Kunde Family Estate 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma Valley

March 21, 2012

Matt $11-$20 Price Point, 2008, Cabernet Sauvignon, Kunde Family Estate, Next-Wine-Please!, Sonoma , , Leave a comment

The Wine:

Kunde Family Estate 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma Valley

Not all grapes and subsequent wines they produce are equal. Typically wineries have 2-3 tiers of wine varying in qualities and prices. Barrels which don’t make the ‘reserve’ or ‘select’ wines are usually bottled in a more mass produced offering – these are very often the price point wines which make it to grocery store shelves. Without a doubt the Kunde Family Sonoma Valley Cab is their lower end, more mass produced tier. I’ve had several of their ‘premium’ offerings ($25-$35) from  Kunde and enjoyed them, so I was looking forward to trying their more widely available, $13 price point wine.

The Experience: 

Color: Very deep purple – looks very young still.

Nose: Jammy dark plum, earth, some ‘dustiness’, olives, and a little vanilla.

Palate: The same as the nose but really not that enjoyable due to a disjointing harshness between the elements. On the second day, the finish of the wine really took on a bitter quality. Over extracted seed tannin?

Bottom Line:  Next-Wine-Please

At the $13 price point, I think I would consider trying another vintage of this wine or look elsewhere on the shelf. I’m pretty sure this is or close to, ‘last run-juice’. (The last juice from the grape press which is typically less fruity, more tannic) I think you could find more value at the $7-$10 price point or a significantly better wine for $20-25. But I would encourage you to try other Kunde Family Estate wines.



Lance and Windmill 2006 Petite Syrah – Stag’s Leap

March 14, 2012

Matt $11-$20 Price Point, 2006, Buy-A-Case, Napa Valley, Petite Sirah, Stag's Leap 22 Comments

The Wine:

Lance and Windmill 2006 Petite Syrah

Stop what you’re doing. Go to Trader Joe’s and get this wine. A legit $60 dollar wine for $15. (ok, they relabeled it, but the crew cap is the same and the cellar name is “Q Cellars”) This a diamond in the rough. From what I’m reading over at fellow wine blogger Jason’s Wine Blog, and my Dad who looked for this wine at his local TJs, this wine is already out of supply, so get moving!

Ignore the screw cap. This is top quality Petite Sirah. (Oddly, they spell it Petite Syrah, could there be some Syrah in this wine?!) Having worked at a winery which produces amazing Petite Sirah (and Syrah!), I’ve come to love this tannic monster – especially with some years of bottle age to mellow out but pack a punch.

The Experience:

Color: Very inky – deep garnet, plum.

Nose: Dark blueberries, mushrooms, earth, oak – power

Palate: This is what makes great wine great, you experience so many different components – blueberries, boysenberries, earth, mushrooms, oak/vanilla. You can’t quite put your finger on what you’re experiencing, so you sip more. And more… This wine packs extremely fine tannins which coat your mouth and beg for this food to be paired with some big foods or will live for quite a while in a cellar. Simply awesome.

Bottom Line: Buy-A-Case (before I do!)

It might be a long while before Trader Joe’s gets another deal like this in. If you like big, bold wines – this is it! If you have friend or family member who buy expensive wines they will be shocked to learn what you paid for this, $15! It’s a bummer to see a quality producer having to move some inventory like this, but it’s hard to complain about reaping the benefits! What did you think of this wine?



Buena Vista 2008 Pinot Noir Carneros

March 7, 2012

Matt $10 Price Point, 2008, Buena Vista, Buy-A-Case, Carneros AVA, Pinot Noir , , , 2 Comments

Buena Vista 2008 Pinot Noir Carneros

The Wine:
What do you get when you combine Napa and Sonoma counties? Los Carneros AVA, nestled at the base of the two world famous wine regions. Carneros is the first AVA to be defined by its [cool] climate rather than geography. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay thrive in cool climate, foggy environments, generally resulting in wines with bright acidity. It’s no wonder why so many sparking wine producers have set up shop in this AVA. With so much wine on the market, sometimes a $24 bottle of wine finds itself at $10 on the shelves of Trader Joe’s. Awesome, just the kind of wine I want to try!

The Experience: 

Color: A lighter, translucent garnet, ruby red.

Nose: Earthy, earthy, earthy! Mushrooms, minerals, slightly vegetal, some dark berries and as the wine is exposed to air, the oak barreling becomes more pronounced, but in balance.

Palate: Layers of earthiness, some dark fruit, toasted oak, with very bright minerality and acidity. Balanced and NICE!

Bottom Line: Buy-A-Case

Here’s a wine which will introduce new Pinot drinkers to the flavors, lightness yet presence good Pinot can and should have. I’ve tasted Pinots 3x’s the price which don’t show the balance and layers this wine does. If you’re a Pinotphile, you’ll wow your friends with this wine (for $10!!!) and it will make a comendable ‘second bottle’ or wet your whistle for a good Pinot on a Tuesday night. What did you think of this wine?



The Cult of Cocobon

December 29, 2011

Matt Uncategorized 6 Comments

It’s time to call on the TJs Wine Notes faithful followers.

Does anyone still have a bottle of Cocobon 2009?

It’d be awesome if you opened and tasted that wine next to the 2010 vintage. I’d really like to read your notes and observations. The Cult of Cocobon has brought more than a handful of the 65,000+  visitors to my site. Clearly, people are curious about this wine and drinking it (a lot). Hopefully reading this blog has made you feel more comfortable about talking about wine, so here’s your opportunity, post your tasting notes below. The Cult of Cocobon wants to hear from you!

Be sure to also ‘Like’ and follow the dialouge on the TJsWineNotes Facebook Page.

-Matt

Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve 2009 Meritage Napa Valley

December 28, 2011

Matt $11-$20 Price Point, 2009, Buy-Half-A-Case, JBA Cellars, Meritage, Napa Valley, Trader Joe's Exclusive, Trader Joe's Grand Reserve 4 Comments

Trader Joe's Grand Reserve Meritage 2009 Napa Valley

The Wine: One of my first wine reviews was of the 2008 Grand Reserve Meritage. And to be honest, it was the wine which got me to cross the Rubicon and start this blog. Trader Joe’s has some wines worth talking about. I was excited to see Trader Joe’s kept its relationship with it’s ‘super’ source in Napa Valley for a sequel vintage of Meritage. This wine must have been a success and there is now a choice between a 750ml bottle and 1.5 litre (two bottle) Magnum for the 2009 vintage. But 2009 presented some challenges to Napa Cab growers. Two storms in October presented a fork in the road and wineries/vineyards had only two choices: Let the fruit hang and risk rot/mold or harvest not fully ripened Cabernet Sauvignon. Will this wine live up to the great 2008?

(A quick refresher, a Meritage is a proprietary blend of Bordeaux grapes – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, etc… Click here for more info.)

The Experience: *Wine was decanted by Menu aerator - it wasn’t a sample.

Color: Fairly deep purple/garnet – young.

Nose: Kinda wound up and not offering up too much. Some dusty notes, dark fruit – but oddly, no real noticeable barrel tones. (Vanilla, espresso, wood, etc…) The austerity and non-’green’ or ‘black olive’ components to this wine are leading me to believe this is not a Cabernet Sauvignon dominant blend, Merlot or Malbec dominant perhaps? Is this wine from grapes which were harvested too early?

Palate: Like the nose, austere. Some young and grippier tannins, and not really fruit driven. Typical dark berries, but toned way down. It’s clearly a younger wine. There was even a very noticeable lack of barrel tones to this Napa Valley wine, which was a nice treat. The alcohol heat was also rather in check at 14.30%. Balanced for the most part, but lacking distinguishing features.

Bottom Line: Buy-Half-A-Case

I like’d the 2008 more. BUT! This wine has ‘super’ origins from Napa Valley, literally. I’m giving this recommendation to someone who likes pricer wines ($20+) and is searching for a suitable Tuesday night wine or a’second’ or ‘bottle that isn’t going to break the bank at $13. I had this wine along side some $45+, 93-94 Robert Parker point wines and its lack of ‘great’ concentration showed, but it wasn’t a total wash out by any means. The 2010 Cocobon however… no one revisited it. It’s holiday time, people are opening nicer and additional bottles of wine, this should seriously be a wine to consider.

Wine Tech Stuff: 43% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Saugvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot and 5% Malbec.

**Note: I revisited the 2008 Meritage over the holidays; it’s drinking quite nicely but starting to lose structure. It should be drank in the next 12-18 months.


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