2005 Chateau Frontenac Bordeaux

Taste: 4/5
Price: $13
Value: 4/5

I get e-mails from winechateau.com highlighting a different wine every day. The ones I want to try, I put in a folder and when I have a substantial list, I place an order. I don't typically buy French wines. I find them flat on their own, but generally good pairing wines. This description, however, really caught my eye: "Tasting the 2005 red wines from the bottle, many of them three or four times, confirmed that this is the greatest vintage produced during my 30-year career." -Robert Parker, Wine Advocate #176, April 30, 2008
"Synonymous with elegance and balance, Bordeaux is a wine for everyone. The first AOC produced in France, it is also the most exported due to its universal character. Fruity, ripe, soft, and round, this blend of Cabernet and Merlot offers delicious aromas of red berries, blackcurrant, and violet, with a hint of oak. Thanks to its fruitiness, this delicious wine may be consumed young or cellared for 5-7 years."
Who could read that and not want to try it? So I did. Certainly not as bold or robust as a California Cab/Merlot blend, with very little tannin. I agree with the description of soft and round, but I found the predominant bouquet and flavor to be very earthy instead of fruity. For the sale price of $13, I would buy this wine again, but it would not make my top favorites list. The list price for this wine was $26 - for that price, there are a lot of other wines I would choose in its place.

2006 St George Coastal Chardonnay

Taste: 5/5

Value: 5/5

Price: $10

For the price, this is a phenominal Chardonnay. It has layers of apple, pineapple and a hint of lemon and vanilla. Really the best of everything Chardonnay has to offer. Medium body with an attractive toasty richness compensates the crisp dryness and complements the creamy finale. A blend of stainless steel and small oak barrel fermentation.

Rotta Zinfandel Rose

Taste: 4/5

Value: 3/5

Price: $10

I stole this description from redwinebuzz.com, but couldn't have described it better myself. "This wine is a fun, light pink color suggestive of pink sapphires. The nose is perky with notes of strawberry, confected watermelon and spun sugar with rosy, floral notes. The palate is bright and lively and a bit honeyed. Sweet strawberry and peach compote on a slightly sugary but not cloying base. The strawberry notes with a tinge of mineral form the essence of the mild finish. The light minerality, sweetness and moderate acidity make for a fuller mouthfeel that requires adequate chilling. This is a very fun, light-hearted and straight forward wine with lots of sweetness and light, confected fruit flavors."

Why I especially like it: Rosé is a more fitting name for this wine. It addresses the way the wine is made, as opposed to "White Zinfandel". I marked it average in value, simply because it wasn't necessarily any better than wines marked as White Zinfandel that you can get for less, but if you just can't bring yourself to put a bottle on your table that screams White Zinfandel, this may be worth the extra few bucks!

2005 Napa Cellars Zinfandel

Taste: Day of opening 2/day 2-4 rated 5

Value: 4/5

Price: $15

I did not know when I purchased this, that Napa Cellars is a daughter winery of Frank Family! Frank Family makes one of my absolute favorite Chardonnay's, but it's a total splurge wine for me.

About this wine: Much of the fruit for this wine was sourced from the warmer regions of Napa Valley, including Calistoga, St. Helena and Pope Valley. In 2005, the long growing season and moderate harvest allowed the grapes to hang on the vine for longer than usual. In some cases the grapes were not picked until the second week of November. Because Zinfandel ripens unevenly, the extended hang time was a blessing and helped develop the intense fruit characteristics seen in this wine. The Napa Cellars 2005 Zinfandel was tank fermented in separate lots for approximately 10 days. The lots were then separately aged in French and American oak where after eight months, they were blended together for the final blend and aged an additional ten months. In order to retain the big fruit characteristics, only 7% new oak was used. Zinfandel is usually a wine that is ready on release and the Napa Cellars 2005 Zinfandel is no exception. Napa Cellars 2005 Zinfandel is dark purple and opaque in the glass. The nose reveals intense, ripe berries, candied strawberry preserves and cinnamon spice. The palate follows with juicy, rounded fruit flavors that mingle with layers of warm, supple tannins leading to a long, plush finish.

When I first opened this wine, even though I allowed it to breath for about 30 min before pouring, I was blown over by the alcohol fumes and taste. It is a higher alcohol wine at 15%. Not only did I determine I wouldn't buy this wine again, but I wasn't sure I'd even finish the bottle. Well, the next night, it was incredibly better and I enjoyed the extra zing it left on my tongue. So, I would buy it again, but I would open it the day before I plan to drink it, knowing it gets better over the next few days. I still, however, prefer Old Vine Zins for a comparable price.

Top 10 wines of 2008

Since I have only 20 wine review posts in 2008, it was a little challenging to narrow down to 10, but here goes. This list represents what I would stock, if I were to only have 10 wines in my wine cooler. I am currently heavily stocked on Cabernets, so expect several reviews of Cabs in 09!
10) Mandolino Muscato
9) Selena Chardonnay
8) Four Vines Zinfandel
7) Wolf Mountain Chateloup
6) Banfi Centine
5) Red Bicyclette Syrah
4) Banfi Rosa Regale
3) Snoqualmie Riesling
2) OZV Zinfandell
1) Chateau St Michelle Indian Wells Chardonnay

2005 OZV Zinfandel

Taste: 5/5

Value:5/5

Price: $15

This wine was featured at a wine tasting I went to a few months ago and was sold out before I got to get my bottle. The wine keeper said it's a wine they sell out of almost weekly, and I can see why. In keeping with what I've come to expect from Old Vine Zinfandel, this wine is fruit forward and jammy. This particular bottle is lush and velvety. Oddly, I found it even better after being open for a couple of days. OZV stands for Old Zin Vines (50-100 years old) and is produced at Lodi's oldest operating winery by Oak Ridge Winery, which started out decades ago as a co-operative of area winemakers.