Today I would like to write a fairly quick (yeah right) article on a wine vendor named Wine Library (https://winelibrary.com/) that I have recently done business with. On October 10th of this year I signed up for and received am e-mail from Wine Library for a coupon for free shipping. Well I decided to use it and purchase two of the 2011 Annabella Cabernet Sauvignon that I had just done a review of on this wine blog (http://desertwineguy.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-desert-wine-guy-2011-annabella.html). The other reason I chose Wine Library is because after doing an online search for the cheapest price for that particular wine they happened to beat everyone else s price by a good amount. The price I got at my local big warehouse liquor store and almost every other on line retailer was $17.99. The price listed on Wine Library was $10.99. Well I went ahead and ordered 1 bottle for a fan on my wine (only) Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DesertWineGuy and a separate order (2 bottles) for myself. Initially I couldn't find the space for the free shipping code on the order of 1 bottle but later when I ordered the 2 bottles I did find the space. by the way I mention this for a reason, keep reading. I immediately received order confirmations for BOTH orders. I thought I was done with the matter.
Well here I was 10 days later (it's was now the 20th of October) and not a word about the wines, either order. After checking in with my fan who won the wine to see what her feelings were about the wine and being told that she had not received it yet I decided I needed to check into what the delay was. The following is the chain of e-mails that followed. One last item. All the below responses received from Wine Library were prior to ME informing them that I actually had 2 separate orders and the issue with the 1st initial order was STILL being completely ignored.
The following is the first e-mail I sent on October 20th at 8:42 AM as well as the reply from Wine Library on October 20th.
Hello folks;
I am looking for some information on order #1327057 . This order was placed on October 10th and I have received no tracking information on it nor has my customer received it.
Thank you, The Desert Wine Guy
Their response at 4:02 PM was the following:
Hello Marc,
First off, we just want to thank you again so much for your order with us! We appreciate your business! Below is an update regarding some of the products on your order. If you have any questions regarding this, feel free to drop us a quick e-mail here!
There's been a change on some items you've ordered with regard to either price and/or vintage:
Annabella Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 (item #77154) is currently the 2012 vintage, and the current price is $12.67
Please let us know if you would like this item at the new vintage and/or cost, or if you wish to cancel this item from the order.
Again, if you have any questions at all, please let us know by replying to this email! Thank you so much for the business!
Wine Library Order Department
https://winelibrary.com
orders@WineLibrary.com
1-888-980-WINE
Later on October 20th at 7:04 PM I received another e-mail back from Wine Library saying the following:
John replied
Oct 20, 7:04pm
Hi Marc,
We are sold out of the 2011 and we are able to get the new vintage which is 2012. We apologize for the delay as we just learned that we can get ore of the wine just in a new vintage of 2012 which actually is a better year for California. Please let us know if you would like the 2012 vintage.
Thank You,
John Antunes
Wine Library
Order Department
586 Morris Ave
Springfield, NJ 07081
(888) 980-WINE
In my response to the above e-mail received from Wine Library at 4:02 PM I responded on October 20th at 7:07 PM the following:
Keeping in mind that I operate a very popular wine blog https://www.facebook.com/DesertWineGuy) as well as a wine (only) Facebook I would love to know why I can order a bottle of a wine on the 10th of this month and not find out that you are sold out of it until I am forced follow up myself on the 20th of the same month? This order was for a customer that won a contest. To top it all off I also have another order (1327123) for 2 bottles of the same wine that I placed again on the 10th as well and have heard nothing about that one either. I am thinking about putting out an article concerning this mess on my wine blog as well as a couple of sentences on my wine Facebook as well. What I would like is for you folks to PLEASE find the wine since it IS available thru other retailers on line and send them to me for the same price. If you cannot accommodate this please let me know and I will notify my online followers of the lack of satisfaction with your company.
Thank you, The Desert Wine Guy
Well I ended up going to work on October 21st and when I returned home my Wife informed me that Brandon Warnke, the Vice President of Wine Library had called a couple of times to speak to me concerning the issues with my orders. I also received an e-mail from Brandon saying the following:
On Wed, Oct 21, 2015 at 8:29 AM AM Brandon responded to me by saying the following:
Hi Marc - I just learned about the situation with your order and am STUNNED at the situation here!! I'm the VP and am going to look into this right away - we are normally 1-2 days in terms of turn around and there is simply no excuse for what happened with these two first orders - I'm calling the team in right now to find out the issue here and will be back to you shortly
One way or another I will resolve this today and make SURE there are no issues going forward!! Thank you thank you thank you for bringing this to our attention!!
------------------------------
Brandon Warnke
Vice President of Operations
winelibrary.com
E-Mail: I have omitted this for privacy reasons
I called Brandon back and he was very apologetic to me and informed me that the company had switched over to computer (paperless) ordering and that my issue had brought up some "bugs" in their system. He told me that he was more than happy to see that I was satisfied with their company and informed me that they had gotten three bottles from the Michael Pozzan Vineyard and that he was looking to ship all the bottles out on overnight shipping for free. I told him that I would appreciate that very much especially since one of my fans had been waiting 10 days for wine. Mr. Warnke was very accommodating and offered me the wine at a discount from their website as well. I was also left me with the feeling that I could have received a few more accommodations from him should I have wanted HOWEVER I was not looking for any free things from him, my priority was simply to get my fan what I promised her. He did also let me know that he could get me access with some wine makers in the area for interviews if I was interested and I thanked him and let him know that I would take him up on that offer.
On October 21st I received two e-mails confirming that BOTH orders had been shipped and the very next day I received my two wine bottles which were packed very securely and my fan received hers as well.
Now for my overall feelings concerning Wine Library. First thing is would I use Wine Library again? I would have to say that YES, I would give them another chance especially judging how quick their response time was to issues and how easy the employees had access to the Vice President of the company. This showed me that the workers at Wine Library feel comfortable with letting their boss know that they made a mistake and needed it corrected, there no sweeping things under the rug. I also commend the workers for knowing that I as a customer and a wine insider was important enough to please, good job guys!! I would also give them another chance because judging by the price of the wine they are very inexpensive. Bottom line here everyone is that even though the relationship with Wine Library started off a little shaky they were able to gain my confidence back immediately and I recommend that you give them a try.
The Desert Wine Guy
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Saturday, October 31, 2015
Saturday, October 24, 2015
The Desert Wine Guy - 2011 Annabella Cabernet Sauvignon - A Top Tier Red
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| 2011 Annabella Cabernet Sauvignon |
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| Michael & His Oldest Son Dante |
So let's see now how exactly how I was lucky enough to discover this wine? Well I'd love to tell you that I read a review on this wine or had a wine industry insider tip concerning it but that wouldn't be true. Like many other wine discoveries I was in the right place at the right time. I just happened to have had a glass (and then a bottle) at a restaurant opening that I was invited to attend and do a review on. I remember when I had the first taste of this wine there were the words "classy", "clean" & "polished" that immediately popped into my mind. What wine is this again I thought and I actually also said out loud to my Wife. I took another taste and believed that I fell in love with the wine, it was now time to order a bottle. Well order a bottle I did and you can see my Waiter, Mike pouring it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtQ_IzwJhUg. I sat back as the food arrived and enjoyed a few glasses of the wine thinking about just how expensive the wine must be and how I would never be able to afford this so I better enjoy it now. I than remembered that I could go on line and check the price. I was expecting to see all the usual fancy websites having reviewed this wine but that is not what I came across. I actually came across the opposite. When the websites that sell this wine came up I was absolutely amazed to discover that the wine was priced at around $17 on the high end and $10.99 (https://winelibrary.com/) on the low end. I also noticed that there were also plenty of sites that sold this wine but I did notice that a lot of them were sold out. I knew where I was headed the next day when I got up in the Morning and that was to my local warehouse wine retailer. I picked up one bottle for $17.99 (it was a wine emergency) so that I could take it home and head to my review room and do a proper review of it. By the way I did order two bottles form Wine Library because I was no longer in a rush to get a bottle and because I wanted to pay only $10.99 and get free shipping. I also ordered a bottle for a fan and contest winner on my wine Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/DesertWineGuy (shout out Misty and thanks). Well after all this the review is done and here are my complete feelings on this wine.
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| Michael Pozzan Winery |
From the very beginning of laying my eyes on the 2011 Annabella Cabernet Sauvignon bottle that night I was actually impressed by it. Sounds crazy, huh? Something inside me just said "you are going to like this wine". The label was simple yet very classy and informative. There were also no crazy, childish or goofy designs on the label as some wine makers are now starting to do. No crazy goofy names either, no, just a simple nice light Golden label with beautiful script font was what I was first treated to. What do you think about a wine that shows itself off even before it's opened? What do you think about a wine that continues to show itself off the minute it is opened and before you even taste it? I will tell you that I think, I think that wine has a lot going for it from the get go. That is what this wine was already treating me to. As I just said, the minute this wine was opened I was hit with this amazing bouquet. I even walked away a few feet to get a wine glass and STILL I could appreciate it. I have only experienced this a few times in a wine and I ended up loving the wines each time it happened. When I was able to experience it with this wine I knew the wine was going to be consistent with the wine I had at the restaurant.
When I poured this wine in my glass it simply sat there a beautiful deep cranberry in color. The wine appeared to simply wait to be tasted, almost like it had nothing to prove to anyone. This wine simply look very appealing and I couldn't wait to taste it again. In the light the wine didn't seem to fade or lighten up too much at all, it still for the most part maintained its deep Cranberry color.
Bringing the glass to my nose I sensed a wonderful bouquet of Leather intermixed with Caramel. Present was also a nice Cherry/Current mix. I thought I also sensed a hint of Molasses as well. Here was a very rich, complex bouquet and one I could sit and breath in all day.
Now for what I tasted in my mouth. Oh....my.... goodness guys, WOW. There is no question that Black Cherry and Current certainly dominate here BUT and I say BUT, don't let this fool you into thinking that this is some run of the mill Cabernet Sauvignon because it most certainly is not. Yes, I used the word "dominate" for the Black Cherry & Current but none of these overpower the other notes in a way as to ruin this wine. This wine is actually incredibly balanced and the Caramel notes on the Tongue that were most certainly present were on one hand mellow & smooth and yet on the other hand not too mellow. The Caramel complimented the other notes that the wine had to offer which was a lot. There were nice notes of Brown Sugar which were inserted smoothly into the wine and along with the Bordelaise Cassis simply elevated this wine above any other Cabernet Sauvignon that I have ever tasted. I especially loved how the french Oak also imparted it's own personality into the wine and brings in some dark notes as well which once again, puts this wine over the top. Here is a fruit forward yet semi-soft Cab that doesn't seem to need any reviewer saying it is great. This wine has a personality of it's own and takes itself very seriously indeed, as it should. A sense of Leather seems to top off this wine and adds some more dark rustic type notes here as well. One interesting note to this wine is that it needed absolutely no time to open up. The wine didn't change from the first drop to the last drop. The wine offered what it had from the very beginning to the very end.
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| Matt Pozzan With Some of The Winery's Different Wines |
Let's get to the bottom line here because I have a bottle of this particular wine waiting for me :) In my opinion there appears to be a lot of wine making experience, knowledge and wine passion that went into this wine. Yes this does appear to be a wine that is not meant for a top rated review. Judging from the notes the winery put on it this wine appears to be for the casual wine drinker. In part the winery is correct with it's target market BUT I believe that the winery needs to re-evaluate this wine and realize that this wine is an all around class act. This definitely does not appear to be a wine that was simply thrown together for a quick sell. The Vineyards that this wine was made from were certainly top tier and if the names were released I think we would know them all for producing the best of the best in grapes and Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine was truly a treat to drink. There was nothing that I could think of that I would add and nothing I could think of to take away from this wine, it was simply outstanding and deserves to be recognized for what it is...a superior wine with elegance, poise & dignity. In my opinion this is the new benchmark for Cabernet Sauvignon. This is also a wine that will happily sit along side (although excel) wines that are in it's price point and hold it's own among wines priced much higher. From the label to the last drop this wine is what a Cabernet Sauvignon, the King of Red grapes was meant to be.
On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I give it 94 points.
The Desert Wine Guy
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Sunday, October 4, 2015
The Desert Wine Guy - A review of Salute Trattoria Italiana
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| Front Entrance to Salute |
Before we actually get into this article / review I want to keep a
promise that I made when I first started this wine blog. I promised that
if I was ever paid to review a product I would disclose that to you, my
readers. Today I come before you to disclose that about three weeks ago
I was contacted by Sydney Peizer of Fingerprint Communications
(http://fingerprintcom.net/) and asked if I would like to review a new
Southern Italian restaurant opening here in Las Vegas that they were
promoting named Salute by Chef Luciano Sautto. The entire meal would be
"comped" (paid for) by Fingerprint Communications as well. I would like
to take this time to publicly thank Mrs. peizer of Fingerprint Communications for the opportunity to
review the Salute Trattoria Italiana. This is actually my first review that I have been payed
to do but like always I want you guys to know that what I write is my
true feelings and you don't have to worry about ANY of my reviews being
biased or influenced in any way. As I have previously stated I actually
have a full time job that I have had for 23 years and I am comfortable
with the life that I am currently living. Having said all this let me
move onto my review of Salute restaurant.Let's start off by learning a little bit about the man who will be doing the cooking for Salute. That man is Chef Luciano Sautto. Chef Sautto was raised in Southern Italy and became a third generation Pizzaiola (which means meat in pizza style) while working in his families restaurant. Chef Sautto loved cooking so much that he decided to go to El Cavaltanti culinary school and when he graduated he led various kitchens throughout Europe. In 1994 Chef Sautto moved to the United States working as the Chef in a Miami restaurant named Tutto Pasta Italian Cuisine. After working there about five years he was offered the opportunity to become Executive Chef at Vita Restaurant & Bar in South Beach. Chef Sautto worked in Beverly Hills California for a short time and then went back to Italy before moving again to Miami to be Executive chef at Bianca Restaurant which is located inside the Delano Hotel.
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| Salute Kitchen |
Salute Trattoria Italiana (http://salutevegas.com/) is located at The Red Rock Hotel, Casino & Resort (https://redrock.sclv.com/) in Summerlin, Las Vegas. The restaurant itself is on one hand a locals place where the residents of Summerlin can go and relax and on the other hand is an establishment that comes across with having the intent of catering to an upper class clientele.
Salute restaurant is accessible thru either the Casino or directly from the parking lot. Being a hater of Casinos myself I appreciate the fact that neither I nor my family are forced to smell like cigarettes or walk past drunks in order to eat at a nice restaurant. My Wife and I entered thru the front entrance directly off the parking lot. Slightly to the left of the main entrance is their outside seating area which was well lit and had lot's of activity due to the wonderful weather Las Vegas was experiencing at the time. The people seemed to be having a wonderful time and there appeared to be plenty of attentive serving staff to go around. The outside seating is partially walled off by a rail extending up to slightly past a persons elbow. There were also a nice amount of large Televisions so if you chose to watch the game while having some drinks or Dinner you would not have any issues. Hanging from the ceiling were a good amount of speakers to comprise a nice sound system as well.
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| Outside Patio |
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| Inside Salute |
We were immediately taken to our seat and greeted by our Waiter, Mike who approached our table, introduced himself and presented my "press packet" to me. The packet was colorful and printed on glossy, quality, folder. The press packet talked a little about the Chef Sautto and his background. There was also a layout of the restaurant and a little about the restaurant including hours of operation and how to go about making reservations. The last two layout and restaurant information pieces were made on nice card stock like material and were also glossy and very appealing. There was also a menu in the packet that listed all of the food that was to be presented to my Wife and I. Mike told us that the food would come out quickly and in the order presented on the menu
My immediate impression of the clientele was mostly of a slightly older, middle to upper middle class people out for a night on the town all the way to the middle age business executive having a business dinner. There was a fair amount of younger but still upper middle class people at the bar. Everyone was dressed very nicely with Dockers type pants and a nice button down or Polo type shirt for the men with the Women being in nice dresses with some slacks and shirt. There were also the fair share of Men in suits. I did not see any shorts being worn and I would have felt out of place if I had worn a pair. Bottom line here is dress to impress.
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| Bar Area - Note Tight Walkway Between Bar & Tables |
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| The Bar At Salute |
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| Mike, Our Waiter |
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| 2011 Annabella Cabernet Sauvignon |
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| Antipasto Bar |
For part of our selection of Antipasti we had the Pizza All' Acqua and the Eggplant Parmesan. Let me start with the Pizza first. Every ingredient on this Pizza was fresh and the pizza was cooked perfectly. If you love basil you will be happy here. Looking at the menu you will see that the Pizza has Chili on it. Don't be put off by that as there was no spice to the Chili just a hint of the flavor of it. The Basil and other spices were very fresh and the Pizza was wonderful. The pizza was served on a dark wooden platter that was nice and the Pizza sitting on it was appetizing to the eye.
My wife and I were treated to some pretty serious Eggplant Parmesan at Salute. Nice, fairly thick slices of Eggplant roasted with the skin on. I thought this dish was roasted perfectly and the Eggplant was wonderfully tender and flavored nicely. The Eggplant was cooked nicely and complimented with a San Marzano sauce. Though the sauce was very flavorful it did not cover the taste of the Eggplant and both were able to be enjoyed. The dish came to out table hot and fresh.
Next section on the menu was "Crudo which means "raw". Crudo is the hottest new raw fish dish around by the way and is a common way for Italians to eat their fish which is thinly sliced and raw. In this case the Crudo was some serious Albacore Tuna. This was for all intents and purpose basically Sushi and came with Avocado and Calabrian Chili which has it's origins in Calabria Italy. The fact that Calabrian chili naturally has a fruity taste and bouquet to it went nicely here combined with the Tuna. I guess because the idea is Italian the dish fit in but I always think of Sushi as Japanese and not what I expect from an Italian restaurant.
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| Gnocchi "Alla Sorentina" |
Now for the Entrees. To me the dish that stood out was the Chicken Piccata. I'll start with the Chicken which was sprinkled with a little Lemon Juice. I don't believe I have ever had chicken cook so nicely. No under cooked spots or overdone spots. The edges of the Chicken were edible without there being any fat or tough pieces that had to be cut away. The only thing I did not like is the Capers but that had nothing to do with the restaurant since I absolutely hate capers anyway. To me this dish stood out and if I were going back (which I will) I will be ordering this dish. The presentation was very appetizing.
I must also mention the Antipasto Bar that was on display. Stocked with Cheeses and breads and Desserts, it looked outstanding and the cleanliness was superb. Elegant White serving dishes held the food and added to it's appetizing and fresh appearence. By the way the Antipasta Bar also features Seafood and Vegetarian dishes as well.
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| Veal Meatball in Tomato Gravy With Ricotta & Basil |
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| Lucianos Signature Gelato & Amaretti Cones |
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| Our Menu |
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| Pizza All' Acqua |
O.K then folks here is my wrap up of this review. The restaurant was impressive with not only it's food but it's overall operation. Salute seems to set out to provide the middle to upper middle class (and higher) professional a distinctly higher end Dinner experience, an experience that I think fills a need in the Las Vegas area. No longer do you have to go to the Las Vegas "Strip" or Downtown to enjoy a semi-fancy Dinner. I can see this being a restaurant that businesses send their clients to have comped meals as a thank you or as a way to break the ice and have an opportunity for "meet up". Since the Red Rock has guest rooms as well as Las Vegas gambling and night life this would also be a perfect way for someone to meet their clients and possibly still be near their home since there are neighborhoods in the immediate area. Not having to deal with "Strip" traffic, be near your home AND impress your customer, that is a win win in my book. Food wise I couldn't ask for anymore. Sauces were not to powerful as to cover the taste of the actual food. The range of food offered was sufficient to please a diverse group of people. The Kitchen was clean and had a modern appearance and seemed well run while I was watching. The bar was well stocked and inviting. The atmosphere was inviting and full of energy. I recommend you check out Salute and tell your local friends about it. For those of you who have company coming to town that is tired of the same old places on the "strip" or Downtown you can now change it up on them and head to Salute Trattoria Italiana.
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| Chef Luciano Sautto |
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Saturday, September 19, 2015
The Desert Wine Guy - 2011 St. Amant Tempranillo
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| 2011 St. Amant Tempranillo |
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| Barbera Spencer |
On the pour this wine exhibits a beautiful Dark Strawberry appearance. Thrown in for good measure there is also the appearance of a medium cherry. Very nice on the pour. The wine sits in the glass just as beautifully and puts on display the same wonderful combination of colors and hues that the actual pour exhibits.
The Bouquet of the wine is that of Cherry, Caramel and Cocoa. The aroma of the Caramel and Cocoa both work beautifully together in the glass, hopefully you have a good quality glass in order to be able to appreciate it.
On the Palette this wine has a bright, Tart Cherry flavor that seems to dominates here. There is Cocoa and very light Tannins showing as well. I initially gave this wine about 45 minutes to open up and it did indeed have some positive changes that took place in it during that time. In the end there ended up being two hours before this wine finally finished opening and displaying what it truly was. One of the changes it did have is that the Tannins started to become more pronounced which was nice. There was also the taste of Current and Blackberry that had developed here. There was a bit of acidity that developed as well which blended together nicely with the Current and Cocoa. The Tart Cherry did tone down after a while but still was just a hint to present for me to be able to overlook it. The big story to me is the things that this Tempranillo DOESN'T have that is actually what I find interesting and rather, to be honest disheartening since I do love a good Tempranillo. We will discuss that next in the closing paragraph.
Well here you are, you made it to the closing paragraph so let's start off with what I wanted to discuss earlier in the actual tasting part of this article. Although this wine did remain a little bit too much on the Cherry side for me it did end up becoming a decent wine just not a decent Tempranillo if that makes sense. The wine seems to never exhibit that Tempranillo peppery or earthiness taste that the varietal is known for and makes me love it. The wine is for the most part straight forward cherry. The cherry does tone down however once it opens up. Don't get me wrong here, the Cherry on the Palette is NOT terrible at all it's just that I don't like it being the dominating aspect of a wine. There is also that Cocoa on the Palatte present in the wine which helps add a little smoothness to it. This Tempranillo is missing the key flavor or notes that I feel a Tempranillo should have and that is those beautiful Peppery, earthy type notes, this I cannot forgive. This flaw might be because it is a young wine though, I am not sure. I have an odd feeling though that this wine has potential and might in the end turn out to improve, I think I will buy a bottle and put it away for a couple of years to find out. I do believe it is worth the opportunity. This wine overall kind of ends up being in a category of it's own. What I mean is while I do not believe it will ever fit into the category of a true Tempranillo it also doesn't fit into that of a Merlot, Cabernet or even Syrah either. While it did end up developing the Tannins to be a good Merlot, it never quite presented itself with the characteristics to be a Merlot. It also never reached the depth or complexity of a decent Cabernet and of course did not even come close to the depth of a Syrah. It sat on it's own somewhere in the middle of all three varietals which is not in itself bad. Here are my last thoughts on this wine. Give this wine 2 hours to decant and I think you will end up enjoying it, it is not at all a bad wine. Do not open this wine however with the expectations of enjoying a wine with the power of a true Tempranillo and I think you will like it..
On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I put this wine at 86 points.
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| St. Amant Vineyards |
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Friday, August 28, 2015
The Desert WIne Guy - Maryland Crab Cakes With Old Bay Tartar Sauce
Maryland Crab Cakes With Old Bay Tartar Sauce
Pair with a white Languedoc-Roussillon blend, such as Hecht & Bannier Languedoc White 2013
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Approximate food cost: $35
- 1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat, drained and shell remnants removed
- 2 teaspoons crab boil seasoning, such as Old Bay Seasoning
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons regular or light mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon mustard
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice and lemon wedges for serving
- Cooking oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Tartar sauce (optional)
- Arugula (optional)
1. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, melted butter, lemon juice and crab boil seasoning. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine crabmeat, parsley, panko and a pinch of freshly ground pepper. Fold, rather than mix, the ingredients to keep large lumps of crabmeat intact.
3. Carefully fold wet ingredients into crabmeat mixture. Once combined, shape into four large patties.
4. Heat a large frying pan to medium heat, then add oil. Place patties into pan and cook 6 minutes on each side, until golden brown.
5. If desired, combine 1/3 cup tartar sauce with 1 teaspoon Old Bay in a small bowl. Serve alongside arugula and lemon wedges. Serves 4.
*** DISCLAIMER*** - This recipe was originally taken from Wine Spectator Magazine http://www.winespectator.com/wineratings and is not my own.
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The Desert Wine Guy
Monday, August 24, 2015
The Desert WIne Guy - 2012 Courtney Benham Merlot
Courtney Benham is part of Martin Rey Winery and appears to be one of their lesser priced labels judging by descriptions on their website such "leaving room for both attention and experimentation" or "these adventuresome blends" but you would not know that nor care for that matter when you tasted their 2012 Merlot. When I first went to learn something about the winery I couldn't find anything about it. I know it exists I have the bottle in my hand I thought to myself. There was a very simple Website for it which, by the way I understand from Mrs. Zolli is going to upgraded in the near future. I finally was able to find an e-mail for the already mentioned Tiffany Zolli who is the Director of Sales & Marketing at Martin Ray Winery and inquired what she could tell me about the wine. A couple of days later I got a warm e-mail reply back from her telling me everything I wanted to know about the wine. From what I am understanding the two head winemakers, Bill Batchelor and Lindsey Haughton created the label of Courtney Benham as a sort of "let's see what we can do" project. I could be wrong but that is the way it appears to me. The 2012 Merlot is made up of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. and is aged in American Oak for 12 months. The grapes for the 2012 Merlot came from various Vineyards all of which are located in the Napa Valley. So who is Courtney Benham? Mr. Benham is actually the owner of Martin Ray Winery and it is very nice to meet Mr. Benham in the form of his product as you will soon see.
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| Martin Ray Winery |
On the pour and in the glass the wine is a medium Burgundy in color, simple in appearance. It is very appealing to the eye and seems to sparkle in my Crystal glass which I have reserved for wine tasting only. The wine hits your pallet very smoothly and with dark notes such as modest but definitely not overdone American Oak and deep dark Cherry. There are ever so slight Tannins and a deep plum that all combine to work very nicely. The wine opens up after about an hour to add a little sugar but again, like everything else in this wine there is nothing overdone or one flavor that steps or overpowers another. There is also no taste of Pepper or anything that takes away from the fact that this appears to be a very simple but very thoroughly enjoyable and a delightful, very nice wine. That is it, sounds simple doesn't it? That's because it is.
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Garlic-Crusted Roast Rack of Lamb |
Here is the simple finish to this article. When a reviewer or writer says something appears "simple" you might think that means that the product being reviewed is not worthy of attention and while that might be the case in most instances that is not in this one. My recommendation is for you to go out right now and spend the $18 a bottle and buy two bottles of the 2012 Courtney Benham Merlot. Drink one bottle tonight and put the other away for a nice rainy evening when the kids are at a relatives house and you and the wife are home alone. You will not regret it.
- 1 head of garlic, cloves peeled
- 1/4 cup rosemary leaves
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 racks of lamb, frenched (2 pounds each)
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- In a mini food processor, combine the garlic, rosemary and olive oil and process until the garlic is finely chopped. Season the lamb racks with salt and pepper and rub the garlic-rosemary oil all over them. Set the racks fat side up on a large rimmed baking sheet and let stand for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 450°. Roast the lamb in the upper third of the oven for 15 minutes. Turn the racks and roast for 10 minutes longer for medium-rare meat. Transfer the racks to a carving board, stand them upright and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Carve the racks in between the rib bones and transfer to plates. Serve right away.
Serve With
Mushroom risotto.
The Desert Wine Guy
The Desert Wine Guy - 2012 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabarnet Sauvignon
What are your thoughts on the state of Washington when it comes to Cabernet Sauvignon? Would you believe that the state of Washington produces not only makes great Riesling such as Chateau Ste Michelle (https://www.ste-michelle.com/) but some great Cabernet Sauvignon as well, such as the Columbia Crest (https://www.columbiacrest.com/) Cabernet Sauvignon, Grand Estates . While Napa and California in general are still one of the most renowned regions for wine that there is in the world, a new state is coming up quickly on the horizon. Washington state is now coming on strong in the world of Cabernet Sauvignon. As a side note, California actually produces 89% of American wine by volume whereas Washington state produces currently 4%.
The Washington State winery in particular, as well as the one we will be talking about in this review is Columbia Crest. While it turns out that Columbia Crest has been making award winning Cabernet for a few years now, to me it was never really an area that I took too seriously for that particular varietal. I now see that I will have to start looking a little deeper in the future. The Columbia Crest label by the way happens to be owned by Chateau Ste Michelle the maker of the above referenced Riesling and are both part of the Ste. Michelle Wine Estates collective. It seems that Columbia Crest has been making big news lately with their other 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, the H3 Horse Heaven Hills. With a rating of 92 points by Wine Spectator magazine http://www.winespectator.com/newsandfeatures) and with the common availability at your local supermarket as well. Oh did I also mention that the Columbia Crest H3 retails for $11? I didn't think I did. As I have already told you this wine seems to be on the tip of everyone's tongue and is supposed to be wonderful. I myself have not tasted it yet although I do have two bottles on hand. As you can imagine I am looking forward to doing just that shortly after this which will of course follow shortly. There is however another 2012 Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon that is going seemingly unnoticed and almost sort of under the radar simply because it is currently being overshadowed at the moment by the H3 and that wine is the the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Estates which also retails for $11. I am actually reviewing this wine prior to the H3 because I wanted to review a wine from the same producer as the H3 that wasn't making any noise. Do you think it's possible that I can expose a "hidden gem" to you guys? Well folks, the Grand Estates is not the wine you are hearing so much about and so here we are to hopefully start a fuss and discussion about it. Today I will share with you just how great this wine truly is and expose to you that "hidden gem".
From the beginning of my review the wine gave me a hint of what it had in store for me. To begin with, the Bouquet of the Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Estates is that of a full bodied, fruit forward and yet at the same time complex wine. The wine is complex in as far as the fact that there were so many different notes that hit the nose at once. I remember when I very first did a pour of the wine and I was walking back to my chair. I was still able to smell it's bouquet and this was at a distance of about waist high. The Bouquet simply would not stop. I remember thinking that I couldn't wait to get back to my chair and actually bring the glass to my nose to really appreciate it. When I did make it to the chair I brought the glass to my nose with the anticipation of a full bouquet of fruit and Oak.
I was NOT to be disappointed. There was this amazing sense of Plum that immediately jumps out at you. A ripe, rich plum that reminds you of walking past a fruit market on the side of a road while traveling to Northern California in route to Napa or even an organic supermarket where all the fruit available was picked because it is ripe and not just to simply get it to market. As I have already said, there was some Oak that was also present in the bouquet, a warm toasted Oak. You can almost imagine being there as they cut the wood to make the barrel with your nose smelling the fresh oak being cut, or imagine sitting out by the Barbeque with your friends and smelling a nice steak sizzling on the barbeque with wood chips. Well anyway, Joined into the many different aromas of the bouquet was nice bouquet of Current to add to the amazing sense of depth of the wine. There were also the minor notes of Cherry and Cocoa which are present and while certainly not dominating they very much did have their impact on the bouquet. I love it when you can smell something in a wine that puts a picture in your mind of that particular fruit or almost develops a taste in your mouth that conjures up the sense of that particular fruit. I believe that this sense actually adds a mental effect that highlights the bouquet as well as the taste. This is a very complex bouquet and you can just sense what you, the drinker have in store for you when this wonderful wine finally gets to your palette. Once again this wine needs to be given the chance to breath before enjoying it, I recommend around two (2) hours. Once this wine had about two (2) hours to open up it became a full bodied, but not what I would consider "heavy" Cabernet Sauvignon, it was more on the deeper side that lighter side but still certainly not overdone. Prior to letting it breath it was a very jammy tasting wine and not approachable at all. Once given the opportunity to open the wine exposed some light, clean and well refined Tannins and that wonderful Plum which was now in moderate and tasty amounts. The wine jumped from a wine that I would have rated at an 86 point wine to one that I would put at a cellar worthy 91 points. The Green Pepper present in the mouth along with the Currant combined for an immediate one two flavor note knockout. There were mineral notes and a deep Black cherry as well. The wine was consistent and the notes never dropped off throughout the bottle. There was no aftertaste, good or bad and the wine was consistently very good throughout. This wine drinks incredibly smoothly and went down just begging for you to take another sip immediately. I had actually invited a friend over to help with this particular tasting (like I needed it) and we both agreed when the bottle was finished we were ready for and needed another. From the first sip to the last it was pure Heaven.UPDATE!!! - Since I wrote this article I have had the opportunity to do a serious tasting of the 2012 Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon H3 and while I do want you to come back and read that review I will go as far as to tell you that it was not a great wine at all. The 2012 Columbia Crest Grand Estates BLOWS the H3 away. I don't want to ruin my review on the H3 for you but I can tell you that I don't know what Wine Spectator Magazine was thinking when they reviewed the wine. The wine was full of Blackberry and over the top at that. Check back in a week or so for my full review.
END OF UPDATE!!!
The Desert Wine Guy - A Review Of Target Stores "Wine Cube"
Today I am going to review one of those wines in a paper box known as "Wine Cube". The wine I am going to review was bought for me at Target stores and is what they have branded "Wine Cube" with the varietal of Cabernet Sauvignon. Here is how I came to try the "Wine Cube". My Wife and Daughter came home from shopping at Target one day and had "a surprise" for me. The "surprise" was the Target stores "Wine Cube". Well after putting on a fake smile and telling them how I appreciated their thoughtfulness I considered exactly what if anything I had done wrong to make them mad. They said they thought it would be fun for me to review the wine inside and let my readers know what I thought about it. I wasn't exactly pleased considering the wine was in a paper carton like Coconut water (see the photo) but agreed to give it a try and do a review. Well folks, here is that review.
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| Desert Wine Girl Jr. with Coconut Water and Cube Wine |
Let's proceed to the pouring and tasting part of this wine. I was immediately impressed at the color of the wine, there was actually some real depth to the wine. A nice deep Burgundy color wine was now sitting in my glass. There was no light or pale Red color that I half expected to see. As far as I could tell the wine appeared as if it had come from a bottle. On the nose the wine was Oakey and mixed with a deep Blackberry. There was a sense of ever so slight bitterness on the finish but nothing to scare me away. There was a nice Black Cherry. Here was a big surprise, there were even surprisingly some Tannin's present that added a sense of seriousness to the wine. The wine also had a nice mouth feel to it that at times was a nicer mouth feel than some wines I have tasted that cost a lot more money and came in a glass bottle. The wine was balanced and smooth. There were hints of Oak that I tasted as well as smelled. I opened the carton of wine and here is what I discovered. The "Wine Cube" opens by twisting a small, round , plastic cap. No there is no pull foil or puncture hole for a straw. When twisting the cap a seal is broken on the cap and will allow you to know whether the wine was opened or not prior to buying it. The second safety seal is just inside the mouth of the cube and is a a foil type material. The first thing I noticed when I opened the wine is that the foil which is supposed to keep the wine from becoming spoiled was ripped and torn away. I had initially thought that this was a bad thing and was debating as to whether I should throw the wine out or not. I thought better of that idea when I realize I remembered the the safety on the cap had been intact. I figured even if the wine was spoiled it probably wouldn't change the taste of the wine in this cube. It took a while but after reviewing the entire package I noticed that the plastic cap had little legs that actually rip the foil as it turns, a nice idea I thought. I poured a small amount into my good wine glass and this is what I discovered.
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| "Cube Wine" cover with legs |
On The Desert Wine Guy Rating Scale I give this wine 87 points.
The Desert Wine Guy
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