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2013 Chardonnay, Meiomi Wines

The Meiomi Pinot Noir gets a lot of attention from wine enthusiasts (this one included), and for good reason. It’s a fantastic wine, and it is well represented in Notes if you wanted to search for such reviews. What I didn’t know was that Wagner also had a comparable white blend in their Chardonnay.

2013 Meiomi Chardonnay, Meoimi Wines

2013 Meiomi Chardonnay, Meoimi Wines, St. Helena, California, USA.

The Meiomi Chardonnay (this one is obviously a 2013) is, like their red, a blend of grapes sourced from Santa Barbara (49%), Sonoma (30%), and Monterrey (21%) coastal counties. That mixture infuses a wide variety of interesting tastes in this white, which is not overly oaky  or buttery but rather characterized by some crisp apple-like fruits and some mineral undertones. Not quite what you’d expect from a wine that does some time aging in French oak. My wife and I both enjoyed, which is pretty high praise if you know us.

Thus did the 2013 Meiomi Chardonnay launch our house into Friday evening, the end of the year’s first work week. The stemware was ready and served up our drinks during the cocktail hour as well as during dinner–which consisted of two types of ravioli. Delicious dinner and wine for us both*.

My wife picked out this bottle, and we are likely to put it more frequently in the rotation over the coming year with pasta, fish, and the helluv it. Hope you enjoy yours as much as we did.

*Note that mine also consisted of more Wagner family wine. 

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Notes’ Top 5 Wine Surprises of 2015

Again in 2015 we had the opportunity to taste and, through Notes Of Note, share feedback on some excellent wine. Several new vintages (e.g., the 2013 Buena Vistas) lived up to their previous accolades while others (the 2012 Boom Boom! Syrah, for example) were slightly behind previous years’ releases. Others were first-of-a kind adventures that will bear repeating over the coming annum. As last year, the below is not necessarily a “best of” list but some notable grapes you’d do well to sample as time permits:

Many others were better visited or better wines overall, but you’ll have to explore Notes further to decide for yourself. I appreciate your readership and raise a glass to everyone who joined in the sampling here at our home or yours this past year. Best to you all in 2016!

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2013 Geza’s Selection Pinot Noir, Buena Vista

It’s New Year’s Eve, right on the verge of 2016, and a perfect time for a double dose of great beverages–we’re celebrating here with the 2013  Geza’s Selection Pinot Noir, and with my wife’s favorite champagne. That‘s how you ring in the new year!

2013 Geza's Selection Pinot Noir, Buena Vista, Sonoma County, California, USA.

2013 Geza’s Selection Pinot Noir, Buena Vista, Sonoma County, California, USA.

Friends and long-time readers of Notes of Note may recall that Buena Vista wines and Veuve Cliquot have both made prior appearances for such occasions. They are fantastic examples of the craft, grapes that cost more than the norm (at least for our modest household) and taste better too. We are pouring amply and with big smiles; we hope to make it to midnight.

The staff at Buena Vista describes this offering from their cellar as follows: “A beautiful ruby color in the glass, this Pinot Noir opens with floral aromas and hits of raspberries and dusty herbs. Flavors of wild plum and brambleberries are accented by hints of pepper and rich chocolate.” If you’re one of those people who says you can’t tell the difference between a $10 wine and a $40 bottle, the 2013 Geza’s Selection is your proof. Numbered bottle or not, you know the quality in this Pinot Noir as soon as you smell and sip this bad boy.

And what of the food? It’s about new experiences for us…including potato pinwheels topped with sour cream, bacon, and green onions (pictured), and a delicious tuna nacho dish. This my bride adapted from a recent meal she’d had out in the city (before the Amy Schumer show) and featured fresh seared tuna and a wasabi mustard mix. It sort of has an aioli bite to it, and we enjoyed both dishes thoroughly. Hopefully both are indicative of good things for us in the year ahead.

Happy New Year everyone!

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2012 Conundrum, Wagner Family

I enjoyed a great bottle of Conundrum earlier this year and uncorked this one to share the experience with family. We have just returned from watching the new Star Wars (good flick) and are prepping a light dinner–a “must do” after all the rich eating on Christmas. This deep ruby red is now in the glass, so let’s touch on some details:

2012 Conundrum

2012 Conundrum, Wagner Family, Napa Valley, California, USA.

This 2012 red blend is going to accompany a Romaine salad, tossed with Buffalo-style chicken, and accented with a crumble of Gorgonzola. It’s luscious fruits, harvested from grapes in California’s Napa Valley, are presented evenly. In the Conundrum you have less spice than a Syrah and less tannins than a Cabernet Sauvignon, but both probably contribute to this proprietary blend.  In the 2012 vintage, I taste a little bit of cherry, blueberry, and even want to bite into it a bit–that’s an accent I usually attribute to a chocolatey profile of a wine. The actual blend is not disclosed by the Wagners but works to good effect in the Conundrum.

I know that the Wagner family would suggest this Conundrum be consumed not at room temperature but slightly colder; we’ll have to give that a shot next time instead. Would that have been a good contrast to the spicy Buffalo sauce? Interesting to consider. I’ll keep you posted and thanks again for following Notes here.

 

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2012 Vintner’s Collection Meritage, Sterling Vineyards; 2009 Amantis Montecucco Sangiovese

Christmas Day and plenty of great vino to be enjoyed. First on the docket? The 2012 Sterling Meritage, a big red from the Central Coast of California. Earlier this year I had my first Sterling, and both receive favorable marks for their depth and taste.

2012 Vintner's Collection Meritage, Sterling Vineyards, Central Coast

2012 Vintner’s Collection Meritage, Sterling Vineyards, Central Coast, California, USA.

This Meritage is your kitchen sink of reds–it packs in Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot, and you end up with several layers in tasting. Just check out the adjacent photo. You have the fruits (black cherry for sure), a hint of vanilla, and also some of the spice that I think comes through in the Verdot. This bottle we sampled, collectively, with hors d’oeuvres that included an amazing, thick pepperoni, olives, various crackers, and olive tapanade. Maybe some salted almonds too? Special thanks to my cousin and his bride, if you’re reading along, for this fun treat.

The main event of our dinner? A roast to die for. It had a fantastic bark to it (I know this isn’t a food blog but the beef was photo-worthy in and of itself) and the seasonings (salt, dill seed, coriander, garlic, etc.) were perfect. Yes, we had all the usual fixings with the entre, but the beef was cooked just right and carried a tremendous amount of flavor–upon request the butcher had removed the rib bones but then retied them to the meat so as to infuse them into the process. I may err in a detail or two here; again this is more about the wine but just wanted to share details on the accompanying food.

There was a hearty Bordeaux breathing in a decanter all evening, and we opened a 2009 Amantis Montecucco Sangiovese as well. This Italian red originates from the region between Montalcino and coast of Tuscany–one my reference says “succeeds at a hybrid of Brunell and Supertuscan that demonstrates a natural appropriation of the latter two regions’ superlative characters.” Some five-dollar words to say it’s a great, hearty wine with some depth to it.

2009 Amantis Montecucco Sangiovese, Italy.

2009 Amantis Montecucco Sangiovese, Italy.

I taste black cherry here too in the Sangiovese, and rich spices that went just great with the pepper-encrusted beef. Juicy, and delicious. This 2009 could have been tart and tannic, but it wasn’t. The wine was much softer than I’d pictured, and that’s a good thing. We had this first bottle of the 2009 Amantis Montecucco Sangiovese, and a second one immediately on its heels. A third bottle, had one been along for the festivities, would have followed as well.

I’m interested in sampling again on a day where my palate hasn’t been exposed too to Bordeaux or a California red just in case I’m mixing characteristics among the reds. A fun day, though, and one embellished by good wine.

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2005 Bodega Classica Hacienda Lopez de Haro Reserva

The 2005 Bodega Classica Hacienda Lopez de Haro Reserva kicked off our “after party” last night, a rich red Rioja that carried notes of chocolate, leather, and spice from the first taste to the last of the bottle. This bottle continued a fun evening, one that started with a fantastic crostata (prosciutto and cheese with roasted red peppers!) and a great production of A Christmas Carol. A few random Dickens facts conveyed by our playbills:

  • Christmas was not always a day off for workers; Scrooge’s question to Crachit, “You’ll want the whole day off tomorrow, I suppose?” helped create this expectation for us all.
  • The first commercially produced Christmas cards were printed in 1843, the same year Charles Dicken’s novel was published.
  • There is no Christmas tree in A Christmas Carol, and his characters do not exchange gifts–a tradition usually reserved for New Year’s Day celebrations in that day.
  • In the early 1800s (and thanks in part to the Puritans), Christmas was celebrated more like Halloween is today–as a time for merriment and feasting.
2005 Bodega Classica Hacienda Lopez de Haro Reserva

2005 Bodega Classica Hacienda Lopez de Haro Reserva, Rioja, Spain

Okay, now back to the vino. This 2005 is a red blend of 90% Tempranillo, and 5% Graciano and 5% Garnacha and hails from Bodega Classica. The winery is located in San Vincente de la Sonsierra (on the south of the Cantabrian Mountain Range and the Tolono mountains) and irrigated by the River Ebro. With good rainfall during the winter, protection from the wind and humidity, and excellent “calcareous clay” soil, Sonsierra seems particularly conducive to growing Tempranillo. Bodega Classica ages their 2005 Hacienda Lopez de Haro Reserva for 20 months in French and American oak. The product of this care? An aromatic, full red that is nearly chewy on the palate.

I could see this as a great accompaniment for cheeses, for a black-and-blue burger, or perhaps a cracked pepper accent on a grilled chicken salad or steak. It stands on some big legs. If you’re after some experts’ thoughts, allow me to present tasting notes from Parker’s Wine Advocate:

“It has a beautiful, rounded, sensual bouquet with hints of over-ripe Satsuma and gravel. The palate is medium-bodied with a touch of piquancy on the entry. It has crisp acidity and taut tannins on the dry, dusky finish but it remains extremely well-focused.”

It’s been some time since we covered a 2005 in Notes and glad to share on this occasion! Holiday fun to be sure.

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2012 Simi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon

The Alexander Valley I’ve “visited” on several previous occasions. Among the 30 or so vineyards of this Sonoma County AVA are Clos du Bois, Francis Ford Coppola, Rodney Strong, and Simi Winery–who produced this bold 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon.

2012 Simi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley

2012 Simi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA.

Tonight this Cab accompanied black and blue bacon cheeseburgers, tossed beds of greens with mustard, and crispy crowns potatoes. The blackberry flavors, tinged with subtle inferences of spice, were a juicy accent to the burgers. The Simi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon smelled almost tart in the glass, but its actual finish was far gentler and more even than its nose suggested. My wife expressed this idea far more eloquently than I am here but, like this enjoyable bottle of red, her words were fleeting and I have lost them to time and space.

Here’s how the vineyard conveyed: “Balanced flavors of red and black fruits, smooth tannins, and soft spice give way to a velvety finish.” They used fruit from Los Amigos and Red Fan, and other Alexander Valley Vineyards (e.g., Encinos, Big River, Hoot Owl Creek, and Belle Terre) to develop the final flavors in this Cabernet, which is actually a red blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot, 1% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Malbec. (It’s the Malbec and Verdot that convey the spices, if you’re curious…)

Last couple things: the grapes fermented 32 days in stainless steel (on the skins) and ultimately aged 16 months in small oak barrels–releasing in June of 2014. It’s a good value for the price, and the 2012 Simi Cab should be readily available in your local wine store. I’d pick up another and recommend you do the same.