Archive for the Tasting Notes from the Underground Category

Napa Valley’s Cornerstone Cellars sent out their samples packages to select reviewers last week, and we are fortunate enough to be on that list. We received four new releases, two each from their moderately priced Stepping Stone program and the prestige Cornerstone label. We published reviews of the previous vintages of the two Cornerstone Cabernet Sauvignons last May, and readers looking for further background information on this producer can refer both to that report and to Cornerstone’s own web site. Suffice it to say here that this is a well run, well-heeled operation that cuts no corners in producing the very best wines they possibly can, no pun intended. Read the rest of this entry »

We kicked off our 12th season of Red Wings and Red Rhônes this past Saturday night with somewhat mixed results.  The Detroit Red Wings played hard and for the most part, played well, deserving a better fate than a 3-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, while the wine, a 2008 Domaine La Garrigue Côtes-du-Rhône Cuvée Romaine, was a solid performer in every way.  Read the rest of this entry »

As previously reported, we’ve become fans of the wine department that Jarred Gild has put together at Ferndale’s Western Market, and as is often the case, a friendly relationship has developed out of that admiration.  We invited Jarred over a few nights ago and proceeded to spend a most enjoyable evening of good food (burgers grilled slightly past medium rare), fine wine and rambling conversation that covered a variety of topics.  Not shy in the least about expressing his opinions, he also has some interesting and ambitious ideas about where he’d like to take his career, but, for now, those are best left for another report.  For now, we’ll focus on the representative selection of wines that he brought along to taste from his retail shelves.  We started with two very nice whites. Read the rest of this entry »

Our friends at Wines of Distinction held their annual Fall Trade Tasting at The Franklin Grill in Franklin, Michigan recently, and as we’re such fans of their portfolio, we were not about to miss it. Our plan was to focus on two specific tables, those of J et R Selections and Hand Picked Selections; anything beyond those two very fine importers would be bonus coverage.

We started with some whites, first those being poured by our good friends Gary and Georgine Kahle of Hand Picked Selections.  Here are my snapshot impressions of what we tasted. Read the rest of this entry »

The crew at Cloverleaf Fine Wines continue to carry on in selling a great selection of beer and wine in what still seems like their new digs in Royal Oak, but the fact of the matter is that they’ve been at their Main Street location for about a year now. The shoppe is located in a walk-down that creates a cellar-like ambiance, and Tom Natoci and company continue to give the kind of personal service and offer the out-of-the-way selections that have kept customers coming back for many years, this taster included. Here are 4 that I broke Wine Probation to pick up and enjoy just last week, starting with another one from our friends at US Wine Imports.

2006 Ramon Roqueta Catalunya Cabernet Sauvignon Rosado, 13% alc., $5.95: Watermelon pink color, and all strawberry on the nose, taking on a good deal of mineral on the palate to tone the rich fruit down some and turning it bone dry. Has depth and even some structure, with the acids one would expect and even some tannins. This has held up very well and can even go a few more years if it has to, but for this price, buy it up and slurp it down! Find this wine Read the rest of this entry »

Continuing our series on tasty wines we’re finding locally, we’re regular shoppers at the Madison Heights Costco outlet, and they always have good things to drink at reasonable prices, like the following five.

2007 Burgans Albarino Rias Baixas, 12.5% alc, $9.89: Just as good as last year’s model, this clean medium straw colored Albarino delivers attractive lemon cream and green apple flavors and aromas that show a little rounder fruit and a little less minerality than some. Medium bodied, with the requisite acidity that one expects from the variety and a smooth texture at the same time; just and excellent crisp white wine vintage after vintage that elicits positive comments from everyone we pour it for. Find this wine

Imported by European Cellars LLC, Charlotte, NC Read the rest of this entry »

Kim and I have been shopping at Ferndale’s Western Market for more than 20 years now. The produce, meats and prices have always been good, but we had wished that they sold beer and wine. Well, that changed about 3 years ago, when they got their license to do just that. At first, their offerings were of the mundane, “usual suspect” varieties. Enter Jared Gild, who gained a deep appreciation for “real” wines like those imported by Louis/Dressner and Kermit Lynch through his association with our friend and colleague Putnam Weekley. (He also confesses to being a regular reader of these pages…) Jared has worked wonders in upgrading Western’s beer and wine department over the last few years. For instance: we stopped in a few weeks ago for some meat and veggies and ended up walking out with 5 bottles of wine to boot, including the following 3, which we had yet to try. Read the rest of this entry »

Jim Lester came to town recently with a batch of his current Wyncroft releases for an informal tasting hosted by Errol and Patty Kovitch. We’re always up to try new things from Wyncroft, and so were Jim and Cheryl Brennan, Brad Cook, Eagle Eye Import’s president, Jean-Jacques Fertal and the Champagne Warrior himself, Brad Baker. Errol always likes tasting Jim’s wines compared to some other quality wines as a benchmark, and while we did just that, there was no actually “judging” to speak of. Wines were simply opened and enjoyed with a variety of cheeses, breads and other delectables for what they are, and by and large, most were very tasty indeed.

As is usually the case, we started off with some whites.

1998 Vincent Girardin Mersault Les Charmes, 13% alc.: The gold color of this one is just starting to show some amber and oxidation which shows on the nose and palate as well, along with notes of old wood and a faint touch of honey. It almost gives the impression of being corked, but there’s no TCA here; the wine is well past its prime, although not entirely undrinkable. Jim mentions candied ginger, and while others revisit it later and say that it comes around a bit, it’s “No mas” for this taster. Find this wine

Imported by Vineyard Brands, Inc., Birmingham, AL

We brought this next wine back from our visit to the Niagara Peninsula in August of 2008, and thought it would make an interesting comparison of “cold climate” Chardonnays with the Wyncrofts.

2005 Hidden Bench Beamsville Bench Chardonnay Estate, 14% alc.: Clean medium straw in color, with some flint and toasty oak on the nose, following through with a nice ripe core of pear on the palate. Full bodied, but not heavy, with excellent acids. One taster mentions that this “smells like Mersault,” but Jim mentions a note of sulfur wick,” and suggested that the winery “had some problems with hydrogen sulfide and had to add copper to compensate.” He adds a compliment however, calling it “lean and mineral driven,” saying that it would pair well with something off the grill. Smoked chicken seems like a good choice to me. Find this wine

Jim offered the following two for comparison, saying that the 2006 was their coolest vintage on record, while 2005 was the warmest, and the differences are apparent.

2006 Wyncroft Lake Michigan Shore Chardonnay Avonlea, 13% alc.: Showing medium straw color, and somewhat reminiscent of lemon custard with nice underlying acidity, this wine is full bodied, yet somewhat lean at the same time, being not as ripe as some, with excellent balance and acidity. Lester says that it bears a striking resemblance to a 1997 Bouchard Corton Charlemagne a friend opened for him recently, adding that his late wife Rae Lee called it “the most classical Chardonnay we’ve ever made.”

2005 Wyncroft Lake Michigan Shore Chardonnay Avonlea, 14.8% alc.: Medium straw to pale gold color, with a rich core of pear accented with butterscotch, some subtle honey, a little bread dough and a hint of morel mushroom on the finish. Full bodied, with slightly lower acidity than the ’06 and very nice indeed. Jim calls it his version of Kistler. Read the rest of this entry »