Archive for the 'Wine of the Month' Category
(Chronologically Listed)
August 2008
Wine of the month for August is appropriately timed with the annual release of this wine which is normally during August. It is Bogle Phantom, a red blend produced by Bogle Vineyards of Clarksburg California. Most of you are probably familiar with the Bogle Vineyards line of wines, they make a wide variety of wines that are usually readily available, but the Phantom is a bit harder to locate on the shelf. Bogle makes Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, as well as a port in addition to this month’s feature “Phantom”. I love the name as much as I love the wine, it’s mysterious and exciting at the same time. I am currently drinking the 2004 vintage, although I still have a few bottles of the 2003 vintage in my cellar as I put away at least one case per year to enjoy at a later date. We do this because once Phantom is gone, it is gone until next year. The 2004 vintage is comprised of 54% Petite Sirah, 43% Old Vine Zinfandel, and 3% Old Vine Mourvedre. The wine is deep ruby red with lots of fruit forward taste, while finishing with a perfect jammy spicy blend of flavor that is outstanding. The label says it is a deep ruby apparition that personifies the true spirit of the Bogle.. I could not agree more! For those of you that don’t know a Bogle is defined as A Goblin; a specter; a phantom; a bogy, boggart or bugbear. Watch for the latest release that we are so anxiously awaiting and pick up a bottle, you won’t be sorry!
Published by admin on August 12th, 2008 | Filed under Wine of the Month | Comment now »July 2008
The wine of the month for is a new one for us, Honig 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon. This is actually the first time we have tried Honig wines and we are quite pleased. The real question remains why did we never try Honig before? I’ve seen them in reviews and on the shelf and I am really unsure why I never picked up a bottle before now. We were so impressed with the Cabernet, we are anxious to try the Sauvignon Blanc. The 04 Cab is 97% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot. The fruit for this wine comes from both the family vineyards, one in Rutherford where the winery is located and another in Napa. The wines were pressed off the skins 10-23 days from harvest and then aged for 18 months.
The Honig Family started in the business back in the early 1960’s when Grandfather Louis Honig bought an old Rutherford Ranch in the heart of Napa Valley with a dream to make wine. The family honors the Grandfather with each wine they make and hope to evoke the vision he once had. The winery focuses exclusively on making Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon so they can craft wines with uncommon complexity. I agree they are doing something right. I would highly recommend the Cabernet Sauvignon to anyone who has never tried Honig before. While you are at it, I would go ahead and pick up the Sauvignon Blanc as well, I have no doubt it will be outstanding!
June 2008
I am going to go out on a limb here for the June wine of the month with something I have never done before. I am choosing a wine club member exclusive wine that you obviously can’t run out and buy a bottle to taste. Some of you may think that is cruel, however the intent is really just that I love the wine and also would like to show you that there are advantages to being a winery club member. A word of caution though, do not join any clubs while out tasting for the day. If you are interested, ask for the club member paperwork, complete and join at a later date. Everything sounds so much better after a few glasses of wine until the shipments start arriving and your credit card bill is rising. I would also suggest joining a club that only ships you winery or club member exclusive wines. You wouldn’t want to pay shipping on a bottle of wine that you can purchase at your local retailer for less. My wine of the month is a 2005 Cuvaison Diablo Syrah, Carneros. The 2006 was just released in our most recent club shipment for May and is resting in the cellar to recoup from the long journey to NJ. No kidding, you should lay the bottles down for a bit to let them settle after being shipped. We will have to see when we taste the 06 vintage if we make an additional purchase of the latest release Syrah as we did with the 05 vintage. I still have a half case or so left in the cellar. Diablo refers to a specific type of soil that can be found in the southern reaches of the Cuvaison Carneros Estate Vineyards. The Diablo clay which is black and blocky is very barren and infertile, perfect for taming the effusive Syrah vine, according to Cuvaison winemaker, Steven Rogstad. The resulting wines have the qualities of some of my favorite wines, dense, beefy, laden with jammy fruit and exotic spice notes. Just 511 cases were made. Outstanding!! Certainly a benefit of being a club member are the limited production wines that are not sold to the general public. Not that I am suggesting you join Cuvaison, you should join a club producing wines most suited to your tastes, but I would like to give kudos to Cuvaison on going green. The Cuvaison Carneros Winery has gone solar! Check out their website for pics and graph usage charts!
Published by admin on June 3rd, 2008 | Filed under Wine of the Month | Comment now »