Kimmel Vineyards

2008 Mendocino County

Chardonnay

$32.00 a bottle

I was just recently given two bottles of Kimmel Vineyards wines to taste and review. Having a crab dinner the other night gave a good excuse to open a bottle of Chardonnay. Now being primarily a red wine drinker there are still times when you need a good Chardonnay and Kimmel Vineyards ‘08 Chardonnay did not disappoint. Kimmel Vineyards is located in Potter Valley California in Mendocino County. The Kimmel family first planted grapes in 1986. Their family ranch produces over 40 acres of grapes. Their ranch has 25 acres of Chardonnay, 9 acres of Merlot, 1 acre of Sauvignon Blanc, 1 acre of Cabernet Sauvignon, ⅓ acre of Cab Franc, ⅓ acre of Petite Verdot, ⅓ acre of Malbec. Kimmel Vineyards winemaker is Bruce Regalia who was the founding winemaker of Goldeneye with Dan Duckhorn. This ‘08 Chardonnay is great in the fact you can taste lots of fruit but still has a very light oak finish. Strong aroma’s of green apple and a light scent of vanilla. First tasting crisp green apple, light pear, and a touch of apricot. This Chardonnay finishes with a very light creamy oak. I really enjoyed this Chardonnay! Love the families motto “Our Passions....Great Wines, Family, Friends and the Land.” I can tell drinking this wine that this is definitely the Kimmel family passion. Can’t wait to try their Merlot next, which has won awards!

Robert Young

2005 Alexander Valley

Scion

Cabernet Sauvignon

$58.00 a bottle

I have always been a huge fan of Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon’s. So I felt it only fitting to blog about Robert Young’s Cabernet Sauvignon since he was the first to plant this grape in the Alexander Valley back in 1963. Robert Young Estate Winery is located in the small town of Geyserville, CA. in the heart of Alexander Valley.

A Photo I took of Cabernet grapes at
Robert Young Estates back in Sept. '06

All estate grown grapes and aged in 100% French oak barrel’s. This 2005 Scion Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 85% Cabernet, 7% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. Now usually my favorite Cabernet’s are very earthy and hardy that would compliment a great steak but this Cabernet is great to drink on it’s own. Robert Young’s Scion Cabernet is not hardy and earthy. This Cabernet is elegantly full of fruit, complex and rich with structure. Great aroma’s of dark berries with a hint of ceder. First tasting strong black berries, light cherry and plum. This wine finishes with a taste of smooth creamy vanilla and spice, giving this wine a wonderful lingering finish. I really like this Cabernet because there are so many parts to it. I love that I can drink a Cabernet that is so structured and complex on it’s own without needing food to pair with it. This Cabernet Sauvignon comes very highly recommended. In August of 2010 Wine Enthusiast gave this wine 93 points.

Phillips Hill Estates

2008 Beeson Tree

Anderson Valley

Pinot Noir

$40.00 a bottle

I took a trip last weekend to the Anderson Valley to try some of their great Pinot Noir’s. I was on a quest to find an awesome Pinot for my next blog. Truthfully it wasn’t hard to do nor did it take long. I tasted and loved a lot of great Pinot’s that day. One Pinot Noir did happen to stand out a little more than the others, Phillips Hill 2008. Phillip Hill Estates tasting room is located in the very tiny town of Philo, California. I was very excited to meet and taste that day with the winemaker and owner Toby Hill. I always love when I get the chance to meet the winemaker and hear them talk about their love for making wine. As Toby said that day as we chatted and sipped his Pinot, he considers himself an artist and I definitely would not disagree with that
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This incredible 2008 Beeson Tree Pinot is a blend of three vineyards, 37% Toulouse Vineyard, 37.5% Corby Vineyard, and 25% Oppenlander Vineyard. The garnet red color of this wine is beautiful. Very earthy aroma’s with a slight sent of smokiness. This silky Pinot first tastes of dried cranberries, cherries, and slight raspberry. Has a lingering finish of licorice and smokey oak. By far one of the most complex Pinot’s I’ve tried. Definitely a must try Pinot! This 2008 Pinot was Editor’s Choice in Wine Enthusiast and received 92 points. It also has won a double gold at the 2010 San Francisco Wine Competition. San Francisco Chronicle also voted Phillips Hill Estate the 2010 best Anderson Valley winery.

Owl Ridge

2003 Cabernet Sauvignon

Bridgden Vineyard

$55.00 a bottle

With my true wine passion being for Cabernet Sauvignon, I wanted to start off the new year with my first wine blog about an incredible one I came across a few years ago. I first tasted this Cabernet at our local Sonoma County Harvest Fair and I was extremely impressed. Just recently I was lucky enough to discover this bottle of wine again at a local wine shop. The 2003 Owl Ridge Cabernet’s grape’s come from the Bridgden Vineyards which is located in the hills between Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley’s Spring Mountain. Owl Ridge Cabernet is aged for almost two years in French oak. This 2003 Cabernet is extremely big and complex. The aromas of this wine are of dark berries and cherries. Tasting first of huge black berries and dry cherries. Then finishing with a very creamy, smooth, oaky wood finish. What makes this wine so incredible to me is the lingering long lasting finish that is so complex with flavors. This is definitely the best part of this Cabernet. The 2003 Owl Ridge Cabernet was given 93 points by Wine Enthusiast. In addition it won a gold metal at the 2006 San Francisco International Wine Competition and another gold metal at the 2007 Sonoma County Harvest Fair. Owl Ridge has won a total of 18 gold metals two of which were best of class. You can taste their wines in their tasting room located in Healdsburg, CA at Old Roma Station. This Owl Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon is definitely on my list of favorite Cabernet’s.

Rodney Strong

2007 Meritage

Symmetry

$55.00 a bottle

Rodney Strong Vineyards first opened it’s winery in Sonoma County back in 1959. Rodney Strong was one of the first Sonoma County pioneers to plant pinot noir grapes in the Russian River Valley. Today their wines are produced from grapes that come from Alexander Valley, Russian River Valley, Chalk Hill, and Sonoma Coast. I just recently had a great visit to Rodney Strong Vineyards and was unable to leave without the purchase of their really incredible meritage, “Symmetry”. This meritage, is definitely one of the most elegant I’ve had. Made with only the best hand picked and selected grapes. Symmetry is more like a European style meritage and spends 25 months in oak barrel, giving it a very smooth velvety taste. This 2007 Symmetry is a blend of 85% cabernet sauvignon, 10% malbec, 3% merlot, 1% cabernet franc, 1% petit verdot. The aroma’s of this wine are strong blackberries and light plum. First tasting the blackberries and plum and finishing with a cherry wood, light spice, and hint of chocolate. Definitely very rich, powerful and full of flavors making this wine irresistible. This meritage is a must try. Wine Enthusiasts gave Symmetry 94 points. Other great varietals Rodney Strong produces are sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, pinot noir, zinfandel, merlot, and cabernet sauvignon.

Starkey’s Court

2008 Carneros

Chardonnay

$25.00 a bottle

I just recently did a blog on J. Keverson’s awesome Alton Lane Zinfandel, so I’m not going into too much detail about the winery, only the wine. J. Keverson winery is located at Old Roma Station in Healdsburg, CA. While I was visiting J. Keverson winery and winemaker John Hazlewood a few weeks ago I was also given a bottle of their ‘08 Starkey’s Court Chardonnay. With the recently changing of my palate with chardonnays, from liking really buttery oak tasting chardonnays to unoaked more fruit forward chardonnays I was very pleasantly surprised with this wine falling right in the middle of both types. Really being able to taste the fruit but also finishing with a creamy very light oak taste. This Starkey’s Court Chardonnay comes from the Green Acres Vineyard in Carneros. The aroma’s of this wine are strong citrus, slight pineapple, and light oak. Tasting first light green apple and citrus. Finishing with a creamy vanilla, light oak taste. Not only does this wine have great acidity but a great finish. This chardonnay won a gold medal at the 2010 Sonoma County Harvest Fair and a double gold at the San Francisco Wine Competition. Definitely a great chardonnay. Again J. Keverson Winery makes some other great wines, winning 9 medals all together at the 2010 Sonoma County Harvest Fair.

Stryker

‘05 Rockpile Vineyard

Cabernet Sauvignon

$44.00 a bottle

I was very excited to find another winery that made Rockpile wines since my favorite wines come from this appellation. To my surprise Stryker winery in Alexander Valley makes a few different varietals from this appellation. This is definitely my kind of winery. The winery is located in the heart of the beautiful Alexander Valley. Their winery deck has some incredible vineyard veiws. You can definitely find serenity here. A couple weeks ago I was able to visit Stryker and meet for the first time one of my twitter friends Brian, who works there. It was great to finally meet him and he was very generous in letting me try all of their Rockpile wines. It was no surprise that after tasting all of them that their 05 Rockpile Cabernet Sauvignon was my favorite. Stryker’s Rockpile Vineyard is located 25 miles west of Lake Sonoma and 10 miles east of the Pacific Ocean at an elevation of 1900 feet. This high elevation and shallow red rocky soil stresses the vines and produces a grape so intense and rich with flavor. This is why I love RockPile wines so much. The aromas of this cabernet are of pepper and tobacco. First tasting of bell pepper and spice. This wine definitely has that genuine earthy smooth cabernet finish. Huge structure with this wine. Very hardy and screams to be paired with a great steak. This 05 Stryker Cabernet comes highly recommend. Stryker also makes other great RockPile wines which include a Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot.