2006 Mosby Sangiovese

Type- Red
Producer- Mosby
Variety- Sangiovese
Country- USA
Region- California
SubRegion- North Coast
Appellation- Mendocino County
Price- $10.99



The Little Wooden Guy is disappointed. Very disappointed.

Night One

The color is brickish dull red and cloudy. The nose is pleasant, mostly cherries plus a touch of raspberry and some pepper. On the palate, though, it falls apart. The first impression is of heat, blatant alcohol. The flavors are much sharper, the cherries turning sour, the raspberries turning to unsweetened cranberries (try them some time- they are incredibly tart to the point of being bitter). Acid and fruit and tannins are an unbalanced mish-mash, fighting with each other rather than complementing each other or working together. It might come together on Night Two. Stick around and we will find out together.

Night Two

Cherries in alcohol make the nose for Night Two. There is also some pepper, and a hint of toasted pecans. Again, sour cherries and cranberries, though some vanilla is starting to make itself known. This is just out of balance and not particularly pleasant.

Jeriko Estate Pinot Noir 2005

Mendocino
Certified Organic
14.3% alcohol
From WineQ

The Wooden Guys flat out loved this wine.

The nose of this wine, just after it was opened, had serious funk, barnyard funk. There was also a lot of chocolate and coffee. Imagine the smell if a goat ate nothing but coffee and cocoa beans and you will have some idea what I am talking about. Some people might find the smell that comes out of the wrong end of a barnyard animal a bit of a turn off, but believe me, it is often a promise of good things to come. As the funk settles it turns into burned butter and dark toast. After fifteen minutes in the glass there was still no sign of fruit on the nose, but a hint of hazelnut was just starting to peek through. After thirty minutes a strawberry, one small lonely strawberry, peeked through. Now it was time to taste it.

Okay, that is interesting. This will sound odd, but stick with me and try to imagine it- strawberry marmalade. Strawberries are there, but with the tartness and richness of marmalade, rather than the pure sweetness of jam or jelly. That was the first taste up front, on the attack, along with truffles and a touch of bacon fat. This showed the classic pinot noir arc, with a mild initial attack, then huge growth through the finish. Through the evening the wine continued to evolve, later showing a more typical California pinot taste profile, with cherry pits and strawberries, but also offering up earth and meat, depth and richness.

The tannins are obvious on the finish, drying but not leathery. The finish is long,very long, even continuing to grow and evolve after drinking. Long after the sip, half a minute or more, the first taste of licorice shows up and lingers.

The mouth feel is silky, even a little oily in the way it coats the mouth and tongue.

Night Two

The nose on Night Two is different from Night One. It was intriguing, opening with the sweet smell of Jolly Rancher watermelon candy, then ripe strawberries and cherry pits, plus river rocks and smoky sage. There was as much sweet fruit as you could ever desire, but all well balanced by mineral and smoky herbs, a full-bodied but balanced wine rather than an over-extracted fruit bomb.

The palate did not see as big a change from Night One to Night Two. What I described on Night One as "strawberry marmalade" might better be described on Night Two as a blend of strawberries and rhubarb pie, sweet, tart, and rich. The mid-palate added new layers to the flavor profile, rather than replacing it in waves of different flavors. It added limestone and a meaty flavor best described as the crispy salty end slice of a good prime rib.

Again, the pinot arc is there, flavors continuing to grow, even glow long after the last sip. Licorice and beef appear, for the first time, at least thirty second later and remain for minutes more.

This is really good wine, even great wine. I am going to buy a whole lot more of it. You should, too. Then invite me over and share yours with me.

Jepson Estate Red 2003

Jepson Vineyards
Mendocino
California
Alc. 14.5%
from the California Wine Club
approx. $10
Red Rhone blend

The Little Wooden guy appreciates a good QPR as much as the next guy. Is this great? No. Is it far better than most $10 bottles? Abso-friggin-lutely.

Night One

At first this was disappointing. The nose was sour and boring. However, after about 20 minutes it started to really come around. The nose was mostly red- cherries, strawberries, and cranberry juice. There were also some blueberries, cedar, and a distinct (and very pleasant) lingering after-scent of roses.

Cranberries were more obvious on the palate, with cherries and blueberries. The same rose and cedar were there, too. Tannins were soft, acid mild. Mouth feel was a bit thin and there wasn't much of a mid-palate. The finish was short, too. Basically, this was a good up-front quaffer that fell off quickly- about what you would expect at this price point. What makes it better, though, is the lovely combination of scents and flavors on the initial attack. Those distinguish this wine from most other similarly priced California blends.

Night Two

I did not take detailed notes on Night Two. There was no reason to. Simply stated, this fell down on Night Two. It was just, well, boring.

Conclusion? This is a competent reasonably-priced effort that will neither rock your world nor offend your senses.

Sky Saddle Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

California
Mendocino County
14.5% alcohol
from WineQ

The Wooden Guys like this wine. They like it a lot.

The nose on this wine has a distinct vegetal smell plus dark fruit. I was having some trouble putting my finger on exactly what so I went to the jellies and figured it out. Sure, there is some blackberry and maybe some dark cherry, but this time there was also something else. Elderberry. Yup, elderberry. I have a jar of Trappist Preserves just for this purpose. It is a richer earthier smell than most preserves or jellies. Interesting. It was also rather hot, not a big surprise at 14.5% alcohol.

Oh man is that complex. This is going to take a few minutes. I can tell you to start with that it ran from attack through midpalate to finish and hit about 8 distinctly different points in just a few second. Give me some time to work through this one. First, crisp french toast with elderberry preserves. The fruit is very earthy and sweet, very rich, and there is a crisp fried bread taste, too. This is a very rich full-bodied wine, but not a fruit bomb. The depth and earthiness of the fruit keeps it from being overpowering. Blackcurrant comes out on the midpalate along with vanilla and brown sugar. Mouth feel is quite good, matching the richness of the fruit. Tannins are powder-fine but significant. They do not overpower, but dry enough to leave a sense of leather along with a long sweet finish.

This could really be terrific on Night Two. Or it could fall apart completely. Let's see, okay?

Night Two

The elderberry is still there on the nose. In fact, it is more obvious because the nose is more fruity, jammy, than on Night One. Blackcurrants are there, too, but only secondary to the elderberry.

The palate is still very complex, even more than on Night One. Elderberry, blackcurrant, plus sour cherries are the fruit, but that is not all. Add a brown sugar crust on crispy french toast, with all that fruit as a jammy compote on top, and you get the midpalate if you sprinkle it with nutmeg and cinnamon. The finish is sweet and leathery, tannins far smoother than on Night One. It is long, too. Mouth feel is full bodied.

This is good, very good. I think it will get even better with some cellar time.