Tag Archives: Zinfandel

Wine of the Week: 2011 Dashe Cellars Zinfandel Les Enfants Terribles, Heart Arrow Ranch

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Every Thursday I feature a wine I particularly enjoy, whether it’s something new and different, is a great value, or from a producer worth checking out. For this week, my Wine Of The Week is the 2011 Dashe Cellars Zinfandel Les Enfants Terribles, Heart Arrow Ranch

The Winery

Dashe Cellars, founded by Michael and Ann Dashe in 1996, is an urban winery located near Jack London Square in Oakland, CA. Michael Dashe is the Winemaker, and Anne Dashe is the General Manager. Between the two, they have 40-plus years experience in the wine business, including experience at some big-time wineries such as Ridge Vineyards, Far Niente, Chappellet, Schramsberg Wine Cellars in California; Château Lafite-Rothschild, Château La Dominique in France,and Cloudy Bay in New Zealand. The winery produces about 10,000 cases annually.

The Wine

This is the other wine in Dashe Cellars Les Enfants Terribles (the “Wild Children”) series (click here to see my review of the Les Enfants Grenache), which are wines made more in the Old World Style – lower alcohol, minimal intervention, and minimal oak influence.

This wine is made with 100% Zinfandel sourced from biodynamic farms (yep cows, chicken, fruits and veggies..the whole nine) in Mendocino County.  It was fermented on native yeasts, and aged in older French oak barrels, unfined and bottled with low SO2 levels.

Dashe Les Enfant Zinfandel 2011

My tasting notes follow:

Garnet color with earthy red fruits aromas. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied, fresh, silky smooth and balanced with cherry, raspberry, spice and mineral flavors.  Medium+ finish  

Rating: A-

This wine really shines at the table. I enjoyed it with Filipino Tapa (Bisteksilog – beef steak, fried rice and egg) and Filipino Barbecue Chicken with Java Rice. It was great with both dishes.

The Wine Geek Stuff:

  • Alcohol: 13.5% alcohol.
  • Closure: Cork.
  • AVA: > California> Mendocino
  • Varietal(s): 100% Zinfandel
  • Cooperage: 5 months in 100% older French Oak 500 Liter barrels
  • Retail: $24
  • Cases produced: 225
  • Ageability: Drink now, or hold for 5-7 years

Other Related Posts:

Wine purchased for review

Ratings Key:
(A+) – 98-100/Extraordinary
(A) – 94-97/Outstanding
(A-) – 90-93/Excellent
(B+) – 86-89/Very good
(B) – 80-85/Good
(C) – 70-79/Bleh
(D) – 50-69/#Fail

Follow me on Twitter @martindredmond for all things wine, and since I’m a wino, with latent foodie tendencies, you’ll also find food and wine pairings, and food related stuff! Become a fan and join ENOFYLZ Wine Blog on Facebook. Cheers! This article is original to ENOFYLZ Wine Blog.com. Copyright 2013 ENOFYLZ Wine Blog. All rights reserved.

Wine of the Week: 2010 Carol Shelton Wines Pinot Noir Larson Vineyard Carneros

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Every Thursday I feature a wine I particularly enjoy, whether it’s something new and different, is a great value, or from a producer worth checking out.  For this week, my Wine Of The Week is the 2010 Carol Shelton Wines Pinot Noir Larson Vineyard Carneros.

The wine is produced by Carol Shelton’s eponymous winery – a self-described “Zin Specialist” located in Santa Rosa, CA.

Carol Shelton is widely cited as the most awarded winemaker in the United States. She has won countless medals for her wines and has been honored as Winemaker of the Year numerous times. 

Carol studied at University of California at Davis. She’s worked with greats like Robert Mondavi and Andre Tchelistcheff before taking the winemaker position at Windsor Vineyards where she worked for 19 years. She and her husband founded Carol Shelton Wines in 2000.

I’ve enjoyed more than a few Carol Shelton Zins,  and I gladly vouch for them.  In addition to Zinfandel,  Carol Shelton Wines produces a white Rhone blend, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, a Rosé and dessert wines.

The 2010 vintage was the first year the winery produced Pinot Noir. The Pinot Noir grapes were sourced from the Larson Vineyard in Carneros in Sonoma County.

2010 Carol Shelton

2010 Carol Shelton Wines Pinot Noir Larson Vineyard Carneros

My tasting notes follow:

Dark ruby color with elegant with cherry, earth and pepper aromas. On the palate, it’s medium bodied with wonderful acidity, silky mouth feel and ripe cherry cranberry, and spice flavors. Medium-Long finish. 14.5% alcohol.

The wine is a blend of 96.5% Pinot Noir, and Petite Sirah.  It’s aged 10 months in French oak barrels (50% new and 50% 2-year-old )14.5% alcohol. 218 cases produced.  Suggested retail SRP – $38

It’s definitely as Carol Shelton puts it, a “Zin-lover’s Pinot!”, so while Pinot-purists might balk, I like to mix it up a bit, depending on my mood and the food, and this one hit the spot for me!

Rating:  A-

Wine purchased for review

Ratings Key:
(A+) – 98-100/Extraordinary
(A) – 94-97/Outstanding
(A-) – 90-93/Excellent
(B+) – 86-89/Very good
(B) – 80-85/Good
(C) – 70-79/Bleh
(D) – 50-69/#Fail

Follow me on Twitter @martindredmond for all things wine, and since I’m a wino, with latent foodie tendencies, you’ll also find food and wine pairings, and food related stuff!  Become a fan and join ENOFYLZ Wine Blog on Facebook. Cheers! This article is original to ENOFYLZ Wine Blog.com. Copyright 2013 ENOFYLZ Wine Blog. All rights reserved.

Wine of the Week; 2010 Carlisle Russian River Valley “Martinelli Road Vineyard” Zinfandel

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Every Thursday I feature a wine I particularly enjoy, whether it’s something new and different, is a great value, or from a producer worth checking out.  For this week, my Wine Of The Week is the 2010 Carlisle Zinfandel Martinelli Road Vineyard

Winery

Carlisle Winery & Vineyards is a small Sonoma County based winery  based in Santa Rosa. According their website they specialize in the..

…production of old-vine, vineyard designated Zinfandels and red Rhone varieties (Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Petite Sirah).

Mike Officer is the Owner/Winemaker.  He caught the wine “bug” early – at age 19 – when he tasted a late-harvest Riesling (It seems like we all start with sweet wines doesn’t it?) After graduating from college, he worked in software development for five years, but realized that was not his passion.  He knew the answer would involve wine, but he wasn’t sure in what capacity.

He decided to try winemaking,  starting with making 5 gallons of Zinfandel in his kitchen.  Some years later, he  and his wife Kendall found themselves making 300 cases of “garage” wine.  They decided to jump in with both feet and established Carlisle Winery & Vineyards in 1998.  They’ve focused on old-vine Zinfandel, and red Rhône blends, until the 2010 vintage, when they made their first white wines.

In addition to their own estate vineyard, they source grapes from Sonoma County, primarily the Russian River, and Dry Creek AVAs.  Officer always been a fan of old-vine vineyards.   In fact, of the 16 vineyard sources listed on their website, half ( Gold Mine Ranch, Martinelli Road Vineyard, Montafi Ranch, Pagani Ranch Vineyard, Papera Ranch, Rossi Ranch Vineyard, Saitone Ranch, and Two Acres) are considered historic vineyards by the Historic Vineyard Society .

Carlisle wines are available via a mailing list.  The mailing list is currently closed, but if you would like to be added to the waiting list, click here.

The Wine

Fruit for this wine is from the Martinelli Road Vineyard, located on Martinelli Road between Forestville and Guerneville in the Russian River Valley.  It was first planted in the early 1870′s by the Banfield Family.  Most of the vines succumbed to Phylloxera within their first decade of life. The Banfields sold the property to the Butlers in the 1880′s and any dead or diseased vines were replaced. In 1903, Giuseppe Martinelli purchased the ranch,and it’s been in the family until it was recently sold to the McWilliams Family of Arista Winery. Unlike many old-vine vineyards, the Martinelli Road Vineyard is nearly 100% Zinfandel. Out of the five acres of old vines,  the only other known vines are two Mourvèdre vines, two Blauer Portugeiser vines, and one unidentified white.

A favorite at ZAP’s Grand Tasting in January 2012, even among those preferring lighter, more elegant wines.

The grapes were picked at 25.2 Brix. After a five-day cold-soak, indigenous fermentation began. Pressed after 16 days on the skins to all French oak, 22% new. It was bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Carlisle Martinelli Road Zin

My tasting notes follow:

 Violet color with slightly earthy cherry, raspberry, mineral, and baking spice aromas. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied, fresh, and shows vibrant youthful raspberry, cherry, and spice flavors. Medium/long finish.

Rating: Highly recommended. I was surprised to see it was 16.3% alcohol.  It’s doesn’t drink like a heavyweight owing to it’s surprising acidity. It’s young, and while it’s drinking well now, it will be get better with additional aging. Now if I can just keep my hands off of it for a few years!

Pair with:  Certainly you could go the traditional burger and BBQ route, but wine is up for a challenge.  Pair with Seared Ahi Tuna, Brazilian Feijoada, Roast lamb, or hearty Pasta with Artichoke, Pancetta, and Mushrooms.  And this would be fantastic with a dish I sampled at Zinfest last week -  Moroccan Carmoula seafood with couscous Tanzanian coconut fish!

The Wine Geek Stuff:

Wine purchased for review

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Prepare to be ZAP’d – The 22nd Annual Zinfandel Festival Coming Soon!

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For all my wine loving friends, and in particular my Zinfandel loving friends, the 22nd Annual Zinfandel Festival is around the corner.  It is being held January 31 – February, 2013 in San Francisco at the historic Concourse Exhibition Center.  The event is hosted by the Zinfandel Advocates & Producers (“ZAP”), and as Robert Biale, President of ZAP put it…

The ZAP Festival is one of the wonders of the wine world.”

Amen brother!

The Zinfandel Festival features four events over the 3 day period – follow the links for more information and to purchase tickets:

festival_banner_2013

I attended the Zinfandel Festival for the first time last year. It was one of the wine event highlights of the year for me – both education and fun!  Last year was also the first time the event was held at the Concourse Exhibition Center.  What I really appreciate about Concourse location is it’s proximity to public transit and the delights of The City.  We went to a killer burger joint after the event last year!

I attended 3 of the 4 events (didn’t make it to the Winemakers Dinners, but it’s on my wish list!).  My favorite of the 3 events was Epicuria - a “gourmet adventure”.  It’s a walk around tasting of offering samplings of diverse culinary delights prepared by a cadre of restaurants and other food purveyors paired with Zinfandel. It demonstrated beyond a shadow of doubt how Zinfandel can be so much more than a burger and BBQ wine for me.  For example, one of my favorite pairings Mojama (Cold-smoked Ahi Tuna) from Wine & Roses Hotel Restaurant, Spa paired with McCay Cellars 2008 Equity Zinfandel!

Check out this year’s list of participating wineries and restaurants

If Epicuria is the “appetizer”, then the Grand Tasting is the main course. Last year over 200 Zinfandel producer poured at the event!

Check out the list of this year’s wineries participating in the Grand Tasting 

This is a huge wine event.  Here’s my advice for maximizing your enjoyment:

  • Get there as early as you can.  It’s get crazy in the afternoon in terms of the sheer number of folks and the number of folk who have overindulged in Zin
  • Pace yourself.  It’s not a race.  Take some breaks.
  • Stay hydrated
  • Use dump buckets or spit- liberally!
  • Don’t wear perfume of cologne
  • Wear dark clothes

To get a feel for my experience at last year’s event check out my recap of last year’s event:

2012 ZAP Zinfandel Festival Recap 

Wine of the Week; 2010 Bedrock Wine Co. Heirloom Wine Pagani Ranch

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Every Thursday I feature a wine I particularly enjoy, whether it’s something new and different, is a great value, or from a producer worth checking out.  For this week, my Wine Of The Week is the 2010 Bedrock Wine Co. Heirloom Wine Pagani Ranch

The Winery

Bedrock Wine Co. is an “itsy-bitsy winery making wine in a converted chicken coop”. Though recently Morgan Twain-Peterson, the winemaker/owner of Bedrock Wine Co. announced some big changes including building a new winery, and hiring of close friend, Chris Cottrell to work with him.  Sounds like Bedrock will be moving from the “itsy-bitsy” level to a higher level production-wise.  The wines are already major quality-wise!

There are two things that make Bedrock Wine Co. special in my view – the first is Morgan (you can check out his full bio here), but suffice it to say he’s been making wine since he was “knee-high to a bug” including working harvests in McLaren Vale, Australia and worked as a visiting winemaker at Chateau Lynch-Bages in Bordeaux before returning to California to focus on revitalizing California’s heirloom vineyards. The second is his vineyard sources. I did a post last year entitled Bedrock Wine Co: Where Old Vine Love And Transcendent Wine Making Come Together, wherein I focused on the sources of Bedrock’s grapes.

In terms of the wine making process itself at Bedrock, it’s surprisingly Ole Skool (or as Morgan might put it “Cro-magnum”).  Grapes are pitch-forked into a small Zambelli destemmer, the punch-downs are manual, after fermentation the wines are basket pressed in an Italian press that is manually operated.   It’s a very manual and time-consuming process, but I can vouch for the results.  Peterson is making some unique distinctly Californian wines that are spectacular!

The Wine

The grapes for this wine were sourced from Pagani Ranch, one of the many vineyards from which Bedrock Wine Co. sources grapes that are listed in the registry of the Historical Vineyard Society.  Pagani Ranch Vineyard is run today by the founder’s grand-daughter and great-grandson, Norma Amantite and her son Dino.

Here’s what the Bedrock Wine Co. says about the wine…

The first vintage of what should be many from the storied and ancient Pagani Ranch.  A classic field-blend planted in the 1880′s.  Pagani Ranch’s cool soil and unique mesoclimate yield a rich, dense, but vibrant wine.  After a taxing growing season the Amantite family did a highly selective pick which yielded less than .5 tons per acre.  Fermented in open-top vats using native yeasts and then barreled down to 100% French oak, of which 33% was new, the wine aged for 11 months in barrel.  The resulting wine is black, powerful, and perfumed, and a testament to experienced farming overcoming a tough year. 9 barrels made.

The last time I saw Morgan he comments that most folks are drinking his wines too young.  Guilty as charged!  The good news is I have another bottle.  I do my best to hold on to that for a few years to see how it ages…but no promises;-)

Wine of the Week; 2010 Bedrock Wine Co. Heirloom Wine Pagani Ranch

2010 Bedrock Wine Co. Heirloom Wine Pagani Ranch

My tasting notes follow:

Opaque violet color with beautifully aromatic plum, blackberry, cassis, spice and hints of violet aromas. On the palate, it’s full-bodied, fresh, intense, and elegant with blackberry, and spice flavors. Long finish.

Rating: Highly Recommended.

Pair with: This wine has a nice vein of acidity, making it food-friendly.  Try with roasted or grilled pork, or beef, Mexican food. For a twist try with seared ahi tuna or pâte, or a chicken liver mousse!

The Wine Geek Stuff:

  • Alcohol: 15%
  • Closure: Cork
  • AVA: > California> Sonoma County> Sonoma Valley
  • Grape Varieties: Field blend of Zinfandel (approximately 65%), Alicante Bouschet, Grand Noir de la Calmette, Petite Sirah, and Lenoir.
  • Cooperage: 100% French oak French oak from Ermitage and Rousseau, 33% new for 11 months
  • Retail: $37
  • Cases produced: 225
  • Drink: now – 2020

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Tasted: A Trio of V. Sattui Winery Wines

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V. Sattui Winery is located in Napa Valley town of St. Helena.  It’s one of the most popular stops (over 400k visitors annually) along Highway 29.  And with a plethora of wonderful wines (over 45), an on-site gourmet deli and cheese shop, great picnic grounds, and a reasonable ($10) wine-tasting fee (down-right inexpensive by Napa Valley standards)- why not?!

V. Sattui has an interesting history – Before Prohibition, and After Prohibition.  The winery traces it’s roots back to 1885 when Vittorio Sattui established a winery in Italian Colony of the North Beach in San Francisco.  The winery later expanded and flourished in the Mission District of The City.  Then, after Prohibition was enacted in 1919, the winery closed.

The story picked up again in 1976 when Dario Sattui re-stablished the winery. But not without being on the verge of going out of business.  Dario’s persistence, vision, innovation, and commitment to excellence has guided V. Sattui Winery to the pinnacle of success (click here for complete history)  That same vision, and commitment to excellence lead Dario found Castello Di Amorosa.

“We don’t deify wine…It’s not about the wine, it’s about having a good time.” – Dario Sattui (courtesy of SF Gate)

V. Sattui Winery is a winery-direct business, meaning the wines may only be purchased at the winery in St. Helena, on-line or by phone. The wines aren’t sold in stores or restaurants.

V Sattui Trio

I have a confession – as many times, as I’ve been to Napa, I’ve never visited the winery.  That’s primarily because I tend to favor smaller wineries.  After tasting this trio of wines, I’ll be rectifying my oversight my next trip to Napa Valley!

My tasting notes follow:

V Sattui 2009 PS

2009 V. Sattui Winery Petite Sirah

Inky violet color with tart black fruit, chocolate, and cedarwood aromas. On the palate it’s medium-full bodied, with dusty tannins (I like a wine with some grip), and ripe blackberry, blueberry, vanilla and dark chocolate flavors. Medium finish. – 89pts

Rating: Recommended.

The Wine Geek Stuff:

  • Alcohol: 14.8%
  • Closure: Cork
  • AVA: > California> Napa Valley
  • Grape Varieties: 97% Petite Sirah, 2% Petite Verdot, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Cooperage: 18 months in 16% new American oak, 24% New French Oak, 60% seasoned oak
  • Vineyard: Allias Vineyard; Head-trained vines planted in 1926
  • Retail: $35
  • Cases produced: 150

V. Sattui 2009 Zin

2009 V. Sattui Winery Zinfandel Gilsson Vineyard

Violet color appealing briary, floral dark fruit and spice aromas. On the palate, it’s medium full bodied with well integrated dusty tanning, medium acidity and mixed berry, black cherry, vanilla and spice flavors. Medium long finish. – 91pts

Rating: Highly Recommended.

The Wine Geek Stuff:

  • Alcohol: 15%
  • Closure: Cork
  • AVA: > California> Sonoma County> Russian River Valley
  • Grape Varieties: 98% Zinfandel, 2% Petite Sirah
  • Cooperage: 18 months in 13% new American Oak, 22% new French oak, 65% seasoned oak
  • Vineyard: Gilsson Vineyard; Head-trained vines planted in early 1960s
  • Retail: $37
  • Cases produced: 839

V Sattui 2010 PN

2010 V. Sattui Winery Pinot Noir Henry Ranch Carneros

Ruby color with very good aromatics of cherry, raspberry, and spice. On the palate, it’s creamy smooth and medium bodied with cherry, raspberry and spice flavors. Med long finish. – 90pts

Rating: Highly Recommended.

The Wine Geek Stuff:

  • Alcohol: 13.5%
  • Closure: Cork
  • AVA: > California> Napa / Sonoma> Carneros
  • Grape Varieties: 100% Pinot Noir
  • Cooperage: 10 months in 50% new French oak, 50% seasoned French oak.
  • Vineyard: Henry Ranch Vineyard; planted to Pommard and Dijon clones
  • Retail: $39
  • Cases produced: 1089

Wines above were provided as media samples for my review

 

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Wine of the Week; 2007 Bradford Mountain Zinfandel

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Every Thursday I feature a wine I particularly enjoy, whether it’s something new and different, is a great value, or from a producer worth checking out.  For this week, my Wine Of The Week is the 2007 Bradford Mountain Zinfandel.

The Winery

Bradford Mountain Winery is located in Healdsburg, CA. The label was started by George Hambrecht just out of college, in the late ’90s. The first crush was in October 1998, and produced about 1,800 cases of wine.

According to Bradford…

Over the years, our fruit has been purchased by such luminaries as Turley, Gary Farrell, Quivira, and Alysian, as well as other well-known producers.

I was referred to Bradford Mountain a few years ago by a friend who works in the wine business.  He was kind enough to set up a private tasting for my wife and I.  When we arrived at the address, we noted that it was (at the time) C. Donatiello winery. Today, it is  VML winery. Since Bradford Mountain, and VML share an address, I believe that’s where you can purchase the Bradford Mountain wines (by the way VML is a great spot for tasting – they focus on Pinot, and Chardonnay).

It was a bit of an unusual tasting in that we were ushered to the back of the winery to do the tasting.  I vividly recall the tasting because it was a hot day, and there were fruit flies everywhere!  Setting aside the fruit flies and the heat it was a great tasting. We picked up a few bottles of this wine and their Grist Vineyard Syrah.

The Wine

This wine is a combination of fruit from Grist Vineyard, which located on Bradford Mountain –  the highest point on Dry Creek Valley’s western edge (click here for video profile), and vineyard on the Dry Creek valley floor.  The Grist Vineyard is located on a hilltop plateau 1100 feet above the valley floor, and was planted to Zinfandel nearly 100 years ago.  The fruit for this wine is from vines are between 10 and about 40 years old.

The vineyard soil is rugged red decomposing volcanic rock, and I believe that results in the distinctive mineral component of this wine.

2007 Bradford Mountain Zinfandel

2007 Bradford Mountain Zinfandel

My tasting notes follow:

Garnet color with dark fruit, licorice, and spice aromas. On the palate, it’s medium bodied and fresh with a silky texture I don’t recall ever experiencing at this point, good balance, and soft well-integrated tannins. It shows flavors of mixed berry, hints of cassis, spice, dark chocolate and mineral flavors with a medium-long finish – 91pts

Rating: Highly Recommended.  This wine drinks like many a $35-$45 Zins I’ve had. Off the chart QPR! It’s aged well, I last had a bottle about a year ago

Pair with:  Seared Ahi Tuna, Ciopppino, BBQ Spareribs, Burgers or Rack of Lamb!

The Wine Geek Stuff:

  • Alcohol: 14.2
  • Closure: Cork
  • AVA: > California> Sonoma County> Dry Creek Valley
  • Grape Varieties: 100% Zinfandel
  • Cooperage: 14 months in French, Hungarian, and American oak barrels; 40% new oak
  • Retail: $18
  • Cases produced: Unknown
  • Drink: now – 2014

This above wine was purchased for review

 

Wine of the Week: 2007 Edward Sellers Vineyards and Wines Cognito

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My Wine Of The Week for September 20-October 5 is the 2007 Edward Sellers Vineyards and Wines Cognito.

The Winery

Edward Sellers Vineyards and Wines is an eponymous artisan winery producing small lots of  Rhone varietal wines, from their 30-acre vineyard in Paso Robles. Ed, who is an entrepreneur, sailor, and pilot, and his wife “discovered” Paso Robles in 2003, and instantly fell in love with the place.

I was introduced to Edward Sellers in 2010 when I attended the annual California Wine Festival in Santa Barbara.  Ed was pouring his wines at the Friday night “Sunset Rare And Reserve Wine Tasting”. I distinctly remember his wines standing head and shoulders above the rest that evening.  We made it a point to drop in his tasting room, which at the time was in downtown Paso, on our way back to the Bay Area.  That’s when I purchased a couple of bottles of this wine (and a few others).   Last year, after attending the same wine festival, again we made it a point to drop in at his tasting room off  West Highway 46.

Paso Robles has made a name for itself, especially for Rhône varietals.   According to edwardsellers.com:

It is Paso Robles’s climate, soils and vineyard diversity that makes Paso Robles ideally suited for growing the Rhône varieties of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Cinsault, Counoise, Roussanne, Marsanne, Viognier and Grenache Blanc.

The Wine

This is wine a blend of

 

2007 Edward Sellers Cognito

 

My tasting note follow:

Nearly opaque violet color with aromatic briary, liquered mixed berry and white pepper aromas. On palate, it’s full-bodied, fruity, intense, with a smooth mouthfeel, good acidity and ripe mixed berry, black cherry, black currant flavors. Med long finish. 40% Mourvèdre/25% Zinfandel/19% Syrah/16% Grenache. 14.3% alcohol. Production 640 cases

 

The Wine Geek Stuff:

Alcohol: 14.6% alcohol.

Closure: Cork.

AVA: > California> Central Coast> Paso Robles

Varietal(s): 40% Mourvèdre, 25% Zinfandel, 20% Syrah, 15% Grenache

Cooperage: 18 months in 100% Neutral French Oak

Retail: $30

Cases produced: 640

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2009 JC Cellars Landy Sweetwater Springs Vineyard Zinfandel:Wine Of The Week

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The 2009 JC Cellars Landy Sweetwater Springs Vineyard Zinfandel is my Wine of the Week (“WoW”) for August 19th-August 25th.

The Winery

JC Cellars is an award-winning urban winery located in Oakland, CA.  Jeff Cohn is the winemaker and president. His wife Alexandra Cohn is the CFO. The winery was founded in 1997.  Earlier this month, JC Cellars announced it is restructuring its brand under the Jeff Cohn Wine label. That brand will feature the Syrah-based “Smoke and Mirrors” wine.  The JC Cellars brand will continue its focus on vineyard designate Rhone and Zinfandel wines.  Annual production is about 5000 cases.

I think it’s fair to say Jeff likes to “tinker”, or as the JC Cellars website put it… “Jeff fuses his passion for classic French winemaking with New World innovation”. He released his first Pinot Noir this summer, and sells a Viognier that is a collaboration with a French winery –  Domaine François Villard of Condrieu.  As if his gig at JC Cellars/Jeff Cohn Wines weren’t enough, Jeff is also a consulting winemaker.

The Wine

The fruit for 2009 JC Cellars Landy Sweetwater Springs Vineyard Zinfandel was sourced from the Landy Sweetwater Springs Vineyard in Russian River Valley. The vineyard was planted to 23 acres in 2002.  Grapes planted  include Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel.  You don’t think of Zinfandel and Pinot Noir, which like two different types of climates as co-existing, but it works at Landy because the vineyards are at various elevations from 300 to about 1000 feet.  That means the fruit at the lower elevations is  exposed to the cooling influence of the fog, while the hillside fruit gets more than its fair share of sun exposure.  The diversity in elevation and soils enables cooler climate varietals like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay to co-exist in the same vineyard with Zinfandel which prefers a warmer climate.  I suspect this wine produced from hillside fruit because of its intensity.

Did I mention that Jeff likes to tinker? Here’s what he say about producing this wine:

“…I decided to do a little experimentation and went old world with this one. By that I mean I decided to ferment and age 60% of it in a cement tank, not the ‘egg’, but a hippo shape. We noticed that during the fermentation process the wine not only fermented a little hotter and held its heat better, but also provided for better extraction of color and flavors; plus its a touch softer in style. After aging the wine for 11 months it was blended with wine that had been fermented in stainless open top tanks and also with wine fermented in 1⁄2 ton bins. This blend was then aged in 25% new 350 to 500 liter French oak barrels.”

 

2009 JC Cellars Landy Sweetwater Springs Vineyard Zinfandel

2009 JC Cellars Landy Sweetwater Springs Vineyard Zinfandel

My tasting notes follow…

Inky violet color with cassis, raspberry, cacao and a hint of leather aromas. On the palate it’s full-bodied,extracted, and silky smooth with well-behaved tannins and ripe blackberry, raspberry, cassis, cacao and vanilla flavors. Medium-long finish. – Highly Recommend

It’s quite approachable now, but will age nicely for 7-10 years.  Pair with aged Cheddar, Smoked Gouda, Smoked Ahi Tuna, Ginger Soy Short Ribs, or meat topped Pizza!

Details:

 

Wine Of The Week: 2011 Dashe Cellars Vin Gris

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My wine of the week for May 12-May 18  is the 2011 Dashe Cellars Vin Gris

The Winery

Dashe Cellars founded by Michael and Ann Dashe in 1996, is an urban winery located near Jack London Square in Oakland, CA.   Michael Dashe is the Winemaker, and Anne Dashe is the General Manager.  Between the two, they have 40-plus year experience in the wine business including experience at  some big-time wineries such as Ridge Vineyards, Far Niente, Chappellet, Schramsberg Wine Cellars in California;  Château Lafite-Rothschild, Château La Dominique in France,and  Cloudy Bay in New Zealand.   The winery produces about 10,000 cases annually.

This week, there’s a bit of a back story for the Wine of the Week (“WoW”) in that this is one of a couple of bottles of wine I took to the Dominican Republic (D.R.) for vacation (there’s a 3 bottle limit on bringing wine into D.R. but we thought there was a 2 bottle limit)  It’s a good thing I brought it along too.   The wines of the D.R….well let’s just say they leave a LOT to be desired.  After days of drinking what tasted like grape cherry juice or white grape juice (depending on whether it was red or white) with some alcohol in it,  I was seriously jonesing for some better wine.

It was Dashe to the rescue! As I was savoring this captivating Rosé, this song popped into my head and in my mind, I changed the chorus to…“A Dashe saved my vinous life”…;-)

The Wine

The wine is a blend of Grenache (70%), Petite Sirah (20%), and Zinfandel (10%) from Dry Creek vineyards.   To make this Vin Gris,  the juice from tanks of Grenache, Petite Sirah, and Zinfandel is  “bled off”. This technique, used in France for generations, where it is referred to as Saignée  is when a Rosé is produced as a by-product of red wine fermentation.  Essentially, early in the fermentation process, after the fermenting juice has picked up some color, it is removed (“bled off”).  The red wine remaining in the vats is intensified as a result of the bleeding .

2011 Dashe Vin Gris

Cost: $14 Retail

Alcohol: 13.9%

75 cases produced

My tasting notes follow:

Light red color with a hint of orange hue and strawberry, cherry, and aromas. On the palate medium-bodied, and dry with nicely balanced fruit and acidity with ripe black cherry, and spice flavors. Long finish. – 89pts

Pairing with food

I love Rosés.  A dry Rosé such is as this is so versatile with a variety of foods.  What I appreciated about this one is that unlike a lot of Rosés that are light-bodied, this one had some weight, and was medium bodied so it was a great match for with the Yucatan Fish Tacos, Poblano Cream Soup & Goat Barbacoa (Goat Ribs with a mildly spicy cream sauce) I enjoyed it with.

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