2015  The Lost Chapters  White Meritage  California

This is another wine in the Powerbuy section whose label caught my eye, I figured if they cared enough to put a beautiful label like this on their bottle it must be good. It didn't hurt that I recognized one of the names on the back label, Mitch Cosentino. He had his own winery and produced many wines that had won numerous awards, hmm I said, and the bottle went into my cart.

The wine is produced by J. McClelland cellars, owned by the Scotto family, who were friends for years of Mr McClelland during which time he advised them on all aspects of making and marketing wine. When the opportunity to purchase the Steele Canyon Winery came in 2012, they jumped on it and asked Mitch Cosentino to consult with the winemaking.

This wine is a blend of 54% Sauvignon blanc, and 46% Semillon. The Sauvignon blanc was fermented in Stainless steel (preserves fruit flavors) and aged in used neutral oak barrels, the Semillon was also fermented in Stainless steel, and then aged in French oak barrels especially made for the grape. The lees (yeast sediment) were stirred weekly in the barrels which translates into a creamy mouthfeel in the wine.

This wine opens with the familar note of white grapefruit/citrus from the Sauvignon blanc, and a mix of stone fruit notes that remind me of peach, apricot, along with a hint of honeydew melon in the nose. The palate has all of the above flavors, just right acidity, with a slight spice flavor that I can't quite pinpoint. It finishes smoothly with the fruit flavors fading nicely, not completely dry but not sweet either.... it makes me want to take another sip to experience the flavors again.

This wine is fun to sip by itself, but I think it could accompany a cheese fondue, Caprese salad, Chicken Marbella, or a 3 cheese white pizza with cherry tomatoes and artichokes. This wine has enough backbone to stand up to a roast pork dinner, or a Veal dish also.

Only available at about a dozen of the NH Liquor outlets for $11.99 per bottle, if it sounds interesting to you I would get one soon. I bought 6 of them on Saturday at the West Lebanon Liquor store, they have about 45 left as of this writing.

Cheers!

Ed

 2018  Gabrielle Ashley  Cabernet Sauvignon   Alexander Valley CA 

This wine is a blend of 95 Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Cabernet Franc. I found it in the powerbuy section of the West Lebanon Liquor outlet, along with a number of other wines. What caught my eye was that it was from Alexander Valley, one of my favorite wine growing regions in the world.

Precision Wine Co has a number of labels under their umbrella, and seems to focus on small lots of bottlings. I get the feeling from reading the website that the winemaker has relationships with growers and other wineries that allow him to purchase grapes from selected plots.

It opens with notes of cherry, blueberries, plums, and oak in the nose. The palate tastes of plum, cherry, and black raspberries with medium tannins.... after 30 minutes of the bottle being open the tannins smooth out, with the nose and palate gaining more complexity to include blackberries along with notes of mixed berry pie.

At only 2 years of age this wine should be decanted for 45 minutes prior to enjoying, and try chilling it for 20 minutes or so to experience a different flavor profile. At this time the wine needs food with a bit of fat in it to balance the tannins, perhaps a nicely marbled steak, a meat lasagna, an oven roasted chicken dinner, prime rib, or a good brisket cooked perfectly.

Available at a bunch of the NH Liquor outlets for $12.99 per bottle, this is a great value for a well made wine from one of the premier wine growing regions in California. I liked it enough to buy 8 bottles with the thought that it will improve over the next 18 months or so....

Let me know what you think,

Cheers!

Ed

 

2017 SECOLI  Valpolicella Ripasso  DOC Veneto  Italy

While looking through the many wines currently in the Powerbuy section of the West Lebanon Liquor outlet, the label on this wine caught my eye.

I have learned to appreciate a good Ripasso while on this journey of learning about wine. Sometimes it's called the "poor man's Amarone"....

Valpolicella Ripasso is fermented twice, the first time from fresh grapes, the second time in contact with the leftover skins from the making of Amarone wine. The grapes for Amarone wine are first dried on beds of straw for 3 to 4 months at specific humidity levels. So by "passing" the Valpolicella juice with the Amarone skins it adds layers of flavor and structure to the wine.

When first opened, notes of red fruits jumped out at me, then a pleasant spicy/herbal note followed in the nose. It tastes of cherry, raspberry, with a spicy finish. The red fruit notes finish pleasantly as the fine grained tannins fade away.

The second day brought an additional note of plum in both the nose and palate, and a more plush feel in the mouth. Just a delight to sip on by itself, but a good food companion as well.

This is a very versatile wine, it would pair well with bbq, any red sauce dish, venison stew, I had it with thin sliced Charlito's dry cured Mild Chorizo (Co-op) and crumbled Parmesan cheese, and it could be sipped on by itself while sitting in a comfortable chair out on the patio during a warm summer evening.....

Available at