winewaves

When In Boise, El Dorado, or Alberta...

For years I brought wine with me when traveling by air. It's been a year since the rule went into effect prohibiting bringing a bottle of wine through security, and my tactics have adapted. As soon as we get where we're going, I'm bottle shopping. I feel I've hit the trifecta when I find a convenient grocery with nice fresh fruit offerings, a Starbucks inside, and a well stocked wine department.

Recent trips have turned up some notable local quaffs that make the grade and don't cost a lot. They're not Opus One, but it would be a shame to pay a lot for a "road bottle" since usually I only get halfway through it (alright, two-thirds) before going to bed. The next day I'm on to the next place. If a road bottle has a screw cap, all the better since corkscrews are a no-go in carry-on baggage and not all hotels have one available. Fortunately it's still okay to bring wine glasses on board and I'm never without my Reidel "O"s which occupy the center slot in my padded camera and laptop case.

Here are some local finds from the latter half of August.
Boise, Idaho: Sawtooth Winery 2005 Skyline Red. ($10 at Safeway, Screw Cap, 14.5% Alcohol). Think of a stout glass of berry-ish coffee-esque wine. The blend is 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Syrah, 10% Merlot and 5% Primitive (Zin-like cousin). Aging was 6 months in oak barrels. Rustic with dusty tannins, the coffee roaster aromas frame black cherry, berry and vanilla oak flavors.
El Dorado (Placerville), California: Boeger Winery Hangtown Red Lot #34. ($10 at the Winery or Safeway, Real cork, 14.1% Alcohol). Definitely a guy's wine, what with the wild west motif and sensibilities, it's the kind of wine I could be happy with if I had to pick only one. The deep cherry fruit is ample, there's comforting oak spice plus a little tobacco note like that sweet loose variety that makes you wish you smoked a pipe. Expressive and dusty, you get a mild hit of tannins and a warm finish. Then you're ready to be tucked in for the night. The blend changes from lot to lot but the San Francisco Chronicle states this lot is 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Tempranillo.
Calgary, Alberta: Tinhorn Creek Vineyards 2004 Okanagan Valley Cabernet Merlot. ($15 CDN at Howie's, Screw Cap, 14.7% Alcohol). Released a year ago, the texture is smooth and you get a nice combination of bright red fruit, oak spice and Canadian forest earthiness. Nicely tart, it was the perfect partner for the takeout burger I grabbed at a place called Joey's Tomato. The blend is 63% Cabernet Franc (not Sauvignon as you might expect) and 37% Merlot.
Grand Island, Nebraska: I don't have a clue. I arrived too late and somebody will have to tell me where the wine is.

My recent trips to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and California allowed me copious opportunities for picture taking. As usual, the pictures I missed were better than the ones I got, but you can view the slide shows from those trips now.
The Sturgis slide show can be seen at http://www.gusset.com, by clicking here.
The California Wine slide show can be seen at http://www.frugalmacdoogal.com.

Here's another wine tip. Good friend Ed Young does a monthly wine letter for Frugal MacDoogal's, the Nashville and Charlotte area wine and spirits retailer whose website and email program I manage. This month he assembled a nice group of humorous and familiar wine and spirits quotes. Be sure to check them out (http://www.frugalmacdoogal.com).

Tangley Oaks Napa Lot 7 Merlot 2003

Forgive me, but if Jesus turned water into wine, I'm thinking he may have produced a really good second label like Tangley Oaks Lot 7 Merlot (2003) from Rutherford Hill. After all, Jesus was making wine for a large group (a marriage), he didn't have a lot of cash in hand, and who did he need to impress with a fancy first label? And as everyone down south knows, Jesus saves. Seriously, here is a great example of how to get a gorgeous quaffable for minutiae of crowns.

Tangley Oaks is the name of the gracious English manor home originally built for the meat packing Armour family 90 years ago. The Terlato family owns it now and it is the centerpiece of the family's Rutherford Hill Wine Estate. The same name appears on this Merlot that costs some $10 less than the winery's first label juice of very similar quality.

Outstanding value ($15). Closure: Real cork. Alcohol content: 14.2%.

Style: Fruit forward, moderate oak spice, some complexity, polished tannins.

Tasting Notes: Appearance: Deep ruby. Aromas: Nice sweet oak spice overlays cherry berry lushness and hints of expresso and tea. The ripe fruit is round and bountiful, well balanced with the oak and tartness, and the tannins are smooth and polished. The finish begs another sip.

Comment: Think of it as an awesome glass of Napa rather than a glass of Merlot and you'll see the true value inherent in the bottle. "Lord Jesus this is good!".

St. Francis Sonoma County RED 2004

St. Francis is known for Merlot, and in this offering they pony up some great juice in a blended format that has a lot to offer any empty wine glass. Cleverly their blend is simply RED, and each case features twelve different labels sporting variations on "splats" of red wine.

This year's RED blend is 60% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cab Franc and 4% Zinfandel, all 100% is Sonoma County grown fruit according to Winemaker Tom Mackey.

Outstanding value ($11). Closure: Plastic cork. Alcohol content: 13.5%.

Style: Fruit-forward with just a bit of earthiness, with some oak spice, dry.

Tasting Notes: Appearance: Deep purple ruby, translucent. Aromas: Sweet spicy oak notes overlay dried cherry, redcurrant and loganberry liqueur, backed by earthy forest notes. Medium-bodied and dusty dry; the spicy fruity flavors are balanced by enough structure and an earthiness that work together in a charismatic finish.

Comment: I've got friends in Merlot places.

Hahn Central Coast Meritage 2005

The 2005 harvest was late and great all up and down the California winegrowing coast. Almost everywhere it looked like vineyards on Viagra, with abundant fruit lasting with incredible hang time and producing lots of sweet juice. In capable hands those grapes produced equally arousing wines capable of bringing a smile to any wino with a heartbeat.

Adam LaZarre reports Hahn Central Coast Merlot Meritage is a blend centered on Merlot but encompassing significant minor portions of Malbec (15%), Petit Verdot (13%) and Cabernet Franc (10%). The lots were aged an average of 11 months employing a complex algorithm of new, 1-year-old and neutral French oak barrels.

Outstanding value ($14, sale price). Closure: Real cork. Alcohol content: 13.5%.

Style: Fruit forward, lush, with some oak spice.

Tasting Notes: Appearance: Deep dark purple ruby, translucent. Aromas: A full spectrum of red to black fruit framed by background notes of cassia spice and cedary oak. The mouth feel is medium bodied, softly tannic and lightly tart. Loads of voluptuous plummy black cherry, loganberry, blueberry, cassis and cola flavors are accompanied by a brush of caramelized oak in the warm dry finish.

Comment: This new world Bordeaux blend is "hot to go right now"; there's no need to wait on it. If you find it under $20 like I did, don't hesitate.

Winewaves recently reviewed Hahn's new brand, Cycles Gladiator (Syrah 2005). Hahn, with the trio of Nicholas Hahn, Bell Leigon and Adam LaZarre, is a modern wine "tour de force".

Red Diamond Washington Merlot 2003

Put out by Stimson Lane,  the parent company of Chateau Ste. Michelle and Erath, Red Diamond's current release is a bountiful and well-crafted Merlot that is hard to touch for the price.

Winemaker Juan Muñoz Oca reports the composition of Red Diamond Merlot 2003 is 94% Merlot and 6% Cab Franc, aged in French and American oak barrels. Oca is from Mendoza and is best known for his generous Columbia Crest reds.

Excellent value ($9). Closure: Real cork. Alcohol content: 13.5%.

Style: Fruit forward, lush, with some oak spice.

Tasting Notes: Appearance: Deep cranberry ruby with a slight haze, semi-opaque. Aromas: Cherry, black cherry, plum, redcurrant, and sweet pie spice. Medium bodied, lightly tart with soft tannins, plenty of jammy red fruit is layered over oak spice that evolves in the polished dry finish.

Comment: Keep it a secret. No, on second thought let your friends in on it.

Clarence Dillon Clarendelle Red Bordeaux 2003

A friend once gifted me a bottle of 1989 Haut-Brion and I must admit it was over my head, aristocratic, too complex for words, and at up to $1000/bottle I certainly couldn't have afforded it. Very recently, another friend gifted me this lovely bottle related to Haut-Brion, and this one really fits.

Prince Robert of Luxembourg has gone modern while paying due homage to his great-grandfather Clarence Dillon by introducing his line of negociant Bordeaux wines. The name Clarendelle derives from the name Clarence Dillon and the term Claret, with a nod to the femininity of its native France.

Clarence Dillon Clarendelle Red Bordeaux 2003 is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.

Excellent value ($20). Closure: Real cork. Alcohol content: 13%.

Style: Complex, new and old worldly, lightly floral, and elegantly fruity.

Tasting Notes: Appearance: Deep ruby with a purple edge, translucent. Aromas: Intense black cherry, black currant and berry, vanilla, floral notes and hints of cedar. Medium-bodied and well-structured with low to moderate acidity, the red to black fruit, cocoa and cedary notes finish with gravelly minerality.

Comment: Prince Robert is spot on with this consumer-friendly Bordeaux. Pair it with a rich pasta dish.

Firestone Central Coast Merlot 2004

Paul Giamatti's "Sideways" character "Miles" exclaimed "I'm not drinking Merlot"; forgive me if I do. Andrew Firestone and his associates are turning out a complex Merlot from Sideways country (Central Coast) that tastes like good Bordeaux, at a fraction of the cost.

Firestone is hosting a wine dinner in Nashville on the ides of March (the 15th) in conjunction with the Nashville Predators Wine Tasting Festival at Gaylord Entertainment Center. (There are still tickets available as of this posting.)

Firestone Central Coast Merlot 2004 was sourced from both estate vineyards in Santa Ynez Valley and contract growers in Paso Robles. Aging averaged 16 months in mostly French oak, with some American and Hungarian barrels added. The blend includes 7% Cabernet Franc.

Excellent value: ($12). Closure: Real cork. Alcohol content: 13.5%.

Style: Complex yet fruit forward; in other words a "right bank Bordeaux" styled wine with new world sensibilities.

Tasting Notes: Appearance: Deep cranberry with purple edges and a slight haze. Aromas: Cherry, plum, raspberry, hints of vanilla, toffee, menthol tobacco and earth. Medium-bodied and well structured red fruit and supporting roasted sweet red pepper and cedary oak tones lead to a buttoned-down warm dry finish.

Comment: This is Merlot!

Januik Winery Columbia Valley Merlot 2004

"Wherever you go, there you are"*, comes to mind with this beautiful "meditative" Merlot which compels you to be in the present moment. In the case of winemaking this idea translates to knowing what every barrel has to offer, and raising each task to the level of art rather than production, which seems to be Winemaker/Proprietor Mike Januik's approach. Great results have been following him for two decades of Washington State winemaking.

Mike Januik is an artisan winemaker with a large scale winemaking background. As the Head Winemaker with Chateau Ste. Michelle for 10 years he expanded his repertoire, developed relationships with the best Washington State winegrowers, and started Ste. Michelle's single vineyard program. His desire to be more creative led him to open Januik Winery in 1999 and make wines in the hundreds of cases, not thousands. Januik is also Consulting Winemaker for Novelty Hill which is scheduled to open their new winery in Woodinville (Seattle suburb) in spring 2007.

Januik Columbia Valley Merlot 2004 is 89% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Cab Franc, sourced from some highly-esteemed Columbia Valley Vineyards including Conner Lee, Ciel du Cheval (translation: Horse Heaven), Klipsun (translation: Sunset) and Alder Ridge. Aging of the lots was about 18 months in mostly new French oak barrels. Cases produced: 1041.

Tasting Notes: Appearance: Deep ruby with a slight haze, translucent. Aromas: Black cherry, chocolate, cinnamon/spice, and long aged rye whiskey. The mouth feel is voluptuous, smooth and polished with perfectly balanced tannins and acidity. The richly layered flavors include cherry and darker fruit notes supported by buttery oak spice, chocolate and citrus rind. The finish is warm and lingers like a friend you want to spend the night with.

Excellent value ($23).  Closure: Real cork.  Alcohol content: 14.4%.

Winewaves reviewed Novelty Hill 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon and named it one of the top reds of the year for 2006.

*"Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life", a book which explores the practice of meditation was written by Jon Kabat-Zinn in the 1990s and is available in paperback at Amazon.

Bergevin Lane Vineyards Calico Red 2004

Calico Red isn't an ordinary tame pussycat. She has a strong personality and will cozy up to her keepers but also keep the strays out of the yard.

Bergevin Lane is a relatively young story, an early indication of the influx of the hip Californian and beyond crowd who are following global warming north to the new hot spot in wine, Walla Walla. Talk about quirk, in Walla-squared you will find everything from a good old fashioned hotel to a real drug store on the square to boutique wineries and citified bistros. Walla Walla was abuzz in wheat 100 years ago and is again in grapes, and best of all, there is still some real un-retouched charm left to enjoy here.

I heard about Bergevin Lane at Backstage Bistro in DTW2 (Downtown Walla Walla) while noshing almost alone on some incredible cedar plank salmon this past last Tuesday night of January. The winery of two women is a "must" stop I was told. Unfortunately I was on a short leash and had to high-tail it out of town the next morning, but I spotted their Calico at Pete's in Seattle and their rare Cab Franc at Vino Volo in Sea-Tac Airport and brought them home. There will be a return trip to W2, soon if I have anything to do with it.

Proprietors Annette Bergevin & Amber Lane opened their doors in 2001, and moved into their modern industrial winery building in 2003. The Bergevin Lane partners have annealed relationships with growers in top vineyards in Walla Walla, Wahluke Slope, Horse Heaven Hills and other catbird seats in Columbia Valley. The counterpoint masculine touch is imparted by Annette's father Gary Bergevin, founding partner of Canoe Ridge, new winemaker Steffan Jorgensen and consultant Gordy Hill.

Bergevin Lane Calico Red 2004 reflects the personality of its lucky female proprietors and is credited to former Bergevin Lane winemaker Virginie Bourgue who recently left to marry Andrew Lodmell and make Lodmell Cellars wine. Calico is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Zinfandel and Cab Franc. Only 2500 cases of this cuvee were produced, sourced from the likes of the Alder Ridge, Stone Tree, Les Collines and Lonesome Spring Ranch vineyards to name a few. Aging of lots included French, American and Neutral oak barrels.

Tasting Notes: Appearance: Deep candy apple red with bright cherry edges, translucent. Aromas: Pungent mixed red to black berry and currant essences merge with espresso and masculine oak spice. Very young, sturdy and warming with substantial tannins, the brambly, peppery and ample syrupy fruit combine with cedary oak flavor in a kick of a finish.

Excellent value ($18). Closure: Real cork. Alcohol content: 14.3%

Food pairing: Drink up with a great sandwich such as a Boar's Head black forest turkey and Vermont white cheddar on toasted whole wheat; but you could also go anywhere with this red blend.

CMS Red by Hedges Columbia Valley Red 2004

Whenever I travel to Seattle, it seems like I get stuck on I-5, stuck on I-405, stuck in Everett, I get chilled to the bone but I still don't feel cool, and alas, I'm a tea drinker in a coffee town.  But the availability of amazing wine always raises my spirits even in the face of "rising damp".   Of course, the grapes are all grown east of the Cascades, well beyond Snoqualmie Pass, but a lot of it is made in the area around Seattle, like Hedges in Issaquah.

Among the growing purple rush known as the Washington wine business, the Hedges are a family who know how to pack an enormous amount of world class into a wine bottle, and you can afford their good taste.  Tom Hedges is a "savvy businessman" who long ago wisely partnered with an equally well-informed and worldly wife Anne-Marie, a native of France.  They've been in the business for eons compared to the latecomers, but they haven't rested on their laurels.

They were wise enough to recognize Tom's savant brother Pete as their force to be reckoned with, tapping him as chief winemaker in 2002.  Pete believes that rock solid well-structured wines are the price of entry at the global level, even at a bargain price.  Together they bring the absolute best crop that Washington State has to offer to market.

They specialize in Bordeaux blends that could pass for double or even 3-4 times the price in Napa Valley, if you could coax out the complex and finessed alchemy from such a heated southern source.  But hey Jack, all that plump might just be yesterday's news.

Pete Hedges reports the composition of their bargain-priced 2004 CMS Red is 57% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 4% Syrah.  The blend is rather complex in terms of grape sourcing, with 1/5 Red Mountain fruit, and other sources included O'Brien and Willard vineyards in Yakima Valley, Destiny Ridge in Horse Heaven Hills, plus a number of Columbia Valley vineyards.  The fruit was picked over 8 weeks, from the beginning of September to the end of October, reflecting the wide range of ripening dates in Washington State.  Aging was up to 1 year in 80% French and 20% American oak barrels.  Cases produced: 34,000.

Tasting Notes: Appearance: Deep ruby with bright edges and a slight haze.  Aromas: Blackberry, black cherry, smoky lightly toasty and bacony oak, with hints of black licorice and black coffee.  The mouthfeel is almost full-bodied with bold gravelly tannins.  The elegant black fruit is well-balanced with the Red Mountain structure and the finish is firm with fine oak overtures.

Outstanding value ($11).  Closure: "Neocork".  Alcohol content: 13.5%.

In 2006, Winewaves raved about two Hedges wines, Three Vineyards Red Mountain Red 2003 and bargain-priced Hedges CMS White Columbia Valley 2005.

Food pairing: Wood-fired roasted chicken with all the trimmings.