Mark Herold Wines 2013  Flux  Red blend  Napa

This wine was brought to my attention by someone who knows that I like red wines, it's a new powerbuy wine at the West Lebanon Liquor store. I've never heard of this wine company but I liked the blend of grapes in this bottling, and in recent years growers in CA have been figuring out where the best places are to grow them.

Flux is a blend of 66% Grenache, 20% Syrah, and 14% Mourvedre. Upon opening there are notes of blackberry, black raspberry, a bit of tobacco leaf, and a floral note that reminds me of roses.

The palate matches the nose, with an added hint of blueberry... it's not over extracted, slightly translucent with a nice color. The finish is smooth with fine grained tannins and a berry note.

Day 2 brought more of the berries in the nose, it reminded me of a mixed berry pie smell, the tobacco leaf note is a bit more present but balanced with everything... very interesting. The mouthfeel became a bit more viscous, with the berry flavors blended together, with a spicy note on the finish.

Available at a number of NH Outlet stores in the powerbuy section for $14.99, also at Total Wine in Natick for $27.00 per bottle.... There is also a 15% case discount sale that ends tomorrow night at the NH Outlets....

Cheers!

Ed

2016  Alamos  Red Blend  Argentina

I have tried a few of the wines from Alamos, for a "second wine" of Bodega Catena they are well made and a good value for the money. Their Torrontes white and Malbec "seleccion" are among the best $10 to $15 bottles out there right now.....

So when I saw the Red blend bottling on the shelf the other day I figured it would be worth a try. The 2016 blend is primarily Malbec, Bonarda, and Tempranillo, with small amounts of other grapes. While the website only mentions the blend from 2014, I'm guessing there is a bit of Syrah also. There was the strong note in the nose typical of Syrah, but on day 2 everything had blended together nicely. I have tried a Bonarda on it's own before, great flavors and nose, but a bit acidic on it's own.

Notes of blackberry, plum, cherry, the deep note from Syrah in the nose on day one, next day the Syrah is more in balance with the berry notes, and a tobacco leaf note is present now, adding to the complexity of this wine.

The palate on day one matches the nose, plum, berries, slightly tannic, but interesting. Day 2 brings an added flavor of blueberry, the wine is slightly tart in a good way. The acidity is just right, and the wine finishes clean with lingering notes of berries.

 A good food wine, I would try it with grilled burgers, Italian sausage with peppers and onions, Angus tips, a meat Lasagna would also work I think...

On sale at the NH Liquor outlets for $10.99 per bottle, plus the current case sale gives you an additional 15% on any wines.... that makes this $9.35 per bottle. A very good value!

Cheers!

Ed

Chateau St. Jean   2014 Cold Creek Ranch  Chardonnay

After enjoying the Robert Young Vineyard Chardonnay, I decided to try a bottle of the Chardonnay from the Cold Creek Ranch vineyard. This vineyard is located in the southernmost part of the Sonoma Coast appellation, which is prized for the cool growing conditions that allow for full development of flavors in the grapes and balancing acidity.

Cold Creek Ranch fruit is known for tropical fruit aromas, I noticed pineapple and a floral note I couldn't quite pinpoint. On the palate I tasted peach, pear, lemon, and a nice spice note on the finish.
This vintage was aged in used oak barrels on the lees, (yeast and grape bits) so there is no oak influence, which allows for the flavors of great fruit to shine on its own. Aging on the lees also adds a creamy mouth feel, making for a very enjoyable bottle of wine.

This was the eighth reserve bottling of fruit from the Cold Creek Ranch by Chateau St Jean since 2002, each vintage used is fermented differently depending on how the fruit developes.

Available at some NH Liquor outlets on sale for $13.99 per bottle (regular retail $35.00) and from the winery for $35.00 per bottle. Current case sale at NH outlets is 15% mix and match any wines... that makes the price of this wine $11.64 per bottle.... a steal at that price.

Cheers!

Ed

Maddalena 2014 Monterey Riesling

I saw this wine in the powerbuy section of the West Leb NH Liquor outlet, and knowing that my wife likes a good riesling I decided to try a bottle based on the reviews I could find of this vintage.

The fruit for this wine comes from the Rancho Soledad vineyard, in the Monterey appellation, a cooler climate, which has morning fog and afternoon breezes which allow for slow development of flavors and preserves balanced acidity. The vineyard is 282 acres, planted to Riesling and Pinot Grigio.

When first opened, there are nice notes of wet stone, apple, honey, citrus, and apricots with similar flavors on the palate. I like the mouthfeel, slightly thick with delicious, lingering flavors of apples and apricots. The wine has some sweetness, but it has enough acidity to keep it balanced on the finish.

This wine is perfect by itself with friends and some aged Gruyere on a warm summer afternoon, or with a Thanksgiving dinner. I could also see pairing this wine with spicy food, the sweetness in it would play nicely against the heat of the dish.

Available at some NH Liquor outlets in the powerbuy section for $6.99 per bottle, and $10.99 at some Total wine stores. And there is also a 15% discount on any mixed case of wine currently at the NH Liquor outlets.... how can you go wrong?

Cheers!

Ed

Chateau St Jean 2013 Chardonnay Robert Young Vineyard Reserve

The Robert Young Vineyard is located in Alexander Valley, and planted to the Chardonnay clone of the same name, the original plantings were of the Wente clone. Over time Robert selected vines that produced exceptional fruit in the soils of this site, and his clone 17 was certified in 1989.

This wine is barrel fermented, and aged sur lie (on yeast and sediment) for an extended period of time. This technique gives the wine a creamy mouth texture, the barrels are French oak, about 60% new .... so the oak influence is there but not too heavy for my taste. The wine is also aged in the bottle for a year before being released, so this is a true reserve wine.

The nose has notes of lemon and pear, there's a spice note I can't quite identify but fits in nicely with the other scents. The palate matches the lemon and pear notes, has a nice creamy texture and finishes smooth with perfect balanced acidity. The color is a beautiful yellow with a greenish tint, and there's a nice lingering note of the fruit that fades pleasantly...

I enjoyed this with the Tortelloni Brunelle dish from Lui-Lui's, which has a lemon caper sauce. I think some grilled lemon/lime garlic shrimp would also be good with this wine. Another option would be a veal or chicken schnitzel finished with a wedge of lemon and buttered spatzle or french fries....

Available at the winery for $50.00 per bottle, or at the NH Liquor outlets in the power buy section for $15.99!  If you enjoy a good Chardonnay get in to one of the outlets and grab a bottle or two before they're gone... I think once people figure out what a steal this is they'll fly off the shelf.

Cheers!

Ed

The Wallis valley of Switzerland

We just returned from spending 4 days with one of my aunts in this valley, and everywhere you look there are vineyards on the slopes below the mountains. Depending on exposure to the sun, some are on one side or the other of the valley. There are a few vineyards on the valley floor, but the best wines come from sites on the hillsides.

We were in Chandolin, a small village adjacent to Saviese. I have included a photo of the view from the balcony of her apartment, I can see why she chose this spot. To wake up, or watch the sun go down in the evening over the high mountains, and be surrounded by vineyards is really special.

We were treated to some very good cooking, and some nice wines from this area. I tried some wines from this region that are a few of the 52 varieties grown in this valley. We enjoyed a Johannisberg (white) from St. Jodern Kellerei in Visperterminen, grown in the highest vineyards in Europe at between 2100ft and 3700ft. It was perfect with the Raclette we had for dinner that night....

I also enjoyed a Cornalin (red grape) from Robert Gilliard, it's an old variety from this valley which produces a nice soft red wine with good blue and black fruit flavors balanced by just right acidity. A very good comanion to the Fondue Chinoise we had on another evening meal.

Fondue Chinoise is a hot vegetable boullion into which you can put thinly sliced beef, calf's meat, chicken, small meatballs of pork, or shrimp, scallops, on a normal fondue fork until it's just cooked through and served with assorted sauces of your choice to dip the meat into. Delicious!

The sad part for us in America is that 95% of all Swiss wines are consumed within the country, or a small distance into the surroundind countries.... very little is imported into the USA, and probably only the major cities.

Joe, given our discussions about wine, you would love it here! You've got to convince the company you work for to somehow send you to a neighboring country for business, then take a few days to wander around doing "research" on the many varieties grown in this valley.

Cheers, Sante!

Ed

Weingut Umbricht Untersiggenthal Switzerland

I was introduced to this winery 2 years ago during a visit to family here in Switzerland, it's located 5 minutes from one of my cousins. We were at restaurant Steinenbuhl that serves wines from the surrounding area, and my wife was having fondue. My wife saw that there were local wines on the menu and asked my cousin for his recommendation. 

Vik suggested the Sauvignon blanc from this winery, it was a good match for the fondue, nice nose of melon, citrus, similar flavors on the tongue, not sweet but not completely dry either, good mouthfeel with enough acidity to cleanse the palate from the cheese.

The Sauvignon blanc is very popular locally, enough so that when we stopped today to purchase the wines you see in the picture, the bin for it was empty.... I have tried their regular Pinot, and the Cabernet/Malbec blend and would highly recommend them to anyone. The Chardonnay just won a gold medal at an international competiton, and I'm sampling the Spatlese Pinot Noir now.

The grapes for the Spatlese (later picked) must have been in great condition, spot on old world color, beautiful nose of cherry, cola, a spicy note, with matching flavors in the mouth. Just right mouthfeel with a deft touch of oak barrel aging, nice lingering finish of fruit and spice.... this is good by itself or with food, very well made.

Their wines come in either 500ml or 750ml bottles, priced between 10Chf and 19Chf depending on bottle size and variety of grape. I can see why 95% of Swiss wines never make it out of the country, good to great wine at good prices. If only I had a wine cellar here.... well, then I'd be broke...

The picture is one of Umbricht's vineyards in Untersiggenthal.

Cheers!

Ed