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2007 Rodney Strong Cabernet Sauvignon (Sonoma)
2007 Rodney Strong Cabernet Sauvignon 12.99
From the rugged and rocky hills and valleys of Sonoma’s warmest reaches comes Rodney Strong’s 2007 Sonoma Cabernet. With a bouquet of smoldering red candy and fresh herbs, this vintage shows amazing texture and complexity for a Cab at such a reasonable price point. Tart, deep red fruits – Craisins, black cherries, currants and pomegranate – dominate the palate while subtle oak offers excellent balance without overpowering. Tannins are present, but don’t storm in, making this wine very ready-to-drink, but also quite agreeable to short-term cellaring. Juicy and approachable with copious amounts of fruit, this is another example from California’s lauded 2007 that will neither damage your wallet nor compel you to bruise any guest who fails to finish his glass.
90+ Points, Shawn Reynolds
Staff Selection, September 2010
Burgundy vs. California chard-off: No contest
2008 Langoureau Saint Aubin Blanc $19.99
Somewhat by accident I held an in-home judgment of Paris. On succeeding nights I opened two chardonnays, one Burgundian and the other Californian, both under $20. For some of us that’s not a school-night price; but for chardonnay of great quality, not $7 plonck , and yet both these over deliver in bang per buck.
The Burgundy and was 2008 St. Aubin Blanc (91 RAS, $19.99), a lovely find of ours smack next to the best chunks of Montrachet, Puligny and Chassagne. Here Sylvain Langoureau
makes a terrific chard bright gold, crisp and minerally with apples and a touch of honey. Burgundy that’s friendly to a sophisticated palate and wallet.
From Monterey in a cooler corner of sunny California, I tried the 2005 Bernardus (95WN, $17.99) with success, long rich and lush with peaches, honey and figs with limey acidity on the edge. Not the flabby sun worshipper, Californians are supposed to be.
Both were polished, crisp, and quite happy with shrimp in olive oil. A win-win for both sides in this round.
2007 Sequoia Grove Chardonnay (Carneros, California)
2007 Sequoia Grove Chardonnay 19.99
No malolactic fermentation, nice, natural acidity, with ribbons of crème brûlée and a hint of oak on the nose. This wine has a crisp, tart citrus feel that evolves into bright, yellow pineapple wedges bursting with juice. Light and refreshing yet still ample-bodied and textured, I tasted the 07 in April with Sequoia Grove Head Winemaker and President Mike Trujillo and assert that either another year in the bottle did this wine a tremendous justice or it was sorely underestimated by major reviewers. Mike sources his berries from Beckstoffer, Haire and Ghisletta and shows what California Chardonnays are truly capable of.
91 Points, Shawn Reynolds
Staff Selection, August 2010
2007 Chappellet Mt. Cuvee (Napa)
2007 Chappellet Mt. Cuvee (Napa) 21.99
The folks at Chappellet are famous for delivering quality wines at great prices and their 2007 Mountain Cuvee is one of California’s biggest steals. A blend of 51% Cab, 46% Merlot, rounded out with Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot, this wine brims with complex and vivid fruit flavors…plum, fig, and cherry cola with a lingering strawberry essence on the finish. Wine Spectator’s Tim Fish calls the Cuvee “rich and seamlessly mouthfilling, yet complex and beautifully structured.” We all love this wine.
92 Points, Shawn Reynolds
Staff Selection, July 2010
Additional Staff Scores: 91+RB, 90 RAS, 90SR
They know a good thing: 2008 Bogle’s chard is a bargain
2008 Bogle Chardonnay (California) 9.99
Consumers Report is the Wine Spectator for the thrifty snifter, and this month CR went on a hunt for very affordable chardonnays.
After working through big producers and store brands from California, Australia and South America they tapped four in various spots on the fruit to butterscotch spectrum. They found a staple of ours, Bogle, happily in the middle. I’ve always thought of them as quality pioneers in Clarksburg, and the chard one of their best.
According to CR: “Attractive combination of wood, butter and fruit with strong acidity. Nicely balanced, fairly complex.”
If WS is your gospel “Fresh and lively, full-bodied and smooth-textured, with vibrant green apple, melon, ripe pear and honeysuckle, ending with a long, full finish.” 87 Points.
- Chris Sherman, The Blogging Nibbler
Ravenswood: A totem of zinfandel
2007 Ravenswood Zinfandel Teldeschi (Dry Creek) On Sale: $25.99 for a limited time
Great zinfandel is easy to learn and remember. “I know it started with R.” You bet, the three R’s of zinfandel are Ridge, Rosenblum and Ravenswood, all wineries that have spent decades preserving and elevating California’s distinctive favorite.
Narrow it down further: “It was the one with the cool ring of birds on it,” and we’re talking Ravenswood, the Sonoma headquarters of the zin cult and the mastery of Joel “No Wimpy Wines” Peterson.
A flock of them has just landed, seven single-vineyard zins from Napa to Russian River, all different, all great, all at great prices from $25 to $45 and all very Ravenswood. Each pulled in big scores from 90 to 96, but the more significant number is 2007, the best vintage of the decade. Buy now to drink and hoard.
Btw, those cool ravens? They were designed by the same Bay area artist who did the graphics for Chez Panisse.
Not the least wimpy, yet very classy.
- Chris Sherman, The Blogging Nibbler
The 3 keys to Rosenblum Cellars: Zinfandel, zinfandel and … zinfandel
You knew that already, yet location counts a lot for the zin masters.
First, Rosenblum may be the closest winery to San Francisco. Honest, only a 20-minute ferry ride across the Bay to Alameda island on the Oakland side. Rosenblum is right next to the ferry stop.
Second, the grapes have a much longer journey for Kent Rosenblum, the cheerful veterinarian who founded the winery, scoured all of California for the best Zin vines often old and forgotten, and sometimes valiant colonies.
2007 Rosenblum Zinfandel Rockpile Road Vineyards (Dry Creek) $24.99
We have Rosenblum zins in a half dozen varieties but the greatest to me (and most of my fellow zinners here) is the Rockpile Road AVA. It’s above Geyserville and Dry Creek, an hour off Highway 101. Winemakers who buy grapes there call it heaven or the new Howell Mountain; it’s 2,000 feet up with rocky red soil and it makes bruising red wines with body and extra fire. Rosenblum’s 2007 Rockpile zin ($24.99) is jammy and juicy, sweet with raspberries and licorice and extra pepper… well, it just rocks.
That’s a grand showcase of what zinfandel can be. Zin-man Steve Rayman himself says 93. I say, fix the thickest steak you can find.
Or you could get to know Rosenblum the easy way with Vintner’s Cuvee XXXI ($8.99). No vintage, no specific appellation within California, just zin, big spicy and fruity zin. Your pizza will thank you.
- Chris Sherman, The Blogging Nibbler
2008 Ferrari-Carano Siena (Sonoma, California)
2008 Ferrari-Carano Siena (Sonoma) $16.99
“Ferrari-Carano’s Siena proves a fairly unique turn for an American winery. A blend of 74% Sangiovese and 26% Malbec, Siena represents a nod to Don Carano’s Italian roots. Ribbons of ripe, red fruit and a touch of caramel ascend from the glass. Fleshy, crimson juices carry through to the palate, beginning as cherry or strawberry, but soon the distinct zest of fresh raspberries takes over. Grip is light, with tannins playing but a supporting role. As the Siena blooms, it becomes juicier and semi-sweet, fruit thundering in almost Zinfandel-like, but without the brambly edge. This blend is an interesting departure from everyday domestic varietals. Lightly chill a bottle for a lazy Sunday on the patio.”
90 Points, Shawn Reynolds
Staff Selection, June 2010
2007 Rosenblum Zinfandel Rockpile Road (Dry Creek, California)
2007 Rosenblum Zinfandel Rockpile Road Vineyards (Dry Creek) $24.99
“Kinky, rich, ripe, sexy and luscious are just a few of the descriptors you can apply to Rosenblum’s Rockpile Road Vineyard Zinfandel. It borders on the sweet yet never crosses that boundry. It is decadent and curiously almost over the top. I have friends who don’t particularly like Zinfandel and yet they love Rosenblum Rockpile. The 2007 is classic and the best since the 2003. At a recent gathering it was the first bottle emptied. I suspect your experiences will be similar. It’s a great value.”
93 Points, Steve Rayman
Staff Selection, June 2010
Chappellet mountain cuvee: A 92-pointer for $21.99
2007 Chappellet Mt. Cuvee (Napa) $21.99
I love mountain fruit. I’m not sure why. Could be the deep roots or just the harrowing drive up to the vineyards. My fantasy is that it makes the grapes more intense and the people less so; Quiet, modest and elegant. That would be the Chappellets up on Pritchard Hill.
Their 2007 Mountain Cuvee ($21.99) a full Bordeaux meritage, 97 percent cabernet sauvignon and pinches of the other three, so there’s full complexity, with lots of flowers and fruits in the nose. In the mouth it’s sweet with plums, figs and cola. It‘s not a lightweight, but big (almost 15%), big lush and easy to drink now.
B-21 also has a full line-up of Chappellet’s top bottlings for the cellar, but we love this sampling of the Chappellet dedication to Bordeaux: It’s won at least a 90 from everyone here who’s tried it. You won’t find the like at this price.
- Chris Sherman, The Blogging Nibbler