The Desert Wine Guy - 2013 Villa Paola, Merlot

   Was the 2013 vintage a good one for wine in the country of Spain? Questions similar to this are often asked by the so called "wine professionals" who in reality, don't have the answer themselves. The reason why they don't have the answer is simply because there is no real answer as each property is different in its care, soil, weather and of course, Winemaker. America as well as the other wine producing countries are no exception. I could own a piece of land in a particular location which produced terrible wine in that particular year. You on the other hand could literally own land right next to me or perhaps a mile or more from my property and your grapes & wine came out fantastic. There could be many reasons why this is possible.

This leads me to my final question that I have for you which is why do some wine magazines provide (as if it's some kind of a bonus) a "Vintage Chart" that hints to you that you shouldn't buy a particular vintage from a particular country? I'll go ahead and answer this particular question for you. They offer this "Vintage Chart" because it's a marketing tool, that's why. Buy this Magazine and get this limited edition "Vintage Chart". By now I think that you might be asking yourself why did I bring these questions up? While doing some research on this wine I discovered that 2013 was supposedly a bad year for Spanish wine and I just wanted to kill that whole fallacy because it really bothers me, that's why. Now that I have gotten that off my chest and hopefully started some conversation between your guests as well, let's get down to reviewing this wine.
  So guys, here we are and very quickly I will tell you that the Alcohol percentage of this wine comes in at 13.5% and the wine costs $16.99. I received this wine from the Wine of The Month Club (https://www.wineofthemonthclub.com/About-Wine-Club) which I belonged to at the time and which I still highly recommend by the way.

  Let's start off now with how the wine presents itself on the the nose. A good amount of Cocoa is presented upon initially bringing the wine to my nose. A note of smoke comes roaring out of the glass as well here, super wow. That Cocoa & Smoke when combined together bring a sense at least of huge depth and to me, a certain promise of a huge wine overall as well. A little deeper into the Bouquet is a dark cherry note that seems to be more then content where it is as it seems to know the positive impact it already is having on the nose. There was a good note here of Tobacco as well which added a certain sense of smoothness on the nose.

  Let me take a look at this wine now as it sits in my glass and tell you rather quickly what there is to tell ya. Looking through the glass I see a fairly dark and impressive looking wine whose color is consistent throughout the glass and without any fading along the edges. I think the last 5 years might have done this wine very well indeed. By now I think that you are probably dying to know how this wine tastes, am I right? How if at all, is this wine going to hold up on the Palate in comparison to the visual inspection and the nose tests that it so awesomely passed? We will now see.
  Bringing the glass to my mouth and taking a fairly big tasting of it I was immediately really impressed with what the wine had to offer. What exactly did it have to offer? Well.....you are about to find out but first I have to admit something to you. I have been tasting this wine all along and have already began the process to making my determination as to where it stands on The Desert Wine Guy rating scale. Upon the first sip there was a moderately rich yet smooth note of Cocoa that I enjoyed a lot as it was not too sweet. This is the same note that I got on the Nose and at the same strength. That Tobacco that was on the nose came through as well here and together these notes were super delicious. Spices such as a light yet tasty Black Pepper are exposed on the Palette. There is a very nice note of Cigar Box/Leather that throws itself out there screaming to be noticed and I promise, notice it you will.

Are you getting all this folks? Are you able through simple reading to taste what I am tasting? If you are not, please allow me to go on. This is a semi rich wine as it does have a good bit of fruit forwardness to it but please don't be alarmed as it does not even come close to ruining this wine or anything of the sort, in other words, this is not a fruit bomb. This note along with all the others creates a deep and complex Merlot. There is one problem with this wine guys. I think that I can best describe it like this. Simply put, this wine got......confused along the way and decided that it was actually much more of a Cabernet Sauvignon rather then a Merlot. This wine presented itself with a lot more robustness then what is supposed to be the typically lighter varietal of Merlot. I have had wines like that before and I usually love the wines that are confused and do this. Continuing on now I will tell you that the Tannin's are simply.......superb. Yeah, I said that. Not too strong and not too weak, these Tannin's are an integral part of how this wine tastes. Let's throw a fresh overripe Plum into the mix. This Plum continues the dark note thing and couldn't be better placed than it is here in this wine as it compliments the Cigar Box/Leather and Tobacco and Cocoa notes. Let's go ahead and wrap up this review guys.

  I am impressed folks. I only wish that I had tasted this wine sooner because I would have bought at least two more bottles and put them away, I seem to do that a lot by the way. What a powerful wine this is, full of dark flavor. I want to remind you that this is a rich wine and I do want you to go into this knowing that. I also want to remind you that this richness shouldn't cause you to shy away as there is way too much going for this wine in the area of depth, as well as it's various notes for you to worry. The Tannins I mentioned above assist greatly in steering the taste buds away from focusing too much on the fruit forwardness and direct you towards everything else the wine is screaming to offer you. So....that's it, that is all I have to say. Oh, I do have one last thing to say before I give you my rating. There is a review of this wine that I came across on line and the person who wrote it was for some reason not impressed with this wine. Now I don't know what the person was thinking but I will remind you that wine tasting is indeed very subjective. This particular person did not like the wine and of course that is his prerogative but I just find it interesting how a wine one person might really like is a wine that someone else might dislike. It is now time to give you my rating of this wine and will tell you that on The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I am awarding this wine 93 very well deserved points.

                                                                                                                   The Desert Wine Guy

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The Desert Wine Guy - 2015 Napa Ridge - Silver State Red

  What do you think of when someone says Las Vegas? If you are like most people you think of  gambling & drinking until you no longer have a need to be Embalmed in the event of your death from that very gambling & drinking. If you're also like most however, when you think of Vegas you probably don't think about Vineyards or wineries and for good reason as there are none. While the city of Las Vegas itself does not have any Wineries or commercial vineyards, the neighboring city (cross the street) of Henderson, does. The town of Pahrump however which is about 45 minutes away has two (soon to be three) wineries & vineyards. Today we are going to be taking a look at one of the wines that comes from one of those wineries/vineyards. Today I will be discussing the Pahrump Valley Wineries, (http://www.pahrumpwinery.com/) 2015 Napa Ridge - Silver State Red.
  First off I would like to discuss a couple of the lesser known varietals that this wine is blended with. Let's begin with the varietal known as Ruby Cabernet. This particular varietal is actually better known as a varietal that is mostly used for bulk "jug" wine and is also used to add color to a wine. The varietal came about in 1936 as a cross between the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Carigan varietals. Originally developed for California's (San Joaquin Valley) hot climate, today the state of California is where this varietal makes its home. If it makes you feel any better, I have never heard of it.

  Let's talk now about the varietal of Mourvedre for a quick second. This particular varietal usually produces wine that is rather high in Alcohol content and is believed to have originated in Spain where it is known as Monastrell. The berries are small, thick skinned and absolutely love the Sun.
Because I believe we are all familiar with the other varietals in this wine which are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot & Syrah I won't spend any time talking about them. Let's move now into my review of this wine and see what I thought about it.
  Let's begin with the price of this wine. At $25.95 I will tell you that this is not exactly what I would say is an inexpensive wine by any means, nor is it what I would expect to pay for a wine from a tiny, mostly unknown winery and one which is located in a state/city not known for its wine. The city of Pahrump is however actually known for its legal "Cat Houses" (yep). Well, I guess it is what it is right? The bottom line is that all wineries think their wines are Gold and charge as if they are selling Gold so I guess the pricing is to be expected.
  All right then, let's talk some specifics about this wine. I remember when I was at the Winery and I very first experienced the Bouquet and tasting of this wine, I think I fell in love with it right then and there. On the nose I detected a pretty serious bit of Oak (don't worry) and as it turns out, this wine did sit in both American & French Oak for 18 months. This and the fact that the wine is  blended with a total of five (5) different varietals also impressed me coming from a small winery. The note of oak by the way, screams to me that this wine is serious about what it is about to present to the drinker which appears to be an oaked but hopefully not overdone, serious  red wine. While this wine is fairly light in the glass as far as its appearance, it does posses a certain quality to it that exudes a sort of depth that I, myself found intriguing and promising.
There is also a Chocolate note that presents itself so very smoothly on the nose and seems to issue a promise that you are about to taste a very serious and well put together wine. Let me throw in a nice Toast note and you might be starting to get a small idea of what I am experiencing. The Bouquet itself overall screams for a Steak or some tenderly cooked Lamb. Meat, meat, meat is what my ears hear the wine screaming. Let's now head over to the next paragraph and do some tasting of this wine in the hopes that it will not be disappointing
  Let me begin by saying very early into this review, WOW. Well.....not just wow, but SUPER wow! First off  I will tell you guys who are scared that the oak I spoke of on the nose will transfer over on the heavy side onto the Palette. For you folks I will tell you that you can throw those worries away. Yes, there is oak on the Palette but it is nice and nothing that will laden down the wine or interfere with you tasting the other wonderfully presented and placed notes. There is certainly an initially fruit forward note that indeed is present however there is also a peppery spice (think serious Tempranillo) note which really stands out. Nicely placed Tobacco/Cigar Box notes combined with the peppery for the most part keep the fruit forwardness in check yet also help to elevate themselves in the process. There is a sense of a bright yet non offensive cherry that is picked up on the sides of the Tongue but the rest of the Tongue certainly is bathed in a wine that has some nice depth as well as complexity to it and is also quite able to present all its notes I have talked about and more, very adequately. The notes of Tobacco/Cigar Box, pepper spice and Tannins .....oh, is something wrong? Did I not already mention the wonderful Tannins that this wine presents? I'm sorry, let me do that now. Tannins are certainly expressed on the palate and while they are fairly noticeable, they are not in amounts where you need a scraper for your Tongue. Nope, in this wine those Tannins simply coat the Tongue with only a semi soft roughness that assists in toning that fruit forwardness down to where it is not over blown on one hand yet on the other, you will be allowed to taste it and appreciate it. Overall these Tannins actually greatly help make this wine what it is. For a minute now, let me get back to that Tobacco/Cigar Box note(s).

The wine has a semi-soft yet overall dark component to it and that component is the wonderful note(s) of Tobacco/Cigar Box. When these notes combine with the Black Peppery spice and the oak......yeah, its all good. To top all this off there is a nutty type note to this wine that also when combined all together with the other notes makes for a wonderful treat to the Palette. Now, does that Chocolate note I picked up on the nose transfer over to the Palate? Yes, yes it does. Not overly done or dominating, the Chocolate note brings a sense of an underlying smoothness in the wine, yummy. The next part of this wine that I want to discuss is one that might initially scare a lot of people away as it would seem to be one that is definitely not wanted in a wine. The note that I am talking about is of tartness that yes is also tasted on the Palette but NOT at a strength which makes one sit back and say "what the heck" and stare at the glass in disbelief. This particular note actually gets along surprisingly well with it's new friends (the other notes) and shifts your tasting from the direction the wine is currently going and lightly scoots you to a slightly new direction that makes you sit back to evaluate it a little more.

Once evaluated a little further however, you realize that the bit of tartness is indeed nice and also actually helpful to the wine. Keeping the tartness in total check is also a note of slight Acidity that completes this package and gift wraps it for you as the two seem to mesh into one note.   
  Let's get to the bottom line here. Yeah, this wine is a fruit forward red but thankfully that fruit forwardness is not without merit, actually a lot of merit. If I can say this then you know the fruit forwardness is not anywhere near overbearing as I generally shy away from fruit forward wines.  When I initially tasted this wine my mouth just exploded due to the notes and how they were presented. I just sat back and allowed the wine to dictate the direction in which it took my Palate and I was certainly grateful that I did. I would say that ultimately this wine is a semi dark and slightly fruit forward wine with some rather nice depth and spice.

All five varietals of grape are able to have their presence noted as the wine displays the notes to some extent that they are known for. I give tons of credit to the wine maker as he or she clearly knew what they were doing. If I were the small town winery I would do what I could to hold on to this person because if the word should get out there, will be more substantial wineries that will come calling. It is now time folks to give my rating of this super nice wine. On The Desert  Wine Guy rating scale I give this wine 92 points.

                                                                                                                   The Desert Wine Guy

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The Desert Wine Guy - 2015 BV Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon

   Have you ever been excited by something that really in the big scheme of things in reality is nothing special? That is how I was the other day when a local grocery store named Smiths (Kroger) opened a new location near my house. The store was double their normal size as it now sold clothing and also had a section for a few small appliances. Basically it was almost a mini Walmart but without some of the..... unique Walmart clientele. What really was the exciting part for me was that Smiths has always had a pretty nice Wine and Beer section so I figured that since I was going there anyway I check out the wine section that was supposed to be huge and use my new Go Pro Camera at the same time to make a video for my new Brighteon Channel (https://www.brighteon.com/5812832805001) that I had just established. Guys, please go check out the video to see the fantastic wine selection & bar they have. By the way for those who don't know, Brighteon is just like YouTube but without the censoring of speech (Liberal or Conservative) and I STRONGLY suggest that you check it out. Anyway, while I was there doing the video I of course had to pick up a bottle of wine. The wine that I decided on was the 2015 BV Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon (https://www.bvwines.com/en-us/wines/napa-valley-portfolio/rutherford-cab/2015).

At the stores normal price of $39.99 it was fairly expensive in my book but as luck would have it the wine was on sale for $31.99 which while not much better is still cheaper and closer to "wine for the average person". By the way, the wine at the winery itself sells for $42 (higher of course). Let's get started digging into this wine now and see what it's all about shall we? One thing before we begin however is that I want to give you guys a heads up. Please read the entire review as the wine changes drastically as it opens up and I think you will be interested in this change. I won't go into any further detail right here but I will tell you that things certainly do take a turn for the..........oh never mind, read on.  So, without any further delay, here is my review of this wine.
   Let me begin this review by talking about the label the bottle carries on it. From time to time there comes a wine that has a label which just simply outright sells that particular wine. The label on this bottle appears to stand out and it conveys in my mind at least, a wine which is pure, elegant and of ultimate perfection. The label of the 2015 BV Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon folks conveys all of that and tons more. This particular wine is represented by a label that looks as if whatever is inside the bottle is certainly fit for royalty, or to be served at a presidential celebration. The different fonts chosen as well as the different sectional coloring completely brought this wines to life on the shelf as it screamed to get my attention.

Take a break for a second and actually study the bottles label and see if you are able to break away and come back to this review. Okay, I see that you were indeed able to break away and you made it back, that's great. Now, before I go on with anymore of this review I have to tell you something that you must know and I just....want to tell you in general. I am extremely partial to BV wines as a whole as well as a very limited few other Napa Valley standout wineries (Peju anyone). I will also admit that, yes being "extremely partial" played a part in my purchasing of this wine. I will also tell you  that I never make it a habit to purchase the BV Coastal wines as I feel that this expression is far inferior to the Napa one. Okay, moving on now to the bouquet of this wine, let's see if it holds up to this wines label presentation. 
   Moderate oak on the initial nose presentation along with cassis and pipe tobacco come barreling through, SUPER wow! A sense of darkness and depth continues to creep into the nose with a deep note of mocha combined with light coca that also comes rushing from the glass and up to your nose. A nice note of oak comes to the nose as well but nothing too dramatic or at a level to scare those of you who wish to stay away from the "Oak Monster" (thank you Gary Vaynerchuk), you will certainly appreciate it nonetheless.  As the wine opens up a bit there is a nice note of caramel as well. So think about this for a second. oak, mocha, cocoa, caramel and cassis as well as a true Napa Valley, Rutherford, Cabernet Sauvignon presentation. Are you guys getting the picture yet? I hope so.

   Moving now to the wine on my Palate. Yep, this is a serious, straight out awesome wine and a near perfect representation of the Cabernet Sauvignon varietal. Let's back up though and allow me to talk some more about this wine as I've jumped far ahead. From the minute this wine graces your Palate you will know that you have come across Gold. If you have ever read about "Rutherford Dust" and either have never experienced it or doubted that it exists then you simply must taste this wine. The Rutherford Dust is throughout the Palette and mixed with fresh blackberry that are themselves not overpowering yet present enough to let you know that they are proud to be there for sure. A semi rich and yet moderate fruit forwardness is without a doubt present and elevated in the sugar area by the molasses on the Palette and comes in honestly as slightly overwhelming although it was certainly proud to show itself off here. If you are scared of oak you won't have any concerns here as it is indeed present yet not approaching overwhelming although you will inhale it every time you you take a sip of the wine, weird huh? How about talking about the Black Plum that is evident on the Palette.Take a medium sip of this wine, breath and let it gently flow across your entire Palate. Tilt your head back and gently allow it to continue to spread across your Palette......go ahead, I'll wait. Now, what are you tasting? This note of plum is outstanding and the fruit is ripe and ready. If you have ever heard of the expression when it comes to a particular wine that it considered to be "generous" wine then you have without a doubt found one. If would have ever heard that a wine was "approachable" then you would probably not be looking at this wine as it is very forward in it's Napa Cabernet Sauvignon presentation and is not for the weak of Heart.

   Folks, here is where a major problem comes into play with this wine. In order to understand what is going on here you have to know that when I review a wine I am also helping the kids with school, reading wine magazines, and just relaxing in general. This might at times entail a half an hour or more break between sips when tasting the wine. This time can at times work to the benefit of a wine and unfortunately as in the case of this wine, work to the detriment of a wine as well. Keep in mind as well that I generally do not decant my wines, perhaps that will now change though.
   Okay, so after drinking this wine for about an hour and a half and basically letting it to open up, the wine has changed dramatically and as I already said, here is where the problem(s) started. Let's get to this unfortunate aspect and discuss them a bit. Guys I have to admit something, at first this wine was going to come in at 95 points as it was astonishing but the more it opened up, the more I have to tell you that it has proceeded to the point of being way over the top concerning fruit forwardness, what an ultimate disappointment. I'm not sitting here saying that this is a bad wine but what I am sitting here saying is that as I continue to drink this wine my palette is being without a doubt, simply and utterly overwhelmed (attacked) by sugar or fruit forwardness.This is to the point that I can no longer recommend the wine to the point that I was going to recommend it. After all is said and done I am forced to rate this wine at 87 points. A very serious drop in rating I know but a bigger disappointment in general, I am devastated! This wine went form exceptional to one which simply couldn't break the 90 point mark. Folks, I don't know what else to say. For $31.99 I expected so much better. For BV,  my expectations are always very high to begin with so I expected incredible things from this wine. For a wine that gets it's grapes from Rutherford California and is carrying the BV name all I can say is what a let down. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I give this wine 87 points.

                                                                                                                The Desert Wine Guy

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