The Desert Wine Guy - 2017 Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc

   At the time of the writing of this article it is of course Winter. That however has never stopped The Desert Wine Guy from enjoying whatever wine varietal I feel like enjoying. By the way, I am hereby giving you permission to follow suit :) So what are you tasting today Mr. desert Wine Guy? Excellent question there dear readers. Today I will be tasting the 2017 Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc (http://www.whitehaven.co.nz/default.aspx). Today my best friend (Mrs. Desert Wine Girl) and I were out at Costco today doing some shopping and I made my usual visit to the wine section because they always have the nicest and sometimes coolest and rarely available wines and at the nicest prices. When I got to the wine section I was very surprised how few wines of the Sauvignon Blanc varietal were available to choose from. After doing some searching I thought that I had decided on one of the three different Sauvignon Blancs they had on display but for some reason this particular one caught my eye, I guess you could say that the 2017 Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc sort of reached out to me and well, the rest is history.

   Let me to now get to some of the specifics for this wine. This wine comes in at 13% as far as Alcohol percentage which is fairy normal for the varietal and comes from the Marlborough region of New Zealand, it is also sealed with a Screw cap. The wine was completely created in Stainless Steel and without a touch of Oak, it is distributed in America by Ernest & Julio Gallow. The wine sells for $12.99
   Let's now move to what I personally consider to be a pretty big part of any wine and one that gets very little if any attention by wine reviewers and that is the label. Many people might ask me why would someone who is supposed to be tasting and reviewing a Liquid worry about the outside container?  That is a question that until recently I could understand being asked. I would find myself wondering aimlessly up and down the wine isle in the store trying to choose a wine. Aside from going into the store with a particular varietal in mind, what I unknowingly was doing was looking for a wine that took itself seriously. Let me ask you this, what is the very first thing that attracts you to a bottle of wine? Yes, the label. Go ahead and look at the picture of the wine above and see for yourself that the label exudes sophistication and classic style. Check out the Font used for the letters as well as the different colors used. Three different and striking colors that go incredibly well together. This is what caused me to put the other wine down that I had in my hand and purchase this one.
   Lets see now how this white wine presents itself in my glass. Beginning with the outside of the glass I can tell you that the wine comes across a pale yet failrly presentable Gold. looking at the wine the technically correct way with a piece of white paper under the glass (white background) the wines edges were an even deeper Gold and formed a ring around the inside of the part of the glass over the paper. The wine elsewhere was almost clear with perhaps a very pale straw color which was only slightly visible.

   Moving now to this wines Bouquet I noticed the note of super massively clean, crisp & fruity (not sugary) gooseberry that made the wines nose stand out and me certainly stand up and take notice that this wine, at least so far, did indeed take itself very seriously. The wine immediately made it known that it was not a California expression of the varietal. A Grapefruit note comes in around the back end of the Bouquet yet certainly gets it's point across. Orange Blossom & Pear notes while certainly not exploding on the nose certainly presenting themselves for your approval (Twilight Zone anyone ). So far this wine is earning my respect all around but the really hard part is yet to come and that is will the wine impress me on the Palate. The wine also displayed for me on the Nose a certain sense of  belief that is is certainly crisp and clean with nice Acidity.
   So far so good but what am I getting off of this wine in the mouth? Let's not waste any time and get to the wines Palate presentation. After taking just two decent size sips of this wine I will very simply say, WOW, absolute WOW! Let me continue by letting you know that the Gooseberry note that is so prominent and so lovely on the nose transfers right over to the Palate.......I'll say, superbly. Since this is not a California expression of the varietal there are no sweet, sugary fruity notes that come lunging out at you. Now, don't get me wrong because I do love the California expression of the varietal as much as the Marlborough expression but they are different in their presentation of the very same grape. I do also keep in mind that aside from me there are lots of people that love one and not the other. I think that anyone who is familiar with the differences would understand and agree as well. If however, you prefer the California expression then send your (unopened) bottle of this wine to me because this is an outstandingly superb wine folks. Moving on now, there is slightly more then a touch of Meyer Lemon here yet it is

presented without the sharp "tang" that might cause you to step back and give it time to mellow or maybe even cause a dislike of the wine. Now, don't get me wrong, as there is a "tang" yet it is without that harshness or sharpness and is not overpowering nor is it anything that would offend the Palate yet it certainly does without a doubt makes its impact on the Palate. These notes blend seamlessly and lead us to out next note which is of fresh cut grass on the Palate and it and the other notes mentioned are simply freely flowing across it.  From the beginning of the wine in the mouth to the end, this wine shines with the note of this fresh cut grass. My senses right now are just being lite up with the freshness and brightness of an amazing Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. There is an amazing straw note here as well that blends right in with the other fresh notes that I am tasting. This is a dry wine readers and I think the wine would be falling short in its presentation if it weren't. Hold on folks because the wine is not done and neither am I as there are Fruit Tannins that just scream across the Palate folks and are so very apparent throughout the wines entire presentation. Now, here is where the wine changes things up a bit. There is a bit of a Tropical note here in this wine yet it is not the Tropical note that you might expect if you are partial to the hotter climate grown expression of the grape. This particular Tropical note is like a higher level fruit but is missing a good amount of the sugary, overly fruity aspect that the hotter weather expression usually brings out of the grape. Surprisingly and I believe this is also where the slight more sugary portion of the wine comes from is a Honey Suckle note present that is without a doubt also needed. I did say, without a doubt right? Without this note as well, the wine would be missing a certain something that is needed to help to complete it. Continuing with the slight tropicalness of the wine is a note that while hidden for the most part but once again leaves its Mark is a note of Pineapple that you have to really sit back and take the time to find at first but once you do it never leaves your Taste Buds. Once again, this note is not anywhere near being an overly sugary or forward note. The Pineapple injects its flavor into the wine but leaves an overwhelming amount of its sugar at home. Continuing with this line of fruit are the fruitiness of Apricot & Nectarine that once again only bring part of their normal Sugar with them yet bring most definitely all of their taste. Together all these NORMALLY sugary and sweeter fruit forward types fruits create an absolute impact on the Palate yet without the sugar. Oh but were not done yet. There is some super nice bursting crisp zesty acidity that is presented seemingly with pride by this wine and you will be forced to sit back in your chair and take notice as it rather demands it. The wine is presenting the zesty acidity as if it is so comfortable in doing it. Here is another, absolute WOW moment.

   Well guys, I have to end this review as it is late and I have saved a glass for Dinner which is Crab Stuffed Salmon that I also bought at Costco today. With that being said, let's get to my final thoughts on the wine as well as my rating of this nice wine. First however I feel it necessary to break down what I mean by the term "tropical notes" so I'll go ahead and do that now.
   If I could explain the meaning of the term "tropicalness" in general I would use the comparison of Sugar brilliance, Apple, Melon, ripe Peach. These notes are usually reserved for a California expression of the Sauvignon Blanc as opposed to Lemongrass, Lime, Grapefruit which is usually reserved for the Marlborough, New Zealand expression of the varietal. These notes are generally what you can expect from each expression of the same grape.
   So here we are at the closing of this review. Folks, Super crispness throughout the entire tasting of the wine as well as on the finish is just one of the notes that this wine wants to express to you. This is without a doubt the best Marlborough expression of this varietal that I have ever tasted, plain and simple. The wine is so super fresh, the wine is juicy, obviously young, grassy and is the new standard for the New Zealand expression of the Sauvignon Blanc varietal. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I am proudly, excitedly giving this wine 94 points. Let's talk for a minute about I recommend you eat with this wine for Lunch or Dinner. I am thinking Shrimp, Lobster, Crab and a serious Salmon perhaps stuffed with that Crab such as like I previously said I will be having tonight. Ill throw in peppery Chicken into the mix. Either way you go will put you into absolute Heaven. For those of you who are into this sort of thing, here (http://www.whitehaven.co.nz/UserFiles/Pdfs/tastingnote-210.pdf) is the Tech Sheet for the wine.

P.S. - This brings me to a challenge of sorts. Chill the wine in your Freezer for two hours. Break out the wine and your favorite White wine glass. Yes folks, the good Crystal glass that you save for the "good" White Wine". Go to where ever you are going to relax and open the bottle. Pour a half a glass and take a small sip. I always taste in small sips by the way. With the wine in your mouth, sit back and gently (this isn't a Mouthwash) circulate the wine throughout your Palate. Allow the wine to sit in your mouth, in every part of your mouth, are you tasting that? DO you see what I mean about everything that I have written in my review? This is an Intense wine Ladies &Gentleman. A wine that isn't too proud to be sold to us, the Common Folk at a place where we shop. I give tremendous respect to the Winemakers  Sam Smail and Diana Katardzhieva. Enjoy the wine folks.

                                                                                                                 The Desert Wine Guy

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The Desert Wine Guy - 2016 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc

   Today's wine for review is unfortunetly the 2016 Kim Crawford (http://www.kimcrawfordwines.com/us/our-wines/) Sauvignon Blanc. Here is another wine that I purchased while doing some shopping at Costco, it also happened to be the only Sauvignon Blanc that was available in the store at the time. I was hoping that I kind of lucked out as it originates from the Marlborough AVA (Wairau Valley ) of New Zealand but I realized after drinking it, why it was the only Sauvignon Blanc left. The reason in my opinion is that no one wanted it. Our review wine comes in at 13% Alcohol, sells for $9.99 and is sealed with a Screw Cap.
   Let's begin this very short review today at the wines appearance in the my glass. Watery looking in the middle with spectacular Gold edges that actually extend about a half an inch into the glass. On the nose the wine exhibits tremendous herbaceous notes combined with White Grapefruit. A note of Nectarine makes an attempt to shine thru but is mostly subdued to a large extent. My nose also picked notes of Lemon Grass and Stone, both were about the same strength as the Nectarine. All in all the Bouquet was semi complex and rather nice, acidic and stony.

   On the Pallete the wine simply falls apart and I begin having some major issues with it. This wine is extremely heavy on the acidity side, way heavy on the acidity side and I for one don't like it. Lemon Grass is heavy in the wine and as you can probably imagine, the two notes being overdone and together do not make for a pleasant tasting wine. Upon first tasting the wine you very quickly think that you are tasting Tropical fruits, which you are but the big problem comes right after that immediate tropical note and that is there is a huge amount of tart / acidic lemony / Stone-fruit type notes that just envelope the Palette and overtakes everything else. There is tropical melon and a sour Green Apple as well as Grapefruit that I tasted in here but overall the offensive notes take control / dominance and simply......ruin / destroy the wine. 

   Let's wrap this review up as in my opinion it is not worth a lenghty review. At first I was thinking that perhaps the issue I found here is that this wine is extremely dry. My overall impression of this wine is summed up in four words and they are these, crisp, grassy, snappy and offensive. I'm sorry folks, you can read other peoples reviews of this wine and you will find that it appears that everyone loves it. I'll stick to my opinion and rating of this wine which is 81 points which is specifically reserved for wines that are "Not recommended, offensive notes or lacking and redeeming qualities". Yeah, I said no "redeeming qualities"

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The Desert Wine Guy - 2014 Awning Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

2014 Awning Estate - Cabernet Sauvignon

   Sooooo, the first thing that I want to bring to your attention in this review is that this the very first red wine that I have ever seen that has a Screw Cap to seal it. I am sure you already know by now but if you don't I will tell you, I do not like Screw Caps and this is not Soda or some other fizzy soft drink. This is not Mad Dog 20/20 or Night Train, this is real wine. Actually, this actually normally is a $20 bottle of wine at that. I can put up with (not like) or deal with a Screw Cap on a white wine but on a red? So, let's get into this review, talk about this wine and see if there is any saving grace for this wine.
   The other day I received an E-Mail from the Wine Of The Month Club (https://desertwineguy.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-desert-wine-guy-review-of-wine-of.html) that advertised the 2014 Awning Estate - Cabernet Sauvignon wine for $4.99. Now, I am always getting E-Mails from them with wine deals but I usually have other wines in the house so while I will check them out on the Internet, I usually don't end up buy them. What I have found is that when they say a wine sells for $20 elsewhere they are always telling the truth. Well for some reason I was interested in this particular wine and when I checked it out on other sites I saw that this wine that was selling for $4.99 here was indeed selling for $20 everywhere else. After seeing some "reputable" sites also raving over this wine I decided to but four (4) bottles of  it. The reason I usually don't buy wine on line is because of the shipping costs, in this case however the shipping was $12.....for four wines. That, is really good. Anyway, that is why and how I came to be reviewing this wine. Now, onto specifics of the wine.

   The wine comes in at 13.5% Alcohol and is a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Syrah (Shiraz), 2% Petit Verdot. The wine is imported from the country of Chile by Austral Wines LLC.  The grapes for the wine were all grown at the Awning Estate. Something interesting here is that I have learned is that in Chile a wine must be at least 75% of a specific varietal for it to carry that particular varietal as the sole one on the label AND be consumed in Chile. If the wine is exported it must have 85% and must also have 85%from the designated vintage year. To list a particular wine region one particular varietal must be at least 85% from that region. The Winemaker for our wine is Sergio Hormazabal Baglietto who's remarkable resume includes making wine on three continents, with experience in Spain, France, Italy and the United States. Sergio was awarded Winemaker of the Year in Chile in 2012. Now that's what I'm talking about. Here (http://goldenfrogproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Awning_TechSheet_2014.pdf) is the Tech Sheet for the wine and for those of you who are as interested in that sort of thing as I totally am. The wine was matured in French Oak (25% new) for 12 months. Alright then, it is time to move on to the next phase of this review and that is the labeling of the wine so let's go ahead and get to that now.

   Looking at the label here I see there really isn't really what you could consider to be a label on this wine, it is more of lettering. Looking at the bottle I wanted to stare at it for a long time as it was beautiful. Look at the pictures that I have included, are you liking it as much as I do? Not only is the front of the bottle beautiful but the back of the bottle which has the same type of lettering is also very informative and tells you a lot about the wine as well. I believe it is a nice touch of elegance and impressive as well.
   Now onto the appearance of the wine in my glass, in other words what am I seeing? Well, I'm glad you asked because I am seeing a very dark red / Garnet in color wine with the bottom of the glass just barely visible to me. The wine is extremely consistent in it's appearance all the way through from the edges of the wine all the way until the middle of the glass. Some wines appear lighter then others at different points in the glass. This is another wine that as far as appearances also looks rather serious minded indeed. Looking at the glass from the outside there are long thin legs (Marangoni Effect) that were put on a nice display as they ran down the side of the glass. I wish my Cellphone was able to pick them up but it cannot and I'm too lazy to break out my good Camera, sorry. Well anyway, lets do some more checking into this wine and get to its Bouquet.

Paul Kalemkiarian (owner Wine of The Month Club) & Ed Masciana

   So here we are, onto the Bouquet of our $4.99 bottle of wine. First up is a semi Dark Cherry note that meshes rather nicely with a note of medium Oak. The Dark cherry note is dominating but not by much. Both notes get together to combine for almost a note of their own and one that you most defenitely can taste is a well put together and serious one. There is a Blackberry note as well here but you have to (and should) kind of seek out as it comes toward the back end of the Bouquet. Weirdly. There is also a sort of ultra light, almost hidden in the back, vegetable type note that I have never experienced expressed in this way this before. Now, before you go getting crazy one me I should let you know that I do like it and also let you know that no, this is not the smell of a bad wine, it is however the smell of a rather unique wine. If you really want to pick up that Vegetable type note you must really take your time and check deep into the wine glass because that is where it is. Let's now talk about a super nice and super deep note of an oakey, Baked Cocoa that manages rather nicely to somehow blend in with the vegetable type note and tone it way down to as I said, the way back end of the Bouquet. One last thing I must repeat to you guys is that if you choose to simply give a once over of the wines Bouquet, you will definitely NOT pick up the vegetable note but you will pick up that medium Oakey type note of the Baked Cocoa. I don't know about you but at this point in my review I am thinking "$4.99 huh"
   Guys I to take a break for a minute and I am going to give you guys a heads up of sorts by telling you that I have to admit that I have been so busy enjoying this wine that it has taken a really long time to get to this point of the review. While it may appear that my reviews are written within an hour or so trust me, they are not, particullary this one. I will get into my wine review the process at another time but for now just know that I can be in my Loft (Office) for 3-4 hours tasting the wine and rocking out to 80s music. I know, I know, poor Desert Wine Guy :). As I said, I have been rather distracted on this review as I found myself caught up in my ultra enjoyment of this wine. Well, I am done for the moment being distracted with the wine so I have time to tell you what I am tasting so let's get to that part of the review.

Cabernet Sauvignon

   Right off the bat with this wine is the note of spiced Cherry, not a sweet Cherry but rather an incredible spiced Cherry that is darkened with a super wonderful French Oak, wow.just wow.  Now, I am going to say the following however I don't wish that any of my readers to take the following note for an overly sugary or sweet one. The wine seems to express a note that some (me included) might call......slightly......"Jammy" yet it is not the jamminess that we all are used to and that (in my opinion) absouletely destroys a wine. Readers, this wine is not sweet, nor is it sugary, nor is it a jam sandwich. Yes, there is just an ever so slight touch of a Jamminess note which is where any sugar on the Palate might come from BUT in no way can it be said that this an overly sweet, poorly made wine, so far at least. There is a note of Blackberry yet it doesn't dominate the Palate because of the jamminess note that appears to keep everything in this wine in it's proper perspective and in check. There is Acidity on the Palate as well that seems to encompass the entire Palate yet is not anywhere near being what I would consider offensive to the Palate or overdone. Having thrown out to you a necessary defense of the wine I hopefully also provided for the easing of your mind when hearing the word "jamminess" in relation to this wine I now without any doubt need to discuss with you guys the Cassis that his wine is proud to seriously present. I want to use just two simple words here to describe the Cassis and they are "mouth encompassing", what do you think about that? The Cassis note exhibited in this wine is just simply.......outstanding, yeah really. Not really soft on one hand yet not overpowering on the other either. In other words, simply perfection in my book. I have noticed that at least in my opinion, it seems that all of the red wines that I have rated in the mid ninety's all seem to have that expression of really nice or rather "aggressive" Cassis or Tannins. I have a little more to say about this in the closing paragraph. Let's discuss now a note of Ceder that somehow manages to appear in the wine and yes, I did say Cedar. I know that the wine sat in French Oak yet I can't see to shake the note that I am picking up of Cedar. Super nice and super up front this note is really enjoyable. As I continue on here lets talk about more notes that this wine proudly presents. Ripe Berries jump forward and almost seems to beg for themselves to be noticed from the wine drinker. Here again is another darker type mood that the wine loves to set as there is no soft brightness or lightness in this wine, it is serious all the way from the opening all the wayto the finishing of the bottle. The wine presents as well a note of Coffee which once again adds to the the moderately dark depth of overall the wine. Folks, this is a red that is the epitome of a juicy wine yet is also on the moderately dark side yet is not overbearingly on that dark side as the notes are not not overpowering in the least bit. Now, what I am about to say may surprise you as much as it did me. There seems to be an elegance of sorts to this wine that appears to kind of come out of nowhere. I first noticed it when I sat back in my chair and was trying to decipher exactly what a particular feeling the wine was presenting. I mean yes, I certainly knew about the dark boldness of the wine yet there was something else.  What I discovered is that I was feeling a sort of sense of Elegance that the wine was presenting and it was actually throughout its entire presentation. Perhaps the elegance is because of the Syrah varietal that is being expressed here, I am not surebut what I am sure of is that it only adds to the wines superbly crafted presentation. Folks, keep in mind throughout this review the amazing fact that I paid $4.99 for the wine so when I tell you now that the wine is presenting more that I need to tell you about you will know why I am in absolute amazement. How about some Anise and earthy leather? These notes are so much more then merely, detectable, they first appear on the front Palate and extend to the mid Palate. The quality of these notes are what you would expect from aat least a $50 Cabernet Sauvignon. The Leather in particular brings a sort of toughness to the Palate that when combined with the Cassis is........well, once again, out of this world guys. The Leather note is as comfortable on the Palate as a jacket that you have just broken out for the Winter as it feels like an old friend. I somehow get the feeling that some of the wines Palate directing notes come from the Syrah. How can a Varietal that is a mere 12%  make such an impact on a wine? All I can say is that perhaps it is the nature of that particular grape. I'm thinking as well that perhaps that is where the darkness or depth of the wine comes from as well. So, the wine has all of these wonderful notes but how about some silky Tannins, can the wine have that note as well? The answer is both yes and no. While the Tannins are front and center they are not in my humble opinion what you would say are dominate or in need of settling down.Oh yeah, for some the Tannins (and Cassis) presented might be over the top but if you are use to enjoying the Cabernet Sauvignon varietal wines that are in the $50 range and higher you are at home here as the wine is happy to be what it is. Currant, and licorice. You mean there is more to the wine there Desert Wine Guy? Oh gosh, yes there is. I believe that Black Currant is where that perfect presentation of Jamminess might perhaps be coming from. This fruit also I believe assists in bringing the wine to expose that juiciness that it exhibits from beginning to end. As I mentioned earlier, this wine has a semi-dark presence that it just loves to present to its enjoyer. You simply can't avoid that presence because to do so would have you avoiding the entire wine, it is that nice. Let's go ahead and add one more note shall we? Before I get to the closing paragraph I need to talk about a super, really nice note of Black Pepper that this wine is proud to show off. Readers add all the other notes onto that of the Black Pepper note and whatever good things you are imagining, that is what the wine is. Once again, nothing overdone here yet you will taste and appreciate the Black Pepper and it only adds to the greatness of this wine. Guys, I must end this review now as I seem to have spent a lot of the time working on it as well as enjoying the wine. Mrs. Desert Wine Girl has cooked a wonderful Dinner of smoked Chicken and I must get going. With all this being said I must move to the closing paragraph and give my final thoughts and rating of this wine.
   I know that I keep saying this but this wine present itself as more of a wine that would normally go for $50 instead of of the $4.99 or $20 that it would normally cost. Go the the Wine of The Month Club and buy the wine, NOW! Readers, I am not sure how they are able to sell this wine for what they are selling it for but you need to buy the wine. I am about to E-Mail them and ask them how they are doing it so hold on a second. Okay, so I really did E-Mail them and I will include their response in my final review. Guys, after drinking the entire bottle here are my recommendations. Let the wine Decant for about an hour, that's it. Although a simple recommendation the wine is certainly way much more then a simple wine. This is a full bodied red wine and one that not only demands but deserves your time and respect, it certainly has mine. This is a wine that managed to receive three spots in my wine cellar......yeah, you read that right folks, three spots as I will be entering three bottles into my collection. If you are worried about the Tannins and Cassis being too overbearing have no fear as you too can place some bottles into your Cellar as well and hold them for a few years. I know that there are those of you who have a real dislike for those two notes of Cassis and Tannins when presented in what might be considered "aggressive" levels, for those of you I would either look elsewhere for a red or follow my suggestion and put the wine away for a few years. As for me the Cassis and Tannins are right now moderate in my opinion and I love them as they are are. Now, did I say cellar a $4.99 wine? Yes, I did say cellar a $4.99 wine. Folks at some sites this wine is already unavailable at others it is indeed around $20. This is a succulent and juicy wine that will absolutely floor you. None of the notes mentioned which the wine presents and which are mentioned in this review are out of position on the Palate, they are well thought out and almost wait in line for one another and for their time to impress. Those notes are also near perfect representations of what they are meant to be in this varietal and when crafted perfectly. There isn't any unwanted softness nor is there any harshness to the wine. I have to just simply get to the point here. On The Desert Wine Guy Rating I give this wine 94 points. An Absolutely spectacular wine at a absolutely spectacular price.
  
P.S - The Wine of The Month Club responded to my E-Mail which said " Today I receoved four (4) bottles of the 2014 Awning Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and am in the process of writing a review on it. WHat an outstanding wine it is. I promised my readers that I would stop the review however in order to ask how you are able to sell this wine for $4.99? This is an incredable wine and I will be getting more soon." The wine club said "Thank you for the kind message! That is nice that you are spreading the word about the bottle, it is one of my favorites too. Our cellarmaster Paul got this bottle for a really great deal with a personal connection he has and right now we have a surplus amount of it, so that is why it went on sale for such an amazing price! If you have any other questions, please let me know and I can help. Have a lovely day!" By the way I just checked and the wine has gone up to $12.48 (their normal price) which is still a great deal.Now, if I haven't already said enough, I must end this review with a big push for the Wine of The Month Club. Here (https://desertwineguy.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-desert-wine-guy-review-of-wine-of.html) is an article that I wrote on them a few years ago. By the way, I get nothing in the form of compensation nor do I know anyone who works for them.
                                                                                                                               The Desert Wine Guy

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The Desert WIne Guy - 2013 Wilson Creek GSM "Family Reserve"

   Today we are going to be reviewing a wine from the beautiful Wilson Creek Winery. Wilson Creek is located in Temecula California and is about 45 minutes North of San Diego. I received this wine in my regular shipment one month while I belonged to their wine club. Today's review wine is the 2013 Wilson Creek GSM "Family Reserve". This particular wine is a blend of three different grape varietals. These varietals are 45% Grenache, 25% Syrah and 30% Mouvedre. If you are like most people, myself included, I myself am not that familiar with the varietal named Mouvedre (also known as Monastrell) so let's do a little education concerning that particular varietal. Mouvedre is usually a full bodied wine whose origins are from Spain (where it is popularly known as Alicante) and where there are
approximately 150,000 Acres grown. The varietal is most popularly used in the making of Port style fortified wines. The Mouvedre varietal is also known to produce fairly tannic wines that are normally higher than average in their alcohol percentage. Some of the other characteristics for this varietal are notes of Black Pepper, smoke, gravel & meat. Body and color comparisons would best be described as close to the Syrah varietal. This particular wine is coming in at 14.3% Alcohol so the Mouvedre has certainly lived up to that standard of a higher Alcohol varietal. Proper food pairing for this varietal would be very rich types of meat such as Barbecue Lamb, Rabbit, Pork Sausage or Beef Ribs. So now that we have all learned a little bit about this wine and it's makeup, the big question is what did I think of the wine? Well let's continue reading and see what is going on with this wine.
   On the pour I have to tell you straight out that this wine started off unimpressive in appearance to say the least. The wine is extremely uncharacteristically light in it's appearance and was certainly on the watery side especially around the edges of the glass where it appeared almost clear in color. As your eye looks beyond the unimpressive edge of the glass the wine does seem to darken up a slight bit as you move to the center of the glass but nothing that I would note as visually impressive or anywhere near in keeping with it's varietal standards described above. With hopes of the wine improving let's move onto my impressions on the nose.
   On the nose the wine seems to stand out and shine with aromatic notes of rich Red berry fruit, Caramel / Cocoa, Raspberry and smoke. I have to say here that the nose of the wine is certainly really inviting and rather impressive with the fruit note as well as the others. I am now anticipating the next step in this review which of course is the actual tasting.

   On the Palette is where the wine develops its real issues. The wine exhibits a definitely moderately harsh and acidic cherry notes that immediately envelope the Palette. This acidic cherry note certainly does take some getting use to and never really does accomplished that getting use to task in my opinion. I have to say here that upon initially tasting the wine, my Palette was really offended, or seriously put off by that acidic cherry combination. Closely on the heels of this Acidic cherry there is a sort of Caramel or Cocoa note that comes across mixed rather nicely with notes of Oak as well. Red Current is most definitely present as well in the wine and comes across on the Palette as a sort of Tannic note. The Oak note itself is both smoky and earthy and believe it or not sort of in a way elevates or makes up somewhat for the initial acidic cherry issue that I mentioned. These notes have a way of working fairly well around this Acidic Cherry issue and almost (I said almost) manages to pull off making up for the acidic note rather nicely. There is however a fair amount of the previously mentioned acidity remaining on the tongue that does unfortunately still stand out and continues throughout the tasting.  I also discovered that if you can give this wine a while to open up (at least an hour) and allow yourself to put the acidic cherry note to the back of your mind as best as you can, the other notes do a pretty decent job in presenting themselves and exposing that there is more to the wine than you might have initially thought. I definitely liked the Cocoa that is on the nose however while it does indeed appear on the Palette it is unfortunately only noticeable for a short time and than fades rather quickly but nonetheless is enjoyable while it lasts. I have come across this issue previously where a particular not will impress only to fade really fast. Getting back to the acidic cherry note I have to let you know that the wine is going to lose four (4) points (yeah it bothered me that much) for this moderately offensive and persistent note. What will the final review be with the four (4) points removed? You will have to wait until the end of the review guys for that answer. Moving quickly now here I feel that I would be remiss if I didn't make specific mention of the pepper from the Syrah. A moderate Black Pepper spice clearly shines through and also helps make up partially for the acidic cherry. Do notice that once again notice there is something attempting to act as a cover for the acidic cherry.

    Well, you made it, it's now time now to wrap all this rather short review up and tell you my final opinion on this wine.This is a wine that I certainly have to say I have mixed feeling about. On one hand there is the wonderful bouquet to the wine and that can't be taken away, on the other hand there is that ever present and certainly at the very least, moderately offensive note of acidic cherry that really threw both the wine and Palette off big time. While there was definitely a large part of the wine that I did indeed like, there also was what I think ended up being a large issue that I really didn't like. That darn acidic cherry was of major concern to me. In my book this note was enough to drop this wine 4 (four) points off The Desert Wine Guy rating scale. The loss of these 4 (four) points was also unfortunately enough to drop this wine out off the ninety point scale. With that being said, I feel this wine earned a rating of 86 (83–86 Good suitable for everyday consumption, often good value) points on The Desert Wine Guy rating scale.
                                                                                                                 The Desert Wine Guy

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