Ferrari-Carano 2009 Mountain Vineyards Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon The Ferrari-Carano Winery was founded in 1981 by Don and Rhonda Carano and is located in Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley. If you enjoy pairing food with wine, be sure to visit the Ferrari-Carano website where Rhonda has a number of recipes. So if you are adventurous and have a passion for good food and wine, then try some of her recipes. I opened the 2009 Mountain Vineyards Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and noticed a deep Ruby color with subtle aromas of black fruits. The palate shows dark berries and cherries, somewhat complex with the presence of firm tannins. The wine is aged in French…
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Taken 2012 Napa Valley Red Wine Taken Wine Company was founded in 2009 when next generation winemakers, Carlo Trinchero and Josh Phelps realized their mutual dream to start their own wine label. Josh and Carlo grew up together in the winegrowing town of St. Helena, in the Napa Valley; wine is in their DNA. The wines are crafted to appeal to the millennial generation in terms of both what’s inside and outside the bottle. The names (Taken, Complicated, and Available) all tie into social media and are relevant to their generation. The two friends launched their Taken line of wines in 2010, with the tagline, “great wine made by great…
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Establo 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Humanity Marketing & Branding is a Social Impact Investing Company: “Doing Well by Doing Good” The founder, Michael Gilerman, discovered a huge unmet need in our society and made it his mission to figure out a way he could make a difference. Michael took his knowledge and experience of the wine industry, teamed up with his friend the renowned Winemaster, Cesar Baeza to create two lines of high quality / affordable wines. Part of the proceeds is to be donated through their unique “GIVE BACK” program to support nonprofit organizations dedicated to enrich the lives of people with special needs. Establo introduced two distinct lines of wine:…
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Alto Moncayo 2009 Garnacha Bodegas Alto Moncayo is truly among one of Spain’s finest wine estates. Bodegas Alto Moncayo is a joint venture of Jorge Ordoñez, Jose Miguel San Martin, Dan Phillips together with Bodegas Borsao. Their flagship wine is Alto Moncayo made from 100% old vines Grenache grapes. Their website is still being developed, but check out what they have and read the reviews from Robert Parker, a top U.S. wine critic. Located in the town of Bulbuente, Spain, the winery possesses very unique soils of red clay and the hillside location provides soils very poor in organic matter and shallow. Opening a bottle of the 2009 Bodegas Alto…
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Frank Family Vineyards 2013 Chardonnay Carneros First constructed as the Larkmead Winery in 1884, the building was refinished with native sandstone from the nearby hills in 1906 and still stands tall today. The massive stone edifice is considered an archetype of California’s wine country; it appears on the National Register of Historical Places and is listed as a Point of Historical Interest in the state of California. The Frank Family Vineyards focuses their energies on making superb wines, producing Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Pinot Noir, Petite Syrah and several distinctively different Cabernet Sauvignons. Today I am tasting their Carneros Chardonnay, I noticed a vivid pale yellow color and wonderful aromas of…
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Bodegas Alejandro Fernández Tinto Pesquera 2010 Reserva Wines produced by Alejandro Fernández are made exclusively from the difficult, quick-maturing Tempranillo variety, of which he is the acknowledged master. His world-famous Tinto Pesquera is aged a minimum of 18 months in oak, with selected Reservas and Grandes Reservas remaining in barrel for 24 months and longer. Already over 70 years old, Alejandro shows no sign of letting up, rising at five every morning and personally overseeing all stages of the winemaking. The attention to detail is evidenced in this excellent vintage. Opening a bottle the color is a very dark Ruby red with aromas of earthy red/black fruits with hints of…
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Ramey 2009 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon Ramey Wine Cellars crafts outstanding quality wines that are both delicate and magnificent and comes from some of the finest vineyards in Napa and Sonoma. Ramey selects vineyards for their ability to continue producing the highest quality fruit. David and his wife Carla founded Ramey Wine Cellars in 1996 after spending time at Matanzas Creek, Chalk Hill, Dominus and Rudd. Ramey Wine Cellars is located in Healdsburg, in the heart of the California wine country. Ramey’s varietals are basically Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Syrah. Today I will review their Napa Cabernet. The Ramey Wine Cellars 2009 Napa Valley, consists of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon with small…
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Sequoia Grove 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Who would have guessed Napa Valley, a small pioneer community established during the gold rush days would flourish into one of the most prestigious wine growing regions in the world today? Surrounded by its purple hued mountains, Sequoia Grove Winery sits on 22 acres right in the heart of the valley floor in a region referred to as the “Rutherford Bench”. Here the alluvial soil, rich in minerals, combined with the fog from the bay, mingling with the warm inland temperatures create the ideal location to produce Cabernet Sauvignon. Michael Trujillo, the Director of Winemaking and President, has been with Sequoia Grove since its…
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Andrew Murray Vineyards Today I am writing about 2 wines from Andrew Murray Vineyards, their Andrew Murray labeled Pinot Noir from Santa Ynez and their new offering “This is E11even” Pinot Noir from Santa Maria Valley. Both of these wines have similar price points and outstanding values. I recently met Andrew Murray at a tasting in Stew Leonard’s wine shop in Norwalk, CT (see picture of Andrew above). His wines were so popular that all of his higher priced offerings were sold prior to my arrival. However I was lucky enough to spend a few enjoyable minutes with Andrew discussing his wines, especially his new This is E11even offering. Hopefully…
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Château La Nerthe 2013 Châteauneuf-Du-Pape Blanc The vineyard of the Castle Nerthe represents 92 hectares of the single supporter, certified in organic farming since 1998, when the 13 grape varieties of the appellation are planted. It is about one of the biggest vineyards of Châteauneuf du Pape (the New Pope’s castle). The land is there special. The majority of the vineyard is pebbly with high terraces, combined with clay, lime and loamy sands sprinkled with pebbles rolling down the slopes on the Southern exposure. Today I have tried their Blanc wine, which is a combination of 4 grapes: 40% Grenache Blanc, 40% Roussanne, 10% Clairette and 10% Bourboulenc. Only about…