Jason’s Wine Blog

Price: $6.99 @ Trader Joe’s

What They Said:

Per the winery “Rich and Velvety with incredibly deep cherry and blackberry fruit. Substantial concentration long and turning spicy on the finish. Not to heavy; smooth and appealing now. But will only get better with age.”

What I Think:

This one appealed to me as it was from an unheard of, at least for me, region of Oregon and I am always anxious to try something new. After the first sip I find it a study in contrast; both fruity and dry at the same time. The wine has some staying power and lingers on nicely. Still can’t put my finger on this one after two bottles. Perhaps I’ll try a third. If you’re up for something new give it a go. Otherwise stick to TJ’s Top 10 Wines of January 2008 which this did not make.

Rating: 12th Bottle

Price: $10.99 @ Friend/Gift

What They Said:

Per quaffability “Is anybody doing bargain Pinot Noir better than Castle Rock Winery? Not that I know of. Trader Joe’s has been running their wines of late, and I have been impressed by every one I have tried. Too bad this one has crept up in price one dollar compared to the previous vintage.

It seems awfully early in the day to be bringing 2007 red wines to market, but that’s part of the philosophy behind these wines. They are light, fresh, and do not see a lot of oak aging.

The 2006 Willamette Valley is clone of the 2005. Not quite as light and transparent, the wine shows smoky, earthy, and sandalwood aromas, along with bright strawberry and raspberry fruit. The palate is simple, but it’s clean, without any green or other off flavors, leading to a nice but short finish. Like the 05, the texture as a bit of silk to it. To be clear, this isn’t great - it’s just a clean, nicely made wine. Regrettably, that’s the most you can hope for at this price point, and it’s more than many producers can provide.”

What I Think:

I had been eyeing this bottle at TJ’s for some time now so when our friends brought this one over on the 4th of July I was excited. We popped it open and drank it with some good old fashioned hamburgers. Given that we had guests my notes are extremely limited. The one thing I seem to remember most about this wine is strawberries. This wine is light and delicate, almost reminding me of a rose. Perhaps the burgers were a bit much for it. I certainly don’t feel that I spent enough time focusing on this wine to pass a verdict but given my initial impressions it has certainly lost some of the mystic that it once had. Next time I see it on the shelf at TJ’s it won’t hold my glance as long, but some day it may find its way to my house again. Typically I would rate this as a “12th Bottle” but at this price point I don’t find that relevant. Faced with labeling it as “Skip It” which seems unfair I decided to bend the rules and call this one “Pricey” though it doesn’t quite meet the arbitrary $12 price barrier.

Rating: Pricey

Price: $25.00 @ Adventures In Wine

What They Said:

Per the winery “This is our most popular wine and for good reason. It is such a rich, yet easy drinking red wine that can be paired with the broadest range of foods. The Zinfandel component pairs beautifully with zesty Italian fare. The Bordeaux varieties scream for hearty beef dishes. While the Pinot Noir makes the Abbot’s Table perfect with lamb and game. Of course, the Syrah and Grenache work masterfully with spicy cuisine. Then again, the Abbot’s Table just tastes great by itself.

Abbot’s Table is inspired by what the English call Claret – a rich red blend from Bordeaux. The Anglo / Bordelais wine trade of Claret (Clairet or clear wine) dates back to medieval times when the wine was pale in color from a shorter time on the red skins (ours is definitely not light in color). More than half of the blend of Abbot’s Table is the Bordeaux varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc - it’s the non-traditional Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Grenache, and Syrah that make this wine so drinkable.

Drink now or hold up to five years in your cellar. 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13.6% Syrah, 13% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 8% Zinfandel, 4.5% Grenache, 3.4% Malbec, 3% Pinot Noir, 1.5% Counoise”

What I Think:

Allow me to reuse this intro posted when I had the 2005 a few weeks back; “I still remember the first time I had this wine. Chez Papa in Potrero Hill. We had some friends in from out of town and were asking the waitress for recommendations and she pulled this one on me. At the time, and to some degree still, I was skeptical of blends, this one perhaps more so because of the sheer variety of grapes. As I didn’t want to have to deal with the fall out of ordering a crappy bottle after turning down the recommendation I ordered it. Boy was I surprised. Shortly after that I found their distributor here in the bay area and grabbed a case.”

My experience with the 2005 was slightly on the disappointing side so I was curious to see whether my perception of the 2004 would suffer from a halo effect. With my mom in town and meat loaf on the table it seemed like the right time to find out. All I can say is “Wow”! This wine once again knocked my socks off. I am not sure where to even begin around what it is about this wine, there it so many layers and flavors that build to a complexity that make it difficult to describe. Fruit flavors seem to run the berry gamut from red all the way to the darkest. In the mouth these blend with hints of spice and smoky undertones to form a nice, rounded flavor profile. With every sip the wine keeps changing, with different fruits and flavors showing their colors. Can’t wait for the next bottle, still 8 more to go!

On a random side note that I almost opted to omit, I found it a bit disappointing that the winery doesn’t update the wine description on their site from year to year, I could be wrong but it appears that they just update the blend percentages…

Rating: Cellar It

Price: $25.00 @ Adventures In Wine

What They Said:

Per the winery “This is our most popular wine and for good reason. It is such a rich, yet easy drinking red wine that can be paired with the broadest range of foods. The Zinfandel component pairs beautifully with zesty Italian fare. The Bordeaux varieties scream for hearty beef dishes. While the Pinot Noir makes the Abbot’s Table perfect with lamb and game. Of course, the Syrah and Grenache work masterfully with spicy cuisine. Then again, the Abbot’s Table just tastes great by itself.

Abbot’s Table is inspired by what the English call Claret – a rich red blend from Bordeaux. The Anglo / Bordelais wine trade of Claret (Clairet or clear wine) dates back to medieval times when the wine was pale in color from a shorter time on the red skins (ours is definitely not light in color). More than half of the blend of Abbot’s Table is the Bordeaux varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc - it’s the non-traditional Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Grenache, and Syrah that make this wine so drinkable.

Drink now or hold up to five years in your cellar. 34.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 15% Zinfandel, 9% Cabernet Franc, 7% Syrah, 6% Blaufrankish, 4.5% Sangiovese, 3% Pinot Noir, 3% Grenache and 1% Malbe”

What I Think:

I still remember the first time I had this wine. Chez Papa in Potrero Hill. We had some friends in from out of town and were asking the waitress for recommendations and she pulled this one on me. At the time, and to some degree still, I was skeptical of blends, this one perhaps more so because of the sheer variety of grapes. As I didn’t want to have to deal with the fall out of ordering a crappy bottle after turning down the recommendation I ordered it. Boy was I surprised. Shortly after that I found their distributor here in the bay area and grabbed a case. This was for the 2004.

When the 2005 came out I grabbed another case without even trying a bottle first. So when I popped the cork on the first one I must admit that I was slightly disappointed. Was it a good bottle of wine, certainly but where were the nostalgic feelings! As you can see with the build up here I may have been looking a little “too” forward to it. So I am going to give this bottle a rating of “Pricey” even though I have 11 more. Here’s to hoping the next bottle puts a smile on my face! The good news it that I am relatively sure that will be the case.

Rating: Pricey