Last week I reviewed the SPELLwine sangiovese and this week we’re checking out their syrah.

I admit it.  I have a prejudice against Californian syrah.  I’ve had far too much of it that is over-extracted, syrupy sweet and too overpowering to pair with anything I eat.  It’s not the grape’s fault.  I’ve had plenty of syrah-laden wines from Cotes du Rhone that are awesome!  And with this syrah from SPELLwine, winemaker Kristen Spelletich proves to me that it’s not California’s fault either.  It’s the choices the winemakers are making.

Kristen approaches syrah in a way that she says is “appropriate for the varietal.”  And she does it well, proving my prejudice is misplaced.  California can create a balanced, approachable syrah.  And the SPELLwine syrah is also one with enough structure to last a few years.

“In twenty years there won’t be and good library wines available,” Kristen commented to me.  ”Because everyone is manipulating the shit out of their wine to make it drinkable now.  But it’s not good for aging.  What’s wrong with letting a wine lie in the bottle or a barrel for a few years?”

And this one has been lying around for a few years.  Check the vintage on this wine.  It’s a 2006!  But it’s not something I’ve had lying around, you can buy the 2006 vintage of syrah from SPELLwine today!  How awesome is that?  Rather than bottling a full vintage and moving it out as quickly as they can, they let it sit and bottle on demand.

This syrah offers a beautiful, harmonious nose with aromas like black pepper, black raspberry, plums and toasted oak.  The palate brings scrumptious fruit flavors that come through as full but not jammy.  It starts with plum and berry flavors, then evolves into spice on the midpalate.  The tannins are just enough to give some texture to the mouthfeel, although I wouldn’t call it silky.  This is a well balanced and structured wine, but it’s little agressive on the edges, making it just shy of elegant.  But it’s still a spectacular wine and a great example of what I wish more Californian winemakers would do with this varietal.

Wine: SPELLwine
Variety: Syrah
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol: 14.4%
Rating: 89
Price: $16.00

Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.

While I love a bargain on wines, I get bored with factory-made wines that while not offensive just have no excitement to them.  So many wines on the market today are manipulated in an attempt to “standardize” the flavor.  And it’s not just the cheap ones.  A lot of this is done in order to make while appealing to drink right off the shelf.  But I appreciate it when I come across producers who create wines the old way.  Wines that should sit in the cellar for a few years before you drink them.  Sure, it’s a little more work as a wine consumer.  But the wine tends to have a little more character, at least that’s been my experience.

Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard is one such producer.  They’ve been creating European-style, cellar-worthy wines since the 1970′s.  In 2008 they launched a new brand called Quinta Cruz, which includes only varietals that are native to the Iberian peninsula.

While their prices tend to be toward the upper-end of our bargain-hunter price limits (and some over), sometimes a splurge is in order for a special wine.

I had an opportunity to check out their tempranillo from Pierce Ranch in San Antonio Valley, California.  And while I would have liked to tuck this one into the cellar for a few years, I had no complaints.

The nose on this wine is absolutely beautiful, with aromas of blackberry, cherry, coffee, cured meats and brown sugar.  The palate is equally delightful, offering ripe blackberry and cherry flavors complemented by hints of chocolate.  The concentration on the palate is perfect, as are the acidity and balance.  The tannins are dense enough to give a little structure, but I wouldn’t complain with a little more tannin.  The finish is nice and long, and adds a touch of tobacco.  All told, this is an outstanding wine.

Wine: Quinta Cruz Pierce Ranch
Variety: Tempranillo
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 14.1%
Rating: 91
Price: $18.00

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.

I can’t help but wonder how meaningful the “Meritage” name is to wine consumers.  I mean, I don’t hear many people saying, “I’d like a glass of Meritage.”  I suspect a lot of consumers don’t even know what it is.  In essence, Meritage is a name for Bordeaux-style wine that’s made somewhere other than Bordeaux.  You’re really not supposed to call a wine a Bordeaux if it’s not made there.  So some clever folks came up for another name for it, Meritage.  It’s actually a trademarked name, owned by the Meritage Alliance, and anyone who wants to create a Meritage wine needs to license the name.

The idea makes sense, creating a common name for this type of wine.  And I enjoy Bordeaux-style wines.  But I just haven’t noticed a groundswell of consumers clamoring for Meritage.  Maybe the awareness just isn’t there yet.  Or maybe I just run in the wrong circles.

By the way, Meritage is pronounced like “heritage” with an M instead of an H.  So, don’t try to get all fancy with your French accent and call it mare-i-tahhhzh.

The nose is a pleasant on this Robert Mondavi Private Selection Meritage, albeit rather unmoving, blend of blackberry, plum, cedar and vanilla aromas.  And while those are all aromas we love in red wines, I characterize it as “unmoving” because it’s just not harmonious, in other words, the right aromas are there, but there not optimally balanced.  The palate has plenty of cherry and plum flavors with moderate tannins and decent acidity.  And again, while it’s enjoyable, it’s not mind-blowingly good.  It finishes a bit on the tart side, with sour cherry flavors and a medium length.  This is a decent wine for the price, but nothing extraordinary.

What’s your take?  Are you a Meritage fanatic?

Wine: Robert Mondavi Private Selection
Variety: Meritage
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 83
Price: $11.00

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.

I’m a big fan of sangiovese, but most of the time if I’m drinking a sangiovese it’s one from Italy.  I just don’t come across a lot of domestic sangiovese, but I’m always curious about it when I do.  Perhaps I don’t come across much of it because the market is just too small for it, limiting its distribution and production.

Based on a conversation I had with Kristen Spelletich, the creator of SPELLwine, I might be on to something.  She told me that she doesn’t sell a lot of her sangiovese.  ”And it pisses me off too!  Because it’s a super, high acid, good with food wine,” she vented.  But that doesn’t prevent her from producing it.  Kristen’s attitude toward wine is to create wines that don’t necessarily follow the formula that others use.  And it’s working for her.

SPELLwine was created by Kristen after she started working for her parent’s winery, Spelletich Cellars.  Actually, her mom does most of the winemaking but it’s guided by Kristen’s palate for this brand.  With SPELLwine, Kristen wanted to create a brand that was geared toward millennials.  And while the acid trip designs on the labels stand out as something new and different, her perspective on winemaking struck me as rather old school — in a good way.  Perhaps old school is the new, new school.

I couldn’t agree more with Kristen about her take on the SPELLwine Lodi sangiovese.  It is a great food wine.  And it pisses me off that they don’t sell more of this too.  It’s a great wine and if you’re not drinking it, you’re missing out.

The nose of this sangiovese is awesome!  It has bright cherry aromas along with plenty of spices like nutmeg and clove, all with good intensity. Beneath all that there’s a slight floral aroma lurking behind the corners and adding a touch of intrigue.  The palate hits you with outstanding acidity and tasty cherry flavors.  The tannins aren’t too heavy but there’s enough to add some texture to the mouth feel.  The finish is relatively long, with lingering cherry and raspberry flavors.

I would classify this as a “best of both worlds” wine.  It has the acidity and some of the tannins I would expect from an old world sangiovese with the fruit I would expect from a new world producer, but it’s not over the top.  It’s a nice balance.

Wine: SPELLwine
Variety: Sangiovese
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 14.9%
Rating: 90
Price: $17.00

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.

The Jacob’s Creek wine brand started back in 1976 and was named after a creek in the Barossa Valley, on the banks of which the first commercial vineyard in the region was planted.  The grapes in this wine, however, don’t come from the Barossa Valley.  Rather, they come from the Coonawarra region, which is south of Barossa Valley and is the southernmost wine region in South Australia.  This is a cool region, with a maritime influence, that is known for its cabernet sauvignon.

Coonawarra is also a long ways away from Cincinnati, Ohio (where I’m tasting this wine) and I’m sometimes amazed at the idea that they can ship a bottle of wine from Australia, sell it for about ten bucks and still make a profit.  Sometimes the things we take for granted are really pretty amazing when you step back and think about them.

This wine is really bright on the nose, with lively cassis, beet and blackberry aromas.  It also has a slight herbal note.  The palate is also quite bright, with tangy cherry flavors leading the way and evolving into a plum flavor.  The acidity is stellar, making this a wonderful wine to pair with fatty foods.  The finish is relatively long and shows cherry and beet flavors.  While some cabernet is just big and bold, this one is bright and exciting.

Wine: Jacob’s Creek Coonawarra Reserve
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 13.9%
Rating: 86
Price: $10.99

Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.

We’ve been reviewing a number of cabernet sauvignons lately, but one wine we’ve come across that we really like is not quite a cabernet sauvignon, but rather is a red blend that is dominant in cabernet sauvignon.  Anka is a blend of 57% cabernet sauvignon, 16% merlot, 15% cabernet franc, 7% carmemere, 4%  syrah, and 1 % petit verdot.  While a number of wines labeled as “cabernet sauvignon” have more than just that grape in them, technically than can be labeled as a single varietal if they have a minimum percentage of that one varietal.  In Chile, where this wine is from, the minimum is 75%, so clearly this one is a blend.

Another thing you might notice on the label of this one is that it is “made with organically grown grapes.”  It can’t technically be labeled as “organic wine” because they use sulphites in the winemaking process.  And actually, as I look at the wording I have to raise an eyebrow.  ”Made with organically grown grapes” not made “of” or made “from” organically grown grapes.  I’m not quite sure what they’re saying.  Are there a few organically grown grapes or are they all organically grown?  It looks like some careful language to me, but I’m just pondering questions here… I haven’t had the opportunity to talk with them to confirm how they made it.

So, you can label me as a lazy journalist

This is a rather small production wine too, with less than 2,500 cases produced.  And regardless of all the stuff written on the label I can tell you one important thing about this wine that’s not on the label.  It’s really tasty!

When I first poured this wine, the oak was the only thing that came through on the nose.  And it came through like walking into my wood shop.  But after letting the wine breath for a moment the fruit came out of its shell and brought together a solid and well balanced nose.  Black cherry, blackberry, cassis, chocolate and nutmeg aromas blend beautifully and make smelling this wine really enjoyable.  The palate has a silky smooth feel with loads of deeply-concentrated, ripe fruit flavors, such as blackberry, plum, cherry and chocolate.  The finish is long and tastes like a chocolate covered cherry.   This is a lovely wine.

Wine: Anka
Variety: Red Blend
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 14%
Rating: 90
Price: $20.00

Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.

While packaging really doesn’t tell you much about the wine inside the bottle, it’s a critically important element for wine producers.  The truth is as consumers we often will buy the bottle that we think looks the best.  But what do the looks of a bottle really tell us?  Regardless of whether the label design is any indication of quality, I’d have to say that I really like the look of this wine.  The design is simple, clean and attractive.  So, this one scores well on the bottle design… but of course what we really care about is what’s inside the bottle.  And fortunately, I was pleased with that too.

The name 337 comes from the name of the grape vines.  In Bordeaux and Burgundy, each vine clone is given a unique identification number to help vintners identify how different vines perform.  The producers of 337 wines saw something in the 337 vine that they thought would work well in the Bordeaux-like conditions of their Clay Station Vineyard in Lodi, California.  Some 15 years ago they planted the vines and now they’re creating some luscious wine from them.

While some cabernet has other varietals blended in to shape the flavor, this wine is 100% cabernet sauvignon and 100% from the 337 vine clone.  The wine was barrel aged in a combination of French and American oak, so that does impart some influence on the flavor profile.  But other than the spice from the oak, this is all 337.

Dark chocolate, cassis and cherry scented pipe tobacco aromas give this wine a delightful nose.  In the mouth it brings out cherry and blackberry flavors with vibrant acidity.  The tannins are sufficient, adding smoothness to the texture.  It finishes long with blackberry, black tea and a touch of spice.

Wine: 337
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 87
Price: $14.99

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.

Continuing with the cabernet sauvignon theme, today we’re checking out another Chilean cabernet from the Colchagua Valley region in Chile.

We’ve reviewed a few other Calcu wines, such as their malbec and their red blend, and we’ve found them to be generally decent.  They’ve not necessarily knocked our socks off, but they’re still good.  And that trend continues with this cabernet.

While this wine is labeled as cabernet sauvignon, it also has 10% carmenere (which adds a touch of Chilean uniqueness to the wine) and 10% petit verdot (which adds a touch of awesomeness to the wine).

This wine shows some of the classic cassis aromas along with vanilla, plum and a touch of floral.  The palate offers scrumpteous blackberry and plum flavors up front, followed by some dark chocolate.  The acidity is good and the tannins are sufficient.  The finish has an average length and berry flavors.  It did take a while for this wine to open up and really shine, so give this one some time and I’d recommend decanting to speed it up.

Wine: Calcu Reserva
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 85
Price: $14.00

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.

A lot of the wines that I review seem to have a similar story.  A family owns a vineyard for generations and recently renovated their winery, blah, blah, blah.  Well, the story behind Maquis has a slightly different twist.  Yes, it’s a vineyard that has been owned by the same family for over 100 years.  But for most of that time, the family that owns this vineyard only produced grapes for other vintners.  It wasn’t until about ten years ago that they decided to make some of their own wine from the grapes they grow.

They built a new “gravity flow” winery to produce their wine.  That essentially means that the winery is designed to use gravity to move the wine through the process rather than pumping the wine from place to place.  The theory is that it treats the wine more gently, creating a better product.  For example, during the initial crush you don’t really want to “crush” the grapes but gently crack them open and let the juice escape.  If you were to truly crush the wine, you might also crush the seeds within the grapes adding bitter flavors to the wine.

Since 2005, winemaker Xavier Choné has been consulting with Maquis to help them take better advantage of location within their vineyards in Colchagua Valley.  Choné works with vineyards around the world and is associated with some great wines, like Opus One, and Maquis is the only South American vineyard he’s working with.

When I first smell a wine to try to judge it, I find myself asking, “Is it varietally correct?  Is it balanced?  Is it harmonious?  Is it interesting?  Is it exciting?”  And with this wine, the answer to all of those questions is a clear “yes!” Then I start to dig into it, “what do I smell here?”  In this case, it starts with chocolate aromas, layered with cassis, plum and cedar.  In the mouth, it has a wonderful, smooth and almost creamy texture.  It’s loaded with ripe fruit flavors, like black cherry, plum and blackberry.  The finish is relatively long and features cherry and black tea flavors.  Overall, I’m impressed and definitely recommend this one.

Wine: Maquis
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 14%
Rating: 89
Price: $20.00

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.

Last week, David did a review of a sauvignon blanc from Robert Mondavi, so I thought I’d work in another Mondavi wine today.  This one is a cabernet sauvignon from their “Private Selection” line.

Like David, I haven’t had any negative experiences with any of Mondavi’s wines.  I’ve had some that are great, some that are good and some that are mediocre, but I haven’t had any that are bad.  Yet I come across some consumers who scoff at the idea of drinking a glass of Robert Mondavi.  I suppose that could be due to their omnipresence on wine shelves.  It seems that everywhere you go in the US you’ll find some Robert Mondavi wines.  Good for them to have such great distribution, but I guess I can see why some consumers would think it’s not that “special” if you can get it anywhere.  Nonetheless, it’s often a decent, reliable choice.

This wine has a nice, spicy nose with tobacco and cedar notes complementing plum and blackberry aromas.  The palate is very juicy and offers blackberry and dried plum flavors with good acidity.  It has a little bit of a black tea flavor to it, but the feel of the tannins is a little bit light and I would have liked a little more to add some structure to the wine.  But still, for eleven bucks this isn’t a bad bottle of wine.

Wine: Robert Mondavi Private Selection
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 84
Price: $11.00

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.