Chateau Pesquie Quintessence 2007

Côtes du Ventoux, an interesting place in the southeast region of the Rhone wine region of France, has been getting quite a bit of press lately due to some good recent harvests that allow production of nice wines at even nicer prices. Chateau Pesquie's "Quintessence" is a blend of Grenache and Syrah (about 20/80 blend) with about one-third of the yield fermented in small oak barrels and the rest in tank, allowing for good control of exposure to tannins and it shows. This wine is deep, opaque ruby/purple in color with a gorgeous nose of blakcberry, cassis, hints of lavender, pepper, and touch of spice. The wine is medium/(+) bodied, dense, fine acid and sweet smooth tannins combine with the dark fruits in a medium/(+) length finish that is lip smacking good. A great find for about $18 a bottle. Drink now through 2013.

Number of wines reviewed in 2011: 27

Yalumba "Bush Vine" Grenache 2008

Ah Aussies, they do so many things right and for this American wine making falls into that category. I know many of those "serious" wine critics like to bash much of what is called New World Wine that is something I won't do. Rather I will simply recognize differences between Old World and New World and appreciate each for what it is. Here we definitely have a New World Wine, coming to us from "Australia's most famous wine region", the Barossa Valley in southern Australia. This Rhone varietal appears red with a touch of blue, medium/(+) intensity in the glass. The nose is lovely, big raspberry and cherry with supporting notes of licorice and just a touch of oaky spice. Medium bodied, the wine delivers what the nose detects. Red fruit, smooth tannins, and good acid come together to deliver quite a nice quaff that has just a touch of pepper in its medium length finish. Nice value at less than $15 a bottle, should hold solidly through 2013 and into 2014.

Number of wines reviewed in 2011: 5

Beckman Grenache 2006

I'm missing the wineries of the Santa Ynez area. While searching through my holdings I came across this bottle which brought back so many memories of travels to the that area and to Beckman Vineyards in particular. Since it's first offering Beckman has been a producer of extremely well made Rhone varietals. Their Syrahs tend to be superb so this Grenache should not disappoint... and it it didn't. This wine is made from 100% Grenache from the Purisima Mountain Vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley, barrel aged in 100% neutral oak so you get the full varietal experience. The nose on here is beautiful, full of red fruits (strawberry is the standout for me with maybe a little cranberry) along with a touch of vanilla. The wine is medium acidity, medium bodied with lovely black cherry along with hints of dark chocolate and spiciness on the tongue. Well made, well balanced, medium/(+) length finish all made this a lovely wine. If you have a bottle, drink it now.

Number of wines reviewed in 2010: 108

Two From Tallulah

Stress. Work, kitty with major health issues, moving... ugh! So last night hubby took me out to a place we first encountered on a pre-drink to our lovely New Year's Eve outing at Martinis Above Fourth (affectionately known as "Temple"). While we often passed it on the way to church (real church, not temple), we had never been in Jake's on Sixth until that time. We had so much fun we wanted to go back and last night was that time for a return visit. Jake's offers a nice little selection of cheese and fruit plates, salads, and yummy paninis (we both had the "Americano Panini" which was delicious) but since this is a wine blog I want to focus on the wines. Jake's tends to offer wines that might be termed "boutique" wines, wines that are not mass produced or as our bartender Greg said "Not the ones you can find at BevMo". Indeed, for as many wines as I have sampled over time there were few I recognized, a good sign for me to come back more often.

With dinner (pictured) I chose the 2006 La Femme D'Argent (or if your French is bad, "The Silver Lady") from Tallulah. A Sauvignon Blanc sourced from the Farina Vineyard on Sonoma Mountain. The wine is aged in neutral oak and the minerality and citrus shine through. The nose is loaded with orange blossoms, grapefruit, and honeysuckle. The wine is lean but not racy with good acidity making the mouth water. Quite a good offering. So good in fact I decided to try a second Tallulah offering after dinner, their 2006 Shake Ridge Ranch GSM. For those of you who don't know, GSM is a shorthand way of writing "Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre" which is another way of saying "Chateauneuf-sytle" (sorta, close enough for government work in my opinion). The blend is slightly over half Grenache making this a nice fruit-forward and approachable wine. The bouquet is loaded with red fruits and has just a hint of lavendar and smoked meat. The mouth experience was quite pleasant with good fruits, young but not strong tannins and enough acid support to bring it all to a warm medium-length finish. Apparently less than 100 cases of this were produced so if you want to try it I would suggest you hurry out now. To make things easy Jake's is open at 4pm seven days a week.

Number of wines reviewed in 2010: 3

What We Had For Thanksgiving

In a word... wine. This year we attended two Thanksgivings, one served at the house and one at a Tio Ely's. It made for an exhausting but fun day and of course an opportunity to share from the wine stash. The offerings we had were fairly traditional but of course there are reasons for traditions, in the case of wine, because they go well with the typical Thanksgiving meal. In no particular order those around us got to share the following:

2007 Louis Jadot Beaujolais: What a pretty wine, a lovely garnet in the glass that delivered what you would expect from a Thanksgiving wine. Very fruit forward with crushed strawberries, hints of cherry and peppercorn leading the way. Excellent acidity and gentle tannins make this a favorite of mine for Thanksgiving (or just when I want something light and fruity).

2008 Alex's Red Barn Grenache: A newer offering from one of my Temecula favorites, this wine is loaded with black fruits, high-finish acidity and smooth tannins. An extremely food-friendly wine for most any meal with roasted or braised meat.

2007 Fess Parker ATR Pinot Noir: Since I recently reviewed this wine I won't say anything more than this wine did not disappoint and was as expected a crowd pleaser.

2008 Baily's Temecula Valley Dry Riesling: Had to throw a white in and this one was lovely. Slightly less dry than the name suggests this wine, this was a crisp, lightly spicy, "appley" wine that blended stunningly with the turkey.

Wines reviewed in 2009: 220 (not counting the Fess Parker since it was recently reviewed)

Alex's Red Barn's New Grenache 2008

Today after doing the Father's Day stuff my partner and I went to Temecula to pick up my wine shipments from Leonesse and Baily's. On the way home we stopped by Alex's Red Barn Winery where some of the cleanest, least manipulated hand-crafted wines in Temecula, if not SoCal, can be found. The whole reason for the detour (other than I have enjoyed their wines since I first tasted them nearly a decade ago) was I had been told of a new offering, a Grenache! I love a well-made Grenache which can range from light and fruity to some of the heavier Rhone productions. The moment I inhaled from the glass I knew I would enjoy it. The experience put it somewhere in the middle of Grenache spectrum. The nose was fruity with hints of spice and vanilla and just the slightest touch of green pepper. On the tongue I experienced cherries and blackberries exploding, supported by mouthwatering acid and smooth tannins with a little spice kicking in on the finish to carry it one a bit longer. This medium-light bodied wine makes a fine summer red, an excellent companion for grilled meat as well as a hearty stew or roasted lamb. The wine is a winner, enough to make me sign up for the wine club.

Wines reviewed in 2009: 199

Memorial Day BBQ

My honey and I has a few friends over Sunday for a Memorial Day weekend BBQ. Last minute improvisation wrecked havoc with the menu but the food and drinks flowed for several hours and I don't think anyone went away hungry. While margaritas, beer, and mojitos were the mainstays several bottles of wine were opened. Strangely, people avoided the whites (since they kept their corks on they will live to serve another day). For the red drinkers (your author included) we had a lively little offering:

Beckman Estate Grenache 2006: I tell ya, every time I taste a Beckman wine I am happy and this time was no exception. Aged in 100% neutral barrels you get the full head-on expression of the fruit. The bouquet is lively with wonderful red fruits (especially strawberries) and just a hint of vanilla set the mouth to water. The medium-bodied wine delivers fantastic fruit and soft tannins with good acidity to swirl around the mouth and ending in a nice lingering finish. The alcohol runs a little on the high side but you don't really notice it (at least not in the first glass). Brilliant job and I loved it as a summer BBQ wine.

Francis Coppola 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Collection Ivory Label: What a mouthful that is... and so is the wine. Big, bold, expressive, rich. Beautiful nose of red currant, plum, and a hint of vanilla this wine was delicious delivery just the right mix of blackberries, mellow tannins (surprising in a pretty young wine) and alcohol in a concentration that produced a lingering finish well received buy the assembled company.

Fess Parker 2005 Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard: Believing you should always share your good stuff with friends I broke open a bottle of one of Fess' great Pinots. I gotta tell you, I love Fess Parker wines more and more and I think I am winning converts. This is a GREAT wine for any New World Pinot Noir lover. The nose is a wonderful blend of plumb, currants, and I swear a hint of smoky meat linger in there (which of course could have been the ribs on the grill but since I liked the hint of smoke I'll keep it in the review). This wine was bold with the structure behind it to make it more than just a flash in the pan (or mouth in this case). The blend of red fruits, solid but not harsh tannin, fantastic acid, and alcohol was a near perfect blend for me on this day delivering a lip-smacking joy that lingered for a long, long time.

Leonesse 2006 White Merlot: From the best reds on the Central Coast (Beckman, Fess Parker) I decided to throw in something from probably the best wine maker in our own Temecula, Leonesse. Wanting something that looked like a summer wine but was unusual I chose the Leonesse White Merlot. I confess, I like this wine for a warm-weather, spicy food companion. This fruity wine bursts with strawberries and cherries both on the nose and palate without being a "sweet" wine. The folks at Leonesse have been dabbling in this area (fruity wines that aren't cloyingly sweet) with some good success and the White Merlot is just one more example of this.

Wines reviewed in 2009: 182