Curtis Mourvedre 2005

I've always enjoyed the product of Curtis Winery. Tonight I had to work rather than attend the Mardi Gras festivities in Hillcrest so I selected a bottle of their 2005 Mourvedre. Mourvedre is best known as a blending grape of the Southern Rhone valley and even this offering is a Mourvedre/Syrah blend (85%/15%).

The wine is a beautiful deep cherry red in the glass and leaves lovely legs when you swirl. The nose is pleasant, a combination of violets, blackberries, hints of cherry and smoky oak and just a tiny touch of gaminess that one often gets from French Rhones. The mouthfeel is nice, good acidity and solid but not harsh tannins combine with the fruit to make for an enjoyable medium length finish.

Sadly, no one to toss beads at me... oh well, there's always next year. This year I will just enjoy the wine.

Wines reviewed in 2009: 123

Ghost Pine 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon

What a day/week/month. Recent events are really weighing on the mind and soul and deprived of my beau or any other social interaction I decided to spend some time out in the cool of the afternoon just sitting and thinking. Since there was no human companionship I choose to pass the time with one of the offspring of Bacchus, Ghost Pine 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon. This is an interesting blend of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from both Napa and Sonoma allowing for a melange of smells and tastes from the two northern California regions. Yeah, I know, a 2006 Cab would lead one to think "too tannic" and "needs time" but this youngster makes a good companion. Nice deep, rich color in the bowl the nose is greeted with lovely blackberry, black cherry, and notes of spicy oak. But as we know the nose can deceive but not in this case. This wine is bursting with fruit backed up by smooth tannins and mouthwatering acidity combining to produce a medium length finish. The effect is as desired, a relaxing communion with something basic. Bacchus speaks, hopefully not too loudly in the morning.

Wines reviewed in 2009: 122

Cougar Winery

Tio Ely calls me a gay "cougar" so I decided to scope out Cougar Winery in Temecula. I've seen the sign before and even been to their neighbor Frangipani, so this time I took the winding road up to their tasting room. It was not a disappointing detour. Rather than trying to move into an already crowed Bordeaux group, Cougar is making a nice name for itself with some Italian and Argentine grapes (including but not limited to Malbec, Sangiovese, Arneis, Nero d'Avola (which I am really wanting to try), Malvasia Bianca, and Aglianico). Ambitious, but what I tasted today definitely shows there is some skill at this winery and they may just pull it off. Some of the highlights of today's tasting:

Arneis 2008. Lovely little wine, full of peaches and apricots. Difficult to grow and often used as a blending wine in its native Piedmont region of Italy, this is a nice, crisp. "fruit-sweet" wine perfect for a hot summer's day.

Sangiovese 2006. This is actually a super Tuscan blend creating a nice medium-bodied wine, lots of fruit and a touch of spice, soft tannins and good acidity. If you're looking for a grill wine or a pizza wine this should be on your shopping list.

Malbec 2006. I really enjoyed this wine. Deep puple bleeding out to the edges of the bowl, aromas of plum and I swear smokey bacon, very fruit forward on the tongue, nice tannins and the acid made my mouth water. This was definitely a keeper.

Malvasia Bianca 2008. Green apples and honey. Sweet but not cloying, just enough acidity that it could be a sipping wine for those who like their wines sweeter but for me would make a nice dessert wine.

So if you're in the area and looking for something a little different Cougar is well worth the stop.

Wines reviewed in 2009: 121

My Two Temecula Favorites

Well, it was time to pick up my shipment from Baily so today after breakfast with my beau it was up to Temecula. Of course, it didn't make sense driving up just to pick up one wine club shipment so I made it a threesome by dropping my Leonesse and picking a winery I had not been to before (Cougar Winery which gets its own posting). Since I have written extensively about Baily and Leonesse before I will just highlight some new findings in their every growing and increasingly excellent wines.

Two newbies for me at Baily are:

Montage 2007. This is a Sauvignon Blanc/Semillion blend which is somewhat typical in Bordeaux but relatively new here in the states and somewhat of a trend I have been seeing lately (Brander, a California star of the White Bordeaux, has been making this for years but it seems to be spreading). The Montage is very lightly gold in color. Hints of figs and melon on the nose while on the tongue the fruits and a hint of the "herbaceousness" one gets from Sauvignon Blancs does peek out. Very nice acidity, this is a good little wine to drink now and through the next year or so.

Riesling - Dry, 2008. Baily offers two Rieslings, this one is a special one produced for the 150th anniversary of Temecula. Very light color in the glass, lovely notes of apple and apricot on the nose while in the mouth one gets good fruit, and nice acidity for a light-bodied wine experience. At first I thought I detected more sugar than I should have but then decided it was really the fruit-forwardness of the wine that was creating an apple-cinnamon combo that was delicious.

And a non-newbie but a new release:

Merlot 2005. Recently released, this fruit-forward wine delivered strawberries and hint of vanilla, nice acid, and solid tannins but I think it is still a bit young and could profit from another year or so resting in a nice, cool, dark cellar. Quite drinkable but not at its peak yet.

Once again, Baily's confirmed my decision to join its wine club.

Leonesse, as always, was a joy to visit. What was fun this time was nothing I tasted was on the tasting list, so you get some idea here from what can be purchased at the barrel room tasting area but you won't find on the shelves. Today, the cute and articulate attendant Mike poured me the following:

Compilation 2006. This was something new and pretty exciting, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Cinsault, and Zinfandel. Very fruit forward, spicy and peppery, soft tannins, good acidity, all components clicking together to create a medium/full bodied wine with a long delicious finish.

Dry Muscat 2008. Brand new and just out on the floor this was an interesting experience. Everyone wants to think of Muscat as sweet but this wine proves that need not be the case. The nose promises apricot and just a little hint of peach which gets delivered with an interesting "green" (Mike's term) on the finish (I was saying "grassy" but I think we meant the same thing) which took a little getting used to because it was a total surprise. The wine maker said that this "green" was produced by the wine skins so I'll take his word for it. The natural fruit flavors and acidity combine to make a definitely not sweet, fruit forward enjoyable wine... once you get over the "green" surprise.

Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 "Signature Selection". A veriable fruit explosion in the mouth! Nice tannins, lovely acid, very well integrated components, all you could hope for in a Cab but alas, not scheduled for release until 2010 so get up there, join the club, go on a weekend tasting and beg to get a sample.

Zinfandel 2006. Yum. Beautiful fruit and peppery spice. Medium bodied, soft, almost sweet tannins, mouthwatering acids, long lovely finish. Soon to be released (March I think).

Barrel sample Merlot/Cab Franc Blend. Light bodied, nice fruit, very soft tannins and good acid. I will be anxious to try it when it grows up.

Barrel Pull Cabernet Sauvignon. No release date, this one was "special". Oak and fruit on the nose and tonuge, soft tannins (somehow Leonesse has great control of the tannin components of their red wines), good acid. The finish was a little harsh and Mike said that it seemed like there was something missing at this stage. I agree, it was like all of the kids showed up but they don't yet know how to play well together. Shows promise though and I will keep an eye on this one for you.

Once again, Leonesse has shown why they are my favorite in Temecula.


Wines reviewed in 2009: 117

Queen of Hearts Pinot Noir

Today after work was hair cut day and after Diego got me all ready for Valentine's Day I decided to stop for a glass of wine at Wine Steals in Hillcrest. Normally I don't go there because it tends to be way too crowded and the depth of perfume and cologne in the room often makes it difficult to determine the nose of your wine. This time though the place was almost empty as it was just at the start of "Happy Hour", so I settled in at the bar and ordered a glass of Queen of Hearts Pinot Noir. Sadly I didn't catch the vintage of this Santa Barbara Pinot, I need to make sure to start asking when I order wine by the glass.

The was rather pretty in the glass, a clear garnet, but I have to say that right from the bottle it didn't impress me. The nose was almost non-existent except for a little spice and the indication of "heat". The first sip was alright, some cherry and spice, soft tannins and decent acid but nothing exciting. After putting the glass down and reading an article in Wine and Spirits I picked up the glass, stuck in my nose and was greeted by a much more pleasant aroma of cherries, red fruits, and the same spice with a hint of oak. The taste was of a light-bodied Pinot, nice cherries, a little spice and oak, soft tannins and nice acidity. Over the span of about 30 minutes the wine unfolded quite nicely. It was never complex, never what the heavy hitters would call a "serious" Pinot, but it was a very drinkable, fruit-forward, short-finish Pinot. A nice Pinot for those nights you just want a Pinot and not think about it. With a price point of around $10 a bottle it's a decent drink, just remember to decant first to let it find its voice.

Wines reviewed in 2009: 109

A Bite At Bite

One of my favorite places in Hillcrest is Bite. Recently they have made a few changes to both their menu (moving from a strict "small plate" venue to offering some "larger plates" of their seasonal offerings) as well as their wine offering (such as 1/2 price bottle Mondays). They've started offering a limited selection of wines at happy hour for $4.50 per glass and it was this that drew me out. Tio Ely joined me and we had some lovely appetizers (at incredibly reasonable prices): chicken liver mousse and their always tasty grilled flat bread with white bean and roasted garlic "hummus". For wines I had a glass of the following three (sadly I don't have vintages for them):

Cono Sur Viognier: A nice opener, this Chilean wine delivers quite well what I would expect from a Vigonier. The nose is floral with hints of apricots, citrus, and I would swear a little "grassiness" (though my nose could be a little off due to the change in weather). Delivers good fruit and lively acidity on the tongue, nice, slightly short finish.

Calina Cabernet Sauvignon: The other night I had a good experience with the Calina Merlot so I thought "Wow, what a great chance to try another Calina". Sadly for this taster at this time it turned into "Wow, what the heck happened?" The nose wasn't bad at all... cassis, blackberry, hints of chocolate and a touch of oak, pretty typical for a Cab. The delivery to the mouth was another story. Something about this wine just set me off. The tannins seemed really rough, the acidity too low making it flabby, and nothing seemed integrated with what fruit was there. My tasting notes have the word "ash" scribbled in them and this was how I best described what I tasted. The experience was so bad that I asked the server to take it away because it was so disagreeable to me. I'm not giving up on Calina, they have a good track record but this was a shocker for me.

Doña Paula Cabernet Sauvignon: OK, leaving Chile I jumped the Andes and went for an Argentine producer. Better. A little lighter in color than the Calina. Cherries, black fruit, hints of bell pepper, lighter, softer tannins and pretty good acidity combine to deliver a drinkable medium finish. Not a favorite but orders of magnitude better than what I experienced with the Calina.

Wines Reviewed In 2009: 108

Note To Servers On A Pet Peeve Of Mine

DON'T try to correct my pronunciation of varietals or wine names. Trust me, I know the proper pronunciation of "Carménère" and "Viognier" (as well as many others) and if I have doubt I will ask (though probably not you since you butchered your attempted correction). Your job is to get me what I want even if I simply point at the list and grunt. You may be young and cute and work in a wine bar but that doesn't mean you know Vitis vinifera. Next time you're in the Central Coast area, stop in at Bridlewood and check out the shirts with the various pronunciation guides on them.

Thank you and good night.

:-)