Bogle Merlot Cugino's Italian Lansing Michigan

Bogle Merlot at Cugino's Italian Dining in Grand Ledge, (Lansing) Michigan

Visiting client State of Michigan in Capital city Lansing, we dined in nearby town of Grand Ledge at local favorite, Cugino’s Italian Restaurant.

I ordered the Fettuccine Florentine,  Fettuccine alfredo sautéed with spinach, combined with mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan cheese, spices and topped with grilled chicken.

From the modest winelist I ordered BTG (by the glass) Bogle Merlot, a classic reliable California high QPR (quality price ratio) Central Valley and it was a perfect complement to the entree. A delightful dining experience in a lively setting and great value pricing.

Bogle California Merlot 2016

From Bogle Vineyards, located in Clarksburg situated minutes from Sacramento in the California Central Valley, this offers great value and good reliable every day drinking at this pricepoint. 

Dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied, moderate berry fruits accented by tones of mocha, tobacco, cedar and hints of oak in this basic moderate pleasant sipper.

Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator both give this 86 points.

RM 86 points.


https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3022763

Cugino’s Italian Restaurants
 

Bogle Phantom Red Blend

Bogle Phantom Red Blend for Burgers - Oh My!

Summer means burgers on the grill and bbq. What's a wine lover to do? For grand-daughter Marleigh's birthday party, son Ryan grilled burgers and dogs on the grill. I took over this Bogle Phantom Red Blend which was a perfect accompaniment.

My wine snobbery, I'd prefer to call it sophistication, pooh-poohs wines from the inner central valley of California, often released as bulk wines, relegating them to pizza wine, or as in this case, burger wines.

The Bogle family have farmed their property for over a hundred years in Clarksburg in the central valley North Central California. Clarksburg has its own AVA - Agricultural Viticulture Area or appellation. They started growing wine grape on their property of 1500 acres. The area proved well suited for grapes which do well in the fertile soils and climate of warm days and cooling breezes that roll up the valley from the nearby San Franciso Bay. They grow grape varietals Merlot, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Petite Sirah and Riesling. 

They eventually started producing wines sourced from their Estate as well as from suppliers across the state. Today they have a dozen labels, sourced from grapes from the estate and a wide range of sites. Their sources include well known high profile wine regions as Sonoma and the Russian River Valley, as well as lesser known areas, not as high profile or as prestigious such as Amador County Lodi, Mendocino, Eldorado County, Monterey, Oakley and Clarksburg. These areas have and are know for their own specialties such as El Dorado and Amador County in the Sierra foothills, known for high quality Zinfandels. The result is quality wines of great value that provide high QPR - Quality Price Ratios.

Bogle is a family operation run by Warren Bogle, President and Vineyard Director who grew up working the fields with his father Chris. He studied agricultural business at California State University, then took over the business in 1997 at the young age of 21. He is assisted by sister Jody who manages Public Relations who also grew working in the fields with younger brother Warren. After a career in Education, and working in the tasting room on weekends, she joined the family business full time in 1999. She has grown the business through her promotional efforts as well as international distribution. They were joined in 2006 by Ryan Bogle who graduated with a degree in Business and Economic and a post-graduate degree in accounting and now serves as Chief Financial Officer of the company.

I keep several Bogle labels on hand for every day drinking, with pizza, burgers and BBQ. This label, Phantom is one of my favorites and is a dependable go-to wine for such occasions that provides great value QPR.

Phantom is a complex sophisticated Red Blend comprised of Petit Sirah, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

According to Bogle, which give the Phantom brand its own website, Phantom is "the mysterious apparition of ripe berry and relentless spice, returns to haunt wine lovers."


Bogle Phantom Proprietary Red Blend 2013

Dark inky garnet colored, full bodied, complex and concentrated with forward brambly blue and black raspberry fruits with tones of mocha chocolate and a layer of vanilla with hints of pepper, spice and cinnamon on a rich full flavorful finish with silky smooth fine grained tannins.

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2385626

http://www.boglewinery.com/

http://phantomwine.com/wines/

Bogle Vineyards Phantom Zinfandel Blend 2013

Bogle Vineyards Phantom Zinfandel Blend 2013

Following the fantastic tasting / showing of this wine last weekend, I picked up the latest release to try as a comparison to the 2009. As good as the 2009 was, I think the 2013 is even better! This is as good as the El Nido Clio 2011 we had a short while ago at less than half the price resulting in a tremendous QPR - Quality Price Ratio.

Dark inky garnet colored, full bodied, complex and concentrated forward brambly blue and black raspberry fruits with tones of vanilla, and hints of mocha, spicy cinnamon and pepper on a rich full flavorful finish.

This is one of those wines that come along every so often that I say, 'run, don't walk out to buy some', perhaps a half case, and depending on how it ages, you might wish you'd bought more.

Interesting blend of Zinfandel 39%, Petite Sirah 38%, and Cabernet Sauvignon 23% from vineyards in Lodi, Clarksburg, and Amador, California.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/notes.asp?iWine=2385626

http://www.boglewinery.com/our-wines/wine-profiles/phantom/

Bogle Vineyards Phantom Zinfandel Blend 2009

Bogle Vineyards Phantom Zinfandel Blend 2009

For quiet Saturday evening at home after babysitting a grandson, we opened this bold red blend with fresh fruits and cheeses in front of a winter fire and movie.

This is the type of wine that should be held in every cellar for BBQ, pizza, pasta, hearty cheeses or casual but serious sipping. Not for the feint of heart, this is an interesting unique blend of old vine Zinfandel (52%) from Lodi, Petite Sirah (46%) from Clarksburg, with a small amount of Mourvèdre, all from the Central Valley of California.

According to the inscription on the cork (shown below), Bogle is Scottish for a 'friendly spirit, a phantom". 

Dark blackish garnet colored, full bodied, aromatic, concentrated forward chewy briary ripe blueberry and black raspberry fruits with tones of smoke and hints of vanilla, dark chocolate, graphite, spicy oak and cedar.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1288036

http://www.boglewinery.com/ 

Bogle Zinfandel Blends for Bar-B-Q

Bogle Zinfandel Blends for Bar-B-Q Dinner

For son Ryan's birthday we ordered bar-b-q from Q Bar-b-q in Naperville - slabs of ribs and pulled pork. We prepared our own sides, mac and cheese, corn, and brussel sprouts in a cranberry sauce. To compliment the meal we pulled from the cellar two Bogle Zinfandels - Phantom and Essential Red. Zinfandel was the perfect compliment to the tangy, sweet and spicy bar-b-q variations.

Bogle Vineyards "Phantom" Red Wine Blend 2009 

We rediscovered this wine a couple years ago at the Saturday afternoon tasting at Main Street Liquors in Lagrange, IL. They were serving it because it was the highlight of an earlier tasting they conducted. I was looking for a Zinfandel or Rhone style blend for our Thanksgiving dinner at the time and picked this up. Its always good to have a few Zins in the cellar for bar-b-q. This is a unique blend of Zinfandel and Rhone varietals sourced from the California central valley and Sierra foothills - 52% Zinfandel from Lodi, 46% Petite Sirah from Clarksburg, and 2% Mourvedre from Amador County. This is a lot of wine for the money rendering a high QPR - Quality to Price Ratio for this wine that is available between $15 and $20.

This is dark garnet colored, full-bodied mid palate with a firm finish, the winemaker's notes say this wine showcases the best of these three unique varietals. While it lacks the backbone and tannic structure of a Cabernet, that is why it is approachable easy drinking and suitable for a Thanksgiving dinner offering with Turkey, dressing and so on.

This was complex cacophony of full forward fruits of blackberry, black raspberry and briary boysenberries giving way to layers of black licorice, tones of creosote, black pepper and hints of dark chocolate, juniper and cedar on the finish. It needs a big food to balance its bold forward fruits and lively acidity.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1288036


http://www.boglewinery.com/

Bogle 'Essential Red' Zinfandel Blend 2012

A blend of Old Vine Zinfandel, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah, this wine would be a great blind tasting candidate with its bright, lively forward complex fruits.Dark purple/garnet colored, the fruits are vibrant but nicely balanced, smooth and approachable. I felt the polish and approachability of this wine actually overshadowed the bigger, more complex more expensive Phantom. 

Ripe intense flavors of boysenberries, cherry and black raspberry, with tones of vanilla and mocha, black licorice and spicy pipe tobacco on the moderate oaky tannin finish. This is currently widely available at under $14 and offers fabulous QPR - Quality-to-Price-Ratio. Go out and pick up a bunch for beef, bar-b-que, pasta and pizza. While it has forward fruits, it has a nice polish and balance suitable for many combinations. Great for every day drinking.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1811326

http://www.boglewinery.com/moments/#

Bogle Phantom Red Blend

Bogle Vineyards "Phantom" Red Wine Blend 2009 

Every year I take on a personal challenge to select the right wine for the Thanksgiving dinner table - a Champagne, a hearty fruity red and a crisp clean white. With a full cellar downstairs I invariably have a list of candidates in mind. I rediscovered this when I stopped in at the Saturday afternoon tasting at Main Street Liquors in Lagrange, IL. They were serving it because it was the highlight of an earlier tasting they conducted. I was looking for a Zinfandel or Rhone style blend for our Thanksgiving feast and this appeared. I look forward to serving this with our family dinner. This is a unique blend of Zinfandel and Rhone varietals sourced from the California central valley and Sierra foothills - 52% Zinfandel from Lodi, 46% Petite Sirah from Clarksburg, and 2% Mourvedre from Amador County. This is a lot of wine for the money rendering a high QPR - Quality to Price Ratio for this wine that is available between $15 and $20. .

This is dark garnet colored, full-bodied mid palate with a firm finish, the winemaker's notes say this wine showcases the best of these three unique varietals. While it lacks the backbone and tannic structure of a Cabernet, that is why it is approachable easy drinking and suitable for a Thanksgiving dinner offering with Turkey, dressing and so on. We'll see how this plays out.

Full forward fruits of blackberry, black  raspberry and briary boysenberries give way to mocha, hints of pomegranate, juniper and cedar finish with a touch of black pepper on a zesty finish.   

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1288036

http://www.boglewinery.com/