Top 10 Wine Tasting Choices - First Half 2014

by Frank Mangio
Like most west coast wine lovers, my choices have been confined to California, Oregon and Washington .  The ten selected wines will take a break from that with two selections from Colorado , a high country state with massive swings in temperature, that have served the beer industry well and are starting to do just that with select varietals of wine.  My next column will profile my recent trip to this magnificent state and its burgeoning wine business.

Earlier in the year, I was thrilled to go one-on–one with 91 year old Mike Grgich, Napa Valley ’s pioneer winemaker.  You will get acquainted with his latest Cabernet that made the list.  The ten are treated equally as excellent wines, weighing flavor, body and value.  The list is alphabetical and does not indicate ranking:

Adelaida Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles, 2011.  $36. Paso landed 2 in the top ten, both on the west side about 15 miles from the ocean at elevations of some 2,000 feet for concentrated grape flavor.  The area is mounting a “Cab Collection” campaign to compete with Napa Valley .  www.adelaida.com.

Falkner Winery Amante Blend, Temecula CA , 2010. $39.95.  Super Tuscan style, with Sangiovese, Cabernet, Cab Franc and Merlot.  Nothing better for Italian food and beef.  www.falknerwinery.com.

Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley , 2010. $53.  Elegance abounds in the story and the wines of Jordan .  Only Chardonnay and Cabernet are released on this 1,200 acre historic property in Sonoma .  Visits must be by appointment.  Don’t miss the opportunity.  www.jordanwinery.com.

Justin Isosceles Blend, Paso Robles 2010. $70.  On the leading edge of the west side of Paso Robles, this is the signature wine for Justin, in its 25th year of wine royalty.  Indulge your senses with this Cabernet, Cab Franc and Merlot blend, barrel aged for 24 months in French oak.  www.justinwine.com. Justin Winery’s ISOCELES was the first wine to gain international recognition in Paso Robles.

J Vineyards Vin Gris Russian River Valley , 2013.  $20. A Rose’ of Pinot Noir from the Russian River , with a special French style process for color. It is beautiful to view and better to drink.  Tart cherry, wild strawberry and rose petals.  Taste this chilled to the bone.  “Joie de Gris!”  wwwjwine.com.

Grande River Vineyards Viognier. Palisade, Colorado . 2011.  $17.99.  Grande River is the first of two Colorado wineries that I thought had the juice to compete with many of the California names.  Steve and Naomi Smith  first planted grapes in Palisade near Grand Junction in 1987.  It was Colorado ’s largest by 2006, when they downsized and kept 10 of their acres to make great wines.  To me, their Viognier was art in a bottle, with its characteristic pear and apricot aromas and flavors.  www.granderivervineyards.com

Grgich Hills Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley . 2011.  $60.  The master of Napa Valley , Mike Grgich continues rich vintages of the valley’s top varietal.  2011 was demanding.  The harvest was pushed back so that this Cab is more reminiscent of France than Napa Valley .  A cooler season lowered the level of sugar, translating into lower alcohol.  I am sure it made Mike smile.  www.grgich.com.

Pedroncelli Mother Clone Old Vine Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley Sonoma . 2012. $17.  This vintage year is producing a bonanza of fine wine, including Pedroncelli Zin, always one of the biggest values to come out of Sonoma .  www.pedroncelli.com.

Tenuta Di Chizzano Veneroso Blend , Tuscany Italy . 2008. $39.98.  70% Sangiovese, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, this stately, classic “Super Tuscan” wine is the product of over 26 generations of the Venerosi Pesciolini family since the 14th century.  Tradition and terroir are woven into this dark, gamey blend.  Available at Cardiff Seaside Market.  www.henriot.com.

Whitewater Hill Vineyards Shiraz , Grand Junction Colorado . 2012.  $15.  A farm winery with a big vista view of the Grand Valley in western Colorado , where 7 varietals are grown on 24 acres, plus 17 other wines sourced from all-Colorado grapes.  The Shiraz won gold at the Finger Lakes New York international show last year.  Rich and fruity with notes of plum, currant and black pepper. www.whitewaterhill.com.

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Wine Bytes, normally seen in this column, will resume next week.

TOP TEN TASTES - FIRST HALF OF 2013

by Frank Mangio
Well that was fast!  What with San Diego’s new restaurants, resorts that were being bought and sold then re-made, wine bars that sprouted up on virtually every urban block and wine events doubling in number, what’s a wine writer to do but to lace up the track shoes and try to keep up.

The news keeps getter better for Italy, already the #1 importer of wine to the U.S. with more districts that had never come to America before for road shows, showing up.  Both Puglia and Calabria in the south paraded their best wines for the first time in  Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The acclaimed hills of Tuscany, Italy came alive with great wines from every corner 

the first half of 2013.

  San Diego hosted Cecchi and Lucente from Tuscany and Fontana Candida near Rome with its rejuvenated Frascati, all illuminating their passion for food and wine.  The timing was smart as San Diego and other cities are undergoing a revolution in Mediterranean-style restaurant farm to table food, and wine is playing a big role in that movement.

Italy has three wines in the TASTE OF WINE top ten, with two from Sonoma and Napa Valley and one from Arroyo Grande, France, and Spain. The list is alphabetical. All are rated excellent, weighing flavor, balance and value.  Prices are suggested retail or at the winery.

Famille Perrin Vinsobres, Chateau De Beaucastel, Rhone France. 2010. $15. A superior, soon to be classic French vintage in my favorite wine district in France, the Rhone Valley.  Over 5 generations of the Perrin family from over 400 acres of vineyards. www.m.familleperrin.com.

Grgich Hills Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley. 2009. $60. The backbone of the Grgich collection of fine wines. A product of several estate vineyards in Napa Valley. Rich aromas of black cherry and licorice.  www.grgich.com.

Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon,   Alexander Valley Sonoma. 2009. $53.
A great vintage with soft and silky patterns of taste with an elegant finish.  See more on Jordan and Sonoma in my next two columns. www.jordanwinery.com.

J Pinot Gris Sonoma.  2012. $15.  A classy California style white.  Stores can’t keep this one in. #1 Pinot Gris in America, sweeping past France and Italy’s version.  www.Jwine.com.
The Jordan Cabernet expresses the elegance of Alexander Valley’s red wines.

 Laetitia Reserve Du Domaine Pinot Noir, Arroyo Grande. 2011.  $40.  The vineyard is on a coastal terrace below San Luis Obispo.  11 months in French Oak.  High elevation with cooler climate, perfect for Pinot.  www.laetitiawine.com.

Lucente Super Tuscan, Montalcino Italy. 2010. $22.  Rainy vintage early that built up groundwater reserves for ideal harvest. 75% Merlot, 25% Sangiovese. 12 months in French and American barriques.  Elegant wine.  www.lucedellavite.it


Marchesi Di Barolo Barbera Del Monferrato, Italy.  2011. $8.  100% Barbera grape from the Piedmont District.  Freshness, personality, charm and a steal at this price.  Try it with  Italian cheeses, breads and meats. www.marchesibarolo.com.


Pina Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain Napa Valley. 2008.  $85.  The Pina brothers and winemaker Anna Monticelli represent 8 generations of Cabernet going back to 1856.  Notes of blueberry and espresso bean.  Winery is located in Rutherford on the Silverado Trail.  www.pinanapavalley.com.


Serralunga D’Alba Barolo Fontafredda, Piedmont Italy. 2007. $29.  From one of the highest points in the Barolo district.  Powerful, earthy and built for the finest Italian dishes. The aristocratic Nebbiolo grape is the core.  www.fontanafredda.it.


Tres Picos Garnacha Borsao Spain. 2010. $13.  Spanish wines have nice prices and are value wines.  This old vine Garnacha is richly colored and aromatic with concentrated flavors of blackberry and strawberry laced with leather.  www.wine.com.

Wine Bytes, normally seen in this column, will be back next week.

Reviewing 2012 and the Top Ten Tastings

by Frank Mangio
In 2012 America solidified its position as the world’s largest wine consuming country in the world (beating the French, again).  Sales at COSTCO, the number one seller of wine, reached 1.4 billion dollars as the membership discounter amped-up its square footage with more premium wine offerings.

The West Coast had it finest harvest of wine grapes in over a decade in 2012.  We predict that when the red wines are showing on the shelves starting in 2014, buyers are going to buy them by the case (cheaper by the dozen).  Another prediction:  Francis Ford Coppola, the movie director turned winemaker in Napa Valley, will remake the old, cheapened Inglenook wine name into one of the most favored wine brands in the world.

My Top Ten Tastes include three from Napa Valley, one of the world’s best growing grounds for red wine, at the best prices I could find.  Other areas are: Sonoma,  Italy, Germany and Spain. The ten are treated equally on an excellence scale from 1 to 5, weighing flavor, body and value.  The list is alphabetical, all were rated excellent and does NOT indicate rank.

Alto Moncayo Garnarcha, Borja Spain.  2009.  $52.  Bold, ripe and ripping with muscular texture.  Bursting with ripe berry flavor. This old vine Garnacha, a twin to the French Rhone Genache grape, is elegantly laced with a smoky white pepper accent.  www.wine.com

Angelini Agricola Sangiovese, Marche Italy. $17.  A rich landscape of farming northeast of Tuscany, Angelini captures the essence of the Sangiovese grape, a full-bodied, dry red.  Hints of cherry. leather, vanilla, oak and tobacco. Aged a minimum one year. Perfect pasta wine. www.angeliniwine.com.


B Cellars Sangiovese Napa Valley 2010.  $45. Remarkable minerality normally found only in Tuscany, Italy.  Ripe Strawberry with hints of vanilla.  Not as acidic as some.  Bolder skins of Syrah are integrated for skin color and tannins.  www.bcellars.com.

B Cellars Napa Valley owner Duffy Keys, left, lives in Rancho Santa Fe  and appears at wine dinners at Dolce Pane E Vino, welcomed by General Manager Steve Flowers.

Dr. Loosen Riesling Kabinett, Mosel Germany 2010.  $20. Found at the newly remodeled Rancho Valencia in Rancho Santa Feand The Grand Del Mar, this Riesling has stunning fruit forward, perfectly proportioned sweetness of peach, to balance citrus qualities. Harvested from the steep slate slopes of the Mosel District. www.drloosen.com.

Ferrari-Carano Tresor Blend Sonoma CA. 2009.  $52.  Mostly Cabernet in a Bordeaux Blend from “dry” farmed, low-yielding vines on higher elevations, Tresor produces a dense, black well of color, with vanilla and cedar tones.  Aged in French oak for 19 months.  www.ferrari-carano.com.

Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma CA.  2008. $52. An Estate Cab with start to finish high quality control, matching the best of Bordeaux.  Silky and elegant with ripe plum accents.  www.jordanwinery.com.

Keenan Merlot Napa Valley CA.  2009.  $36.  Winemaker Michael Keenan’s favorite wine…”goes with everything I eat.”  From the Spring Mountain area of Napa Valley, above the fog.  Intense black cherry, blackberry and cassis.  Coffee bean notes.  A BIG Merlot.  www.keenanwinery.com.

Lewis Alec’s Blend Napa Valley CA.  2010.  $60.  All mountain blend of 70% Syrah, 25% Merlot and 5% Cabernet.  Big high horsepower wine with chocolaty finish.  High octane 15.5% alcohol nicely balanced.  www.lewiscellars.com.

Selbach-Oster Kabinett Riesling Mosel Germany. 2010. $18.99.  The lead white wine for the upscale restaurant chain Seasons 52 Fresh Grill, and hand selected by their Master Sommelier George Miliotes

Miliotes describes this discovery as fruity to slightly sweet with a perfect baked apple finish.  As in most Rieslings, only 9% alcohol guarantees to bring out the juicy  refreshment as only a German Riesling is capable of doing; like a kiss of a wet stone. Slate soils high on Mosel banks inject this layered-in minerality.

Miliotes added: “I was drawn to the Mosel River district of Germany.  This Riesling is my poster child for our old world wines.”  www.winesearcher.com

A Seasons 52 Fresh Grill appetizer is the Artichoke and Goat Cheese Flatbread with two Selbach-Oster Kabinett Rieslings from Mosel Germany, a Top Ten Taste.

Tomassi Amorone Valpolicella Classico Verona Italy. 2007. $79.  The Tomassi family has been making this timeless wine for 112 years. Includes Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and Molinari grapes from the region. Grapes are dried for 4 months prior to pressing, then aged for 3 years in large Slavonian Oak.  www.tomassiwine.it.