Legado Cabernet Franc 2015

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Legado means legacy in Spanish.  Hmmm.  I’m not sure I have a personal legacy at this point.  Although if I keep at this blog long enough …?  I guess for now I’ll have to borrow someone else’s, so to speak.

Oenophilogical_LegadoCabernetFranc2015Winemaker: Legado (by Villafañe y Guzman)
Varietal: Cabernet Franc
Vintage: 2015
Appellation: Mendoza, Argentina

Notes: This Argentinian Cab Franc was very dark in the glass with scents of turpentine, sweet berries, and floral notes in the bouquet.  Medium-bodied with good acidity, the Legado had light tannins.  Alcohol was at 14%.  On the tongue the core flavor was dark cherry.  In addition, I tasted licorice, a touch of rubber, herbal hints and wood.

La Paca Garnacha 2014

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Ever buy a bottle of wine just because you liked the label?  I must confess that is exactly what happened here.  While I’m not saying that doing so is a completely justifiable method of choosing one’s wine, it can lead to interesting surprises.  But … I had previously tried the Altovinum Evodia and Tres Ojos Garnachas both from the Calatayud wine region.  So, like, I had an idea of what I might be getting my taste buds into.  And the label art was just so cool!

Oenophilogical_LaPacaGarnacha2014Winemaker: La Paca
Varietal: Garnacha
Vintage: 2014
Appellation: Calatayud DO, Spain
Price: $6.99 at Trader Joe’s

Notes: This Garnacha presented pleasant flavors of dark cherry and plum with copious amounts of pepper.  Acidity was high, tannins were low, and alcohol was at 14.5%.

Di Majo Norante Sangiovese 2012

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Now that I’m back in the trenches sipping vino, I hope to continue my exploration of the Sangiovese varietal.  I will continue exploring other wines as well, of course.  Still, the renown and venerable Sangiovese has somehow caught my interest.

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Sangiovese Grapes by Francesco Sgroi

Oenophilogical_DiMajoNoranteSangiovese2012Winemaker: Di Majo Norante
Varietal: Sangiovese
Vintage: 2012
Appellation: Terre degli Osci IGT, Italy
Price: $9.99

 

Notes: This southern Italian was a bit like opening an old cedar chest with mothballs in it.  Those were the scents that immediately struck me – cedar resin and menthol.  A dark wine in the glass, it was medium-bodied with good acidity.  The tannins were quite present, verging on high.  Alcohol was at 13%.  On the palate I tasted rubber, blackberry, resin, menthol, pepper and woody tannins that lingered.  Pretty decent, I’d say.  In fact, given the tannic structure, I think it might have been a good candidate for cellaring.

Goats do Roam Red 2014

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The statement cannot be refuted.  Goats do, in fact, roam.  As proof, there are wild goats (not feral domestic goats) whose natural habitats are scattered all over the world – Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East and Central Asia, for example.  On the other hand, the maker of this wine – Charles Back of the Fairview Wine Farm – has some 600 goats on the property.  They are domestic goats, of course, and their milk is used to produce cheese.  I imagine, then, Mr. Black would know a thing or two about goats and their habits.

Winemaker: Goats do Roam
Varietal: Red Blend
Vintage: 2014
Appellation: South Africa
Price: $9.99 at Whole Foods

Notes: What an interesting blend this was.  Comprised of 60% Shiraz, 14% Grenache, 11% Mourvèdre, 11% Petite Sirah, 2% Carignan, and 2% Cinsault, this South African red was dark ruby in the glass.  It had good acidity, medium body, very little tannins, and 14% alcohol.  Flavors my happy tongue enjoyed were blackberry, blueberry, leather, ash, and black pepper with some olive notes.  This seems to be made as a “drink now” wine, and why not?  I mean it.  Go ahead and buy a bottle to drink tonight!  Of course, the tongue-in-cheek name Goats do Roam (rhyming nicely with Côtes du Rhône) was just icing on the cake.

GoatsDoRoam

 

Joel Gott Sauvignon Blanc 2013

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Seems I haven’t yet exhausted my archival notes.  So while it appears that Joel Gott Wines is now selling it’s 2015 Sauvignon Blanc, please step into my time machine for a trip back into the not-so-distant past.  Can we find a bottle of the 2013 on our store shelves?  Probably not.  Does the quality of this vintage provide a sense of what may lie waiting for us in the 2015?  Well, it can certainly give us an idea of the quality we can expect.  You can also click on the link above and see what the vintner has to say about his new Sauvignon Blanc.  In the meantime ….

Oenophilogical_JoelGottSauvignonBlanc2013Winemaker: Joel Gott
Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc
Vintage: 2013
Appellation: California
Price: $10.99

Notes: Aromas of tropical fruit and citrus rose from the glass of this pale golden-hued wine.  On the tongue, the heft was light with a definite coat-the-tongue sensation.  Acidity was brisk, and alcohol was at 13.9%.  As far as flavor, my palate found Meyer lemon, grass, a hint of hot pepper (from the acidity, no doubt), and a saline note.  I certainly enjoyed this Joel Gott selection quite a bit, and I think it would have been a great pairing with scallops or a light fish stew.  Perhaps I need to cook up some scallops and grab the current release for an awesome meal.

VINTJS Petite Sirah 2013

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From the Trader Joe’s Fearless Flyer:  “When you see the VINTJS label on a bottle of wine at Trader Joe’s, you can be sure of a couple of things right off the bat. One, that wine is a good example of the best of what you’ll find from its appellation, and two, that wine represents a stellar value you’ll find only at Trader Joe’s. . . . Using grapes from their vineyards along Monterey County’s coastal mountain ranges, where a cooler climate gives the grapes a chance to ripen slowly and develop more intense fruit flavors, the winemakers have crafted a hefty, almost chewy red, full-bodied and fruit forward yet decidedly dry, aged for nine months in American and Hungarian oak barrels. Rather than a straightforward Petite Sirah, which would be a much bigger wine than its name would suggest, they’ve opted here to blend in a bit of Merlot, Syrah, and a splash of Viognier ….”

Oenophilogical_VINTJSPetiteSirah2013Winemaker: VINTJS (aka Trader Joe’s)
Varietal: Petite Sirah
Vintage: 2013
Appellation: Monterey, California
Price: $6.99 at Trader Joe’s

Notes: This wine was 90.7% Petite Sirah with 4.6% Merlot, 2.8% Syrah, and 1.9% Viognier.  At almost 91% Petite Sirah, I think it definitely deserved a varietal label rather than that of a blend.  In the lovely, full bouquet of this VINTJS I detected scents of dark, juicy berries and forest floor.  It was a very dark-colored wine in the glass as well with medium body and good acidity.  Tannins were also medium.  Flavors for me included cherry, black currant, and oak along with a medicinal note and a zing of pepper on the finish.  Despite it being a dry wine at 14.5% alcohol, it had a touch of sweetness on the palate, too.  I agree with the Trader Joe’s folks that this wine was most certainly a value purchase.

Cotillion Pinot Noir 2013

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Feel like dancing?  I’m not talking about the headsnapping dance I mentioned previously.  I mean something a bit more sedate this time around.  You see, a cotillion was an 18th century French dance.

Looks an awful lot like square dancing to me but to quieter more refined music.  I was in a square dance club when I was a young kid, so I’ve done my share of do-si-dos, allemande lefts, and promenades.  We were called the Wheelers and Dealers.  It was fun!  Only real drawback for me was that at my tender age I was shorter than most of the girls.  Ha!

Oenophilogical_CotillionPinotNoir2013Winemaker: Cotillion (by Ashford Court)
Varietal: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2013
Appellation: California
Price: $9.99 at Trader Joe’s

Notes: This Pinot Noir was a blend of grapes from three counties in California.  The mix was 60% from Monterey County, 24% from Sonoma County, and 16% from Santa Barbara County.  In the bouquet I found scents of pine resin, moss, and mushroom with an underpinning of red berries.  This light-bodied selection was a dark burgundy hue in the glass with high acidity.  Alcohol came in at 13.8%, and tannins were on the light side with a slow grip.  On the tongue I detected cherry, boysenberry, tea leaf and bitters.