Jason’s Wine Blog

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: $25.00 direct from the winery

What They Said:

Per the winery “This is a rich and exotic fruit-packed Zinfandel. A bouquet of ripe black currant and blackberry with creamy ripe cherry essences is followed by flavors of currant and vanilla with hints of briary spice and cracked black pepper. We expect it to age gracefully for 5-7 years, but the opportunity to enjoy it in its youth shouldn’t be missed. Pair it with steak Diane in chive sauce, or a chicken liver pilaf with cherry tomatoes and mushrooms.”

What I Think:

The final blend includes 75 percent Zinfandel and 25 percent Petite Sirah. Not sure that is significant here but it does remind me of my love for field blends but we can cover that some other time. Received this one as part of my most recent wine club shipment. This starts with loads of dark fruit on the nose seemingly fading to blueberries, a real nice bouquet. Makes you look forward to your first sip. On the mouth it is full and rich and packed with fruit flavors that last before slowly fading and letting a brambly, spicy and peppering finish linger. This bottle was worthy of drinking now but it seems that with as much as it had in the bottle now it would be best served with some time to meld it all together. I would recommend laying this one down for at least 4 years to get to the wineries period of aging gracefully.

Rating: Wow!

Price: $6.99 @TJ’s

What They Said:

Couldn’t seem to find anything on this, guess you’ll have to trust me.

What I Think:

This wine is made by Mike Brown at the Kalyra Winery where this bottles sells for $16.  Not sure if this is the same exact wine but I do know that this is very good.  I have gone through at least a case of this and have a mere one bottle left.  I still see the Savignon Blanc and Chardonnay in the stores but alas this can not be found.  If anyone see this wine please let me know, would love to get some more

Rating: Bulk Buy

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

What They Said:

Per BevMo “An almost elegant effort, the smooth yet flavorful ‘03 EOS Zinfandel offers rustic, ripe fruit flavors that play well on the palate; a good choice with grilled pork chops.”

What I Think:

Got this as part of the 5c sale, so list is 13.99 which would make this a completely different write up (in a bad way).  Remember this being drinkable but not memorable.  As it was part of the 5c sale we have another bottle nearby, we’ll go for some more details then.  Post again soon.

 Rating: Skip It