Silver Oak Cabernet
This dark ruby wine is a big mouthful of ripe berries with woody herb nuances. It offers soft-ish, refined tannins but, if I must be critical, an understated finish. Somewhat pricey at around $80, but an overall very good wine.
Can't-Miss Offer from Cult Vines
December 2, 2009 By
2007 Cult Vines Cabernet Sauvignon
A while back I wrote about CultVines‘ Cabernet and Roussanne and they just sent me a very neat offer that I thought I’d pass on:
“Send some Holiday Cheer and receive Gary Vaynerchuck’s Book, “Crush It” for free!
Well folks, it’s that time of the year again, but this year we’ve got great news! After two long years in french oak, our 100% To Kalon Cabernet has been released and boy does it taste fantastic! We’ve already received rave reviews, such as this one. http://corkd.com/x1NBzS3 Cork’d | Wine Reviews for 2007 Cult Vines Cabernet Sauvignon (94 points)
Anyway, for the month of December, we’re celebrating by offering two promos. For every order of our white or red, we’ll throw in Gary’s new book “Crush It”. Its’ a great read and inspirational for anyone looking to have a great 2010. And, if you order at least 6 bottles, use coupon code promo30 and we’ll give you an additional 30% off our wine!”
I’m in!
Spit & Twit – Who Wouldn’t Buy Into That Concept?
November 12, 2009 By
I attended Wine Twits’ Spit & Twit event last week at City Winery in New York City. The launch event for this concept was very well-attended and featured over 100 wines from around the world. Steve and his team from Wine Twits really did a great job putting this event together. The concept is simple: 1) Taste a wine 2) Spit (or not) 3) Twitter about the findings. Large TV screens throughout the room display live feeds of the tweets as patrons send them. Neat, no?
I enjoyed some pretty great wines and met fabulous folks in the wine trade, and found the space at City Winery to be ideal for this type of event. Each winery, or wine distributor, featured his/her product at tables set up throughout the place and patrons made their way around the room savoring wines from around the globe. A sponsor of the event, Riedel, provided each guest with a fine piece of stemware upon arriving, and this made the tasting all the more enjoyable.
Some of the wines I particularly enjoyed were:
2008 Alder Springs Roussanne Westerly Vineyard
2007 Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyards
2004 D’Arenberg The Dead Arm Shiraz
2007 Ravines Wine Cellars –Cabernet Franc
2007 Ravines Wine Cellars – Pinot Noir
2007 Benziger Signaterra Pinot Noir, Bella Luna Vineyards
I’m looking forward to seeing where Wine Twits will host its next event. Count me in on the concept of tasting then tweeting my findings.
2007 Benziger Signaterra Pinot Noir, Bella Luna Vineyards
November 12, 2009 By
Benziger Signaterra Pinot Noir
This wine personifies Russian River Pinot Noir. The 2007 Signaterra Pinot Noir shows a perfect marriage of fruit and spice, soft tannins and velvety mouthfeel.
Price: Around $50
Cult Vines at Spit & Twit – Crème de la Crème Wines
November 11, 2009 By
I attended Wine Twits’ Spit & Twit event last week at City Winery in New York City. The launch event for this concept was very well-attended and featured over 100 wines from around the world.
While I enjoyed some pretty great wines and met fabulous folks in the wine trade, I especially enjoyed the two wines served by Cult Vines, whose motto is “is to provide the finest wine to discreet connoisseurs and collectors”.
2008 Alder Springs Roussanne Westerly Vineyard
2008 Cult Vines Roussanne
This golden honey colored Roussanne has a beautiful nose, huge mouthfeel, bright apple flavor. This wine is well-balanced but with higher alcohol content and would be outstanding with food. Could use some cellaring. Chardonnay drinkers, move over to this wine.
Price: Around $49
2007 Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyards
2007 Cult Vines Cabernet Sauvignon
It was difficult to pull myself away from the lush fruit aroma in order to actually sip this wine, but I certainly wasn’t disappointed when I did. This Cabernet offers the darkest, opaque purple hue that’s easy to simply stare at for a while. This wine is full of ripe fruit, especially blackberry, and young, not at all unpleasant, tannins. Craved a rare porterhouse after the first sip.
Price: Around $125
2004 D'Arenberg The Dead Arm Shiraz
November 11, 2009 By
2004 Dead Arm Shiraz
The 2004 The Dead Arm Shiraz was one of the top five wines I tasted at a recent event featuring over 100 wines. This fabulous full-bodied wine offers a beautiful dark purple color that’s impossible to resist. This Shiraz explodes in the mouth with bold blackberry, peppery spice flavors, and although still young it’s pleasantly tannic and complex.
Apparently, I’m not the only taster who enjoyed this Shiraz: “This deep, rich, full-bodied, tannic Shiraz should be drinkable in 2-3 years, and will last for two decades or more. It is the finest Dead Arm since the 2001.” Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate 95+ Points.
Price: Around $50.
Ravines Wine Cellars – 2007 Cabernet Franc
November 10, 2009 By
Ravines Cab Franc
The 2007 Cabernet Franc by Ravines Wine Cellars from the Finger Lakes, is a ripe, slightly oaky wine with medium tannins that is enjoyable now but will become outstanding with a little cellaring. Uncork this wine as you’re grilling for Father’s Day next year.
Great buy at around $20.
Ravines Wine Cellars – 2007 Pinot Noir
November 10, 2009 By
Ravines Pinot Noir
The 2007 Ravines Wine Cellar Pinot Noir, from the Finger Lakes, is a beautiful bright ruby in the glass and vibrant, slightly spicy cherry in the mouth. The soft tannins and pleasant velvety texture provide the smooth, long finish that all classic Pinot Noirs try to achieve.
Nicely-priced at around $20.
Parigot & Richard Crémant de Bourgogne Blanc de Blancs
November 9, 2009 By
Cremant de Bourgogne
I had an opportunity to sample this creamy, voluptuous Crémant while at a wine tasting where over 100 wines were served. I can easily say that it was the nicest example of a non-Champagne bubbly there was, and at around $23, a bargain.
The mostly Chardonnay blend, highlighted with Aligoté, is pure elegance. With its light honey color, its fruity notes and pleasant freshly-baked bread flavor, this bubbly will please both casual and sophisticated palates.
2005 Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva
November 1, 2009 By
2005 Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva
This big and rich Chianti was rated 91 by Wine Spectator and rightly so. This wine features spicy and sweet layers and intense dark berry flavors. The color of this wine is the darkest ruby.
Served half the bottle decanted and the other half not. The wine out of the bottle was sharp but not unpleasant and made me glad that I decanted some of it. The decanted wine show more velvety tannins and was smooth and delectable.
Successfully paired the 2005 Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva with bacon-wrapped filet mignon and it was a good match. Not the first thing I’d think of pairing with it, but worked well none-the-less.
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