$20 Above: Ridge Geyserville 2010

Ridge Geyserville 2010

Date Tasted: 3/31/13

Price: Suggested Retail is $37.00

From The Winery: 14.3% alcohol. 64% Zinfandel, 20% Carignane, 12% Petite Sirah, 2% Alicante Bouschet, 2% Mataro (Mourvedre). Ridge has made the Geyserville as a single-site Zinfandel in every year since 1966. Vineyard Location is the western edge of the Alexander Valley in Sonoma County.

Impressions/Notes: This isn’t a typical Ridge Geyserville. While the 2008 and 2009 vintage are loaded with fruit and spice, a whiff of the 2010 reveals a wine that’s heavy with earthy components, particularly morel mushrooms and fresh mulch. Tart cranberry fruit and hazelnut begin to surge after half an hour of air. The acid presence on this wine is super strong, but not in an unpleasant way. To say that this wine is wrapped up pretty tight right now (which is exactly what I scribbled in my notes) is an understatement. I would recommend stashing a bottle away and popping it open in 5-7 years–I have a feeling that age is going to be incredibly kind to this wine.

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

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Nick in $20 Above, California, Zinfandel 1 Comment

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

How Old are Old Vines?

I was in the process of typing up my review of the 2009 Seghesio Old Vine Zinfandel a few weeks ago when an inquisitive thought suddenly popped into my brain. How old is an Old Vine? For some reason, whether it was something that I had heard or whether it was something that I had dreamed up out of thin air, I have thought that 30 years was the magic number. My mind had held this belief as truth for a few years but suddenly it was questioning itself. After all of this time, why was this doubt surfacing? Was Bacchus himself trying to tell me something? Was I just lamenting the fact that as I quickly approach the age of 32 I am already old in vine years?

It turns out that I was wrong. Well, kind of. There are no official rules governing the use of the phrase “Old Vine” on bottle labels. In the course of my research, I quickly stumbled across an excellent write-up on Sonoma County Old Vine Zinfandel (I know when I hear “Old Vine”, I immediately Zinfandel) by the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission. Powerhouse Zin producers Ravenswood and Ridge Vineyards are asked “what does ‘old vine’ mean?” Their responses were as follows:

Joel Peterson, founder/winemaker of Ravenswood
Young Vines- 0-10 years
Middle-Aged Vines- 10-50 years
Old Vines- 50-80 years
Ancient Vines- 80+ years

David Gates, VP of Vineyard Management at Ridge Vineyards
Old Vines- 50+ years

Upon further research, I discovered that St. Francis Winery and Fanucchi Vineyards also agree that 50 years is the “old” standard. There was absolutely zero information that I could find citing 30 years as the “old” age for vines. While I may have been 20 years off on the generally accepted age of “old vines”, I can take solace in the fact I am no longer old in vine years.

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Nick in Wine Column, Zinfandel 4 Comments

Wines of Sonoma County Tasting

Sonoma County will always hold a special place in my heart. My first visit to the Russian River and Dry Creek valleys cemented my love for wine. 2012 will be the first year in the last three that we have not made a trip to the region. Alas, the closest that I will get to Sonoma this year was at a recent Denver-area tasting put on by Argonaut Liquors. To my delight, the Zinfandels, Pinot Noirs, and Chardonnays were flowing.

Of the 25+ wines that I sampled, three wines made the strongest impression. Kistler Vineyards has long been a powerhouse Chardonnay and Pinot Noir producer. I tasted my first Kistler Chardonnay–the 2010 Sonoma Mountain–and I was not disappointed in the least bit. Creamy and seductive, it’s easy to see what the fuss is all about with this producer. I should also note that the Sonoma Mountain bottling is only their entry level bottling–wow. On the Pinot Noir front, MacPhail’s 2010 Sonoma Coast really stood out. Wonderful flavors of fruit and earth really popped in this beautifully bottled wine. Last but certainly not least was Ravenswood’s 2008 Teldeschi Vineyard Zinfandel. Big and bold, this flavorful zin exploded in the mouth.

Tasting notes

Kistler Chardonnay Sonoma Mountain 2010- Balanced, creamy, and seductive, I kept swirling and swirling this wine around in my mouth, not wanting to spit it out. Retail Price: Around $65.00. Rating: Highly Recommended (90-94), 2.5/5 Value
Patz and Hall Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 2010- Smoky, citrusy, and bright. Retail Price: $35.00. Rating: Highly Recommended, 3/5 Value
Sonoma Cutrer Les Pierres Chardonnay 2009- Plenty of acid to balance the ripe melon and a nice oak presence. Retail Price: $32.00. Rating: Highly Recommended (90-94), 3.5/5 Value
Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 2010- Hazelnut, minerality, and a zing of acidity. Retail Price: $21.00. Rating: Recommended/Highly Recommended (88-92), 4/5 Value
MacPhail Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2010- Superb nose of forest floor and cherry, nice weight and texture, beautifully balanced. Retail Price: Around $39.00. Rating: Highly Recommended (90-94), 3.5/5 Value
Sequana Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 2009- Very interesting minerality mixed nicely with cranberry. Retail Price: $38.00. Rating: Recommended/Highly Recommended (88-92), 3/5 Value
Ravenswood Teldeschi Vineyard Zinfandel 2008- The nose was a bit closed up, but this big, chewy, mouth-filling wine really exploded in the mouth. Aromas/flavors of cherry, blackberry, and tar. Retail Price: $35.00. Rating: Highly Recommended (90-94), 3.5/5
Ravenswood Barricia Vineyard Zinfandel 2008- Spicy, with currant and blue fruits. Retail Price: $35.00. Rating: Highly Recommended (90-94), 3/5 Value
Seghesio Rockpile Zinfandel 2010- Concentrated and mouth-watering, with red fruits and a playful spiciness. Retail Price: $38.00. Rating: Highly Recommended (90-94), 3/5 Value
Moshin Zinfandel Carreras Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley 2008- A pretty zin, with notes of cranberry and cherry amongst a floral background. Retail Price: $35.00. Rating: Recommended (86-89), 2/5 Value

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Posted on September 4, 2012 by Nick in $20 Above, California, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel 2 Comments

$20 Above: Seghesio Old Vine Zinfandel 2009

Seghesio Old Vine Zinfandel, Sonoma County, 2009

Price: Suggested retail is $38.00 (purchased for $26.00)

Date Tasted: 8/10/2012

From The Winery: 15.0% alcohol, produced from vineyards in the Dry Creek and western Alexander valleys

Impressions/Notes: There are old vine Zinfandels and then there are really old vine Zinfandels. The vines used to provide the fruit for the 2009 Seghesio Old Vine Zinfandel have an average age of nearly 90 years old. This wine exhibits a lot of classic Zinfandel characteristics–ripe blackberry, spice box, red cherry, and brown sugar aromas and flavors were abundant. There is also an interesting interplay of tar and a dusting of light roasted coffee beans in the mix, as well as a generous oak presence. Medium to full-bodied, this zin is very approachable from the get-go. Seghesio has yet another nice zin here and it’s history in a glass.

Rating: Recommended/Highly Recommended (88-92), 3/5 Value

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Posted on August 25, 2012 by Nick in $20 Above, California, Zinfandel 4 Comments

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