Trecini 2005 Vicini Vineyard Russian River Valley Sonoma County Merlot

It is not very often that I buy a Merlot but when I saw the Trecini 2005 Vicini Vineyard Russian River Valley Merlot as a half bottle I had to give it a try.

Trecini Cellars was founded in 1999 by John and Cathy Vicini and their son David. Originally from Tuscany, Italy, John comes from a long tradition of wine, actually around 150 years. In 1994 the family started growing grapes in Russian River Valley and after that it was only a natural step for them to start their own winery. They are offering five varietals at this point, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Merlot Rose, Zinfandel, and Syrah.

This Merlot shows an intense ruby red color in the glass.
The nose offers ripe red fruit, herbal notes and rather heavy vanilla with creme brulee character.
On the palate, bright fruit with slight tartness, black cherry, boysenberry, plum, and vanilla. The long finish has plentiful fruit, decent acidity, and round, soft tannins with an ever so light green edge at the finish.

I was pleasantly surprised by this Merlot considering the price point ($14 for a 375 ml bottle). Many times I find Merlot to be gray and boring, but this has nice fruitiness, with enough structure to back it up and make it interesting. I would say this wine has a potential to be a crowd-pleaser at any gathering. Try it out and see how pleased you are?!

Find it at SophiesCellars.com for $24.99 or visit the wineries website where it's sold for $28.


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Chateau St Jean 1996 Sonoma County Reserve Merlot

Today I am doing a quick review of a wine we had a couple of nights ago with good friends. We bought this bottle at the winery as a library wine, I would guess about 5 years ago. This was our only bottle, and this is the first time we have tasted this wine (they did not pour it at the winery when we purchased it). 400 cases was made.

Chateau St Jean 1996 Sonoma County Reserve Merlot has a dark ruby red/brick color in the glass. The nose displays surprisingly concentrated fruit with dark cherry, plum, slight notes of raisin, and soft vanilla. On the palate, plum, cherry, and dark raspberry with an earthy note. The tannins are moderate and silky, but still with an edge, in this medium to fullbodied wine.

My impression of this wine is close to what I had expected. With a little bit more fruit/berries then I thought would still remain (which is a good thing), this was certainly a very good, but not a great wine.

For the price you can find better wine but I would not rule this one out if you prefer older vintages. It can be found at Wine-Searcher.com for $100 at this point.


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Sonoma Coast Vineyards 2004 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

The Sonoma Coast Vineyards 2004 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is composed of grapes from seven vineyards, Abbott, Baranoff, Clay, Koos, Leepin, Nunes and Zephyr Vineyards. It spent 20 months in oak barrels, 50% being new French Oak.

This was my first time having a wine from this winery and it was thanks to my husband who brought it home after finding it at BevMo and thought it looked like it was worth a try. BevMo's price was $54 for this bottle and the only other place I can find it online to purchase is at the winery's website for $60.

On to the actual tasting. A big, dark ruby red color greats me in the glass just before discovering dark cherry, dark raspberry, blueberry and an earthy quality with some grass/herb nuances, on the nose. I am very excited at this point can't wait to take a sip. Again the black cherry is there with some involvement of red cherry as well. Dark berries makes an impact as well with some oak notes at the end. The acidity is definitley there in the right amounts and the tannins are pronounced yet round and velvety.

Not knowing quite what to expect I was very pleased with this wine. The balance between ripe fruit and berries,the notes of earth and grass/herb and the beautiful tannins, plays out great. At the end resulting in a lush, ripe Pinot Noir that still possesses the more delicate nature of a cool climate Pinot. This is a Pinot I will definitely have again. You should try it to!

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Artesa 2001 Elements Red Table Wine

The Artesa 2001 Elements Red Table Wine is a blend of predominantly red Bordeaux varietals with 79% of the grapes coming from Sonoma County and 21% from Napa County. It was aged for two years in 50% new and 50% used French oak.

This wine shows a dark red ruby color with a purple nuance. There are tons of ripe, heavy, dark fruit on the nose with earthiness, an aroma of salty ocean, and vanilla.
On the palate the ripe fruit follows through with dark cherry, plum, black currant accompanied by firm tannins and firm acidity. Both of them crucial to balance this very plush and ripe wine. All in all nothing to write home about but neither is it a bad wine. Big and ripe with ok balance, but lacks in complexity.

Find this wine at WineZap.com from $ 17.69. For a decent, California-style, easy-to-drink, Bordeaux blend: not to shabby.

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Senders 2005 Carneros Sonoma Valley Pinot Noir

We picked up this bottle today at our local wine merchant after the owner recommending it to us.
I have never heard of this pinot before and trying to do some research online I found...nothing... The website given on the label is not active, I could not find any reviews or prices anywhere...
I did not get the story behind the wine when purchasing it so I am not quite sure if it is a new winery or what is going on...

Oh well, on to the wine. It has a very clear, not very dense, ruby red color in the glass. The nose offers red cherry, red raspberry, cranberry and a touch of oak. The cherry and cranberry follows through to the palate with medium acidity and sleek tannins. That is, tannins are definitely there, but are not to obtrusive, and on the other hand, not overly smooth either. A little thin on the fruit on the mid palate and finish for my taste, but never the less a very nice wine.

This, I would say, is a really good pinot to pair with food. Very good on it's own indeed, but it will match many different dishes easily because of it's not to overly fruity, more delicate structure, with acidity and tannins to support it.
I payed $ 34.95 for this bottle. For my palate I have a few pinots in this price range I would pick before buying this bottle again, but do not let that statement discourage you. This is a very nice pinot if this is the style you prefer, and I really would have no problem paying this price for this bottle of wine again. I can't recommend a place for you to by it since I could not find any, but if you run into it give definitely give it a try.

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Rudd Crossroads 2003 Sonoma Valley Syrah

Rudd is renowned for their outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon, but did you know the make a great Syrah as well?
The Rudd Crossroads 2003 Sonoma Valley Syrah has a dark, dense redish/purple color in the glass, with tons on ripe, dark fruit and berries on the nose. Beautiful ripe berries on the palate again with some spice and sufficient acidity and firm tannins. We enjoyed this wine with baked spaghetti topped with flavorful tomato sauce and Italian meatballs. Thanks for a great dinner Robyn!
I got it at the winery for $30 last summer, and could not find it online when looking for it tonight. If you can find it it is definitely worth a try.

Prior to the Rudd Syrah we had a bottle of Vigneti Villafranca 2003 Castelli Romani Red Wine. Made from Sangiovese, Merlot and Montepulciano grapes, this wine has a bright ruby red color in the glass. Soft dark fruit and berries on the nose and very velvety fruit and smooth tannins on the palate. This wine is a very easy-to-drink wine and a crowd pleaser. Lacking in structure I wish it had more acidity and firmer tannins. But like I said, it is tasty, smooth and easy to drink and great with the Italian meal we had. Could not find any price info or where to buy online...

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Dry Creek Vineyard 2005 Sonoma County Fume Blanc

Today I have a short review, and I have no idea as to it's accuracy. I've got a cold... I opened this wine yesterday and realized that I could not really asses the wine, nor enjoy it. Hoping to feel better today I vacuum pumped to continue the tasting. Unfortunately today is worse and I am not even attempting to try... This is what I what I got out of my notes from yesterday, take it with a grain of salt...
The Dry Creek Vineyard 2005 Sonoma County Fume Blanc is made of 100% Sauvignon Blanc, and cold fermented in stainless steel tanks to be able to really showcase the grape without any interference from oak.
On the nose crisp apple and tropical fruit with some pineapple. Medium bodied on the palate with tropical fruit, citrus, a hint of minerals, and high acidity. Overall a very crisp, clean and refreshing wine.
You can find it at Wine-Searcher.com and Winezap.com from $9.99 and that is a good price for a good wine. I can see myself revisiting this wine this summer when I am craving something chilled and crisp.

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Capiaux 2005 Chimera Sonoma County Pinot Noir

After many years experience in the wine making business at several prominent wineries all over the world, Sean Capiaux founded Capiaux Cellars in 1994. Producing exclusively Pinot Noirs he mixes traditional Burgundy wine making methods with more modern techniques to produce the ultimate wines. His wines are naturally fermented, aged in mostly 1-2 year old French Oak (only about 1/3 are new barrels), unfined, and unfiltered, the goal being for the wine to show it's terroire. Later in 2001 he also joined O'Shaughnessy Estate Winery as the winemaker, producing Cabernet Sauvignon.
The Capiaux 2005 Chimera Sonoma County Pinot Noir shows a beautiful dark red ruby color in the glass. On the nose dark plum, cherries and an earthy quality. Tastes of restrained cherries and raspberry on the palate, with firm tannins and enough acidity for this wine to age well for several years to come.
I payed $28 for this wine, but you can find it at Wine-Searcher.com from $23.95.
I really enjoyed this Pinot and think it has a reasonable price for a good quality wine. I am looking forward to try their single vineyard Pinot Noirs (higher in price) in the near future.

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Friday night wines...

Last night we had friends over for dinner and we had some good wine. I wanted to share my thoughts on three of them with you.
We started of with the Talley Vineyards Arroyo Grande Valley 2004 Pinot Noir. I am a big fan of Talley Vineyards. They make some really excellent Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The Talley Family made their first wine in 1986 with a production of 450 cases. They are now producing around 18,000 cases annually from five vineyards with a total of 185 acres in Edna and Arroyo Grande Valley. All the wine under the Talley Vineyards label is grown, produced and bottled by the Talley Family.
This wine has cherry, raspberry and spices on the nose. Rich in the mouth with black cherries and nice tannins giving it a long finish. This wine is a more elegant style pinot but still has really nice ripe fruit. Very good! ($32 at http://www.wine-seacher.com/)
We continued with a bottle from a winery I had never had before. The Black Kite Cellars Anderson Valley 2005 Pinot Noir. This is a small production winery in Anderson Valley, owned by the Green Family, that only produces Pinot Noir.
This Pinot is very different from The Talley Pinot. Slightly cloudy, dark red with a hint of purple in the glass. Dark ripe berries on the nose with a floral tone and some burnt match stick. Super rich, plump black cherries and dark berries on the palate, over shadowing the tannins in the back ground. This is a fruit bomb of a Pinot Noir, very good, but almost to powerful fruit at this point. Being so young I think a year in the cellar will do good and show a more balanced wine. I am looking forward to revisiting this in a year or two... ($32.95 at http://www.wine-searcher.com/)
Our friends had brought a bottle of Rodney Strong Sonoma County 2002 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and we moved on to open that. This wine was pretty much what you would expect from a Cabernet, no surprises here... Nice dark red color in the glass with black currant and dark berries on the nose with a hint of oak. The same berries/fruit carrying through to the palate with good tannins supporting a lingering finish. A good quality Cabernet. Find it at http://www.rodneystrong.com/ for $40.

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