Chateau Tanunda "Chateau" 100 Year Old Vines Barossa Shiraz

Chateau Tanunda "The Chateau" 100 Year Old Vines Eden Valley Barossa Shiraz 

Full bodied, complex, concentrated, full lingering tannins predominate the dense, black and blue berry fruits with hints of liquorice, plum and spice and spicy oak.

RM 93 points.

The Barossa is home to some of the world’s oldest Shiraz vines and the grapes for this wine come from hundred year old vines from a high altitude, one acre single vineyard in the Eden Valley.


We discovered this wine at the Wine Spectator Grand Tour in Chicago when it was being poured by Chateau Tanunda's Dagmar O'Neill. Only 100 cases were produced. We orchestrated a purchase of nine three packs in OWC's (shown below) which we split amongst the wine team, pictured below.

Tasted with/at Eric & Cathy's - a perfect combination with bar-b-que'd boneless pork loin ribs and roast with Shoup's famous Indiana Bar-B-Que sauce.

Shown at left are the three pack OWC (Original Wood Cases of
Chateau Tanunda "The Chateau" 100 Year Old Vines Eden Valley Barossa Shiraz.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=937673

http://www.chateautanunda.com/

OTB - Open That Bottle! Wine team at Grand Tour Chicago -
(L-R) Rick, Ernie, Bill, Dan, Eric and Lyle.

Here are Bill's notes from Cellartracker.

"WOW! A real heavyweight and a spectacular bottle of wine. Deep indigo color. Clings to the glass. Full of fruit as expected but rounder and better balanced than most Aussie Shiraz. Does not express the tangy almost medicinal taste associated with the better Shiraz."

Bill C - 96 points. 



 

Mitolo G.A.M. McLaren Vale Shiraz 2003

Mitolo G.A.M. McLaren Vale South Australia Shiraz 2003

We love Aussie Shiraz and we drink a lot of it. This one is classic example of how it at times is over-hyped. Its a big complex, fruity wine with long lingering tannins, but in my opinion, it lacks the breadth, depth, concentration and complexity implied by its stupendous reviews.

The 2003 Mitolo G.A.M. is named for the initials of producer Frank Mitolo's three children: Gemma, Alexander and Marco, a notable tribute indeed. The family owned winery of Frank and Simone Mitolo was joined in partnership by Winemaker Ben Glaetzer in 2001. Fruit for this label is sourced from the single Chinese Block vineyard in the Willunga District at the southern end of McLaren Vale, an hour south of Adelaide. The 2003 growing season had almost perfect ripening conditions from veraison through to harvest that yielded limited quantities of incredibly full flavoured and deep coloured fruit.

The juice was aged in fine grained French oak (70% new plus 30% one and two year old French/American oak). The product resulted in a dense ruby purple color, full bodied, complex flavors of blackberries, black currant, leather, hints of blueberry, cassis, licorice and a layer of spicy oak on a lingering gripping tannin finish. 

Robert Parker gave this wine a rating of  96-100 points and said, "This complex 2003 comes across as a hypothetical blend of a great La Mission-Haut-Brion from Bordeaux and a Rhone Valley Hermitage such as Chapoutier’s Pavillon. Everything is seamlessly integrated into this tour de force in winemaking"


K&L say of this wine - "Winemaker Mitolo delivers wines that express purity of varietal flavour, show elegance of structure with soft tannins whilst being rich, powerful and complex. All the grapes are picked on flavour ripeness which contributes to the soft, ripe tannins and vibrant fruit which is a key characteristic of all Mitolo wines. G.A.M. is opulent and robust, with a focus on finesse and multilayered complexity. It exhibits typical Mitolo softness and richness."

I found the wine to be polished, full bodied, fruit forward with gripping body and tannins, but more subdued than and not a big as the grand rating suggest, or than other labels of near vintages.

Tasted BYOB with L at Angeli's Italian Restaurant in Naperville, our favorite neighborhood Italian Trattoria. 

I give it 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=32822

http://www.mitolowines.com.au/product/G-A-M--Shiraz

Lail Blueprint Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

Upon perusing the winelist at Woodmont Grill/Houston's Steak House in Bethesda, this wine popped out as an obvious choice that I wanted to try, and to compare to an earlier vintage of which I had a positive memory. I must admit I was disappointed. I realize now I was comparing this 'second' label with their flagship Daniel Cuvee which is named in a tribute to third generation patriarch and producer dating back to the original Inglenook Vineyards.

Lail Vineyard’s have a rich Napa history reaching back five generations to Gustav Niebaum founder of Inglenook. John Daniel who ran Inglenook which evolved over the generations to the present Lail Vineyards is third generation great granduncle of current generation owner/producer Robin Daniel Lail.

Lail have teamed with legendary winemaker Phillipe Melka who holds degrees in geology, agronomy and enology and 15 years of experience in France, Australia, Italy, and is known to produce a mix of old and new world style wines expressing the 'terrior' or sense of place of the vineyards - the relationship between the terrain, climate, soil, and the wine - crafted to achieve the highest quality the source site can offer.


I'm a big fan of winemaker Phillipe Melka and always welcome a chance to sample his handywork.

This Blueprint Cabernet Sauvignon is made from fruit purchased from four separate vineyards in addition to Lail estate. It strives to provide classic Napa Cabernet Sauvignon at a more approachable price.

The 2008 Blueprint exhibits medium to full body, dark ruby/purple color, somewhat subdued black current and black cherry fruits accented with hints of licorice and roasted herbs with soft delicate tannins on a modest finish. The blend is 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot.

RM 88 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1086294

http://www.lail-vineyards.com/

http://www.hillstone.com/#/restaurants/woodmontGrill/ 

Landing in DC suburb Bethesda, we were waiting for our dinner table at Woodmont Grill who offered a selection of various wines by the glass. We were able to continue our Zinfandel 'flight' from the previous evening with two more Napa Valley Zinfandel based blends.

Brown Estate Napa Valley Zinfandel 2010

From the Chiles Valley, this is Brown's Estate Zinfandel, an expression of their house style. Medium-full bodied, moderately spicy black raspberry, black cherry and black currant fruits, flavors accented by dusty earth, briary asphalt, a touch spice, and toasty oak. A little too earthy with creosote overtaking the berry fruits for my taste.
 
RM 87 points. Robert Parker 91 points. Connoisseurs Guide 91 points.

http://www.brownestate.com/wines

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1082991

 

Duckhorn Paraduxx Napa Valley Red Wine 2008

Medium to full bodied, dark and brambly, with black raspberry and black cherry fruits, cedar, dried sage, tobacco leaf and hints of dark chocolate and subtle hints of pepper, cinnamon, and clove spice.

RM 88 points. 

Blend of 68% Zinfandel, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1074154

http://www.paraduxx.com/

Tasted w/  Danny, George, and Nelson.

Ravenswood Zin Pair and Phelps Napa Cab

Ravenswood Zin Pair and Phelps Napa Cab

I believe every wine cellar needs a selection of Zinfandels for pairing with hearty cheeses, tangy pasta sauses and bar-b-que. Ravenswood with their motto "No Wimpy Wines', is a staple for every cellar, especially more modest cellars, given their range of selection and offering of high QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) wines. Joel Peterson of Ravenswood, the 'Godfather of Zin' is arguably the world's leading Zin producer.

Tonight we comparison tasted two Ravenswood Zinfandels, a 'County' selection from Napa Valley and a Single Vineyard designated selection from Sonoma County Tedelschi Vineyard. After this experience, I will expand that recommendation to also include some single vineyard designated Zins in addition to basic or standard label offerings. Of course other Zinfandel producers noted for single vineyard designated selections with such quality and breadth and depth of Zinfandel selections are Ridge Vineyards and, no discussion of Zinfandel collections would be complete without mentioning Helen Turley wines, although she lacks the modest lower price entry level offerings available from the others.

Not a fair fight. This pairing posed a bit of a challenge - a single vineyard designated bottling versus a standard label blend. Which one do you do first? This experience was an object lesson to taste the pedestrian basic wine first as the conventions spelled out in my Wine Tasting 101 rules of wine tasting dictate - lighter, simpler to heavier and more complex.  In this case we tasted the higher quality designated label which completely outperformed and outshined the lesser label rendering it lackluster and uninspiring. Had we started with the lesser wine it might have had a chance - we might've enjoyed and appreciated it for what it was, and then be pleasantly surprised and treated to the more complex, polished and distinguishable designate. Indeed, on the producer's website they list the Single Vineyard designated wines in tasting order and even there, the Teldeschi is listed sixth out of seven in rank order. All the more reason to have a tasting strategy - even at a basic dinner experience. In this instance, I jumped on the Teldeschi - eager to try it, without considering what might follow. After tasting and finishing the first bottle, I then selected the second as a basis for comparison. I am glad I did, but in retrospect, we should've done them in reverse order. Only we wine-geeks consider or obsess over such detail! I'll hold on to my 'day' job and continue to do this for recreation!

Ravenswood Teldeschi Vineyard Sonoma County Dry Creek Zinfandel 2008

The mostly old vines that of the Sonoma County Teldeschi vineyard are Zinfandel, Carignane, and Petite Sirah. The three varieties are fermented separately and blended to taste.

Consistent with what the winemaker's notes indicate, the 2008 Teldeschi is nearly black in color, complex, smooth and polished with big forward aromas of black cherry, coffee, hints of caramel, and dark chocolate with full flavors of sweet cherry liqueur, vanilla and smoke leading to a ripe, dense, gently tannic, long and bright fruit finish.

Blend - 75% Zinfandel, 20% Petite Sirah, 3% Carignane, 2% Alicante Bouschet

RM 91 points.

http://www.ravenswoodwinery.com/wines/release/2008_teldeschi_zinfandel 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=901367

Ravenswood Napa Valley Old Vine Zinfandel 2010

From the Ravenswood 'County' series.

Full-bodied, aromas and flavors of blackberry and black cherry with notes of cocoa and baking spices, finishing with jammy fruit, dark chocolate, and lively acidity. A bit flat and single dimensional compared to the Teldeschi above.

RM 87 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1378016

The Blend: 76% Zinfandel, 23% Petite Sirah, 1% Carignane
Source of fruit: 44% Napa Valley, 27% Oakville, 23% St. Helena, 6% Sonoma County


To finish the flight, George selected a traditionally classic Napa Cab.


Joseph Phelps, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

The grapes are sourced from five (of seven) different Phelps estate vineyards: the Home Ranch in St. Helena, Suscol in South Napa, Yountville in the Oak Knoll District, Banca Dorada in Rutherford and Las Rocas in the Stags Leap District.

Full bodied, complex, nicely balanced, smooth and polished with aromas and flavors of blackberry, black cherry, ripe plum with notes of chocolate mocha and anise, and hints of espresso and spicy oak on a long silky tannin finish. 


Blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot.

 RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1334608

http://www.jpvwines.com/ 


Tasted at Seasons 52 restaurant in Tyson's Corner w/ Danny A, James S, George N and David I.

http://www.seasons52.com/

Tasting Flight Tanbark Hill - Northstar-Freemark Abbey Verticals

Tasting Flight Tanbark Hill - Northstar-Freemark Abbey Verticals

For a gala family reunion dinner celebrating sister Jan's visit from So-Cal and Alec's visit home from Real-Whirled, Ryan and Michelle brought a Philip Togni Tanbark Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 2009. Bill and Beth dropped in with a Freemark Abbey Sycamore Vineyard 1997, so we trolled the cellar and pulled out a Freemark Abbey Sycamore Vineyard 1999 to match and compare. All this whilst we were doing a comparison tasting of the Northstar Columbia Valley Merlot 2007 and 2008. We also opened and tried a Sean Minor Napa Valley Red Wine 2009.

I chronicled the Northstar Columbia Valley Merlots 2007 and 2008 in my preceding wine journal posts of Friday night and earlier tonight.

A highlight of the flight was the Philip Togni Tanbark Hill Vineyard Spring Mountain District Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009. 

Philip Togni second wine selected from the barrels that don't go into the flagship Estate wine.

Philip Togni has an impressive track record with Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons dating back to 1969 at Chappellet. He has a reputation for consistently producing high quality wines at reasonable prices. Phillip Togni, his wife Birgitta and daughter Lisa produce Margaux-type wines consisting of a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet franc and Petit Verdot. 

A remarkable major recent tasting achievement occurred in Brussels where a most noted professional panel in the country ranked Phillip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon 1990 above eleven other Bordeaux and California Cabernets of 1990 including Latour, Margaux, Haut-Brion and Mouton Rothschild.

The Philip Togni Tanbark Hill Vineyard Spring Mountain District Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 was full-bodied, bright, vibrant, tasteful focused wine of full forward expressive black and red fruits with tones of creme de cassis, currants, anise and hints of cedar and sweet spice.

RM 93 points. Robert Parker Wine Advocate 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1250179

http://philiptognivineyard.com/  

Exploring a new discovery, we tasted Sean Minor Napa Valley Red Wine 2009 from American Canyon down at the bottom of Napa Valley below the City of Napa on the eastern side, opposite Carneros on the West. 

Interesting wine from upstart emerging producer Sean Minor who followed his dream and love of wine into the business with wife Nicole after they discovered, as newlyweds, their second largest expense was wine!

Dark purple inky color, medium to full bodied; a bit of an edge takes away from the black berry fruits adding a slight astringent tone, hints of oak, spice and cassis give way to a moderate tannin lingering finish.

RM 87 points. 

Blend of 30% Merlot, 23% Petit Verdot, 17% Zinfandel, 16% Petite Sirah, 10% Syrah, 4% Malbec.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1195027

http://www.seanminorwines.com/index.htm

Mini vertical of two vintages of Freemark Abbey Napa Valley, Sycamore Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1997 and 1999. We pretty much predicted the outcome of this tasting before we started but it was an enjoyable and worthwhile experience in any event. Freemark Abbey partners with Sycamore Vineyard  to source the fruit for this wine from vineyards located at the foot of the Mayacamas Range at the cusp of Rutherford and Oakville. 

We visited Freemark Abbey over the years with our most recent visit in 2009, with Bill and Beth, highlighted by a cellar library tour and tasting. We purchased library bottlings of the '74 and '78 vintages, our anniversary years, that we took to a gala anniversary celebration dinner at CIA Greystoke Manner.  

The 1997 rear label cites a remarkable three years aging in French Oak and it shows from the outset. The Cabernet Sauvignon is blended with Cabernet Franc and Merlot for complexity and balance.  

The '97 had a base color of garnet with a slight rust hue while the '99 was more deep dark purple as its base color. 

This evening, the 1997 started out a slight bit closed and tight yet revealed from the beginning a leathery tone and predominant layer of oak that increased during the evening. An initial edge burned off giving way to the predominant oak with blackberry and black cherry fruits, tobacco, clove spice and hints of what some call 'forest floor' and a hint of dark mocha on a moderate tannin finish. 

The 1999 shows a new packaging design with a painted bottle as opposed to the traditional paper label, as shown. Like the '97 it also displayed slightly subdued fruits although not as tight as the '97 and the oak was less pronounced, although also sharing the hints of tobacco and spice. 

Both wines softened and revealed more complexity and depth over the course of the evening with the '97 being more pronounced in each frame.

I give the '97 vintage 89 points and the '99 vintage 88 points. 

1997 Cellartracker page-  https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1411584 

1999 Cellartracker page - https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=81347

The tasting jury

 Bill has another '97 and I have another '99, and Bill also has a  bottle of the '98, so stay tuned for our next vertical tasting when we'll compare all three vintages together! 

Still in production - preview posting - watch for updates. 

Northstar Columbia Valley Merlot 2008

Northstar Columbia Valley Merlot 2008

Following yesterday's tasting of the 2007 Northstar Coumbia Valley Merlot, I went back to Binny's (the Chicagoland beverage super store) to buy more of this closeout vintage. Not until I got up to the checkout did I realize I had the 2008 release.This afforded the opportunity to extend our vertical another year (Northstar Journal Notes Index), but more fortuitously, to conduct a comparison tasting since I still had half a bottle remaining from the previous evening.

The Northstar Columbia Valley Merlot 2008 exhibited much the same consistent  characteristics of the earlier vintages - inky purple color, forward black fruits, full bodied, firm tannins,  and it also had a tone of slight astringency indicative of its youth. The 2008 did not possess that sweetness of the tones of the toffee chocolate layer of the 2007, but it did finish with the layer of lingering oak and spice. I give the '08 a rating of 91 points, consistent with many years, but falling off one point from what I considered the exception 2007.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1210721

 http://www.northstarwinery.com/

Northstar Columbia Valley Merlot 2007

Northstar Columbia Valley Merlot 2007


We've been enjoying Northstar Columbia Valley Merlot since the 1995 vintage (see Journal Notes Index), it is one of our consistent perennial favorite wines, the 2007 Columbia Valley Northstar Merlot does it again and is among the best we've tasted.

Inky purple color, full bodied, concentrated, bright and vibrant, aromas and flavors of plum and black fruits accented by a predominant layer of chocolate and toffee. A slight astringency that will likely burn off with some age gives way to firm tannins on a lingering finish of oak and spice.

Winemaker's notes sum it up well - "Concentrated yet elegant, transparent dark ruby color; lovely nose of dark fruit, some vanilla, and chocolate; rich, concentrated but controlled dark fruit (blackberries, purple plums), a savory note, a touch of spearmint, lots of sweet chocolate, and seriously crunchy tannins for balance; long, tangy, tannic finish, with tobacco, ending finally with blackberries and plums."

This could easily pass for a Napa Cabernet Sauvignon with its complexity, big forward fruit and firm backbone of tannins - this is not a wimpy merlot. wine. Reminiscent of earlier Northstars at their best. Perfect compliment and stood up very well indeed to a beef tenderloin au poivre dinner with sweet corn, twice baked potato and a double chocolate desert.

This wine used to be priced in the $40 range and in recent years has been available at $30 resulting in this wine being a good value with a high QPR (quality to price ratio).

Blend of 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Petit Verdot.  

RM 92 points.  Wine Advocate 92 points, Wine Spectator 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=962258

http://www.northstarwinery.com/

P.S. This was so good I went back to buy more and found the 2008 vintage in its place. Check out the follow-on comparison tasting of the Northstar Columbia Valley Merlot 2008 compared to this 2007.