M2 Wines

Last Saturday we went to a wine tasting at our local wine store, featuring M2 Wines. I was not familiar with this winery and excited to try something new. Chris Matheny, owner and winemaker, did all the pouring and was very informative and loved to talk about his passion, and wine in general. Needless to say, I had a great time.

Chris Matheny and Layne Montgomery

M2 Wines got it's name from the first letter in two gentlemen last name, Layne Montgomery and Chris Matheny. The two of them met in 1999 and in 2000 they started making wine as amateurs. In 2004 it was time to go commercial and since 2006 they have their own winery in Lodi. M2 does not own their own vineyards but buys grapes from premium vineyards throughout California. That way they can source the different varietals from the areas where they express the best characteristics.
Chris explained to me that their goal as winemakers are to intervene as little as possible to let the vineyards and grapes express themselves in the wine, showing the essence of the location and the grape varietal. Getting there they use only the highest quality yeast, barrels, etc. Another amazing fact that only proves their commitment to producing great wine is that they actually punch down the cap 2-3 times per day. Far from always the case at many wineries...

On to the tasting:

The 2004 Dos Arkies California Red Wine (named after the fact that they are two guys from Arkansas) is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Petite Sirah. Great blend for $18 that is a tad bit low in complexity but easy and pleasing to drink. Red cherry, black berry, and blue berry dominates on the nose. The palate offers red cherry, black currant, some spiciness from black pepper, and smokey oak. Great value for this medium bodied wine that is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.
The 2005 Singularity Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley($35) is a Cabernet Sauvignon blended with a small amount of Syrah and Petite Sirah. Did not take any tasting notes on this one as I was preoccupied talking to Chris... I do remember that I liked it...
Next up was the 2005 Duality Red Wine Sierra Foothills ($20). A blend of Syrah and Petite Sirah. Again, talking to much with Chris but I do remember the strong impression of the dried, smoked meat and dark berries that hit you big time on the nose. The palate again carried that dark fruit and berries along with mouth puckering firm, high tannins . Big wine, big tannins! This one demands a good BBQ!
The 2005 Row 23 Herzog Vineyard Clarksburg Petite Sirah ($28) was poured next. This wine offered floral/perfume on the nose with dark berries. On the palate vivid, round dark fruit and berries again, with smooth, round tannins. Different at that point from the previous wines that all had more edgy, firm tannins.
The last wine was a surprise as it was not on the tasting list. Chris had pulled a barrel sample that morning from the 2006 Clone 6 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (3-pack for $120) and poured is as a future. This one made me really excited. Only 175 cases produced this will be bottled in March and released in October next year. Straight out of a French oak barrel that morning this wine was bright in fruit with red cherry, black cherry and violet on the nose. The red and black cherry shows up on the palate again with black currant and oak notes. Very high in mouth puckering tannins at this point, I can not wait to see what it has to offer next October when my shipment is arriving.

This is a realtively new, up and coming winery and I am looking forward to follow them as they develop over the years. Their wines are all really nice and leaves a promise of things to come in the future.
Find their wines at their website.


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Lodi Wine Tasting

My birthday is coming up and yesterday my two good friends Robyn and June picked me up in the morning to go to a, for me, unknown destination for a day of fun.

An hour or so later we arrived in Lodi. Now, I have never been to Lodi before, but I do know that they make quite a bit of wine there, so of to wine tasting we went.

We started off with Jewel Winery were the majority of the wines are under $10. They pride themselves with offering great wine for a great price. I started of by tasting the 2005 "Un-Oaked" Chardonnay ($9.99). Not to bad at all for the price. Good amount of fruit while refreshing from the acidity, and non existing oak. Got myself a bottle of this one. The 2004 Firma (blend of Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese and Syrah), has a nice balance of dark fruit and smooth tannins. For $9.99 it is not to shabby as a crowd pleasing table wine. The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon ($9.99) was really not all that bad either but it was lacking a bit in structure with to much fruit, although not to ripe, and not enough tannins and acidity to carry it up. The 2005 Petite Syrah ($9.99) had a good amount of dark fruit but was way to high in firm, edgy tannins. Did not enjoy this wine. Last up was the 2002 Estate Raffaele "Diamant" ($24.99). This was the most complex of the wines poured. I did however not care for it a big deal considering the price. I can find better bottles in this price range. Over all I do think they achieved their goal. These are good wines for the price you pay.

Lodi Wine and Visitor Center

Next we visited the Lodi Wine and Visitor Center where they pour wines from many different wineries in Lodi. We had a very enthusiastic and knowledgeable young man pour us the wine and he really enhanced our experience. Thank you Fungai! We started with the 2005 Vino Brio Pinot Grigio ($16). It had very soft, muted nose and palate with not enough acidity to make it interesting. This wine did not really do it for me. Moving on to the 2005 Gustavo Thrace, Mohr Frey Ranch, Sauvignon Blanc ($16.50) I kind of had the same experience. These are certainly not bad wines and nicely chilled they are a good option for a hot summer day, but not much more then that. On to some red wines we were poured the 2005 Jessie's Grove "Ancient Vine" Carignane. This was a real surprise coming from 117 year old vines. It is not very often you see a "pure" Carignane wine (81% Carignane, 15% Petite Sirah and 4% Syrah) as it is mostly used as a blending grape, especially to a high extent in France. This wine however was full of dark red fruit and berries with nice supporting acidity and tannins to give this very smooth medium bodied wine a medium length finish. Had to get a bottle of this one... The 2004 Mettler Syrah was up next. This Syrah was made in a more elegant style than many other syrahs, with just medium dark fruit and less spice than usual. At the first sip I really liked it but then I discovered a funky note on the nose of wet hay. Can't say that the wine was spoiled or defected, maybe a stylistic approach, but not to my liking... Last up was a Cabernet Sauvignon and the sad thing is that I really enjoyed it but I do not remember the maker or vintage... Oh well...

From here we just walked a few steps to have lunch at Wine and Roses (a hotel, restaurant and spa resort). I have read about this place and I was very excited that my friends had planned for this as our lunch stop. We started of by trying the Dungeness Crab Cocktail, with mango, avocado, and topped with wonton chips. The crab tasted super fresh and was deliciously sweet and well paired with the avocado, mango and some other ingredient that I can not recall. We also tried the Squash and Zucchini Soup with green zucchini, yellow squash, onion, and some additional vegetables in a broth. Light but so incredibly flavorful. A great soup for the summer.

For entree I had the Grilled Scottish Salmon glazed with a BBQ sauce, on Israeli couscous, sauteed pea tendrils and baby organic beets. The salmon was perfectly moist and the beets soft and sweet. Altogether an awesome dish! I would have it in a heart beat again. After that I was surprised with a birthday dessert. The plate consisted of three chocolate items. A Chocolate Irish Cream Mousse with a Butterscotch Cream Center sitting on top of an Oatmeal Crust. To die for! On the side was a Dark Chocolate Ganache Chip studded with chocolate chunks and a creamy, Frothy Vanilla Drink with a Chocolate Dipped Tuille. Trust me when I say that I was in heaven after this meal. Outstanding! If you ever pass by Lodi make sure to stop here for a meal or two...

Lunch was over and we were stuffed as we headed of to the next winery, Van Ruiten Family Winery. The 2004 Rose of Cab-Shiraz ($12) was bone-dry with nice rose petals and raspberry on the nose and palate. I am usually not a big rose fan but this one was actually really nice. Next up was the 2003 Cab-Shiraz ($15) that had nice full body, with dark fruit, dark cherries, black currant and some spice, but nothing special. My favorite from this winery was the last pouring, the 2002 Old Vine Zinfandel ($18) It had dark, ripe, lush fruit and berries with a nice spiciness from pepper and good acidity and tannins as backbone.

Last stop was the Michael David Winery. I had not heard of them before and to my surprise they produce the wines I so often see in the grocery store, like Seven Deadly Zins, Seven Heavely Chards, Incognito etc. We tasted to many wines for me to keep track of here, but let me talk about the ones I do remember. Sparkling Duet is a sparkling wine made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Without giving to much detail (because I do not quite remember), it was slightly sweet, but light and refreshing. I am guessing a nice little bubbly, but since I did not take mental note of it I suspect nothing extraordinary. The 2005 Seven Heavenly Cards ($13) is a crowd pleasing, tasty chardonnay with fresh citrus, apple, some creaminess and good amount of acidity to keep it relatively light and refreshing. One of my favorite here was the Don's Lodi Red because it is so simple and plain but still satisfying to an extent. This is a blend of Carignane, Syrah and a touch of Symphony. A great everyday wine that I can see working great with meaty pasta dishes. A fruity, pleasing, simple blend that will not blow anyone away, but will be sure to please a lot of people as an all around table wine. On to the 2005 Seven Deadly Zins ($15). This is another budget favorite year after year. This zinfandel has great dark fruit with, black cherries, blackberry, and some pleasing peppery spice. Unfortunately it has to heavy oak for my taste, but on the other hand the majority likes this. This wine would be better (for my palate) with less oak and a little bit firmer tannins. Last but not least was a new interesting wine from the winery. The 2005 Petite Petit is a blend of Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot. I did not take any specific tasting notes for this wine but I remember it having pleasant flavors of dark fruit and relatively balanced, and I brought home a bottle and I'll make sure to review it in the near future. What made my whole day in the end was that Don, the father of Micheal and David, was in the store and when he learned that my big

Robyn, myself, Don and June

three zero was coming up he came up and wished me happy birthday and gave me a bottle of his Don's Lodi Red and signed it with a birthday wish for me. Plus he threw in a bottle of the Seven Deadly Zins. What a kind man and what a great way to end our wine tasting! Thank you Don! And thank you Mark, (the tasting room guy who poured us the wine and entertained us), you did an awesome job!

What a day! And as if that was not enough my friends now took me back to Wine and Roses for a 90 minute ultimate spa treatment. I do not get spa treatment very often but when I do it is usually at pretty descent places around the world, and I have to say that this was one of the best ones I have ever had. Thank you June and Robyn for an absolutely wonderful day!!!
Cheers!

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Galante Vineyards

We were in Carmel this weekend for Mother's Day. Passing by the Galante Vineyard Tasting Room I just had to stop by to taste their wines. I had not heard about this winery before and I got some good information from the very knowledgeable and friendly tasting room staff. They explained the wineries wine making philosophy and methods. The wine maker strives for the wine to express what in France is called terroir. That means, in short, letting the soil, surroundings, location and weather express itself through the fruit in the wine and intervene as little as possible. The wines are gravity racked and have not gone through fining or filtration.

On to the tasting. I tasted around eight wines and I will mention the ones I liked the best.
First out was the 2006 Carmel Valley Sauvignon Blanc ($25). It has intense peach aroma and flavor, with a hint of tropical fruit. Good acidity gives this wine a nice freshness.
The 2005 Carmel Valley Petit Sirah is much more delicate than most Petit Sirahs that I am used to. Soft medium dark berries and soft tannins. Very easy to drink. Recommended by the tasting room staff as a summer BBQ wine.
On to the Cabs. I got the 2002 ($40) and 2003 ($30) Red Rose Hill Cabernet Sauvignon side by side to compare. The 2002 is a more elegant wine with red cherries and berries and softer tannins. The 2003 was my favorite with dark cherry and berries, and a hint of violet, with more pronounced acidity and firmer, but still moderate, tannins.
Their most expensive Cabernet is the 2003 Blackjack Pasture Cabernet Sauvignon ($60). This is their most intense and complex wine with dark fruit, black berry, black currant, and a hint of oak. Great medium big, smooth tannins, medium plus acidity, with the dark fruit, gives this wine a long finish. A really nice Cab.

Find these wines at Galante Vineyards website.


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Rideau Vineyard

Rideau Vineyard Tasting Room

During our weekend in Santa Barbara we took a little trip up to Santa Ynez Valley to do some wine tasting. Our favorite during this tour was Rideau Vineyard which was founded in 1997 by New Orleans native, Iris Rideau (at photo to the left). The tasting room is a historical 2 story Adobe built in 1884. Through the years it has served as stagecoach stop, a famous inn, a guest ranch, and a working ranch. Iris Rideau bought it in 1995, after the property had sat abandoned for 10 years, and restored it to it's current condition.
The estate grows exclusively Rhone varietals and we decided to do the Reserve tasting at a $15 cost per person.

The first pour was the 2006 Estate Viognier. It has not been bottled yet so this was a futures sample. Cloudy due to coming straight from the barrel this was a nice Viognier but a little bit to fruity and sweet for my taste. After this we got to taste the 2005 Estate Viognier. A year in the bottle makes a huge difference and this was much more balanced, not to sweet, and had a slight crispness to it. A really good Viognier but at a pretty steep cost of $52.
Next we moved on to another barrel sample, the 2005 Santa Barbara County Syrah. Lush with ripe, dark berries and young tannins. Followed by the 2004 Santa Barbara County Syrah. Again you could taste the difference a year in the bottle makes. The 2004 was more balanced with less jammy fruit, and the characteristic hint of peppar. Both very good Syrahs.

The 2004 Chateau Duplantier, a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre, was my favorite red. Beautiful fruit, not to jammy or ripe, with nice balance, a hint of spice, and adequate tannins. What a great Rhone blend!

Last but not least the 2004 Petit Sirah, dark and fruit forward but a little bit more elegant than many other Petite Syrahs. A nice finish to our tasting.

Me and friends in tasting room

Did I mention the very friendly and extremely knowlegable tasting room staff?
This all adds up to a great winery to include in your next tour of the Santa Ynez Valley, and I highly recommend it.

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