Wine Tasting: 2013 Kenneth Volk Pinot Noir

This evening, a 2013 Kenneth Volk Pinot Noir.  I had three bottles of this wine.  I tasted the first one quite some time ago, but didn't record any notes. (I do remember it though)

The second bottle was given away as a gift.  Not my first choice, but he is a Pinot Noir fan and wanted a bottle and this was the only Pinot Noir I had on hand at the time.

Tasting Notes:
Ruby redish with violet hues showing a bit of youth.  Minerals, spices and a splash of red fruit on the nose.  Plum rind, florals, and allspice fill out the juicy flavors with a medium finish.  Strong acidity that requires decanting to soften.

Final Thoughts:
With some age, I believe this could can be much better.  Decanting is an absolute must.  You will be punch-drunk by the acidity if you do not.  Within 30 minutes, the wine opens and burns off the extreme acidity.

Wine Tasting: 2012 Goldeneye Anderson Valley Pinot Noir

Delicious!  Well, I'm getting ahead of myself.  Today's wine is Goldeneye's 2012 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir.

Goldeneye is Duckhorn's upper echelon wine label and as I've clearly already stated.  This wine does not disappoint.  While I haven't yet visited Duckhorn's Vineyard in California.  It is supposed to be one of the more highly rated Vineyards to visit.  Keep that in mind if you plan a visit to Napa Valley.

Tasting Notes:
Caliginously garnet in color, medium bodied with a warming alcohol level. Fruit forward with strawberry and raspberry jam on the nose and cherries, strawberries, and rose petals on the tongue. Very juicy with a long finish and a potent acidity that blends well with the progressive fruit flavors.

Final Thoughts:  I believe I've already made this obvious.  This was in delicious and well worth it's price point. ($40-$45 US)

Wine Tasting: 2013 Ashan Chardonnay, Kestrel Vineyard

Like sands through an hour glass.  So drains the wine from my glass!  Today I am tasting Kestrel Vineyards 2013 Ashan Chardonnay created by winemaker Chris Goman.  Their website states that their vines are the oldest in the state.  (Washington State)

Tasting Notes:
Yellow gold, very faint on the nose. Mostly rubber and citrus though as I noted, the fragrance is quite weak. It's medium bodied, dry with a heavy punch of acidity. Flavors of apricot, lemon, and a touch of grapefruit.

Final Thoughts:
I think the wine has good quality, but not exactly my tastes. It may have had to do with the wine pairng being a shrimp scampi that had a touch of lemon zest competing with it.  I have another bottle.  Next time I will try it without the pairing or find a more suitable pairing for it.

Wine Tasting: 2013 Andrew Murray's Tous les Jours Syrah

I've started Winemaking recently and my first wine is a Barbossa Valley Shiraz.  It's in the secondary fermentation phase now and tomorrow I will be racking it and beginning the clearing phase.  When this happens, I need to top the wine up (fill the container to the top) to keep as much oxygen as I can out of the wine.

So you usually have a choice of three things.  Use marbles, water, or wine to fill up the space.  I don't have marbles (and they can break glass carboys), water will water the wine down.  So, I'm going with using wine!  I purchased this wine to do the top up with.

Anyhow, since I have it.  Why not do an official tasting?

Tasting Notes:
Full bodied and dark ink in the middle with a cranberry color at the edges.  Smells of blueberry and cranberry.  Showing flavors of blackberry and raspberry jam.  Quite smooth with a very long finish that sports a heady acidity.

Final thoughts:  Decent, but not great.  It's probably fine for topping up my homemade wine, but I'm leaning towards using my Schild Estate Shiraz.  It's much better than this offering, but I'm not sure it's going to matter since I'm mixing it with just under six gallons of other wine.

Wine Tasting: 2012 Martinelli Zinfandel Vigneto di Evo

Up to bat this evening is a big Zinfandel.  To be more specific, Martinelli's 2012 Vigneto di Evo Zinfandel.  This wine was crafted by Bryan Kvamme of Martinelli Winery in California's Russian River Valley and 876 cases were produced.

Tasting Notes:
Full bodied and crimson in color.  Scents of rose petals and red fruit.  Adventurous florals and allspice along with hints of black cherry and plum.  Definitely a muscular alcohol (17.2% ABV) though it surprisingly doesn't necessarily daunt the audacious forward flavors.

Final thoughts:
Very bold in the line of some of the great Australian Barbossa Valley Shiraz.  This is a very good wine though definitely not something you would drink everyday.  Something you pull out when guest come by who enjoy bold wines as I do.

Wine Tasting: 2013 Ravines Dry Riesling, Fingler Lakes

Tonight's dinner is Gumbo and for many of my favorite Cajun dishes, a Riesling is my preferred wine pairing.

The wine is Ravines 2013 Dry Riesling from the Finger Lakes region of New York State.  Ravines has been making quite a bit of noise recently for a few of their white wines and that includes their dry Riesling.

Tasting Notes:
Greenish gold and medium plus body. Smooth and juciy with a perfectly matching alcohol level. (12.5% ABV) Scents of citrus, rubber, and green raisins on the nose and semi-tart honeydew and a light lemon zest on the palate. Very good acidity and finish. Nicely balanced wine.

Final thoughts: This is a very good wine.  I try a lot of wines and many are very good, but I don't continue to buy them all.  I can definitely say it will be on my buy list.

Wine Tasting: 2013 Alpha Omega II Chardonnay

Tonight's wine choice was about the dinner pairing.  So the meal selected the wine and that wine is Alpha Omega's "II" Chardonnay.  The meal was broiled Salmon in a Orange and Lime marinade over rice with fresh steamed green beans splashed with garlic and butter herb.

I would talk about the winery, but Alpha Omega is pretty popular due to it's Cabernet Sauvignon.  An introduction probably isn't needed.  If it is, I recommend you pick up a bottle of their Cabernet Sauvignon.  It's worthy of it's price point.

Tasting Notes:
This wine is a smooth medium bodied wine with good acidity that can cut through butter or cream with ease.  It smells of citrus and rubber hose.  On the palate, it shows a rubbery lemon and honeydew impressions with a buttery oak finish.  Very well balanced, this wine is prime structure now.

Final thoughts:  This is a very good Chardonnay.  It's price point is around a quarter of what it's big brother (Cab/Sauv) is and it's definitely a great value wine at around $24 US.  The pairing this citrus wine with a citrus marinated Salmon, hit the spot.