The Desert Wine Guy - 2016 Bertinelli Estates - Cabernet Sauvignon

   In today's wine review I am going to be taking some of you (and me) back to the mid seventies to mid eighties, back when a television sitcom was meant as a family show and for the most part hadn't yet turned to the perversions that they are today. I am talking about the Sitcom named "One Day At A time'. One of the stars of that show was Valerie Bertinelli. As a young boy I and a million other youg boys of the time totally remember Valerie Bertinelli and how hot she was, and in my opinion still is. We all totally had a huge crush on her. If you were a young boy at that time you also had a crush on her. Today Valerie and all of us who remember her have all grown up, she is still just as hot however and has recently put her name on a series of varietals of wine. This is where The Desert Wine Guy comes in. For Fathers day, one of the things Mrs. Desert Wine Girl bought for me is a mixed (Reds & Whites) case of Bertinelli Estates wine. The case consists of 3 bottles of  the 2016 Bertinelli Estates Sangiovese 3 bottles of the 2016 Bertinelli Estates Cabernet Sauvignon. For the white wines I will be receiving 3 bottles of he 2017 Bertinelli Estates Rose and 3 bottles of the 2016 Bertinelli Estates Chardonnay. The total for this case with shipping which was $138 and comes out to $10.42 a piece. Mrs. desert Wine Girl purchased the case from QVC (http://www.qvc.com/Vintage-Wine-Estates-Valerie-Bertinelli-12-Bottle-Set.product.M57631.html). If after reading my review of the wine and you are interested in buying it I would suggest going through QVC as the Windsor Vineyards page (https://www.windsorvineyards.com/bertinelli-estates-12-bottle-set-all-reds) which is who makes the wine is selling the same 12 bottle (case) set selling for $279. By the way no, I am not being compensated for this review. Doing some further digging I discovered that she is going through a company named Vintage Wine Estates (https://www.vintagewineestates.com/) which owns Windsor Vineyards. You do have the options of purchasing Reds or Whites as well and you also have the option of choosing a scheduled delivery every 4 months for two years or a one time purchase. Bertinelli Estates was founded in 2017 and while Mrs. Bertinelli attempts to portray by the wines label that there is an actual Bertinelli Estates, in reality there is in fact no such place, it is merely for marketing purposes.

   For general information I will tell you that the Rose is a blend of 50% Barbera and 50% Zinfandel and comes in at 12.5% Alcohol. The Chardonnay is 85% Chardonnay, 14% Pinot Grigio and 1% Muscat and comes in at 12.5 % Alcohol as well. The Cabernet Sauvignon is 96% Cab, 3% Merlot and 1% Mouvedre. The Alcohol percentage on this wine is 13.5%. The Sangiovese is 97% Sangiovese, 2% Merlot and 1% Syrah. The Alcohol percentage on this wine is 12.5%

   Let's go ahead now discuss the Cabernet Sauvignon a little bit as that is the what this review is all about. Starting off I can tell you that the wine is thankfully sealed using a Cork and not a Screw-cap, this is a good thing. The label seems well thought out and I want to add that the Crest on it is actually the family Crest of the Bertinelli family. On the back is a saying that her parents had and that I absolutely love, it goes like this "Family is first, food is love.and wine is for memories". In my glass the wine was fairly light in color and there was no issue with seeing the bottom of my glass. On the nose the wine exposes notes of Oak, Blackberry and even a very nice note of Caramel as well. Overall the nose is nice in my opinion rather impressive for a wine that I honestly didn't expect much from. Moving to how this wine presented itself on my Palette now. I will tell you flat out guy that I am liking this wine and am also pleasantly surprised. It appears that my mind has been changed.

A sweetish cherry is first on the Palette. Now, when I say sweetish I am by no means refer to a simple sugary note. What I am describing is the Cherries that you buy in the store in the produce section. The Cherries that when perfectly ripe present that fresh, dark Cherry note which is not cheap and sugary but flavorful and forward. Tannins, (yes I said Tannins) are present in this wine as well. They are not super soft or ultra smooth and I happen to like mt reds with some Tannins that I can taste. Don't be scared away here as the Tannins present are one one hand as I said, not soft but on the other hand they are not harsh or astringent either. These are the Tannins of a wine that can age for a few (5-6) more years and still present the wine as one of distinction and a wine that can stand to decanting for an hour or so if you like. Valerie says that the wine is "approachable" and that she doesn't like a red with Tannins, she certainly holds true to her word. The wine is certainly on one hand approachable and on the other is good enough for fairly serious wine drinkers who desire a great tasting Cabernet Sauvignon.

   For lovers of oak in their reds, you will be very happy as the wine has a decent amount of an Oak note as well. Once again, nothing overblown or dominating but one that is noticed and pleasing. The oak note which seems to not always be present helps the other notes become rather smooth but also allows them to retain an edge to themselves. That is where this wine seems to be comfortable in itself as well as it's presentation. Cocoa lovers, you will be happy as well as there is that note presented pretty nicely. Once again the Cocoa is not exactly soft but certainly as with the oak does not try to dominate the Palette. This Cocoa is simply presented in a strength to require working along side one another and WITH the other notes and not in competition with them. There is a nice sense of a semi darkness on the Palette and the Blackberry note that is present here helps that feeling along rather nicely. About the only negative.....well....not really, is the fact that there is a hair / touch of a fruit forwardness note that by a hair, edges the wine toward the sweeter side. Covering for this and subduing it to a large extent however are the other notes which are present. Let's talk about the Chocolate that I think meshes wonderfully with that slight bit of fruit forwardness. Together the Chocolate and the other notes are like a Husband & Wife that never fight and each simply compliment one another. The Chocolate note also sometime becomes hidden as it seems to soften around the other notes and enhance them to the point that your Palette will sometimes loose track of it. I wish you could all do the following little exercise.

   Take some of this wine in your mouth, gently swirl it around. Do you notice your mouth getting juicy as the wine hits all the Taste-buds? Did you notice that there is a note of Pepper that is not sharp, Acidic or overpowering and at the same time, absolutely intriguing?  Did you notice that the Chocolate that I discussed is sensed deep within the wine and acts more to enhance the wine rather then try to dominate it? I actually sat back for a minute and participated in my own experiment and found it to be very satisfying. Thanks to Mrs. Desert Wine Girl, I didn't have to imagine I had the advantage over you guys as I actually had the wine in my hand and in my mouth. I will address this in the following closing Paragraph. One last item here. The mouth feel of this wine is way above the average for this level of wine. Well, it's time. I have nothing more to put out and it is time for my closing comments so let's go ahead and get to it.
   Folks as I said, this case of wine was a present from Mrs. Desert Wine Girl for Fathers Day and as such I thought it was a really cool gift. My Wife put thought into this gift as wine is obviously an interest of mine and I appreciate that and love her for knowing me so well. I am not normally one to buy a product simply because a celebrity endorses or a in this case, has a hand in creating it. In this particular case, crush or no crush, Mrs. Bertinelli has her likes and dislikes as do I. Once I knew that Mrs. Desert Wine Girl had ordered Mrs. Bertinellis wine however I did watch her video on it. I found it educational as well as interesting and liked that she says she actually blended the wines herself. If this indeed is the case I have to say that she did a great job on this Cabernet.

   Well having said let me close this review out. Please, do not let the statement on the bit of fruit forwardness scare you away from this wine. That particular note to this wine merely assisted other notes to achieve higher greatness and should not be misinterpreted as to remove anything from the craftsmanship of this wine. There is that sense of depth to this wine that I found very surprising and yet welcoming on the Palate and the soul. It is bold in a way and holds it's own very nicely against tons of wines of the same varietal and that sell at the same price ($10) point and higher . I highly recommend this wine and on The Desert Wine Guy point scale I give it 92 points.

                                                                                                                  The Desert Wine Guy
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The Desert Wine Guy - 2016 M.A.N Family Wines - Chenin Blanc

   Ahhh, new experiences. Sometimes when we take part in a new experience we are glad we did and at other times when we have a new experience we end up promising to never repeat it again. Alright so you guys know that I am always honest when it comes to my reviews and I don't pull any punches. Here is about to be another example of that honesty. Today I am in for a new experience and that experience is I am going to taste as well as review a Chenin Blanc varietal wine. Hold on a minute there Desert Wine Guy, did you just imply that you have never tasted a Chenin Blanc prior to this review? Yes folks, I certainly did imply (say) that. Hopefully in the end this will be a new experience that I am glad I had. Today I and possibly even you will do some learning and along the way perhaps maybe even educate ourselves a little bit about the varietal. 

   I would now like to talk about the Chenin Blanc varietal itself for a minute. Let's begin by learning about some of the characteristics of the Chenin Blanc grape in general. The very first thing that we need to know about the grape is that it is considered to be the most versatile grape in the world. This grape produces a typically tropical & fruity wine with notes of different types of Apple, Honeydew Melon, Jasmine and can present a note of Butter as well as well. Originally from the country of France (the Loire Valley), today over 50% of the Vineyards growing this grape are located in Africa where it is at times blended with varietals of Semillon & Viognier as well as a varietal known as Marsanne. The grape is the most widely planted grape variety in the country where the wine is sometimes known as Pinot Blanco. The wine is usually on the drier side although there are sweet & sparkling (Champagne anyone) expressions of the grape. The Chenin Blanc grape also has a high level of Acidity normally. The grape itself is early budding and enjoys a late to mid-late in the season Harvest. Warmth is needed to achieve full ripeness and the vine is very susceptible to Botrytis and Powdery Mildew. Alright then, now that we have a bit of information on the wine varietal and the grape itself, let's move onto this specific wine.

   Okay so today I am reviewing the 2016 M.A.N Family Wines - Chenin Blanc from South Africa the Agter-Paarl region to be more precise. Let's go ahead and talk about this wine now. I bought the wine for $6.99 (regularly $12.99) while doing a little impulse shopping at World Market (I love that place) here in Las Vegas the other day. I spotted a clearance rack of wines and on the rack there were two wines who's varietals I recognized, this wine and a Sauvignon Blanc. The other varietals I have never heard of before and I guess I wasn't feeling to adventures. I got a bottle of this wine as well as the Sauvignon Blanc and here I am today. This wine is Screw Cap sealed and comes in at 12.5% on the Alcohol scale. 
   Let's look at the label of this new experience wine and see how it comes across. As I have said before in some past reviews, a white wine can get away with things that a red wine never could. Observing this wines label I just very simply get a feeling of classiness. Once again Fonts and placement of words is a big deal. In this case both are exhibiting a worthiness and an example of what the varietal should be. Now keep in mind that I did say "exhibiting" as at this particular point I have not tasted this wine. The goal of a wine label is to twofold, get my attention and attempt to convince me that the wine is in need to being chosen. This label accomplishes both very well and I would have chose in outright on a normal selection.

   As I move on let me get onto the wines appearance in my glass. A beautiful and vibrant extended Gold rim is so very apparent. Did I say vibrant? Yeah wine lovers, the wine looks very nice as my glass is tilted over a white paper. I am craving a glass of this wine as I am certainly impressed at least by it's appearance. In the glass now as the wine sits on the table I am seeing a white wine that just reminds me of what you would see on The Housewives of......". If I didn't know better I would think this wine cost real money. As for any legs, the wine showed few legs but the ones it did show were fairly thick and dripped down the glass rather slowly.
   As for he Bouquet now. I am getting a bit of toasted spice on the nose along with a slightly buttery note as well. There is also a note of ripe Peach that is presented with a serious depth rather then a lightness. A Kiwi note is screaming here and I am hoping so hard that these notes carry right on over onto the Palate. Let me go ahead and add a note of Melon here that is just on point with the kiwi and I can't forget to tell you about a note of Honeysuckle which is very prominent. Overall this wine is just screaming tropicalness on the nose, wow!
  

   So now we get to deal with the Palate of this wine, and of course as you can expect, I cheated as I have already tasted the wine. Have no fear though because as normal I will (try) not to give it all away just yet as there is a review for me to type and of course, for you to read :). Opening up on the Palate the wine is exposing a nice note of tropical acidity followed by a fairly decent bit of that Honeysuckle I picked up on the nose. I know that we are early into this review but ......I love this wine. I think you have to realize that once the wine is tasted you really know right away how you feel about it as you already have all you need to judge it. A review of a wine takes longer for the writer because a thorough review means explaining to you the reader just how or what the wine is presenting and whether in that reviewers opinion the wine is either good or bad. Okay so the next note up is one of Pear makes it's presence known on the Palate for sure and also brings with it a slight bit of sugar. Now mind you, all the notes bring with them some level of sugar but this is not a sweet white wine by any stretch of the imagination. As I said, there is fruit sugar notes here but along with them comes the actual taste of the fruits themselves so the sugar is not just thrown in here to effect a change in a cheap wine or to make you think with a masking of sorts that the wine is better then it really is. Let me now go ahead and let you know that there is a buttery note but it is most definitely NOT anywhere near or even approaching the point where it could even possibly effect the wine negatively. Yes, there is an acidity to this wine but it is a note that is indeed needed in order to act as a "cut" of sorts to what would have been a wine slightly edging toward a slightly sweeter wine but because of this note overall the wine is not what I would consider to be a sweet one. This Acidity is not overwhelming although although it is not shy in the least bit either. A crispness is evident here as well and it can partially thank that Acidity. I do want to talk about a note of Grapefruit which is apparent towards the Finish of the Palate. This particular note is not incredibly tart but it is present enough to be effective on the Palate for sure. A note of a soft Lychee makes itself known here as well. I want to tell you about the fruit of Apricot which brings a bit of a sort of tang to the wine. This is a semi-ripe Apricot and one which would truly be joyed as a fruit you picked up as a snack in general. Nectaurine, I am talking about a semi-ripe Nectaurine and not one that is loaded with sugar or sweetness.

I am talking about a Nectaurine which certainly helps carry this wine into the zone it loves to live in and that zone is one of quality and a Winemaker who knew his business. How about a note of Green Apple? This Green Apple helps the Grapefruit with that bit of tartness that I am tasting which comes across so fresh. If you are thinking that I am done here you are wrong because along with the Acidity and crispness is a White Pepper note as well. When combined and controlled as they are here these notes present themselves just......wonderfully is all I can say to you. I guess you could say that the note of acidity here is buffered by a comfortable level of semi ripe to ripe fruit which also is used to soften any otherwise harsh impact. There is the Stone Fruit note of semi-ripe Peach that appears at Mid-Palate and sustains itself in a mostly non-sugary way. The next note also was presented on the nose and that is a note of melon. Adding just a touch more of sugar and tropicalness this melon is fresh and vibrant. Alright then, it looks as if this is another review of a wine that I can say more then passed muster. Let's go ahead now and get to my final thoughts on the wine.

   This wine is certainly presenting an awful lot of semi-ripe to ripe fruit notes if you ask me. This wine is not overly loaded with sugar yet it certainly is loaded with vibrant fruity notes. As a reminder this wine cost me $6.99 Chenin Blanc lovers. Does the wine present itself as a $7 wine? Ahhhh no, it definitely does not. This wine makes it a pleasure to have tried the Chenin Blanc varietal and I can promise you that this will not be the last time this varietal is reviewed by me. In closing, if you want a buttery or oily white wine you are looking in the wrong place without a doubt, go find an overly oaked Chardonnay. While there is an ever so slight buttery note here, there is no oily note oily note at all. This is a perfect and I do mean PERFECT wine for the Summer and especially the pool. Even if you paid $10 for the wine which is the average price, I highly recommend this wine for being refreshing, flavorful and an excellent representation of the varietal known as Chenin Blanc. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I am giving this wine 93 points as I thoroughly loved it.

                                                                                                                 The Desert Wine Guy

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The Desert Wine Guy - Passion Cellars - 2014 Dios Mio Man

Passion Cellars - 2014 Dios Mio Man

   What do you think of when it comes to the state of Arizona? Whatever it is that comes to mind, I doubt very much that you think about wine, to be honest and neither did I for a while. Many people do not know that the state of Arizona actually has a growing wine industry and that they make some really great wines. While that may come as a shock to many so called wine experts who will say that the weather is simply too hot to grow quality wine grapes, these so called experts I can promise you, are very wrong. Yes, it does get hot in Arizona, very hot, but that doesn't exclude the growing of quality wine grapes. While it is true in Arizona as it is in a lot of other states, certain varietals will not fare well there because of the excessive heat others varietals such as the Tempranillo, Syrah, Mourvedre and Cabernet Sauvignon just to name a few will positively thrive. Las Vegas today will be 101 Degrees and drop to 78 Degrees. As the Summer begins however, that temperature drop will no longer happen and we will not leave the upper 90's at night. Wine grapes are grown in backyards out here very successfully. Anyway, if you are interested in finding out more about the Arizona wine industry here (http://vvwinetrail.com/) is a great link that you will find of interest. Why am I telling you so much about the Arizona wine industry? The reason I bring up the wine industry in Arizona is because today's wine that I am reviewing is from Passion Cellars (http://passioncellars.com/) which is located in the city of Jerome, Arizona. Jerome itself doesn't have any Vineyards as much of Arizona's wine grapes are grown in the Wilcox AVA (yeah they have an AVA). Jerome does have 4 wineries though including Caduceus Cellars which is owned by Maynard James Keenan, the lead singer of Tool. So now I have a confession to make before I get into the main part of this review, I love Arizona red wines. If you love your red wines with a Black Pepper type spice as well as deep earthy notes then you also will love Arizona reds.

Alicante Bouschet

As I finally get to posting this article (a year later) it is June 5th and the temperature in Wilcox Arizona will top out at 100 degrees and bottom out at 64 degrees tonight. A quick update today June 5th shows that the weather here in Vegas is going to be 89 Degrees getting down to 57 Degrees. While this certainly is a decent temperature drop, the temp in
   Today I will be reviewing the 2014 Passion Cellars, Dios Mio Man so let's get started on that review. Let's learn what this wine which is a red blend consists of. In today's review we are looking at a red blend which consists of 76% Alicante Bouschet, 12% Syrah, and 12% Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes for this wine were grown in the Dragoon Vineyard & Fort Bowie Vineyard (both in the Wilcox AVA). The wine was aged in 40% new French Oak for 16 months then aged for 8 months in the bottle. The wine cost an outrageous $49!
   Let's look now at the color of the wine as we continue. The wine presents a Crimson Red on the pour however in the glass this wine sat a very light in red in color. I had no issues at all seeing the bottom of the glass as it was held over a white paper. The wine was very consistent throughout in it's appearance and did not display any variations in shade. Before I go on I would like to point something out. I have said it many times but I feel the need to once again repeat it While there are some who might believe that the deeper the color of a wine the better, or higher scoring the wine is or should be and that is not the case. Yes, I agree that it is nice to see a red wine that is deep and dark in color as it does make for a great presentation, it is however not the end all be all to a wine. Okay, so let's get further into this.

   On the nose this wine was rather forward with the notes of Leather and Black Pepper topped with an absolutely wonderful note of abundant Cocoa. Sounds rather simple huh? Sometimes simple is all  it takes for a wine to excell
   Taking this review to the Palette as we move on I will tell you that the Black pepper detected on the nose translates right over to the Palate. This wine has a Black Pepper spice that is very up front and immediately draws your attention. For me that Black Pepper note helps or assists the other notes in this wine in coming forward. Deep Black Cherry combined with moderate Cassis / Black Currant are present in enjoyable amounts but also without any bitterness that could offend the Palette. A note of Allspice rushes forward as well and the Palette is simply loving it. Some nice Oak is involved as well on the Palette and also at just the perfect level to be appreciated but yet not be overdone either. There is also a bit of Acidity as well which presents itself here on the Tongue and that assists this wine to excell in it's Palate appeal. On the very sides of the Tongue is a hint of fruit sugar that when taken as a whole is mostly where the limited sugar in this wine is from. I find it interesting how the sugar is almost confined to the sides of the Tongue although there is dark, deep and not overly sugary note of ripe Plum which extends its presentation beginning on the opening of the wine and extends all the way to mid Palate and finally completing it's journey on the Finish. As a last note here I want to let you know that there is a deep note of Oak on the Palate and one which is not shy in it's presentation.

   There isn't much more that I can say guys, this is a pretty nice wine and one that I believe is put together nicely. I thoroughly enjoyed it and found no real negatives to tell you about other then the crazy price. This folks is one nice wine. To show you that I am not too crazy, this wine actually won double gold medals in the largest competition of U.S. wines at the  San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. While some might find this wine to be fruit forward as there is a bit of that present, to me however this wine presents much more then fruit forwardness the wine is deep, semi bold and super nicely layered in Oak. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I give this wine a solid 91 points.

                                                                                                                   The Desert Wine Guy

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