Oeno Files

A big, "fruit bomb" type zinfandel (14.6% alcohol), but it also has a nice resin note to balance out the red fruit. The nose is generally red fruit with some nice acid; in fact, the acid makes this wine a nice accompaniment with food.

It has a nice round mouthfeel, and has some taste complexity from beginning through middle to end. But it does lack some complexity, and the abundant red fruit is hard to decompose into component fruit flavors. And even though it does have some acid and resin, it's not a particularly well balanced wine.

Here's what the winery has to say about the wine:

Playful blackberry with undertones of smoke and pepper greet one in the glass. Black cherry and jam are complemented by hints of violet and oak.

We couldn't distinguish among the blackberry, black cherry, and jam the way we would have liked, and the violet was too subtle for my (admittedly deficient) palate.

But it's a good wine at $14, from a winery in the beautiful Santa Cruz Mountains (although these grapes are from nearby Lodi). We'd give it a B+, 88 points, which is pretty good value for money.

From my friend-once-removed (which means I think highly of him but have not met him personally, having only worked with his wife for a brief spell) The Wine Commonsewer comes this review of Rosemount Orange Vineyard 2002 Merlot:

The '02 Rosemount is Aussie by birth. Although I would not describe the wine as having Big Fruit, It is a pretty decent medium bodied Merlot with an earthy feel and a taste of black fruit and light oak. There is also a bit of astringency at first and decanting may help with that (although TWC did not decant it). You should be able to find it for around $10.00 US and at that price it is a relative bargain.

Pointers like this are quite helpful, as I generally can't be bothered to taste a lot of merlots, and get annoyed when I encounter an inexpensive one that is too thin, or can't stand up to food, etc.

Murphy Goode's Liar's Dice Zinfandel is a good, reliable, good-value-for-money zin (I think we paid $15.99). Typically it has nice cherry fruit, raspberry jam, and currant (as noted in their notes). We've never visited, but they are in the northern bend of the Russian River, north of Alexander Valley Road in Sonoma County, north of Healdsburg. One of the most delightful places in the world, and a good place to grow zinfandel.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate has this to say about the 2004:

This is a juicy, exuberantly-styled Zin from the reliable Murphy-Goode Winery. A very good value, the 2004 Zinfandel Liar’s Dice (16,000 cases produced) possesses a conservative (for currant day Zinfandels) alcohol percentage of 14.5. Its deep ruby color is followed by big, juicy, extroverted aromas of black cherries, earth, underbrush, pepper, and Provencal spices. It possesses loads of character, a full-bodied palate, terrific fruit purity, and a lovely, savory texture. Drink it over the next 2-4 years. Score: 89.

Our bottle had a deep purple-red color, and the nose had tannin, cinnamon, pepper, and hints of eucalyptus-y spice. The fruit note on the nose was more generic, and a little bit raisiny.

The first taste was typical zin -- big, fruity (as noted in the Parker review), and not very acidic. It was also quite tannic, but the type of tannin that would oxidize off over time. Where our experience starts to diverge from Parker's is that we found the fruit not to be particularly lush, but to be more resin-y.

It softened and the fruit developed as it opened and we drank more of it; in particular, the cherry fruit developed. It was still more resin-y than I would be led to believe from the Parker review. With food the cherry fruit also dominated.

All in all, we thought that we had liked Liar's Dice better in past vintages. In particular I prefer a more lush and less resin-y zinfandel style, so the persistent resin notes in this vintage didn't rock my world. But it's still a good wine and good value for money.

Another trip to our favorite wine store turned up this inexpensive gem, Château Jouclary Cabardès 2005. Lots of fruitiness without being jammy or sweet, very approachable, good with steak. Cabardes require a blending of wines, and the wine shows it by being very even in flavor and a smooth finish. The wine retails at just under $10 at the store.

I couldn't find a Château Jouclary website, but this French wine site had the background on Cabardès: "the only French appellation to associate 40% minimum of atlantic grape varieties (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc, Cot and Fer Servadou) with 40% minimum of mediterranean grape varieties (Syrah and Grenache), completion of blends possible with 20% of Cot and Fer Servadou."

I believe the wine distributor told us this wine was predominently Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Syrah, but we tasted six wines and I could be mixing things up a bit. (This U.S. wine distributor, turned up via google, mentions Merlot, Grenache and Syrah.)

This wine was a surprise in more ways than one. Our first bottle of the Cisplatino Tannat Merlot was picked up during a more or less exploratory trip through the local Total Wine. Just out to grab 12 bottles of something new and perhaps a little different, and, by the way, what can I get under $10?

A tannat and merlot blend, from Uruguay, and under 10: new (to us anyway), certainly different, and under $10. And, most importantly, a good drink. Goal!

Not a rich, complex wine - we are under $10 here after all - but very balanced, well structured, full flavor and smooth finish. Some plum and dark cherry, but not a typically big fruit New World wine. More restrained than that.

Actually, our first bottle was the 2006. When we went back for more I spotted a lonely 2004 in the bin, and took it along with two more of the 2006. Compared to the 2004, the 2006 had heavier tannins and a more distinctive alcohol nip in the aroma, a little less balanced and smooth, but nonetheless a great value for money.

Drink with any simple meal that calls for a moderate body red.