The Grape Crusader Has Moved

We apologize for not being more consistent with the posting of our wine reviews in the past month or so.  I’ve been busy juggling my search for a day job while also making changes to my night job by setting up a new home base for this blog.

With that, here is the new url and web address for The Grape Crusader blog.

www.grapecrusaderblog.com/Home

You’ll see a few aesthetic changes to the blog, but not much, for now at least.  The biggest change and the main reason why I’ve switched to a different platform is that our new home now allows us to place advertisements on the blog.  The blog is definitely a labor of love and a hobby for us, and all we expect from any advertising revenue we receive are resources to support our..ahem..sipping habits, which in turn provide you, our loyal readers with these independent wine reviews.

We’ll be doing our best to minimize the advertising clutter so the content, not the ads are what stand out on the front page.

I do hope you continue to read and enjoy the wine reviews and we appreciate your continued visits to the The Grape Crusader blog.

 

Wine Review – 2006 Domaine de Montrieux Pineau D’Aunis “Le Verre des Poetes”, Loire Valley, France

Winery: Domaine de Montrieux, Emile Heredia

Bottling: 2006 Pineau d’Aunis “Le Verre des Poetes”

Importer: Metropolis Wine Merchants

Region: France

Sub-Region: Loire Valley

Estimated Retail Price: $20

Purchase Details: Purchased for around $20 from Arlequin Wine Merchant in Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco, California.

Tasting Notes: In the glass, crimson and violet hues.  Not too much of a perceptible aroma or nose.  I get a little bit of plum, blueberry and an aroma that’s almost synthetic in nature.  In the mouth, the wine is not very expressive as far as fruit flavors go.  It’s a little more mineral and dirt driven.

The intriguing thing about this wine are the flavors I’m getting on the very impressionable finish.  Its a very floral, and again, very synthetic in nature flavor that reminds me of some sort of chemical.  Some minty, herbal flavors are also present.  The wine is very dry and has a very firm and austere mouth-feel.

The wine was a lot more drinkable on the second day and still had a very fresh flavor to it as if it had only been opened a few hours before.

 

Wine Review – 2007 Palmina Barbera, Santa Barbara, California

Winery: Palmina Wines

Bottling: 2007 Barbera Santa Barbara County

Region: California

Sub-Region: Santa Barbara

Estimated Retail Price: $22

Purchase Details: Purchased for $20 plus tax from Blackwell’s Wines & Spirits in the Richmond District neighborhood of San Francisco, California.

Tasting Notes: In the glass, I’m staring at a pretty dark and opaque ruby red hue.  On the nose, the wine smells fresh and alive.  Aromatic scents of lavender, dried thyme, red fruits and raspberries.  In the mouth, wow!  Again the wine just feels alive.  Flavors of red and blue fruits like pomegranate, raspberries and blueberries tango in my mouth. (geez that was cheesy).  A tart, but fleshy finish ends the ride.

A well-balanced wine that really drinks well now, but could definitely cellar for a few years.  Absolutely delicious!  That’s the best way to sum up the flavor experience with the 2007 Palmina Barbera.

 

Weekly Under $20 Value Wine Pick – 2008 Le Saint Andre de Figuiere vin de Pays du Var Rose

Winery: Saint Andre de Figuiere

Bottling: 2008 Le Saint Andre Vin de Pays du Var Rose (Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Cinsault & Grenache)

Importer: Paul M. Young Fine Wines

Region: France

Sub-Region: Vin de Pays du Var

Estimated Retail Price: $14

Purchase Details: Purchased from Solano Cellars in Albany, California for $13.50.

Tasting Notes: Very pale coral and salmon hue in the glass.  On the nose, delicate aromas of roses and mineral.  In the mouth and interestingly enough, this rose has flavors that are more reminiscent of white wines.  Apples and white peaches are the main flavors I remember tasting.  Unripe Safeway strawberries added actual rose flavors.  A very light-weight mouth feel and a crisp, dry finish complete the wine.

 

Wine Review – 2008 Chateau Trinquevedel Rose, Tavel, France

Unfortunate zuchinni in the background, awaiting their fate.

Winery: Chateau Trinquevedel

Bottling: 2008 Tavel Rose

Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchants

Region: France

Sub-Region:  Tavel, Southern Rhone Valley

Estimated Retail Price: $17

Purchase Details: Purchased directly from Kermit Lynch Wine Merchants in Berekeley, California for around $17.

Tasting Notes: In the glass, a saturated and intense, dark pink hue.  On the nose, ripe red stone fruits and ripe strawberries.  In the mouth, flavors of ripe strawberry and spice.  The wine is firm, rich and juicy and has a dry tea like, but surprisingly refreshing finish.  Although the fruit takes center stage here, the wine never seems heavy or cloying and retains a nice fresh quality.

I’m not sure what the grape make up is on this particular Tavel, but the grapes that are typically used include grenache, syrah, cinsault, mouvedre and carignan (not to exceed more than 10%).  Also, not one grape can exceed more than 60% of the blend.

 

Family Winemakers Recap

The day's specials at the Hendry table.

I know its been several days since the Family Winemaker’s public tasting event, so I apologize for not having my summary posted in a more timely manner.  Believe it or not, one can actually be pretty busy when you’re unemployed.

I tasted a lot of wines and had a lot fun chatting with proprietors, winemakers and sales managers alike.  The event was great and considering the size of the tasting, was very well organized.  The only negative aspect of the tasting was that I wasn’t able to taste everything there.  I know it was an impossibility, but I always go into these events with the hopes of covering everything.  My goal is to always try more new wineries than ones that I’m already familiar with, but its always tough when you walk by the familiar booths and feel the pull to revisit the wines you already know, so I definitely spent some time re-tasting some perennial favorites.

Yours truly doing his best to juggle the writing and tasting.

Here are most of the wineries whose wines I tasted and enjoyed.  I tried to keep good notes and keep everything in order, but its tough when you’re trying to juggle a clipboard, event guide, glass, pen and spit cup.  Somehow I managed, with the help of my lovely assistant of course.

 

Wine Review – 2007 Charles Joguet “Cuvee Terroir” Chinon, Loire Valley, France

Winery: Charles Joguet

Bottling: 2007 Cuvee Terroir

Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchants

Region: France

Sub-Region: Loire Valley, Chinon

Estimated Retail Price: $18

Purchase Details: Purchased from Kermit Lynch Wine Merchants in Berkeley, California for approximately $17.

Tasting Notes: In the glass, such a beautiful pure color of red and blue hues.  On the nose, wonderful perfumed and sweet aromas of berries, lavendar and spice.  In the mouth, you immediately sense how lively and refreshing the acidity of the wine is, as the fruit flavors seem to come alive.  I taste red and blue fruits like blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and cherries.  The wine is medium-bodied and has just enough tannins to keep the stuffing in place, and they’re also soft enough so one can enjoy this bottling early in its life.

 

Wine Review – 2007 Costa di Bussia Dolcetto D’Alba, Piemonte, Italy

Winery: Costa di Bussia

Bottling: 2007 Dolcetto D’Alba

Importer: Siena Imports

Region: Italy

Sub-Region: Piemonte

Estimated Retail Price: $12

Purchase Details: Purchased for $24 on a restaurant wine menu at Pizetta 211 in the Richmond neighborhood of San Francisco, California.

Tasting Notes: In the glass, saturated red and purple hues.  On the nose, aromas of sweet oak, spice and red and blue fruits.  In the mouth, loads of cherries, plums and sweet spice.  There’s also a strong “grapey” quality to the wine.  Fine and velvety tannins, a medium body and palate-cleansing acidity on the finish make this a real joy and wonderful quaffer of a wine.

 

Wine Review – 2006 Vineyard 29 “Cru” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California

Winery: Vineyard 29

Bottling: 2006 “Cru” Cabernet Sauvignon

Region: California

Sub-Region: Napa Valley

Estimated Retail Price: $50 – $60

Purchase Details: Purchased for $51.99 plus tax at K&L Wine Merchants in San Francisco, California.

Tasting Notes: A beautiful dark, pure garnet with some blue hues.  On the nose, sweet pencil lead, cherries, berries and herb.  In the mouth, this wine is unbelievably lush, dense chewy and concentrated.  A creamy, creme de cassis undertone, with minty herb on the extremely long finish.  The wine has a firm structure, with tannins that definitely signal that the wine could use some cellaring, but they are also velvety enough to allow for early drinking.  This is a very well-made, clean and polished wine.  A little much for me, but still a delicious and balanced effort.

 

Winery Visit – Quivira Vineyards

They were open when we arrived; we got there just in time for last call.

Quivira Vineyards holds a special place in our hearts, as it was one of the first wineries we happened upon early on in our wine country adventures.  When ever we traveled to the wine country, we usually traveled with a very loose plan of where to visit; sometimes we didn’t even have a plan.  It was always a lot of fun to leave things to chance and see where we would end just by driving around aimlessly, while enjoying the beautiful scenery.

View of the "green" building from the parking lot.

Quivira was one of those wineries we just happened upon while driving around aimlessly.  Unfortunately, many wineries today require appointments, so some pre-planning is necessary.  Fortunately it’s still a place where you can still drop by their tasting room unannounced to sample their wonderful bio-dynamically produced wines.  The winery is located on Dry Creek Road and is tucked into the hills on the Western side of the valley.