The Grape Crusader

Winery: Bonny Doon Vineyards

Bottling: 2004 Le Cigare Volant (35% Syrah, 38% Grenache, 12% Mourvedre, 8% Carignane, 7% Cinsault)

Region: California

Sub-Region: Santa Cruz Mountains

Estimated Retail Price: $30 – $35

Purchase Details: Purchased for $44 off the wine menu at Spork SF in the Mission District neighborhood of San Francisco.  A great deal considering restaurant pricing.

Tasting Notes: In the glass, pretty violet hues.  On the nose, spices and wild berries.  In the mouth, flavors of cherry, blueberry, pepper and dried herbs.  Tightly wound and taut tannins and a fairly long finish.  I think this wine has a nice blend of savory and sweet flavor components.  The sweet kirsch flavors are very apparent as well as the spiciness and meatiness of the wine and they work very well together to balance out the wine and give it a little yin and yang flavor dance.

This is a new world wine with an old-world sensibility that can easily age for several more years.  I think its worth having several bottles lying around the home cellar.

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Winery: Vinos de Terrunos

Bottling: 2005  “La Milla” Monastrell (a.k.a. Mourvedre)

Importer: Vinos and Gourmet - Jose Pastor Selections

Region: Spain

Sub-Region: Jumilla

Estimated Retail Price: $16.99

Purchase Details: Purchased on sale at K&L Wine Merchant in Redwood City, California for $7.99 a bottle.  Regular price was $16.99.

Tasting Notes: In the glass, aromas of licorice, synthetic plastic and dark berries.  In the mouth, the wine is firm, robust and round without being heavy.  In fact, it has a very elegant and silky texture at this point in its life.  Flavors of roasted meat, violets, pepper, hints of plum and blackberries coat the palate.  A nice, soft finish and aftertaste.

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Winery: Domaine du Grand Montmirail

Bottling: 2007 Gigondas “Les Deux Juliette” (80% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 5% Mourvedre)

Importer: Charles Neal Selections

Region: France

Sub-Region: Gigondas, Southern Rhone Valley

Estimated Retail Price: $20

Purchase Details: Purchased for around $20 at the Arlequin Wine Merchant in Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco.

Tasting Notes: Visually, this wine sports a maroon, red brick hue.  On the nose, aromas of garrigue, smoke, violets and cherry liqueur.  On the palate, flavors of dusty raspberry, cherry, licorice, charcoal, pepper, spice and warm rocks.  Medium-bodied, caressing tannins and a nice seamless flow of flavor from beginning to end.

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The 2007 Kermit Lynch Cotes du Rhone

Winery: Kermit Lynch Selections

Bottling #1: 2007 Kermit Lynch Cotes du Rhone

Bottling #2: 2007 Kermit Lynch Vin de Pays Vaucluse

Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchants

Region: France

Sub-Region: Vaucluse (Southern France) and the Southern Rhone

Estimated Retail Price: Vin de Pays $9 – $12, Cotes du Rhone $11 – $15

Purchase Details & Tasting Source: Both of these bottles were purchased at the Whole Foods Market in the Portrero Hill neighborhood of San Francisco.  I decided on using these as the house reds for a sit-down dinner party (30 people!) me and Susan’s best friend Ame, were hosting for Susan’s birthday in San Francisco.

Tasting Notes: Both of these bottlings were classic Kermit Lynch wines that had a great expression of fruit and terroir that you come to expect with Lynch’s producers.  The Vin de Pays bottling uses no oak at all and the Cotes du Rhone, I believe uses a very minimal amount of oak.  Both were amazing in that they showed so much gobs of clean fruit and flavor without the use or over-use of oak.

The Vin de Pays flavor profile was driven more by the more classic garrigue aromas and flavors like lavendar and rosemary, than the Cotes du Rhone, while the Rhone wine was driven by more pepper and spice.

The Cotes du Rhone had darker, bigger and more voluptuous fruit, while the Vin de Pays was a little more feminine and lively.  I believe both are typical grenache/syrah/mourvedre/carignane based blends of the areas.

It was interesting to see how these bottles tasted alongside other bottles people had brought to the party.  One in particular, a Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma County, was pretty tasty and full of fruit on its own, but when taking a sip of it after drinking the Lynch Vin de Pays, it tasted unusually sweet on the finish.  Most of the sweet flavor I was getting was from the sweet, vanilla flavors American Oak imparts on wine.  It wasn’t bad or anything, but it was interesting to see the flavor contrast of the wines and how oak affects a wine.

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