Trione Vineyards & Winery

The Trione family has been farming and selling grapes in Sonoma County for over forty years. They now own and farm over 650 vineyard acres in the Russian River Valley, Alexander Valley, and Sonoma Coast. In 2005, the family built Trione Vineyards & Winery near Geyserville, California. Winemaker Scot Covington uses three percent of Trione’s Estate grapes to produce their wines. Production is currently around 6,000 cases.

After tasting six of Trione’s current releases, the overarching themes that I continuously noted were consistently good quality and balance. I did not detect a trace of heat in any of these wines.

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Trione Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Date Tasted: 3/9/13

Price: $23.00

From The Winery: 14% Alcohol. River Road Ranch Vineyard, Russian River Valley AVA.

Impressions/Notes: This lively and zestful wine presents with a very pale straw color. The nose is chock-full of wild grasses and sliced jalapeños, but the flavors lean more towards fresh citrus fruits, specifically lemon and tangerine. Refreshing, balanced, and overall a nice expression of Sauvignon Blanc.

Rating: Recommended (88), 3/5 Value

Trione Chardonnay 2008

Date Tasted: 3/9/13

Price: $30.00

From The Winery: 14.3% Alcohol. River Road Ranch Vineyard, Russian River Valley AVA.

Impressions/Notes: Light gold in color, this Chardonnay features expressive aromas of honey melon, oak, spice, and lemon candy. A shade low on acidity, with a clinging aftertaste of toasted oak.

Rating: Recommended (87), 2.5/5 Value

Trione Pinot Noir 2008

Date Tasted: 2/7/13

Price: $35.00

From The Winery: 14.2% Alcohol. River Road Ranch Vineyard, Russian River Valley AVA.

Impressions/Notes: This garnet colored Pinot Noir is aromatic and has an airy, elegant presence. Fragrant red cherry, mulch, and dark chocolate aromas and flavors really pop, while the light and silky mouthfeel and impeccable balance take this wine to the next level. My favorite wine of the group and priced well at $35.00.

Rating: Highly Recommended (90), 3.5/5 Value

Trione Syrah 2008

Date Tasted: 2/7/13

Price: $32.00

From The Winery: 14.8% Alcohol. River Road Ranch Vineyard, Russian River Valley AVA.

Impressions/Notes: A very clean, balanced Syrah that provides an excellent expression of herbs and spices–particularly oregano, bay leaf, and mint. Black raspberry and menthol are also readily apparent on the nose and mouth. The fruit is a bit on the tart side (I’m ok with that), and there is a slight bitterness on the palate, followed by very fine tannins.

Rating: Recommended (88), 3/5 Value

Trione Cabernet Sauvignon Block Twenty One 2007

Date Tasted: 3/9/13

Price: $64.00

From The Winery: 14.5% Alcohol. 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 2.5% Petit Verdot, 2.5% Malbec. Cloverdale Ranch Vineyard, Alexander Valley AVA.

Impressions/Notes: Dark in color, this Zinfandel like-Cab presents with one of the loudest noses that I’ve come across. It’s absolutely loaded with raisiny fruit, cassis, and chocolate. There’s some sweetness on the palate, huge fruit, and sweet spices. Given the “huge fruit” and sweetness, I was pleasantly surprised to find that there’s enough acid to balance it out.

Rating: Recommended (88), 2/5 Value

Trione Red Wine 2007

Date Tasted: 3/9/13

Price: $48.00

From The Winery: 14.5% Alcohol. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (blend breakdown unknown). Alexander Valley AVA.

Impressions/Notes: The “Red Wine” blend may be more subdued that the Cabernet Sauvignon, but it’s still a big wine. I found the aroma/flavor profile to be a bit more complex, with blackberry, molasses, pencil shavings, red bell pepper, and damp earth. Black fruits, spice, and supple tannins fill the palate.

Rating: Recommended (89), 2.5/5 Value

Disclaimer–These wines were provided as samples by the winery.

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Nick in $20 Above, Cabernet Sauvignon, California, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Red Blends, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, Wine Column Leave a comment

$20 Above: Rafanelli Zinfandel 2009

Rafanelli Zinfandel 2009

Date Tasted: 2/17/13

Price: Suggested Retail is $53.00

From The Winery: 14.8% Alcohol. Dry Creek Valley AVA.

Impressions/Notes: A. Rafanelli Winery has been a staple in the Dry Creek Valley wine community since the early 1900s. Rafanelli’s wine lineup includes their famous and coveted Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Hillside Select, a reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Most of their wines are sold via their hard-to-crack mailing list, but they also sell a limited quantity at the winery. My wife and I visited the winery in 2011, which is where I procured the ’09 Zin. The winery is open by appointment only and reservations typically need to be made well in advance. When it comes to the Rafanelli winery experience, visitors’ accounts vary greatly. We read the Yelp reviews (my favorite review is written by David G. on 8/24/09) and this very amusing letter posted on The Ferm prior to our visit, so we weren’t exactly sure what to expect. Our experience was great–we met owner David Rafanelli and his daughter Stacy and were treated with warm hospitality. Rafanelli is now one of my wife’s favorite wineries and I had to get special permission to open the ’09 Zin.

Tom Lee of Zinfandel Chronicles indicated that he had read notes of brettanomyces being detected in recent vintages of Rafanelli’s Zinfandels. Wine Spectator’s Tim Fish said as much to him on Twitter. Wines affected with “brett” can exhibit aromas that range from bacon fat, smoke, and spice (sounds ok to me) to band-aid, barnyard, and even horseshit (not so ok)–the aromas depend on the specific type of molecule that presents. Fish gave Rafanelli’s ’09 Zin a lowly score of 83. After perusing Fish’s ratings for 2012 Zinfandels, I noted that we were in agreement on some Zins (Easton Amador County and Seghesio Sonoma County ’10) and in different area codes on others (he rated the ’09 Ridge Geyserville at an 85, I had it at around a 94). I hoped and expected Rafanelli’s ’09 Zin to be brett-free, if for no other reason than that I had paid over $50 for it. I sampled this wine at the winery and I didn’t remember any off aromas or flavors at the time, though I did not take notes on the visit.

Fish was right, according to my humble palate. There is a bit of a mulch/compost/barnyard aroma present in the wine. It did not overshadow the powerful black cherry and black currant fruit, which really came alive about four hours after opening, nor the dark chocolate or spice box notes in the background. The wine is smooth, with a great mouthfeel and a really strong acid backbone for a Zinfandel (Rafanelli’s Zins are built to age). I did shave a few points off of my rating for the slight presence of brett, as it did have an influence on my enjoyment of the wine.

Inevitably, as with any aroma, there are going to be some consumers that have an extra sensitivity to the barnyard aroma associated with brett (I suspect Tim Fish falls into this category, and would be curious to know exactly how many points he deducted solely due to the presence of brett). Take a look at the reviews of Rafanelli’s ’09 Zin posted on CellarTracker. There are some rave reviews of the wine and then there are reviews like the one from BEARCAVE, who states “I can’t believe that no one is talking about the fact that this wine is ridden with brettanomyces.” So who’s review is right? It depends on your palate. My palate appears to have a sensitivity to the barnyard aroma, but not to the level of being hypersensitive. For those who are brett-hypersensitive, this may not be the wine for you.

Rating: Recommended (88), 1.5/5 Value

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Nick in $20 Above, California, Zinfandel 4 Comments

$20 Below: Castle Rock California Cuvee Pinot Noir 2010

Castle Rock California Cuvee Pinot Noir 2010

Date Tasted: 2/13/13

Price: Suggested Retail is around $12.00 (purchased for $8.00)

From The Winery: 13.5% alcohol. California AVA.

Impressions/Notes: Castle Rock Winery has become well known for its low-priced, readily available Pinot Noirs. Several of America’s top Pinot AVAs are represented in their bottlings, including the Russian River Valley, Willamette Valley, and Mendocino County. The California Cuvee is a blend that features fruit from multiple California AVAs. Let me start by saying it’s a very drinkable wine. My biggest criticism is that it lacks a Pinot identity. The savory strawberry fruit and oak are Pinot-like, but the notes of Black Forest ham, black licorice, tea, and leather provide some varietal confusion. There’s not a lot of depth, but I wasn’t exactly anticipating that characteristic in a $12 Pinot. Look to the Mendocino wine for better quality at a nominally higher price.

Rating: Not Too Shabby (84), 3/5 Value

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Nick in $20 Below, California, Pinot Noir 6 Comments

$20 Below: Dry Creek Vineyard Dry Chenin Blanc 2011

Dry Creek Vineyard Dry Chenin Blanc 2011

Date Tasted: 2/10/13

Price: Suggested Retail is $12.00 (purchased for $6.00)

From The Winery: 12.5% alcohol. Clarksburg AVA.

Impressions/Notes: The wines that can be found in wine shop/liquor store closeout sections never cease to me. Recently, I was able to pick up a Chenin Blanc made by Dry Creek Vineyard (a very popular and respected producer) for $6.00. Strangely, it was already in the closeout section and it’s a 2011 vintage wine. Ok, Chenin Blanc is certainly not the most popular white varietal available. Plantings in California have been on a steady decline since the 1980s (read here for a great article on Chenin Blanc from Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine). It seems to be a varietal that currently has a limited audience–us wine geeks, devoted fans, and experimental wine drinkers. Kudos to producers like Dry Creek Vineyard that are keeping American Chenin Blanc alive. Their 2011 Dry Chenin Blanc is a bargain at $12.00. The wine presents with a pale straw color and features layers of lemon peel, Granny Smith apples, followed by lilac and dried fescue grass (I baled a lot of hay in my younger years). It’s very dry and has a medium-strong acid presence. It’s a great change-up wine, and I encourage anyone stuck in a white varietal rut to give Chenin Blanc a try.

Rating: Recommended (87), 4/5 Value

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Nick in $20 Below, California, Chenin Blanc 6 Comments

Castello di Amorosa

For those unfamiliar with Castello di Amorosa, I’m guessing that your first guess as to the location of the castle on the right would not be Calistoga, California. In fact, Castello di Amorosa’s immaculate 121,000 sq. ft. castle/winery is located 2 miles south of Calistoga, just off of Highway 29. The winery was a pet project for Dario Sattui (owner of V. Sattui Winery, off Hwy 29 in St. Helena), who has an immense passion for Italian medieval architecture. Castello di Amorosa opened on April 19, 2007, after fourteen years of construction.

When your winery looks like this, people would likely come and buy wine whether the wine is good or not. I recently sampled a few of Castello di Amorosa’s wines and can personally attest that winemakers Brooks Painter, Peter Velleno, and consulting winemaker Sebastiano Rosa are making some excellent juice. The winery’s portfolio spans several varietals, from Gewürztraminer and Riesling, to Italian varietals Sangiovese and Barbera, to Zinfandel and Pinot Noir, to Napa Valley staples Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Chardonnay. Consumers should note that Castello di Amorosa’s wines are only available at the winery.

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Castello di Amorosa Sangiovese 2009

Date Tasted: 1/31/13

Price: $30.00

From The Winery: 14.5% Alcohol. 90% Sangiovese, 10% Merlot. Napa Valley AVA. 3531 cases produced.

Impressions/Notes: This aromatic and flavorful Napa Valley Sangiovese presents with a dark ruby color. A defining feature of the wine is spice–Dr. Pepper spice, allspice, and sweet baking spices are prevalent on the nose and in the mouth. Tangy red cherry, minerals, and cocoa power round out the aroma/flavor profile. A strong oak presence add some of the above-described spice and tannins to the wine, but does not overshadow the fruit.

Rating: Recommended (89), 3/5 Value

Castello di Amorosa Gioia Rosato D’Sangiovese 2011

Date Tasted: 2/2/13

Price: $24.00

From The Winery: 13.1% Alcohol. 100% Sangiovese. California AVA. 1642 cases produced.

Impressions/Notes: A couple of my wine blogging friends have recently published confessionals/disclosures on their respective blogs. In keeping with that spirit, I now add my own confessional–Roses have been some of the least favorite wines that I’ve tried in the past few years. I’m a guy that likes his acid (the legal kind, never tried the other kind), but several of the American Roses that I’ve tasted are over-acidified, sour, and well…boring. Not this Rose. The Gioia was extremely impressive. It’s balanced, refreshing, smooth, and teeming with ripe fruit. Light ruby in color (though seemingly darker than most Roses that I’ve tasted), this Sangiovese-based Rose displays raspberry, strawberry, a hint of bubble gum, honeysuckle, and violet. At this level of quality and at the price of $24.00, the Gioia is a screaming deal.

Rating: Highly Recommended (91), 4.5/5 Value

Castello di Amorosa La Castellana 2008

Date Tasted: 2/7/13

Price: $68.00

From The Winery: 14.6% Alcohol. 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 14% Sangiovese. Napa Valley AVA. 1634 cases produced.

Impressions/Notes: The La Castellana is an inviting and elegant Super Tuscan blend that really started to shine about an hour after opening. Ripe and succulent black fruits (particularly plum and blackberry) mingle nicely with eucalyptus, cedar, cigar box, and sweet spices. Approaching full-bodied, with lightly gripping tannins and a slight bit of heat on the back palate. The finish is long and loaded with vanilla and sweet spice.

Rating: Highly Recommended (92), 3/5 Value

Disclaimer–These wines were provided as samples by the winery.

Posted on February 9, 2013 by Nick in $20 Above, California, Red Blends, Rose, Sangiovese, Wine Column 2 Comments

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