Di Bruno Sangiovese "Stolpman Vineyards" 2002

There's a great little pizza and pasta place in Pasadena I like to go to when I'm down that way. You probably are familiar with the type of Italian food they make. Hand spun pizza, spaghetti and meatballs, veal parmigiana, and salads that are the size of basketballs. When I go I take at least one friend so I can order pizza and spaghetti with meatballs.

The table cloths are red and white checkered. The bread is garlicky and hot. The whole family is there for Saturday night. And they sell the Chianti in the wicker bottomed bottle from Italy. The one we used to turn into candle holders when we were young.

We all know Chianti, but not everyone may know that Chianti is made primarily with the Sangiovese grape. This versatile grape produces a wine similar to Zinfandel, that complements those hearty red sauces and spices of the family Italian cooking experience.

The Di Bruno is a classic example of Sangiovese, with spicy fruit smells and tastes, overlain with a hint of toasty oak. Bruno d'Alfonso, the ex-winemaker for Sanford Winery, has created a wonderfully affordable Italian style wine from Santa Barbara fruit obtained from the Stolpman people that would make a mama proud. You will need to provide your own wicker basket however, because this wine comes in the normal wine bottle. It will still take a candle in the top when the wine is gone. It's up to you.

$15.95 from the Amazing Wine Grapes people of Santa Margarita, California. I'm gonna need to check this place out! Thanks Jeff!! Now where's the pizza delivery number?

(Yes I know the label is wrong again! I could not find a 2002 lable. You would think people could post their dang labels!!)

Core Wine Company "Hard Core" 2003

The previously mentioned broker, Jeff Pierce (J.P.) sent some wine from L.A. for me to try. The Core wine looked interesting so this evening with enchiladas, we are Hard Core!



This Santa Maria company makes several wines, mostly blends, sourced from the Santa Barbara and Fresno areas.

The Hard Core from 2003 is one of those blends, and is comprised of Mourvedre, Grenache, and Cabernet. The current release is 2004 so J.P. found last years release in some hidden gem of a wine store.

The wine is a voluptuous burgundy in the glass, thick and leggy, with a touch of cloudiness showing an aversion to filtering and fining that many of the better winemakers have these days. That's not a bad thing in my mind. For many, the act of filtering removes too much body and flavor so the wine is allowed to settle first in the barrel, then bottle storage over time causes much of the cloudiness to fall out of solution and adhere to the bottle sides.

Although cosmetically, I prefer filtered wines, which also tend to be a tad smoother and less chewy when young, there are so many unfiltered bottles out there, you just can't be finicky any longer. I have found some filtered wines to be as tasty as unfiltered, but I suspect the decision lies with the quality of the grapes and the desires of the winemaker.

The Hard Core has a nose that presents the Grenache and Mourvedre more so than the Cabernet, which I suspect is there to smooth the usual edges of the other fruit. There is also a hint of greenness in the wines smell which does not carry into the taste but is nonetheless a slightly disconcerting odor I am not used to. It may just be the soil speaking or the method of pressing the grapes taking in some stem and seed overtones.

The berry flavors are indicative of warmer climates, with the tannins saying "store me". This wine can easily go several years with gentle, cool, beauty rest. Mostly in my cellar...

It is a mildly edgy wine, with a full mouth of flavor, that like a hearty Zinfandel seems to be ample enough to go along side spicy and full flavor foods, like my dinner tonight! The 14.5% alcohol is nicely hidden behind the wealth of taste.

275 cases produced. Moderately priced.

Thanks Jeff!

Marin Agricultural Land Trust Pinot Noir Wine Tasting

Just a note about a local event here in Marin County. The Marin Land Trust is having a two day Pinot Noir tasting to benefit the organization. The event takes place on Friday, June 9th and Saturday, June 10th at the historic Escalle Winery in Larkspur.

The event titled “A Celebration of Marin County Pinot Noir” will include Marin County winegrowers Corda Winery, Dutton-Goldfield, Pey-Marin Vineyards, Pt. Reyes Vineyard, Stubbs Vineyard, Sean Thackrey and Vision Cellars. Also featured will be a variety of artisan cheeses & other delicious foods – all grown on the family farms of Marin County.

More info can be found at the Marin Agricultural Land Trust website. And tickets can be purchased on the web here.

(Wine notes to follow. Stay tuned!)

Siduri Keefer Ranch Vineyard Pinot Noir 2002

Yes, yes, I know. I've been gone a while. Work has me going days, and a trip to L.A. took some time away. I did get to have dinner with my mother's broker, Jeff Pierce of A.G. Edwards in Laguna Beach, California, and together we drank Aubert Chardonnay, Roar Pinot Noir, and a wine from (as I recall) Kentucky. Yeah, that Kentucky. But he'll send me a review later on that wine to post. Suffice it to say that the tasting comments ranged from cherries to paint thinner. Best forgotten. The other two however.....sorry no notes, were excellent!

But tonight I thought I would give one of my old friends, Siduri a try. After scrounging around the cellar I settled on the Keefer Ranch from 2002. Unfortunately, the Siduri website has no info for the vintage and pretty much none for the vineyard.

Keefer Ranch is in Sonoma's Green Valley appellation. Think Martinelli.

It's a very pretty area dominated by farm land, horses, ranches (DOH!) and winding roads. Some of the other wineries using Keefer Ranch for fruit are Failla, Flowers, Loring, and a host of others I have never heard of. Let's just say that these Keefer folks grow some good grapes. And after four years in bottle the Siduri version is singing!

Smooth and elegant, this Pinot has what one would expect from a well known winemaker with quality fruit. A ripe nose of forward fruit, cranberries, cherries and spice, with a long slow comfortable finish on the tongue that says, "I am Pinot hear me sing!"

There are competing views on California Pinot consumption. (Notice that I excluded anything from abroad.) Some, like Brian Loring of Loring Wine Company, (forgive me Brian if I misquote) prefer their Pinot young and fresh, with all the brightness a young wine can offer.

Others like me prefer the wine has time to better become integrated, with at least some time in bottle to round out the edges, and smooth the tannins. But it's just personal preference.

This Pinot has what I like. It represents the top of west coast Pinot Noir, from which we can compare other wines we may have the good fortune to drink.

Expect to pay about $50 for most Siduri wines. They also produce the line of non-Pinot wines, Novy Family Wines. Adam's wife's family winery. These typically represent good value wines including Syrah, Zin and Cabernet. They are worth a try as well.

Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino 1997

This weekend I opened two different Brunellos from the same year, 1997. What this caused was nothing less than an epiphany.

Produced in the area of Montalcino in Tuscany, Italy, Brunello is comprised of 100% Sangiovese grapes. However the grapes from this area are a clone, or variety that is considered to be different from your run-of-the-mill Sangiovese. The Brunello wines have distinct floral notes on the nose, that are completely different from anything I have smelled before. It was a wonderful and glorious smell. I suspect for those that have spent time in Tuscany, it may even remind one of the smells while walking though a meadow there.

The Casanova had some age yet still seemed somewhat youthful and tannic. It was smooth, full bodied, and delicious. At nine years this wine could stand at least four or five more years to fully develop.

The second Brunello we tried was a 1997 Ciacci Piccolomini d'’Aragona. (Italian only...) This one was done to perfection. It had aged seemingly to it's peak. It was starting to change color by gaining some slightly brown tinge at the edges, and had developed a smooth consistency that typically requires bottle age to obtain. This also was a remarkable wine, but should be drunk soon if your bottle is in the same condition mine was. (Whatever that is, I don't know...)

What was remarkable was that the grape, the land, and the vintner can produce wine so alike smell. The difference was in taste. Do you like wine younger and fresher, or aged to a smooth delicate perfection. The choice is yours.

If Cabernets are your thing, then Brunellos can give you a wonderful alternative. Just don't look on grocer's shelves for this. The 2000 version of Ciacci Piccolomini d'Argona Brunello is selling here for $60.00.

A less expensive alternative would be the second wine of the region, Rosso di Montalcino at about half the price.

But be aware, the 1997 is considered to be one of the best years in history for Brunello, so you and I may never see another bottle. :(

If you have never had a Brunello, I suggest you go right on down to your local wine monger and get some now!

[Want to know more about Brunello? An excellent treatise on the subject is here.]

(And yes, you eagle eyed devil. The label date is wrong. Actually the date on the label is right. Although this article was about the '97!)

Justin Isosceles 2001

Ahhhh Fridays. The day I reserve to pull out something from the cellar that is a cut above. No more $3 wines for me tonight, baby!

I am planning to have some ravioli in red sauce so Cabernet came to mind as I was going down to the cool chill of the cellar. It's not often that I think of Cabernet to have with dinner. The need for big honking cuts of meat or plates of deep red tomato sauce are needed to complement a good Cab. And that's not something I have very often. At least not at home. I find the local restaurants do a better job at both. So for "good wine night" (not that whatever it is you are having is bad...) I often go for Pinot Noir, or Zin, or Syrah, or... Well you get the picture.

But tonight as I was scrounging around in the Cabernet section, I pulled out a bottle of Justin Isosceles. I used to be in the Justin wine club, the Justin Wine Society back when, and the Isosceles was one of those wines that they offered, as I recall, to members.

The 2001 version of this wine is 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Merlot. An unusual, but interesting combination in the right hands. At 15% alcohol, it is not a baby but lower than many reds coming from the Paso Robles area, and indeed lower than some Zins coming from the Sonoma area (16.5%!!). If you're not particularly up on the Paso Robles area wines, you should take some time to become acquainted. From the big robust, (and expensive) Zinfandel of Turley Wine Cellars, to the balanced, elegant whites from Tablas Creek Vineyard, Paso Robles producers have found a niche in winemaking that comes from ripe grapes with high sugar content and robust flavors that fruit grown in the valley makes.

The 2001 Isosceles is a good example of this area's better producers. This unfiltered, yet wholesomely clear wine, is big, fruity, toasty, stuff. Deep purple in color with nice legs on the glass, the wine exhibits rich Cabernet sauvignon notes, with overtones from the Franc to soften and round out what most likely would have been a tannic monster without the addition of Franc and Merlot.

It's not always an easy wine to obtain, and the current vintage is the '03 which is sold out. (Here comes the '04!) And at $57.50 it is not cheap. But when you are looking for something different and delicious, the Isosceles can work.

Be forwarned, the website has music, so you might want to turn of the speakers before you surf on over there. And while the winery is in beautiful countryside, and is a monument to the owners, the inclusion of an Inn on the property, named the Just Inn, (shoot me now!) the tasting room is a strange combination of... well tasting room and hotel check in counter. Couples in love mingle at the entrance with couples inebriated. Hmmmm....

Just remember that big wines may take time to reach maturity. Ok. It's Paso Robles, so it's not a long time. But give the reds from the area at least a couple of years to integrate into something nice. Young, the wines are just not that much fun. I could say the same for Ridge Vineyards wines, but I won't. At least not right now....

May your wine be wonderful and your glass full.

Hahn Estates Meritage Red Table Wine 2003

Well, if you are paying attention, the picture is of the 2002, which is the only picture their website had, and the webpage is for the 2004. But this review is for the 2003. The 2004 will just have to wait.

I first tried this wine in it's 2002 incarnation when it was selling at Cost Plus World Market for $5.99. What a steal this was. A great value that carried over to their Syrah which was selling at Longs Drugs of all places for $3.99! Apparently, sometime back in history, the Hahn Estate lost it's vision and started producing wines no one would buy. After finding a new winemaker and committing to a better product, they needed to move the wines that left buyers skeptical. (All this is supposition based on hearsay, but who cares really.) So they priced the '02 vintage at low prices making for extreme values to secure a better reputation in the market place. The 2003 vintage was purchased at Cost Plus for $11.99, so I guess that market demand for what is perceived as better than the '02 allows for the price hike.

I also suspect that the sale of Rex Goliath wines to the mega-brand Constellation Wines in 2004 helped accelerate the momentum at Hahn Estates by allowing Hahn the time and money to better focus on core brands; Hahn Estates and Smith & Hook wines.

The Hahn Estates newsletter The Town Crower, says about the 2003 Meritage; "Raspberry, cinnamon, and a sweet subtle oak in the nose. Bright cherry fruit upfront tops a cascade of plum, blackberry, cassis, and spice layers in the mouth. Dusty tannins appear at the backend and are supported with a nice acidity to keep the wine structured and focused long into the finish. Try with a garlic-peppercrusted roast New York strip loin, juniper-crusted venison with cranberry salsa, or braised beef short ribs."

This closely matches my notes pretty closely, as I thought it's mildly tannic but slightly sweet, full bodied flavors of plums and cherries was a good complement to my cheeseburger. Ok, it wasn't "garlic-peppercrusted roast New York strip loin", but who can afford one of those these days. What with wine prices going through the roof!

The wine is composed of 50% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Malbec, 2% Petit Verdot, and 1% Cabernet Franc. (The flyer does not show the last two, but volume is so low I can safely assume they do little to the final quality of the wine other than a small amount of color from the Verdot and some smoothness from the Franc.) Use of oak toast is minimal and alcohol is 13.5% according to the label.

After being open for a time I did notice that wine became somewhat flabby and one dimensional, but this is typical for a wine in the price range so I can't really fault it.

Hahn is starting to garner some awards like gold medals for their Cabernet, so they seem to be heading in the right direction.

This wine is a good value and a nice wine for consumption with meaty foods or sauces.

Enjoy!

[Sidenote: The 2004 meritage is now $15.99 at Bevmo! Why so high? "DOUBLE GOLD MEDAL, BEST OF CLASS, 2006 SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE WINE COMP. A wine of majestic proportions, the elegant and flavorful '04 Hahn Estates simply outclasses all others in style and balance." {here} Croiky! It just moved into a whole 'nother category!!]