Cuna de Reyes 2009 Rioja Crianza (Spain)

Posted by Keith Wallace on Dec 18, 2012 in Wine Reviews | 0 comments

Aged for a year in French and American oak,  this wine is mostly Tempranillo with some Garnacha and Mazuelo. Grapes are sourced from vineyards in Nájera,  in the southern edge of Rioja Alta.

The wine shows a great deal of finesse, showing classic Rioja vigor.  Aromas of ripe cherry and toasted spices are followed by a bit of dirty vanilla. Medium bodied with fine and linear tannins, the fruit flavors are bright red fruit with black pepper and a touch of savory herbs. The finish moves to vanilla and cedar. A very nice bottle and a best buy.

Available at Bacchus Selections

About Rioja Alta

Logroño and Haro, the principal towns of Rioja, are both in the Rioja Alta. Logroño is a very big town by Spanish standards, but Haro, at the western edge of the region, is an enclosed hilltop community and a much smaller, far more charming, older, and traditional place. The area’s wine is Rioja’s fullest in terms of fruit and concentration, and can be velvety smooth. Bodegas Muga makes fine examples of pure Rioja Alta, as do CVNE (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España)—in the form of their Imperial line—in nine years out of every ten.

Cabernet Sauvignon Smackdown

Posted by Keith Wallace on Jun 15, 2012 in Wine Reviews | 0 comments

In an office cluttered with wine bottles, both full and empty, it’s hard not to think of myself as Mayor of Boozeville.  Every once in awhile, an editor will stroll in and talk shop. Someone else will poke in to pour themselves a glass or two. Other than those few moments, it’s just me and the wine for hours and hours.  It’s a lovely job writing wine reviews, but also a bit solitary: a drunken cage of corks, so to speak.

Today, there are more empty Cabernet bottles than anything else on my desk, and that is a very good thing.  A mentor of mine once told me that the best way to learn about wine was to pick a grape and dive in. That’s what I have done.

I have been drinking nothing but Cabernet Sauvignon from across the world: from Tuscany to Bordeaux to Napa Valley to South Africa. They all tasted dramatically different, yet each retained a “cab-ishness” quality. One of the most important things I remember from wine school was that each grape varietal has a unique fingerprint. For Cabernet Sauvignon, that fingerprint is an aroma of pencil shavings and green pepper. Sounds gross, but that’s the funny thing about great wine:  it unites crazy smells and flavor in surprisingly delicious ways.

The following are our current top picks. This list gets updated on a weekly and monthly schedule, so check back!

• Merryvale 2008 "Starmont" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
  The top bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon reviewed at Epikur Magazine. From Tuscany to Bordeaux to Napa Valley and South Africa: This list includes the best of the best bottles of Cab Sauv currently available, and the ones with the best quality to price ratio.
• Erasmo 2006 Viña La Reserva de Caliboro, Maule Valley, Chile
  The top bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon reviewed at Epikur Magazine. From Tuscany to Bordeaux to Napa Valley and South Africa: This list includes the best of the best bottles of Cab Sauv currently available, and the ones with the best quality to price ratio.
• Cabernet Sauvignon Smackdown
  

  The top bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon reviewed at Epikur Magazine. From Tuscany to Bordeaux to Napa Valley and South Africa: This list includes the best of the best bottles of Cab Sauv currently available, and the ones with the best quality to price ratio.

• CrossBarn 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon
  

  The “CrossBarn” is remarkably similar to the “Paul Hobbs,” but at half the price. It is lush and dense with richly soft tannins, it stains the glass with a deep crimson. Full bodied, it offers up rich flavors of blackberry and burnt oak that are deeply embedded into a savory impression of fresh bay laurel and roses.

• Andrew Will Winery 2007 Two Blondes Vineyard
  

  Figs and cassis meld with coffee and campfire notes, along with a strong impression of Herbes de Provence. The midpalate brings in fresher red fruits, and serious oak-influenced flavors of chocolate and allspice. The finish rolls on and on, bringing more pleasure than anyone could expect from a glass of wine.

Top Wine Buys for Our Pennsylvania Peeps

Posted by Keith Wallace on Jan 6, 2011 in News | 0 comments

Here is a list of our top wine buys in the Pennlyavania Wine & Spirits Shoppes. You can find these wines easily by using the Wine School’s Wine Finder. Happy Hunting!

Ravenswood 2002 Monte Rosso Vineyard Zinfandel, Sonoma Valley

$17.99 in PA ($25 outside PA) PLCB Code 13804

A definite must buy for Zin drinkers. Dense and full bodied, the wine uncorks with an explosion of deep black fruit and freshly roasted coffee beans. Rich but soft tannins carve out a core of caramel & chocolate that is quickly filled with a spicy finish. Damn fine.

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Pedroncelli 2004 Mother Clone Zinfandel, Sonoma

Posted by Keith Wallace on Jul 1, 2010 in Wine Reviews | 0 comments

Pedroncelli 2004 Mother Clone Zinfandel, Sonoma

A decent little bottle of Zin for the price. I add this wine to my “best buy” section with great hesitation. The last time I reviewed a Pedroncelli wine, it was quite negative, and the powers that be at the PLCB had a major hissy fit. I still haven’t forgiven them yet