Dunham Cellars Trutina Columbia Valley Red 2009

Dunham Cellars Trutina Columbia Valley Red Blend 2009

Friend and Linda's sorority sister Pat R came over with friend Richard and we opened this nice pleasant but serious sipping wine with a medley of cheeses and desserts.

We discovered Dunham Cellars Cabernets on-line with Winebid.com. Having been awakened to the brand, when we saw this label at local merchant Vin Chicago, we grabbed it, tried it, liked it, and went back and bought some more. That was back with the 2009 vintage, and we then purchased the 2010 vintage when it arrived the following year.

At a price point of $25, this provides reasonable QPR - Quality-Price-Ratio when compared with equivalent quality Bordeaux Blends and Cabernets from California and Washington State.  

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate says, "This is the least expensive, yet the richest of the lineup" from Dunham Cellars.

We enjoyed this label during the Covid19 shut-in as we remained at home enjoying intimate dinners and wines from our cellar. I have joked that if such a situation occurred, we'd be stocked for up to year with wines from our cellar, and here we are, albeit hopefully for a couple weeks duration.

We hold close to a dozen vintages in a vertical collection of Dunham Cellars flagship Cabernet Sauvignon Red Wine Blend going back to the nineties. We discovered these Bordeaux varietal wines from Columbia River Valley in Washington, not well known for being a Bordeaux varietal region several years back. We stopped by the Dunham Cellars winery and tasting room during our trip to Woodinville, Washington, site of over a hundred tasting rooms of Washington State wines during our Seattle Culinary and Washington Wine Tour year before last.

We discovered this second label from Dunham at Vin Chicago when they still had their brick and mortar store in Naperville. We bought some, tried it, and went back and bought more. We still hold about a half case and are being rewarded for doing so.

This Trutina Walla Walla Red Blend from our cellar was a perfect compliment to the beef pot roast with grilled asparagus, fresh berries, roasted walnuts and artisan cheese and accompaniments dinner.

Trutina is a second label from Dunham at a lower pricepoint offers great QPR (Quality to Price ratio) in this complex and expressive red wine blend. We continue to find many of the Columbia Valley Reds have great quality and aging ability and offer great value over their French and California counterparts.

Dunham Cellars 'Trutina' Columbia Valley Red Wine 2009

Tonight, this was consistent with our earlier tasting experience which is recorded in these pages from 9/18/2018, while not as complex or polished as the flagship label, Trutina was very impressive going on a decade of age.

This showed bright garnet and inky purple color, medium full bodied with huge aromatics of floral and lavender with full forward bright vibrant flavors of black currant and black cherry fruits with a layer of vanilla and sweet caramel mocha on a full cloying lingering tannin finish.

The blend is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 6% Syrah, and 4% Malbec.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1456899 

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2018/09/dunham-cellars-trutina-columbia-valley.html

https://www.dunhamcellars.com/

Dunham Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon VIII

Dunham Cellars Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 'VIII' 2002

We did a drop in at Dunham Cellars tasting room in Woodinville during our Seattle Wine Dine Experience back in 2018. We have acquired a vertical collection of this label spanning nearly a decade over the years but have been holding them thinking we might do a vertical tasting some time. Alas, after a decade it hasn't happened so I pulled this vintage release label from the cellar to drink with roast beef charcuterie, cornichons, fruit, olives, cheese, dip and crackers for a casual midweek dinner. 

As we have nearly a dozen vintages of this label, the vintage was based on selecting an older bottle, likely to be nearing the end of its drinking window, and the same vintage of the wine we consumed over the previous couple of evenings for a mini horizontal comparison tasting. Clearly, the Columbia Valley Cabernet held up better than the Elouis Christman Park Taylor Petite Syrah Eldorado Tempranillo 2002 we consumed earlier this week. 

Reading other Cellartracker notes on this release, we too were pleasantly surprised by the vibrancy and robustness of this in its eighteenth year, showing no signs of diminution whatsoever. This exceeded my expectations, both for that, and for its general flavor profile with its complexity and balance.

My previous recorded tasting experiences for this label were the 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2003 releases, hence I was please I selected a different release to try this evening. I could've just as easily picked one that I had already tasted. 

Tonight's tasting experience was the most enjoyable and best showing of the four other vintage releases I had tasted. It was similar to but even better than our last tasting of this label was back in June of this year when I wrote the following:

Dunham Cellars Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

We discovered Dunham Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon through Winebid, the online wine auction site. Over the years we've acquired close to a decade of vintages of this label through that vehicle. We've also acquired another Dunham label, Trutina, a Bordeaux Blend from Vin Chicago, a local merchant.  

We stopped by the tasting room during our Washington Wine Experience back in 2018 but it was a drive-by without a reservation and the place was packed. We didn't realize they had the Walla Walla facility and we failed to connect there while we were in town during our Walla Walla Wine Experience back in 2018. 

Dunham was founded by Winemaker Eric Dunham. Eric started his career with a 6-month internship at Hogue Cellars in Washington, moving on as Assistant Winemaker at L'Ecole No. 41 in the Walla Walla Valley. With Winemaker Marty Clubb's blessing, Eric began making small lots of Dunham wine at L'Ecole with his first bottling the 1995 Dunham Cabernet Sauvignon I.

After a few successful vintages with Dunham's receiving great acclaim, with some help from his parents, he set out on his own in warehouse space in an old WWII airplane hangar in Walla Walla. A couple of years later, David and Cheryll Blair were introduced to the Dunhams and joined the business to pursue their collective dream of making and pairing great wine with hospitality.

Part of the branding approach from that first vintage was to affix to each vintage the Roman Numeral of the numerical order of each release. Hence, this 2003 Dunham Cabernet Sauvignon, the ninth vintage release, adorns IX on the label.

Dunham Cellars Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

This is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from Washington State Columbia Valley vineyards; Lewis Vineyard, Frenchtown Vineyard and Double River Estate Vineyard. It was aged in 60% French and 40% American Oak, 70% new oak and 30% used; 1955 cases were produced of this vintage release. 

At eighteen years of age, this was holding its own, showing no diminution of aging. 

Dark garnet colored, medium bodied, a structured core of black berry and black cherry fruits with notes of spice, anise and black tea with hints of oak.

RM 89 points 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=287264

 

My previous tasting for this label was five years earlier when I had done a mini vertical tasting of two vintages in January 2016 which did not show quite as well when I published the report below.

 Dunham Cellars Columbia Valley Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon 1997 and 1998

This is an example of the perils of having a rather extensive wine cellar. Since we first discovered Dunham Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon with this 1997 vintage, we have collected a nine year vertical of this wine. With such a selection, one tends to wait until you can open multiple bottles from multiple vintages to be tasted in one sitting, which of course reduces the opportunities to taste these wines.

Tonight provided the opportunity to open a pair of vintages and I was prepared to open more, but we didn't have a large enough group to consume more wines.

Hence, tonight we opened our two oldest bottles of this collection as aging would dictate drinking the oldest first.

An interesting element of Dunham's branding is that each vintage/ label is adorned with the roman numeral denoting the sequence in the series of vintages for that label, this 1997 being III, their third such release in the line.

Previously, I opened their 2003 release (above), noted as 'IX', their ninth release. We've also tasted and noted their 2000 vintage or VI release. 

Dunham are a family-owned winery with several estate vineyards in prime locations around the Walla Walla Valley Appellation. Dunham grow and produce varietal based wines in Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Chardonnay as well as Trutina, their Bordeaux style blend. Dunham wines are sourced from some of the finest vineyards in Washington State Walla Walla, Yakima and Columbia Valleys.

When Dunham's first vintage, a 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon was released, it was deemed one of the finest wines made in Washington by Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Subsequent vintages and varietals have consistently earned high marks with both consumers and trade. 

Proprietor Eric Dunham is winemaker and also an artist who creates original artwork that is featured in a series of 'Artist Series' labels for Dunham Cellars vineyard designated and special bottlings.

The 100% Cabernet Sauvignon fruit for this 1997 vintage wine was sourced from the Seven Hills, Pepper Bridge, Portteus, and Bacchus Vineyards.

This was showing its age and is most likely past its prime, and as such, is entering the late stages of its drinking window.

Dark garnet colored with slight bricking on the edge, an ever so slight tinge of brown rust color starting to set in. This is medium bodied with bright tangy black cherry predominates followed by tones of black raspberry, smoke, tobacco leaf and eucalyptus with hints of cassis and creosote turning to tangy slightly astringent dark cherry, floral and cedar on the moderate tannin lingering finish.

The 1998 vintage is also 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, but this is sourced from Seven Hills, Pepper Bridge, Portteus, Konnawok, Bacchus, Williard, Wauluke, and Vanessa Vineyards.

Upon opening this started as musty, earthy and leathery, but over the course of an hour the tangy cherry fruits emerged and eventually converged to mirror the profile of the earlier '97. By the next day, the '98 was brighter and more lively than the '97 which was somewhat shrouded in the smokey cassis layer.

Time to drink ... RM 87 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=287264

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4275

 

Dunham Cellars Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 'VIII' 2003 

 

Based on these experiences, imagine my pleasant surprise tonight with the 2002 vintage release. As shown in the photo, at eighteen years of age, this bottle is another testament to the provenance capabilities of our wine cellar - the fill level, foil, label, and most importantly the cork, were all perfect, almost comparable to a recent release. 

 

As I wrote above, I was pleasantly surprised by the vibrancy and robustness of this in its eighteenth year, showing no signs of diminution whatsoever. This exceeded my expectations, both for that, and for its general flavor profile with its complexity and balance.

Having tasted previously the 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2003, this was the most enjoyable and best showing of the four other vintage releases I had tasted.

Most similar to the 2003, this was dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied, nicely balanced and complex with a structured core of black berry and black cherry fruits with notes of spice, anise and black tea with hints of pepper, graphite and oak with a pleasant lingering finish. 

 

RM 91 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=209854

http://www.dunhamcellars.com/

Dunham Trutina Red Wine 2010

Dunham Cellars Trutina Columbia Valley Red Blend 2010

As written last night, we discovered Dunham Cellars Cabernets on-line with Winebid.com. Having been awakened to the brand, when we saw this label at local merchant Vin Chicago, we grabbed it, tried it, liked it, and went back and bought some more. That was back with the 2009 vintage, and we then purchased the 2010 vintage when it arrived the following year.

At a price point of $25, this provides reasonable QPR - Quality-Price-Ratio when compared with equivalent quality Bordeaux Blends and Cabernets from California and Washington State.  

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate says, "This is the least expensive, yet the richest of the lineup" from Dunham Cellars.

Dunham Cellars Trutina Columbia Valley Red Blend 2010

This vintage release label got 91 points from Wine Enthusiast. 

The 2010 Trutina is a blend of 63% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Malbec, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Syrah. The fruit is sourced from Washington State Columbia Valley Vineyards: Lewis Estate Vineyard, Double Canyon Vineyard, Phinny Hill Vineyard, Yellowbird Vineyard and Frenchtown Estate Vineyard.

We've tasted a half dozen bottles of the 2009 vintage release but this is our first encounter with the 2010. 

Dark garnet colored, medium-full bodied, smooth and approachable, complex bright vibrant blackberries and black cherry fruits with notes of mocha chocolate , hints of cassis, spice box and notes of sweet oak with tangy acidity and smooth tannins on the lengthy finish.

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1428241

https://www.dunhamcellars.com/

Dunham Cellars Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

Dunham Cellars Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

We discovered Dunham Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon through Winebid, the online wine auction site. Over the years we've acquired close to a decade of vintages of this label through that vehicle. We've also acquired another Dunham label, Trutina, a Bordeaux Blend from Vin Chicago, a local merchant.  

We stopped by the tasting room during our Washington Wine Experience back in 2018 but it was a drive-by without a reservation and the place was packed. We didn't realize they had the Walla Walla facility and we failed to connect there while we were in town during our Walla Walla Wine Experience in 2018. 

Dunham was founded by Winemaker Eric Dunham. Eric started his career with a 6-month internship at Hogue Cellars in Washington, moving on as Assistant Winemaker at L'Ecole No. 41 in the Walla Walla Valley. With Winemaker Marty Clubb's blessing, Eric began making small lots of Dunham wine at L'Ecole with his first bottling the 1995 Dunham Cabernet Sauvignon I.

After a few successful vintages with Dunham's receiving great acclaim, with some help from his parents, he set out on his own in warehouse space in an old WWII airplane hangar in Walla Walla. A couple of years later, David and Cheryll Blair were introduced to the Dunhams and joined the business to pursue their collective dream of making and pairing great wine with hospitality.

Part of the branding approach from that first vintage was to affix to each vintage the Roman Numeral of the numerical order of each release. Hence, this 2003 Dunham Cabernet Sauvignon, the ninth vintage release, adorns IX on the label.

Dunham Cellars Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

For tasting with grilled burgers I pulled from the cellar this 2003 Dunham Cabernet Sauvignon, the IXth successive release of this label. 

This is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from Washington State Columbia Valley vineyards; Lewis Vineyard, Frenchtown Vineyard and Double River Estate Vineyard. It was aged in 60% French and 40% American Oak, 70% new oak and 30% used; 1955 cases were produced of this vintage release. 

At eighteen years of age, this was holding its own, showing no diminution of aging. 

Dark garnet colored, medium bodied, a structured core of black berry and black cherry fruits with notes of spice, anise and black tea with hints of oak.

RM 89 points 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=287264

https://www.dunhamcellars.com/

Dunham Cellars Trutina Red Bordeaux Blend 2009

Dunham Cellars Trutina Red Bordeaux Blend 2009 for delightful mid-week dinner

The Covid19 shut-in continues and we remain at home enjoying intimate dinners and wines from our cellar. I have joked that if such a situation occurred, we'd be stocked for up to year with wines from our cellar, and here we are, albeit hopefully for a couple weeks duration.

Tonight, Linda prepared an imaginative meal with our leftover pot roast, asparagus, roasted walnuts, artisan cheese and fresh blueberries. I pulled from the cellar what proved to be a perfect match for the occasion - Trutina from Dunham Cellars in Washington State.

We hold close to a dozen vintages in a vertical collection of Dunham Cellars flagship Cabernet Sauvignon Red Wine Blend going back to the nineties. We discovered these Bordeaux varietal wines from Columbia River Valley in Washington, not well known for being a Bordeaux varietal region several years back. We stopped by the Dunham Cellars winery and tasting room during our trip to Woodinville, Washington, site of over a hundred tasting rooms of Washington State wines during our Seattle Culinary and Washington Wine Tour year before last.

We discovered this second label from Dunham at Vin Chicago when they still had their brick and mortar store in Naperville. We bought some, tried it, and went back and bought more. We still hold about a half case and are being rewarded for doing so.

This Trutina Walla Walla Red Blend from our cellar was a perfect compliment to the beef pot roast with grilled asparagus, fresh berries, roasted walnuts and artisan cheese and accompaniments dinner.

Trutina is a second label from Dunham at a lower pricepoint offers great QPR (Quality to Price ratio) in this complex and expressive red wine blend. We continue to find many of the Columbia Valley Reds have great quality and aging ability and offer great value over their French and California counterparts.

Dunham Cellars 'Trutina' Columbia Valley Red Wine 2009

Tonight, this was consistent with our earlier tasting experience which is recorded in these pages from 9/18/2018, while not as complex or polished as the flagship label, Trutina was very impressive going on a decade of age.

This showed bright garnet and inky purple color, medium full bodied with huge aromatics of floral and lavender with full forward bright vibrant flavors of black currant and black cherry fruits with a layer of vanilla and sweet caramel mocha on a full cloying lingering tannin finish.

The blend is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 6% Syrah, and 4% Malbec.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1456899 

https://www.dunhamcellars.com/

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2018/09/dunham-cellars-trutina-columbia-valley.html

Dunham Cellars 'Trutina' Columbia Valley Red Wine 2009

Dunham Cellars 'Trutina' Columbia Valley Red Wine 2009

Following our recent trip to Woodinville, Washington to taste Washington State wines in our Seattle Culinary and Washington Wine Tour, wines we continued our exploration by opening this Trutina Walla Walla Red Blend from our cellar. It was perfect with grilled sirloin steaks and scalloped potatoes with haricot verts.

We have a vertical collection of Dunham Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Red Wine Blend going back a dozen vintages to the nineties. How delightful to discover these Bordeaux varietal wines from Columbia River Valley in Washington, not well known for being a Bordeaux varietal region.

This was our first vintage of Trutina, a second label from Dunham at a lower pricepoint that offers great QPR (Quality to Price ratio) in this complex and expressive red wine blend. We're finding many of these Columbia Valley Reds have great quality and aging ability and offer great value over their French and California counterparts.

While not as complex or polished as the flagship label, Trutina was very impressive going on a decade of age. This showed bright garnet and inky purple color, medium full bodied with huge aromatics of floral and lavender with full forward bright vibrant flavors of black currant and black cherry fruits with a layer of sweet caramel mocha on a full cloying lingering tannin finish.

The blend is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 6% Syrah, and 4% Malbec.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1456899 

Fantesca Chardonnay Dunham Cellars Robert Craig Howell Cabernets with Steak Salmon Dinner

Fantesca Chardonnay, Dunham Cellars, Robert Craig Howell Mountain and Moffett Reserve Cabernets with Steak and Salmon Dinner

For a Beef Steak and Atlantic Salmon dinner we opened Fantesca Chardonnay, Dunham Cellars and Robert Craig Cabernets. Linda prepared grilled New York strip steaks and Atlantic Salmon filets with a medley of roasted vegetables - brussel sprouts, carrots, asparagus and russet potatoes. Beth prepared a Ceasar Salad and Gloria brought fresh berries to accompany the course selection of artisan cheeses.

The starter course included shrimp cocktail and a cheese selection - Bellavitano, Aged White Cheddar, Aged Blue, Creamy Goat cheese infused with berries, and fresh mixed berries.

For the opening wine we served John Anthony Napa Valley Carneros Sauvignon Blanc 2013.

With the main dinner courses we had Fantesca Sonoma Chardonnay 2008, provided by Bill, and Dunham Cellars Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1997 and 1998. 

The dessert course featured Linda's decadent chocolate mousse, home-made profiteroles and fresh berries. Bill served Robert Craig Napa Valley Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2006. To follow, I pulled from the cellar a Moffett Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2006.

John Anthony Napa Valley Carneros Sauvignon Blanc 2013

An up and coming producer in Napa Valley, John Anthony Truchard comes from a family with a long history in wine production going back several generations. Today, he and his wife Michelle produce a line of Cabernet, Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc from fruits grown in select leased small vineyard sites from the Oak Knoll District, Carneros and Coombsville across Napa Valley. They operate the Day/Night wine tasting lounge in downtown Napa to showcase their wines.

Back in 1890, John's great Grandfather Jean-Marie Truchard and his family arrived from Leon, France at Ellis Island. Over the ensuing generations, the family settled in Northern California working the land and producing wines.

John Anthony began selling wine commercially for the first time in 2006. The John Anthony Tasting Lounge is opened in Downtown Napa in 2010.

The inaugural release of this label appeared in 2008 and received a 93 point and best value rating from Wine Spectator. This 2013 John Anthony Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from vineyards they planted and farm in Napa Valley. 

Butter/straw colored, light bodied, crisp clean nice balance of fruits and acidity - aromas and flavors of ripe green apples, ripe melon and hints of zesty citrus.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1788034

http://www.johnanthonyvineyards.com

Fantesca Vineyards and Winery Sonoma County Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2008

I've written often in these pages about Fantesca wines and visiting their spectacular Spring Mountain Estate, winery and vineyards. We visited there with Bill and Beth and tasted and sourced this wine upon release. 

Bill brought this from his cellar. His notes from Cellartracker - "Medium straw in color. A bit of perfume on the nose. Pear, peach, lemon zest and just a hint of buttery oak on the palate. When I selected this from the cellar to accompany friend Linda's broiled salmon with dill I was pleasantly surprised to find there was still plenty of freshness left. I don't think this will get any better but it is awfully good right now."

WCC - 90 points. 

The fruit was a bit more subdued than earlier tastings in 2010 and 2012 but this is still very tasty. Butter colored, light-medium bodied, nicely integrated, smooth, crisp and clean, flavors of tropical fruits, ripe melon, hints of lychee and under current of subtle citrus with a pleasant lingering finish.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=872831

 Dunham Cellars Columbia Valley Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon 1997 and 1998 

This is an example of the perils of having a rather extensive wine cellar. Since we first discovered Dunham Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon with this 1997 vintage, we have collected a nine year vertical of this wine. With such a selection, one tends to wait until you can open multiple bottles from multiple vintages to be tasted in one sitting, which of course reduces the opportunities to taste these wines.

Tonight provided the opportunity to open a pair of vintages and I was prepared to open more, but we didn't have a large enough group to consume more wines.

Hence, tonight we opened our two oldest bottles of this collection as aging would dictate drinking the oldest first.

An interesting element of Dunham's branding is that each vintage/ label is adorned with the roman numeral denoting the sequence in the series of vintages for that label, this 1997 being III, their third such release in the line.

Previously, I opened their 2003 release (above), noted as 'IX', their ninth release. We've also tasted and noted their 2000 vintage or VI release. 

Dunham are a family-owned winery with several estate vineyards in prime locations around the Walla Walla Valley Appellation. Dunham grow and produce varietal based wines in Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Chardonnay as well as Trutina, their Bordeaux style blend. Dunham wines are sourced from some of the finest vineyards in Washington State Walla Walla, Yakima and Columbia Valleys.

When Dunham's first vintage, a 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon was released, it was deemed one of the finest wines made in Washington by Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Subsequent vintages and varietals have consistently earned high marks with both consumers and trade. 

Proprietor Eric Dunham is winemaker and also an artist who creates original artwork that is featured in a series of 'Artist Series' labels for Dunham Cellars vineyard designated and special bottlings.

The 100% Cabernet Sauvignon fruit for this 1997 vintage wine was sourced from the Seven Hills, Pepper Bridge, Portteus, and Bacchus Vineyards.

This was showing its age and is most likely past its prime, and as such, is entering the late stages of its drinking window.

Dark garnet colored with slight bricking on the edge, an ever so slight tinge of brown rust color starting to set in. This is medium bodied with bright tangy black cherry predominates followed by tones of black raspberry, smoke, tobacco leaf and eucalyptus with hints of cassis and creosote turning to tangy slightly astringent dark cherry, floral and cedar on the moderate tannin lingering finish.

The 1998 vintage is also 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, but this is sourced from Seven Hills, Pepper Bridge, Portteus, Konnawok, Bacchus, Williard, Wauluke, and Vanessa Vineyards.


Upon opening this started as musty, earthy and leathery, but over the course of an hour the tangy cherry fruits emerged and eventually converged to mirror the profile of the earlier '97. By the next day, the '98 was brighter and more lively than the '97 which was somewhat shrouded in the smokey cassis layer.

Time to drink ... RM 87 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=287264

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4275

http://www.dunhamcellars.com/

Robert Craig Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain 2006

This was ideal following the more subdued Dunham that lined up with the entree course. This aligned with and complimented well the dark chocolate mousse. I sense this is at the apex of its drinking window and while it won't likely improve with further aging, it has several years of life yet at this level.

Bill's tasting notes from Cellartracker - This long time favorite is hitting its stride but will continue to improve and has years of life left. Opaque, indigo in color. Rich, dark berry flavors on the palate, evolving into an earthy finish of slate, pencil shavings and dark chocolate. An amazing accompaniment to a dessert of chocolate mousse, raspberries and especially spectacular chocolate covered cherries.

WCC 92

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=735909

www.robertcraigwines.com


Moffett Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2006

This was an ideal follow on to the Robert Craig Howell Mountain having the same tasting profile but being lighter and less complex.

Except as noted, this was consistent with my earlier tasting notes from two previous tastings. 

This is dark garnet colored - medium-full bodied - polished and smooth with full flavors of blackberries, ripe plum and currants - with the fruit seeming to trend down somewhat from my recollection of earlier tastings, highlighted by a layer of mocha chocolate, anise, and tones of black tea with a touch of oak and spice - the wine shows great balance of toasted oak and acidity.

Tonight, that trending of the fruit becoming more subdued continued, but consistent in the other traits. There were not other indications of diminution from aging.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=661237

Dunham Cellars 'VI' Walla Walla Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2000

Dunham Cellars 'VI' Walla Walla, Yakima and Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2000

We hold a over a decade of vintages of this label. mostly acquired at auction until recent vintages which have appeared at certain Chicagoland merchants. We've also discovered and enjoyed their Trutina label which is a Bordeaux Blend, which at a reduced price point offers good QPR - Quality Price Ratio.

Dunham are a family-owned winery with several estate vineyards in prime locations around the Walla Walla Valley Appellation. Dunham grow and produce varietal based wines in Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Chardonnay as well as Trutina, their Bordeaux style blend. Proprietor Eric Dunham is winemaker and also an artist who creates original artwork that is featured in a series of 'Artist Series' labels for Dunham Cellars vineyard designated and special bottlings.

I pulled this fifteen year old 2000 vintage release to compare with vintage releases of our recent tasting last week. Thankfully, this showed well and is still well within its drinking window showing very little diminution with age.

Dunham employ an interesting and unique branding methodology numbering each release of this wine with a Roman Numeral dating back to I with their 1995 release. Hence this 2000, their sixth release is labeled 'VI' for the sixth release.

This is their flagship label which we opened with great interest since we hold a vertical collection going back to their 1997 vintage, which we have not yet tried, so we weren't sure what to expect. This is from the Walla Walla winery with fruit sourced from numerous locations in the Yakima and Columbia Valleys in Central West Washington State - an area not normally associated with Bordeaux varietals. Yet, looking at the geography and latitude, the region is relatively near that of the French Bordeaux region.

Dark garnet colored, medium bodied, bright vibrant black raspberry and black cherry fruit flavors accented with a subtle layer of cedar and hints of eucalyptus, turning to tones of tar, black tea and hints of leather and spice on the smooth soft modest tannin finish.

RM 89 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=750740


http://www.dunhamcellars.com/ 

New Release Cab Blends and Eclectic Outliers Befitting Stuffed Pasta Shells Bolognese

For an early holiday season dinner, Linda prepared stuffed pasta shell bolognese and we tasted two new release Cabernet Sauvignon Bordeaux style blends - one old favorite from California Napa Valley and a new discovery from Washington State Columbia Valley. We also tried two varied 'southern' discoveries to complement the hearty entree - one from southern California and one from southern Italy. An interesting flight provided two comparative tastings in contrasting styles. The Cabernet Blends were the latest release Beaulieu Vineyards Napa Valley Tapestry Reserve 2009 alongside the new release 2009 'Trutina' from Dunham Cellars Columbia Valley. The random selection was 'Melee' Grenache 2010 from Tuck Beckstoffer alongside a southern Italian Montevetrano Salerno 2007. For starters Linda prepared lobster tail medallions with drawn butter and we tasted chilled 2009 Napa Valley Pinot Grigio from Nils Venge Saddleback Cellars. Bill and Beth C brought the Tapestry and the Montrevetrano.

Dinner included a side of fresh asparagus with hollandaise sauce. Anti pasta included a selection of artisan cheeses included my favorite Bellavitano, sharp cheddar and Manchego. To finish we had a selection of homemade holiday sweets - chocolate peanut butter fudge, pecan sandy cookies, chocolate mint brownies and pecan pie squares - all great accompaniments to the wines - white and red.

Beaulieu Vineyards Napa Valley Tapestry Reserve 2009 

We've been fans of Tapestry for over a decade. Indeed our vertical collection goes back to the 1996 vintage. I recently noted that the 2008 release was one of the most expressive I remember tasting. Well, the 2009 meet and may have surpassed the '08! I look forward to a comparison tasting between the two soon.

Dark inky purple color, medium-full bodied the 09 Tapestry shows deep briary blackberry and black cherry with a layer of cassis and hints of floral and graphite with moderate tannic backbone on the finish.

This was even better the next evening, more polished and elegant as the flavors seemed more balanced and the tannins better integrated. Pop it and let it open! *Add another point if you give it some time. 

The blend is 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot, and 1% Malbec.

RM 91 points. *

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1495237



Dunham Cellars 'Trutina' Columbia Valley Red Wine 2009

Like the Tapestry, we have a vertical collection of Dunham Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Red Wine Blend going back a dozen vintages to the nineties. What a nice surprise to discover this unique offering from Columbia River Valley in Washington, not considered a Bordeaux varietal region. This is our first tasting of Trutina, a second label from Dunham at a lower pricepoint that offers great QPR (Quality to Price ratio) in this complex and expressive red wine blend. Not as polished or refined as the Tapestry perhaps but more full and forward showing dark inky color, medium to full bodied, full forward bright vibrant aromas and flavors of black currant and black cherry fruits with a layer of sweet caramel mocha on a moderate tannin lingering finish.

The blend is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 6% Syrah, and 4% Malbec.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1456899  

'Melée' Grenache 2010 from Tuck Beckstoffer

Wine enthusiasts will recognize the Beckstoffer name for their ownership of the legendary and exclusive To Kalon vineyard in southern Napa Valley - source of grapes to some of the most notable wines and labels from the region. Second generation Tuck Beckstoffer has created several brands and labels sourcing fruit from various sources throughout California.

This is the second release of Melée Grenache. The large heavy oversize bottle is the first indication this wine is not for the feint of heart. The artistic primevil label should be further indication this is a unique wine. I would like to think that the over-the-top packaging is not to make up for the deficiencies in the product, but rather make a statement about the product the producer is striving to make, and that this particular product is not my 'cup of tea' as they say. More to the point, this is not the style of wine that I prefer and tend to favor but it was fun discovering and tasting.

Grenache is a variety of grape generally grown in hotter climates such as Spain (Garnachia), Australia, the Southern Central Valley in California and in the Southern Rhone River valley in France. Grenache produces spicy, berry-flavored fruit that tends to be soft on the palate with a with a relatively high alcohol content. It is commonly used in blending Chateauneuf-du-Pape wines in the Rhone region, and in Australia with other Rhone varietals Syrah and Mouvedre to produce 'GSM' (Grenache, Syrah, Mouvedre) wines.I've never been a fan of Grenache however its generally not found standalone, but rather its generally widely produced to be blended with other varietals of complementary characteristics where the sum of the parts is greater than the parts resulting in a more complex but approachable and enjoyable drinking blend.

The fruit for Melee is sourced from Central California. It is a deep ruby/plum color with characteristic Grenache aromas and flavors - cherry, black cherry, early season plum, scents of shale, new leather and a hint of tobacco,big forward flavors of red currant, hints of pomegranate and licorice with firm, tannins and soaring acidity that produce a long lasting, focused finish.

RM 87 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1401606

http://meleewines.com/

Azienda Agricola Montevetrano, Montevetrano Colli di Salerno IGT Red Wine Blend 2007 

From five hectares (ten acres) of estate vineyards about five miles inland from the coastal town of Salerno, Silvia Imparato’s Azienda Agricola Montevetrano boutique estate in the Comune di San Cipriano Picentino produces about 2500 cases a year of sophisticated complex ageworthy red blend wines per year since 1993.  Strongly persistent wines benefit from the coastal location and mild climate, in vineyards protected by the Picentini Mountain peaks. 

Deep, intensely dark concentrated ruby colored it exhibits floral scents of woodlands, violets, cedar and blackberry and cherry fruits. Intense full forward cherry and black cherry flavors are accented by spice with tones of  tobacco, tea and leather with balanced layers of firm tight tannins, acidity and wood.

Montevetrano is a Colli di Salerno IGT red wine made from 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Aglianico Taurasi.

RM 89 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=733658

http://www.montevetrano.it/inglese/home2.htm 

Nils Venge Saddleback Cellars Napa Valley Pinot Grigio 2009

I guess one shouldn't be surprised to find a Pinot Grigio from Napa Valley from Nils Venge, known for Cabernet Sauvignon and traditional Napa Valley Bordeaux varietals Merlot, Cabernet Franc and even Petit Verdot, considering his Scout's Honor Zinfandel Blend and smaller lot releases of Marsanne, Grenache Blanc, Charbono, and Petite Sirah, but I was, and especially so to find it here in the midwest in suburban Chicago at our local Main Street Liquors & Wine Shop in LaGrange.

Being long time fans of Nils Venge and his wine-making artistry going back to his days as winemaker for Del Dotto Vineyards and his Venge Vineyards label, and his more recent work at Fantesca Estate Vineyards and Winery from the Spring Mountain District, we had to pick this up to try. 

We first met Nils at Del Dotto when he was their winemaker while also managing his Penny Lane Vineyard over at his Saddleback Cellars during our Napa visits in the mid and late nineties and then during our Napa Wine Experience in 2002  (below) which featured Venge Vineyards and Nils and Kirk Venge's Rossini Ranch.

Tasting Venge Penny Lane Family Reserve Cabernet w/ AJ
and Nils Venge at Tra Vigne in St Helena

This proved to be a great complement to the artisan cheeses - my favorite Bellavitano, sharp cheddar and Manchego, and the highlight starter course lobster medallions in drawn butter.

Grapes for this wine are sourced from four rows planted in 1995 right outside the door of the winery in Oakville, Napa Valley, and from neighbor’s, the Garvey’s vineyard, located just down the road. Venge proclaims enjoying a tradition of picking the Pinot Grigio themselves each year!

This Pinot Grigio was straw colored, medium bodied, flowery, perfumed  with crisp ripe fruits of lemon citrus, pear, and lychee, hints of pine-nuts with a clean, long finish.

RM 87 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=930618

http://www.saddlebackcellars.com/