The Grape Crusader

Winery: Stolpman Vineyards

Bottling: 2005 La Coppa Syrah

Region: California

Sub-Region: Santa Ynez Valley

Estimated Retail Price: $19 (Winery price)

Purchase Details: Purchased for approximately $16 at Arlequin Wine Merchant in the Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco, California.

Tasting Notes: Blackberry and boysenberry flavors with an herbal, rosemary like finish.  There was a grainy textural quality that I find very appealing and more often than not, I find this quality in wines that also possess a “delicious” quality, the kind that makes you just want to go back to the well over and over again.

I haven’t had a wine like this in awhile and it was exciting to be drinking it.  I’ve tasted many wonderful wines that were well-crafted, impressive and downright outstanding.  There are few wines I’ve tasted though, that had the same quality this syrah had to make me want to drink it in the same voracious manner in which I would eat a can of Pringles.  Was there MSG in this wine, I wonder?
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Winery: Lioco

Bottling: 2008 Sonoma County Chardonnay

Region: California

Sub-Region: Sonoma

Estimated Retail Price: $20

Purchase Details: A good buddy of mine with whom I used to work with procured this bottle for me.  Based on the many conversations we had about wine, he felt strongly that I would really like Lioco’s wines, so he bought it for me from the company his wife works for.  Thanks Mark, Lioco can now count me as a lifetime fan.

Tasting Notes: On the nose, the Lioco chardonnay gave off very fresh floral and tropical notes.  In the mouth, I loved the play and intensity of the tropical fruit flavors with the creamy mouth feel along with the fresh finish from the underlying acidity.   Although utterly delicious on its own, I just know that if this chardonnay were drunk alongside food from India or Thailand, a wine and food pairing nirvana would be attained.
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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: Domaine de Montrieux, Emile Heredia

Bottling: 2006 Pineau d’Aunis “Le Verre des Poetes”

Importer: Metropolis Wine Merchants

Region: France

Sub-Region: Loire Valley

Estimated Retail Price: $20

Purchase Details: Purchased for around $20 from Arlequin Wine Merchant in Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco, California.

Tasting Notes: In the glass, crimson and violet hues.  Not too much of a perceptible aroma or nose.  I get a little bit of plum, blueberry and an aroma that’s almost synthetic in nature.  In the mouth, the wine is not very expressive as far as fruit flavors go.  It’s a little more mineral and dirt driven.

The intriguing thing about this wine are the flavors I’m getting on the very impressionable finish.  Its a very floral, and again, very synthetic in nature flavor that reminds me of some sort of chemical.  Some minty, herbal flavors are also present.  The wine is very dry and has a very firm and austere mouth-feel.

The wine was a lot more drinkable on the second day and still had a very fresh flavor to it as if it had only been opened a few hours before.

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Winery: Palmina Wines

Bottling: 2007 Barbera Santa Barbara County

Region: California

Sub-Region: Santa Barbara

Estimated Retail Price: $22

Purchase Details: Purchased for $20 plus tax from Blackwell’s Wines & Spirits in the Richmond District neighborhood of San Francisco, California.

Tasting Notes: In the glass, I’m staring at a pretty dark and opaque ruby red hue.  On the nose, the wine smells fresh and alive.  Aromatic scents of lavender, dried thyme, red fruits and raspberries.  In the mouth, wow!  Again the wine just feels alive.  Flavors of red and blue fruits like pomegranate, raspberries and blueberries tango in my mouth. (geez that was cheesy).  A tart, but fleshy finish ends the ride.

A well-balanced wine that really drinks well now, but could definitely cellar for a few years.  Absolutely delicious!  That’s the best way to sum up the flavor experience with the 2007 Palmina Barbera.

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Unfortunate zuchinni in the background, awaiting their fate.

Winery: Chateau Trinquevedel

Bottling: 2008 Tavel Rose

Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchants

Region: France

Sub-Region:  Tavel, Southern Rhone Valley

Estimated Retail Price: $17

Purchase Details: Purchased directly from Kermit Lynch Wine Merchants in Berekeley, California for around $17.

Tasting Notes: In the glass, a saturated and intense, dark pink hue.  On the nose, ripe red stone fruits and ripe strawberries.  In the mouth, flavors of ripe strawberry and spice.  The wine is firm, rich and juicy and has a dry tea like, but surprisingly refreshing finish.  Although the fruit takes center stage here, the wine never seems heavy or cloying and retains a nice fresh quality.

I’m not sure what the grape make up is on this particular Tavel, but the grapes that are typically used include grenache, syrah, cinsault, mouvedre and carignan (not to exceed more than 10%).  Also, not one grape can exceed more than 60% of the blend.

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Winery: Charles Joguet

Bottling: 2007 Cuvee Terroir

Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchants

Region: France

Sub-Region: Loire Valley, Chinon

Estimated Retail Price: $18

Purchase Details: Purchased from Kermit Lynch Wine Merchants in Berkeley, California for approximately $17.

Tasting Notes: In the glass, such a beautiful pure color of red and blue hues.  On the nose, wonderful perfumed and sweet aromas of berries, lavendar and spice.  In the mouth, you immediately sense how lively and refreshing the acidity of the wine is, as the fruit flavors seem to come alive.  I taste red and blue fruits like blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and cherries.  The wine is medium-bodied and has just enough tannins to keep the stuffing in place, and they’re also soft enough so one can enjoy this bottling early in its life.

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Winery: Costa di Bussia

Bottling: 2007 Dolcetto D’Alba

Importer: Siena Imports

Region: Italy

Sub-Region: Piemonte

Estimated Retail Price: $12

Purchase Details: Purchased for $24 on a restaurant wine menu at Pizetta 211 in the Richmond neighborhood of San Francisco, California.

Tasting Notes: In the glass, saturated red and purple hues.  On the nose, aromas of sweet oak, spice and red and blue fruits.  In the mouth, loads of cherries, plums and sweet spice.  There’s also a strong “grapey” quality to the wine.  Fine and velvety tannins, a medium body and palate-cleansing acidity on the finish make this a real joy and wonderful quaffer of a wine.

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Winery: Vineyard 29

Bottling: 2006 “Cru” Cabernet Sauvignon

Region: California

Sub-Region: Napa Valley

Estimated Retail Price: $50 – $60

Purchase Details: Purchased for $51.99 plus tax at K&L Wine Merchants in San Francisco, California.

Tasting Notes: A beautiful dark, pure garnet with some blue hues.  On the nose, sweet pencil lead, cherries, berries and herb.  In the mouth, this wine is unbelievably lush, dense chewy and concentrated.  A creamy, creme de cassis undertone, with minty herb on the extremely long finish.  The wine has a firm structure, with tannins that definitely signal that the wine could use some cellaring, but they are also velvety enough to allow for early drinking.  This is a very well-made, clean and polished wine.  A little much for me, but still a delicious and balanced effort.

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Winery: Domaine Catherine et Pierre Breton

Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant

Region: France

Sub-Region: Bourgueil, Loire Valley

Estimated Retail Price: $19

Purchase Details: Purchased for $16.99 plus tax at the Redwood City K&L Wine Merchant store.

Tasting Notes: On the nose, stinky blue cheese and dirty athletic socks.  In the mouth, this wine is all about acid and texture.  Juicy dark sour cherry fruit, plum and a kind of briny olive tapenade flavor.  Good grippy tannins that are also silky and caressing.  I can’t get over how alive the wine tastes due to the underlying fresh, palate-cleansing acidity.  A really nice finish that lingers and then fades very slowly.

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