Riesling Review: Argyle 2007 Riesling, Willamette

Posted by Keith Wallace on Jul 27, 2012 in Wine Reviews | 0 comments

A roaring bottle of white wine.  To recreate the flavor without tasting it, here is what you should do:

Grab a rake and a Buddhist monk, take them both on a road trip to Death Valley. Once you are there, make the monk draw circles in the sand with the rake. At gunpoint, if necessarily. Meditate on the vastness of the universe,  and then squeeze off  a few rounds into the air. After a few hours, call it a day. Stop off at a gas station and buy your monk a bouquet of flowers. Afterwards, let him eat a plateful of the most lush peaches you can find.  Once you and your monk have completed all these chores, sniff  his robes.  If he protests, just remember you still have the gun. Sniff again: that is the essense of the Argyle Riesling.

Of course, you could also just try a glass. It’s a fun bottle of wine with just enough juicy white fruit to balance out the racy elements. A bit of  ozone and salinity come into play in the midpalate.  The floral and mineral components are mostly in the long and pleasant. finish. .A very nice bottle of wine, especially for the summertime.

 About Riesling 

Via Wikipedia. The classic German grape produces a zesty, citrusy,intensely flavored wine of great mineral  complexity, length,and longevity. When grown on certain soils, the terpenes in Riesling benefit from bottle-age and can, after several years, develop a bouquet reminiscent of gasoline. Alsace and Austriamake most (not all) of the best Riesling. In Australia the wine from this grape has, by and large, a simplistic lime fruit character that is prone to going like gasoline in a relatively shortwhile, but lacks the finesse and complexity of truly classic petrol aromas.

Viognier Review: Angoves 2009 Nine Vines from Australia

Posted by Keith Wallace on Jul 22, 2012 in Wine Reviews | 0 comments

This Viogner review is courtesy of the Wine School of Philadelphia and Bacchus Selections.

Hands down, this is the bargain sipper of the moment. Typical Viognier aromas of peach and perfume are on the nose, along with a trace of nutmeg. The attack is round and lush: it’s boasting a creamy weight that turns a touch sweet. The flavor transform into trail mix –dried peaches, nuts, apple—and then comes back with jasmine and lilies.  It finishes with a refreshing note of fresh peach. A lovely bottle of Viognier for the price, although a bit heavy for a summer day.

Angoves is one of the oldest wineries in Australia, dating back to 1892, and is still family owned. The “Nine Vines” label is their  value line, and for the most part does a very good job of keeping quality levels high. The name is an homage to  the surviving nine grapoe vines from the winery’s original vineyard in Adelaide, South Australia.

About Viognier, via Wikipedia. This shy bearing variety was until relatively recently restricted to a small northern part of the Rhône Valley, where it produced the famous wines of Condrieu and Château Grillet. Despite the fact that this variety crept to Australia inside the seventies, the particular explosion did not occur prior to the the 19 nineties in Languedoc-Roussillon and California. At its best, Viognier features a lush, aromatic quality, with distinctive peachy character, but it is often over-oaked.

Gloria Ferrer 2002 Royal Cuvee

Posted by Keith Wallace on Jul 7, 2012 in Wine Reviews | 0 comments

The Ferrer family are best known for their other winery, the Spanish bubbly producer Freixenet. However, this Sonoma County winery, named after the family’s matriarch, almost always exceeds the quality of its older sibling.

The Royal Cuvee is one of the best examples of the Ferrer style. First produced for the King and Queen of Spain, when they visited California in 1987, this vintage bottle is a benchmark for American bubbly.

On the nose, it is a fresh strawberry tart, or perhaps toasted brioche with marmalade. Either way, this is a complex and layered wine with notes of vanilla and cardamom. The finish is crisp with just a touch of biscuits and cream.

Produced in the traditional Champagne method, the Royal Cuvee is aged on the lees for five years, and a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Dry Creek Vineyards 2008 “Foggy Oaks” Chardonnay, Russian River Valley

Posted by Keith Wallace on Jul 2, 2012 in Wine Reviews | 0 comments

Despite packing the double-whammy of barrel fermentation AND barrel aging, this wine still manages to retain wonderful fruit flavos, in particular fresh pineapple and lemon curd. Flavors reminicent of Grannie’s apple pie come into play too: vanilla, butter, dough, and cinnamon are some of the highlights.

At the end of the day, this is a rich and unctious Chardonnay. If you are a devotee of the butterball Chard, this very well may be Mecca.

Top Wines for Summer

Posted by Keith Wallace on Jun 8, 2012 in Wine Reviews | 0 comments

Our current top picks for summer sipping. Light and refreshing is the key. It’s always great to keep things fresh and just a bit exotic, too. The following of wines is updated on a weekly basis, so make sure to check back for the newest selections for summertime sipping.

• Riesling Review: Argyle 2007 Riesling, Willamette
  

  A Riesling review from Epikur Magazine. The Argyle Riesling is a fun bottle of wine with just enough juicy white fruit to balance out the racy elements. A bit of ozone and salinity come into play in the midpalate. The floral and mineral components are mostly in the long and pleasant. finish. .A very nice bottle of wine, especially for the summertime.

• Viognier Review: Angoves 2009 Nine Vines from Australia
  

  A Viognier review from Epikur Magazine. Hands down, this is the bargain sipper of the moment. Angoves is one of the oldest wineries in Australia, dating back to 1892, and is still family owned. The “Nine Vines” label is their value line.

• Gloria Ferrer 2002 Royal Cuvee
  Our current top picks for summer sipping. Light and refreshing is the key. It's always great to keep things fresh and just a bit exotic, too. The following of wines is updated on a weekly basis, so make sure to check back for the newest selections for summertime sipping.
• Dry Creek Vineyards 2008 "Foggy Oaks" Chardonnay, Russian River Valley
  Our current top picks for summer sipping. Light and refreshing is the key. It's always great to keep things fresh and just a bit exotic, too. The following of wines is updated on a weekly basis, so make sure to check back for the newest selections for summertime sipping.