saturday at martinelli winery

So, it’s Saturday we got up early to partake in the free breakfast fare at our hotel before heading off to Sonoma for our visit to Martinelli Winery. I had my route all mapped out and so off we went. After our first encounter with Mayacamas mountain roads last year it was decided that we’d head down and around and then up the 12, however my GPS had other ideas and continued to force me over to the 101 via 116. Now, this was our first time venturing into Sonoma beyond Sonoma Square, so in the end I let my GPS be the guide. But soon enough the large red barn of Martinelli revealed itself from behind the trees and we knew we had arrived.We were scheduled for their VIP tour at 11:00am and we eventually arrived at just about 20 past! We were warmly greeted and taken to the tour already in progress. The day was beautiful, warm and sunny with some morning clouds still hanging around, but no rain in sight! The tour started at the foot of the Giuseppe and Luisa vineyard. We were then taken over towards the crush pad where they talked about their process of harvesting, processing, and making of the wines, interlaced with wonderful family stories.

We tasted a lot of fantastic wines, 8 or 9 in total if a recall but our favorites were the 2009 “Vigneto di Evo” Zinfandel, which was a big bold and juicy zin, with tones of black fruit flavours and just the right amount of sweet tobacco spice. The tannins are really quite smooth and help to round this juice out. It’s a great entry-level bottle (only $30 and 627 cases produced) for those who love a darn good Martinelli zin!

We enjoyed our’s back at the hotel!

Our other favorite was the 2008 “Zio Tony Ranch” Pinot Noir. This pinot brings both power and grace to the table. The nose is warm and welcoming with notes of baking spice mingling with aromas of red cherries and plum. The palate is treated to a full-bodied array of ripe raspberry and black cherries. Once this one opens up the tannins really integrate into the whole structure and are smooth and silky. The finish reveals the hints of vanilla-oak from a year of sitting in 75% new French Oak barrels with it’s gross lees and lasts forever! We saved our bottle for Easter Diner and had it with a traditionally prepared Spiral cut ham that was marinated overnight with pineapple and 7up and then slow roasted with a brown sugar glaze. The pairing, in my opinion, was divine!

All of the wines were fantastic but then again with Helen Turley and Bryan Kvamme behind the winemaking you really can’t go wrong! If you’re ever out that way you really need to pay them a visit!

2008 Fog Crest Laguna West Pinot Noir

2008 Fog Crest, Laguna West, Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley

Spicy red berries, blackberries and cherry cola (ala Dr. Pepper) on the nose with hints of vanilla oak and baking spices. Lovely medium bodied palate full of darker fruit cola flavors balanced by a silky smooth tannic structure, warm oaky notes and ribbons of white chocolate that lead into a long and satisfying finish of chocolate covered strawberries. There’s a nice level of acidity that keeps the overall character of this pinot on the lighter more elegant side to pair well with lighter dishes while still remaining bold and confident enough to hold up to more robust dishes.*

We had the first bottle with pasta shells with spinach, homegrown sun-dried tomatoes, roastrd whole clove garlic and peas in an arrabiata sauce and the match was made in heaven.

*Just a sidenote on these tasting notes for the second bottle, which was poured through our Vinturi aerator into the decanter while the first bottle was decanted without the use of the Vinturi. The first glass of the first bottle was still a bit tight but did open up nicely after a half hour or so…just in time for dinner! The first glass from the second bottle was amazingly smooth, like the last glass from the first bottle, and only got better as it sat in the decanter.

Fog crest vineyards

The Highlight of the weekend for us, hands down, was Fog Crest, sitting on the hill off Occidental Road in the Russian River Valley! After being stopped by a fill-in postal worker wanting a signature for a package, we continued down a gravel drive that wound its way through the vineyards.

There we were greeted by Jim Manoogian, one half of the husband/wife owner/vintners team! It was a beautiful day with temperatures in the 70’s and barely a cloud in the sky! He started us of with the first of two Chards and then walked us down to the vines where the chard grapes are grown and bud break was in full force.

We tasted both the 2007 Laguna West and 2007 Estate Vineyard Chardonnay. The Laguna West was a richer and rounder chard with lush pear falvours intermingled with hints of peach and baking spices that led into a nice mild and toasty hazelnut finish with a pleasant touch of crisp acidity. The Estate Vineyard chard was a bit more old world in style exhibiting lemon floral and soft hazelnut aromas on the nose that led into a palate of crisp apple and citrus notes on a cool base of minerality and nuanced oak flavours. The finish was warm and bright with just the right amount of cool acidity

We then headed back to the barrel room to taste the pinots. With glasses in hand Jim lead us over to the upper estate pinot vines, where he talked about their pruning process and how they will eventually drop double buds.

Here we tasted the 2008 Laguna West Pinot Noir that welcomed you in with a warm and spicy nose with notes of dark and bright cherry cola. The palate was rich and smooth with a base of silky smooth tannins supporting a chorus of ripe red berry fruit flavours accompanied by nuances of anise and lush plum. The finish added more dark fruit and cola flavours that tapered slowly off with light acidity.

Once we were hooked Jim then capped off our tour with a barrel tasting, or thieving as he called it! My very first! He treated us to a preview of their 2010 Upper Estate Pinot Noir that was barreled last October. Though it was still young with lots of green notes you could tell that this was going to develop into a very lush and complex wine as it was already exhibiting the signature berry flavours and soft structure of the 08 Laguna West.

After all was said and done we walked away with two bottles each of the 07 Estate Chard and the 08 Laguna West Pinot and I guarantee we will be ordering more! If you get a chance I highly recommend that you try to visit them! http://www.fogcrestvineyard.com/

it’s a zin not to drink a cab

Had these over the last couple of nights.

The first is the 2008 Dry Creek Vineyard, Heritage Zinfandel, Sonoma Coast
It had a pretty low ABV for a zin about 13.5% if I recall, but it was big in body with lots of juicy stewed dark fruits with lovely smooth tannins and dark acidity to balance it out.

The second is the 2008 The Sum, Cabernet, Napa Valley, Oakville
For the price, in relation to other Napa cabs, this was a real bargain. I paid $23.00 (US) after tax at Marion Street Cheese Market. The nose was deep, dark and spicy with tell tale hints of eucalyptus and cedar. The palate was equally rich and dark with ripe plum and blackberry flavours. The tannins were a bit tight and finely textured but did smooth out over time. I’m looking forward to having a glass tonight to see how it opened up. The long finish treated the mouth with some nice dark cocoa notes wrapped around black cherry flavours.

2007 Hendry Pinot Noir Napa Valley

I picked up a couple of bottles on Friday from Just Grapes. One was a fav of mine the La Cartuja Priorat 2009, which was every bit as good as the past two vintages that I’ve had and the other was this Pinot Noir from Napa Valley near Carneros and Mt. Veeder along the Redwood Creek.

This Pinot shows deep garnet and ruby in the glass with a rich warm nose of spiced red berries, leather and earth with hints of backing spice. The palate is treated to bold red and dark fruit flavours with touches of cocoa and toast brought on with a good decant and the 11 months of 50% new French Oak aging. The Finish is well-balanced a nicely structured with supple and velvety tannins mingled with a fresh but not too tart acidity.

2007 Hendry, Hendry Vineyard, Napa Valley – Pinot Noir

2009 Grandmaster Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

I got this on sale last night at Wholefoods for $13.99! Originally it was $24.99. It was really quite nice for the price with lots of warm spice, leather and cherry aromas. The palate was rich and juicy with darker berry flavours, think black cherry and mulberry, with notes of baking spice that lead into a long supple and velvety finish with nice acidity for balance. The grapes were harvested in September of 2009 and were barrel aged for 14 months and limited to just over 1400 cases, which isn’t too limited but that’s what the label says 🙂

2009 – Grandmaster Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast

2009 castle rock Pinot Noir

I found this Pinot Noir at Trader Joe’s for $11.99 and was surprised that it had somewhat of a character beyond strawberry juice. The nose was bright and red berry fruity but there was some hints of baking spice. The palate was also juicy but not in a coolaid sort of way and it did exhibit some smooth tannic structure. The finish was a bit weak and did have a slight strawberry jolly rancher fruitiness to it…but as it didn’t last long I didn’t mind. Anyway, for $11.99 it was one of the better sub $20 Pinots from Willamette Valley I’ve had.

2009, Castel Rock, Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley

Four Graces…for sure

2008 – Four Graces Pinot Noir, Willamette ValleyJust a wonderfully supple and rich Pinot, with a nose full of spiced red berries and warm hints of leather and earth. The palate brought darker fruits like black cherry, a hint of plum and soothing nuances of baking spices (it reminded me a little of the Martinelli Moonshine Ranch…described as Holidays in a Glass). Mid-palate brought in some brighter notes of strawberries and a cranberry laced acidity. The structure was lovely with really smooth and gentle tannins that tied into a very satisfying finish. This one really went great with left overs and nice fire in the fireplace!

La Crema the crop

When I got home last night the GF surprised me with a nice bottle of this:

2008 – La Crema, Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast
This is a very well-balanced PN with bright red berry and spice notes on the nose followed by a rich and smooth palate of raspberries and red cherry with perfect elements of spice and soft tannins. The finish was equally smooth and I even detected notes of light chocolate. Out of all the bottlings from La Crema, the Sonoma Coast is by far better than the Monterey offering, which to me was too leathery, bordering on black rubber on the nose. We feel in love with this bottle while in San Fran last April. And for $19.99 at Trader Joe’s it’s not too bad a buy either.

it’s nice to zin once in a while

Had this lovely zin last night with grilled tacos, Italian Sausage, spinach, goat cheese and mushroom empanadas, sided with homemade pico de gallo and c=Chili Morita sauce.

2005-Stonehedge, Reserve Old Vine Zinfandel.
Another $9.99 Trader Joe’s gem. I let it open up for about an hour and the nose was deep and rich with dark fruits and spice. The palate was treated to wonderful dried fruit flavours nicely balanced by spice notes and silky tannins. Nice lingering finish as well.