalfu Kuda Pinot Noir 2017
Kalfu means "blue" in the language of the Mapuche, the indigenous inhabitants of Chile, and for the Mapuche, Kalfu is synonymous with the magnificent Pacific Ocean that borders Chile's western coastline. A coastline blessed with an exceptional cool climate, constant refreshing breezes and early morning fogs that enforce a slow, steady ripening period for grapes, helping to create balanced, elegant wines. Kalfu is produced in Chile by Ventisquero, a winery dedicated to creating outstanding wines in a sustainable fashion.
I'm reviewing two wines by Kalfu this week. I already reviewed the 2018 Sauvignon Blanc on Thursday and now it's time for the 2017 Pinot Noir. For some reason Chilean Pinot Noir isn't really something you see much of around here, unless it's the lesser quality stuff. But this one isn't a $7.99 magnum or a 2 for $12 deal; it'll will run you $19 in a standard bottle.
This is 100% Pinot Noir from the granitic clay soil of the Las Terrazas Vineyard in Leyda Valley, Chile. The grapes were harvested early in the morning of March 20th to 23rd, were further selected and destemmed, underwent cold fermentation for 7-10 days, and saw fermentation in stainless steel tanks at 12°C and 15°C. Then 100% of the wine spent 12 months in French oak (10% new, 20% in second use, and 70% in third or fourth use). It has a 14% ABV.
Monday, September 23, 2019
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
#4. VINI Pinot Grigio 2017
Region: Thracian Valley, Bulgaria
Review Release: August 18th, 2019
READ THE FULL REVIEW / WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO
READ THE FULL REVIEW / WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO
Region: Thracian Valley, Bulgaria
Review Release: August 25th, 2019
#1. Ashkar Shafaya 2014
Region: Galilee, Israel
Review Release: June 23rd, 2019
READ THE FULL REVIEW / WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO
#5. Hazelfern Cellars Pinot Noir 2017
Region: Willamette Valley, OregonReview 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.
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.
#4. VINI Pinot Grigio 2017
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
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.
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
Region: Thracian Valley, BulgariaReview 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/
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/
#1. Ashkar Shafaya 2014
Region: Galilee, IsraelReview 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!
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!
QUALITY VS PRICE RATING
Price: $24
Sunday, July 21, 2019
Wine Review: Left Coast Cellars "Queen Bee Bubbly" Sparking Pinot Noir 2017
I've done plenty of reviews of Left Coast Cellars' wines over the years, and you can read them all by clicking here. This winery is out of Willamette Valley, Oregon and was founded in 2003. With 350 acres of land and 130 acres of vineyards, they use sustainable viticulture to produce only estate-grown wine. They're LIVE Certified Sustainable, Salmon Safe Certified, and are one of fourteen wineries to complete the Oregon Environmental Council's Carbon Reduction Challenge. All of the power for the guest cottages, the front gate, and the vineyard irrigation is run by solar power, and use a big chunk of their land for their Oak Savanna Restoration Project. They are very environmentally conscious.
This time around I've got some of the brand new vintages just released in 2019! There's a quickie of the 2018 White Pinot Noir, a full review of the 2018 Rosé, a quickie of the 2017 Pinot Gris, and a full review of the 2018 Queen Bee Bubbly. (Hopefully I remember to update those links as they're published)
The 2018 Queen Bee Bubbly is entirely from the Wädenswil clone of Pinot Noir. It's a sustainably farmed sparkling rosé that was fermented in 100% French oak and saw 10 months of aging. What's super cool about this stuff is that they use honey from their estate honey bees as the source of sugar for the secondary fermentation that creates the carbonation, so there's actual honey in this wine! The final ABV is 12%, and rather than a cork or screwcap it's topped off with a bottle cap.
Monday, July 15, 2019
Wine Quickie: Left Coast Cellars White Pinot Noir 2018
I look forward to getting the new vintages of Left Coast's wine every year, and it's another awesome vintage for their White Pinot Noir! This is sustainably farmed and made from 93% Pinot Noir and 7% Pinot Blanc. It was fermented and aged for five months in 100% stainless steel. There's aromas of peaches, orange, elderflower, and grass. On the palate it's got a lovely silky mouthfeel on a medium to full body with very bright acidity and a flinty minerality. There's flavors of peaches, pears, melon, and spearmint. It has a citrusy and salivatingly tart finish. So good. So, so good.
Tuesday, July 2, 2019
Wine Quickie Revisit: Rodney Strong Rosé of Pinot Noir 2018
So back in May I had the pleasure to join the #PinkSociety chat on Twitter and I seemed to be the only one who wasn't digging this wine. Well, it turns out that there were multiple reports of bottle shock in Massachusetts for this particular wine and I must have gotten one... because I have a second bottle here and it's drinking much better! It's zippier than the last bottle, has better fruit expression, and it's less peppery. There's tart raspberry, juicy watermelon, and white peach. And it finishes refreshingly crisp with a bit of watermelon Jolly Rancher, some white pepper, and nice tart acidity. Yup! This is exactly what I was missing out on! It's delicious and I'm very happy that I gave it another shot!
Sunday, June 30, 2019
Wine Review: Hazelfern Cellars Pinot Noir 2017
The land that has been Hazelfern Cellars since 2014 was once Hazel Fern Farms, circa 1895. Bryan and Laura Laing come from winemaking families who taught them everything they know about winemaking and they've been making wine together since 2006. But they decided to buy vineyard land when a young cousin passed away and made them realize that life is short, so they went all in! The other two wines that they produce are Rosé and Syrah, but the ones I've got are their 2017 Chardonnay and 2017 Pinot Noir.
This is 100% Pommard clone Pinot Noir from the Robinson Family Vineyard in the Chehalem Mountains. It spent 8 days cold soaking, 8 days fermenting, and then went into 100% French oak, 25% of it new, for 12 months. It has a 13.2% ABV.
Sunday, June 2, 2019
Wine Review: Louis Latour Les Pierres Dorées Pinot Noir 2017
What can you say about Louis Latour other than they make some damn good wine? You really can't go wrong with their juice on any of their tier levels from introductory to high end. And they've been around for over 220 years! Since 1797 they've been based in Burgundy, France, but they recently decided to expand their operations further down south to...
Beaujolais?!? YUP! They bought up 50 acres of vineyard land in Les Pierres Dorées (the southernmost region in Beaujolas), ripped up the Gamay vines, and planted their specialty... Pinot Noir! They felt the specific altitude and clay-limestone soils would be perfect for the varietal. And what I've got right here is the result of that initiative.
This is 100% Pinot Noir from sustainably farmed vineyards in the villages of Morancé and Theizé, between 918 to 1246 feet above sea level on clay and crinoidal limestone soil. It was fermented in open vats, and spent 10 to 12 months aging in stainless steel tanks and medium toasted French oak by the Louis Latour cooperage.
Friday, May 24, 2019
Wine Quickie: Rodney Strong Rosé of Pinot Noir 2018
I was fortunate enough to be invited to this month's #PinkSociety chat that featured this wine. And although it was full of cool people and conversations, I was not all that much of a fan of the wine itself (which surprises me because I really do like Rodney Strong). Everybody else seemed to like it, so don't take my word for it. There's aromas and flavors of watermelon, white peach, and white pepper. Overall it didn't do much for me, but what I DID like was the white pepper on the midpalate and little bit of astringency on the citrusy finish.
FOLLOW UP: I have since learned of several reports of bottle shock for this wine through a distribution rep, and one of the bottles was his own. He opened up another bottle and it was tasting great. I will be revisiting this one soon.
FOLLOW UP: I have since learned of several reports of bottle shock for this wine through a distribution rep, and one of the bottles was his own. He opened up another bottle and it was tasting great. I will be revisiting this one soon.
Thursday, March 21, 2019
Wine Review: Altaneve (Sparkling) Rosé
This is the first of three reviews that I'm going for Altaneve. We're starting off with their Rosé, then going on to their Prosecco Superioire, and finishing up with the Altaneve Z.
Altaneve prides themselves in being one of the very first top quality Prosecco producers to break on in to the United States. The shelves here are loaded with Prosecco, so much so that nobody even knows how the region keeps up because it statistically shouldn't. But how often do you see one that is a top shelf item? A Prosecco that competes with Champagne or higher-tiered American sparklers? Unless you're shopping in the right spots, it's not often until recently.
Altaneve also prides themselves in the history of Prosecco, which goes back thousands of years. I just wrote an article on Pliny the Elder and he loved the wine from the region, even though it didn't become what we know it to be today until the 20th century. As a huge history nerd, I like it when something embraces its roots. Especially when it's wine.
Their Sparkling Rosé is sustainably farmed and made of 70% Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir) from the Oltrepò Pavese region in the hills of northwestern Italy, and 30% Glera (the grape used for Prosecco) from the Valdobbiadene hills in northeastern Italy. It has a 12% ABV.
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Clearance Wine Quickie: Wither Hills Rosé of Pinot Noir 2016
Flashback February is still in full swing on the blog but with the Rosé 2018 vintage presells really heating up as spring inches closer, I nabbed this little gem from two vintages ago off the clearance rack. It's a beautiful watermelon color with aromas of cantaloupe, strawberry, and white pepper. On the palate it's like sucking on strawberry and watermelon Jolly Ranchers with a dash of sea salt and a squeeze of lemon. Yum yum! It's still drinking AWESOME and I suggest picking it up yourself if you come across it.
Sunday, February 10, 2019
Valentine's Wine Review: Castello del Poggio Sweet Rosé
Here's a wine that's nice and sweet just like your Valentine... me. Smooches! And I'm putting it out there with plenty of time for you to go out and pick one up for yourself before the actual day.
This is a rosé with a little frizzante sparkle made from Muscat and Pinot Noir out of Acqui in Piedmont, Italy. It has a 7% ABV and that's all I really know about it. But that's okay because this is clearly a wine that is meant for some fun and shouldn't really be taken seriously. Put your snobbery aside, lover.
With this review I do have some "romantic" cocktail recipes that you can make with this wine, too.
