Sunstone Syrah 2005

Santa Barbara County
California
14.1% alcohol

The Big Wooden Guy is disappointed. Very disappointed.

The bottlenotes:

Perched on terraces overlooking the Santa Ynez river, Sunstone Vineyards and Winery is home to 77 acres of Bordeaux and Rhone style varietals. Grown using sustainable farming practices respecting our environment and neighbors, Sunstone grapes produce wines of superior quality and flavor. Our wines represent distinct varietal character unique to our terroir and Satna Barbara County wine country.

The nose- Australia meets France. Big jammy fruit alongside earth and herbs. The fruit is blueberry pie filling with a little blackberry added to the mix. Oak is prevalent, showing up as vanilla with a molasses shadow. A bit of mushrooms and earth, along with a tin hint of sage save it from being just a fruit bomb.

Fruit is blacker on the palate, leaning far more toward blackberry and plum than the blueberies on the nose. Blackberries, plum, black pepper start out the attack. Some very tart wild cherries, wild strawberries and then vanilla add to the blend, the black fruit fading as the red increases. Vanilla and oak, some showing up as brown sugar, make a sweet, too sweet, finish. Tannins are smooth and soft.

Night Two

This absolutely died from one night to the next. It was not particularly oxidized, it just, well, sucked. I took one sip, then another, and quit. It was, frankly, too bad to suffer through a second night tasting.

I did not love it. Can you tell?

Buttonwood Farm Merlot 2003

Santa Ynez Valley, California
85% Merlot
15% Cabernet Franc
13.7% alcohol

The Big Wooden Guy likes it. Also, we got a frog to keep the goldfish company.

From the bottlenotes:

Merlot...full bodied and supple with a spicy disposition. Take her to dinner with lamb, beef, pork or duck.

The first thing you notice on the nose is leaf tobacco and earth, a bit of a surprise in this Santa Ynez Valley Merlot. The 15% Cabernet Franc announces its presence with enthusiasm. Blackcurrant is the predominant fruit.

Blackcurrant and tobacco open the palate. They are very quickly replaced by cocoa and dark cherries, then some earthy mushrooms. It is all just slightly peppery, very pleasant. Tannins were soft and mouth-coating. Finish was surprisingly long.

So far, on Night One, this was a surprisingly good Merlot.

Night Two

Tobacco and blackcurrants are still strong on the nose. If you really stick your nose in a big glass and wait, you might catch a hint of blueberry in the background.

This wine has barely changed from Night One. Blackcurrant and tobacco stay on the palate a bit longer, then it goes straight to mushrooms and pepper, skipping the sweet cocoa and cherry midpalate. Tannins actually seem just a bit firmer, a soft but real backbone. Finish is still long.

This is really a very good wine, a surprisingly complex merlot for under $20.

I just noticed something interesting- I tried this very same wine, from the same shipment from California Wine Club, in June, and I hated it. It was not a matter of just being in a different mood, either. I remember that other bottle and it was just plain bad. It tasted terribly fake, chemical, and plainly gritty. Given the gross inconsistency between the two bottles I can not possibly recommend buying this, even though the second bottle was very good.

Buttonwood Merlot 2003

Nehi Grape Soda in a new leather wine skin.

Buttonwood Farms
Santa Ynez Valley
alcohol 13.%
85% Merlot 15% Cabernet Franc
from the California Wine Club

From the label:

Merlot... full bodied and supple witha spicy disposition. Take her to dinner with lamb, beef, pork or duck.

Folks, that's a bad sign. When the winemaker has to pretend the wine is a girl, and says it goes with everything, well, it's probably not a girl you want to date, and it might not go with anything.

This was purple, new wine purple. It was also shy, not giving up much but a slight chemical smell the first half hour out of the bottle. Even an hour after a glass was poured alcohol drove the nose (I wonder if the 13.7% is accurate). Finally, if you managed to dodge between the chemical and alcohol, there were some green olives and some vegetation.

The palate was better, overwhelmingly spicy with blackpepper, nutmeg and green peppers. Some cherry was there, too, but gritty dry tannins were distracting.

Will this get better overnight? Come back for the second episode and we will find out together.

Second night and I have never before been more perfectly confident in my description of a wine than I am this one, but it ain't pretty. I mentioned a chemical smell last night but I could not put my finger on what it was. Tonight it was clearer. It was the chemical/fake fruit smell, and taste, of artificially flavored grape soda. This also had strident tannins. This wine es EXACTLY what you would get if you put flat Nehi Grape Soda in a new leather wine skin. That's it, I have nothing else to add. Flat Nehi Grape Soda in new leather wine skin.