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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