Category Archives: Red Wines

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards Napa Valley: Right Bank 2011 Review

Anderson's Conn Valley Right Bank Review

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards’ former winemaker, Mac Sawyer, sadly passed away recently. Working together with founding winemaker Todd Anderson (Mac was brought on when Todd created the ultra-exclusive Ghost Horse Label) the estate produced world class wines which earned high scores and were widely recognized for their exceptional quality. His legacy lives on in the wines being produced today.

It was he who had interned at Chateau Cheval Blanc, one of the most famous wine producing estates in the world. Remember the wine Miles’ character coveted in the movie Sideways? It was a bottle of 1961 Cheval Blanc. The irony here is that despite his profound distaste for Merlot, Cheval Blanc’s annual composition is almost always at least a quarter Merlot.

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Seavey Vineyard Napa Valley: 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Review

Seavey Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 Review | Seavey Vineyard

Seavey Cabernet

On our recent trip to Napa Valley during harvest we made it a point to visit Seavey Vineyard. I’ve long been a fan of their under the radar age-worthy Cabernet and wanted to see their operation and taste their current releases, especially their flagship wine: The Seavey Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2009.

I left Seavey Vineyard with delicious estate Cabernet and Merlot to take home and enjoy. But that wasn’t all we took home. We had an intimate one on one experience with Dorie Seavey, the daughter of William Seavey who founded Seavey Vineyard.

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Bodegas Alta Pavina Citius Pinot Noir 2009

Alta Pavina Pinot Noir 2009 | Bodegas Alta Pavina

Bodegas Alta Pavina Citius Pinot Noir 2009

What do you get when you grow the revered and fickle Pinot Noir varietal in the now overachieving wine growing region of Spain under the auspices of legendary wine consultant Claude Bourguignon? I present to you the Bodegas Alta Pavina Citius Pinot Noir 2009.

Spain is a wine producing region that was once known more for the volume of wine it produced rather that the quality of the wine it produced. Fortunately for us wine consumers, that has significantly changed and Spain has been a consistent source of high quality values for years.

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Chateau Figeac 1990

Chateau Figeac 1990

Chateau Figeac 1990

In this edition of “Great Wines with Great Friends” we take a look at a nice mature Bordeaux from an interesting Right Bank producer. With 40 hectares of vineyards, Chateau Figeac is the largest producer in Saint-Émilion and one of the most well known estates. It is not to be confused with the other 151 Chateau throughout France whose name includes “Figeac”. It’s wine carries the Premier Grand Cru Classé (Class B) classification within the Saint-Émilion ranking system.

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Espelt Garnacha Old Vines Emporda 2010

 Espelt Garnacha /Espelt Grenache Old Vines Emporda Review

Espent Grenache Review

I’ve been thinking that I want to share more wines around the $10 price point that I feel offer great value. While some of the wines I’ve featured in recent posts have represented value in their own respect, they may have been a little out of reach as an everyday drinker. Wines around the $10 price point don’t have to be insipid and uninteresting, but sadly they often are.

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Casa Lapostolle Clos Apalta 2005

 Clos Apalta 2005 | Casa Lapostolle

Casa Lapostolle Clos Apalta

I must admit I have high expectations for this wine. The Casa Lapostolle Clos Apalta 2005 not only received a 96 point score from The Wine Spectator but they also recognized it as the #1 Wine of their annual ‘Top 100’ in 2008.

This Clos Apalta is produced from one of the best recent vintages in Chile’s Colchagua’s Apalta sub-valley. Wine Spectator has even credited Casa Lapostolle’s Clos Apalta bottling with establishing Chile as a premier red wine growing region. How could you not be curious about this wine with such glowing accolades?

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Waterstone Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

Waterstone Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

Waterstone Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

I have to admit that I am a sucker for a good mystery, especially when it relates to wine and where the fruit is sourced. It’s always exciting to find a wine that is relatively inexpensive yet made with fruit from well pedigreed growers or producers that charge considerably more for their wines. Take the Pine Ridge Encantado Red Blend I recently reviewed for example.

I feel like these opportunities are few and far between in the wine world. As a consumer we usually have a good idea where the fruit used to make the wine was sourced (particularly when estate grown), or we have little to no idea (the winery sources their fruit from various growers). But with the Waterstone Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, it is rumored that the fruit was sourced from declassified Harlan Estate lots!

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Terrazas Reserva Malbec Review | Terrazas Winery

Terrazas Reserva Malbec 2009 | Terrazas de los Andes

Terrazas Malbec

The Terrazas Reserva Malbec hails from the province of Luján de Cuyo, located in Mendoza, Argentina, far away from Malbec’s origins in the south of France. Not far off, however, is some serious French influence. It turns out that in the 1950s the French Champagne producer Maison Moët & Chandon commissioned their wine analyst, Renaud Poirier, with the task of exploring the possibility of South American wine production. Renaud’s conclusion: That Luján de Cuyo was the best location in South America for fine wine production.

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Bodega Monteviejo Lindaflor ‘Petite Fleur’ 2009 Red Blend Mendoza

Lindaflor Petite Fleur Review

While I really enjoy single-varietal wines, like a 100% Cabernet or a 100% Malbec, I find that they sometimes lack something or that they can be one-dimensional. The Cabernet might be too tannic and need to some age to soften and the Malbec might lack the underlying structure to withstand cellaring. They don’t benefit from the harmonization that blending can bring to a wine. But today’s specimen has been fashioned by none other than Laura Catena: the Bodega Monteviejo Lindaflor ‘Petite Fleur’ 2009 Red Blend from Mendoza, Argentina.

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Costco Kirkland Signature Malbec 2011 Mendoza

Costco Kirkland Signature Malbec 2011 Mendoza | Costco Wine

Costco Kirkland Signature Malbec Review

Who doesn’t love Argentinian Malbec? It is softer and less tannic than its French sibling from Cahors. Lauded for its generous texture, inky violet colors and fruit forward flavors, most entry-level Argentinian Malbec is ready to drink now and won’t bust your wine budget.

It’s no wonder it has become a go-to staple in households everywhere. I am always excited to try a new Malbec as well as any of Costco’s Kirkland Signature wines so when I saw Costco’s Kirkland Signature Malbec 2011 Mendoza I simply had to try it.

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