Jason’s Wine Blog

Price: $30.00 direct from the winery

What They Said:

Per the winery “2003 Zinfandel, York Creek, bottled May 2005
84% zinfandel, 16% petite sirah

Since 1999, this dry-farmed Spring Mountain vineyard has produced a series of opulent, late-picked wines. In this vintage, weather conditions and close attention to varying ripeness within each block have resulted in a zinfandel reminiscent of the seventies and eighties, more in the style of a fine table wine. The eight parcels fermented separately on their natural yeasts, and were pressed at eight days; a natural malolactic finished in four weeks. The firm structure of this classic York Creek required extended barrel aging. Beautifully balanced and approachable now, it will benefit from a year or two in bottle, and develop fully over the next ten years. PD/EB (2/05)”

What I Think:

I can count the number of times that I have paid more than $25 for a bottle of wine on one hand. Before finding this one the amount that I thought were worth it didn’t even require a hand to count on. This was my second, yes I bought two at once, and last bottle of this wine. I had it for the first time a few years back at their tasting room in Sonoma. Shortly before visiting I had read a story about “field blended” wines, which are quite hard to find and usually pricey, and the difference from the normal blends you see on the shelf at the store. A normal blend, to me, is almost scientific. Each grape in the blend is grown individually in different vineyards (or at least separate parcels at the same one), harvested individually and barreled individually until it becomes time to put it in the bottle. At this time, we begin playing science. Let’s try a bit of this, a bit of that until we get it right then voila! We have our blend. This is obviously a laymen’s impression of how this works, I am sure it is much more difficult and requires much more attention than indicated here but I obviously have a bias here. The field blends on the other hand were planted that way. When you get out in the vineyard they are all mixed up, no separate parcels here. You have them all growing intermixed, they are all harvested together, barreled together, aged together until they find their way to the bottle. In this case it seems you get what you get!

And with this wine you sure do get it! In a word, Awesome! This is likely the best bottle of wine I have ever had. I enjoyed it so much I didn’t even really want to take the time to analyze why I was doing so. The nose is full of dark fruit and very inviting. The structure is round, rich, plush any good word you can think of. This wine is perfectly balanced and integrated, showing layers upon layers of varying flavors and complexity. The finished is smooth, long and lasting. I had the wine a week ago and I can almost still taste it. My friend, whom we had over to dinner that night, remarked that it was better than most of the $100 bottles he had and he has had plenty! A few days later we went to the store and split a case of the 2004! It is going to take a lot of restraint to leave those alone! I would have loved to see what this wine is like in a few more years. The winery still has the ‘03 available, maybe I will swing by. If you want to splurge, this is money well spent.

Rating: Cellar It

Price: $6.52 @ BevMo (retails at $12.99 a bottle)

What They Said:

Per the winery “The grapes for our Echelon 2003 Shiraz were carefully harvested at night to preserve the freshness of the fruit. After destemming, the fruit was fermented for 9 days in stainless steel, followed by 12 days of skin contact. The wine was racked three times before being transferred into small oak barrels, where it was aged for 12 months, then filtered and bottled.

Our 2003 Shiraz is medium garnet in color, with luscious aromas of dark cherry, blueberries, jam and oak. The wine is medium- to full-bodied, with big, soft tannins on the palate; and mouthfilling, with a long, luscious finish. It is a ripe, deep wine that is very enjoyable upon release, but will also cellar well for several years. Pair it with pizza, pasta and red meats.”

What I Think:

Talk about luck of the draw in a bad way, I opened this bottle because I was enjoying the Holbrook to much and wanted to savor it a few more days. Since I still had the urge for another glass I pulled the cork on this one….

Given that we should probably take this with a grain of salt but again I was not impressed. Had some fruit on the nose and at the front of the palate but as we got towards the middle the tannins were fighting through leaving a bitter taste leading to an almost tart finish. To top it off it had a little bit of the mass produced for mass consumption manufactured taste making it seem void of any varietal characteristics. I still haven’t really recovered from the fact that I thought I was buying Syrah here so perhaps it is the Shiraz factor. I am guessing there is a good reason we don’t grow/make it here. I wish I could remember what Echelon bottlings I have had in the past because I do remember them being better. I may give them another try but it certainly won’t be this Shiraz.

Rating: Skip It

Price: $12.99 @ K&L Wines

What They Said:

Per K&L Wines “Cory Holbrook, former winemaker and proprietor of Bridlewood Winery, makes this intense, richly fruited syrah. Full of freshly picked boyenberry, slathered in vanilla-y oak and spiced lightly with just the slighest pinch of lavender this is a wine for any fan of domestic or Australian Syrah. (Bryan Brick, K&L) 90 points

“Smart Buy” in Wine Spectator: “A forward, ripe and fleshy style, compelling for its supple mix of wild berry, boysenberry and blackberry fruit and pretty toasty oak shadings. Drink now through 2011.” (3/31/07)”

What I Think:

So K&L convinced me to buy this one when they highlighted it in their monthly news letter. I had never heard of the winemaker nor the winery mentioned so what was it that drew me to this one? Two things, I always want to try (and further more) to like wines from the Central Coast and two, I really want to like Syrah. Hmm, looks like it is pretty easy to catch my eye. So we cracked open the screwtop on this one and were hit by loads of light fruit on the nose with some woody overtones adding some spice and tannins to the bouquet. In the mouth it showed a nice, polished round structure balancing the fruit and tannins of the barrel nicely and lingering on the tongue through the finish. Finished with it that night we twisted the screwcap back on and let it sit for a few days. Wow! By day three this showed great layers of complexity! I was amazed by how a good wine had become so much more. Does it need to aged? Or does it just be open for a while? For the next three days I had small sips of this lamenting the day when they would come to an end…I even shared the last sip with a friend who likes to spend money on his wines and he was a bit surprised as he does not tend to care for syrah. Sadly that night the bottle ended.

I would love to compare this to the Columbia Crest Syrah they had at TJ’s a while back for $6.99 that I enjoyed so much. I am pretty sure this would blow it out of the water but it is always nice to have it side by side with something you consider your base line. Wish there was a way you could easily save taste of these wines so I could pull it out of the cabinet and have them side by side now….

Not sure if I will really buy this one as it is at a tricky price point for me but if the stars align I certainly wouldn’t mind finding it in the rack again…

Rating: Wow!

Price: $6.99 @ Trader Joe’s

What They Said:

Per the winery “Aromas of black cherry, blackberries, liqueur and hints of tobacco and smoke precede a rich, silky palate of cherry, chocolate and black fruits with a touch of toasty oak on the finish.”

What I Think:

This wine is made by one of the Washington behemoths; Chateau Ste. Michelle. It consists of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc. This bottling use to be one I liked quite a bit when it was on the shelves say six months ago so I had been looking at the remaining bottle for some time. I figured I would save it for an evening when I needed to have a nice wine, a known commodity and last night turned out to be that night. Boy was I disappointed. Coming off a series of good wines over the last ten days this one tasted almost like, dare I say it, manufactured plonk! There was not one unique varietal character about this wine. You could drink the bottle with 4 people and at least two wouldn’t know it was Cab, I may be one of them. Don’t get me wrong this was still nice to drink and maybe worth buying again but it certainly didn’t meet the nostalgia I had been feeling after looking at this bottle for weeks. If it were still in the stores I may give it another shot as I don’t want the memories to end like this. Six months ago I was buying this wine regularly. Have my taste changed that much over that timeframe? Was this bottle slightly off? Unfortunately we will never know as it is long gone from TJ’s.

Rating: 12th Bottle

Price: $19.99 @ Friend/Gift

What They Said:

Per the winery “Aromas of rich chocolate, coffee, and cassis with notes of mixed dark fruit and raspberry. Extraordinarily rich and mouth-filling, with flavors of cassis, coffee and toasted oak that grace a well-structured body, full of texture with ripe, supple tannins on the lingering finish. 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot.”

What I Think:

So last Friday I had some friends over for dinner and we had a few bottles of wine which has led me to some consternation as to whether or not I should attempt to chronicle those wines here. I have already decided that those consumed at a restaurant are out, those at friend’s houses are in most cases to be out, but what about these.

There is one major issue in that I’m not going to be sitting there with a pen and paper with guests present. Meaning at the end of the night, if the bottle is gone which is all but a certainty, I am left with an impression of the wine but find it hard to reconstruct the details, especially after the second or third bottle has been opened. Perhaps in the future I will try to siphon off a taste to jog my memory. Or I could just not post them and mitigate the risk of friends getting mad at me for giving their wines bad ratings…

So now on to this one, I remember a wine that was very well structured, a pleasant texture in the mouth with nice rounded fruit flavors that lasted throughout, The finish was smooth as the fruit gradually gave way to the oak and tannins that lingered on to the end. I don’t remember it being overly complex as the flavor profile stayed largely the same, on the up side it the taste lingered in your mouth long after the wine was down your throat. Would I buy this bottle myself, in a restaurant? Yes, if I didn’t see something else I knew that appealed to me. Going to the store to get a bottle? Likely not as I would prefer to get two $10 bottles. This is certainly a good bottle of wine well worth consuming if you are comfortable dropping that kind of money on a bottle. I’m not so at this price point my expectations have extended to having a memorable wine tasting experience. While there is nothing bad to be said this one simply didn’t have that “Wow” factor.

Rating: Pricey

Price: $6.99 @ Trader Joe’s

What They Said:

Per quaffability “If you’ve spent any time around Napa, particularly “up valley”, you’ll find that many of the locals like to quip about Lake County as some kind of “Deliverance” style backwater, where the all the toothless residents are either crank addicts, mentally disabled, or both. Without commenting about the merits of such jokes or what it says about denizens of either county, I will say that some Napa wineries are seeing greener, or at least cheaper, grass on the other side of the fence, and planting and growing good wines up in Lake County.

Among those is Napa and Knights Valley behemoth Beringer, which has put out this Clear Lake Zin, the first wine I have seen from that appellation.

This wine makes a good first impression, with a nose of peppery, briary fruit, braced with with a beam of toasty oak and a touch of chaparral.

There is true zin fruit in the mouth, medium bodied, ripe but a little drier than you’d expect, leading to a finish marked by firm tannins. Very pleasant, especially at this price”

What I Think:

Wow! This wine is listed at $14 on the winery website. Once quaffability gave this one the thumbs up I had to get a bottle. Never knew Clear Lake had an appellation, did you? I guess most people just use the Lake County designation. On popping the cork this seems like a big time winner, a real big nose of dark, brambly fruit mixed with spicy notes. On the tongue it delivers as promised, the structure is nice and rounded. The wine seems almost velvet-like in the mouth with nice, deep fruit flavors once again being front and center. These last through to the end before mixing with peppery undertones to give you a nice smooth finish. I can’t quite call this complex but it sure was a joy to drink.

Just a week ago the Rocking Horse was the best Zin available at TJ’s, no more. This one clearly tasks the throne. It’s wines like these that I feel I need a red alert functionality. That way my “readers” can get to these before they disappear. Hopefully it hasn’t yet cause I sure would like to grab a case!

Rating: Bulk Buy

Price: $7.02 @ BevMo (retails at $13.99 a bottle)

What They Said:

Per the winery “Aromas of earth, cedar and black cherries backed up by soft, smoky notes of leather lead to rich smoke on the pallet with bright fruit flavors of black cherries and plumbs, and hints of raspberries. The wine finishes with lingering tannin, earthiness and spice.”

What I Think:

Must not have been expecting much as I opened it when I knew my taste buds were pretty much shot. That sentiment pretty much carried over to the next day as well. Thank goodness I didn’t pay retail. This was drinkable but don’t think this label will find its way into my house anytime soon. All that said, this wine hardly had a fair or impartial showing this time around. I could see doing a blind tasting and pulling this out of the bag with a very different opinion. Then again maybe not…

 On a side note I am going to watch Paso Robles a little more, don’t think I have had a Zinfandel from that area that I cared for much.  Wonder if my research over time will prove that out.  Hold a sec…yeah scratch that.  I’ve had some nice Rosenblum efforts out of that area.

Rating: Skip It

Price: $6.52 @ BevMo (retails at $12.99 a bottle)

What They Said:

Per the winery “The grapes for our Echelon 2003 Shiraz were carefully harvested at night to preserve the freshness of the fruit. After destemming, the fruit was fermented for 9 days in stainless steel, followed by 12 days of skin contact. The wine was racked three times before being transferred into small oak barrels, where it was aged for 12 months, then filtered and bottled.

Our 2003 Shiraz is medium garnet in color, with luscious aromas of dark cherry, blueberries, jam and oak. The wine is medium- to full-bodied, with big, soft tannins on the palate; and mouthfilling, with a long, luscious finish. It is a ripe, deep wine that is very enjoyable upon release, but will also cellar well for several years. Pair it with pizza, pasta and red meats.”

What I Think:

Not that I know him or have done any analytics around this but when Wilfred Wong, of BevMo, rated this as low as 86 I should have sensed trouble. I think he likes wine even more than I do.  Couple that with the fact that when I was opening it I thought it was Syrah and the grounds were definitely set for getting off on the wrong foot. This wine lacked anything distinguishing. What I mean by these wines is that there is usually a short fruit blast before it fades to tannins or flavors closely resembling them. As I still have another bottle of this one I (5c sale) I am hoping for a surprise next time around. As this is the first bad experience I have had with Echelon wines and even on to Chalone wines I’ll remain optimistic until then.

Rating: Skip It

Price: $9.02 @ BevMo imported by PWG Vinters USA (retails at $17.99 a bottle)

What They Said:

Per the winery “To the eye, vibrant crimson with ruby hues. To the nose, aromas of liquorice, thyme and herbs lead to a sweet lift of vanilla oak, mocha and plums. On the palate, mocha and plum aromas follow from the nose onto an inky palate redolent of spicy fruit and pepper. A fresh, vibrant and youthful wine with well integrated tannins and an elegant finish.”

What I Think:

This wine didn’t start well, very closed on the nose. Where’s the fruit? Perhaps herbs as mentioned above but I’m not finding the “sweet lift”. On the tongue…again nothing compelling, does it need more time. Must I lay this one down for a while? All I am getting is sour, tart fruit that I would call cherry with loads of white pepper to finish. After a night on the counter the fruit started to come forward but quickly becomes tart in the mouth. I am thinking about making it a rule to open all wines a minimum of an hour before drinking. I had this with pasta, they recommended otherwise. Still another bottle of this as it was from the 5c sale. Next time I will try to stick to where it is “ideally suited”. Til then drink this wine carefully.

Rating: Skip It

Price: $17.99 @ K&L Wines

What They Said:

Per K&L Wines The 2003 Caronne Ste. Gemme was awarded 4 Stars in the November 2006 Decanter blind tasting and 5 Stars from the prestigious Revue des Vins de France. According to Food & Wine magazine’s Wine Guide: ** (very good - distinctive) “Abundant fruit & herb flavors are competing for attention, but they’ll work it out in 3-12 years…” Clive Coates writes: “Good colour. Good plump fruit here on the nose. Very well-made. Medium to medium-full. Plenty of ripe, ample, stylish fruit. Good tannins. Plenty of grip. All very well put together. No undue astringency at all. Good plus. From 2008.” (June 2004)

What I Think:

Guess I should have read what they were saying above before popping the cork on this one…Day 1 this wine was not quite for me. After sitting for two days this seemed to be a whole different ball game, real dark fruit that lasted in the mouth for a long time before fading away to an herbal finish that lasts for a while. Hardly any tannins at all, aren’t wiines that need aging to “sort it out” usually laced with tannins? Maybe they are there but surpressed by the lushness of the fruit, there is enough of it that it makes it is hard to hone in on any of them. Seems like on the lighter side there may be some cherries and certainly some darker fruit and just a hint of something spicier, seems like black pepper to me. At this point it was certainly a nice wine, would love to see what it does after a couple more years of lying down. Just not so sure I want to pay the price to find out. Don’t think so, but if I do I will change the rating.

Rating: Pricey