The Desert Wine Guy - Will Las Vegas Soon Be The New Napa Valley

Dennis Eckmeyer, left, and Daniel Hopper work at pruning grape vines at the University of Nevada vineyard. There is a group pushing to make it legal to make wine and sell it in Washoe and Clark Counties.  (Photo: Marilyn Newton/RGJ )

  Welcome back to The Desert Wine Guys wine blog everyone. Today I am going to write an article on the future of Winery's & Vineyards in the Las Vegas area. I feel it is necessary to first dispel some myths when it comes to growing grapes. Before I move into the body of this article I want to remind everyone of one thing and that thing is that the grape is only a means for the vine to reproduce, that is all. It just so happens we as man as found other uses for the grape but when it comes down to it it is only a means for reproduction of the species. Now let's go ahead and learn about growing wine grapes in Las Vegas.
  There are three myths that I would like to dispel when it comes to growing wine grapes in Las Vegas. While I never set out to dispel these three myths it did come as a shock to me when I discovered that they were just that, myths and had no basis in reality. As a matter of fact as I went on with my garden of Tomatoes, Peppers and Watermelon (that's right) in general before growing wine grapes I quickly became amazed that Las Vegas doesn't have a large agriculture industry. With this being said let's go ahead and move to the main part of the article. 
  The first myth I would like to discuss is the one that says that grapes require a lot of water to grow correctly.
  We have all eaten grapes and tasted all the juice and sugar in them. Would it surprise you to know that grapevines do not require or even like a lot of water? I know that prior to learning and developing two small Vineyards I also believed the water myth so don't feel bad. The first thing to know about the water myth concerning grapes is that rain is NOT good for the grapes themselves. Rain can actually ruin grapes by seeping into the grape and diluting the sugar as well as the acid level. Rain during flowering time can actually knock the flowers off thereby meaning no buds and therefore no grapes. If you notice any time you visit Vineyards there are no sprinklers? If you continue to pay attention you will see a drip system with individual drip spouts that are offset from the base of each individual vine by about six (6) inches. Even though there is a drip system, too much water from any means is not a good thing when it comes to grapes. If a vine gets too much water there will be an overgrowth of vegetation (leaves) which will mean small clusters due to the plants energy being used not only for the grapes but the vegetation as well. One other issue with too much water is the fact that the water hitting the soil will eventually spread out across the top of the soil and the roots will follow and therefore stay just underneath the soil level. If the temperature in Las Vegas is 110 degrees than it stands to reason that the top of the soil is pretty hot, that is not where we want the roots to be. The vines will do better if the water goes deep and the roots follow it there. Having just touched on the second myth of grape growing let's go right on ahead and discuss that second myth.  
  The second myth I would like to discuss in relation to Las Vegas is heat. Isn't it way to hot in Las Vegas for any type of fruit or Vegetable to grow?
  I have heard it said to me many times "what about the heat, isn't it too hot in the Desert"? What does heat do to wine grapes? The answer to this depends upon the varietal of grape grown. There are grapes that actually prefer cold or cool weather climates such as the Pinot Noir or Riesling varietals and grapes that prefer the hot or warm weather climates such as the Cabernet Sauvignon or Sauvignon Blanc varietals. Remember that in hot weather climates the only thing protecting the grapes from the heat is the leaves of the vine.  This is one reason why roper pruning is very important.  There are various other reasons for pruning such as prevention of disease but for this article we will simply stick to the fact that proper pruning works to protect the grapes themselves. If you prune the leaves too much than the grapes are exposed to the direct Sunlight and will dry up and die quickly. On the other hand if you don't prune enough the grapes don't get enough sun and that is not good either. Heat however does result in an early harvest of wine grapes There are many areas of this country that grow (successfully) wine grapes and have identical weather to Las Vegas with one area being Arizona. The grapes that prefer one type of weather over the other will sometimes grow outside their preferred areas but the wine they make will not GENERALLY be as good as if they are growing in their preferred area.  

Pinot Noir grapes

  The third and final myth I would like to discuss is the soil the grapes are grown in. I am sure we have all heard of "Rutherford Dust".
  "Rutherford Dust" is supposed to come from only the AVA of Rutherford California and refers to the combination of the terroir (soil) or as Mike Smith form the McGah Family Cellars says gives the wine a powdery "fine dusty tannin". There is even "The Rutherford Dust Society" (http://rutherforddust.org/) which is a winery association dedicated to promoting Napa’s Rutherford appellation (a subset of the larger Napa Valley AVA).  Is "Rutherford Dust" marketing hype or is it real? That's up to you to decide for yourself. I am not going to tell you that soil is not important to growing grapes because it is......to an extent. There are however different characteristics in soils that help or hinder the growing of grapes. There are generally 4 different types of soil. These types are Sandy, Clay based, Silty and Loam. The soil I have come across here in my Vineyards in Las Vegas are a combination of Sandy and Clay soils. My personal experience digging the soil to plant my vines is that there is an initial top level of  medium size Boulders followed by Sandy soil that is loose and ready for roots to grow easily. To see exactly what the makeup of my soil is  here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INrR9qsyNrM) is my YouTube video showing the different layers of soil I had to dig thru in order to plant my vines. As I have said, once thru the first two feet of soil the remainder was sandy and very workable. The thing about the soil in Las Vegas is that when it gets wet it becomes a sort of Clay and therefore holds water very well and yet is not tough enough to discourage the vines from growing. Since the Roots of our Grape Vines are supposed to be trained to grow deep into the ground rather than spread across the soil this is good for them. While I have never had my soil tested I can only tell you what I have personally experienced and what I have personally experienced is successfully growing wine grapes.

Riesling Grapes

  Let's now take a look at the current state of wine grape industry in Las Vegas. It is very early in the development stage of wine industry here in Las Vegas but headway is being made to create a one. In May of  2015 Assembly Bill 4 was passed and signed by the Governor allowing Winery's in county's that have populations of more than 100,000 people in it. Prior to this the law being passed the law said that county's with a population of more that 100,000 people such as Clark County (Las Vegas) could not have a Winery. While there were some Wineries in Nevada already in the areas of Reno which is 8 hours out of the Las Vegas area and Pahrump which is 2 hours out of the Las Vegas area there were never any in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas area has now become fertile ground for Napa Valley style Winery's. The bill had a protectionist parts to it such as the fact that 25% of the grapes for the winery's in Nevada had to come from Nevada after the first 1,000 cases of wine each year  the existing winery's in Reno and Pahrump will not have to meet those requirements for 10 years. While some see this as a negative I believe it can only help Las Vegas and the state of Nevada as a whole.      
  It appears that things are looking up for the very real possibility of a wine industry here in the Golden State. At this time however there is nothing more to report on that future wine industry here in Las Vegas at this time. As far as I know there are no Napa winery's or any other state Winery's that have shown any interest in expanding to Nevada or Las Vegas. From what I understand the only Winery's that helped the bill pass were those in this state. 
  So in closing there you have it folks, a little overview of the up and coming state of wine grapes in the Las Vegas area. With Assembly Bill 4 the door has been opened for the wine industry in Las Vegas to excel past that of Arizona which itself does $30 million a year. I will go further based on information that I have from some wine industry insiders in Arizona.  With the water problems in California that ARE affecting the wine industry there I predict that Arizona will see an increase in their revenue and Las Vegas will start a new boom and that boom will be a reputable wine industry probably backed by the Casino industry.  Keep in mind that this will not happen over night since grape vines take a minimum of 3 years to prepare to even support grapes. I say give Las Vegas a minimum of 5-6 years and the Napa Valley will be shaking in it's boots.

                                                                                                                   The Desert Wine Guy

　
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The Desert Wine Guy - The FireRock Steakhouse - Las Vegas

                                                          







  Today I am going to take a break from my usual wine related reviews and do something I don't normaly do. Today I am going to do a review of the Fire Rock Steakhouse. While this restaurant does have a very fine wine selection and cellar that won't be the focus of this article although I will, of course review that as well.
  So let's go ahead and begin this little review. This restaurant deserves to be talked about for much more that it's wine list.

 

  If you live in or are visiting Las Vegas there are lots of places to go for Steak, Chops and Seafood so you might ask what is the big deal here? Well the big deal here is that the food at this restaurant isn't reheated or siting around for hours under a heat lamp waiting for you to order it or to be brought to the Buffett (and yes there are so called "nice restaurants in Casinos that share the same kitchen between them and the Buffett). These particular restaurants will charge you $12 for a Buffett and $25 for the very same Prime Rib served in the restaurant right next door to it. The big deal here is that the food and service was outstanding. From what my wife and I saw as well as tasted, this food is cooked fresh and as you order it. The food here is not cooked half way and then thrown under a warmer until some poor soul orders it and then finished up quickly and brought to you in five minutes. Going back to the Casino end here for a second. There is also the fact that while some of you might not mind walking thru a Casino and seeing all the sad, angry & drunk gamblers, my wife and I choose not to see that. While some of you might like to walk thru a Casino and see the "Adult Entertainment" that Vegas is known for that is not our style. We also choose not to go to the "Tourist District" where my Wife and children are subjected to half naked Women being advertised on the back of Taxi Cabs or on flashing Neon Billboards. We choose not to drive by the advertisements for topless clubs or foot massage joints (yeah O.K) with half naked Women on the advertisements, Call us Prudes if you want that's fine, but we still believe in good old fashioned parenting. One more thing about the Casinos is that while some of you might not care if you stink like Cigarettes when you leave, my family and I do. I think one Shower a night is enough. Now all those problems are solved with the introduction of the FireRock Steakhouse to Las Vegas. One other item that had my Wife and I excited to try this new Restaurant is the fact that in our area of Las Vegas there is only 1 Casino and no Steak or Seafood Restaurants near us aside from in a Casino so even if we made an exception to go to a Casino for some half decent Steak we would have to drive a nice distance. Being close to my house or not however doesn't matter if the food is not good. Was the food good or will my Family and I continue to drive around town for good Steaks & Seafood? Let's see. 
      
  As mentioned earlier the restaurant I am reviewing here is the FireRock Steakhouse. This is a big restaurant, with 7,934 square space, two bars, a private 14 seat private wine room as well as a 980 square foot outside covered Patio with 13 tables. The place also has gambling machines at the bars as well. FireRock claims that they pride themselves in only serving U.S.D.A Certified Aged Beef which is aged for a minimum of 28 days, hand cut and cooked over Almond & Oak on a wood fired grill. The owner, John Johnson also owns another FireRock location in Casper Wyoming as well as some Outback Steak Houses I am told. The restaurant is listed as casual ( I wore nice shorts and fit in nicely) and from the dress of the customers present that is accurate. That is not to say that the restaurant is not suitable for a serious business or even a romantic dinner because it most certainly is. The restaurant is also kid friendly and has a kids menu although I did not request one since it was only my Wife and I. 

  O.K, let's get down to the food now. My Wife and I got there at 5:30 and waited 20 minutes to be seated which is not too bad. Our Waitress, Amy approached us almost immediately and introduced herself and took our order. My wife ordered the Oysters on The Half Shell ($2.85 Rockefeller & $2.50 on the Half shell) which she said was cold, fresh, delicious and was served on a bed of Ice along with a side of a spicy Salsa type sauce in a small cup as well as a slice of Lemon. What my Wife found strange was that there was no traditional Cocktail Sauce to go along with it although I discovered on our second trip to the restaurant that it is available. I ordered the Crab Cake ($9.95) which was served in a "creamy reduction sauce with a Parmesan crust and topped with cracked Black Pepper". The Crab Cake was superb and was a pretty decent size as well. For those interested, the Reduction Sauce did not overpower the taste of the Crab. 

 

                                       
   For our Entrees my Wife ordered the Cajun Spiced Ribeye, Cowboy Cut ($25.95), VERY rare. I ordered the Rack of Lamb ($29.95). For drinks my Wife had Water and I ordered the Carnivorous Cabernet Sauvignon. I ended up sending back the wine however because it tasted like Nyquil. I should add that I do believe that the problem here is the wine and not the restaurants fault since I do not believe that the wine was spoiled, I simply didn't care for it. Amy apologized and took it back with a smile. What I thought was really cool was the fact that the restaurant offers the option of a 6 or 9 ounce pour. I of course took the 9 ounce pour however this time I took Amy's suggestion and ordered her suggested wine ( don't ask, I forgot). The FireRock has a very cool way of presenting wine. (see link to the video of how it operates below). The wine and drink menu is actually on a Tablet (https://www.facebook.com/DesertWineGuy) which is touch screen and operated with your finger and allows you to pick and choose Reds, Whites, Blends as well as by varietals. This completed our ordering. While waiting for our food Amy continued to check in with us and keep us up to date on our order as well as to chat with us. We waited about 20 - 25 minutes for our Entre which I consider average for quality cooked to order food.

When our food arrived my Wife's steak was served first and I must say it was a pretty decent size. While the name of her Entrée started with the word Cajun, the Steak was not spicy at all but at the same time did have many different Cajun spices and was super flavorful. While watching her cut the Steak I could tell that the Steak was quality meat and I saw as well that the Steak was cooked as she ordered it. Upon her first bite her reaction on her face was all I needed to know how the food tasted. My Wife actually used the word "perfection" which she does not normally use since she is a very hard sell. She commented that the seasoning was perfect as well. Since my Wife does not like spicy food at all I would have to say that she was extremely pleased with her Dinner. My thoughts on the Steak were identical and I am not an easy sell either. I thought the Steak was loaded with powerful spices and NOT Salty nor spicy. The spices on the Steak did jump out at you in a wonderful way yet did not cover up the fact that you were eating a high quality grade of Steak. The Steak was cooked consistently and evenly throughout, there was very little if any fat visible nor were there any areas which were inedible. On the side was a large Baked Potato which was not your average run of the mill Baked Potato. This was a pretty decent sized Potato. The Potato was delivered exactly as she had ordered as well.

  Now on to my Rack of Lamb. When my meal arrived it appeared to be cooked to perfection as well. The Lamb was served with a Wild Cherry Demi-Glaze. The ribs split apart with just the right amount of effort, signaling to me that the Lamb was not under cooked nor over cooked. The color of the Lamb was not Black which would possibly signify being over cooked but instead was a medium to slightly dark Brown, I couldn't wait to try it. The Rack of Lamb was also loaded with meat and again not purchased from your average run of the mill supplier, there was thought and inspection put into the purchase on the Restaurants end. When I tasted the Lamb it too was cooked to "perfection". The texture of the Lamb was perfect, not falling off the bone but not stuck to it either. a normal bite was all that was needed to take a piece off the bone and you were in Heaven. The Lamb was cooked consistently throughout and there was no fat or areas which were inedible. The Lamb was also full of meat. I enjoyed every bite. The Wild Cherry Demi-Glaze only contributed to the flavor of the incredible taste of the Lamb and was most definitely complimented by it.
  Now after all of this you would think that the Dinner would be over and after a few minutes to relax and start to digest this wonderful food that my Wife and I would be ready to go home If that is what you thought then you would be wrong, it was Dessert time.
  For dessert my Wife and I shared the Caramel Cheese Cake. While the piece is not that big at all it will be just enough after eating the portions served for your Dinner. The Cheese Cake was absolutely AWESOME. I cannot say enough great things about it.
  Lets talk about the service. As I already said, our server was Amy who was soooo very personable and easy going. She had a wonderful sense of humor which also seemed very natural. While I am not the most sensitive with my jokes I could tell she seemed ready and willing to meet me there and in a real way while not being offensive or offended. She performed her job admirably and was constantly there when drinks were needed while at the same time not being overbearing. It was a pleasure to have her wait on us.
  In closing I will say that our bill ended up being $100 which I admit is not what an average casual dinner tab would normally be. Keep in mind that we both ordered two of the most expensive dishes on the Menu. Looking back on it I cannot say that I will make the FireRock Steakhouse a nightly routine but for a special occasion, business dinner or treat for you and that special person I can't think of a better place to go. 
  As a quick follow up, my Wife and I went back a couple of days later. Amy was off and we had a young lady named Kim. Kim was right on par with Amy and was just as fantastic. Both ladies are an asset to the company. As for the food, I ordered the Rack of Lamb again which was just as fantastic. My wife ordered the Fried Shrimp ($19.50) which consisted of 5 large Shrimp with Dinner Fries. My wife this time used the word "excellent" to describe her Dinner. 


The restaurant is located at Located at 5990 Centennial Center Blvd 702-309-6015

                                                       
                                                                                                                   The Desert Wine Guy

　
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The Desert WIne Guy - 2012 Don Simon Tempranillo

                                                        
   Today I want to  discuss not only a particular wine but a specific varietal of wine as well. Today I will discuss the Don Simon Tempranillo as well as the Tempranillo grape itself. Lets start this article off with first learning a little about the varietal known as Tempranillo.
   The Tempranillo grape which is thought to have originated in Northern Spain (although some say southern France) is a varietal that has been around since at least the 13th century. The Tempranillo is thought to be a hybrid of Cabernet franc and Pinot Noir. The Tempranillo, which means "Little early One" due it's habit of ripening early in the Summer season is a medium to large, thick skinned black grape. The Tempranillo varietal has been used often as a blending grape and blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot as well as Garnacha and other grapes due to it's low acidity. The grape is also the main ingredient in the red wine known as Rioja. Tempranillo is very rarely bottled as a single varietal although I have found a few bottles at a place named Total Wine & Spirits here in Las Vegas that are single varietal. Tempranillo has in the past also been used in "Jug Wine". The varietal is slowly coming into it's own here in the United States however and for this I am happy since it has fast become my favorite varietal next to Cabernet Sauvignon. Tempranillo also loves a nice hot climate which I take note of living in the Desert of Las Vegas should I ever decide to change varietals that I am growing. Now that I have given you a little background on the Tempranillo known as the Tempranillo I am going to move into the review of the 2012 Don Simon Tempranillo.
   The other day I was at Whole Foods Supermarket here in Vegas and while wondering around ( I do that a lot) I noticed a large display of a Tempranillo for $3.99. Being as I said that I absolutely love Tempranillo I couldn't resist. I was really excited to get the wine home and open it up and taste what a $4 Tempranillo tastes like. I had my hopes set high. Would my hopes be to high I wondered? Well after I did my shopping I did just that, I headed home to open the wine and sit back and relax and see what a $4 Tempranillo actually tastes like
   On the pour of this wine I see a wine that is light to medium Cranberry in color. In the glass the wine sits a nice Cranberry in color as well.The bouquet of our Tempranillo is of Black berry and Cranberry.

Tempranillo Grape

    I originally didn't notice but here is another one of those screw cap wines that is wrapped to look like a corked wine so after unscrewing the cap with anticipation I took a sip of the wine. With disappointment I tasted it. The wine immediately came across as flat, watery. There were hints of Blackberry and the wine finished off with Cranberry and slight pepper taste.There was no body or presence to this wine. Disjointed structure with medium Tannins. The wine was very mild more along the lines of an inexpensive, mellow Merlot that a Tempranillo. The wine also finished slightly watery. I proceeded to sip on the wine and after about 2 hours I have to admit that was once a bad wine seemed to amazingly, suddenly open up to be not as bad. The wine actually was turning out to be half decent, especially for $4. Yes the wine did start off VERY rough but the wine did develop and ended up being a decent Tempranillo. I have never experienced a wine change so much, I never knew it was possible. From a wine that seemed to have little of the characteristics of a decent wine let alone a Tempranillo to a wine that had quite a bit the characteristics of a Tempranillo. from a wine that I would originally put a barely an 83 on The Desert Wine Guy point scale to a wine that I would now place at an 87 (big difference). The wine ended up being Spicy, Peppery and full of Blackberry, Tannins and some Cassis. There was eventually some medium amounts of complexity as well. The wine did also finally develop the classic traits of a Tempranillo.
   In closing I can't emphasize enough that you must give this wine at least 2.5 hours to breath. Use a good Decanter and find something else to do for a few hours but in the end I would definitely recommend coming back and you will find a wine that you CAN enjoy. If you don't give the wine that amount of time you will be saying "what is this Desert Wine Guy thinking?" Is this the best Tempranillo out there, no it is not but for $4 you really can't go wrong.

                               


                                                                                                                  The Desert Wine Guy


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The Desert WIne Guy - 2014 Gaucho Audino Malbec - A Truly Terrible Wine

                               
   Today I have one of the distinct displeasure's of very briefly talking about a wine that barely manages to stay on The Desert Wine Guys Point Scale. Here now is that quick review of one of the worst wines I have ever had the displeasure of drinking. The wine that I am talking about and that holds the distinction is the 2014 Gaucho Andino Malbec and it truly worked hard to be where it is which is at the bottom. As I have already said I am going to keep this short and sweet because the wine is not worth any more of my time than the few minutes it took to write this short review.
   The Gaucho Malbec is a very light, see thru Red in color wine. It almost looked as if someone poured a couple of glasses of water into the bottle before it was Corked. On the nose is a barely detectable Bing Cherry that acts as if it was there at one time but decided to leave to be in a real wine. There was a crazy smokey flavor that was very out of place here in the wine and that tasted almost bitter. There was some lite (again almost undetectable) Black Cherry and small hints of Cassis. There was also Black Berry and Plum but all notes of each were hardly able to be picked out. The wine was as watery as its appearance in the glass which was awful in appearance. With so many different flavors you might be fooled into thinking that the wine was pretty good. The problem as I said was that all the different flavors were barely at a level that you could even taste them.
   To sum this up, do not waste your your time or your money no matter how inexpensive ($5) the wine is. I was only able to take a few sips before I had to spill the whole bottle out down the drain.
   On The Desert Wine Guy Rating Scale I give it 50 points which means not drinkable.


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The Desert Wine Guy - MSH Cellars - An Exceptional 2013 Sauvignon Blanc

        
   http://www.wineofthemonthclub.com/) and pay the $7.99 instead. This wine is so good that after I got my normal shipment of 6 different wines from my wine club which included the 2013 MSH Sauvignon Blanc and after tasting the MSH I had to order 9 more bottles of it. The wine was so good that I ended up giving one bottle away on my wine ONLY Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/DesertWineGuy) page to a friend who won a giveaway who lives in California.  Four of the others were enjoyed by me and one is promised to that same friend and loyal follower in Southern California, thanks Greg. Two bottles have also proudly made their way into my chilled wine cellar. By the way my friend couldn't say enough great things about this wine. Today after drinking the last bottle I ordered 5 more from The Wine of The Month Club. Yeah, folks, that's right $11 (7.99 for members) which is the price for those of you who do not wish to join, it's still a heck of a deal. This is one of those wines that you would buy and a couple of months later get around to drinking and when you looked around for more of it at your favorite store you won't be available to find it any longer. Well, Mr. Desert Wine Guy just how do you know this? That is a very good question, dear reader. I know this because I myself have had this happen to me with a lot of wines that were not made in large quantities such as our review wine. I have since corrected that problem by very quickly trying to drink a while I buy within a fairly short amount of time and then, if I liked it, buying at least two more bottles once I have tasted the first bottle. You can research the wine yourself by going to Google and trying to find it anywhere else besides The Wine of The Month Club. What you will find out that nearly everyone loves it and they USE to carry the wine for sale but everyone is out. I will not let this happen with this wine. I am telling you, folks, do yourself a favor and order a few bottles of this wine and put at least three away. You will thank me later. By the way, getting off the subject of the wine for a second.  I want to assure everyone that neither I nor anyone I know or have any dealings with has any financial or other relationships with The Wine of the Month Club, I just happen to be really impressed with the wine they send and their pricing. Now having said that and before we move on to the main body review, back to my promise of a rating. I most confidently put this wine at 93 points on The Desert Wine Guy Point Scale. For those of you who are interested, here is also a link (https://vimeo.com/113648621) to the review that The Wine Club of The Month has done as well on this wine.

                                         
   Let's move on now and learn a lot more about this wine. The wine we are discussing and that I have purposely not named until now in order to keep you in suspense is the 2013 MSH Cellars Sauvignon Blanc. Like a lot of other Vineyards or Winery's do, this particular Cellar (the MSH Cellars) does not really exist.  MSH Cellars is actually the secondary label for the Gamble Family Vineyards (http://www.gamblefamilyvineyards.com/) in Yountville California.  I will begin by telling you that these grapes are grown in the Yountville area sub-region of the Napa Valley. The MSH Cellars Sauvignon Blanc consists of a mix of 85% Sauvignon Blanc with a small 15% mix of the Semillon varietals. While you can most certainly tell that his wine spent quite a bit of time in Stainless Steel tanks there is also that ever so slight hint of Oak as well that manages to creep thru. The story behind the grapes in our Sauvignon Blanc is pretty interesting and one that actually works out in our favor. Originally this label started because Gamble Vineyards had some leftover Sauvignon Blanc grapes from a contract and they decided to go ahead and bottle the wine instead of dropping the fruit. It is my understanding as well that these grapes are the same Sauvignon Blanc grapes and make the same great wine that a more prominent Winery would charge three times as much for. How do I know that these grapes are good enough to charge three times as much for? Well, I have some inside information and I (of course) I tasted the wine. Actually, as I have previously said, I tasted quite a few bottles of it, not all at once of course but it seemed that I kept going into my collection and saying to myself as I reached for the bottle "MSH...yep it's that good".  O.k so I think I have educated you enough on this wine as far as background goes so now it is time to tell you what I think about this wine
   Alright wine fans, with this review I am going to do something that I don't do too often and even then only on occasions when I find a wine that truly exceeds all of my expectations and excels in its particular varietal. What am I going to do you ask? Today I am about to jump over the other reviews that I have pending because I want to get this review out to you guys while the wine is still available. Today I am going to write about a Sauvignon Blanc that I simply fell in love with. This Sauvignon Blanc that I am going to review here is simply outstanding and I do not use that word loosely. I don't normally come across so strong about a wine but in this case, I will make an exception. Today in this review I am going to go into great detail about this wine because I feel it is most definitely worthy of my time in order for you to get a mental treat/picture of what I hope you will soon experience in your very own wine glass at home. In this case, I am going to layout the final point rating BEFORE you even read the review because I want all my fans who like the Sauvignon Blanc varietal to go out and purchase this $11 wine or do as I did months ago and join The Wine of The Month club (
   To describe the pour of the wine I noticed an almost clear wine with a very slight hint of Gold as it sat in my glass. The wine was clear other than the slight Golden hue.
   On the Nose, there was a strong bouquet of Peach and Pear and also a hint of Kiwi. There was a sense of peppery spice as well that was pleasing to the nose.
   In the mouth, the wine simply impressed to no end. The first thing that I noticed was that the wine was very Grapefruit forward and dominate. Following closely on the heels of the Grapefruit was Lemon and shortly after that was an incredible Peach and lastly an ever so slight hint of that Kiwi that I mentioned.
   
   You might think that for an $11 dollar wine you would consider yourself lucky and be happy at how far the wine has already taken you concerning its bouquet and mouthfeel, I know that I would be. To the credit of the Gamble Family Vineyards wine team however, this wine was not done at all. I noticed the quick development of a very nice Green Apple that lingered for a short time in my mouth and to top it off was a sort of Black Pepper that hit the spot when blended with all the other flavors. Despite all the talk of Green Apple, Kiwi and Peach we are for the most part dealing with a dry and slightly noticeably acidic white wine here. There is some sweetness here however and it appears to be "cut" so to speak by the grapefruit and Lemon and not allowed to come close to being an overly fruity wine. I will add however that the Peach, Green Apple, and kiwi were allowed to come forward just enough to let you know that they are there and they aren't going away. It is also apparent that the  "cut" of tropical fruits had it's desired effect on the some of the acidity and the dryness of the Grapefruit and Lemon as well to help make this a complex Sauvignon Blanc. All the different notes each work together rather than separately to aid in the development of the wine but also as I have said, in the complexity of this wine in your mouth. This is a simply wonderful and well-balanced wine we have here but, we are not done so don't go anywhere. To make the case for the crispness of the wine there were earthy, and grassy notes that actually add to the superbness of this wine. To top this wine off there was a slight Alcohol taste that in this particular case went extremely well with the rest of this wine and was not the normal put off that it can be. Our review wine ends up overall on the dry side with the Grapefruit and Lemon maintaining it's dominance along with the acidity I mentioned earlier, over the more tropical fruits. This wine screamed Spring or Summertime pool party in every sip I took. I also want to point out so that the fact is not overlooked that this wine sat most of its winery life in Stainless Steel is clearly not concealed by the wine and is I believe one of this wines assets and strong reason behind why this wine was able to subdue the sweetness of the tropical fruits to the effectiveness it did.
   Well, there you have it, folks. I know that this review might be a little long in the tooth so to speak but I couldn't help it, I not only had to but felt compelled to get all this out to you. I wanted you to know how impressed I was with this wine. Many of you who follow this blog on a regular basis know that I am a big lover of a nice Oakey Red and I still am but this White has made me stand up and take notice of the Sauvignon Blanc Varietal a little more now as well as remind me to keep my eyes open for other wines from MSH Cellars in the future. This Sauvignon Blanc has no problems standing on its own against much more expensive wines of the same varietal. I think that this wine will also be able to please both the lovers of a slightly sweeter White wine and yet also please a lover of a dryer White wine. Here in closing is a wine with a strong backbone and not afraid to show off that it is one of the new tough guys on the wine block and yet that it can also be one of the new sensitive guys as well. The bottom line is this wine is a first-class, top-notch Sauvignon Blanc.

                                                                                                                                The Desert Wine Guy


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The Desert Wine Guy - 2010 Picket Fence Cabernet Sauvignon

Picket Fence 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon

   With Spring finally under way you may ask yourself why I am still mostly drinking Red wines. Well the short answer is actually two part. The first part is that I tend to like Red wines a lot and the second part of my answer is that I don't go for the usual Spring & Summer mean Whites and Fall & Winter mean Reds, I simply drink what sounds good at that time. There are times like the other day when I was out in the Vineyard all day and a Red wine did not sound good to me so I went with a Sauvignon Blanc. Maybe it was because I was in the Sauvignon Blanc (Mirror Image) Vineyard, I don't know. What ever the reason was I stuck with a Red this time and recently had the opportunity to do a tasting on the 2010 Picket Fence Cabernet Sauvignon and that is the wine I am also about to write this  review on.
   Picket Fence is owned by the bronco Wine Company and marketed by 585 Wine Partners (http://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataId=48597) which ends up also being a division of Bronco Wines. Picket Fence produces between 5,000 & 10,000 cases of wine a year with the majority being Chardonnay. Picket Fence does not own any vineyards, they make their wine from sourced grapes.
   So Desert Wine Guy, exactly what do you think of the 2010 Picket Fence Sauvignon Blanc? Good question guys, here is my thoughts on this wine. Let's jump to how this wine tastes in the mouth to start this off. After sipping a small amount of this wine and holding it for a few seconds in my mouth I tasted Black Current, Blackberry, a strong sense / taste of French Oak and Cassis (the Cassis seemed to slip in out out of being detectable). The wine also had a nice leathery feel to it as well. So far so good,. The wine seems like a fairly decent wine and one that I am going to enjoy. This wine started off being a wine on the lighter to slightly medium depth side of wine. The wine also tends to be Blackberry / Cherry dominate. If the wine would have stopped here it would have ended with a sort of decent rating of  85 points at the maximum. The wine however did not stop here or continue to open up unfortunately for it. Something in the wine did change though and that something is what I want to talk about. What changed? Something very disappointing & strange happened to this wine. This wine actually went downhill FAST after being opened for an hour or so. I've never experienced anything like it before and I hope I never do again. . All the notes except for the Blackberry seemed to slip away as the wine opened up. The Cassis, gone. The French Oak, gone. How or why this happened is beyond me but happen it did. the wine became sort of harsh in it's taste. What started off as a sort of decent wine ended up a disaster of a wine. The wine couldn't maintain what it had which truly wasn't much in the first place but was at least drinkable. There were also no tannins at all and I see no hope in the wine developing in the future if cellard  into anything even semi drinkable.
   So what is the final verdict on this wine? The final verdict is that for $18 dollars I could find many wines that not only are less expensive but a heck of a lot better as well. What is the final rating I give this wine? That is another good question and here is my answer. I rate this wine at 80 points. When you take into account the price and how the wine simply fell apart shortly after opening it I think I am being generous here in that rating. Bronco Wines does put out very good wines but this one unfortunately is not one of them.


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The Desert Wine Guy - Arizona Stronghold Vineyards

                       
   Today we are going to talk about a little Tasting Room located in Cottonwood Arizona named Arizona Stronghold Vineyards (http://www.azstronghold.com/TastingRoom). This past Saturday (April  11, 2015) my Daughter of Angel Vineyards fame and I went to Cottonwood Arizona for a day trip and stopped at Arizona Stronghold Vineyards. The winery is a small place and the staff were very friendly. When we walked in we were greeted promptly by smiling staff and invited to actually sit anywhere we wanted. We chose to sit on a large comfortable well worn Leather couch and we were told that the flight of wine would be brought. Wow that's different for a Tasting Room. Well sit I did and sure enough a friendly staff member brought me some wonderful wine to taste while I relaxed. As I already said, Stronghold Wines is a small Tasting Room but the size along with the staff was more than enough to keep all the customers happy and yet still large enough to walk around. As a side note I should mention that there are no Vineyards on main street Cottonwood. I was informed that the Vineyards are in the hills and that they are not open to the public. Where ever they are I didn't seem a Vineyard all day. The staff was not uptight and did not seem rushed, they actually seemed to enjoy working here. They took the time to actually hang out for a few minutes and engage me in conversation. My Daughter who is not 21 and always travels with me on day trips was treated just as nicely. She was informed that there was Soda, juice and water as well as Chocolate which can be paired with the wine. She was made to feel right just as important as I did. One item related to bringing people who are under 21 that I would like to mention is that the staff also watched their language, no one cursed. Yes, I know it is a wine tasting room and it is geared for adults but there are still customers who bring their WELL MANURED children in as well and besides there is no reason for employees of any business to use curse words. There are three different wine clubs that Stronghold offers  with the beginning level (The Almanac) offering 12 free wine tastings per year and the highest level, (The Vault) offering 48 free wine tastings a year.  After the tasting I was asked if there were any wines we wanted to "revisit" which I thought was a nice touch. I had already made up my mind as to what I wanted and politely declined the offer. The tasting charge is $9 and yes you get to keep the glass :)
   I ended up purchasing two bottles of their 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon "pick2", I also bought my Daughter a T-Shirt and Chocolate (yum) for my Daughter. The wine overall was really good and the wine I chose was on the peppery, full bodied side and  and was fruit forward. Both aspects  blended nicely, there is a review coming by the way. The wine came in at $34 a piece and although a little pricey I felt it was worth it. One bottle will end up in the Wine Cellar and the other will be put aside for the reopening of my Loft (my Man Cave) which is under renovation.
   If you plan to make the trip to Cottonwood, and I recommend that you do, it is a 4.5 hour drive from Las Vegas and a lot of the trip is actually really nice and Green. The city has 4 wineries and some antique shops as well as many restaurants and The Verde Valley Olive Oil Traders which sells all different kinds of infused Olive Oil. I bought the Extra Virgin Olive Oil with Basil.
    Before we left for home we ended up having Dinner at Pizzeria Bocce which is just on the edge of town and ate outside on the Patio. You must have the Banana & Nutella Pizza for Dessert. This crazy sounding dish comes on a soft, thin pizza crust and has Bananas, Nutella and Ricotta Cheese. Trust me, try it. The food and service was awesome and my Daughter and I left full.
   Cottonwood is not far at all from the Grand Canyon and about a half hour from Sedona and just outside Sedona are two Vineyards which are open to the public and have Tasting Rooms. My favorite was Page Springs Cellars which had some good wine and a beautiful Balcony that overlooks the Vineyards as well as a River that had some really cool Birds that would fly by. They also have some great food which adds to the atmosphere.      

   The weather and the day were  awesome and I recommend everyone go.
                                                                                                                 


                                                                                                                    The Desert Wine Guy

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The Desert Wine Guy - M By Martellotto - 2012 Cabernet Franc

 

    Today we are going to do a quick review of what I think is a wonderful wine. That wine is the M by Martellotto 2012 Cabernet Franc. This is A slight departure from the Cabernet Sauvignons that I usually drink. While still a Red wine I thought I would delve into new territory :) I received this wine from The Wine Of The Month Club and you can check out my review on them here (http://desertwineguy.blogspot.com/search?q=wine+of+the+month+club).
   Martellotto wines (http://www.winedreamer.com/) is owned by Greg Martellotto who since his High School years in Jesuit High School had a passion for food and would even host Dinner events. Though Greg did love food he had always planned to go to Medical School. After graduating from Stanford University in Palo Alto California with a degree in Biology Greg ended up managing a restaurant. After taking a three year world vacation after graduating where he had the opportunity to taste many different wines as well as sample some of the worlds foods he returned to California. At 27 the dream of becoming a Doctor now seemed to be out of reach. Greg decided to look at the wine industry. One of the wine businesses that came out of this venture was Martellotto Cellars. In 2005 had its first release which was limited to 2,000 cases. Today the winery has expanded production to 6,000 cases. Greg has also leased a winery in Buellton along Highway 101.
  So now lets get down to what I think about this wine. On the pour, the M by Martellotto Cabernet Franc is an inky Red that also appears to blend in some nice overtones of a lighter Red to make for a very colorful pour. The wine maintains its inky appearance while it rests in the glass as well. For some reason seeing the pour and how the wine is in the glass strikes me as a wine that has a lot of promise along with complexity. Does the wine hold up to its appearance as well as my thoughts? Keep reading and find out.
                                

Greg Martellotto

When brought to the nose there is the mixture of a deep Blackberry with Oak and the slight hint of Carmel. The nose is finished off with a deep Black peppery spice.
  In the mouth we are talking  about a wine that first comes across with Blackberry notes followed by a deep Current. Black Cherry adds to the mix here along with ta hint of Caramel. The wine in my mouth is showing a full sense of complexity. All the different fruits are blended just right. There is a small sense of acidity that sort of fuses it all together. This wine is an intricately layered wine. Medium Tannins are in this Cabernet Franc so those of you who like a slightly tannic Red have no fear because there are some very pleasant Tannins. The Tannins are also not overdone by any stretch of the imagination. While tasting all these wonderful notes I noticed that the wine in one sense comes across as soft but on the other hand when the wine sits in the mouth for a short period the wine just seems to begin to power thru with a very complex, powerful mouth feel. This powerful mouth feel makes the wine awesome in my book. Let me see if I can explain a little further. While I was sitting in my Loft and doing the tasting of this wine the first notes I tasted were soft but almost immediately the wine came forward with a deep Cabernet Franc power. The wine finishes smooth at the end and always keeps your mouth full of rich Cabernet Franc (not sweet) flavor. The French Oak that it sits in for 18 months is really allowed to shine thru. This wine is one of those wines that I love to review that is NOT for the weak hearted, it is most definitely a deep Red and if you are looking for a mild or semi mild wine look elsewhere because this is not the wine for you. Between the spice and Oak this wine is made for those who love a deep, rich almost Bordeaux Red.
  Summing things up here. We are talking about a very nice wine indeed and one which I will be ordering more of. I highly recommend this wine to you guys. The one thing that might be a slight negative is the pricing on the wine which is $35. Yes it might be a little pricey but if you want to treat yourself to a super wine then I say go for it.
                                                                  
     On The Desert Wine Guy point rating scale I give it 91 points.  

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The Desert Wine Guy - Grape Street Cafe Wine Bar & Cellar - Summerlin Las Vegas

Today I want to do a short review of the Grape Street Cafe Wine Bar & Cellar (http://grapestreetvegas.com/) which is located at 2120 Festival Plaza Drive which is at the Summerlin Mall here in Las Vegas. It is unusually for me to do a review on a restaurant since I write about wine but the family and I were walking around the Summerlin mall the other day and I happened to see the name of the restaurant and figured this would be great considering the name. The Grape Street Cafe Wine Bar & Cellar was ranked "very Good to excellent" by Zagat for it's cuisine and named a "Top 10 Las Vegas Wine Bar Restaurant" by Gayot. So how do real people feel about it? When you walk up to ther restaurant you see a decent size open air patio. The restaurant has a very open feel, even inside since the whole front is open and faces into the mall which is built to look like an actual city square with shops all around. It is located next to Macy's, which by the way has the only Starbucks as well as being centrally located in the mall. When you first walk inside there at first glance appears to be a large wall of wine bottles (which is right behind the bar) stacked to the ceiling. When you take a further look at it however you see that only about one quarter of the wall is actually real wine the rest is clear bottles with nothing inside. This becomes rather noticeably and I thought, rather noticeable when you take the time to look around. To me it appeared that someone took a shortcut and was too lazy to finish what was going to be a nice project. Scattered throughout the restaurant is wine related items such as wine boxes used for display along a with a few half wine barrels as well. There was also a large wine fridge situated when you first walk in. Overall I must say that they do sell the whole "Grape" thing rather well and the decor was pleasing to the eye. Being that the whole face of the restaurant is open and as I said there is a decent sized patio with rails going around the perimeter and yet low enough at the same time where you can watch the people walk by as well as come and go to the stores, if you are a people watcher you will have plenty to watch. Remember the whole mall is set up like an actual city so it is almost like you are eating in the middle of a real neighborhood.
    
When we first arrived we were greeted very nicely by an employee who seemed genuinely happy to be there. The wait was about five minutes and which was nice. Our server was Miguel who was also very happy and welcoming and also appeared as if he wanted to be there. Miguel was also VERY accommodating. I'll give you an example. As I have told my fans my two four olds drink Welch's Grape juice which is sold in a bottle similar to wine bottles so they are under the impression that they are drinking kids wine. With this I am able to teach them the whole wine pouring / swirling bit. I quietly asked Miguel if there was a drink they had that could be served in a wine glasses to give the appearance of wine. He was quick to come up with suggestions and we agreed on Apple Cider.

When he came back he informed me that they did not have any Apple cider and he worked pleasantly with me to come up with another idea. Miguel then said he had an idea and off he went. When he came back this time it was with two wine glasses filled with Sprit. Since no one in my home drinks Soda I informed him that that would not be acceptable. Miguel (with a wonderful attitude) further talked with me about another substitute. We ended up settling on Cranberry juice which I told them was Cabernet Sauvignon and they loved it. The point here is that Miguel was GREAT and the restaurant should be glad he is an employee there. I went ahead ordered an appetizer which was the Crab stuffed Shrimp which arrived with 6 medium sized Shrimp with a small amount of what appeared to be a very lightly breaded crab mix on each Shrimp. All of this was laid out nicely in a sauce. The appetizer tasted very nice but I must say was pricey at $14. It was also just enough for one person so if you are thinking of splitting with someone think again. With the Crab I ordered a glass of the Swanson Estate Merlot which was priced at $15. I thought the wine was on the sweet side bit was more that drinkingable so I did just that. By the way there are over 80 wines by the glass sold here. For my entree I ordered the Jumbo Cheese Raviolis at $16.
  
As I am sure you can see now, this place is not inexpensive (http://grapestreetvegas.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/grape-street-downtown-summerlin-cm.pdf). When the meal arrived the presentation was very nice and the Raviolis were seasoned very nicely with tons of flavor. One word of caution here, If you are expecting a portion size like that of an Olive Garden you are in the wrong place. If it weren't for the great bread and real Butter that was provided and some of my Daughters food I would have left hungry. I guess it is great for a nice Lunch. I will admit that I have a big appetite but I still felt that my portion was on the small side. My Wife had Spaghetti which came with Two large Meatballs. The babies had Mac & Cheese and my Wife's and all my Daughters portions were of nice size. My oldest Daughter had the Angel Hair Primavera and it arrived with some nice vegetables and Pine Nuts. I have to say that the food was very good. The restaurant was very clean and MOST of the staff (see next paragraph) seemed very happy and glad to be there so I think says something about the management.
             
 

I am going to place my final thoughts here on the restaurant in general and then move onto the a BIG issue and the only real drawback that I experienced. The restaurant was very nice. The atmosphere was very accommodating and welcoming for a family, there was no "partying" going on. This is a place you can take your Family and not be worried they will run into drunken fools. I cannot speak for night time or a weekend however. The food was very good and full of flavor and the Pasta was cooked to perfection. The glassware and Silverware were clean and very nice. The service and overall cleanliness was great, thanks Miguel. The decor was also appropriate for the name of the restaurant. In summary, if you have a little bit of cash laying around and want to treat the family then I highly recommend the Grape Street Cafe Wine Bar & Cellar in Summerlin Las Vegas. One thing to note is that there is no kids menu so they will either have to share. This place would also make a nice location for a night out with the Spouse as well. If you want guaranteed great service ask for miguel. 
  Now that I have gotten the good parts done there is one more thing that being The Desert Wine Guy I feel I need to mention. The restaurant has a Sommelier which I thought was a nice touch. Miguel during talking with him pointed out the Sommelier and I asked if he could let him know that I would like to talk with him. Miguel immediately went over and relayed my request. About 5 minutes later the Sommelier wonders (yes I said wonders) over to the table acting VERY uninterested, eyes and head everywhere but where they are supposed to be and that is on the person who is talking to him. When I introduced myself and handed him a card he still insisted on looking everywhere but at me, which should have been his focus. When I explained to him what I do he STILL CONSTANTLY had elsewhere to look and other things to pay attention to. I felt blown off. Not once throughout the one sided conversation did he act in the slightest bit interested in talking to me about wine or anything else. He had no idea if I was influential in the local wine scene or not or for that matter did he even appear to care. When I handed him a card he said that he would e-mail me but I am not holding out any thoughts of that. To say that I was insulted simply as a guest would be an understatement. To make matters even worse I watched him a present a bottle of wine to a table. The whole process of the presenting, opening & pouring of the wine was terrible and again done without any real interest or attention to his guests. There was no proper label facing to the person who ordered the wine, he simply acted like a Robot. He again simply acted uninterested in his customers. Looking at the wine list (which was very nice) you can see from the pictures of the wine menu I included that the prices per glass as well as the whole bottles were not inexpensive. The bottom line on the .....Sommelier is that he was TERRIBLE. Here is a restaurant that needs to fire their .....Sommelier RIGHT AWAY and replace him with someone who actually likes wine. I have one thing left to say. Grape Street.....your wine lovers and guests in general deserve more.



                                                                                                                    The Desert Wine Guy



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The Desert Wine Guy - 2012 Revelation Cabernet-Merlot - A Hidden Treasure

  
                                         
   What a treat I have in store for you folks today. I am sure you have all heard of a little place named Trader Joe's (http://www.traderjoes.com/). If you have not and you are a wine drinker or even a Beer drinker for that matter, you should make yourself aware of Trader Joe's. For those of you who do know about the hidden wine gem named Trader Joe's than I am sure I don't have to tell you about their wine selection, it is pretty substantial in comparison to the actual size of the store and actually worthy of a review in and of itself. I actually also like the store myself because they seem to sell quality products that I have never seen anywhere before and i think are worth a try. I also buy my yearly Basil plants there for my garden. Well anyway back to this wine. The other day Mrs. Desert Wine Girl wanted to do a little shopping and since it was so beautiful here in Vegas (75 degrees) and I needed a break from the Vineyards I decided to tag along on this particular day......plus did I forget to mention that they have a nice wine section as well :) So there is The Desert Wine Guy looking in the wine section for some new and interesting wines to taste and share with you guys and one of the wines that I happened to came across was the 2012 Revelation Cabernet-Merlot. This wine is from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of Northern France. This is an area that spans the Mediterranean coastline from the French border with Spain to the region of Provence. This area in general has around 700,000 acres of vines and is the single biggest wine producing region in the world. I'm sorry but there isn't any other information available about this wine, Vineyard or producer to learn or tell you about, I wish there was.
                                 
I guess the first thing that drew me to this wine was the price of $4.99 that was on the shelf. Maybe it was because it also looked, label wise like a serious bottle of wine or it could have been simply the combination of Cabernet Sauvignon (55%) and Merlot (45%). I am sorry guys but a wine that wants to be taken seriously should at least LOOK as if it wants to be taken seriously. I know what you are going to say here, "it's $4.99 Desert Wine Guy, how serious could it take itself or be taken". Yes , you are correct and I agree but in this case I was looking for a serious wine and the label I think convinced me to give it a try. Whatever the reason(s) was I decided that this was going to be one of the wines I was going to taste. There were a few other varietals of wine that I picked out that day as well and eventually I will get to do a review on all of those but for now sit back and enjoy this review. Oh, one other thing. There is a way to make this wine even more spectacular than it already is, do you want to know what that way is? Go out and buy a case and drink a bottle while reading this review. I am curious as well as to whether your opinion matches mine as well.
   Let's begin by talking about the nose on this wine. The wine opens up with Blackberry & Black Currants. These are simply beautiful together and in the amounts and manner they are put together with one another. The bouquet also lends itself to a very mineral/Oak aroma that is sure to please a rich Cabernet drinker. Deep spice is also apparent on the nose. Topping it off is a small amount of Cocoa and a ripe Dark Blackberry combo. While I am smelling the bouquet on this wine I am in amazement at how a $4.99 bottle of wine could offer all of this simply in the bouquet alone. I am thinking at this time that I might have possibly found a "sleeper".
   All right here we go. If you do have a bottle of this wine start enjoying it as you read now. The taste of Green Pepper is the first thing to hit your palete here and is sort of dominant but blended together, especially with the Blackberry and with everything else it does not overpower. I decanted this wine for about two hours (I would give it one more hour) in my new Wine & Spirits Decanter prior to this tasting and I think it's really cool how you can actually taste the combination of the Cab & Merlot as they on one hand are spicy because of the Cab but are quickly softened to an extent by the Merlot. You can almost sense the toning down but it isn't a distraction to your enjoyment by any means. It is almost as if the Cab is about to come on strong but it doesn't and is toned down but almost in a way where it is unnoticeable. While the Merlot does soften the Cab it does not kill it. Let me warn those of you who prefer a shy or soft Cab, this wine is not for the faint of heart. The Black Pepper in here insists on ensuring that the wine is very confident in where it is headed and toward which end of the spectrum of the Cab scale it is going. There is a feeling, or sense of earthiness as well in this wine that brings on a feeling of richness here. Tannins? you want Tannins? Have we got Tannins for you :) Very, very nice, medium bodied Tannins are wonderfully presented in this wine. While not soft by any means they do sit nicely in this wine and add to the spicy tasting. Folks, I am very impressed here. There is also a sufficient amount of Green Pepper here that will welcomed on the Palate
                                        
      In finishing this article up here I can say without question that the wine could sell for a lot more that it does. I would pay $20 for this wine, easily. How Trader Joe's pulls it off at $4.99 a bottle is beyond me but I do have plans to head back and buy more. I know that the holidays are over folks but if you are interested in a nice bottle of wine for friends or as a thank you for someone look no further because here is what you are looking for, just hope they don't shop at Trader Joe's and see the price. As for Decanting this wine I am going to tell you something that I have discovered in my experiences. I have come to the conclusion that ALL serious or semi-serious Red wines should be given at least three (3) hours to Decant and have a chance to open up. You might disagree but that is just my experience. This wine opened up and became a continued to excel from a nice wine to a very nice wine. I have reviewed much higher priced wine as well as  wine that has been reviewed and rated 92 points (Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon H3) by Wine Spectator Magazine (http://www.winespectator.com/)  that have paled in comparison to this wine. I highly recommend this wine and I am going to put  this wine at an 90 on The Desert Wine Guy point rating scale. I am going to place a bottle of this wine will be placed in my Cellar, as  should you.

                                                                                                                   The Desert Wine Guy


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