2009 Folie a Deux Menage a Trois California Red

The menage a trois referenced here is the coupling of three grapes, Zinfandel, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The actual blend is 46% Zin, 31% Merlot and 23% Cab, the grapes are sourced from vineyards all across California, basically wherever they can get the best grapes for the least amount of money. The wine is aged in French and American oak. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are 2 grapes that dominate most Bordeaux red wines and adding in some Zinfandel is a California twist on the Bordeaux blends. The alcohol level is 13.5%.

A deep dark, clear raspberry jello red. The nose does not give up much, a bit of strawberry, a touch of chocolate and not much else. Nicely fruit forward, soft round black and blueberry flavors, cocoa powder, raspberry and then you can sense the tannins in the mid-palate. The tannins are light, but give the Menage a Trois enough structure and body to hold the fruit together. There is a nice raspberry jam finish.

A good starter red wine for people who don’t know if they like red wine. Nice flavor, soft and approachable, but there is enough going on to please experienced red wine drinkers.

2008 Peirano Estate Vineyards “The Other” Red Blend

Ok, I picked this wine because of the label. If I have to pick between a wine with a plain label or a wine with a naked lady on the label, I’m going with the naked lady every time. Actually, a beautiful or clever label is pretty good reason to choose a wine, the best winemakers tend to be very creative people, so it stands to reason the label on their bottle should be creative (or naked).

The Other is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 10% Syrah all sourced from Peirano Estate Vineyards in Lodi, California. The 3 grapes were fermented and aged separately and then blended at the very end of the process. The alcohol content is 13.8%.  Peirano Vineyard Estates has been making wine for 4 generations.

The color is back cherry jello. The nose is blackberries, blueberries, cedar and a touch of vanilla. Soft smooth fruit upfront, raspberry, black cherry jam on buttered toast, strawberry dipped in dark chocolate and light oak spice. A long blueberry vanilla finish.

A very easy wine to drink, an excellent every day wine. Would pair well with burgers or pizza, or skip the food and enjoy a glass or two.

2008 Black Ridge Vintner’s Reserve Merlot – $9

The Black Ridge Cellars Vintner’s Reserve Merlot, is one of those wines you don’t expect much from. The folks who make the wine don’t bother to mention much about the wine on their website. Where the grapes are grown, how the wine was made, the simple things are not mentioned, probably because those details are not all that interesting. There is nothing to make the Black Ridge Merlot stand out, except the price is right and it tastes great. For an everyday wine, that can be enough.

This Merlot has the smell of raspberries and herbs. Full of fruit and medium-bodied with a nice soft finish. Grilled meats – especially BBQ chicken – would be a perfect match.

2007 A to Z Night & Day Southern Crossing Red Blend

35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 20% Syrah, 10% Sangiovese, 4% Grenache and 4% Cabernet Franc all sourced from vineyards in the Rouge Valley of Southwestern Oregon. The wine is aged in French oak barrels, A to Z’s website does not specify the length of time the Night & Day was aged, but says the wine should continue to improve for the next 5 to 10 years. 13.5% alcohol content.

Really dark opaque red. The nose is cherries, plums, dark chocolate, cigars and vanilla. Complicated and good tasting, Ripe red fruit, then cocoa powder, followed by black and blueberries, oak spice and creamy vanilla hits at the mid-palate. A long, long finish of blueberry and vanilla.

A talented Winemaker can take good grapes and blend them into a final product that is far better than the individual ingredients. The A to Z Night  & Day Southern Crossing, a bit of a long winded name, is an expertly made, well balanced, yummy wine. This would pair very well with a nice bacon wrapped filet.

The A to Z website has a list of local distributors, if you would like to find the Night & Day Southern Crossing in your area.

http://www.atozwineworks.com/distributors.html

2005 Conn Creek Limited Release Cabernet Sauvignon $19

The majority of the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are sourced from Conn Creek’s Collins Vineyard in Napa, with grapes from 8 other Napa sub regions rounding out the mix. 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot, 4% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot. The wine is aged for 26 months in 40% new and 60% 1 year old French oak Barrels. Alcohol content is 14.8%. 30,000 cases produced.

Dark burgundy red in color. The nose is more vegetable than fruit, green pepper dominates, and then flowers along with oak. This is no fruit forward wine, blackberry, figs, prunes with cocoa powder and oak spice. The tannins and the oak are evident but not out of balance. A lengthy tart berry finish.

A dark brooding wine, European in style, not the fruit driven Cabernet’s you usually see in this price range. A well made wine with quality Napa fruit, that is a change of pace from the usual wine available for under $20.

2009 Tres Pinos Three Pines Cuvee $5

A Trader Joe’s Exclusive made by San Antonio Winery, they have been in business 91 years and are the last remaining winery in Los Angles. This is a blend of Syrah, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, the grapes were grown in San Luis Obispo County, California (Paso Robles and the Central Coast growing areas). Like most Trader Joe’s wine there is virtually no information available on the Three Pines Cuvee, and San Antonio Winery does not list the wine on their website. I guess at five bucks a bottle there is no money left over for information or advertising.

A few years back, $10 was the cut off for good and bad wines, there was no telling what you were going to get. Now, $10 wines are almost always at least drinkable and often excellent values. Five dollars is the new cut off point and $5 wines are an adventure.

The color is dark but see thru cherry red. The nose is fairly simple, some red fruit, a little new mowed grass. The flavors are soft red fruit, some strawberry, plum, tart cherry, Nestle’s Quick Chocolate Milk powder, some green, unripe flavors pop up in the background. The mouth feel is slightly watery  and you can feel the bite of the tannins in the back of your palate. The cherry juice finish fades a bit too quickly, the tannins linger longer that the fruit flavors.

This is light years better than the cheap wine of my college days. If you are sitting around playing Madden Football on the Xbox with friends, the Tres Pinos should be considered as the beverage of choice. I don’t want to be be too hard on a $5 wine, I know how hard it is to make wine at that price, it’s just that there are so many good inexpensive wines on the market today, we are in the middle of cheap wines’ Glory Days.

2006 Montefalco Rosso

A red wine blend with grapes sourced from the Montefalco DOC growing region of Umbria, Italy. The blend is 70% Sangiovese, 15% Sagrantino and 15% Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. 15% of the grapes are aged in oak barrels, with the remainder aged in stainless steel vats. The alcohol content is 13.5%.

The color is deep dark black cherry with strawberry highlights. The nose is stewed red fruit, pencil shavings, iced coffee and black licorice. A velvety mouth feel. Soft fruit at first, raspberries, cherry Twizzlers, then buttered toast covered with blackberry jam. Very light tannins, but a good bit of acidity. A light cola finish.

A well made wine, balanced and good tasting. This wine calls out for a wonderful plate of Italian cheeses and would work really well with American BBQ or drinks very nicely on it’s own.

2006 Barnard Griffin Merlot $13

A bit of Taste of Columbia Valley, with grapes being sourced from vineyards in 5 of the 7 of Columbia Valley’s growing areas. 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Syrah, aged 15 months in European oak. Alcohol is 14.1%

A deep dark red with black highlights. The nose is ripe red fruit, chocolate covered cherries and Swisher Sweets cigar. Big soft fruit flavors upfront, cherry, some strawberry and then vanilla followed by Altoids spice. You can feel a bite from the tannins and oak in the back of your mouth, not overly tannic, but the tannins are definitely there. A decent cherry vanilla finish.

I saw Sideways, I didn’t care that Myles hated Merlot, but for some reason in the years after that movie Merlot lost it’s way. But, Merlot is back, this is a good tasting, full bodied wine. Pair it with beef and pork cooked on the grill.

2008 Villa San-Juliette Paso Robles Merlot $13

The owners of Villa San-Juliette are the Producer’s of “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance”. This Merlot is produced and bottled by the Villa San Juliette Winery Estate, which is located in Paso Robles, California. 85% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Syrah. The wine is aged for 16 months in new and neutral French oak barrels. 1,000 cases produced.

Deep dark opaque black cherry in color. The nose is cherries, raspberries, vanilla, menthol and a hint of melted chocolate.  A very rich, lush mouth feel, almost velvety in texture. It tastes of tart black cherry combined with dark chocolate, then a touch of vanilla spice, followed by some sweet tannins and a long, long, long vanilla spice finish, with a touch of the chocolate still holding on.

Wow, now this Merlot is a head turner. Big, bold, tasty and strong. Many value priced Merlots are wishy-washy, no real identity, nothing going on to make you say, “boy, do I like Merlot.” But not the Villa San Juliette Merlot, it makes a statement, it gives you a reason to like Merlot, and the price is an outright bargain.

2008 Fortant de France Merlot

100% Estate grown Merlot from the Languedoc region in the South of France. The wine sees no oak, and is aged in stainless steel vats. This is a kosher wine.

Very dark red with black highlights, but see thru. The nose is tart cherries, dust, cocoa powder and mint. It tastes of dark fruit, plums, blackberries with a healthy dose of chocolate. Good smooth tannins and a decent berry finish.

A dark and brooding Merlot with a bit of body to it. Good tasting, I would drink it on it’s own, rather than pair it with food.

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