Tonight’s wine is from MacMurray Ranch, where they love Pinot. They only produce Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. In case you don’t already know, Pinot Gris is a) another name for Pinot Grigio and b) is related to Pinot Noir. Both grapes, being relatives, are cool-climate varieties. But of course, Pinot Gris is lighter skinned than Pinot Noir.
Pinot Grigio is, at it’s roots, the Italian name for the variety, but a number of producers from other regions have started using the Pinot Grigio name. Whether it’s called Pinot Gris or Pinot Grigio, wines made from this grape can vary stylistically and the Pinot Grigio name is often used to denote wines that are much lighter and less fruity—stylistically consistent with the Italian Pinot Grigio. The style of this Pinot Gris from MacMurray is much more fruity and exciting, deserving of the Pinot Gris nomenclature.
Straw colored, this is a little darker than most Pinot Grigio/Gris in the tasting lineup where I took these notes. The nose has a nice spicy and floral characteristic. It’s almost herbal, like arugula and lemon, with a hint of pear and apple. The palate brings intense fruit flavors (well, intense for a Pinot Gris) and strong acidity. Apple, pear, lemon and honeydew melon flavors make this quite enjoyable. Melon, lemon and a hint of peach linger on the finish.
At $20, this is at the upper-end of our price range, but I found this to be a good wine.
Wine: MacMurray Ranch
Variety: Pinot Gris
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 13.9%
Rating: 88
Price: $20.00
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I’ve been slacking on the new posts for the past week, as I’ve been regrouping after the Wine Blogger’s Conference. But finally, yesterday I pulled together some wines I had in the tasting queue and did a blind tasting with a number of Pinot Grigio wines. Over the next few posts, I’ll share those reviews and a summary to give you a quick reference for a few Pinot Grigios.
The first wine that was in my tasting is the first one I’m posting a review about, and actually I’ll do a couple wines in this review since two in my tasting were related. First up is The Sopranos Pinot Grigio, an Italian PG that is produced via a partnership between Visuvio Wine Import Company (named after a restaurant in the series), licensing with HBO and winemakers in Italy. There are two different Pinot Grigios available under the Sopranos label and both of them were part of my tasting.
The Sopranos Pinot Grigio
The entry-level Pinot Grigio under The Sopranos label comes from Provincia di Pavia, a region in central northern Italy that produces mostly white wines and Pinot Noir. This Pinot Grigio has an extremely light color, not uncommon for the variety. The aromas are light, but the most pronounced aromas a a soft honeysuckle, and a slight nutty aroma. There’s also a hint of white peach and apple. The palate has medium acidity with lemon and apple flavors up front, but lacks concentration. In general, I don’t expect much concentration from an Italian Pinot Grigio, but this was a little less than I expect. The finish brings a hazelnut flavor along with honeysuckle.
Wine: The Sopranos
Variety: Pinot Grigio
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 12%
Rating: 84
Price: $10.99
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The Sopranos Pinot Grigio Friuli
The other Pinot Grigio under The Sopranos label comes from Friuli, one of the prized white wine regions in the northeastern corner of Italy. While Friuli is known for it’s exceptional white wines, this particular wine doesn’t come from the best part of Friuli. The grapes in this wine are from the Grave region, where the wines are typically lighter and less elegant than those from the best parts of Friuli. Nonetheless, this Pinot Grigio is a clear step up from the entry-level Sopranos Pinot Grigio.
It’s almost watery color, similar to its counterpart from Provincia di Pavia. This wine has great intensity relative to other Pinot Grigios. A powerful floral perfume dominates the nose, along with pear, straw and mineral. The acidity is perfect in this wine. Pear and lemon dominate the palate. Honey and a subtle nutty characteristic come in on the finish, although the finish is somewhat quick.
I’m not a big fan of Pinot Grigio, but I found this wine to be enjoyable.
Wine: The Sopranos Pinot Grigio Friuli
Variety: Pinot Grigio
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 12%
Rating: 88
Price: $13.50
The second US Wine Blogger’s Conference began earlier today and I’m glad to in attendance once again. It’s a gathering of hundreds of wine bloggers like me, along with just many participants from within the wine industry.
We’ve already done our opening events (i.e. registration, meet the sponsors, lunch, welcome, etc.) and it’s time for our first “real event,” Live Wine Blogging. The event is something like speed dating between wine makers and wine bloggers. A producer comes to our table tells us about their wine and gives us a sample while we blog our thoughts about the wine, on the spot. And we only have about 5 minutes with each wine!
We did this event last year, and I took it all too seriously. I did my best to do a reasonable job taking notes and coming up with a rating for each wine. But it was a chaotic frenzy throughout the event. And to be honest, I can’t do justice to my reviews in that time frame. So, this year I’m taking a different approach. I’m enjoying the experience, blog about the experience, and I might mention a couple wines that catch my fancy. But I’m not going to review every one of them.
Here’s a glimpse of the conference, during lunch before the live tasting started. This is just a sliver of the crowd here. We’re getting more crowded since I took this shot, especially since a couple wineries are stuck in traffic and late for the live blogging… therefore we’re consolidating tasting groups at fewer tables.
Let’s bring on the tasting!!
Delay: We were on the cusp of starting this event and due to wireless Internet connectivity issues they changed the schedule on us. Live blogging will begin in 20 minutes or so. (posted 6:10 ET)
OK… finally, the live blogging is back on (6:33 ET)
Sounds like we’re starting with some Fish Eye. It get’s no cheaper than this, so we are on equity for CheapWineRatings, the suggested retail price is $6.99. And it’s a pretty straight-forward, cheap pinot grigio. Lime, mineral, a little pine tree aroma. Light, almost flavorless on the palate other than a slight sweetness. It’s not a bad wine, just very light… not much to it. Could be refreshing on a hot day.
On to our next wine and it’s Pinot Evil, pinot noir. It’s a boxed pinot noir and another bargain wine at $18.99 for a box with the equivalent of 4 bottles. It actually has an OK nose, unexpected from a boxed wine. It has a little licorice, a little tar, a little cherry. It’s a little sweet, but otherwise, not a bad pinot for the price.
Onto Cupcake Cabernet Sauvignon. I’m already taking it too seriously again. Time to just start having fun. This is a good Cabernet Sauvignon for $13.99. Solid structure, interesting nose. Nuff said.
Next up is a blend from Snows Lake. Blend of Cab Sauv and Cab Franc. It’s a fantastic wine. On a side note, Mrs. Cheap Wine Ratings has bailed on the live blogging to spend time poolside. As a result all the wine reps have decided that the open spot she left is the perfect place to stand while they tell us about the wines. So, I have to taste these wines with random stranger’s asses next to my face. Not fun. Wifey is in trouble for this one.
I’m scooting over so that I can taste the Line 39 2007 Petite Sirah without ass in my face. It’s a beautiful purple wine. The nose is a little tight, but it’s big and fruity on the palate with lingering dark fruit. You know, as short as most of my posts are, it usually takes me an hour and a half to taste, take pictures and write something up. This is fun. But not condusive to meaningful reviews.
Cline Cellars just walked up with a 2007 Ancient Vines Mourvedre. I thought they would have a Zinfandel, which I’ve already had, so I’m glad to see it’s a new variety. Dirty, dirty dirty on the nose with cassis and licorice. I just inhaled too quickly and made myself dizzy. This wine retails for about $16. The palate is fantastic… full of dark berries, black pepper, coffee and cocoa. Splendid.
After a number of reds, there’s nothing like shaking things up with a Chardonnay, and here comes the Tandem 2007 Chard. It has a powerful nose. This is one of the most floral chardonnays that I’ve tasted. It’s great. The winemaker, Greg La Follette, has a flute in his pocket… seriously.
Another wine rep is squeezing herself into the spot next to me, getting uncomfortably close. I don’t even know what wine this is. She’s not presenting it very well. All I know is that it’s white and it’s a 2007, that’s all I could hear, and I can’t read the bottle from this angle. There’s another rep across the table from me covering the label with her hand. I still have no idea what wine this is. I did just hear that it retails for $18. Finally, I see that it’s a chardonnay, but I could have told you that from the taste. I still don’t have the name. It’s Foggy something. She left.
On to the Clif Syrah. Presented much more effectively than the last rep. This one is a big syrah with tongue-coating berry flavors. Yadda, yadda. That tells you nothing, I know. Berry… how many friggin’ wines have that characteristic? I have no patience to try to do real tasting notes in this crowd. But it is a good wine and this second wine I’ve had from Clif that has impressed me. I just took a picture of the wine, but I felt like I was taking a picture of the reps chest. I’ll post it later.
Yet another uncomfortably close rep, leaning over me and speaking loudly about the wine. I can feel his breath on my head as he speaks. He just said terroir, the first one to use that word on me today. Anyway, the wine is a Pinot Noir from Benovia and it’s the best Pinot Noir I’ve had so far today. A bit of raspberry, a touch of pepper, a touch of mushroom (I guess that’s the terroir).
2007 Lion’s Pride Pinot Noir, for which the grapes are grown by students at the El Molino High School. A different winemaker makes the wine each year and part of the program is to teach the kids about growing grapes. It’s a good, spicy pinot noir. Not as good as the Benovia, but it’s tasty. Only 100 cases are produced, so it’s not a wine you’ll find in your local store, but you can buy it from their website. I grew up in farmland area in Illinois, so I understand agricultural programs in high schools. Good for them to get to do this.
It’s time for our last wine, and it’s Rockaway from Rodney Strong. YES!!! Great wine, but one I can’t get in my local shops. It’s only available through allocation (i.e. you need to be on a list to buy it – you can sign up on their website). It retails for $75. Nobody comes to this website to read about a bottle of wine that is that expensive. But so what? It’s an outstanding wine, but not worth $75 to me. That’s why I do this site. There is diminishing returns on spending more for wines. Yes, this is great… but you can find plenty of wines for under $20 that you would like nearly as much, just as much, possibly more. Nothing against this wine.
The live blogging is over, and I just sold some ads to Atkins Cuisine. I’ll be presenting here at the conference on Friday about monetizing wine blogs, so good timing on a sale to highlight during my talk.
OK, so no… I didn’t uncover leaked information about who won the Murphy-Goode Really Goode job. But I do know who the real winner is, it’s Murphy-Goode.
In case you haven’t heard about this let me give you the background. The folks at Murphy-Goode wine set up a contest where they asked people to apply to become a “Murphy-Goode Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent.” This means that you blog, vlog, Tweet and social network all about Murphy-Goode wine. And they are paying the winner of this contest $60,000 to do this for 6 months and the winner gets to live in a house in wine country on MG’s tab.
Now, I say that Murphy-Goode is the real winner because I would estimate the value of the “free” media they’ve gotten from this contest to be worth ten-fold what they’re paying the so-called winner, if not more. And that’s even before they’ve picked a “winner.” Bloggers everywhere, as well as traditional media, jumped all over this story and have given Murphy-Goode huge volumes of “share of voice” in the media. And here I am, another sucker giving Murphy-Goode more free publicity. At least I’m in good company.
I know that cost of the prize is not all that Murphy-Goode invested in this promotion though. I would guess they spent about $250k with a marketing agency on the creative. If they paid less, then their agency is undercharging. But either way, Murphy-Goode comes out way ahead on this one.
When I first heard about this contest I was into it. I had 4 or 5 people tell me about it and suggest that I enter it. I thought about throwing my hat in the ring, but then I remembered that I already have a really good job. And once I started watching the videos that were submitted, it confirmed that I didn’t want to enter. It just seemed way to narcissistic to me to sit in front of a camera and proclaim why I deserve this job. That’s just not me. And when I really think about the responsibilities the winner will have, I think they are underpaying for this job. On the surface it sounds like all fun and games, but if the winner takes this seriously, it will be an exhausting job that requires dedication to Murphy-Goode 24/7.
I laughed at and made fun of many folks who entered, but at the same time I give a nod of respect to all of them because I could never put myself out there the way they did.
Dozens of wine bloggers have rallied behind Hardy Wallace from Dirty South Wine and endorsed him to be the winner of this promotion. To be honest, I was a little put off by how quickly everyone got behind Hardy. I like Hardy, but I didn’t want to endorse a candidate until all the entries were in. That just seemed more thoughtful and genuine to me. In fact, my plan was to watch all the videos and pick my favorites from them. Then over 900 videos were submitted and I tossed that plan out the window. I’m not going to assume that responsibility unless Murphy-Goode wants to hire me to watch them all.
But now they are down to 10 finalists and the winner will be announced tomorrow, July 21. So, it’s time for me to make my endorsement. And my endorsement goes to Hardy Wallace! He got a lot of support when he first got into this and I’d like to give him that little extra push here at the tail end of the process.
When I first heard about this contest, even before I considered entering it myself, I thought that Hardy was perfect for this. I’ve met Hardy and he is… well, I’ll say it again… perfect for this job. He’s super friendly and super funny. He’s the kind of person who you feel like you’ve been friends with him for years only moments after meeting him. He knows his wine. He has a good following online. In fact, practically overnight he amassed an army of supporters in his bid for this gig. He’s not only good with blogging and social networking, but he’s apparently a PR machine as well. He’s gotten publicity for himself all over the place. He even flew out to California from Atlanta to attend the kickoff of this contest, which shows his commitment to it. And he’s “on equity” for Murphy-Goode, to use some marketing lingo.
And so, I hereby proclaim that Murphy-Goode should award this gig to Hardy Wallace. He has been endorsed, yet again.
Now Hardy, I hope you invite me for a visit if you win 😉
I’m excited to be reviewing another French wine today as so often I’ve found that French wines are stylistically aligned to my taste preferences. This wine comes from the Corbières appellation in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in Southern France. This is along the Mediterranean Coast, south of the Cotes du Rhone region, where I’ve found many great value wines. Corbières is one of the largest wine appellations in France.
The name on this wine, Les Deux Rives, refers to the twin banks of the Canal du Midi built in this region in 1600 by Louis XIV. The wine is a blend of Grenache 40%, Syrah 30%, Mourvedre 20% and Carignan 10%.
Although it comes from Corbières, it reminds me of a classic Rhone blend on the nose, with a great balance between earth and fruit. Dusty black raspberry, soft cherry, leather, cocoa and cedar make a delightful bouquet. The palate is full of ripe fruit, but has a softness to it. It’s not at all harsh or overpowering, but it’s relatively full. There’s a slight spice mid-palate and some cocoa on the finish. Overall, it’s a great wine, and for the price it’s outstanding.
Wine: Les Deux Rives Corbières Rouge
Variety: Red Blend
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 88
Price: $9.99
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The name on this wine is a new one, but the winemaker is not new to wine. Mark Gendron has been producing wine for a good 20 years and founded JanKris winery back in 1990. He recently sold JanKris and is working on some new winemaking ventures, namely JK Estates and Wildfire Cellars. Stray Dog Zinfandel is produced and bottled under the JK Estates label.
The fruit in Stray Dog Zinfandel comes from Paso Robles, the same area where Gendron produced wines with JanKris. A simple, but memorable label introduces you to this Zinfandel.
It’s a tight nose on this wine, but what’s there is interesting. The earthy side of the aroma spectrum seems to dominate over the fruity side. Coffee, walnut and tar aromas lay on top of blackberry and raspberry. The fruit comes to life much more on the palate with full blackberry and loads of black cherry. It’s not at all jammy, like many California Zinfandels can be. The finish is pure bing cherry, perhaps a more exact flavor of bing cherry than I’ve ever tasted in a wine before. The acids are good and the tannins are adequate. It’s a good wine.
Wifey gave the wine an “ooooohhh”, which is about as good a complement and commentary you’ll get from her about a wine.
Wine: Stray Dog
Variety: Zinfandel
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol: 14.3%
Rating: 85
Price: $20.00
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At times I’ve heard some wine lovers contemplate their preferences between old world and new world wines. Personally, there are things I like about both. Each style can be enjoyable in its own way.
But what if you could get the best of both worlds in one wine? That’s the idea with Mazzoni, a Super Tuscan that’s the result of a collaboration between the Franceschi family in Montalcino, Italy and the Terlato family in Napa, California. The grapes were all grown in some of Franceschi’s oldest vineyards in Montalcino and they were vinified in Italy using new-world winemaking technology. It’s a blend of 72% Sangiovese and 28% Merlot.
A beautiful, soft rose aroma introduces you to this wine. You’ll also find dusty blackberry, plum, coffee and leather aromatics, giving this wine great complexity and character. The palate has firm tannins with soft blackberry, plum and coffee flavors. I found it to be full but not overpowering. The finish is long and full of berry flavors and a subtle hint of apple in the acidity.
It’s a fun and enjoyable wine.
Wine: Mazzoni Toscana Rosso
Variety: Red Blend
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 88
Price: $20.00
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Lately, when I mention Argentine wines most people think of Malbec. It’s popularity has soared over the past few years. But Argentina has a notable variety on the white wine shelf too, Torrontés.
This variety is supposedly related to Malvasia. Rather than rewrite what’s already been put out there about Torrontés, I’ll give you these links for the background on the variety:
I recently had the chance to try a Torrontés from Bodega Luigi Bosca called Finca La Linda and I’ve become an instant fan of the variety.
If I were playing a game of “guess this wine” I would probably guess this was a Viognier. That’s probably due to the intense floral aromas. Although as I contemplate it further it seems to be in between a Viognier and a Chardonnay.
It has powerful floral aromas on the nose–orange blossom in particular. It also shows some fennel, mineral and lemon aromas. The palate is crisp and light, with apple, lemon and flint. It has a subtle spice to it as well. It has a little oil on the finish. At 14.1% alcohol it has some kick for a white wine. And at just $10.99 it’s a great deal for a wine of this quality.
Overall I found this an interesting wine with depth and character. I look forward to trying other wines of this variety, as well as other wines from this producer.
Wine: Finca La Linda
Variety: Torrontés
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 14.1%
Rating: 88
Price: $10.99
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The headline is not a typo. The folks who create those tasty organic Clif Bars are now in the wine business too via the Clif Family Winery. My reaction to hearing about this was mixed. On one hand I thought it was great, after all, Clif Bars are pretty good and they hopefully produce wine with the same care and quality. On the other hand, what do they know about winemaking? Well, of course they brought in a winemaker, Sarah Gott, to help with the stuff they didn’t know. And they did deliver on quality with this wine.
The Climber Red Wine 2006 is a blend of 32% Zinfandel, 28% Syrah, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot and 4% Petite Sirah. Most of the grapes come from Somerston Vineyard, east of the Silverado Trail in Napa Valley.
Deep, intense purplish-red color is indicative of the fruit aromas you’ll find in this wine. Dark fruits abound in the nose of this one. Blackberry, currant and black cherry leave no subtlety to the fruit. There is also a wisp of cedar weaving in and out of the fruit aromas. Intense fruit on the palate continues the powerful theme with this wine. Slightly jammy boysenberry, plum and black cherry, followed by black pepper and cocoa on the mid-palate and into the finish. It’s big, bold and tasty, but I would not call it elegant. Still, it’s a very enjoyable wine if you’re into fruit-forward wines.
This would make a great wine with barbecue… it almost makes me want to eat some smoked ribs with it. But then, I’m a pescetarian. I guess I’ll just enjoy the wine.
Wine: Clif Family Winery – The Climber
Variety: Red Blend
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol: 14.7%
Rating: 88
Price: $17.00
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Brand licensing is a big business in some lines of products, such as clothing and toys, but I haven’t seen much of it in the wine world. I was curious when I heard about Sopranos wines: Is it pure marketing shtick or is there some substance to the wines? The folks that produce Sopranos wines sent me a few bottles to try so I could find out.
My first impression is that it’s a risky play from a business perspective, but potentially a smart move. Some wine brands launch with a “big name” winemaker and have immediate cachet—at least with the wine geeks. But many wine brands try to build brand equity by growing a following gradually over time, as consumers discover their wine and like it they develop loyalty. New brands have a hard time standing out in an overcrowded shelf. And most wine marketing, in my opinion, is full of cliche, making it even more difficult to stand out. So it would seem that licensing a name that has a lot of clout in consumer’s minds would help you stand out.
And stand out is one thing the Sopranos wines do well. The artwork on the labels is eye catching. It jumps out and catches your attention right away. I have a shelf at home where I organize the wines that I have in queue for tastings, and when guests were at the house while these wines were in that mix it was the first thing they would comment on. They ooo’d and ah’d at these wines, without ever tasting them. That’s some valuable brand equity. But while a gimmick may get a first time buyer, if the taste of the wine disappoints you’re not going to get repeat customers.
The first thing I had to try was the Chianti lineup (other Sopranos wine reviews will be forthcoming). I love a good Chianti, but surprisingly this is the first time I’ve reviewed any on this site. Sopranos has three different Chiantis, at progressively higher price points. The Chianti ($10.95), Chianti Classico ($23.99), and Chianti Classico Reserva ($29.99). The last two are higher priced than the wines we usually review, but since we had them to taste why not post the reviews?
When I taste different “grades” of wine from the same producer I’m always hoping to find the low-priced one to be the best, but I have yet to see that happen. And this one continues that trend, with the more expensive being the best of the three.
Sopranos Chianti
This wine is predictable for an inexpensive Chianti, but that’s not a bad thing. Cherry, straw and a hint of strawberry make up the nose. It almost has a subtle bubblegum aroma. The nose isn’t very intense. The palate has good acidity and the flavors are mostly cherry. There’s a little black pepper too, and some strawberry on the finish. It’s a good Chianti.
Wine: Sopranos
Variety: Chianti
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 84
Price: $10.95
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Sopranos Chianti Classico
The intensity on the nose is similar to the base Chianti, but the aromas are more earthy and smooth. A dusty cherry, soft blackberry and toasted oak make a very nice bouquet. The palate is also very smooth. The tannins are heavier than the base Chianti, but not overpowering… in fact, they are just right. The flavor profile is mostly cherry. It gets a little bitter on the finish. It’s a good Chianti and would be even better with food.
Wine: Sopranos Chianti Classico
Variety: Chianti
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 85
Price: $23.99
Sopranos Chianti Classico Riserva
This is their “Reserva” for a reason. It’s much more interesting on the nose, with a rose aroma adding a lot of character to this wine. Additionally, you’ll still find the cherry aromas you expect from a Chianti, vanilla and caramel. The palate is rich and smooth. Very well structured black cherry, blackberry and cocoa fill your palate. The acidity is perfect and the tannins are velvety. The finish is good, although a little short. All told, this is a great wine.
Wine: Sopranos Chianti Classico Riserva
Variety: Chianti
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 89
Price: $29.99
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