Okay...I have had it with his constant slamming of Zins with high alchohol content. Every single review he writes goes something like this:
87pts: While this wine exhibits blah, blah, blah...it is far too high in alchohol...blah, blah, blah and is too hot on the palate...blah, blah, stinkin BLAH!
I suggest that they assign him to the North Pole after global warming and he can write about ice wine and lower alchohol whites;-)
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Yakima Valley Part 3
While at Willow Crest I met a very nice guy named Josh Lawrence. I begged him to grown some Arneis in Prosser...We'll see if he does. He gave me a fantastic bottle of dry reisling called Gard. Look for it, as it is dynamite.
Yakima Valley Travels: Part 2
My second stop was at Willow Crest Winery. They are on a frontage road near the local highway and their prices are amazing. Their reds were not my favorite but they make fantastic white and dessert wines. My reviews are below:
Viognier: Bone dry and almost sauvignon blanc like. 87pts
Pinot Gris: Very dry and simple. 84pts
Syrah Port: Killer and extracted. Loads of fruit. 90pts
Late-Harvest SB: Wowza! 92pts
Viognier: Bone dry and almost sauvignon blanc like. 87pts
Pinot Gris: Very dry and simple. 84pts
Syrah Port: Killer and extracted. Loads of fruit. 90pts
Late-Harvest SB: Wowza! 92pts
Yakima Valley Travels
Hi all: I spent a day in Yakima Valley last month and found a couple of very good wineries in Prosser, Washington.
Alexandria Nicole: Fantastic wines! Horse Heaven Hills grower of very nice stuff.Reviews are below.
Reserve Viognier-91 pts. Very elegant with a touch of oak.
Syrah-89pts. Textbook Horse Heaven Hills syrah. Meaty and full-bodied.
Merlot-92pts. If all merlots were this good I would drink a lot more of them. 19% malbec blended in.
Destiny-90pts. Their OPUS. A big and dense bordeaux blend.
Ice Wine Syrah-93pts. Never had one before and loved it. Sweet and smooth.
They have a fantastic tasting room and ship to California!
Alexandria Nicole: Fantastic wines! Horse Heaven Hills grower of very nice stuff.Reviews are below.
Reserve Viognier-91 pts. Very elegant with a touch of oak.
Syrah-89pts. Textbook Horse Heaven Hills syrah. Meaty and full-bodied.
Merlot-92pts. If all merlots were this good I would drink a lot more of them. 19% malbec blended in.
Destiny-90pts. Their OPUS. A big and dense bordeaux blend.
Ice Wine Syrah-93pts. Never had one before and loved it. Sweet and smooth.
They have a fantastic tasting room and ship to California!
Thursday, August 16, 2007
More on Wine2.0
I just found a great site that may be the beginning of this venture. It is: www.winetwo.com
Great insights and a bit of logic while building toward an Online wine world. Who knows??? Maybe 2nd life will become a ground to "virtually" explore wine regions, making and thinking Online one day.
Cheers,
Derek
Great insights and a bit of logic while building toward an Online wine world. Who knows??? Maybe 2nd life will become a ground to "virtually" explore wine regions, making and thinking Online one day.
Cheers,
Derek
Thursday, August 2, 2007
More Musings and Fun Stuff
It has been a couple of weeks since I last wrote, but here are some random thoughts and tastings that I have been involved in recently.
NALLE
They are open to the public on Sundays and make some damn good wine. Not the overblown high-alchohol stuff that gets ripped by the press...Doug makes very honest and balanced wines that claim to age for years. I really liked his reserve Dry Creek Zin and his regular Zin. He is a super nice guy to boot. http://www.nallewinery.com/
PRESTON
Lou's wines get better every time I visit the winery. I tried a killer Viognier and a very jammy Mourvedre. The 05 Zin is fantastic too. I went on a Sunday, which is the day that they taste and sell the 1 gallon Guidagni jugs out of the barrell. Lot's of people and a decent $30 jug. Best at Preston are the olive oil, fresh produce and bread! The grounds are very pretty and a great spot for a picnic. http://www.prestonofdrycreek.com/
TURNING 40
We had my big 4-0 at my brother Fritter's house and everyone had a blast. We drank a ton of wine and there were some real standouts:
White: Quivira SB, Montenovo Godello, Schug Chard
Red: Mauro Sebaste Centobricche, Chateau St. Jean "Durell" Syrah and Forchini "Papa Nonno"
GREAT BUY AT TRADER JOES
For 5 bucks you can buy a really good SB named Diogenes from Lake County. Not super grassy, more a balanced and under-stated wine. Try it...You'll like it!
NALLE
They are open to the public on Sundays and make some damn good wine. Not the overblown high-alchohol stuff that gets ripped by the press...Doug makes very honest and balanced wines that claim to age for years. I really liked his reserve Dry Creek Zin and his regular Zin. He is a super nice guy to boot. http://www.nallewinery.com/
PRESTON
Lou's wines get better every time I visit the winery. I tried a killer Viognier and a very jammy Mourvedre. The 05 Zin is fantastic too. I went on a Sunday, which is the day that they taste and sell the 1 gallon Guidagni jugs out of the barrell. Lot's of people and a decent $30 jug. Best at Preston are the olive oil, fresh produce and bread! The grounds are very pretty and a great spot for a picnic. http://www.prestonofdrycreek.com/
TURNING 40
We had my big 4-0 at my brother Fritter's house and everyone had a blast. We drank a ton of wine and there were some real standouts:
White: Quivira SB, Montenovo Godello, Schug Chard
Red: Mauro Sebaste Centobricche, Chateau St. Jean "Durell" Syrah and Forchini "Papa Nonno"
GREAT BUY AT TRADER JOES
For 5 bucks you can buy a really good SB named Diogenes from Lake County. Not super grassy, more a balanced and under-stated wine. Try it...You'll like it!
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Amador County and Sierra Foothills Romp
We were in the Foothills for the week of July 4th and visited a few wineries. Here are my reviews of the wineries that we visited:
Murphy's
Twisted Oak: They are located on Main Street in Murphy's CA and make fantastic Syrah and Tempranillo. Their Grenache and Rhone blends were not my favorites, but they also make a great Verdehlo. This winery is definitely raising the quality of SF wines.
Milliare: This winery was the best one in Murphy's for years, but now takes a back-seat to Twisted Oak and Hatcher. They still make very honest wines, but the quality is not the same as the aforementioned neighbors. My favorite here was a blended zin called Old Vine.
Hatcher: Fantastic Barbera and a killer Rhone blend called Sewell. These guys get better every year and are located under the street level in a very cool tasting room. Zin, Cab Franc and Sauv Blanc were good too.
Plymouth
Vino Noceto: Still one of the best producers in CA of sangiovese. They make about 7 or eight different versions. My favorite was the Marmellata, which is a big and robust version of their reserva. I was also impressed by their killer barbera and a very good Ferrero Ranch Zinfandel.
Dobra Zemjla: This winery produces HUGE wines that I believe are throw-backs and also reflect the Amador terroir. I am a big fan of the Zinfandel and was very impressed by a 2003 Grenache. Also prduce a sweet Viognier, Sangiovese and a blend of zin, sang and syrah.
Dillian: These guys ROCK! Fantastic Zinfandel and Syrah. He sells a ton of grapes to Joel Gott and Rombauer. My favorite wine was a semillion that was not cooked or sweet and was very refreshing on a 100 degree day. They also make a great Orange Muscat that is not at all syrupy.
TOP FIVE WINES FROM SF/AMADOR
1). Dillian Semillion, 2005, Shenandoah Valley-$18
bone dry with citrus flavors (9.5/10)
2). Hatcher, Sewell, 2005, Sierra Foothills-$23
spicy and balanced with great fruit (9/10)
3). Twisted Oak, Tempranillo, 2004, Sierra Foothills-$24
Nice tannins and very balanced (8.8/10)
4). Vino Noceto, Linsteadt Barbera, 2004, Shenandoah Valley-$28
Robust with dark fruit and soft tannins (8.75/10)
5). Dobra Zemjla, Grenache, 2003, Amador County-$24
Great backbone and dark stone fruit flavors (8.6/10)
Murphy's
Twisted Oak: They are located on Main Street in Murphy's CA and make fantastic Syrah and Tempranillo. Their Grenache and Rhone blends were not my favorites, but they also make a great Verdehlo. This winery is definitely raising the quality of SF wines.
Milliare: This winery was the best one in Murphy's for years, but now takes a back-seat to Twisted Oak and Hatcher. They still make very honest wines, but the quality is not the same as the aforementioned neighbors. My favorite here was a blended zin called Old Vine.
Hatcher: Fantastic Barbera and a killer Rhone blend called Sewell. These guys get better every year and are located under the street level in a very cool tasting room. Zin, Cab Franc and Sauv Blanc were good too.
Plymouth
Vino Noceto: Still one of the best producers in CA of sangiovese. They make about 7 or eight different versions. My favorite was the Marmellata, which is a big and robust version of their reserva. I was also impressed by their killer barbera and a very good Ferrero Ranch Zinfandel.
Dobra Zemjla: This winery produces HUGE wines that I believe are throw-backs and also reflect the Amador terroir. I am a big fan of the Zinfandel and was very impressed by a 2003 Grenache. Also prduce a sweet Viognier, Sangiovese and a blend of zin, sang and syrah.
Dillian: These guys ROCK! Fantastic Zinfandel and Syrah. He sells a ton of grapes to Joel Gott and Rombauer. My favorite wine was a semillion that was not cooked or sweet and was very refreshing on a 100 degree day. They also make a great Orange Muscat that is not at all syrupy.
TOP FIVE WINES FROM SF/AMADOR
1). Dillian Semillion, 2005, Shenandoah Valley-$18
bone dry with citrus flavors (9.5/10)
2). Hatcher, Sewell, 2005, Sierra Foothills-$23
spicy and balanced with great fruit (9/10)
3). Twisted Oak, Tempranillo, 2004, Sierra Foothills-$24
Nice tannins and very balanced (8.8/10)
4). Vino Noceto, Linsteadt Barbera, 2004, Shenandoah Valley-$28
Robust with dark fruit and soft tannins (8.75/10)
5). Dobra Zemjla, Grenache, 2003, Amador County-$24
Great backbone and dark stone fruit flavors (8.6/10)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)