Sip Notes: Mettler 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon

Mettler 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon

  It was a pleasure to spend time last week with Richard Morgenstern, director of national sales and marketing for Mettler Family Vineyards. Richard is a wine industry veteran who tells the Mettler story with pride and commitment - and he also has plenty of other industry tales that we wine geeks love to hear.

  I was very familiar with Mettler's Zinfandel - but honestly could not recall tasting the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon. Interestingly, Cab is the Mettler flagship - it's the varietal with which the family has the most experience and the wine that drives the portfolio.

  Fruit for this easy to enjoy wine comes from Lodi - Cabernet isn't just the domain of Napa Valley any longer.

  The nose is pungent with dark fruit (blackcurrant, purple plums, black cherry) with easing hints of the aromas we associate with a well-balanced oak regimen; vanilla, coffee, comforting woodiness. Take a sip and you'll see why at around $22 this wine is such a sensation - it's full, velvety and seductively enjoyable. The restraint and balance of this wine far exceeds its price tag - it's a wine that under promises and over delivers!

  The third leg of the Mettler range - a Petite Sirah - is sold out. I'm anxious to taste the next vintage - if it compares to the Cab, it is certainly worth the wait. While poking around the website, I found this tasty-sounding recipe for short ribs with wine and porcini - a perfect pairing for this wine! MSRP $22. 

91 Points: "A wine drinker's dream: Affordable, approachable, and ready-to-drink. Balance is the hallmark of this Mettler flagship that is homage to the delicious fruit coming from Lodi. Luscious, seductive, velvety."

Read the definitions of my scoring standards here.

Ahoy! Sam Adams launches an ambitious new India Pale Ale

By Chuck Mobley 

  A confession: I’ve long considered myself an IPA purist, one of those haughty sorts who ignores the most recent American variations of this venerable beer that dates back to Britain in the early 1800s.

  But now, thanks to Sam Adams’ Whitewater IPA¸ I’ve jumped into the same style-stretching boat as the DIPA and Black IPA enthusiasts.
  One of several new brews introduced this year by Jim Koch and his busy staff, Whitewater fuses the flavors of a Belgian Witbier with those of an American IPA. It boasts 60 IBUs (international bitterness units), the same as Dogfish Head’s iconic 60-Minute IPA, and thus produces strong citrus notes. But, it adds spicy Witbier elements such as coriander, along with a subtle touch of apricots, to the mix.
  The result is a long, multi-layered and pleasant tasting experience. I found the hop notes to be slightly dominant, but other reviewers have said they found the wheat elements to be the most defined.
  Though the debate is ongoing on its characteristics, there is little doubt of its success. Initially one of the choices in Sam Adams’ spring mixed 12-pack, Whitewater is now available year round in a six-pack.

Buy this if: You’re a fan of IPAs and Witbiers.

Leave it on the shelf if: You’re convinced that an IPA must be a hop bomb.

Stats and Sites: $8.29 for a six-pack at Habersham Beverage; 197 calories for each 12-ounce serving; graded an 84 by beer advocate.com (based on 125 reviews); go to samueladams.com for more information.

Sip Notes: Luigi Bosca Malbec Riserva 2009

Luigi Bosca Malbec Riserva 2009

  It is difficult to find a Malbec that is not - even at it's most minimal - an enjoyable sipping wine.

  However, take 100 years of experience with the Argentinian winescape, add in a devoted family that still owns and runs its operations and you'll come away with Malbecs that are consistently remarkable, true to varietal and without a doubt among the finest values for South American Malbec in the marketplace. This is the Malbec that other Argentinian winemakers drink.

  Those are my words, but the thoughts echo customers of whom I've sampled Luigi Bosca Malbec over the past several weeks. I've converted devout Cabernet Sauvignon drinkers, wine lovers whose tastes run toward tart whites and BTG drinkers who have now made the jump from house brands to a slightly higher priced option - because it's just that good.

  This 100 percent Malbec begins life as grapes hanging from 50 year-old vies - in three choice bodega vineyards: Finca "La Linda," Vistalba and Mendoza.

  Inhale. Yes, that's spices, lush red fruit and pleasant undertones of oak. Swirl, smell again and gently pour the wine over your palate. The fruit presents gently and the oak, while present, is a part of the story - not a blockbuster scene.
   This is Malbec that is balanced, silky and well made. My Cab drinkers like it because of the structure and balance - no astringent tannins to cloud the taste buds. My white wine drinkers like it because of the spice and the fruit. It finishes bright and clean - leaving you longing for that next sip. MSRP 22.99.

93 points: "There is so much to like about this highly accessible Argentinian Malbec: Family heritage, careful winemaking and a truly balanced and perfectly structured wine."

Read the definitions of my scoring standards here.

Two from the road: Wines I loved at the High Museum Wine Auction Trade Tasting

ROCO 2009 Private Stash Pinot Noir

  Corby Stonebraker-Soles is a delightful brand ambassador for this Oregon vineyard - she and her husband, Rollin, own the property and Rollin is the wine maker.

I was particularly enamored by Private Stash, an estate grown Pinot Noir from ROCO's Wits' End Vineyard in the Chehalem Mountains.

  The wine is full and rich with hints of blackberry and spicy cinnamon and pepper - the flavors release over time, bringing complexity that reveals a treat with each sip. The wine finishes rich, pleasantly long and layered. This is a wine that is so good that words fall short of expressing just exactly how good it drinks. It's depth and complexity should continue to develop for another couple of years.

  This is silky, exquisite, premium Pinot Noir - a real hallmark expression of Oregon Pinot. With less than 150 cases made it's a rare, annual taste of wine making at its best. MSRP $70.

98 points: "A near perfect expression of Oregon Pinot at its very best - silky, complex and succulent!"

Elizabeth Spencer 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

  Spencer Graham is the winemaker behind the labels that bear a combination of his and his wife's name -- Elizabeth Spencer. This is truly a partnership of a couple who grew up in the wine industry and now fulfill their dream by making classic Napa wines from their Rutherford-based tasting room.

  Spencer whet his wine palate as a boy growing up in South America. Such a long-standing affinity for wine has produced a wine maker whose skills and attention to details allow minimal interference with the natural process of fermenting wine from premium grapes.

  This '09 Cab from the Napa Valley is genuinely traditional mountainside fruit that benefited from one of the last good weather years in the valley. Yields had just begun to drop from previous vintages, due to weather, but the fruit sustained the challenge. 60 barrels were produced.
  The hand-crafted blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, and 1% Cabernet Franc has fruit from first-rate growers in St. Helena, Howell Mountain, Yountville, Oakville, Rutherford and Mount Veeder, some of Napa Valley's most prestigious districts.  

  Inhale deeply, yeah, that's violets and ripe berry fruit. Flavors of a market basket of red fruit washes across the plate and - bang! - explodes on the mid-palate. The finish is lingering, tempting a rush to another sip. Be patient, this big Cab will evolve in the glass as you savor its gentle giant character.
   Give this wine plenty of air - and expect more development in the bottle over the next three-to-four years. I would certainly anticipate this wine drinkable through 2019. MSRP $37.

98 points: "A bodacious Napa Cab that expresses the natural beauty of the grape - luxurious, classic and perfectly balanced."

Read the definitions of my scoring standards here.