This wine has nothing but a name in common with that gentrified village on the SF bay. An entertaining blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere and Syrah (not sure of the %). The tannins are pretty strong but disappear upon decanting, leaving a pleasant earthy smell and a semi-lingering finish. I have to admit the blend confuses my palate, but so what? I wonder how it will taste in 5 years.
paid: $13 (on sale from $19)
scored: 90
Back in NYC for 24 hours en route to my sister’s kid’s baptism. We treated ourselves to dinner at La Sirene, an haut cuisine byo establishment on the rather seedy border between SoHo and Tribeca. Its literally a hole-in-the wall with few tables, a tiny kitchen and a fabulous chef. A good place to uncork a Pomerol in other words. People who “don’t like Merlot” should give this beauty a try. (There are probably some other Bordeaux varietals blended in there but I’m not sure of the percentages.)
paid: $28
scored: 89
This was one of those modern-day-miracle finds: a dusty, dirty bottle in a corner, hiding behind a case of cleanly stacked Syrah. Last bottle. iPhone check-out revealed a 9-oh from the Wine Advocate, with some waffling about pain grille and pencil lead (I’m serious. that’s “pain” as in “french bread.” never mind that this is a spanish wine). For the less poetic souls, just think BIG tannins. I didn’t enjoy it until it had taken about 30 minutes of fresh air. Even then, prepare yourself for a tongue-scraping experience. That aside, the wine has an alluring complexity. Roll it around on your palate and you will probably find a nuance of any “red fruit” you desire. For example… pomegranate (see label). Enjoyable! If I come across another bottle, I’m going to stuff it in my cellar for 5+ years, and see if it softens up. First I better get a cellar… The blend is 40% Merlot/40% Cabernet Sauvignon/20% Tempranillo. Sort of a Basque Bordeaux.
paid: $18
scored: 89ish
After tasting Murietta’s Chardonnay at the Wine Room in Palo Bajo, I had high hopes for this bottle. True to the style of California, the quantity of Petite Verdot and Cab Franc in the blend exceeded the typical Bordeaux ratios. That is not necessarily a bad thing… but unfortunately in this wine the nose far exceeded the finish. It is a nice mouthful, though, complex and entertaining. But does the finish belie the true quality of this wine? In the end I felt I had overpaid by 50%.
paid: $32
scored: 86
reminder: (to myself and others) the score reflects enjoyment/price! Without the price in the denominator, closer to 90…
My fiancee picked up this pleasing surprise, on sale. Smooth and light 50-50 Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, nice fruit on the finish and tannins that hide in the shadows.
paid: $10
scored: 89
So smooth and delicious. If I could afford it, I might drink a glass of this every day. I’m guessing this is a mostly Merlot blend, with a bit of Cab Franc.
paid: $44
scored: 88 (why not more?)
I think this winery used to be called Palomares Vineyards. We found it by accident on Palomares Road, which I wouldn’t really consider to be part of Livermore Valley — its off the Sunol Grade to the west of the valley, and is actually located in a canyon in some hills. Very pretty spot. Climate more reminiscent of the Santa Cruz Mountains rather than Livermore. ANYWAY decent wine, but not as good as the stuff we sampled at Chouinard (farther up the canyon). This was our favorite of the 5 we tried, too. Oh, and they make a lot of Port-style wine here, which I thought was weaker and sweeter than the Portuguese variety.
paid: $20 (at the tasting room)
scored: 88
A Rhone style blend with a petite (Syrah) twist. I haven’t visited Zayante, and the label had a bit to say about organic farming… Does that mean the goats squach the grapes? My taste buds thought so. We were drinking this while watching “Bottle Shock”, and after about 45 mins couldn’t take it anymore. I got up to open something else, and to my surprise found a bottle of chardonnay that had been sitting in the fridge since August. It was an apropos recovery.
paid: $17
scored: 80
A smooth and simple Bordeaux, eminently drinkable and barely memorable. On the light side, nice and dry, and an all-too-quick finish. Still…worth every penny.
paid: $14
scored: 87
We finally found Bonny Doon. The tasting room moved to a hip, modern spot in downtown Santa Cruz. We were sufficiently taken by the whole ambiance that we joined their wine club. We’ll see how that works out. They gave us our first “shipment” on the spot, 2 bottles of their Cigare Volante unfiltered “red wine of the earth”. I’m not sure who let the hippies categorize this wine ;p. Anyway it is a very fine specimen, a blend typical perhaps of Chateauneuf-du-pape, with 50% Grenache, 24% Mourvedre, 22% Syrah and a smattering of Carignane and Cinsault. Smoooooooooooooth. I wonder if it would age well. For the record, most of Bonny Doon’s vineyards are farther south in Monterrey, although its winery is in the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation. File under…?
paid: $26 (club price)
scored: 90