Estancia - 2008 - Zinfandel - Paso Robles - Keyes Canyon Ranches

See! I told you I had other Estancia bottles with different junk in the title.

So, right from the go with this one, I knew I'd have a winner. Let's discuss why. First, I'd had other Estancia reds, including a cabernet recently at my fave St. Louis restaurant, Bristol's, which was fabulous. (the cabernet. well, and the restaurant) Anyway, I felt good about it already. Plus, I love Zinfandels. LOVE. (Note -- hang with me on this one. Zinfandels are BIG reds. Not WHITE and NOT pink. K?) And, reason numero tres why I knew I'd have a winner -- the label says Paso Robles. I KNOW I love reds coming from that area. One day, dear reader, I'll know why. Or, I will never know. Who cares? The point is - I love reds from Paso Robles.

So the Estancia winery itself is in Sonoma. But, they have several "ranches" in California where they grow different kinds of grapes. Obviously, these grapes were grown down south in their Keyes Canyon Ranch . The bottle tells me this is a mere 20 miles from the ocean. Important? I guess so. Let's remember that the sauvignon blanc I just reviewed was from their Pinnacles Ranch -- which is also near the same darn ocean, but farther up the coast.

Back to the Zin...I enjoyed this wine. It was full bodied and intense with a satisfyingly long finish. That said, not my favorite Zin. (note to self - review the AMAZING Zin you just tried in Suisun Valley) But, it is darn solid and delivers what you are looking for when you go lookin' for Zin. Get some and try it out. If you disagree, post a note and let me know your thoughts. I'm starting to wonder if I have strange taste or if others find the same things when they try the same wines. I know we all have our own preferences, of course.

By the way, those of you who care about points...this wine got 89 points from the people who seem to know what they are talking about. Pretty good stuff!

Bought locally, on sale, for $9.99.

Estancia 2008 Sauvignon Blanc Monterey County, Pinnacles Ranches

Wow! What a long title for this wine. I wouldn't normally include all that junk but I bought another bottle of Estancia and it has different stuff. Therefore, somehow, I bet it is significant. Ah, look at me...so smart!

Where to begin with this one...? Oh, I know. Have you ever been to the dentist? You know when they clean your teeth and they splash them with the little water gun and then use the mini vac thing to suck all the water out of your mouth? Even sometimes have you close your lips around the mini vac to get every single last molecule of liquid? Perfect! Now you know how this wine makes your mouth feel.

I am a fan of dry wines. Really. Hate the sweet stuff. But, Lord have mercy I thought I might need a tongue transplant after drinking this stuff. I literally even stuck my tongue out at my guests and asked them if it looked "withered and all dried up and crooked." They said, "yes."

I decided to slap the bottle back in the fridge for the night and try again the next day. Perhaps I was dehydrated. Or senile. Or otherwise incapable of seeing the real beauty in this bottle.

Night 2. First sip. No dice. Or saliva.

I can't even comment on flavor because my tongue was unable to detect anything but its need for moisture.

I'll say this. I like this winery a lot. I would try another year, because I also like Sauv Blancs a lot. But, I will not try this exact one again. And neither should you. Unless you love that part at the dentist. Then, this one's for you!!

Bought on sale at $8.99.

Castello di Amorosa Pinot Nero 2008

There is a splendid castle in northern Napa - way up near Calistoga - called Castello di Amorosa. It is beautiful and you can take a tour through it - which is worth the $31 bucks. There is a 30+ minute wine tasting at the end included in that price. My husband and I did this tour while here over the summer (before we moved here) and we sent my parents there last week. They came home with a bottle of this Pinot, which we happily drank last night.

Pinot Nero is the Italian Pinot Noir. The Castle produces Italian style wines, so they follow the naming rules as well. As you may recall, I've been known to like a Pinot Noir and this Nero was no exception.

We opened this bottle after finishing a bottle of cabernet -- which produced some interesting initial tastings by comparison. For example, it tasted a bit sweet. It certainly isn't a sweet wine, but the contrast to the cab made it seem so the first couple of sips.

The wine was delicious -- hearty and smooth. Complimented our grilled steak, sauteed veggies and baked potatoes quite well. Didn't overpower anything. The wine has a hint of smokiness to it. We sampled a wine on our visit which was intensely smoky and I was hoping this was it because we loved it, but it was not. At any rate, it was quite good.

I can't find the pricing list for this particular wine on their website, so I'm not sure what they paid for it but I imagine in the high 20s. The castle doesn't sell their wine outside of the castle, so while I recommend you try this and a couple of others, you have to come here to do so! (FYI- should you visit, I LOVE their Gioia, which is a DRY rose. Fantastic summer wine. They also have a couple of amazing, though very pricey, reserve wines, in particular their Chardonnay and Cabernet)

Five Rivers Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Five Rivers is one of my old standbys. This winery is in Paso Robles, CA - an area I've come to know for producing consistently good cabernets. For the price, this one is hard to beat. It's a pretty good sized cab with lots of vibrant fruit and mouth feel. And velvety smooth, too! You can get a better cab, for sure, but you'd need to punch up into the $20 range most likely.

My family and I drank this as a prelude to our hearty steak dinner last night and all really enjoyed it. We'd finished the bottle before the meal but it would have held up well with the steak.

So, to sum up - this is a low cost winner! Worth a try if you've never had it. I can usually buy it for $10 or a bit less on sale, which is what I got it for this time $7.99.

2006 St. Francis Cabernet

My parents came out for a visit on Sunday- having driven all the way across the country in my little sportscar. To celebrate their arrival and the cooler, overcast (glorious) weather, I threw a pot roast in the oven. I'd been sandbagging this cabernet for their arrival and couldn't wait to crack it open.

This is a more expensive wine, but as you surely expect by now, I bought it on sale. Anyway, I had high expectations for this one. The St. Francis winery is in Sonoma county, which sits next door to Napa. So close and yet so different, really. I've never been so amazed with soil as I am now really getting to see the difference it makes in the taste of wines. What's different over the hills in Sonoma from Napa? Not a stinkin' clue. I'll let you know if/when I find out.

So, this wine had that great velvety mouth feel that I tend to associate with more expensive ($20+) wines. I know, I am such a high roller. However, I must say I was a tad bit underwhelmed with it overall. I prejudged it to be a peer of favorites Robert Mondavi Cab and Franciscan Oakville Estate Cab -- both of which can usually be had for $25+ and are wonderful. It just didn't really do it for me. It tasted fine, don't get me wrong. It certainly wasn't bad. But for the money, I'm buying Mondavi or Franciscan.

If I knew more (that is, anything) I could speculate on whether this wine is just past its peak. It is an 06. I think the 08's are in their prime this year. At least for American wines. Am I wrong? Who knows. I am basing my guess here on reading about recently crowned winners...most of which are 08's. Must be their year to shine, right?

To sum up, won't buy this one again. At least not the same year. I might be willing to try a more recent year - especially if I see good reviews of it. Recommend you do the same!

Retails $20-$25. Bought locally on sale for $14.99.

Grayson Cellars Cabernet

On Monday of this week, I found myself celebrating the long awaited promotion of a friend and, now, co-worker. So, there are now 3 of us! We dined at Brio in Las Vegas. I had never been but really enjoyed it. We decided to try a bottle of Grayson Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon.

I confess I felt a little dirty ordering wine from Paso Robles now that I'm a Napa area girl. But, I got over it. I generally love cabs from Paso Robles, such as long time faves J. Lohr and Five Rivers, so I felt rather confident ordering this one.

Now, I tried to see across the table to the bottle at one point so I would know what year we were drinking. I can't say I know for sure, but I believe it was the '09. I went hunting down some reviews and apparently the 08 was the bomb and frankly, this wasn't the bomb. My novice taste buds felt like while the wine was good, it seemed young. I thought perhaps it needed to open a bit but it never quite got there for me.

Nevertheless, it was a pleasant accompaniment to my extremely yummy lasagne and wedge salad!

So, overall...I did like the wine. It was a nice cab but not a favorite because it tasted young and, oddly, a bit sweet. Sweet might not be the word to really describe it but I can't come up with something more accurate. Almost...too fruity? I'd really like to get my hands on the 08 - if the experts are right, it is the year to drink.

We got this bottle in the restaurant which means we paid way over retail for it. We scored it for $27. Looks like you can normally score it for around the $10 range.

One of my fellow wine drinkers that night may comment here and let you know what she thought....comment away!

2007 Ghost Pines Chardonnay

Most of the time, I drink relatively inexpensive wines. This is because I drink a lot of wine and because I don't have a lot of money. But sometimes, you just gotta get out there and drink the really good stuff. You can't limit yourself all the time. So, at a recent outting to check out the latest wine sales, Lance and I picked up this bottle of Ghost Pines Chardonnay. We noticed it right away because it was on sale,  it was on the top shelf and it has a cool label. Don't laugh. Why do you notice wine when yo are staring at rows and rows of it?

We didn't recognize the winery until we read the back of the label and saw it comes from the Louis M. Martini winery - which is already a favorite of mine. It's a local Napa winery. I haven't actually visited it yet but I've been a huge fan of their cabernet for years and a couple of years ago while getting my PMP certification, my boot camp instructor told us she was the project manager for the Martini winery 4th of July fireworks show. What else is there to say? Wine, fireworks. Amen.

This wine is wonderful. Truly wonderful. It has a darker color and you get a good amount of fruit from it- a plus in my book. Anyone keeping score? If so, Robert Parker gives it an 88. It does have some oak to it. Not a ton, but some. I used to hate oak but I'm digging it lately so this is also a plus.

Definitely a winner here, especially if you can find it on sale. I am really looking forward to another glass tonight! We enjoyed it with homemade rotisserie chicken and sauteed greens. It stood up well and complimented both. We also had a small cheese and water cracker tray for an appetizer while the rotisserie worked its magic and the wine was superb with that.

Retails around $20, bought on sale for $12.99.