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2013 The Count’s Selection, Syrah, Buena Vista Winery

It’s my pleasure to introduce you to bottle number 3026 of The Count’s Selection Syrah, produced by Buena Vista Winery. Yes, another Syrah, loyal readers. You know I have a tendency to hold onto Buena Vista wines for special occasions, but this weekend (which also included the new Bond flick Spectre) I needed some TLC courtesy of these good Sonoma folks and fired up this 2013 to get my fix.

2013 Count's Selection, Syrah, Buena Vista Winery, Sonoma Valley, California, USA.

2013 The Count’s Selection, Syrah, Buena Vista Winery, Sonoma Valley, California, USA.

This Syrah is very easy drinking, a blackberry-flavored red with earthy undertones, a bottle that you’re so disappointed to see dwindling over the course of the evening. Savor every glass, my friends, because excellence is fleeting and impermanent.

Buena Vista says The Count has “…round, well-integrated tannins, flavors of dark fruits, and a touch of black pepper [that] lead to a velvety finish.”

The Count’s Selection works well in both low-brow (i.e., grilled cheese sandwiches) and high-guard (e.g., grilled steaks) applications. Accompanying the cheese you get a sense of the contrast, the spicy pepper-tinged underpinnings of the Syrah. Eaten with the grilled meat, you experience more of the complimentary flavors, the way the seasoning of the steak parallels the leathery complexion of the Syrah. But hell, a drink this fine you could drink with just about anything and it’ll improve both the food and your mood.

That’s my prescription for you this evening–take one of these to cure what ails ya. I hope I remembered to order another in the November shipment that’s presently en route.

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2014 Orquestra Cabernet Sauvignon

In-flight beverage, this 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon from Vino de la Tierra de Castilla, Spain. After sitting on the tarmac for more than an hour, I was grateful for any beverage and this dark red rang that bell.

Since I’ll fly American on several more trips before year’s end I’ll be sure to include additional notes next time. For now, I’ll say simply that the dark fruits come together effectively and leave a pleasant mouthfeel. Nice long finish, too.

Last note on this tasting: these grapes are grown at an altitude of 700 meters in the Castile La Mancha region where rainfall is scarce.

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2012 Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon

Last weekend I went on a quest for 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, and the Montes Alpha was a specific focus of that search. The latest edition of Wine Spectator piqued my interest in its coverage of Cab, and 2012s in particular. This Chilean red  (which includes 10% Merlot in its composition) lived up to all expectations, a luscious and fragrant beauty that was packed with scents of black fruit, herbs, and even a light metallic tang of some kind.

2012 Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauivignon, Colchagua, Chile.

2012 Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon, Colchagua Valley, Chile.

This AVA in Colchagua, Chile, has a terroir that produces Cabernets that a bit of research tells me are similar to those from Pauillac in Haut-Medoc. This bottle was just under $20, though, and I suspect the French version would be at least three times that figure. Even cooler, in my mind, is that the vineyard’s grapes (from Apalta and Marchigue) are all sustainably dry farmed–they consume far less water than the norm, and produce a noteworthy outcome in the 2012 vintage.

We ate Swiss cheese and mushroom burgers and some ‘crispy crowns’ potatoes alongside this red. Tasting highlights from the Wine Spectator summary read, “Blackberry, graphite, and violet on a structural core of bright acid and plentiful tannin with a long molasses-scented finish.” All that being true, the 2012 Montes Alpha is a very worthwhile drink.

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2013 A to Z Pinot Noir

Rarely, it seems, do I take an opportunity to point the compass north from California and its bounties in order to sample some of the goodness that hails from the northwest corner of the country. This weekend, however, I’ve done just that and set my sights on the 2013 A to Z Pinot Noir. The A to Z originates in Oregon and did not impress right from the start.

2013 A to Z Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA.

2013 A to Z Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA.

To be fair, I picked up two of these bottles in my latest wine adventure so perhaps it’s just this first one that came off as lackluster. I had high hopes going in, as the northwest has a great reputation for wine because of its climate, terroir, etc. Is it crazy that I found the A to Z bland?

Yes, it eventually gained some momentum with me, both over time and repeated sampling–we all know how that goes. I am used to Pinot Noir that has a characteristic pale red color, and the A to Z answered the bell in this respect. Aromas of cherry, strawberries, and often vanilla. But I’m also accustomed to spice nuances, a whiff of raspberries, that swirls in your glassware and gives a deeper layer to your tasting experience. And the A to Z really didn’t do this–it was sort of flat by contrast.

I had the A to Z with two different meals–a dish of salted-and-buttered penne pasta, and pecan-encrusted chicken breasts (with accompanying vegetable sides). The 2013 vintage held up more effectively with the chicken, but it was almost too light to match up with the pasta. Didn’t really anticipate that outcome.

Reading about this wine after the fact, I realize how much my tasting experience has differed from that of others. One meaningful comment from a tenured wine aficionado read, “The 2012 A to Z Pinot Noir invites with vibrant aromas of juicy berries, cherries, lavender and violets, evolving to clove, game, smoke and cherry tobacco. A succulent, focused attack has flavors of blue and red fruits, flowers and earth, then deepens with hints of mocha, gingerbread, green tea and cacao.”

Sounds fantastic! That profile would be right up my alley, and would be a drink I’d be pleased to share early and often with guests, family, friends, you name it. But the 2013 A to Z that I sampled was just…even…measured…and felt like it took no risks. Rest assured I’m going to be paying close attention to bottle two when it’s eventually cracked, but the wine has a lot of recovery to do in my book. Good luck and tell me what you think. It’s readily available at your local wine store I’m sure.

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2012 Pannunzio GV Giovanni Vincenzo Malbec

Let’s not overthink this one. This is the 2012 Pannunzio GV Giovanni Vincenzo Malbec, which I’m sipping on the patio of Tony P’s Dockside Grill in Marina Del Rey. I went out questing for the Pacific and ended up in this casual joint. That’s the California Yacht Club over which the day’s dying light appears.

2012 Pannunzio GV Giovanni Vincenzo Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina.

2012 Pannunzio GV Giovanni Vincenzo Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina.

Enjoyed the wine–perhaps for the ambiance, perhaps for its red ruby color and balanced taste–and a better end to the work day.

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2012 North Coast Chardonnay, William Hill Estate Winery

This was a multiple­-night Chardonnay, and that usually means one of two things: 1) either the white didn’t have enough time to breathe, or 2) the accompanying food disappeared faster than the vino. In our house, whites are consumed infrequently and even less often once the fish or chicken is gone.

2012 North Coast Chardonnay, William Hill Estate Winery, Napa Valley, California, USA.

2012 North Coast Chardonnay, William Hill Estate Winery, Napa Valley, California, USA.

The William Hill North Coast has good branding, and a label that is not unlike a Mondavi. The embossing is a nice touch too, but I didn’t think this white quite lived up to this appearance. It was not sweet (which gets no love whatsoever in Notes) at all, and had some light floral and citrus (definitely pear) notes to it­­–but so do practically all whites. So how did this 2012 differentiate itself?

Said plainly, it really didn’t. I have yet to research this vintage of the William Hill, and I don’t know its cooperage­­, but I’m betting this was not aged in oak. I’m thinking stainless steel instead. Some of the warmth (what I often hear described as “buttery”) I equate with an oak barrel was not present here. This is not to say it was metallic tasting, but it was just uneven.*

Enjoyed the chance to try something new here, in the 2012 William Hill North Coast Chardonnay, but I am satisfied and file now under “been there, done that.”

*Postscript. The winemaker described, “This well-balanced wine has a robust fruit finish.” And they also state that a “portion” of this wine is aged in stainless steel at a maximum temperature of 62°F and the rest fermented in barrels at “an ambient cellar temperature of approximately 65°F.” Bingo!

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2013 Trivento Malbec Reserve

At least once previously I’ve been treated with this wine of the three winds – the Polar, Zonda, and Sudestada – courtesy of the God of Winds Eolo. I’m achy all over, tired, and am going to cheat just a little, offering you this link to Notes‘ previous tasting notes rather than coming up with a new profile for you this evening. Hopefully you’ve read enough of this column to forgive my brevity tonight–you know I’ll make it up with some interesting nuggets in the future.

2013 Trivento Malbec Reserve, Mendoza, Argentina.

2013 Trivento Malbec Reserve, Mendoza, Argentina.

It’s a weeknight and football is on in the background. Finished this red with a grilled New York strip steak, a mixed green salad, and some yellow beans. Some good portion control all around means I enjoyed the inky, red goodness of the Malbec–its mouthfeel, its plum taste–and might even have room for dessert. Hoping you are readying for a good weekend and good beverages too.