Wine Quickie: Seven Hills Merlot 2016

Straight out of Walla Walla, this Merlot by Seven Hills is a shining example of why you need to get back on board with the varietal right now during #MerlotMe October and beyond. It's juicy and lush with beautifully concentrated fruit and soft tannin, making it both laid back with no worries yet elegantly sophisticated. It's basically Steely Dan in wine form. For descriptors there's a heavy dose of vanilla with blackberries, plums, graphite, and a little bit of licorice. It's friggin' awesome, guys. I truly believe that Washington State is producing the best Merlot in the world right now, and Seven Hills has been among my favorites for years. You have got to try it for yourself.

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July Wine Pick: Bieler Family "Daisy" Pinot Grigio 2017

It's July and I've got a lot of good stuff lined up! Dane Cellars returns with four full wine reviews, and Left Coast comes back as well with two full reviews and two quickies. For other full reviews I've got a Godello and a Mencia from Spain, and a Chardonnay from Marshal Davis. For quickies I'm revisiting Rodney Strong Rosé to see if I had a faulty bottle, three Italian whites and a rosé, two Vermouths, Artezin Zinfandel makes another appearance, more canned wine, and... frozen rosé??? Of course, as always, things will be added as the month moves along.

I'm hoping to get Part 2 of my Saké articles up. Also, Wine Bloggers Off-Topic #3 is about our most inspirational historical figure, so if you want to join in then just email me at joeycasco80@gmail.com.

So I was at a spring trade tasting this year and the salesperson had marked a bunch of stuff in the book that she wanted me to try. When I literally had five minutes before I had to leave, I quickly looked through the book to find one item she had suggested instead of a whole table... and then I saw one arrow with a heart that she had drawn next to it... and it's name was Daisy. The name of my two-year old. That was it, I had to try it. And it was delicious!

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Wine Quickie: Tamarack Cellars Cabernet Franc 2016

Oooooh yeeeeeaaah! I love Cabernet Franc and I love Washington State and I love this wine! It's medium bodied with excellent structure, moderate tannin, a  rich and silky mouthfeel, and a hot and peppery finish. There's notes of plums, blackberries, green peppers, and sweet tobacco. All together this is some outfreakingstanding New Word Cab Franc!

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May Wine Pick: Washington Hills Late Harvest Riesling 2017

The entire month of May will be Riesling Month on TheWineStalker.net, so all of the full reviews will be Rieslings! I've got six Rieslings from Germany, one from Virginia, and this one from Washington State. But Riesling isn't all that's going on this month! Also penciled in are four wine quickies from my good friends at Matchbook, three wine quickies from Navarra (Spain), maybe canned cocktail reviews, and hopefully Part 2 of my Sake series, Just Brew It. And of course, things will be added as the month goes on.

But what I'm really excited about is the premier post of a monthly series called Wine Bloggers Off-Topic, where every month I'll ask wine bloggers and other people in the social media wine community a question that has nothing to do with wine. We write so much about this one topic that it's a nice escape to write about other passions and opinions once in awhile, and their answer can be as long or short as they want it. The first question is "What is the perfect movie?" and will be published on the 14th. If you'd like to participate in this series, just let me know! I've already got some great people signed up!

My wine pick of the month is the 2017 vintage of one of my favorite Rieslings in the $11 price range (a hot spot for the average consumer); Washington Hills Late Harvest Riesling. It's 100% Riesling sourced from the Pleasant and Cowan vineyards in Washington, and the fruit was late harvested to increase sugar levels for sweetness. It has an ABV of 10.5%.

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Wine Review: Mercer Malbec 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 started off with their 2015 Sharp Sisters Red Blend, now I'm moving on to their 2016 Sauvignon Blanc, and then I'm concluding it all 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 Malbec is 78% Malbec and 22% Cabernet Sauvignon. Both from their estate Spice Cabinet Vineyard, which is on a southeast slope, where the vines can take in the morning sun and avoid the intensity of the afternoon sun. After the grapes were sorted both on the vineyard and at the winery, they skipped the crushing process and were put in a big oak tank to ferment while being punched down twice a daily. Then the wine is racked to new and old French oak barrels to go through fermentation, and then aged in barrel for eighteen months before blending and bottling. It has an ABV of 14.8%.

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Wine Review: Mercer Sauvignon Blanc 2016

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 started off with their 2015 Sharp Sisters Red Blend, now I'm moving on to their 2016 Sauvignon Blanc, and then I'm concluding it all 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 2016 Sauvignon Blanc is 100% Sauvignon Blanc from Mercer's estate Princeton vineyard. It was harvested early in the morning with machinery, gently pressed, and settled for 48 hours nice and cold before being racked of solids. The type of yeast used to initiate fermentation is called Zymaflore. These guys bring out the characters of grapefruit, passion fruit, and lychee even more than they would be with other yeast. The wine is all fermented in stainless steel, sees no malolactic fermentation, and has a 12.5% 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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Heroes of Wine: André Tchelistcheff (1901-1994)

They called him "the Maestro". By definition this means "a distinguished musician, especially a conductor of classical music" or "a great or distinguished figure in any sphere". He was great. He was distinguished. He conducted beautiful music in the form of wine. Earlier in his career they called him "the doctor" because of his scientific approach to winemaking and his uncanny ability to cure wine with defects. And then there was that white lab coat he loved to wear.

He was also known as the "the dean of American winemaking" because he really was the head of the university. He was the educator. The absolute most important thing about this man and his legacy was not only his ability to be a highly effective and inspiring mentor, but also his willingness and love of doing so. Combine that with all of his knowledge and talents and you have the most influential winemaker of modern history: André Tchelistcheff (pronounced CHEL-uh-cheff)

André was born in Russia, trained in France, lifted California to greatness, and took off Washington State's training wheels. He was a chain smoker. He was a ladies man. He was... tiny. There are several different accounts on his height; anywhere from 4'11" to 5'3". Regardless, this giant of a man was even shorter than me (and I'm pretty short). But he commanded a room. And his stature was always at attention, or "ramrod straight" as Randal Caparoso put it in "Napa Valley - A legacy of greatness".

Robert Mondavi said that "He is a fascinating man, brilliant, stimulating, creative - a catalyst for the world of wine", while Mike Grgich said that "He had a Slavic heart, which is very soft". Robert and Mike are just two of the many legends that André mentored. And to think that almost didn't happen. André should have died in battle as a young man, and we're all very lucky that he didn't.

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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: Market Vineyards Red Mountain Acquisition Cabernet Sauvignon 2011

November is Market Vineyards Month on TheWineStalker.net!

The entire month of November is dedicated to Market Vineyards! To learn more about this wonderful Washington State winery, please read my article A Brief History of Market Vineyards.

So this is it! The last review of Market Vineyards and I'm sad about it. So many awesome wines from this boutique winery. I suggest that all of you readers buy their wines if you come across them. And to Market Vineyards: Thank you for the opportunity to experience your wines and write about them. It's been a pleasure. Please stay in contact. :)

But we're not done yet! Just one more! This is the 2011 Acquisition Cabernet Sauvignon. 100% Cab all from Hightower Vineyard in Red Mountain. Just 96 cases were produced and the ABV is 14.8%.

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Wine Review: Market Vineyards Red Mountain Alpha Merlot 2010

November is Market Vineyards Month on TheWineStalker.net!

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! On the day that this review is released I'll be thankful for the usual boring things like family and blah blah blah. The next day I will be thankful for Pepto Bismol because I plan on stuffing my friggin face with so much unhealthy crap on Thanksgiving that it'll make Michelle Obama cry. Sorry, Michelle. Gardening season is over. It's fat time.

The entire month of November is dedicated to Market Vineyards! To learn more about this wonderful Washington State winery, please read my article A Brief History of Market Vineyards.

Thanks to October being International Merlot Month and the two Merlot's reviewed here in Market Vineyards Month, Merlot is now the top "labelled" variety on this website. So it's been tagged here in more reviews (varietals and blends), articles, memes, whatever than any other varietal. I'm assuming it's been actually reviewed the most too but I'm too lazy to do the research. Check out everything I've labeled with Merlot by clicking here.

Market Vineyards prides itself with its connection to its home in Red Mountain, however all of the wines I've reviewed by them so far have only qualified for the Columbia Valley AVA. But that changes today. Their Alpha Merlot wears the Red Mountain AVA on its label. It's 100% Merlot from Red Mountain Vineyards, only 96 cases were produced, and the final ABV is 47.9%.

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Wine Review: Market Vineyards Arbitrage Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

November is Market Vineyards Month on TheWineStalker.net!

The entire month of November is dedicated to Market Vineyards! To learn more about this wonderful Washington State winery, please read my article A Brief History of Market Vineyards.

Today I'm reviewing their 2012 Arbitrage Cabernet Sauvignon. It's 100% Cab from Columbia Valley; 50% Shaw Vineyard, 33% Discovery, 17% Weinbau Vineyard. The Arbitrage has a 14.8% ABV, and it's pretty high production for this winery with 438 cases being made. It's one of two Cabernet's that I'm reviewing by MV, with their higher tiered Acquisition Cab coming up on Sunday.

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Wine Review & Product Review: Market Vineyards Benchmark Merlot 2012 & Vinum Meum Wine Stoppers

November is Market Vineyards Month on TheWineStalker.net!

The entire month of November is dedicated to Market Vineyards! To learn more about this wonderful Washington State winery, please read my article A Brief History of Market Vineyards.

We're down to the Final Four in Market Vineyards Month! What we have left is two Merlot's and two Cab's. Tonight I'm reviewing their 2012 Benchmark Merlot out of Columbia Valley. It's 100% Merlot from Gamache Vineyard.

So not only am I reviewing a wine today but a product as well. I have before me a box sent to me from Vinum Meum that contains some wine stoppers. Whatever "technology" is used is patented so they better be tight, right? I'm gonna do my best to make wine spill everywhere! Nah, just kidding. I'm gonna see if they work.

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Wine Review: Market Vineyards Basis Points Red Blend 2012

November is Market Vineyards Month on TheWineStalker.net!

The entire month of November is dedicated to Market Vineyards! To learn more about this wonderful Washington State winery, please read my article A Brief History of Market Vineyards.

Basis Points Red Blend is the big brother of Market Vineyards' Derivative Red Blend. I felt that the Derivative was a tiny bit overpriced but you wouldn't be all that offended spending $20 on it, and I gave it a 3 out of 5 in price vs quality for Satisfying. The performance of the Market Vineyards wines I've reviewed since then tells me that big brother red blend is going to be much better than little brother red blend.

The 2012 Basis Points Red Blend is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon (40% Shaw Vineyards Blk 9, 20% Shaw Vineyards Blk 8), 20% Merlot from Hightower Vineyards, and 20% Cabernet Franc from Scooteney Flats Vineyard. 122 cases were produced and it has an ABV of 14.9%.

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Wine Review: Market Vineyards Merval Malbec 2012

November is Market Vineyards Month on TheWineStalker.net!

The entire month of November is dedicated to Market Vineyards! To learn more about this wonderful Washington State winery, please read my article A Brief History of Market Vineyards.

MALBEC! MALBEC EVERYWHERE! When you think of Malbec, of course you think of Argentina. The grape actually originates from France, more specifically from Cahors where it makes the Black Wine of Cahors. Dude, I once watched a video where this guy takes Malbec from Cahors, uses it to fill a jug half way, and fills the rest with water. The pigment didn't change. It remained dark and didn't look even a bit watered down. Insanity. Malbec from Cahors tastes amazing as well. Malbec is also one of the acceptable varieties for Bordeaux, although one of the least popular used for the blends.

Anyways, Malbec found its biggest love and commercial success with Argentina. Everything comes together for the variety there. The soil, the temperature and, most importantly, the altitude. But the biggest thing we've learned from Argentina is how to treat the variety right. So now you're seeing it taken seriously in the United States and used in California (especially Napa, it seems) and Washington for damn good fine wine. It's not just a jug wine, box wine or cheap blender in the USA anymore.

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Wine Review: Market Vineyards Dividend Syrah 2013

November is Market Vineyards Month on TheWineStalker.net!

The entire month of November is dedicated to Market Vineyards! To learn more about this wonderful Washington State winery, please read my article A Brief History of Market Vineyards.

Oh, Washington State Syrah. You are one of the hidden gems of the wine world. At least in my opinion. I already boldly told you last month that I feel Washington State makes the best Merlot in the world, and I'll tell you right now that I feel their Syrah is among the best as well. I can hear you screaming at your monitor saying "That's bullshit, Joey! What about Côte-Rôtie? Hermitage? Saint-Joseph? You're an idiot!"

Even though my taste in wine levitates to the old world, I'm really not that big on the Syrah's of northern Rhone in general. My enjoyment is especially resistant with the addition of Viognier. It's just... not something I would willingly drink for pleasure. And yes, I am an idiot. I won't argue with you on that one.

This is Market Vineyards' Syrah from 2013, which they call Dividend, and I've heard some great things about it. It's 100% Syrah, all from Gamache Vineyards in Columbia Valley. 23 cases were produced. THAT'S ONLY 276 BOTTLES! And it has an ABV of 15.5%.

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Wine Review: Market Vineyards Derivative Red Blend 2013

November is Market Vineyards Month on TheWineStalker.net!

The entire month of November is dedicated to Market Vineyards! To learn more about this wonderful Washington State winery, please read my article A Brief History of Market Vineyards.

Although they source grapes from several other places within Columbia Valley, their focus is on the Red Mountain AVA. Red Mountain is red wine country; Market Vineyards is a red wine winery. And so we dive into eight reviews of red wines by Market Vineyards. They do actually make one white wine and I got that out of the way in my last review: Market Vineyards Liquidity 2014 White Blend. Now let's get our share of polyphenols, shall we?

The blend for the 2013 Derivative is 40% Cabernet Sauvignon from Gamache Vineyards, 40% Cabernet Franc (30% from Gamache Vineyards, 10% from Red Mountain Vineyards), and 20% Merlot from Gamache Vineyards. Only 242 cases were made and the final ABV is 14.4%.

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Wine Review: Market Vineyards Liquidity 2014 White Blend

November is Market Vineyards Month on TheWineStalker.net!

The entire month of November is dedicated to Market Vineyards! To learn more about this wonderful Washington State winery, please read my article A Brief History of Market Vineyards.

Because previously promised publications had priority, I have been patiently anticipating November for the opportunity to pillage the precious provisions Market Vineyards provided months ago. And they too awaited, happy to send me any information or research request that I had. From the time between when they first contacted me until now, I've found that these guys have the right idea when it comes to reaching out to the online wine community. I wouldn't be surprised if you start to see Market Vineyards all over your newsfeeds and timelines.

I just had an entire month dedicated to Merlot and Market Vineyards is overwhelmingly red, thus I had to take a break from reds to do a little white. So you'll notice that my Wine Pick of the Month is Scott Family Estate Chardonnay and my first MV review is also a white.

Liquidity is actually the ONLY white wine produced by Market Vineyards. After this it's all red until December! So if you're strictly a white drinker then soak this one in.

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A Brief History of Market Vineyards

What were you doing in 2008? It's hard to believe it's already been eight years, right? I was 28 years old and on my fourth year of employment with Luke's of Cape Cod, but I finally found my love for wine in February of that year. Better late than never, so they say. From there I proceeded to obsessively educate myself on the beverage.

BOB BERTSCH AND
MATT REISENWEBER

Meanwhile in 2008, on the other side of the world, three guys were dining on the rooftop of the Beijing Hotel doing the normal boring social interaction stuff (ew, gross) until they were served a bad bottle of wine (ew, grosser). This brought up the discussion of how nice it would be to take this problem into their own hands and make great wine themselves. This idea in the brains of these three men is a bit different than most of us who jokingly say this, because they actually followed through with it and made it happen.

Matt Reisenweber, Daniel Schulte, and Steve Anderson went home to the states, brought Bob Bertsch in on it, and got the ball rolling with four owners. Schulte and Anderson were from Kansas City but this new winery would be planting its rootstock in Washington, the home state of Riesenweber and Bertsch.

Their new adventure needed a name and, because of their mutual backgrounds in the financial market, they decided on Market Vineyards. Their new adventure also needed a winemaker. They searched around Washington looking for the winemaker that would best bring their vision into realization, and the man for the job was clearly Charlie Hoppes.

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Wine Review: Northstar Columbia Valley Merlot 2012

October is International Merlot Month thanks to MerlotMe.com!

I don't care what anybody says about Bordeaux or Napa or Chile; Washington State does the best Merlot in the world. You can quote me on that. And so for International Merlot Month we stay in the northwestern United States but head up to Washington's Columbia Valley with Northstar.

Northstar falls under the Ste. Michelle umbrella, and it was created for the sole purpose of making world class Merlot. They do make other varietals such as Cabernet and even Malbec, but their attention is focused on their flagship Columbia Valley and Walla Walla Merlots, as well as Merlot based blends.

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