2006 Newton Red Label Claret

Type: Red
Producer: Newton
Variety: Red Blend
Designation: Red Label Claret
Country: USA
Region: California
SubRegion: Napa Valley
Appellation: Napa Valley



The Big Wooden Guy says "tsk tsk" for the use, indeed abuse, of wood in this wine.

Night One

Try this- make a laminated board out of several layers of oak and cedar. Dribble three drops of vanilla extract on it, let it soak in. Now, place one blackcurrant, just one, on the ground and smack it with the board. Wipe it with a paper towel and let it dry for three days. Now you know exactly what this wine smells like.

The palate has plenty of wood, enough to match the nose. Oak, cedar, oak, vanilla, cedar, and a little more oak. Oh, there might be a blackberry and a blackcurrant hanging out there somewhere, but they are hard to find. A little licorice shows up on the mid-palate. Tannins are dusty and slightly harsh.

Night Two

Wood is still dominant, along with some real heat from high alcohol. Loads of wood, cedar and vanilla lead the nose, though a bit more black fruit shows up than on Night One.

The palate is still wood-laden, the only difference being the addition of a bit of cream and a whole lot more vanilla.






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2004 Darioush Shiraz Signature

Type: Red
Producer: Darioush
Variety: Shiraz
Designation: Signature
Country: USA
Region: California
SubRegion: Napa Valley
Appellation: Napa Valley
Price: $39.99 (sale) in Carmel, Indiana



Night One

Be careful not to put your nose too deeply into the glass. This wine forms a fist and punches straight up right at your schnoz. The bottle says "Alcohol 14.9% by volume." Don't believe it. Under US label laws that means the alcohol can be as high as 15.9%, and if I had a gas chromatograph in the junk drawer I would be willing to bet it will ring the 16+ bell. Lots of other big aromas are packed in that fist, including blackberries, very ripe and deeply bruised black cherries, black pepper, freshly ground nutmeg, dark chocolate and cocoa. This is one of those noses you can get caught up in, forgetting to drink the wine for quite a long time.

The palate is equally overpowering. The attack opens with huge bruised dark fruit and black pepper. A whole smorgasbord of flavors flash across the mid-palate, starting with plum skins and nutmeg, then adding dark chocolate, coffee, and a tiny grating of dried orange peel. The tannins are surprisingly gritty, but sweet, adding a cheek-drying leather to the finish, which is quite long.

Night Two should be interesting.

Night Two

I do not have detailed notes from Night Two. A friend came over and we just drank the rest of the bottle together. My general impressions were of a great big sweet woody wine, an Aussie Shiraz doppelganger. Tannins smoothed out significantly, the finish was quite long. At $40, it was okay for the price, but I was back in the same store a few days later and did not feel compelled to pick up any more of it. At the retail $69, I would not even consider buying a bottle.








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2005 Montoya Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Proprietor Owned Montoya Vineyards

Type Red
Producer Montoya Vineyards
Variety Cabernet Sauvignon
Designation Proprietor Owned
Vineyard Montoya Vineyards
Country USA
Region California
SubRegion Napa Valley
Appellation Napa Valley
Price $13



If The Big Wooden Guy had thumbs, he would be giving a "thumbs up" to an under $15 drinkable Napa Cabernet.

Night One

This has currant, but it is an underlying aroma. The predominate aroma is vegetal, plus some green olive, along with enough black pepper to make you think "grenache."

The palate is fairly simple and harsh. It is sweet-fruit forward, mostly plum and some blueberry. It has some of the same vegetal tastes as the nose. The same vegetation, plus some green pepper, makes up the mid-plate. The finish is short and metallic. Tannins are harsh.

This is not great wine. It is also a $13 Napa Cabernet. This raises a question I have asked several times before, why drink low-priced mediocre Cabernet when there are so many other good wines in the same price range? But who knows, it might be a lot better on Night Two.

Night Two

What a difference a night makes! The harsh vegetation and overpowering pepper is gone from the nose. Now it has a more classic Cabernet, with blackcurrant, a little coffee and chocolate, and plums.

The fruit is far softer on the palate, too. It opens with a lot of plum and mulberry. Some eucalyptus appears for a moment as it shifts to the mid-palate, before the typical maple and brown sugar of moderately-priced Cali Cabs takes over. The finish is mid-length. Tannins are surprisingly smooth and sweet.

This is a THIRTEEN DOLLAR Napa Valley Cabernet. Is it great? Nope. Is it good? No, not really. Is it competent, and competitive with Cabernets at twice the price? Yup. Absolutely. Give this several hours to breath and you will have a drinkable $13 Napa Cab. How can that be a bad thing?





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2004 Elyse Nero Misto

Type: Red
Producer: Elyse
Variety: Red Blend
Designation: Nero Misto
Country: USA
Region: California
SubRegion: Napa Valley
Appellation: Napa Valley



The Little Wooden Guy did not get to try this one. We had it at the office, for the monthly Wine at Work Wednesday tasting.

This one is a true "kitchen sink" blend, with:

Zinfandel 28%
Petite Sirah 26%
Carignan 14%
Primitivo 13%
Syrah 10%
Gamay Noir 4%
Barbera 2%
Alicante Bouschet
Grand Noir
Petite Verdot
Valdiguié

Yes, Zinfandel and Primitivo are the same thing. I guess they did not want to say it was mostly Zinfandel. Or perhaps they were using two different clones, one coming from Italy where it has been known for years as "Primitivo."

The wine is dark, very dark. Indeed, it is black but for the very edges, which are a deep purple trending toward the red.

The nose is just loaded with black licorice. The fruit is secondary to the nose, and it is primarily red- raspberries, very dark cherries, perhaps a touch of redcurrant. The heavy Zinfandel/Primitivo portion of the blend is clear with the black pepper coming through after the fruit.

Interesting. The palate is darker than the nose. The attack opens with black fruit, not red fruit. Blackberries, elderberries, with perhaps a blueberry or two, but not many, thrown in. That changes quickly, though, at the mid-palate, where the black licorice announces its presence. As it moves from mid-palate toward the finish, red fruit appears and gets progressively sweeter. First raspberries, then black cherries, and finally ripe strawberries at the very end. The finish is of moderate length and leaves a residual sense of black pepper and red fruit. Tannins are very smooth. Mouthfeel is full but not quite oily.

I need to think on this one a little bit. As an exercise in wine tasting, it is fascinating. As a wine, is it too much of everything and not enough of anything? Does it flash through too many things?

2005 Duckhorn Vineyards Decoy

Type: Red
Producer: Duckhorn Vineyards (web)
Variety: Red Bordeaux Blend
Designation: Decoy
Country: USA
Region: California
Appellation: Napa Valley



The Little Wooden Guy likes it. Plus, most good decoys are also made from wood, and he feels a certain kinship.

Night One

The nose opens with blackberries and a bit of blackcurrant, all floating over some underlying nettles and greenery, followed by some vanilla.

It is far less green on the palate. It opens with blueberry and boysenberry jams, some tobacco leaf and cedar. Vanilla and brown sugar make an appearance on the mid-palate. Tannins are sweet and the finish is long.

Mouth-feel is full and think, lots of glycerin. Alcohol and acids are very well balanced. This is a definite "drink now" because it is good, but let's wait for Night Two to get a sense of cellar life and potential for improvement.

Night Two

Redcurrant, red licorice, and some cherries are all on the nose, a much fruitier and, well, redder nose than on Night One.

The palate is just like the nose this time. It has redcurrant, red licorice, and cherries. The licorice is more pronounced on the palate, but they are all there. Tannins are very sweet and smooth. There is a secondary flavor of tobacco leaf, enough to make it wonder if there is some cab franc in the mix. Vanilla shows upon the mid-palate, along with some cedar. Sure, there was obviously new oak used, but it is not overpowering or out of balance.

This is not a terribly complex wine. At an average cost of a little less than $30, it doesn't knock the QPR out of the park, but Napa wines tend to catch a pretty penny.

Esca Cabernet 2004

Esca Wines
Napa Valley, California
14.3% alcohol
screw cap top
$27.99 from WineQ

The Big Wooden Guy is applauding a very nice effort- a nice wine at a good price.

from the Bottle notes:

Esca is a collaboration between the husband and wife winemaking team, Mario and Anna Monicelli. Esca means "bait" in Italian. Just as the nectar of the Hibiscus flower allures the bee on the label, these wines entice the enophile.

Night One

Immediately upon opening this smelled like Welch's grape juice. Fortunately, that blew off pretty quickly. After about 20 minutes it started to show its legs, with currants, tobacco, and a little melted licorice. That evolved over time, too. Currants remained prominent, but the tobacco faded to be replaced by a more pungent eucalyptus, and the licorice disappeared completely.

On the palate it was more vegetal than the nose suggested. It also changed significantly from attack to midpalate. Up front it was blackcurrant and blueberry, plus tobacco. That evolved to blueberry and dark plum, plus mint. Toward the end, and through the finish, vanilla grew from nothing to a crescendo, exciting at first, pleasant next, but overpowering and distracting at the end. Mouth feel was fine, not too thin but not anything to write home about. Low but very soft tannins, there, but not enough. Acid was AWOL. It was, in a word, fat. If I had to guess, I would say it lacks sufficient backbone to carry over to a second night, much less last years in the cellar.

Night Two

The nose is more terroir-driven, more vegetal and earthy, than Night One. Currants are there, black and red, and so are black cherries, but tobacco, eucalyptus and some green pepper are there, too. It also has a spicier kick, black pepper and cinnamon.

Black and red currants, blackberries, and later blueberry, are all there on the palate. The mint is there, too, spearmint, not peppermint, but only faintly and in the background, along with pepper and nutmeg. Mouth feel is far fuller than on Night One. Tannins are silky, tooth-coating and sweet, but a little light to balance the fruit. Overall, not as fat as Night One, but it does knock an otherwise very good wine down a peg or two. Finish is long.

This surprised me. Night Two was not just better than Night One, it was a LOT better. Was it great? No. Was it good? Yes. I could not recommend years in the cellar. The lack of tannins just don't have that kind of promise. However, will a few hours in a decanter make it a heck of a lot better than just opening it and taking a swig. At a mere $27.99 for a Napa Cabernet this is a good deal on a pretty good wine. Heck, I've had Napa Cabs at two or even three times the price that I would take second to this one.

Raymond Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2005

Napa Valley, California
14.4% alcohol

From the bottle notes:

Raymond Napa Valley Reserve wines reflect a family dedication to excelllence and five generations of Napa Valley winemaking. Viticulture and winemaking experience, along with premium fruit from vineyards selected for climate and soil type, are combined to produce consistently superb wines.

Did you notice upon what the little wooden guy was standing? Yeah, this is pretty obviously cabernet, with the classic blackcurrant signature.



FIRST NIGHT

The nose opens with blackcurrant jelly, a lot of blackcurrant jelly, plus a bit of plum. After a few minutes some cigar box and a hint of mint come through the fruit.

The initial attack was black fruit and sour unripe plums. Alcohol was a little hot, the wine a little thinner than expected, medium rather than full bodied. The tannins were puckeringly dry. Finish was medium length.

Based on the sharpness and the super-dry tannins, I expect big changes from day one to day two.

SECOND NIGHT

What a difference a day makes.

The nose was still blackcurrant jelly, but now the sharpness and heat were down and some vanilla made an appearance. Secondary smells followed, cedar and lavendar, and even here for a sceond and gone again roses. Nobody would smell this and think anything other than "Napa Cab."

The firs tastes in this were, you guessed it, blackcurrant jelly, but instead of being joined by unripe plums like on night one, black cherries were the dance partner. Vanilla didn't actually cut in, just danced gently in the background, and vanilla and rose waltzed onto the floor for the second verse of the song. Tannins were soft and smooth. Wine was dry, but not puckering. Instead they just made a firm backbone, offering promise of cellar growth. Throughout night two the wine softened, getting a better more full-bodied mouth feel.

CONCLUSION

This was a good, not great but good, classic Napa Cab, all blackcurrants and vanilla. Raymond Vineyards avoided the temptation to over-oak this under-$30 wine, something I truly appreciate. Based upon the two day tasting, I think it will improve for a few years. Nobody will ever mistake it for a First Growth Bordeaux, but they will also not guess it came from the middle shelf at the grocery store. If you ever hold a wine tasting for your wine-neophyte friends, a "let me show you what a typical cabernet should be" sort of event, thiswould be a great candidate.

Steltzner Vineyards Claret 2005

Napa Valley
14.2 alcohol

Are you puzzled about the difference from one vintage to another? Have you read the advice 'in France buy vintage, in America buy maker'? Try the 2004 and this 2005 together and you will reach a different conclusion. You will react like the little guy in the picture, pushing the '05 away.

Blackberries and vegetation, plus a touch of vanilla, were the only aromas a faint nose would surrender. The palate was not quite as stingy, opening with chocolate-covered cherries, some strawberry, then raspberry and vanilla. This was fruit and little else, lacking balance. The tannins were gritty and the finish a bit sour. The 2005 lacked the elegance or balance of the 2004.

Maybe it will be better tomorrow night.

Another second-night turn-around, and a good one.

The nose was far more open, happily sending up waves of fresh aromas, starting with strong prune just as the Vacuu-Vin was opened, plus some pine. Soon the stronger prune gave way to blackcurrant and a background of menthol and mint. What a difference from the night before, just huge.

The palate, too, was completely different. It opened with a big mouthfull of fruit- prune, blackcurrant and blackberries, then the menthol and pine from the nose appeared. The finish was smooth, tart with black fruit. The gritty tannins from the night before had simply disappeared, leaving smooth slightly drying tannins to offer a supporting backbone.

The little guy in the picture was wrong. He should not have pushed it away. He should just have given it a year or two in the cellar.

Steltzner Vineyards Claret 2004

Napa Valley
14.5% Aclohol
$16.99 in Indianapolis, IN

From the bottle notes:

Since 1965 our Family has been dedicated to producing wines of exceptional quality in the heart of the Stags Leap District. Napa Valley Claret is a blend of tranditional Bordeaux varietals. Our blend is based on the appeal of age-old Bordeaux red wines, but crafted today to reveal fleshy berry flavors.

Lift a glass of Stltzner Vineyards Clare in toast to friends and family in lesure and good cheer!

The nose explodes with fruit, blackcurrants and blackberries, with a touch of clove and a hint of lavendar, followed by plums. The perfume of this nose is delicious.

Blackberry and blackcurrant are sweetened on the palate with blueberries. There is vanilla, but not huge oak, and velvety sweet tannins like silk. The finish is long and brings in some mint and eucalyptus along with berry pie.

This is fruity but not overblown or overoaked. I do not know the exact blend, but would guess it is merlot-heavy based on the up front fruit, with a lot of Cabernet Sauvignon, based on the currants.

SECOND NIGHT

The nose is still wondefully sweet with fruit, a bit of cherry now joins the black fruit, with cedar and some florals.

Blackcurrants and blackberries, plus some tart cherries open the palate, joined by a hint of olive before turning to spice. The midpalate is a blackberry, cherry, and clove pie, and it ends with slightly drying smooth tannins and yes, still a touch of eucalyptus.

This is a good wine with a fantastic QPR. It is good now and seems to have a good bit of life left in it. You don't have to drink it now, but if you can find some you should buy it now.

Frazier Cabernet Sauvignon, Lupine Hill Vineyard 1998

Napa Valley, California 14% alcohol

The first thing I noticed about this wine was the cork, which was longer than average. It felt longer when I was using the Screwpull, and it measured 5mm longer than a typical (I randomly looked at it against half a dozen other corks I had laying around).

The color was dark garnet, with the edge just beginning to turn orange.

Right out of the bottle I got some funk, but it blew off in a few minutes. It was then truffles, black currants, and black fruit, followed by a quick hint of green pepper followed by definite cedar. I thought that was it, but as I brought it to my nose I got tobacco, as well. It was actually pretty hard to separate and identify the different things, it is all so well knit together.

This was just as well knit on the palate. It took some time and a lot of swishing around in the mouth to separate out the different elements. Black currant was there, but so were plum and tobacco, along with nutmeg. On the midpalate this wine added cedar, a passing glance of green olive, then the black fruit again.

This still had a strong backbone of smooth tannins, and finished with tart cherries, plum skins and cloves, which lingered for a long time.

Two hours later (have you tried to get 3 and 5 year old boys to bed in the summertime?) it had changed some. Note, just to be fair to the wine, that it had changed temperature, from 57 in the cellar to (air-conditioned) room temperature. Now there was a touch of vanilla, some plum, and cedar, along with a bit of brambly vegetation - the fruits had calmed down and the tartness of blackberries and currants were not as obvious. I would be far more likely to peg this as a Bordeaux this time around (mostly because of the vegetation and lack of overpowering vanilla/oak).

Blackberries dominate the palate now up front, with tobacco and mushrooms on the midpalate. The mouth feel is a little thin, the wine's Achilles' heel that will keep it from being great, but it is integrated and balanced enough to be very good. Tannins are just barely dusty, not quite silky, but firm, and the backbone is still firm, the finish still long and a bit more tart.

I am really curious how this will show tomorrow night.



Second night, and this has really undergone some changes. Flowers wafted through the room the second I popped the Vacuu-Vin top. The complex nose pumped out gardenias and violets, their sweetness countered by liquid smoke and tarragon, the whole thing held together by an underlying dark fruit.

The palate, too, had added complexity, starting with brambles and licorice, followed by the gardenias and plum skins. Truffles were there, too. Chocolate and the very dark fruit from the nose made their appearance midpalate, then the violets. Burnt caramel and smoke led their way to the finish, a lovely long finish.

This is a nice wine, a very good wine. Based on the two-day drinking I would say it has some more cellar life in it, too.

Muir-Hanna Napa Valley Pinot Noir 2004

Estate Bottled. 14.3% alcohol, 100% Pinot Noir.

The color was brilliant translucent ruby.

Right after opening this had a strong nose, earthy, rich with dark cherries and mushrooms. An hour later most of that blew off and the nose was light, even closed. I was faint but fruity. If you stuck your nose all the way in the glass you would catch strawberries and cherry pits.

Right after opening this was disractingly bitter. An hour later, again, it is entirely different. Pomegranate, strawberries and distinct minerality, with slightly pronounced tannins keeping the end a little bitter, but not to the point of distraction. Instead, it gave some depth, distinguishing the wine from cheap 'cherry cola and black tea' pinot plonk. Fruit, then tannins, followed by toasted pecans at the end. The finish was mid-length and pleasant, tannins fading with fruit lingering.

Day two.

The nose is distinctly more full-bodied, combining the initial earthiness with lilting fruit. Now there is earth and a hint of peaty undergrowth to go with strawberries, cherry pits, and some raspberry.

Wow! The longer this stayed in my mouth, the more different things I tasted. It just kept evolving. First, fruit, pomegranate, strawberry, and maybe raspberry. But then, oh then, mushrooms and beef, smoky bacon, barely-ripe plums, some more smoke, all covered with a delicate strawberry glaze. This would be magnificent with food, but it's so nice on its own that you want to make a meal of it.

I like this wine. Based upon the two-day review, it either needs a LOT of decanting or several more years in the cellar. I'm guessing five, minimum.

Now let me tell you a tiny short story about this family vineyard, and I mean FAMILY vineyard. When I called to order the wine the delightful lady on the other end of the line had to shout a bit to be heard, because she was giving the baby a bath at the same time. Now how can you not just love that?