Selections from my favorite Cleveland Suburbs Wine Boutique: Part 1

On By sandysoloIn Storytasting, Wine, wine review1 Comment

Zac’s Mesa, “Z Cuvee,” Santa Ynez Valley, 2012

I discovered this little gem of a wine boutique a few miles from my parents’ house last Christmas. It’s adorable and has a nicely curated inventory of mostly affordable wines. I discovered a Primitivo made in the Appassimento method for under $20 last year and I was sold. The store is also very approachable for the novice in the way it is organized, and they offer wines by the glass and flights. My sister and I stopped in last year a few days before Christmas around lunchtime and had an impromptu daytime tasting flight in-between our last minute shopping stops. Oh, it’s called The West Shore Wine Company.

When I decided to make a last minute visit to Cleveland last Sunday to see the Parents, my first stop Monday was to the West Shore Wine Company.  It was again lunchtime. In my indecision to pick one last wine to add to the 4 I had already set aside, I decided I needed a flight to make my final decision. Duh. I bought 5 bottles and I’ll probably go back before I head back to Philly. This is the first wine of the stash I’ll write about.

This is a GSM blend minus the Syrah. What you talking about Willis? No S? Yeppers. It’s 50% Grenache, 45% Mourvedre, and 5% Cinsault. No Syrah in sight.

If you’ve read my previous posts, you may have noticed I’m a bit obsessed with Mourvedre lately. Grenache is typically not my fave, but the lack of Syrah, the large presence of the M and the affordable price point drew me in quicker than a shoe sale.

The nose is full of dry herbs and minerals and tabacco smoke. It’s also full of dark juicy fruit -blueberries and plums. There is a hint of barrel influence. Like a note of carmel wafts by for a split second but fades away.

But on the tongue it’s much fresher. Raspberries and fresh blueberries coated in a dusting of sage. Medium bodied with some flashy tannins and an herby savory finish.

This wine is pretty cool. It’s so fun and fresh and just cool. The exact opposite of myself in high school. I can’t wait for another sip to see what’s in store

Also I feel like these wine glasses my parents have are a little Game-of-Thronesy. I feel like I should be drinking with Cersei Lannister hoping she didn’t poison me for lusting after the King in the North…

Anyway…

So far so good for my Cleveland Suburbs selections. Everything else in Cleveland has been a shit show this week (if you’re reading this in the future, google what happened in Cleveland on September 29, 2020…) I needed a bright spot. If you do too, grab this wine.

Perfect Autumn Wine

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This is so YUM.

Perfect Autumn Wine Alert! (And available at the PA State Store!)

Gran Pasas, 100% Monastrell, Yecla Spain 2017

First of all it has this fantastic campfire smoke on the nose.  And chocolate. and a hint of vanilla. So basically this is like sitting around a fire eating smores except drinking wine. In fact the fruit is buried by all of these other wonderful aromas, but there is definitely some cherry in there underneath all the decadence.  The nose alone makes me want to put on an oversized sweatshirt, grab a blanket and drink it while curled up outside on a cool and crisp fall evening. I find most Monastrell’s have some sort of smoke on the nose. Sometimes it’s more campfire, sometimes it’s more tobacco. The campfire is my favorite.

The taste is flat out decadent. Ripe blackberry pie with melted chocolate. It’s full bodied and rich, and yet there is enough acid there to hold it up and give it some zip. The fruit is very ripe but not overly so. There are some  tannins there, but nothing too severe.  I can’t describe it any better – sorry I’m not sorry. 

Of course I buried the lead. It’s another Spanish value at $16.99 at the PA State store.

Stock up for Autumn nights!

Quarantine Zins: Mazzacco

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While I’ve been on a Summerwine White kick, I thought I would use this quarantine time to do something other than let my hair grow way too long. I thought I would try some new Cali Zins.

I did some research, got on the waiting list for a few releases later in the year at some well known Zin producers. I found a few that had stock available now and settled on Mazzacco. I ordered 3 bottles, 2 of which were Zins and one being a blend of Zin, Primitivo and Syrah.

Stone Creek

On the nose I’m hit with an unexpected earthiness first. It’s a little barnyardy. Which is very interesting with the jammy dark red fruit. Mostly when I get barnyard it’s a Pinot Noir so it’s immediately followed by slightly underripe red fruit and roses. So this earth jam is throwing me for a delightful loop.

I smell barrel influence by keeping my nose up near the rim of the glass. That’s where I’m getting the carmely slightly cola-ish aromas.

Putting my nose deeper and there’s the earthiness again. Barnyard has given way to funky forest floor the morning after the campfire was put out.

On the tongue it’s a little flat. Like flat cherry cola. Like low acidity flat. It’s not jumping off the tongue with flavors. There is something a bit bitter. I taste alcohol. Like literally. It finishes quicker than this guy I dated once. It just sort of abruptly ends. It doesn’t make me want to have another sip because it’s interesting. I want to take another sip because I’m like, “Where did it go? What happened?”

I gotta say after that nose, I’m a little disappointed in the taste. It’s like a guy who is a really good kisser but highly disappointing at everything after that.

Alexander Valley Stone

Update: At the time of drinking this several weeks after the Stone Creek, I’ve been furloughed by the company I’ve been working at for the past 16 years. I was given one week’s notice. So I’m “tasting” this wine at 2pm on a Thursday afternoon. What else do I have to do?

I decided to let this rest for a while after a quick sniff and taste of alcohol. Like 30 minutes. The alcohol “settled.”

Tar and Blackberries and stone on my nose right away. More stone the second sniff around. The name is making a lot of sense. Lots of wet stone. And more triple-berry pie. A little orange peel surprised me on the third sniff. Then some fresh herbs like parsley followed by menthol (I should really taste wine at 2pm more often. My nose is an afternoon miracle.)

On the tongue, at first it’s like you dropped triple berry pie on a paved street and then took a lick. It is tar berry pie with some bitterness towards the end, like very bitter orange peel. I’m liking it up front but the bitterness at the end disappoints me. I wasn’t expecting it to go out like that. But I do like this better than the Stone Creek.

Vino Rosso, Mendocino, 2013

Lastly, we have the blend. It’s got a bit of aging under its belt. Note: unlike the last one, I am completely sober and it’s a reasonable time on a Sunday evening.

Fig and dark cherries rule the first sniff. Some burnt caramel. There is something very vegetal and I can’t place it at first. Like maybe cooked asparagus? And then I get anise.

Lots of red fruit on the tongue – cherries and berries. This is not “flat” like the others. It’s got decent acidity. I immediately like it the most of the three. It’s some serious candied cherries and I’m not even sure that’s a thing. There is a wee bit of pepper on the end. Pretty smooth tannins. The longer it breathes the stronger the burnt caramel note becomes.

All in all these weren’t my favorite Zins. Although, Tobin James Fat Boy is a lot to live up to. I doubt anything else will live up to it, but I welcome the challenge in trying to find out. I have Bedrock on order and can’t wait until it ships out in October.

111, Red Blend,Navarra, 2017

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What’s the 411 on the 111?

This caught my eye at the PA State Store: a highly rated wine from Navarra, Spain for $8.99. None of that is shocking except for maybe that it was found at a state store. However you can find some value gems if you know what to look for. Of course I went into the store for 3 bottles I needed for an event this weekend and left with 4 additional “impulse purchases,” this included.

It’s 85% Garancha (Grenache) and 15% Cab Sauv. Not my typical go-to. However I have found Navarra intriguing since we covered it in class. I found it to align with the Outback Steakhouse’s motto: No Rules. Just Right.

Experimentation is encouraged in methods and in varietals. I had some very tasty white wine in class that came out of a can. Navarra is not as traditional as it’s close neighbor to the south, La Rioja. and I dig it.

On the nose this wine gives a burst of earth followed immediately by a warmth of blackberries. The dry pizza spice is very pronounced and is wrapped up by some pretty lavender-y floral notes. And I get a hint of black licorice.

On the tongue those dry pizza spice herbs are at the forefront followed by a touch of graphite and almost overripe dark fruit. There is enough acid to hold it up though. Its definitely not flat or close to it. It’s medium-ish in body and there are some light but grippy tannins. It needs some aeration. It expressed itself better after about 30 minutes.

I think the 90 points are indicative of this being pretty accurate to varietal. It’s not my favorite, but better quality than any domestic bottle you can find for $8.99 by miles. It’s could be your jam if you like herby and floral wines, but the aromas are not mine. I’ll gladly finish this glass though.

Wear a Mask Red 2019, Dirty and Rowdy Family Wines

On By sandysoloIn Covid-19 Relief, Storytasting, Wine, wine reviewLeave a comment
Wear a Mask Red!

Last night I attended the monthly Cru Club at the wine school, and the theme this month was “Viral Wines.” Being the rule-follower that I am, of course I tried to take the theme literally and creatively. I had nothing in my current “cellar” that fit the bill, so I thought with a Google search I might be able to find a wine with a virus-sounding name that was hopefully also delicious. What I ended up finding was so much more.

Enter this red blend, aptly named “Wear a Mask Red” from possible the best named winery ever, Dirty and Rowdy Family Wines. $20 from every bottle is donated to a Covid-19 relief fund for Farm Workers. This perfectly fit the Viral theme and helps people in need. I hope in fact this wine does go viral itself so they can raise as much money as possible.

I contacted the winery to make sure it could ship in time for last night’s event. I received a prompt and helpful response from them and the wine did in fact arrive in time. Bonus points to them for the great customer service.

This wine is an intriguing blend of some of my favorite varietals including one that was surprising. It’s 65% Mourvedre (yum), small amounts of Zin, Petite Syrah and Barbera (yum, yum, and yum,) and 20% Chenin Blanc (yum- wait what???)

Blending in white grapes into red wine is so very Northern Rhone, although they use different varietals. But this wine is from California. Intriguing, n’est pas?

My guess is that since the reds used in Wear a Mask Red can get pretty massive, the Chenin Blanc was added to brighten it up and add some acidity. What would this taste like though?

The nose was of some cherries and dark citrus, like blood orange. It was super interesting. The taste was even more interesting. At first it was bright cherries and earthy, followed by some figgy-ness. It seemed to sort of bounce from bright to deep and back to bright. It was delightfully unusual and interesting. It was like a mini journey with every sip. Like driving through scattered thunderstorms on an otherwise sunny summer day. The bright sun is in front of you one minute and a dark and beautiful rain storm cloud the next. and at the end there is always a rainbow.

visit http://www.dirtyandrowdy.com to purchase a bottle or a case and by doing so you will be donating much-needed funds to farm workers affected by Covid-19.

Casa de Pacos, Vinho Verde, Rosé, 2019

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You all should know by now, if you’ve paid attention to this blog or know me personally, that I love Portugal. The fact that I can’t go there right now while I’m on furlough is extra difficult and sad. It is crushing my soul.

I’m coping by drinking as much Portuguese wine as I can. And I gotta say, Portuguese rosé is highly underrated. Screw Provence and its pale and fancy rosé. I mean, I’ll drink it and I like it, but the fact is, the paler the rosé, the less contact it has had with the skins and thus the less flavor concentration.

A more concentrated colored rosé DOES NOT mean it’s more sweet. It may look more like a Jolly Rancher, but it does not taste like one. More fruit does not equal more sugar. But actual fruit has sugar in so it so the presence of fruit aromas in wine can fuck with your mind and taste buds. The next time to you drink any wine, I encourage you to think about the fruit you are tasting minus the sugar. If you’re drinking decent wine, it’s technically dry and either the fruit concentration or the acid level may be mind-fucking you into thinking it’s sweet, which I can almost guarantee you it is technically not. Trust me.

It’s kinda like Riesling. Riesling has notes of honey, but honey without the sugar. It has the flavor of honey, not the sweetness. You have to separate these in your brain. Riesling is delightful if you like the flavor of honey. More specifically, honey-coated granny smith apples. By that description you can see why people think it’s sweet…

Ok, rant over. Let’s get back to rosé. Don’t judge a book by its cover and don’t judge a rosé by its color. OK?

This wine was from my Astor wines shipment. The white Vinho Verde from Casa de Pacos was outstanding, and for $9.96 I don’t know why I didn’t buy a case. https://sandysomm.home.blog/2020/08/04/national-white-wine-day-vinho-verde-loureiro-casa-de-pacos-2019/

Anyway, this rosé smells of sweet and fresh strawberries, with a hint of citrus, like grapefruit rind.

It tastes of strawberries and blood orange, with a medium body feel. This is not light pale Provence rosé. This is medium bodied, ripe strawberry rosé drizzled with blood orange rind syrup. It’s not the best I’ve had but pretty good and pretty delightful.

If you’re looking for a pale, light wine with little fruit concentration this is not your jam. I repeat, this is not your jam. If you want something fruity (NOT SWEET) , and concentrated with a little more body, this is for you. And again, around $10.

Bodegas Ego, “Goru Gold”, Jumilla, 2017

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Lionel’s hair looked oddly like this guy’s before his haircut…

I’m in the middle of writing my final project for my Advanced Spanish Wine class, so of course I got a hankering for something Spanish this evening. So I turned to my current obsession: Monastrell.

This bottle was an impulse purchase at the PA State store. I went there for another wine from Ego, called Infinito. It’s another mainly Monastrell blend that we had in class and I loved it. HIGHLY recommend. I then discovered it was on sale for $16.99. (Gotta love the non-DOCG’s of Spain. ) I saw the Goru Gold with the “93 Point” sticker sitting in a basket near the register, noticed it was from the same producer, and also on sale insanely cheap so I picked up 2 bottles making an assumption I would probably love it.

This is 80% Monastrell, 15% Syrah and 5% Cab Sauv. It’s from Jumilla, an area in Spain known for its Monastrell. I have a feeling when I go there, I’ll need a very large suitcase specifically for all the Monastrell.

This wine starts off on the nose with that Monastrell signature smoky aroma that I love, and then after a few swirls and some oxygen, holy crap this smells like blueberries. A mountain of ripe blueberries. It’s unreal how strongly this smells of blueberries. But then I get some vanilla which turns the blueberry into a blueberry muffin. A perfectly baked, warm, brown sugar topped blueberry muffin. I’m sure there are more scents in there but I don’t even want to find them because the blueberry muffin is divine.

On the tongue, there are definitely berries and a little Syrah spice and some tobacco smoke. The fruit is definitely in the spotlight and delightful, and its blanketed by vanilla. It’s full bodied and the heaviness almost makes you think this is lower in acid, but it’s pretty balanced with that respect.

This is pretty delightful wine. I do like the Infinito better, but I’m very glad I bought 2 bottles of this. Another great Spanish value at around $10. I may become obsessed with blueberries tomorrow…

Torbreck, “The Steading”, Barossa Valley, 2016

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This wine originates with a story that started almost two years ago. The story is not about the wine itself really. But this is a good wine to me because of the memories it conjures up not, because of any aroma it contains or its tannin level.

Roughly 18 months ago, I took a solo vacation to Fiji. You can read about that trip in my travel blog, sandsolo.home.blog, which has been laying sadly dormant since March.

After a few days on the main island at a Westin resort surrounded by mainly families, I took a sea plane navigated by a barefoot pilot to the Paradise Cove Resort. Well actually, the sea plane landed in the middle of the ocean and a dingy from the resort picked me up there. See, the Paradise Cove Resort was on a tiny island and that was in fact the only thing on the island. The island was small enough that you could kayak around the entire island, which I did, very slowly on my last morning,

I had traded in a vacation surrounded by families for a vacation surrounded by couples. It was off season and it was not too crowded at all. That really added to the whole “off the grid” vibe it had going on, being a tiny island in the middle of nowhere with fritzy internet.

Since the resort was the only thing on the island, all meals and activities available were whatever the resort provided. There was a plethora of activities to choose from and I signed up for as many as I could. I visited a village on a nearby island, I went line fishing, I snorkeled right off the beach everyday, and I signed up for Sunset Champagne Tubing. I realized this was going to be a romantic outing for couples, but tubing sounded fun and it had me at “champagne” anyway. I was alone and only had myself to amuse.

To make a long story short, I was tethered in an inner-tube to two couples as we tried to elegantly drink champagne while bobbing up and down in rather rough ocean waves, trying not to spill and have conversations while laughing at how ridiculous the scenario was.

One couple was from New Zealand and I had seen them at the pool enjoying adult beverages at all hours – they were super fun. The other couple was an Australian and a Brazilian who resided in Australia and were two incredibly intelligent woman with great senses of humor to boot. We ended up hanging out a few more nights, keeping the bartending staff up later than they wanted to be. We connected on Social Media and kept it touch after our trip was over. The Aussies constantly tried to convince me to visit them, showing me pictures of single, straight men they knew and dangling the Barossa Valley wine region in front of me ( I definitely will visit them at some point!)

Flash forward to a few weeks ago. I got a message from one of the Aussies asking if I would do a Zoom wine hang out with them for their 15th anniversary of being together. We planned to get the same wine and drink it together. “Would 9:30pm Saturday night work?” Of course it would!

Um, yeah, they meant 9:30pm Melbourne time. Which was 7:30am Philadelphia time. I had agreed to drink with them at 7:30am. I hoped they were ready for morning Jen. (She is not pleasant.)

We agreed to source a California Zin and something from the Barossa Valley, and this Torbreck was a wine we could both get our hands on.

So there I was last Saturday morning, bright and early, no coffee or breakfast, drinking wine with friends on the other side of the world, literally.

I had a blast, followed by a very unproductive afternoon. I was not nearly awake and alert enough to remember anything about this wine.

So I’m trying it again now. It’s a Rhone-style GSM blend, Aussie style.

I definitely get some meatiness on the nose, like steak, covered in oregano. There is also this strange sweat scent, which is odd yet I don’t hate it. Its like sweaty earth and that sounds weird but I stand by it. I also get jammy dark fruit and some choco-cola oak notes.

This wine is not knocking my socks off, but I’m not hating it and it’s certainly interesting. I would drink it again.

I would classify this as good wine though because it’s going to forever remind me of my funny Aussie friends. Once taste will transport me back to one of the few bright spots during the 2020 pandemic when I spent a Saturday morning with good people on the other side of the world who were somehow living the same Covid-19 experience as I was, distracting myself from the horrid state of the union with good wine and even better people.

Cheers, mates.

National White Wine Day! Vinho Verde Loureiro, Casa de Paços – 2019

On By sandysoloIn Portugal, Storytasting, Vinho Verde, Wine, wine reviewLeave a comment

Apparently it is National White Wine Day so clearly a small celebration is in order. My small celebration entails enjoying a white wine from my recently purchased stash from Astor wines in New York. There will be more about Astor wines’ amazing selection and that stash later…. For now let’s focus on this white wine.

Since I have terrible melancholy from the fact that I can’t travel this year and the thought of not traveling until God knows when next year, I had to go to a wine from my favorite country, Portugal. Vinho Verde was on my travel list for this year. Insert sad face here.

All I want right now is to be wandering some Portuguese village street, and stopping for lunch and a glass of Vinho Verde. It’s my summer in Portugal lunch wine. No lunch is complete without it.

I fondly remember being in Lagos a few years ago, stopping in a place called Beats and Burritos for a quick bite. It was a tiny, laid back place, where you ordered at the counter from a menu full of burrito options (duh). Of course they had wine for like $2. It was 95 degrees that day and the Vinho Verde was perfect. It was thirst quenching and complimented my vegetarian burrito nicely.

Those days are temporarily over so I will have to enjoy this in my Philadelphia-suburb apartment sans burrito. Boo.

On the nose I get some lime zest and pineapple and some minerality. There is also this really nice light floral note – like when you catch a whiff of flowers in a summer breeze. It’s faint but it’s there.

Then you taste it: Lime, party of one. Like a tart margarita. Grapefruit joins the party as well. Like a nice, ripe ruby red grapefruit. Then even a little bit of orange. Its a citrus party. But a ripe citrus party. This wine is both fresh and dense with citrus – does that make any sense? It does to me. It has good acidity but it isn’t terribly high in acid.

I could easily drink this whole bottle over the course of a summer afternoon. And by “afternoon” I mean in like a full hour.

And now you’ll discover that I buried the lead: this wine cost $9.96. That’s nine dollars and ninety six cents. It’s under ten dollars.

God, I miss Portugal…

Vina Vilano Bodegas, 2013, Ribera del Duero Reserva

On By sandysoloIn Spanish Wine, Storytasting, Wine, wine reviewLeave a comment

I completed my semester of Advanced Spanish Wine last week and am in serious withdrawal. To combat this, I purchased a boat load of Spanish wine from various stores and online retailers. I was already in love with Priorat prior to taking this class but now I have a full on crush on practically every wine region in Spain. If anything, it has given me a greater appreciation for higher acidity. I’m definitely a reserva girl though. Enter this 100% Old Vine Tempranillo from Ribero del Duero.

The minerals in the nose are fantastically interesting and prominent. Then it gets a little earthy and there is a hint of menthol. Like you buried some Vic’s Vapor Rub in some dirt and topped that off with wet stones. Then finally some dark fruit, like blackberry and plumb jam. Then to my surprise and delight at the top of the glass there is a light floral note. I did not see that coming. I could smell this all night.

The dark fruit on the tongue is cut short as the acid strikes, but then they blend together seamlessly. It’s both fresh and dark. And then cocoa covered earth. Like you mixed unsweetened baking cocoa with some dirt and you loved it. It’s cool and mysterious. It’s so not my normal jam but maybe I needed a new tune.

The aging standards of a Reserva have matured the acids right into a sweet spot.

I think I found my summer romance.

Te quiero, Ribera del Duero Reserva.