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Madrigal Vineyards, 2003 Zinfandel, Napa Valley

There’s a reason California producers use the Zinfandel grape to make blush wines, although I’m not sure there’s a good reason to drink it. The fruit forward grape has a high propensity towards sugar, making it ideal for producing the slightly sweet, pink wine enjoyed by so many Americans. But there is an added benefit to all that sugar and fruit: big jammy reds that are well balanced even with their high alcohol…

During fermentation, yeast eats sugar and creates alcohol as a byproduct, so juice with higher sugar can be used to produce higher alcohol in wine. Zinfandel is frequently thought of as having about the highest alcohol content of most wines, frequently over 14% and sometimes as high as 16%+. Madrigal’s 2003 Zin was relatively modest at 13.9%, though I could still pick up alcohol pretty strongly on the nose until the wine had some time to open up.

The wine is a combination of red and black berry on the nose, with a slight hint of white pepper. Lush in the mouth, the palate is of spiced cherries with gentle acidity on the finish. The wine is medium to full bodied, not to spicy like some overly peppery Zins, but never dull or excessively earthy either. 50% new oak imparts some mild smoky character and tannin; just enough to compliment the fruit forward nature of this wine. Rich and silky smooth, this wine is drinking well now and will remain delicious and well balanced through 2010.

This wine is nearly 100% Zinfandel, sourced from Mancini Vineyard and Madrigal Estate in Calistoga, with less than 10% being Petite Sirah and Cabernet. Pairing Zin is easy, as is goes well with any hearty meal. Try it with smoky dishes, especially those with spicy-sweet seasoning. Game like venison and boar go well, along with sharp cheeses. I sipped a glass with a nice, slow burning, robusto cigar.

My experience with Madrigal’s wines has been that they are generally very good values, even with prices reaching upwards of $50. You should be able to find this bottle for under $30, so pick one up and discover what Zinfandel was truly intended for.

Bonny Doon ‘Le Cigare Blanc’, 2003, Central Coast, California

If you’re tired of wines made by stuffy, run-of-the-mill winemakers, well Randal Grahm is the guy for you. He’s a little nutty, but his wines are top notch. Currently, his Ca del Solo vineyard in Monterey is dedicated mainly to developing Italian inspired reds and whites, but as a younger man his main interests lied more in the realm of Rhone varietals….

The whites of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, an area of the southern Rhone in France, were the inspiration for this mostly Roussanne blend. The small amount of Grenache blanc adds the floral notes to the stony minerality of the Roussanne. This wine is a treat on the nose and palate. White peach and apricot are the dominant fruits, while honeysuckle and rose are perhaps the most apparent aromatics. Mainly stainless steel conditioned, with some neutral oak, this wine is clean and fruit forward.

Shellfish for seafood, foul for meat and brie for cheese, mild foods are the way to go when pairing this wine. Honestly, I recommend this wine be consumed unaccompanied. All the eating interferes with the drinking and buzz development.

I love Rhone wines, red and white, and Randal Grahm has helped me see that these particular blends need not be from France to be enjoyable. They say the most eccentric men are frequently the most brilliant as well. If the quality of his wine speaks to his intelligence, then he must be crazy. Check out his website for a laugh, and check out The Iron Bridge Wine Company for his wines: $20.

Bogle Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, California, 2004

Pinot Noir has enjoyed an increased level of popularity, at the expense of Merlot, since the movie ?Sideways? was released. It?s a versatile grape, capable of a variety of characteristics, but it?s generally considered to be a light bodied red with low acid and subtle, soft tannins. From Burgundy to Oregon, New Zealand to California, this grape is being grown world wide; even Tasmania has Pinot vines.

In honor of this wine’s love affair with cinema, I opted to sneak it into a movie along with a little food from our neighborhood Cheesecake Factory. The movie was Pirates of the
Caribbean 2 and the food was plain old chicken fingers. A friend of mine swears by the pairing of buttered popcorn with Pinot Noir, so we gave that a whirl as well. Not bad combos all around, though I think some roasted duck breast with fingerling potatoes and a pesto cream sauce would truly have been perfect.

Throughout the flick I noticed the wine?s nose had distinct hints of paper cup and dirty movie theater, but upon later inspection from a proper Riedel glass I picked up the expected floral aromatics of rose petals and lilacs. Even with 12 months in oak, the well balanced toasty flavors did nothing to overpower the deep cherry fruit. This Pinot finished surprisingly long, lingering on the palate with heavy fruit giving way to tobacco and rich leather. They wouldn?t let me smoke in the theater, but a petit demitasse cigar would have been a nice addition to the experience.

Certainly approachable, but never boring, this wine is a deal at under $20.

Staglin Family Vineyard Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford, Napa Valley, 2002

20th Anniversary Selction 

Working at the most well respected wine bar in one of the richest counties in the country certainly carries its little perks. My favorite of these is the opportunity to taste all of my friendly neighborhood millionaires’ leftovers. Normally I wouldn’t shell out the $150 for this wine unless I was planning on putting it in my cellar, but since I didn’t have to, please enjoy the following review.

This wine is a big wine from a big vintage in Napa. First impressions on the nose are the characteristic dusty, earthy Rutherford bouquet, along with dark fruits like plum, cassis and black raspberry. Blueberries and mushrooms on the palate give way to a long finish of chocolate covered cherries, pipe tobacco and black tea. All new French oak imparts a distinctive roasty, toasty caramel flavor in this wine. While the tannins are apparent, and the wine was a little tight, it did open nicely in a decanter and the glass. The true solution to this is the 12 to 15 years in the cellar this wine needs.

As for pairing, this is a big wine and requires some big food. Beef and portabella stroganoff is my first thought, perhaps followed by a hunk of stinky stilton. I wish I’d had a pipe handy to accompany this wine, but I settled for a short, fat torpedo Padron cigar. Both the wine and cigar were anniversary selections which I thought was cool.

Bottom line, this wine is well worth the price tag. Open it for a special occasion; just wait a decade or more.