Wine: 2003 Segla Bordeaux



Review: Its funny how perspecitves in the wine industry change over time. With the exception of Meritage, which has been growing in popularity, Virginia wine makers have tended to look down on blended wines. Not all of them, some have always made good blended wines and are, rightfully, very proud of them. But, the majority of winemakers seemed to view blended wines as nothing more than table wines.

No less than three winemakers at the Virginia Wine Festival last week talked up their blended wines and mentioned how important they are to their future.

Of course, all that talk made me want to open a bottle of Bordeaux :). Segla is the second growth of Chateau Rauzan-Segla, part of the Margaux appellation. The wine is 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Petit Verdot.

The wine had a strong nose and a deep ruby color. It offered hints of blackberry and tobacco and some oak. A strong finish, resting on the palette for a while, without being too overpowering.

Price: $40

Grade: 90

Wine: 2005 Elk Run Cabernet Franc



Review: Maryland wineries play second (third?) fiddle to their more well-known cousins in Virginia and Pennsylvania, but the Maryland wine industry is growing. There are currently 27 wineries in Maryland, collectively, they sold just under a million bottles of wine in 2006. Not bad,

I've actually received a couple of bottles of this wine from people who know I love Cabernet Franc. Given that the Maryland climate is similar to that of Virginia, it doesn't surprise me that Maryland winemakers would gravitate toward Cabernet Franc. This was a smooth Cab Franc, not as peppery as I normally like, with hints of raspberry and plum.

Price: $20

Grade: 80

The 2007 Virginia Wine Festival was this past weekend. I went early on Sunday and it was a perfect day for it. Not too hot, but not yet chilly. The festival was spread out under 5 tents and was very well attended.

A couple of highlights: Waterford Vineyards and Windham Winery have successfully completed their respective name changes. In a weird way, I guess it is nice that Virginia wineries are becoming so well-known that they draw the attention of other wineries/crystal companies.

I also came across a winery I was not familiar with, Athena Vineyards. They had some nice wines. I especially liked their Nightingale Red a Chambourcin-based wine. They also had a Cabernet Franc that was ok, but a little light for my tastes in Cab Franc.

Overall, a good day.

Don't forget, the 32nd annual Virginia Wine Festival is this weekend. Tickets are $25 at the gate. My recommendations: 1. Get there early. 2. Stay Hydrated.

My last post on my trip to Alexander Valley.

I want to finish up with some more highlights from the Healdsburg Winery Walk.

Aside from Thumbprint Cellars my other favorite winery in Healdsburg was La Crema. The staff at the La Crema tasting room was magnificent, they were friendly, knowledgeable and a lot of fun. Of course, the wines were good as well.

They have 4 different Pinot Noirs, from 4 regions, each one with a unique taste and bursting with flavor. Their Syrah was excellent as well. The wine that really blew me away though was...their Chardonnay. Specifically, their 9 Barrel Chardonnay. The keep it in a separate room and each bottle is individually numbered. Normally, I am not a Chardonnay fan...but this was a crisp, refreshing wine barrel aged, but without a heavy oak taste.




Passalacqua was unique because of the location. It was in an industrial part of town, inside a warehouse. The wines, were good, especially their 2005 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. It is a blend of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, and Carignane, making it a smooth wine with strong hints of raspberry, a very fruity Zinfandel.




Finally, we have Lake Sonoma. This winery had the largest tasting room of all the Healdsburg wineries visited. They had a very good Sauvignon Blanc and a surprisingly good Cabernet Sauvignon, which had an interesting blend of blackberry and plum aromas. Surprisingly, they also had a Port, I am not a big fan of Ports, and this was no exception, but a lot of other tasters seemed to like it.

A friend of mine loves lobsters and wine. For her birthday I wanted to fine lobster wine glass charms..a task that is harder than it seems. I stumbled across this site and was very pleased. Cookie responded promptly to my order and customized the charms for me.

If you are in the market for wine glass charms, this is a great site.

My second (third if you count TSA rantings) post on the trip to Alexander Valley.

One of the great things about Alexander Valley is that many of the wineries have tasting rooms in downtown Healdsburg, in fact, they have even set up a Winery Walk (perhaps crawl, would be a better description, especially toward the end :)).

This gave us the opportunity to visit a lot of wineries in a short amount of time and also to check out some of the shops and restaurants.

One of my favorite wineries was Thumbprint Cellars. The lounge was warm and inviting and the wines were, overall, excellent. I also purchased what may be the best waiter corkscrew I have ever gotten from them. It is sturdy and perfectly balanced, with a good feel on the handle. Making it incredibly easy to open bottles (hey, a good wine opener is important, dammit).

The highlight of their tasting was the 2004 threesome. It is a blend of 50% Cabernet Franc, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Syrah. It is an unusual blend, with very bold flavors. Normally in a red-blend a winemaker uses Merlot to help mellow the wine. With no Merlot the flavors of the three varietals are allowed to fully express themselves and you are left with a mouthful of different spices. An excellent wine.




One of the other wineries we visited was Toad Hollow. Sadly, a few days after our visit, the owner of Toad Hollow -- who was working the tasting room the day we visited -- passed away.




Williamson Wines is owned by an Australian couple, and Bill was working the tasting room when we visited. The winery has a heavy focus on red wines and I was especially impressed with a sneak taste we got of their Rouge Amoureux. It is a Meritage blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. It was very drinkable, but feels like it will age even better and smooth out over time. It is not available yet, but I highly recommend it when it is released.

I know me complaining about lack of postings seems a tad...shall we say...hypocritical, but I really enjoyed the postings at Carolyn Crow's Wine Virgin and I hope she posts again soon.

Wine: 2003 Chateau Dufort-Vivens Bordeaux



Review: My Bordeaux consumption tends to drop off in the summer, and increase as the fall approaches. But sometimes I just crave a good Bordeaux, and this was a very good one. This wine is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc and contains 12.5% alcohol.

This is a smokey wine, with strong underpinnings of tobacco. It had strong aromas of cherry and blackberry. Age has mellowed the tannins it was a very drinkable wine. I've read it described as rustic and that is a good adjective.

Price: $28

Grade: 90

We've been doing something kind of fun in the wine club: wine and a movie. The first one was a screening of Sideways paired with Merlot. Last week we paired a series of Australian movies with Shiraz.

I like doing this because you get to sample a wide variety of of wines from different regions, and there is surprisingly little duplication, which makes it even more fun.

For October I was thinking of pairing Hitchcock movies with selections from Bordeaux -- a pairing of complexity :). Any other suggestions for good wine/movie pairing?