*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample.

Still digging into those deep dark reds for the winter months here in VA. Though I awoke yesterday to find that my daffodils had started blooming. That just isn’t right.  We’ve barely even had enough cold days to make a fire in the woodburning stove this year! Instead I’ll just pretend it’s cold and snuggle up tonight with the 2008 Murietta’s Well The Spur Anniversary Blend.  The Spur is a blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Petite Verdot, 10% Petite Sirah, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Malbec. It clocks in at $14.5% alcohol by volume, has a screw cap closure, and the current 2009 vintage retails for $25.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) Chocolate covered cherries and blackberries in a glass shaken with herbs and pepper.

2.) I enjoyed this wine more on its own than with our beef stroganoff.

3.) This would have been great with the bbq ribs we had last week.

4.)  Watch the alcohol content on this one, it was well integrated and could easily creep up on you.

On the nose I got blackberry, pepper, black cherry, herbs, oak, and chocolate.  In the mouth I found blueberry, blackberry, pepper, oak, spice, and baking chocolate.  The wine had tannins to spare which is what makes me think it would have worked nicely with the bbq ribs we had last week since they had plenty of nice crispy fat on them.

Continuing on the theme of big winter reds, we dug deep into the cellar for this gem.  In 2009 I, along with a bunch of other bloggers, invaded Calaveras County, specifically the town of Murphys, CA.  One of our stops on that trip was Newsome Harlow, a favorite of mine from my first visit to Murphys.  So this wine has spent a bit of time since then chilling in my basement waiting for me to open it up.  The 2006 Newsome Harlow Train Wreck retails (at the time) for $19, has a real cork closure, and clocks in at 14.4%.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) A divine chocolate covered blueberry blackberry tart dusted with cinnamon and campfire jumps out of the glass.

2.) I actually enjoyed this more sipping it after dinner than with my burgers. Maybe it was the burgers, but I think it was because I just wanted to savor it on its own.

3.) In my notes, I might have the favorite thing I’ve ever written about a wine in my comments on this bottle: “It’s like a s’more in a glass!”

4.) Calaveras County is pumping out some great wines and is well worth your time to visit and try all the wineries.

On the nose I got chocolate, herbs, cinnamon, blueberry, blackberry, cedar, campfire smoke, and graham cracker. The graham cracker cinched the “s’more” reference for me.  The wine had one of those noses I wanted to dive into and swim around in.  In the mouth I found cinnamon, red hots, smooth fruits, blueberry, blackberry, black cherry, and spice. The 2006 Train Wreck has well integrated tannins with a long finish and is drinking fantastically at this point. Drink up!

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Rodney Strong.

Although our weather is still oddly behaving as if it’s spring rather than winter, I’m getting in the big red wines while I still am in the winter mindset!  We have had a few random colds days here and there, and that’s when we busted open the 2007 Rodney Strong Rockaway, a Cabernet Sauvignon. The Rockaway clocks in at 15.2% alcohol by volume, has a real cork closure, and retails fro $75.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) I served the wine with herb roasted chicken. I’d suggest something with a little more fat to stand up to the wine.

2.) The wine is a nose and mouthful of blackberry juicy goodness with a side of chocolate and espresso.

3.) With Valentine’s Day coming up, pair this wine with a steak and a chocolate torte for a great evening.

4.) The Rockaway comes in one hefty bottle.

On the nose I found juicy blackberry, black currant, pepper, chocolate, espresso, and a little note of campfire.  In the mouth I got black cherry, blackberry, chocolate, black currant, earth, and more black fruit.  A dark fruit wine with lots of juicy notes complemented by earth, spice, and chocolate, serve it with your next steak dinner.

A few weeks ago I took part in many Taste Live events surrounding the Napa Valley Film Fest.  Over the course of 4 days I tasted a ton of great wines from Napa helping to celebrate the Film Fest from afar.  I’ll always take a good excuse to drink in the middle of the day! One of my favorite wines from the event was the 2009 Saintsbury Carneros Lee Vineyard Pinot Noir.  The 2009 is not yet released, but will retail for $45, clocks in at 14.5% alcohol by volume, and has a real cork closure. I took this with me to our weekly neighborhood BBQ and it was a huge hit there as well.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) I couldn’t ask for a better wine to drink mid-day on a Saturday. Or with my neighbor’s delicious seasoned pork on the bbq.

2.) Also consider this for your Christmas dinner celebration. Especially if you are serving a pork loin.

3.) The Pinot had all the herby, mushroom-y, and earthiness with bright red fruits that I love about Pinot.

4.) My neighbors adore when I have live tasting events, they totally benefit!

On the nose I found dried cherries, raspberries, herbs, spice, mushroom, and earth. This was a wine I definitely went back to after the tasting concluded because I really wanted to savor the aroma. The format of a TasteLive event doesn’t leave a lot of time for savoring, so a mid-day event is actually perfect for me, since it doesn’t leave me ending the event at 10 and looking desperately toward bed. In the mouth I got dried cherry, raspberry, herbs, earth, and pepper. The wine had great acidity and drank beautifully on its own and with food.

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from the PR folks for the brand.

On a cold, blustery night, with a fire roaring in the wood stove, what could be better to cap off the evening than a glass of port?  Not much.  With daylight savings in full effect, the nights are long and dark, the only cure for which is a huge fire and a warm blanket.  Some red wine and a hearty stew helps as well.  On one such night we pulled out the NV Terra d’Oro Zinfandel Port.  The Terra d’Oro is a 375 mL bottle with a plug cork closure, clocking in at 19% alcohol by volume and retailing for around $18.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) Chocolate covered figs, currants, and blackberries in a glass make it a fabulous complement to homemade vanilla ice cream.

2.) Pour it directly on your ice cream or drink it on the side.

3.) It’s a fun dessert wine for the price point and would make a great companion to those rousing after-holiday dinner Pictionary tournaments.

4.) Everyone will have room for at least a small taste of this wine even after the turkey, mashed potatoes, rolls, green beans, sweet potatoes, pie…..

On the nose I got chocolate, spice, pepper, blackberry, fig, plum, sage, and chocolate syrup.  In the mouth I found blackberry pie, creamy vanilla, chocolate, chocolate syrup, fig, and currants.  Not too sweet, not too dry, this would be great as dessert or to complement the dessert course.

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from the PR folks for the winery.

Clif Family Winery is brought to you by the same folks who make Clif bars.  Now, I must admit that I can be a bit skeptical of branching out from one product line to something completely different, but the Clif Family has managed to pull it off in spades. In addition to the 2010 Clif Family The Climber Red which I’ll tell you about here, this week I also tasted the 2007 Clif Family Kit’s Killer Cabernet Sauvignon, which was, indeed, killer.  The 2010 The Climber Red is a blend of 50% Zinfandel, 36% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Sirah, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 3% Merlot.  It has a screw cap, clocks in at 13.9% alcohol by volume and retails for $14.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) The nose on this wine rocks. Way more than expected for a $14 wine.

2.) Think turkey day on a budget for this wine.

3.) I’m totally impressed with the quality I’ve seen so far from Clif Family.

4.) Overall this wine way overdelivers for the price point.

On the nose I found the wine to be spicy with mint, red fruits, pepper, coffee, chocolate, black cherry, and earth. One of those noses that I just wanted to keep sniffing, but if I did I’d miss out on my share of the wine!  In the mouth I got tart red fruit, cherries, cedar, earth, blueberries, spice, and pepper.  The wine had good tannins and acidity.

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Cornerstone Cellars

We actually got some snow the other day/night in VA. In October.  That is pretty much unheard of for this area of the country.  The snow turned my thoughts to the big red wines that have been patiently waiting in my cellar all summer for me to drink them. I decided it was the perfect time to crack open the 2007 Cornerstone Cellars Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.  The wine clocks in at 14.5% alcohol by volume, has a real cork closure, and retails for $60.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) It’s still a baby. But some time the decanter cures that easily.

2.) If you’re thinking about serving something along the lines of beef tenderloin for any of your holiday meals, this is the wine for you.

3.) Cornerstone Cabs have been among my favorites since I first tasted them…many moons ago now!

4.) If big, black fruit and hints of pepper are what you look for in a Cab, you will love this wine.

On the nose I got berries, chocolate, earth, pepper, herbs, and black cherry. In the mouth I found more black cherry, blackberry, chocolate, blueberry, and anise.  The wine was quite tight at first, with tannins to spare. I ran it through my Soiree which definitely helped open it up, but I think a few hours in the decanter before serving would really do the trick for this wine. I served it with NY Strip steaks on the grill, and as always, this Cab is plenty big and firm to marry nicely with the steak.

Back to one of my favorite areas to get Pinot Noir from, the Russian River Valley. The Russian River Valley is where I fell for Pinot Noir, hard. Now, I love it in many of its incarnations, however, time and again I come back to the Russian River to seek out the Pinot Noirs. Tonight we tried the 2009 Rodney Strong Russian River Valley Pinot Noir which clocked in at 14.5% alcohol by volume, had a real cork closure, and retails for about $20. Sorry for the lack of pictures lately, I lost a lot of photos when I killed my computer by dumping wine on it…

1.) Think Thanksgiving. This is a crowd-pleaser of a wine.

2.) Rodney Strong consistently impresses with the value for the price point.

3.) I loved the nose on the Pinot Noir.

4.) I would think this wine would retail for quite a bit more than it does.

On the nose I got smoke, campfire, caramel, earth, herbs, strawberry, and raspberry.  In the mouth I found tart fruit, raspberry, cherry, strawberry, flowers, earth, and a bit of the smoke from the nose. The wine had great structure and acidity and displayed the red fruit and earthiness I’ve come to love from the Russian River Valley.

Told you I found some lost tasting notes! I think this 2009 Ritual Veramonte Pinot Noir was the second wine for the Chilean Tasting. Veramonte is a winery that I have recommended many times in the past, particularly for their Sauvignon Blanc. This time I’ll give out a hearty recommendation to the Ritual Pinot Noir. The Ritual had a real cork closure, clocked in at 14% alcohol by volume, and retails for about $18.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) At $18 this is a wallet friendly option for Thanksgiving. Or Tuesday.

2.) The nose and the palate both had a lot going on. I love that at this price point.

3.) Veramonte wines continue to deliver bang for the buck for me.

4.) This wine could help sway me to the “fan of Chilean Pinot Noir” camp.

On the nose I found cigarette smoke, barnyard, earth, leather, a meaty note, herbs, and berry. In the mouth I got dark berries, earth, leather, mint, Vicks Vapor Rub, and more dark fruit.  This is not a light and delicate Pinot Noir. It is a bigger and darker version, so keep that in mind if you are going to go for it.

*I received this wine as a sample from the PR folks for Wines of Chile.

Alas, I was so close to catching up on my older tasting notes. And yet again I failed. I pulled out a notebook to jot down notes for the Carmenere and Curry Chilean Wine Tasting the other night and lo and behold discovered some notes from the April Pinot Noir and Syrah Chilean Tasting. Not wanting to fail in my self-proscribed mission of detailing all the wines I taste, I thus present you with the first note I found. This is for the 2009 Valdivieso Reserva Pinot Noir. It had a screw cap closure, clocked in at 14.5% alcohol by volume, and retails for about $17.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) It needed time for the alcohol to blow off and settle in.

2.) The nose offered up a lot more than the palate delivered.

3.) I think perhaps $14ish would be a better price point for this wine.

4.) Overall the jury is still out for me on Chilean Pinot Noir.

On the nose I found sour cherry, earth, cinnamon, spice, a little pepper, and leather.  In the mouth I got cherry, dark cherry, and sour cherry. The palate was a bit simple, offering only cherries to me, but it had good structure and acidity.