Useless Words, Higher Prices & Deceptive Labels

 

Total Confusion

   Today, I want to talk about words or phrases that are often put on wine labels in order to try and impress customers who simply don't know any better. Now, the words or phrases that I will be talking about certainly can mean something special but there are no laws or regulations in America that says they must mean anything special. If you have ever paid attention to wine labels I am sure you have seen the words or phrases that I am about to mention and these words/phrases are mostly used in order to help create the impression or illusion that you are privileged and lucky to poses the wine you have in your hands. Wines that carry these words/phrases could be any price starting all the way from Two Buck Chuck at $3 to the Screaming Eagle, Sauvignon Blanc for $6,000, it doesn't matter. As I get deeper into this article I know that you will recognize the words/phrases that I discuss and the next time you look at a wine label, you will be much more aware of what you are actually reading so let's go ahead now and get started. By the way, this article pertains to American wines as some other countries do have laws that ensure the words/phrases used are actually relevant to the particular wine they are holding.  

"Reserve" wine

   Reserve - The first word we will look at is "reserve". I remember when I very first got into wine and I saw the word reserve on the label. Boy did I think I had something awesome in my hands and for only around $15, I had surely lucked out. So, what does the word reserve mean on a wine label? Would it surprise you to know that it legally means absolutely nothing? If you came up with that answer, count yourself in the minority because there are a lot of people who think that the word means this wine was created and put aside because it is different somehow or better than the regular wine the winery sells. Now as I said, the word can mean something special but for the most part it is just used to try and impress and/or boost the price of the wine.

   Vinted - Usually we will see that word on the back label and it will say something like "vinted by" ABC winery, Napa, Ca. To many of us that would be interpreted as saying that the grapes and even the wine itself came from a winery named ABC and that the grapes came from the Napa Valley.

"Vinted & Bottled by"

If this is what you thought you would be wrong again as vinted simply means that another company made the wine. As an example if you are drinking a Stags Leap wine and it says vinted by on the back label it means that the Stags Leap winery probably had nothing to do with the actual making of the wine, it is simply being sold under their prestigious name and therefore the price of the wine just jumped up. 

   Bottled By - This is a phrase you will also see on the back label and it very simply means that the winery on the label did not make the wine if it did it would say "produced by" instead. Bottled by simply means that the company named just put the wine in the bottle, they bottled it :)

   Old Vine - When we hear the words "old vine" we are usually enjoying a Zinfandel. When we hold that bottle in our hands we wonder if perhaps our older children were born after the vine was planted. We have visions of the grape vine(s) being ten or perhaps even twenty years old or even older. This is done because for some reason people think that the older the vine, the better the wine and that is not necessarily true.

Once again there is no law or regulation that dictates the phrase has to mean anything. The vines for your wine could very well be from an old vine but it could also be from a three year old vine just as well and neither of these reasons guarantee a good wine.

   Cellared By - This phrase means what it says, some company held the bottles and was responsible for keeping the bottles in a temperature and humidity controlled environment and away from a lot of light as well. The building that cellared (held/stored) the wine might have had nothing to do with making the wine unless of course both the winery name and the cellaring company are the same but the label will specity this.

"Cellared By"

   French Oak - Here is a phrase that you usually won't see on the label but you will see on a Tech Sheet. So you buy an inexpensive Cabernet Sauvignon and you find out that the wine sat in 100% French Oak for one (1) year. That sounds really impressive for a wine you paid $10 for huh? What the winery purposefully isn't telling you on that Tech Sheet is that the French Oak is now used or, old. What a winery will say rather than use the words "old" or "used" is that the French Oak is "neutral" and they also won't tell you that since the oak is neutral it no longer imparts any of that oak flavor onto the wine. Once a French Oak wine barrel is used consistently for three to four years it no longer imparts any flavor onto the wine so basically it is useless for that purpose and the price for these barrels drop considerably as well. There are other uses such as toning down tannin's to soften a wine but not for that oak taste, it sure sounds impressive though.
  
   Well folks, I sure hope this article has enlightened you and made you a more aware wine consumer. Knowing what you are buying is pretty important to your satisfaction and that goes for any product.

"French Oak"

While the wine industry likes to confuse you or use fancy word to trick you into thinking you have something more than what you really have, you are now aware and can therefore be more selective on the wines you choose. Let the uninitiated pay more for an entry level, basic wine, you are going to be spending your money on good, mid-tier wine instead. There is a question that I know you are asking yourself, or perhaps even out loud as you read this article and that question is, "how do I know if the words mean anything on a particular bottle?" That is a great question and here is my answer. While you can't always be sure of the meanings of the above words, you have to ask yourself self, this wine cost $5 and since the winery doesn't make a less expensive wine, how can it be ar "reserve?" The obvious answer is, it can't and it isn't. I myself will research wines right there in the store in order to see if the winery is justified in using the words they use. It only really takes a minute to do the research and if you are really curious, stop taking selfies for a second and do it. 

P.S - As I finish this article I want to add that I in no way advocating for any new laws in this country as I believe we have enough laws on the books as it is.

                                                                                                                                     The Desert Wine Guy

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The Desert Wine Guy - Life Cycle of The Grape

  

Pic #1 - Inflorescence's

  So there I was, the kids had just gotten home from school (thank you Governor Desantis) and normally we go out back by the pool so they can do homework while I review a wine. Today however, I just wasn't feeling it (I know huh). I simply was not in the mood to review or really even taste a wine but the kids insisted, so I gave in. It's a good thing I have some white wines resting in the wine fridge because a red wine was simply out of the question. I figured I would pull out something on the lighter and fruitier side and at least try to enjoy it. I ended up pulling out a Sauvignon Blanc that I've had for a couple of years and that I already reviewed.

Photo #2 - Flower Clusters

I thought, "How bad could it be to just sip on a white wine while I do this article that I think you will find both enjoyable as well as hopefully, educational?" For those of you who are interested, I am sipping on the 2016 Baus Family Vineyards - Sauvignon Blanc which is awesome by the way. So why am I writing instead of using this opportunity to just relax? Well, to me, writing is most times itself very relaxing as I really love to educate people on topics that I know at least something about, such as wine. I also have a lot of people to credit for the little bit of knowledge on plants and vineyards that I have so I love to pay it back by spreading that knowledge.....to you, my readers. In this case, I am giving back by taking you for a short trip through the life span of the grape. Let's start at the beginning here.

    After all the of the soil prep, the digging, the planting of the vine to it's proper depth and the vine pruning, it is finally time to give our baby vines some water. Most of the hard work is now pretty much done but there is stuff we need to do to ensure these vines grow healthy and straight so they can produce Cordons that will grow Shoots/Canes which is what our grapes will grow off of. There is still work to be done such as spraying natural (hopefully) pesticides to ensure the vines are not bothered by pests or any form of fungus or mildew (hello Florida).

Photo #3 - Baby Grapes

It always seems that the work is really never done but that is also part of the fun of gardening at least in my opinion and that is after all what planting and working with grapevines really is anyway, gardening. Eventually, if everything goes well we experience that happy day when we see clusters of what are called "Inflorescences" (see Photo #1). Inflorescences are basically buds for the flower clusters that come next. At this point I personally get excited as the grapes themselves are not too far behind. The next step in development comes when these Inflorescence's develop into those flower clusters (see Photo #2) I just mentioned.These flower clusters are self pollinating in the Vitis Vinifera species which is where we are concentrating our attention and so they do not need cross pollination. Once they are pollinated they lose their petals and baby grapes begin to appear (Photo #3). A great wine is getting loser to being made but remember that bad grapes cannot make great wines.

Photo #4 - Veraison

 The next step in grape development is called Veraison (see Photo #4). All grapes start off green and as the sugar (Brix) level in the grape increases they turn colors provided of course they are not a varietal which is meant to remain green. With this rise in the sugar levels, this also is when the birds become interested in the grapes and it is time to net the vines. If not picked and left to hang on the vine, grapes will eventually turn into raisins (see Photo #5) which is the final stage before they dry up and die.
   I hope this helps some of you guys that are either perhaps in the process of developing or thinking of developing your own vineyard or maybe are simply curious and wanting to know what the stages of grape development there are.

Photo #5 - Raisins Hanging On Vine

   

   While this is a short article compared to my usual wine reviews, I thought it was a necessary article because so many people who love wine either have no clue concerning what happens in the vineyard or are simply curious as to how the vine grows grapes. Either way, I hope I have helped some of you get your answers. If you are interested, here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csKN3fVhQik) is a short video on the topic of grape development. If you would like to watch a video entailing the planting process, here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyO_c6kIXCk) is a great video for you.

 

                                                                                                                                     The Desert Wine Guy

 

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The Desert Wine Guy - 1998 BV Cabernet Sauvignon - Coastal

 

 For the most part when we buy a wine, it is normally meant to be enjoyed today or within the following few days, but there are times that we might purchase a particular wine with the intention of it being allowed to age. Sometimes that wine we buy for today we simply fall in love with it to the point we begin looking at it as a wine we want to allow to age and this of course entails another trip to the store to buy another bottle. There is a wide spread belief that all wines improve with age, but is that true? That is one of the questions being asked here as I start off today's wine review. For those of you who do not know the answer to the question, it is no, not all wines improve with age. I guess two great follow up questions would be, which wines do improve with age and how can I be reasonably sure that a wine I choose will improve? The simple answer to the first question is that there is no guarantee that any wine will improve with age even in the short term of just a couple of years. The answer to the second question is that there are a couple of things we can look for in a wine that might gives us some clues as to a wines aging ability. High tannins & acidity are two notes that we should look for when shopping for a possibly cellar worthy wine.

Usually if a wine is overly forward in these two areas, the wine will hold up over time and sometimes even improve (age). Of course storage conditions will also play an important part in preserving and therefore extending the life of a wine as well and I would think that any buyer of an age-able wine would also have a special area set aside to ensure their wines stay away from heat and remain at a proper storage temperature while also avoid light and humidity as these are four big enemies of wine preservation in general. While we have all heard of wines aging for years in caves in the French country side or in the basement of a famous Napa Valley winery/home, can wine that the average person afford age well? The answer to that question is yes, it absolutely can. "What prompted these questions?", you might ask is that today, I am going to be reviewing a very old wine and I am really curious to know if it is still able to be enjoyed. I want to know if it has held up, if it aged well over time. Occasionally I will open a wine that has a few years on it but very seldom will I review anything like today's wine. Honestly, I don't even know how this wine made it into the "good stuff" cellar to begin with. Alright, enough talking, I need to taste this wine.....now.
   So the wine was (eventually) opened and I was able to pour a small amount into my glass in order to quickly determine whether or not I needed to dump it out as I was near a sink anyway. The second option was to take it to my chair and review it. Now, notice I used the word "eventually" because as I went to attempt to remove the cork, I Immediately ran into an issue that many of you guys I am sure have experienced especially if you have had older wines. It seems that while trying to remove the cork, half of it decided that it wanted to stay in the neck of the bottle. Now I was left with a decision to make, do I just throw this aged bottle of wine away or do I simply take something and push the cork down into the wine itself? My decision, based upon the age of the wine and the fact that I wanted, no, needed to fully taste and review it was the latter choice and so I went ahead and pushed the cork down into the wine. I am not going to disclose how the wine tasted here as I want to tease you and make you wait. Right now instead, I am going to try to try and find out some specs on the wine and talk about them. By the way, if you skip ahead, I will know and the wine review gods will get you :)

   As I begin this paragraph let me first tell you that today I am reviewing the 1998 BV Cabernet Sauvignon - Coastal. From what I am seeing online the wine sold for $16.99 retail at its release but I bought the wine from the actual winery and I have no idea what I paid for it as it has obviously been a while. To my surprise, as I did some further searching online, I actually found that the wine IS available for $40 here (https://www.tcwc.com/1998-Beaulieu-Vineyard-Cabernet-Sauvignon-Coastal-750ml). Unfortunately the only other thing I can tell you about the specs of the wine is that alcohol wise it comes in at 13.5%.
   Let me very quickly now talk about the label on this bottle. I have to say that I do like this label and think it is well designed and the fonts chosen are pretty nice. I especially like the ripped appearance that is used on the bottom of the label as well as where the name of the winery is placed.
   Now.....let's get into the wine itself by first starting on the nose. Right up front I am getting a rather nice Bing cherry note here. This note is amazingly still vibrant, certainly rather compelling & fresh smelling on the nose. I am also getting a nice bit of Black Pepper spice that simply won't quit here as well as some cocoa and I have to tell you that overall, the wine is really smelling delicious. On the end of the nose and kind of deep inside the bouquet is the slightest bit of oak that is presented in such a way that it obviously isn't trying to overpower the rest of the nose but instead aims at presenting just enough to push the wine along. Topping off the bouquet is a bit of smoke that integrates nicely with all of the other notes that I am picking up. As I wrap this section up, I have to say that as far as the nose is concerned, the wine is at this point at least, not raising any concerns but rather the opposite which is tremendous hope.

   It is now time to finally really taste this old wine but I have to tell you beforehand, that I am not really expecting much to be left of it. While I was happy with the small initial tasting I did, I am still not convinced that I will be able to enjoy this wine and as a matter of fact, I am still prepared to pour the wine down the drain. This is really based upon the the fact that the wine is old and the  "Coastal" label is the wineries least expensive label. There is something really strange about the Coastal line of BV (https://www.bvwines.com/) wines and that is there is no mention of the product line on their website. Well folks, here goes the tasting. Guys, so I just took the first real sip of the wine and I have to tell you something. I really wish you could taste this wine yourself as I feel that the things I am about to say you might find rather difficult to believe, I know I would. I promise you guys that my description of what I tasting is accurate as I have no skin in this game and even if I did, that is not how I get down. To begin with here, I want to let you know that there is still some really nice acidity that is being presented by this wine, and I do mean really nice. After all these years the acidity of the wine simply has not skipped a beat, it truly rocks. Following up on the acidity, the wine also still possesses some finely grained tannin's as well. The tannin's are still effective and only add to the taste and power that the wine still, amazingly possesses. Can you believe this? You asked what? How can a wine that was most likely probably never meant or designed to last this long still have tannins and still be exhibiting great acidity to it? Well guys, let's talk for a minute.

The answer to that question is....I really don't know. I hope that answer satisfies you because that is really all I can tell you.You can either call it luck or winemaker skill. Next up, I have a question for you guys. Would you love some spice in the wine? Because if you do, you are in luck. Guys, there is some serious Black Pepper spice that carries over from the bouquet and is really being shown off by this wine, it also is probably as fresh as the day the wine was created. Between the acidity, tannins & the spice, I am really in awe as to how the wine was able to stand up after all this time. Next up here on the palate are notes of both blackberry and black cherry which both come rushing in next and they are both fresh and vibrant and give this wine a dark fruit boost which pushes this lovely wine over the top in my book. Everything about this wine is fresh, vibrant and ready to take on the world or in this case, your palate. Right now my mouth is jumping with a super liveliness that can only be described as thrilling. On top of all of this is a note of blueberry and it also is just as lively and thrilling as the other notes are. This blueberry does manage to bring along some sweetness along with it so the next potential issue/question would be to ask is the wine is an overly sweet or (oh no) jammy wine? My answer to that is no to both. The wine is thankfully neither what I would consider to be overly sweet nor is it jammy, thankfully. These last few notes simply bring about an added bit of livelyness and also a structured robustness to the wine.

Is there too much sweetness in general that the wine puts across? I don't think that is the case as the sweetness presented seems very limited in it's ability to express itself which is good. Another aspect of the blueberry note that you will notice is that it also adds just a bit of richness, perhaps just a bit more than enough to be tasted but I found myself actually appreciating this bit of richness as I felt it did its job but thankfully, did not go overboard in that area. Alright guys, I have two more notes to throw at you and those notes are of cassis & semi-ripe plum. The cassis still puts a nice coating on the tongue along with those tannin's which has me sitting back in my chair in amazement as to how this wine has held up so incredibly. As for the plum note, it also works hand in hand with the other dark fruit notes to create a very well crafted Cabernet Sauvignon that I am glad I did not miss out on. The plum does not bring anymore sweetness to the wine and instead comes across semi-ripe but yet flavorful. As far as the oak I got on the nose goes, it is tasted in the wine but as it did on the nose, it doesn't fight to be upfront, it is happy just being noticed and I think you will be happy with that as well. Okay guys, it is time to get to my conclusion of this review and also give the wine my rating.
   As I go ahead and complete this review, I will let you know that it really bothered me that the BV Coastal lineup of wines is not on their page so I contacted the winery itself via e-mail and was gotten back to by Mr. Ben Mason who is the Hospitality Sales Manager of Beaulieu Vineyard and he informed me that the BV winery no longer makes the Coastal line of wines. Some further research showed that while the BV winery is owned by Treasury Wine Estates, so is the label of BV Coastal which is now called Coastal Estates (https://www.tweglobal.com/sitemap).

I was also informed by Mr. Mason that the winemaker for this wine is Jeffrey Stambor who was the wineries (BV) winemaker till 2016. This completely explains why and how this wine is doing what it is doing. I still stand by my belief that this wine was not designed to still be presentable after this many years but when your winemaker is as great as Mr. Stambor is, it is hard to create a simply decent wine when you are use to creating great wines. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale, I am giving this wine 94 points. I completely enjoyed this wine and thoughts of purchasing the wine for $40 are really running through my head. My recommendation to you is to buy a bottle of the wine and either enjoy it now or hold onto it because there is no sign of the wine going bad anytime soon.

                                                                                                                                  The Desert Wine Guy

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2013 Abbot - Red Wine

 

  What is going on guys? Today, as I write this review it is Sunday and I hope you all had a chance to relax and possibly enjoy a bottle of wine yourself just as I am about to do. Is it just me or do you also find youself "relaxing" by doing little odd choirs around the house? As an example, today I began to put my theatre back in order after painting it. It took a few days but it is really nice and as soon as I get my new CD/DVD rack, I will be having the re-opening where I will break into the "good stuff" and pick out a wine that has been aging for a few years. I actually have a few of these wines so I will find it hard to choose the right one but I am sure it will work out. I always find it kind of sad in a way when I break into my temperature controlled cellar and open the last bottle of a particular wine because once it's gone, it's gone, there is no more to enjoy. I guess that if I don't drink the wine it will eventually go bad and I certainly don't want that. I'm thinking that perhaps the 2011 Stags Leap, Napa Valey - Cabernet Sauvignon might be in order or maybe even the 2010 St. Francis - Cabernet Sauvignon might be a better choice, what do you think? Well, I guess I will I will pick the right wine when it is time and I also will be sure to do a review of that wine so that you will know how the wine was. Until that happens though, let's see what todays review wine is all about.

   Today I am reviewing the 2013 Abbot - Red Wine from Burning Tree Cellars which is located in Cottonwood Arizona. I have been discovering recently that the wines I have from Arizona are from the general vintage (2013) and unfortunetly, the corks are failing. Today, I had to throw out a Cabernet Sauvignon from the state because I couldn't get the cork out. I know huh? Thankfully though, I was able to remove this one without any issues and so I get to see how well it held up. This wine cost me $35 at the winery and as I already said, the bottle is cork sealed. The wine is a blend of 58% Cabernet Franc, 36% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon.
   Now, let's talk about the label on this bottle. I normally find wine labels from Arizona to be filled with Pagan and demonic creatures or characters but in this case I get it. There is a picture of an Abbot on the front label hence the name. Do I like the label? I just think the label is okay, weird but okay. To me it is just very simple and I would preffer something to lighten it up or some kind of contrast.

   Now as for the nose of this wine I am getting what comes across as a semi bright but dark, black cherry. I am also getting a bit of sweet spice and a bit of oak as well. Topping the bouquet off is some cocoa that does come across rather nicely.
   Now, it is time to discuss the palate presentation of this red wine. The first thing I want to tell you is that this is not an easy drinking wine nor is it a wine that you will drink a lot of in one sitting unless you have some food with it of course. After all these years, there is a peppery spice that still presents itself as an in your face type note. Following this up is a note of plum which comes along next but instead of acting as a cut to that pepper it brings in a bit of sweetness and just pays along with it. There is also a bit of an alcohol type burn here on the palate that doesn't seem to fade and I find it a bit really over the top and bothersome. The wine does have a plushness of sorts that it exposes which is pretty nice but it butts heads with massive acidity that is also just way over the top to the point of where it is ofensive in my book. Cranberry is noted in here as well but in reality, that is the last note this wine needs as it intermixes with the acidity and pepper and together become a trio of sorts which in this case is not a good thing. Guys, I really hate to do this as the review just began but I really can't drink anymore of the wine, I musy use it for another purpose which I will disclose in the next paragraph.

   As I end this rather short review I must let you know that the wine is out of balance in my book as that constant alcohol note never lets up and neither does the wines over the top acidity. These two notes in my opinion simply kill this wine. I don't think that I have ever had a red wine that is so astringant guys. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I am giving this wine 85 points which means the sink is coming quickly. Over the top and offensive, that is all I have to say in relation to this wine. That's it for this review guys, I will see you next time but for now, I have to clean my sink and this wine will do that. 

  

                                                                                                                                     The Desert Wine Guy

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The Desert Wine Guy - 2013 Black Stallion - Cabernet Sauvignon - Limited Release

 Depending on where you live, you may have a few different places to buy your wine and thats a great thing for the consumer as far as prices and choices go. When I lived back in Las Vegas I would usually go to Total Wine but there was also a place named Lees Liquor that while not as big in name or size, was no slouch either. Yes, there were small liquor stores around but I was never one to go to a "Liquor Store", call me a snob. No matter where we live though, there are wines that we simply cannot get locally or wines that are sold only at the winery (V. Sattui) itself for whatever reason. As for purchasing a wine online, that has always been an issue for me personally because while the prices may at times be cheaper then a local store, by the time you add on shipping, you may as well buy the wine straight from the winery itself, at least from them you can be assured that the storage and overall handling of the wine was on point. I guess the bottom line here is that competition is a good thing even when it comes to wine as it lowers overall prices when companies compete against one another for our business. Alright, I feel better now, let's get into this wine :)

   Today I am reviewing the 2013 Black Stallion, Cabernet Sauvignon - "Limited Release" from the Napa Valley. The wine retails between $55-$60 and comes in at a rather high, 14.8% alcohol. This wine is made up of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Malbec as well as a 1% blend of the grape varietals of Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc & Malbec. The wine was aged in 33% new French Oak for 20 months as well.
   I want to talk a bit now about the Black Stallion Winery itself. The winery is located on what is known as the Silverado Trail and was originally horse stables and known at the time as the Silverado Horse Stables until it closed in the1990's. In May of 2010 two Brothers, Terrance and Michael Maglich sold the winery they had developed on the property to the Indelicato Family who had an already existing winery that they had begun in 1935. Today, the Indelicato Family produces over 15 different labels including the Z. Alexander Brown label and are one of the largest by case production wine producers in the USA. Aside from the 10 Acres of vines which are planted all around the winery which are Cabernet Sauvignon, they also source most of their grapes from the Napa Valley as well as neighboring Sonoma County. As far as the wineries releases go, this is their second-best series with juice coming from Estate grapes or from single vineyards.

   Alright, now it is time to look at the label on this review wine because it is certainly worth talking about. Striking! That really is the only word to use in relation to the bottles label. I could move on now but before I do, I want to let you know why I use the word "striking" first. I just got done reviewing another red wine which had a dark label layed against a dark background (the wine) which was similar to this one and I just did not care for it. This label however, is different as the gold lettering and the fonts chosen provide the absolute perfect sort of clash but without being visually offensive. This clash instead just elevates certain words against a sort of dark gray label. What really adds to setting this label off is the edged outlining of gold used to highlight the label. Major props go out to the designer of the label for a job well done. As I said when I started off this paragraph, Striking!
   Now, it is time to get closer to the actual wine itself by moving to the wines Bouquet. I have to tell you first that I can't wait to taste this wine as I have high expectations for it. First up here on the nose is blueberry combined with a bit of Allspice, Cocoa and a bit of an alcohol note as well. Topping the wines bouquet off is some nice cinnamon and raisin as well. I am also getting a perceived plushness of sorts that I hope the wine can transfer over to the palate.What came as a shock to me is that I expected at least some of that 33% new French Oak to come through here but unfortunately, that was not happening.

   Now it is almost time to finally get down to the tasting end of this review. But before I do, I just want to very quickly give my opinion on what is really important in a wine tasting. I believe that the enjoyment of a wine is a bit of a combination involving the initial presentation which includes with and begins with the label on the bottle, the visual presentation of the wine itself, the bouquet of the wine and last but certainly not least, the palate presentation. What really wins in the end however is that palate presentation because if everything else is impressive but the wine itself sucks, what good is it all? Okay, let's talk palate now.
   As it is on the Bouquet so it is on the palate, at least when it comes to that French Oak at least. This wine is surprisingly showing none of that 33% new French Oak here. To say that I am very surprised would be an understatement, where is it? I am not saying that a red wine should be dominated by oak but having a bit presented both on the nose and here on the palate would iindeed be nice. Now of course, this could be good or it could be bad, all depending on what your desires are in a Cabernet Sauvignon. As I continue on here, the wine has a juiciness that it opens up with, a plushness that did indeed also transfer over from the bouquet and lies in the background of the palate presentation. A light yet sufficient Black Pepper note exposes itself and goes so very nicely with these other Notes and together they act like best friends who have grown up together all their lives. As I continue on here, a black cherry note that has forgotten (thankfully) to bring its sugar along joins into the mix and plays along rather nicely with the other notes.

Adding to all of this is a bit of slightly over the top richness that I think is an issue for me. There are some tannins and they are gritty which is perfect here and goes nicely with what the wine is wanting to present. Licorice, ya want some? If you want that note, you have it and it comes in around Mid-Palate. This licorice is tasted but thankfully doesn't make an attempt to fight to come upfront which is a good thing because it is presented well to begin with. The Cocoa I got on the Nose translates over here but is also not attempting to dominate anything, instead, it is more than content to sit towards the finish where it belongs in this particular wine. As for any acidity that might be present in this wine, there is a hair bit of it but really nothing that makes an impact on the overall Palate. Alright guys, here it comes. Unfortunately, throwing all of these notes and therefore the wine itself to the background is a good bit of jamminess and I really do not care for jamminess in my wines, period! This jamminess (as usual) presents itself as sugar or sweetness and that note I simply cannot deal with and will not put up with, I expect more from Black Stallion. There is one more issue that I had with this wine and that issue is, this is a "hot" wine meaning there is an alcohol burn to it. That issue was eventually resolved and I will leave the soultion for the final paragraph. This "hot" issue along with that jamminess really put a damper on the wine for me unfortunetly. Since we are discussing negatives of the wine, I want to add in that the wine also presented a very strong note of blueberry here and it was just too fruity and also assisted in that jamminess, yuck.

   As I start off this final paragraph the first thing and the most important thing that I certainly want to tell you is that you must Decant this wine. This is the solution that I found in order to tone down that alcohol burn the wine presented. I would seriously give the wine at least a couple of hours to both develope and cool down. Due to the wine being so lush on the Palate and having to deal with the high alcohol percentage, I drank a couple of glasses but had to put the wine aside for the day. I sealed the bottle and came back the next day, I am thankful that I did because I were to rate the wine based on what I tasted in those two glasses, it would have been a disaster. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale, I am giving this wine 91 points as I do not prefer this type of a juicy, jammy style of Cabernet Sauvignon. I am much more into a real Cab that is able and willing to present Notes of leather, graphite, Earth, tannins and be even slightly on the astringent side. All of these Notes are absent from this wine which I feel is not good and caused the wine to be lacking the punch of what I expect from the winery itself and the Napa Valley in general. Unfortunetly, this wine loves its over the top jammy plushness. I'm really sorry guys as I have much love and respect for the Black Stallion Winery but I just cannot condone the new-fangled Generation Z wines.

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Barefoot - Non-Vintage, Riesling

 

  Do you guys ever wonder just how many wine competitions there are in this country alone? I've never counted the number myself but from what i've seen, there are many. How many of these competitions in reality offer up any true bragging rights though? Using todays review as an example, there is a sticker on the bottle stating that the wine scored "Gold" and "Best Of Class" at the Pacific Rim Wine Competition. What is that you say, you have never heard of that event, join the club because neither have I. After looking at the wines that were submitted to the upcoming competition I see that the only winery that I have ever heard of is Barefoot. Some obscure grape varietals are also being entered as well. It does sound great though I mean a gold medal in a wine competition, how do you beat that? Today I am going to be reviewing that gold medal wine so let's get this review going.

   Today, I am reviewing the non-vintage Barefoot, Riesling. Yep, you read that correctly, I, me, the Desert Wine Guy am reviewing a Barefoot wine so let's get started. To start off with here, I paid $4.98 for this......wine at Wallyworld. As you would expect, it is sealed with a screw cap and the alcohol percentage comes in at 8% which tells me that this is one sugar bomb of a Riesling.
   Let's talk a bit about Barefoot. From what I have seen on their page, the winery caters towards the younger generation and those who generally do not have an aquired knowledge of what most of us will call, real wine. These are the people who couldn't find their usual bottle of Thunderbird or ripple and the store was sold out of the Orange Mango flavored Seagrams Wine Coolers they normally buy so they did the next best thing, they bought a bottle of Barefoot instead. Barefoot is owned by Ernest & Julio Gallo and from what I see on their website, they pretty much spend their money on lower priced wines althouth they did just purchase from Constellation Brands, the Franciscan Winery (https://www.franciscan.com/) which is located in the Napa Valley and they do already own the Whitehaven (https://www.whitehavenwine.com/) label from Marlborough, New Zealand which I found to produce some very nice Sauvignon Blanc so perhaps there is are big changes coming.   Alright, now that that stuff is out of the way, let me talk about the label on this wine bottle. Ahhhh....yeah. I have nothing good to say about the label as it always has reminded me of cheap, jug wine. I get the graphic of the bare foot on the label but I still say that I don't like the label. I do not think much thought and effort was put into the labels creation and I will end this section right here.

Current Vintage E & J Gallo Riesling

   Let's talk about the nose of this wine now. Right from the beginning, the wine has a weird, chemical odor to it and is intermixed with a sweet smelling bouquet of green apple as well as some type of sugary melon, possibly honeydew as well as Skittles. The nose is just SCREAMING to me that the wine is going to be way overdone with sugar, perhaps the palate wil tell a different story though, we will see soon. There is also the perception on the nose here of a sweet type of thickness that the wine may possibly expose on the palate and that is just scaring me to death. Alright, thats is the end of this part of the review, I will see you in the next paragraph where I will talk about what I am getting on the palate.
   Starting off here, let me tell you that the wine is just a complete disaster, a mess. It is loaded with sugar and not afraid to present that sugar. I got a slight tingle of carbonation on the tip of my tongueas well which I found disconcerning and out of character for the varietal. There was fruit on the palate which I did expect and that fruit is heavely sweetened as I did expect as well. Green apple and Honeydew are just ooozing out sugary tropical notes. The wine also tastes like it is delivering up some kind of ever so slightly thick nectar that is wayyyy overblown with sweetness. As I take a few more sips I have to get to the conclusion of this review, I simply have to end this madness guys because my Kitchen sink drain is needing to be cleaned and this is the wine to do just that.

   Let me close this review out really quickly. Gross, nasty, junk.....crap! Guys, I am very sorry I bought this wine as it was a waste of $5. I could have bought a wonderful Espresso with that money. The only reason I got this wine is because one of my daughters keeps asking me to review it, and for you guys of course:) That sums it all up folks and that completes this review. I will see you next time and I will be reviewing a wine, a real wine. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I am giving this wine 85 points. The wine in my opinion is undrinkable and can be used in place of Liquid Plummer to clear your household drains. 

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The Desert wine Guy - 2018 Pine Ridge - Chenin Blanc & Viognier

   How does a wine reviewer get excited? No, it's not a sick joke, its a serious question. For me, as a wine reviewer, one of the ways that I get excited is when I perform a tasting/review of a wine that is from one of my favorite wineries. Having said that, I will now tell you that today, I am indeed excited. I'll also tell you that in the process of coming across today's review wine I also found a wine shop not far from my house that carries some really big name Napa Valley wines that I simply haven't been able to find here in my neck of the woods. Aside from picking up our review wine, I also picked up the 2009 BV (Beaulieu Vineyard) red blend. By the way, BV is also one of my favorite Napa Valley wineries so I am doubly excited. I can't wait to see what today's wine has in store for me so let's do this.
    Today I am reviewing the 2018 Pine Ridge - Chenin Blanc & Viognier (https://www.pineridgevineyards.com/cbv/) blend. The grapes for this wine are sourced from the Clarksburg (Chenin Blanc) and Lodi (Viognier) California Appellations which are both located outside Sacramento. The wine is a blend of 78% Chenin Blanc & 22% Viognier. The alcohol percentage of this wine is 12.5% and I paid $16 for it. The Pine Ridge Winery is owned by Crimson Wine Group (https://www.crimsonwinegroup.com/about-us/our-brands) which is located in Napa Valley, California.

   I want to now talk about the two different grape varietals involved in the creation of this wine, let's start with the Chenin Blanc varietal. The home of this grape varietal is the Loire Valley in France. This varietal usually has high acidity and is therefore used in Sparkling Wine. In the Loire Valley, the temperature is cooler and therefore produces a higher in acidity grape then elsewhere. In reality, the Chenin Blanc variety is Frances answer to Riesling. Between you and me, the Chenin Blanc varietal is cleaner, crisper, and is actually preferred by me. The wine varietal of Chenin Blanc is named after Mont Chenin in Touraine, a wine region to the east of Anjou in the Middle Loire. In reference to this wine, the varietal is very seldom planted in the Napa Valley due to the fact that the prices of the grapes are low.
    Now. let's move to the varietal of Viognier. Here again, is another wine grape that originated in France, southern France. The varietal can be oak-aged and can present notes of peach, tangerine & honeysuckle. This grape is considered to be softer in the acidity aspect but normally higher in the alcohol department. Overall there are generally two different styles of wine made from the grape. The new oak aging delivers a richer creamier taste, lower acidity, and aromas of clove, nutmeg, and vanilla. Neutral and no oak aging (think Stainless steel) will deliver more floral and tropical fruit flavors in the wine while maintaining its acidity and often a subtle bitter note.

   I must talk about the nose of this wine now. I definitely have to let you know that I am getting the feeling (the sense) that this is going to turn out to be a very vibrant white wine here. Starting off, I am picking up nice, juicy & and rather forward notes of lemon & pineapple. Adding to these notes is a Honeysuckle that simply adds to the perceived brightness of the wine. Topping the nose off is a deep nectarine that is not really forward but is certainly appreciated and enjoyed. I certainly hope my perceptions of the wines palate presentation are indeed correct because if they are, the wine should be very enjoyable.
   Let's check out the palate presentation of this wine now. Ripe pear and pineapple, while these two notes don't necessarily jump out at you, they are nevertheless pretty prominent on the opening palate, yummy. Following these two notes up is some pretty nice White Peach which adds to the brightness of the palate right from the beginning. Another awesome note here in the wine is that of zippy acidity and it presents itself to it to the point where you will at times detect an ever so slight tingle (not carbonation) on the Palate but no worries as it is very well placed and at just the right presentation level. How about some green apple guys? Well, this green apple is another nice and lively note and shows up here at the Mid-Palate again contributing to the wines palate liveliness. This green apple thankfully doesn't present any sharpness at all which is fine by me but I promise that you will know it is indeed there and effective in its presentation. By the way, in case you haven't guessed yet, the wine has no problems in displaying really nice and ripe tropical fruit so your palate will definitely be kept awake for the entire time you are at the pool. I guess I left that pool part out huh?

Winemaker - Michael Beaulac

I will talk more about this in the final paragraph. Before I move on I want to put your fears to ease because this is not a sweet wine by any means although there is a bit based upon the notes I have mentioned. It seems that the other Notes keep this sweetness in check for the most part and kind of gang up on it allowing only what is needed to come through. Overall I have to say that this is a dry wine. Adding to that zippy acidity that I mentioned earlier, there is also a little bit of a Lemon Zest and I have to tell you that this wine just takes over the entire palate from mouth feel to the actual flavors. All of the Notes present in this white wine blend play so well together with one another and without being overdone or offensive. On the Mid-Palate is a fairly big stone note which brings a fresh and clean boldness to the wine. Guys, the wine is just striking on the mouth and presents great structure. Also on that Mid-Palate, I get a semi-ripe nectarine which only adds to the stone note that the wine is so in love with but also brings with it some minerality as well. Okay folks, I think you all get the point, this wine is nice, really nice. Let's get to the conclusion paragraph and I will give you my rating on the wine.
   As I start off here, I want to tell you some good news. While at a wine shop the other day, I found this wine selling for $10.99 which is a heck of a lot better than $16.99. Between the lower price and the rating of the wine, I have found an awesome pool wine. This is a wine that I don not think guests will object to as there is just the perfect amount of sweetness/tropicalness and there is nothing that will cause anyone to shy away from the wine once they taste it. As far as my rating of this wine goes, on The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I am giving this wine 93 points. As a last note, while at the shop I picked up two more bottles of the wine.
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2018 Stags Leap, Napa Valley - Chardonnay

 

   Have you ever gotten tired of seeing a particular wine on the store shelf but you just don't feel like spending the money being asked for it? That has been the case with this wine and while the price of the wine is also somewhat out of the normal price range in as far as living up to the "wine for the average person " motto I started the Desert Wine Guy channel(s) off with, today I decided that once and for all I am finally going to remedy this situation by going ahead and buying the wine in order to review it. I figure every once and a while, we can all splurge although if you were to ask Mrs Desert Wine Girl, I seem to splurge a little more often than I should :)  Before I start off, I have to tell you that I am really looking forward to tasting this wine. So, what is this wine I am talking about? Let's move to the next paragraph and find out.

   Today's wine being reviewed is the 2018 Stags Leap, Napa Valley - Chardonnay (https://www.stagsleap.com/en/2018-napa-valley-chardonnay/8033660.html). I ended up paying $24.99 for the wine ($32 winery) and it is cork sealed thankfully. The grapes for this wine come from the Carneros AVA with a smaller percentage coming from the Oak Knoll AVA. The alcohol percentage is 13.5% and the wine sat in and was aged in 25% stainless steel, 25% new oak and 50% neutral oak barrels for 8 months. The wine is a slight blend consisting not only of 97% Chardonnay but 1.5% Viognier, 1.5% Sauvignon Blanc as well and there were 39,000 cases made. The winemaker for this wine is Christophe Paubert.
   Before I continue talking about the wine itself, I have to talk about the label on the bottle of course. Guys, this is the typical Stags Leap label that they are so recognized by. I have to say that the Stags Leap label is.....their label. To me, it is something that I always identified the winery with. I guess you could say that their marketing department is effective huh? As far as whether I like the label or not, I do as I think it portrays a classiness while still portraying a sophisticated sort of simplicity.

Stags Leap Winemaker - Christophe Paubert

    As far as the nose of this wine goes, the first thing I picked up when I brought the glass close to my nose is some tropical melon. This melon isn't overdone thankfully, is presented rather nicely and, without being overpoweringly fruity. Next up here is a floral intensity of White Peach which to me was fairly forward and a big hope to my mind of a really good Chardonnay. As far as oak goes, I am getting a nice bit of that note here but it is not overdone and it is welcoming and thankfully does not bring me to the point where I am being scared off by the possibility that the wine is oak dominated. Overall, this wine does not smell at least as if it is going to be led or dominated by any of the dreaded butteriness or oily taste that a lot of winemakers love to bring about in their Chardonnays possibly at times to cover some faults in the wine making process. I am also getting a cream note here on the nose as well and just by continuing to smell the bouquet, my mind continues to to have me wondering what this wine is finally going to taste like. Next up here, I am also picking up a pear note which is leading me to think that the wine could possibly expose a little bit of a sweetness when I finally do get to the Palate. The tropicalness of the pear here on the nose really perks up the palate believe it or not as I actually feel as if I am almost tasting the wine as I smell it. I hope though that this aspect of the wine will be controlled if it does indeed exist on the palate. As I continue here, the wine also throws out notes of toast and more then ever, I have to tell you, right here, right now, this bouquet is just wonderful. My last hope before concluding this section is that hopefully most if not all of the notes I mentioned here will transfer over onto the palate because if they do, the wine I think has the potential to be amazing.

Stags Leap Tasting Counter

   As I begin this part of the review I need to start off by telling you that the initial note presented here on the Palate is indeed of oak. Now, opening up the Palate section of a Chardonnay review by talking about an expression of oak could rightfully scare some people (including me) away normally but please allow me to put your mind at ease as this oak note is is not overpowering but it is instead presented just perfectly to go along with every single note the wine stands ready to expose here. The oak also seems to actually help in elevating the wines overall mouth feel. I think that what really keeps the oak in check and does a wonderful job of it is the overall cleanness of the wine, the palate brilliance of it. Following this oak up is just a bit of Maloactic Fermentation that is noticeable in the form of a slight note of butteriness that also is is not even close to be overpowering but also is just enough to be tasted. Folks, let me tell you something. I am not a big lover of oak or butteriness in my white wines so if I say that these levels were not strong, trust me, they weren't strong. Now at this point, you might think that I am describing a Chardonnay that is pretty much in keeping with the average presentation of the varietal but you would be wrong. The more I taste this wine the more I have to sit back and smile, this wine is indeed different. I usually only do that sit back and smile thing when I know that I have hit on an awesome wine, a wine that I think really stands out from the rest of the pack. As I continue on now, I want to tell you about a note that is simply jumping right out at me as is also pretty in your face. I am talking about  a super wonderful note of a perfectly presented bit of Lemon Meringue. This note is simply tremendous as it mixes with the other notes in the wine that I already mentioned and that I will talk about right now. At the same time the wine presents that Lemon Meringue note it also presents a bit of a tartness of sorts that just incredibly seems to work for the wine like it's nobody's business. This tartness is just another note that knows it's place well and is not overpowering nor does it even try to be. Let's move onto acidity folks, what good is a Chardonnay if it doesn't present decent acidity? Well folks, thankfully there is acidity.

The hoped for acidity is simply amazing and that is not an understatement either, it  is just another of the notes which is involved in creating this wine and elevating it early on in the review, into the mid 90 + point arena as far as my rating is concerned. Now how about some minerality? The wine has an amazing Mid-Palate of minerality which also made me sit back in silence for a few seconds as I wrapped my head around everything I am tasting. The acidity and minerality can best be described as nothing less then stunningly brilliant & clean in relation to the palate. Also present at mid-palate is a slight bit of a cream note which I got on the Bouquet and transfers over here onto the Palate and just as it did on the nose, it  works so well here as well. This cream is simply another note that is super effective in tweaking the palate and it also seems to love having attention paid to it as it is not shy. At first the cream note actually had me wondering what I was tasting for a minute but once I identified it that smile I seemed to constantly have on my face while tasting the wine, continued on. This wine is not done guys as it also exposes that ripe pear I got on the nose and as expected, does add a bit of sweetness to the wine as well. If it sounds like I am getting bored or use to this wine being so awesome, please allow me to tell you that I am appreciating everything this wine is offering up both on the nose and on the palate. Getting back to that ripe pear for a second now, in reference to my comment that it brings on a bit of sweetness. I did say a bit right? This sweetness that I'm talking about can't change the direction of the wine nor does it even attempt to but it certainly does help to add another dimension or layer to the wine by at first offering up a bit of a momentary tug away from the acidity and crispness for just a brief second before it seems to make up it's mind to mostly blend right in. Before I move on here, I feel that I need to set your mind at ease, this is not a sweet wine and what little sweetness it does present is maintained at a perfect level allowing the acidity, minerality and cleanness to lead.

The sweetness exposes just a bit of an underlying hint of richness to this wine but it is as I said, it is underlying and as such is there in order to bring another needed slight deviation from what you are originally tasting. Slight deviation or not, it is still instrumental in making this wine what it is. Another note that this wine seems to be all about is vibrancy, and it joins forces with the acidity, mineality and overall palate cleanness I discussed earlier to attack the palate and I do mean attack. Here, once again is another note that is an integral part of the wine and really helps in making it what it is. That tropical melon I picked up on the nose also presents itself here at mid-palate but as with the sweetness note, it is held in check very well by the rest of the wine. I have one last note here and that is of that toast I got on the nose. This toast note latches onto the bit of oak as well as the acidity & vibrancy of the wine and it is very effective in helping to make this a rather complex wine. Guys, I do believe I have said enough about this wine and so I will move to my conclusion paragraph.
   As I close this review out now, here is something else I want to let you know about that I think you might find interesting. Normally I will take a white wine out of the fridge and allow it to warm just a bit but in this case, there was no warming allowed. The wine was held for two days in the refrigerator and that is how I enjoyed it, cold. Throughout the tasting, I also kept the bottle chilled in an ice bucket the whole time I was reviewing it and the wine simply rocked! I should also tell you that the winery claims that the wine did not undergo Malactic Fermentation. Well, to that I say.....okay. You go ahead and taste the wine yourself and please let me know if you don't pick up a light buttery Note.

If you can tell me where it came from aside from Malactic Fermentation please let me know. Guys, happily I can tell you that this is very close to being an old world Chardonnay, there is nice fruit present but it is not overbearing. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I am giving this Chardonnay what I believe is the highest rating of any Chardonnay that I have ever reviewed which is 96 points as I completely loved it. I am going to put this out right here and right now. This wine is going to go down as a classic vintage, if it hasn't already and I believe the wine is only going to increase in price as time goes on. I have plans to purchase at least two bottles of this wine to place in the wine cellar and allow it to age. Mark my words wine fans, we are dealing with a classic, old world Chardinnay. So folks, I have certainly said enough. If you want an incredible and balanced Chardonnay this isn't loaded down with oak, search no more as this is it.

 

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