2009 Passaggio New Generation Pinot Grigio

This wine has an inspiring back story. The Winemaker, Cynthia Cosco, was a law enforcement officer in West Virginia for 15 years. In 2003 she decided it was time to make a change and she moved to California, she didn’t have job waiting for her, she just knew that was where you need to be if you are going to make wine. Four years later she put out her first vintage of Passaggio Chardonnay. She is also the Head of the Wine Lab at Crushpad. CrushPad is a custom winemaking facility located in Napa Valley, where anybody can come in and make wine, as long as you have the money ($5,700 to $10,000 minimum), no experience necessary. The Passaggio Pinot Grigio is aged in stainless steel tanks and has an alcohol content of 13.4%.

The color is very pale golden yellow with traces of green along the edges. A fresh and clean nose, grapefruit, peach, some floral notes and lime. This is no flavor challenged Pinot Grigio, there is an taste explosion going off in your mouth. Grapefruit, lemon, lime and then a touch of peach to counter all the tart citrus, a nice dash of minerality in the mid-palate. A light lemon/lime finish that lingers for quite some time.

The Passaggio New Generation Pinot Grigio has depth and body, loads of flavor, yet is still light and refreshing. This would pair well with non red sauce pasta dishes and not too spicy Asian noodle dishes, but me, I would drink this on it’s own, it does taste good. I’m not usually a fan of Pinot Grigio, but this is not the usual Pinot Grigio.

I am not sure about the distribution for the Passaggio Pinot Grigio,

but you can find it online at: http://www.passaggiowines.com/

2006 Yangarra Cadenzia GSM $16

A single vineyard, Estate grown GSM (Grenache 68%,Shiraz 27% and Mourvedre 5%). Yangarra is located in the McLaren Vale Region of Australia. The Cadenzia is aged in oak for 18 months, the Shiraz in new French oak, the Grenache and Mourvedre in used barrels or neutral oak. Alcohol content is 15% .

A deep dark clear see thru burgundy red. The nose is black cherry, menthol and milk chocolate. Big lush fruit, bold flavors, blackberry, rich dark chocolate, tart cherry. Really terrific mouth feel, the flavors burst into your mouth. Good soft balanced tannins, you know they are there, but they don’t intrude into the luscious fruit. A long fruit driven finish.

This is a sexy wine, bold, curvaceous and challenging, yet firm and muscular. Drink it with a meal you love or with a person you love or better yet, both.

P.S. interchange love and lust, if needed

Lucy : Great Story, Great Cause, Great Wine

A Tale of Two Lucys

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times for Lucy Millman.

She was looking forward to celebrating 10 cancer-free years by participating in a 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk slated for September 2006.

But months before the event, Lucy learned that the cancer had returned. She underwent a double mastectomy in the preceding May. Two weeks later and still on the mend, the irrepressible woman from Evanston, Illinois, started planning a “Pink Party” to raise funds for the upcoming walk. Pink decorations. Pink ribbons. Pink food and pink drink. Pink everything to signify support of breast cancer research.

That’s when Lucy ran into the other Lucy at her local Binny’s Beverage Depot. Boldly scripted in blush on a black label, the name Lucy leaped out at her from the shelf of rosé wines. When she and husband Gary turned the bottle around, they read that Lucia Vineyards & Winery would donate $1 from every bottle sold to breast cancer research.

“We were knocked over by the coincidence,” Lucy wrote.

The Millman’s didn’t know that Wine Enthusiast had ranked the 2006 Lucy Rosé of Pinot Noir first among all the pink wines produced in the United States, describing it as “Provençal-like, displaying waves of cherry skin, rosehip tea, strawberry, tobacco, vanilla, herb and peppery spice flavors, enhanced to pinpoint purity to the cool, long- hangtime vintage.”

All they knew was that Lucy Rosé was meant for Lucy’s fundraiser. She and her team of five friends planned to give a Lucy bottle to anyone who donated $100 or more towards their $12,000 goal.

Mark Pisoni had just stepped in from the vineyards when the office phone rang. Gary Millman introduced himself and excitedly told the story of the perfect pairing. Mark offered to donate Lucy Rosé for the party, although Gary insisted that wasn’t why he made the call.

A week later, cases of Lucy showed up on the Millman’s doorstep. Their “Pink Party” raised more than half the target amount. Mark followed up with a note, in which he tucked a check made out to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

“We chose to support breast cancer research because of those in our lives who have been affected by this disease,” said Mark. “Lucy Millman’s story touched us, and we decided to channel the promised proceeds of Lucy sales to the Susan G. Komen Foundation through her fundraising.”

Lucy Millman is in the pink again. She completed the 2006 Breast Cancer Walk, covering 20 miles in each 3-day leg, and crossed the finish line again in 2007. Her good health, indomitable spirit and energetic fundraising efforts are truly inspirational, offering—as Charles Dickens might write—a spring of hope to those in a winter of despair.

Love the Lucys in your life by promising to take action and support breast cancer research. Visit Susan G. Komen for the Cure at www.komen.org and Breast Cancer 3 Day at www.08.the3day.org.

Friend up Lucy on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/2a8dbqa

**** Meet Lucy and sample Lucy Rose’ at Schaefer’s in Skokie, Il on Saturday May 23 12 to 4

http://www.schaefers.com/  ****

2009 Kung Fu Girl Riesling $11

We reviewed the 2008 vintage of Kung Fu Girl and were impressed by the quality of the wine. Sourced from a single vineyard, the Evergreen Vineyard, located in the Columbia Valley region of Washington State. The label does not take itself too seriously, but the wine is a serious Riesling.

Real pretty nose, fragrant, delicate aromas of peaches, apricots, cut flowers and slate dust. A light oily mouth feel, tons of flavor exploding in the front of your mouth. Tastes of tangerines, apricots and a bit of minerality up front with lemon/lime in the back of the palate. A solidly constructed wine, not sweet at all, has the nice initial burst of fruit flavors, then the slightly tart mid-palate then a smooth long finish. Very well balanced, has enough acidity to stand up to asian food, but with enough fruit to make this a wine to drink on it’s own.

I was a big fan of the 2008 vintage and the 2009 is even better. Made by Charles Smith Wines, this is a Winemaker to take note of, he is making some really excellent wines in the under $20 price category.

2006 Gypsy Dancer Oregon Pinot Noir – $16

Ok, so this isn’t really a $16 Pinot, it normally sells for anywhere from $40 to $60, but again I found an end of the bin special. I was not familiar with Gypsy Dancer Pinot but how can you turn down this kind of deal. The grapes are sourced from the A & G Estate Vineyards in the Dundee Hills region of Oregon. In checking the web for information on this Pinot, I found that the Winemaker, Gary Andrus passed away Jan. 30, 2009 and this is the last vintage ever to be produced. So, that’s the reason the wine was in the cut-out bin. This is a very small volume, (480 cases produced), unfiltered wine.

The color is a dense, but see thru deep red, with brown overtones. The nose is the classic Pinot Noir aroma, mushrooms, crumples leaves, a little bit of flowers and a hint of mint, nothing else smells like a good Pinot. The flavor is delicate, not overpowering but somehow huge at the same time.  Your mouth is filled with flavor, but none of the flavors overpower, just an explosion of subtle blended tastes. There are black and blueberries in there, also some Junior Mints, this is a very balanced delicate yet full. There isn’t really a finish, it is more like the initial flavors refuse to give up, it lasts a long time. The Gypsy Dancer is more fruit forward and less earthy than some Pinots, but is is beautifully balanced and wonderfully subtle.

I spilled some of the wine for a fallen Homey, it looks like I’m a fan of Gary Andrus’s wines a little too late, he made a really good wine. The Gypsy Dancer is well worth searching out if you can find it, it was a $60 wine before he passed and now is $40 and if your lucky much much less.

2007 Ringland Ebenezer Shiraz – $18

We reviewed the 2006 Ebenezer Shiraz a few months ago and loved it, the 2007 Ebenezer is even better. This is classic Barrosa Valley Shiraz, it is the kind of wine that put Australia on the wine world map. At $17.99 it is an incredible value, I dare you to blind taste the Ebenezer with Shiraz’s selling for three or four times it’s price and see if you can identify this as the under $20 wine. The grapes are sourced from the premier Ebenezer Vineyard and Chris Ringland is a world class vintner. The color is a classy ruby red, the nose is rich dark fruit, the taste is black cherry, blueberries, plums and a touch of spice with smooth tannins, the mouth feel is lush and the finish is looooooong smooth cherry vanilla. You can pay more for a Shiraz, but the Ebenezer will hold it’s own in any company.

Get it here or call (847) 776-1000 for an awesome deal.

2006 Four Vines Old Vines Zinfandel – $12

This is another “follow the wine maker” wine. Christian Tietje (based out of Paso Robles) is something of an outlaw winemaker – he makes wine the way he wants to and does not pay a great deal of attention to tradition, and makes no apologies. He makes wines named Loco, Heretic and the Biker and is known affectionately as the “Zinbitch”.  The Old Vines Cuvee Zinfandel is his entry level red wine and he calls it the “best” deal in red wine.

Zinfandel is the American grape, most varietals come from France, Spain or Italy, but not Zinfandel. Now, I know all about how they traced this grape back to Croatia, but as they say, use it or lose it, and when’s the last time you had a Croatian Zinfandel. So, it’s our grape now, we should be using Zinfandel for making toasts on the 4th of July!

The Four Vines Old Vines Cuvee Zinfandel is sourced from vineyards all over Northern California and was aged in small French and American oak barrels. Alcohol content is listed as 14.6%, and the alcohol and the tannins are well balanced. This is a bit of a throw back Zin, big, bold and spicy. Tastes of jammy black and blue berries upfront with that nice Zin spice cutting right into all that jammy fruit.The finish has nice vanilla notes with some cola flavors. Not a good Zinfandel for the price, but a straight up real solid Zin,period. Should be widely available for around 12 bucks.

2006 Chateau Smith Cabernet Sauvignon – $16

I am a fan of the wines made by Charles Smith Wines.  He is doing some really cool things with wine at a affordable price. This Cab is sourced from a vineyard in Columbia Valley, Washington. 85% Cabernet, 10% Malbec and 5% Cab Franc, kind of low alcohol for a Cab, only 13.5 %.

Now this is a cool climate Cabernet Sauvignon, if you are going to measure this against a Napa or Sonoma Cab you are going to be taken aback. Not oaky and with smooth tannins, tastes of black and blueberries and chocolate covered cherries. Tastes smooth, not thick, has a nice finish that is nuanced. Charles Smith says that this is not a Bordeaux wine this is a Washington wine, which I take to mean he is turning the terroir thing around on the French.

This is a Cab that would appeal to Barossa Valley Shiraz lovers. Very fruit forward, but still has some complexity. Untwist the screw-top and your ready to go.

2007 Turn Four Cabernet Sauvignon

So Bennett Lane does some awesome wine – Maximus, etc. and an awesome $99 Cabernet Sauvignon that we tried at a recent tasting. But here’s a perfect example of “follow the winemaker” – they also have this badass Cab right here at $20 that knocked our socks off, meaning that we went through the tasting and this one still held up as a standout. And when it comes in at $20, it qualifies for a review here. Just when you thought an honest Napa Cab could not be had sub $20, here comes the Turn Four. Inky dark ruby intense red.

Black & red cherries and other berries on the nose. Twizzler! Chocolate-covered cherries and licorice passes into unobtrusive elegant tannins. Now you want it, right? Lucky for you we know a guy: get it here but you have to call (847) 776-1000 or email larry@thewinecellaronline.com to get an awesome deal. His name’s Larry – he knows what’s up.

2008 Maipe Malbec

Estate grown and bottled in Mendoza, Argentina, purchased for $7.99. The nose reminds me of a roadside fruit stand in the autumn during harvest, all fruit, flowers and green grass. The color is dark, rich and opaque. Alcohol content is a reasonable 13.7%. It tastes of dark fruit, plums and berries with a slight pull from the tannins in the back of your mouth. It thickly coats your mouth, this is no wimpy, watery wine. The finish is long and intense.

Did I say this wine sells for $7.99? A few years back, when I first tasted Argentinian wine they all had a “green stick” flavor that I wasn’t too fond of, but those days are long gone. This wine is not just good considering the cost, it is simply flat out good. This one’s going on Cheapwinefinder’s Top Ten Wines of 2009 list.

And you can get it here for < $10.

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