The Desert WIne Guy - Cellar 433 - "Tenacity" Red Blend

   Today we are going to be taking a trip back to the state of Arizona for this review. Arizona you say? Yeah, Arizona. For those of you who have been following me I know that you have read a few reviews that I have done on wines from Arizona so you know how I feel about their extreme temperatures and soil and what I believe these items add to their wines. So, today we will be taking another trip to the state of Arizona and I will be reviewing a non-vintage red blend that the winery, Cellar 433 (https://www.cellar433.com/) has dubbed "Tenacity". While it has been about 1 year since my last trip to the state of Arizona, when I was there I did pick up a few bottles of their wine. I have been from Sedona to Jerome and everywhere the "Valley Verde Wine Trail" goes. While I do not specifically remember tasting this particular wine when I was in Jerome Arizona I do remember that all of Arizona's Red wines seem to have a really nice Black Pepper note that I absolutely love (think Spanish Tempranillo). Let's go ahead and get started and see what this wine is all about now.
   Lets begin with the Bouquet of this Arizona Red. Holding the wine glass to my nose I was embraced with a wonderfully enjoyable, rich note of Chocolate.....I love it. Having just smelled that one note so far I quickly got the sense of a smooth and not overly aggressive wine. On the heels of the Chocolate is a (completely distinct) note of Baked Cocoa. These two notes as displayed in this wine are very capable of distinguishing themselves from one another superbly and you will note that separation hopefully as I did, with enjoyment appreciation, I sure know that I did. There was also a clear note of a dark and almost past its time "Bing" Cherry that only added to the fact that I absolutely loved the Bouquet of this wine. Yes, the Bouquet was clearly a rather simple one however those few notes that it did have were impressive and more than enough to make me happy.

John McLoughlin

   Moving on now to the pour of the wine. This is where the only disappointment to this wine came from. On the poor the wine was not that impressive and probably one of the lightest reds that I have ever poured, I started to have some concern now as to just how the rest of the wine would be. The wine was slightly darker in the glass but I could still see the bottom of my glass pretty clearly. If you didn't know any better you would be thinking that this wine would end up as "nothing special". Before I go on I'll lay it right out for you, don't be fooled folks!

   On the Palette the wine did indeed have the Black Pepper "bite" (again think Tempranillo) that I love, mentioned above and have begun to expect from Arizona reds. A cherry taste that you can only get from (Bing) Cherries you would buy at the Supermarket is front and center combined with a Black Cherry which gave the wine a slightly darker note to it that is perfect. This wine is not what I would call a "dark" wine in appearance or on the Palette but on the other hand, it certainly is not a light or mellow wine either. This wine in general tips along the lines of a slightly more racier red. This wine also carries with it a sense of incredible smoothness that you would think it wouldn't have due to the moderate Black Pepper note. There aren't any Tannins and no certainly no astringency or acidity to come across

harsh on your Tongue yet your Palette will be busy with the deep"Bing" Cherry, Chocolate and Baked Cocoa that you will pick up in the wine. Although a wine that can be considered slightly "fruit forward due to the Bing & Black Cherry, this is not what I would consider anywhere near even close to an over the top "fruit forward" wine. That does not mean that there is not that sense you will pick up of the wine attempting to lean that way however. My overall sense of the feel of the wine in my mouth was that it is successful in coating it with smoothness and I think that you will notice this. I personally think that the fruit forwardness along with the  "Bing Cherry", Chocolate, Cocoa and the "bite" of Black Pepper puts this wine over the top in my book in reference to a wine that can please a lover of both an ever so slight Red that is bordering on "fruit forwardness" and one that enjoys a moderately fruit forward wine. Do you also have to be a lover of a Red that has a moderately peppery "bite' to it? Yes, I think you do. If all of this sounds as if it is a fairly "simple" wine in reality folks, that's because it really is. This is a simple yet not boring, flavorful Red that I really enjoyed and I think you will as well. This wine sits at an Alcohol percentage of 14.37%, a little high.
   Before I close I feel the need to say something about this wine and (I guess) the entire Arizona wine industry in general. Let me begin here and I don't want anyone to take this as a criticism of the wines that the state of Arizona makes in general. The bottle of this wine didn't say the varietal makeup of the wine and you could find no information concerning it anywhere on the internet. I had to contact Mrs.Brighid McLoughlin of Cellar 433 who was kind enough to E-Mail me back (right away actually) and let me know that the wine is a blend of Tempranillo, Pinotage, Petite Syrah and Syrah. Mrs. McLoughlin also informed me that this wine was a club exclusive and not available to the consumer market. It was explained to me that John (McLoghlin) who is the Winemaker never kept detailed tech notes on these types of wines as they were "more of a playground for his imagination." Well John all I can say is, keep playing Sir. Here is another example of why I feel the wine industry in Arizona needs to step up it's game in marketing. For some unknown reason the winery's in Arizona appear to me to have terrible marketing. Doing some research I have discovered very little coverage of the wines and very little updating of the individual sites themselves. You will find sites concerning the wine industry but they appear to have not been tended to in a while, hopefully this will change. If anyone is interested I am available :) Now, lets go ahead and close this review.

   While I understand that this is a blend of reds and that there is no "varietal standards" for this wine ,I give this wine 90 points - (Excellent Highly recommended, holds to varietal standards) on The Desert Wine Guy rating scale. I thoroughly enjoyed the wine and I thought it held very well to the level of quality that I am use to from Arizona reds. 

                                                                                                              The Desert Wine Guy
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The Desert Wine Guy - 2012 Hangtime Chardonnay

      Hello everyone and welcome back for another great wine review. Today I will be discussing the 2012 Hangtime Chardonnay. This wine was cellared as well as bottled and owned by the famous Michael Mondavi. So let's begin by telling you that this is certainly what is referred to as a "new world" version of the Chardonnay varietal. This terminology is due to it's lack of dominate crispness and acidity and its fruit forward notes of tropical fruits. Certainly there a hint, perhaps actually a bit more than a hint of a crispness or acidity which appears on the back end of this wine but for the most part and fairly dominantly there is an overwhelming mouth and Palette of fruit forwardness present. This fruit forwardness  of course isn't a problem for those of you who desire that new world freshness in their Chardonnay. A buttery note in the wine was placed nicely and compliments the moderately sweeter notes. Neither note was over the top and the notes finished nicely and evenly across the Palette. As a side note, I actually drank this wine room temperature as I do all my wines and I think that really brought this wines notes out rather nicely. I think if this wine was chilled it would cut the fruit on the front Palette slightly as coldness has a way of doing. This could either be something that is perceived as nice at times and at other times not so nice, it all depends on what you expect from your Chardonnay. This can wine came be drank when at room temperature and at the same time I can envision this wine being drank slightly chilled while sitting on a nice cushioned chair outside while wearing your favorite ski jacket and watching the stars. WOW, what an imagination huh:). Back to the acidity or crispness for a little bit. This wine can please both the old as well as the new world Chardonnay drinkers if the crispness or acidity was integrated better.  Since the sweeter fruit notes of forwardness are stronger perhaps the acidity would have been better up front to fit that bill. There is also the slight note of Grapefruit that is almost hidden. A super nice Pear is also up front as well. There is no flatness on the Palette or a time where the fruit notes falls off and leave dead space on the Palette either. This white finishes strong and in my book has the perfect name (Hangtime) given to it. These were Chardonnay grapes given more "hangtime" to develop a higher Brix or sugar level in the grapes. Before moving on let me say that when I use the term "fruit forward"  I do not mean simply a sugar note. What I mean is that due to the true notes being fruit, there is sugar that naturally comes along with that fruit. Some would say that the fruit forwardness or sugar note might be a bad thing but in a wine that is fruit forward like this is simply natural and to be expected. This is a moderately soft and pleasant wine that can really scream either Summer or Winter in my book. Here s wine that has the ability to go along with your mind set at the time. Adding to these notes is a slight bit of a Limestone type edge that contributes to the slight acidity and crispness. Summing this wine up now I feel that I have to split the ratings that I give it on The Desert Wine Guy Rating Scale. Let's begin with the first part of the two part split.
   The first split is for the new world Chardonnay lovers. Looking at the notes that I feel this wine presents you have to already know that the wine is a must buy for you. To explain a little further I'll repeat the following. Kiwi, Mango, buttery. These are just to name a few.  The word "Hangtime" should also mean something to you due to the extra time for the Brix level to rise. On a scale of 1-10 in reference to the fruit forwardness level I would place this wine at 6 3/4. On The Desert Wine Guy Rating Scale I would place this wine at 92 points for the new world Chardonnay lover. Now, onto the lovers of "Old World" Chardonnay.
   For you lovers of the old world Chardonnay here is the second part. This wine will not fare nearly as well for you. You guys also can read the notes that I detected in this wine and realize that this wine is not for you. They are not notes that you guys would find appropriate in this varietal. For you folks I place this wine at an 85 (Drinkable, ordinary, non-distinctive, does not hold to varietal standards) on The Desert Wine Guy Rating Scale.
   Having said all this you now have my feelings on this wine. This is a double edged sword and one that is targeted towards a specific audience. For that audience it fits the bill perfectly. For the non targeted audience, you can do much better.

   Now, how did I feel about this wine? Well......this is a wine that I cannot take too seriously. To me a Chardonnay should always a dry and crisp varietal of wine. In reference to this I will now tell you something about yours truly, I love the "Old School" or original in almost anything. To me, being a child of the mid 80s the music of "New Wave" is real music. I guess you could say that I am a traditionalist. While that doesn't mean that I can't find a use for the "new world" wines I try my best to stay away from that in this varietal of wine. I would put this wine at the 85 points rating in my book.

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