Tasting Dry Creek Valley Red Blends

It's that time again, where I recap another fun virtual tasting. This time it was with McCue Communications presenting the wines of the Dry Creek Valley. Once again it was a small group of bloggers participating, along with the winemakers from each of the three wineries. The wineries were a veritable who's who of Dry Creek producers, with histories stretching back through the decades.

The Dry Creek Valley AVA in Sonoma County, established in 1983, grows a wide variety of grapes. Grapes have been grown there since the late 1800's though, so the region is no stranger to high quality wines.

Chief among them are zinfandel and cabernet sauvignon. That said, a lot of wine geeks these days are interested in the Rhone varietals grown throughout the Valley. Syrah, cinsault, grenache, and mourvedre dominate the Rhone grapes, supported by carignan, petit sirah, marsanne, roussanne, and viognier.

Luckily, with over 50 wineries throughout the AVA, finding great wine is very easy. The three producers represented here all have rich histories and represent the authenticity that is so often lacking in other parts of California.

2006 Teldeschi Estate Reserve Terraluna Dry Creek Valley: Dark and smoky at first, lots of black plum, blackberry, oak and peppery spices. As it opens up, more tart red berry fruit comes out to balance that riper dark fruited element. I love the density on the palate, it's at once concentrated with red fruit and pepper yet retains a sense of lightness and excellent acidity. There's just a "pretty" quality to the wine that I absolutely loved. Carignane 40%, Valdigue 36%, Petite Sirah 24% 13.9% abv. Recommended.

2012 Amista "Tres" Dry Creek Valley: Opens with mild reduction that needs a few moments to blow off. That gives way to smoky/savory notes of jerky, red cherry, garrigue, and a fennel note on the end. Cool and grippy on the palate, this continues with the smoky/savory theme, buttressed by tart cherry and raspberry, oak, and hints of orange rind. With air, menthol and some barnyard starts to show up, but they're still subtle compared to the exuberant fruit. On the finish there's a dusty soil-plus mocha element that serves to clean up the palate. 34% Grenache, 33% Syrah, 33% Mourvèdre. 14.9% abv. Recommended.

2010 Frick Cotes du Dry Creek Dry Creek Valley: A dead ringer for Southern Rhone on the nose, with the grenache component going full speed ahead. It's all about bright cherries and strawberries, wild herbs, subtle oak, and dusty minerality. Cherry licorice comes through with some swirling. The aromas are so compelling that I actually held off tasting for a bit. Once I did, the firm tannins were a welcome foil to the bright, concentrated fruit. Again it echoes the southern Rhone Valley to me, because it's so fresh and pure. A tannic, drying finish cleans everything up, readying you for the next sip or bite. Syrah 40%, Grenache 40%, Cinsault 20%. 15.3% abv. Highly recommended.


At the end of this tasting I was struck by the high quality of each wine tasted. They expressed a very nice sense of place as well as their respective vintages. Each vintner was passionate about what they grow and produce, which left me feeling a connection to the wines as I tasted through them.

To buy any of these, visit the winery websites or better yet, the wineries themselves!

Teldeschi Winery Website
Amista Winery Website
Frick Winery Website

Thanks to McCue Communications for inviting me along and thanks to the winemakers for taking time to sit down and answer our questions.

These wines were samples received for this tasting.

Beau Carufel

Selected Samples From The World Of Wine

Here are some of the wines I've been tasting lately, in no particular order. I don't usually do ratings, so instead of grades, you'll simply see a "recommended" or "not recommended" at the end of each tasting note. I try to link each wine title to the producer, importer, or distributor to make it easy to find locally, but if you have any trouble please don't hesitate to contact me. Enjoy!

NV Carnaval Moscato Brasil: A nose that's all muscat, with accompanying aromas of stale light beer. Peach blossom and tropical fruit dominate. It's plenty fizzy on the palate, as we would expect from the Charmat Method of sparkling. Flavors of Sweet Tart candy and citrus are all there is. 7.5% abv. $13 srp.

NV Carnaval Moscato Red: I wrote "smells like fizzy yellow soda..mountain dew and sprite mixed?". It tastes soapy, also with some flavors of red candy and a lot of sweetness. I bet this would sell like crazy. $13 srp. 7.5% abv.

2010 Tabali Pinot Noir Reserva Especial Limari Valley: Funky, but in a good way. Vigorious swirling helps the funk recede and allows aromas of red licorice, menthol, and earth to come out. It's a bit funky on the palate but I didn't mind because it adds a nice dimension to the otherwise straightforward flavors of red fruit and baking spices. The finish was appealing, medium length with a gentle taper. Firm tannin shows that this wine can stand up to some heartier fare. 13.5 abv. $20 srp. Recommended.

2009 Napa Cellars Stagecoach Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon: Aromas of wood, spices, ripe black berry fruit, and wood smoke are immediately apparent. This wine needs some time in a decanter or several more years in the cellar. On the palate there is plenty of acidity and tannin, framing flavors of cassis, plum, spices, and saddle leather. A very straightforward, delicious Napa Valley Cabernet. 13.8% abv. $48 srp.

2009 Bayo Oscuro Syrah Casablanca Valley: Opens with a reductive nose that blows off to show smoked meat, red fruit, damp soil, and mushroom aromas. After settling down in my glass, this syrah reveals red fruit and dusty soil mingling with peppery spice. The tannins are outstanding, integrated yet firm. I thoroughly enjoyed the mouthfeel and feel that this is just now starting to ascend to its peak. 14.5% abv. Highly Recommended. $29 srp.

2009 Chamisal Grenache Edna Valley: A bit odd on the nose, subtle hints of red wine vinegar, strawberries, red soil, and a somewhat jarring medicinal note. This grenache was much better tasting though, with plenty of bright, ripe fruit - think cherries and cranberries, bound up in a mix of white pepper and oak. Lots of firm tannin held the wine together while a vein of acidity lent freshness and lift. Needs air, I suggest decanting for an hour or two. $38 srp. 14.8% abv.

2010 Concannon "Crimson & Clover" Livermore Valley: Tons of ripe red fruit rush out of the glass, followed by aromas of American oak, mint, and campfire. What it may lack in complexity, this Concannon makes up for in juicy drinkability. It's soft and smooth on the palate, with  flavors of strawberry, licorice, and red cherry. Clean, and simple, and very reasonably priced. 50% Petite Sirah, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Syrah, and 10% Zinfandel. 13.7% abv. $18 srp.

2008 Somerston Wine Company Highflyer "Centerline" California: Another red blend from California, consisting of 81% Syrah, 12% Petite Sirah, 3% Zinfandel, and 4% Tempranillio. Baking chocolate, jammy black fruit, oak, and roasted meat aromas manifest quickly. There is a bit of heat from the 14.8% abv too. This is a big, hedonistic fruit bomb on the palate; jammy black fruit, tobacco, and peppery spice all show up in large quantities. Open a few hours before serving. $20 srp.

2010 Concannon Petite Sirah California: A straightforward nose of jammy cherries and blueberries, earth, and black pepper don't promise much beyond a fun, simple, barbecue red. This is big and soft, with more of that ripe, jammy fruit on the palate. Simple and easy drinking, I suggest opening this when you're all hanging out by a barbecue or fire pit. 13.8% abv. $11 srp. Recommended.

Stay tuned for the next samples list, (hopefully) coming soon!

These wines were received as samples for review purposes.

Beau Carufel

Shannon Ridge Winery Current Releases

Shannon Ridge Winery, of Lake County California, recently sent me their new red wine releases to taste through. As someone just beginning to learn about the wines coming out of the Lake County AVA, this was a good chance to get to know one of the wineries from the area. I've reviewed a Shannon Ridge wine in the past, unfortunately a disappointing sauvignon blanc. On the other hand, it's rare that I find a California sauvignon blanc I like. That said, I'm always up to try new ones!

Lake County is located in California, north of the famous Napa Valley and inland from Sonoma and Mendocino counties. This American Viticultural Area is somewhat higher than other notable AVAs as well, and Clear Lake plays a major influence on how the vineyards ripen. You probably won't be surprised to learn that cabernet sauvignon is the most-planted varietal, merlot being a distant second.

These are the wines I was sent to review:
2008 Shannon Ridge Lake County Cabernet Sauvignon $19 suggested retail
2009 Shannon Ridge Lake County Zinfandel $19 suggested retail
2009 Shannon Ridge Lake County Petite Sirah $24 suggested retail

(img src: http://calicabs.eventbrite.com)

Each of these wines can be purchased at local wine stores and directly from the Shannon Ridge website.

First up was the 2008 cabernet sauvignon. This cabernet is actually made up of 89% cabernet sauvignon, 8% petite sirah, and 3% merlot. All the fruit comes from Lake County and the abv is a relatively (sad, I know) normal 14.5%. After fermentation, the 2008 cabernet spent 16 months in French and American oak barrels.

Aromatically this 2008 Shannon Ridge cab is all smoke and wood, with a bit of a boozy heat on the finish. A vigorous swirl session brought out some dark, ripe berry aromas too. I wrote down one word, then circled it repeatedly: "pleasant". That sums up the bouquet in this cabernet, it's nice and interesting yet lacks some depth. Above average, yes..but mind-blowing, no.

The way this wine tasted was a different story however. I loved how it was dry and dusty, with some firm tannin keeping a dollop of soft red fruit flavors firmly in place right in the middle of my tongue. There is some influence from the oak barrels too, a toasty sawdust note hangs out at the fringes of my palate throughout the sip and swirl. Unfortunately the finish did leave me wishing for more depth, but that could be a function of this relatively young wine needing some decanting.

For around $15 in the retail environment, this 2008 Shannon Ridge cabernet is good and veers away from the typically overripe, fruity cabernet's that $15 buys from Napa Valley. I'd love to pair it with a grilled steak and some garlic french fries. B and a BUY recommendation.

Next, I tasted the zinfandel from Shannon Ridge. One of the varietals (along with petite sirah) from Lake County that's getting some coverage in the blogging community, zinfandel can be a very structured, focused wine or an overripe, sweet, high alcohol fruit bomb. Guess which kind of zinfandel I like?

This 2009 zinfandel is again 14.5%, around the norm for what we see these days. A blend of 93% zinfandel and 7% petite sirah, this wine spent 12 months in oak barrels. 2,060 cases were produced.

I liked the spice and earth notes right up front, very dark aromas that set the tone for the wine. There's also some black cherry and fig creating a balance with the spice and earthy primary scents. If I had to pick one aspect of the bouquet that I enjoyed the most, I would choose the mixture of earth and black cherry. Imagine dark, dry earth and crushed cherries, inhale deeply and I think you'll get a sense of what I smelled with the 2009 Shannon Ridge zinfandel.

After tasting this zin, I wrote the following: "Plenty ripe but with nice balance between ripe red berry fruit and the tannin. Well built wine, my attention was taken by a dollop of spice on the mid-palate. Very enjoyable, especially for zin lovers!"

Good stuff, this is a very good zinfandel at a great price. Using wine-searcher.com I found it at $18, which compares favorably to zinfandels costing a lot more. This is a very high-quality wine with great complexity and for most zinfandel drinkers, atypical of what they usually drink. Upon some reflection, this might be a zin for cabernet lovers...B, STRONG BUY recommendation.

Finally, the "big daddy", petite sirah. Again, 14.5% alcohol, I detect a theme...This is varietally pure, 100% petite sirah and also spent 12 months in oak barrels. A relatively small 7,000 cases were produced, though the Shannon Ridge cabernet did see 12,000 cases making it the largest of the three. I did a quick check of wine-searcher.com and found this petite sirah at only $12 at a number of stores. That's half the suggested retail price. The question then is, how good of a deal are we getting?

An intense blend of blackberry and blueberry are framed by baking spices and dry, dusty earth. I was intrigued by the restraint, even after running the wine through an aerator. There is a green, herbal component at work but it's very light and doesn't show up with every sniff of the glass. Even after being open for three hours, the bouquet remained a lot more muted than I expected.

Sipping this Shannon Ridge petite sirah is a different story entirely though. An initial smoothness full of ripe berries give way to a thick, tannic mid-palate that begs for a steak. I used words like "beefy" and "chewy" to describe how dry and intense that mid-palate sensation is. Balancing a ripe core of black fruit with a muscular, tannic sensation is a hallmark of good petite sirah and one of the reasons I tend to enjoy it so much. In that regard, the 2009 Shannon Ridge achieves notable balance and intensity. I suspect that given a few more years of aging, we'll see an even better wine.

Of the three Shannon Ridge wines I tasted, this was my favorite by a comfortable margin. An easy B+ and STRONG BUY recommendation, at $12 it's a no-brainer. Bring this out at the end of a Barolo tasting or when you're grilling thick steaks, I bet it'll wow your friends.

A successful tasting of three Lake County wines that showcase the high quality and low prices that create some outstanding bargains in that region. All three of these are wines I'd gladly purchase and indeed, if I spot the petite sirah around town, I'll be picking up a few to have on hand. If Shannon Ridge keeps pumping out wines like this, I think they'll become a very well known Lake County producer in a short period of time.

These wines were media samples for review purposes.


Beau Carufel

Don Sebastiani's Latest Project: The Crusher!

After selling the Sebastiani winery, Don Sebastiani couldn't stay out of the wine business so he started a négociant firm with his sons Donny and August. In 2001 they decided to start a company that produces inexpensive but accessible red and white wines from areas all over California. The company likes to highlight relationships it has with growers and winemakers, in an effort to personalize the respective lines they produce. From a marketing standpoint this is a great idea for a brand aimed at Millennials, who have shown a desire to be more connected with the wines they're drinking.

What, you might ask, is a négociant? Their role is huge in France, specifically places like Burgundy and the Rhone, where they take the grapes and/or wines from numerous smaller growers and winemakers, then bottle and sell it under their own label. The négociant model isn't seen much here in the United States but perhaps our most famous person would be Cameron Hughes. If you've ever had Louis Jadot, Joseph Drouhin, or Jaboulet wines from France, you've had négociant wine.

Don Sebastiani started Don Sebastiani & Sons to produce négociant wines here in California, among their projects are The Crusher and Project Paso. You may already know the Smoking Loon and Pepperwood Grove brands, also produced by the Sebastiani company. I recently participated in a Twitter Taste Live event for The Crusher wines and am tasting my way through his Project Paso selections too. Each brand is slotted at a different price point, The Crusher being priced at a suggested retail of $18. I'm not sure how firm that price is though, because often a "suggested retail" is not what you pay at your local supermarket or wine store.

With that in mind, here are The Crusher wines from Don Sebastiani and Sons:

2009 The Crusher Chardonnay - If you like California chardonnay, this one is for you. Think Sonoma-Cutrer, Gary Farrell, and Robert Mondavi examples. Creamy, buttery oak with hints of tropical fruit and red apple lending a touch of acidity. The 2009 Crusher sees 65% malolactic fermentation and 80% new French oak barrels, lending that rich, almost voluptuous mouthfeel so many people love. At 13.5% alcohol, I only felt the increased weight on my palate and didn't detect any burn on the finish. The consensus in the tasting was that this is a very accessible, crowd pleasing style. My only concern is the $18 suggested retail, which is too high for what you get. That being said, this chardonnay is more readily available for around $14, placing it squarely in the right category. B-.

2010 The Crusher Pinot Noir Rosé - Made with 97.5% pinot noir and 2.5% viognier, this was a highlight of the tasting for me. In addition to the gorgeous pink color, the viognier added wonderful white flower and peach aromas to the lip-smacking summer berry notes I picked up. All the fruit here is from the Clarksburg area, soon to be it's own AVA. I liked the balance between acidity and the residual sugar, so this isn't a "fully dry" rosé, rather it's got a touch of fruity sweetness that adds a bit of body. I think almost everyone in the tasting liked the ruby grapefruit, melon, strawberry, and swish of cranberry we tasted. At $18, it bests many rosé's in that category, but the real-world price of closer to $13 makes this an incredible deal. B+ and STRONG BUY.

2009 The Crusher Pinot Noir - A true, single varietal pinot noir for a change, with all fruit sourced from the Wilson Vineyard in Clarksburg. Although a touch high on the alcohol at 13.9%, it's almost undetecable. I smelled baking spice, black cherry and a hitn of toasted oak. What struck me as most interesting wast he way the spice and oak aromas framed the cherry, I may have swirled and smelled this wine longer than anyone else during the tasting. Really good acidity lightened the wine's mouthfeel, spice and sweet cherry lent interesting textural components and the dusty earth mixed with campfire reminded me that this is pinot noir, after all. Winemaker Greg Kitchens did a nice job balancing ripe fruit with the restraining acidity. Just wish that alcohol was closer to 13.3-13.5%. B, BUY recommendation. At around $20, this is solid wine and an honest purchase but when you shop around and find it for $13, it becomes a great bottle to crack open with your friends.

2009 The Crusher Petite Sirah - The best wine of the night for me, and the recent winner of a Double Gold/Best in Class award from the California State Fair Wine Competition. For once those giant competitions get something right! There's 97% petite sirah and 3% alicante bouchet in here, but what that alicante does is lost on me. My palate just isn't sensitive enough I suppose. What the '09 The Crusher petite sirah does though is to wow my palate. It's big, dark chocolate notes, earth and berries and smoke on the nose. I even got some fascinating aromas of candied orange peel and mixed berry pie, this was the most complex nose of the entire lineup. I think everyone or almost everyone absolutely loved this petite sirah for it's silky smooth tannin, ripe berry flavors and the awesome hit of savory beef jerky that carried through to the finish. Across the country this is between $10 and $14 a bottle. What are you waiting for? A-, STRONG BUY recommendation from yours truly.

2009 The Crusher Cabernet Sauvignon - Surprisingly, a 100% cabernet sauvignon, cabernet sauvignon. It seems like most cabernets these days have small bits of merlot, cabernet franc, even syrah or zinfandel in them. I think that in this 2009 The Crusher cabernet, Greg Kitchens was going for a more restrained style, to showcase the Clarksburg AVA. The result is a cabernet with earth and herb notes framing black currants on the nose, what I termed "very nice, straightforward bouquet" in my notes. I enjoyed the initial mouthfeel with ripe black fruit but then things went a bit awry. The tannins haven't integrated yet and create a chunky, somewhat disjointed mouthfeel which carries over into an uninspiring finish. I prefer terroir-driven cabernets but with that comes the expectation of an elegant, integrated structure. I did however enjoy the earthy flavors that carried through, they kept the finish from being a complete disaster. Since this is an '09, I have a hunch that in the next few years it'll get a lot better and is just going through a "dumb" phase right now. At it's suggested retail, a definite PASS right now because you can buy a bottle of 2007 Franciscan cabernet for $17 that blows most sub-$20 cabernets out of the water. At $12 like I've seen the Crusher go for on wine-searcher.com, it's something to buy and hold because it's got potential. C+, at this point.

Don Sebastiani & Sons is making some good wines, that much is clear. They're leveraging contacts within the industry to source high quality grapes and using talented winemakers while keeping the prices low. I've been tasting through another series, their Project Paso lineup and hope to have that up for you next week. It'll come in at a lower suggested retail, $14, and so far has been fairly good. With two more wines to taste, I'm hoping they really knock the proverbial ball out of the park.

Another fun tasting hosted by Mike Wangbickler of Balzac, I love how they're reaching out to bloggers all over the country to spread the word about these wines. Coming up soon is a tasting of wines from Navarra, Spain, also hosted by Balzac. I can't wait for that one so stay tuned!

The wines listed here were media samples for review purposes.

Beau Carufel

Highlights from the Family Winemakers San Diego Tasting, March 13th.

On March 13th the Family Winemakers of California organization held their third annual San Diego tasting. This year there were around 200 wineries participating, a great showing at a cool venue. The Del Mar Fairgrounds have a lot of large, open buildings that work well when setting up loads of tables. The aisles were very wide and I didn't feel too crowded at any point. This year around 2000 people attended, including both the press and the general public. Because I am such an accomplished blogger and general all-around badass, I chose to attend the press tasting and ended up staying through the general public tasting. No seriously.

With so many wineries participating, tasting through everything is impossible. Granted, that didn't stop some people from trying, or so it seemed. Before going, I printed out the list of wineries and highlighted the ones I knew I wanted to check out. Unfortunately, once I arrived, it was just too cumbersome to keep pulling out the list so I had to rely on memory. Obviously this is not an optimal solution and made me want an iPad so that I could basically keep it out at all times and have the list right there ready to be read and checked off. That and I really want an iPad.


My San Diego Wine Mafia amigo Bill aka Cuvee_Corner and I drove out there, where we met our fellow mafioso BrainWines and WineHarlots. My friend Scott over at The Vino File was there and posted his highlights here, well worth the read. I also ran into some old friends from the wine business, from my days at San Diego Wine Company. That was a welcome treat and a great way to start off the tasting.


I tasted close to 50 wines and by the end of the day I even tweeted that I knew I was experiencing palate fatigue because everything was tasting like a Rhone blend. Below are some of my favorites of the tasting. I've tried to include as much information as possible so you can explore the wineries and producers if you're interested. As I've said before, it's vitally important that we support the smaller wineries in this state and this was a great opportunity to put faces next to wine glasses.


2005 Corison Kronos Cabernet Sauvignon - Oozing elegance and class, this is built for the long haul. I loved the cassis, plum and tobacco notes. Lots of structure that carries through to a nearly explosive finish of earth and plum. You get the sense that this is what Napa cabernet used to taste like, 25 years ago. A-/A $125 SRP.


2003 Corison Napa Cabernet Sauvignon - This wine wowed me for two reasons. First, it's gorgeous structure. Black fruits deftly balancing firm tannins and quintessential Napa dusty notes sing to your senses. The other reason was the aging potential I feel the 03 Corison has. I would love to taste this in 15 years and see how it's evolved, and I am not really one to want to wait that long for a wine! A- $N/A


2007 Zotovich Cellars Santa Rita Pinot Noir - Bacon wrapped sour cherries shod in Victoria's Secret silk underwear. Only 300 cases were made, and at $40 it drinks exactly like it should. I really got into the cloves and spices, they worked so well with the acidity to keep the pinot vibrant and popping. A- $40 srp


2008 Zotovich Cellars Estate Syrah - Quite possibly one of the best wines of the tasting for me. This is a big one, lots of blueberry jam, cedar, spices and that awesome grapey syrah flavor. Fine grained tannins lent structure and a superb vein of crushed white and black pepper tempered the explosive blueberry flavors. A $42 SRP


2007 Trione Chardonnay - One of the better California chardonnays I've had this year. Plenty of vanilla oak and buttered popcorn from the oak barrels nad 100% malolactic treatment. However, zesty lemon, fuji apple and passion fruit balance those out. Winemaker Scot Covington did a good job creating a chardonnay which balances a rich entry with a pleasing, food friendly finish. A- $30 SRP


2006 Trione Cabernet Sauvinon Single Block - After spending two years in oak, this cabernet hits you like a steel gauntlet in a velvet glove. Gorgeous notes of herb and baking chocolate, a core of black currant and cherry. Firm, strong tannins speak to the power of the wine and it's ability to age. A superb effort that will reward anyone with the patience to cellar it for 10 or more years. A $64 SRP


2009 Saxon Brown Etre Chardonnay - Words like smooth, lively, lush, crisp, and yummy might seem to be somewhat contradictory. Not so in this wine, one of the most balanced and most interesting chardonnays I tasted. Priced fairly at $30, I would gladly take this over more expensive chardonnays from all over this state. A- SRP


2007 Saxon Brown Parmelee Hill Owl Box Syrah - Talk about a mix of flavors rolled into a 750 ml wine bottle! It's like a plate of warm roasted nuts, dry bitter cheese and black cherry preserves staring you in the face. Great pepper and spice reminded me of a well stocked pantry while the tannins held it all together. I used the word harmony in my tasting notes, especially in reference to the finish. Goes on and on..and on..and on! A. $38 SRP and one of the best values at the tasting. Buy many bottles!


2008 Saxon Brown Durell Vineyard Pinot Noir - Imagine teriyaki beef jerky and ripe sour cherries dusted with spices from your grandmothers spice rack. The acidity here is terrific, allowing the flavors their due while also preserving a food friendly angle. Absolutley loved it! A- $48 SRP


2007 Mauritson Buck Pasture Rockpile Vineyard - A Bordeaux style blend from Mauritson, with 60% cabernet sauvignon, 20% petite verdor, 10%$ cabernet franc, 10% malbec. My tasting notes: "blended well, loads of dark chocolate and a mix of nice ripe berries that lurk in the background. Will get much better with time but is a great steak wine right now" B+ $50 SRP

2009 Marilyn Remark VMR - Viognier, marsanne and roussanne blended together like a white Cotes du Rhone. Kiwi fruit, fresh cut straw jumped out on the nose. Lemongrass lurks in the background, enhancing the fresh scent. Wonderfully complex with all three varietals making themselves known. I was also very impressed with the balance. A- $28 SRP

20008 Marilyn Remark Petite Sirah - Reminds me of blackberry liquer, it's so rich and sweet smelling. I tasted some great tannins that while strong, were well integrated and didn't distract from the ripe fruit and baking chocolate. There was a hint of something herbal I found, which added a great unexpected dimension to the wine. A- $28 SRP


2006 Cornerstone Cellars Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon - I think this wine has plenty of accolades already, but it's just so good! I wish I'd tasted it with a medium rare New York strip because that's what it begs for. Juicy acidity and big bold tannins share the sandbox with cassis, blueberry, herbs and dry earth notes. Sublime and will only get better with age. A- $75 SRP

2005 Cru Vin Dogs "Best In Show" Cabernet Sauvignon - A series of wines I'd never heard of, but these wonderful people donate a minimum of 10% of all online sales to dog charities. That rocks and as a dog lover, I had to taste through their wines. This one stood out to me and I urge you to check out the story behind this particular wine, click here to go to their website. The wine was superb, with violets, earth and black fruit on the nose. Definitely a "big" cabernet too, lots of tannic structure and spices, even hints of dark chocolate and plums. Will be great in another five years or so, but it's damned good now. A- $75 SRP

If you've made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read through my recap. I wrote a bit more than usual because I tasted so many wonderful wines. Part of me regrets not being able to include all the wines I tasted through the day but these were truly exceptional wines that I felt you should hear about. Like I mentioned before, I'm all about supporting the small wineries and the San Diego Family Winemakers of California tasting allowed me to do just that. I had a wonderful time and am already looking forward to next year. If you have any questions about the wines I tried, please don't hesitate to send me an email.

Beau Carufel

P.S. I Love You, Especially if you're a 2007 Parducci!

P.S. stands for Petite Sirah, the red-headed stepchild of California red varietals. I happen to be a big fan of Petite Sirah, for me the grape can combine the structure of a great Cabernet with the intense fruit of a delicious Zinfandel. Some wineries in this state blend Petite Sirah with Cab or Zin while others like Parducci and Stag's Leap produce single varietal bottlings. I was sent the 2007 Parducci Petite Sirah to sample, along with their 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon which I reviewed here. If you're interested in learning more about Petite Sirah, click here to visit the P.S. I love you advocacy group.

I wanted to open this bottle tonight and had to plan a meal around it, but I took some time to taste and think about the Parducci before I began to cook. Right away I love the color, like purple velvet drapes pouring into my glass. There was a weighty feeling, the wine seemed to command my attention and let me know in no uncertain terms that it had some presence in my glass.

After talking about an hour to do laundry, assemble dinner's ingredients, email, and tweet, I was ready to taste the Petite Sirah. Juicy blueberries, cocoa powder, violets and earth all played with my olfactory sense. Nothing was too intense, but each note lingered long enough to make itself known. I sensed that if I was more knowledgeable, I'd have allowed even more time to open, Parducci's Petite Sirah could even use a decant!

That first taste reminded me why I love Petite Sirah, power and finesse. Graceful even, because none of the tobacco, cedar or berry notes weighed down my palate. They didn't stay too long, exiting after what felt like the right amount of time. Quantifying the "right" amount of time isn't something I can do, rather it's a sensation I get after having tasted a lot of wine over the years. My friends, the tannins, built the wine, keeping it in shape so to speak. The finish was clean and simple, which worked perfectly.

Some of the nitty-gritty details about this tasty wine include the fact that it spent 22 months in oak with 40% of that being in neutral American oak barrels and 60% in redwood tanks. Parducci bottled this Petite Sirah a little over a year ago. At 13.5% alcohol by volume, my loyal readers will note that this pleases me to no end.

At the suggested retail price of $10.99, Parducci nailed the QPR. A quick internet search found some merchants selling the Petite Sirah for as low as $7.99. That's a roundhouse kick to the QPR, sending it into rarefied air and making the B rating and strong BUY recommendation that much easier to bestow. Go buy this wine.


Food Time:

Tonight's pairing was steak sandwiches and let me tell you, by some miracle I didn't screw up dinner and the pairing worked perfectly. Quick and dirty recipe: in a cast iron pan on medium heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil and the following: diced sun dried tomatoes, diced bell peppers and diced onions. Add salt and pepper as well as a pinch of cayenne pepper and cook for about eight minutes or until the pepper skins are browned. remove to a bowl.

Next, slice steak into thin slices, pour two tablespoons of soy sauce and a teaspoon of barbecue sauce over the steak, then about a half teaspoon of crushed garlic and some salt and pepper. Stir all of this together then throw it into the cast iron pan. Watch out because it'll cook quickly.

When the meat is browned, throw it into the bowl with the veggies and cover all of that back up. Preheat your oven to 400F and get those dinner rolls out, the long torpedo shaped ones. Slice them open and stuff in the mix of meat and veggies, then stuff some shredded cheese in there too, I used smoked jalapeno jack.

Wrap the sandwich in aluminum foil and cook it for ten minutes. By this time you will be starving so have some more wine. After the cheese has begun to melt, partially unwrap the sandwich so the open face is exposed to the air and put it in for another five or six minutes, to gently toast some of the bread.

Remove from the oven and drizzle a little more barbecue sauce on the sandwich. then cut in half and eat. Enjoy the way the tannins from the wine and the protein from the meat complement each other and how the ripe fruit of the Petite Sirah plays well with the richness of the seasoned steak.

Enjoy.

This wine was sent as a media sample for review purposes.


Beau Carufel