California Red Wine with John Syfor

Something Extra for the Wine Lovers 

(Since I Failed To Post Last Week)

        Ever since Tom Burgess founded Burgess Cellars in 1972, his small Napa estate has remained family owned and true to its original vision of affordable, high quality, food-friendly wines. The Burgess’ carefully match the right varietal with each of their vineyards so to produce wines which represent the best qualities of each. 

The 2008 Merlot Triere Vineyard first drew my attention to Burgess. The  vineyard is in the Oak Knoll District on Napa’s valley floor. It is far different from the flood of juicy plonk that ruined Merlot’s reputation a few years ago. Instead, this is both full bodied and elegant, gracing the palate with layers of fruit and integrated tannins It calls out for a grilled steak. With a bit of decanting, this wine is a pleasure now but will improve with a few more years in bottle. 

The winery’s flagship is the 2008 Napa Valley Cabernet. It is a ridiculously good value, far outperforming many others at half the price. Its fruit comes from  Howell Mountain, which is known for its structured age worthy wines. It is more restrained than the Merlot, but shows lovely dark fruit and spice. This will really benefit from at least 6 - 8 years of cellaring. You can drink it now but be sure to decant.

2008 Merlot Triere Vineyard: Color: dark garnet; Aromas and flavors of dusty mocha, flowers, blueberry, black cherry, coffee with a bit of wood spice with long finish and integrated tannin Very Good - Excellent 26.99

2008 Napa Valley Cabernet: Color: dark ruby; Aromas: of dark fruit, anise with a bit of wood sweetness; Mouth: full, plum, dark fruit, long dark berry finish with a hint of dark chocolate Very Good - Excellent  31.99

        Also, for anyone interested in tasting how this wine develops over time, there is still a limited amount of the 1998 Napa Cabernet Library Release. The cool growing season caused critics to pan the vintage, but time has proven the skeptics wrong. This wine is drinking more like a mature Left Bank Bordeaux, very structured with notes of dark fruit, smoke and leather and still a few more years to go. Excellent 70 Net

John Syfor

john@federalwine.com

Wines of the Week with John Syfor

2010 Rickshaw Cabernet Sauvignon California

     First I would like to offer my apologies for not posting last week. My reason for doing so was simply that I had not come across a wine I felt strongly about. Well, I am back and I have a great value from California. 

     Rickshaw is a second label from the talented people behind Banshee Wines. Their purpose with the Rickshaw wines is to both provide quality wines at affordable prices and also give back to the people. They are able to provide great value by finding quality fruit sources from the well know wine producing regions of California, then creating a final blend of all sources. They give back to the people by donating 5% of every bottle sold to feed the hungry in the state where the bottle is sold. Good wine, good cause and now you can drink to feed the hungry.

     Rickshaw makes three wines, but it was the 2010 Cabernet which caught my attention last week. This wine is dark garnet in color with aromas of dark berry, plum, dark chocolate and cassis spice. In the mouth it is full bodied, balanced and bright with flavors of dark plum, cinnamon, dark chocolate and graphite. At around $15 this Cabernet is a fantastic red wine to enjoy by the glass or with grilled steak or pork.

John Syfor

john@federalwine.com

Wine of the Week with John Syfor

2010 Greystone California Chardonnay

     This affordable little beauty was presented to me last week and it is an unbelievable value. Not a heavy over-oaked fruit bomb, this wine was made with food in mind. In fact, the Greystone winery building, which was built in 1889, is the current home of the California branch of the Culinary Institute of America. The wine was originally made exclusively for the Institute, before becoming nationally available. A portion of the proceeds goes to benefit the not-for-profit Institute.

     In the glass it is medium gold in color with bright, fresh aromas of tropical fruit, apples and pineapple. On the palate it is medium bodied with flavors of green apple, pears and a touch of vanilla balanced by a line of crisp acidity. At about $10 per bottle, this wine became a new candidate for my everyday house white wine. I would pair this with chicken or fuller fish dishes like tuna.

John Syfor

john@federalwine.com

Wine of the Week with John Syfor

2009 Finca Decero Cabernet Sauvignon

     This weeks' pick is a recent find from Argentina. Though a bit more money than the wines of the last three weeks, it is a steal at $18. Coming from the Remolinos Vineyard in Agrelo, a sub-appellation of Mendoza, this is higher elevation fruit from the foothills of the Andes. My experiences with higher elevation fruit in other regions of the world is that it produces wines with greater character, the same applies here.
     In the glass the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon is a dark garnet color with aromas of dusty blackberry, cherry, vanilla, and cedar with a floral note. On the palate it is medium to full bodied with a balance of blackberry fruit, smoke and mild grainy tannins. This is an elegant wine with the structure to age for a few years which is unusual for this price point. This wine will continue to develop and improve even further with a couple more years of bottle age. It should be drinking its best over the next 3 to 5 years.
This is an ideal wine for grilled steak.

John Syfor
john@federalwine.com

Federal WineLines: Rhone Rangers (by John Syfor)

FEDERAL WINELINES

This Week’s Tasting: Rhone Rangers
2010 Winderlea Dundee Hills Pinot Noir Vignette: Invertebrate Terroir

This Week’s Tasting:
Wednesday, August 8th, 5:00pm - 7:00pm
60 State Street, 7th Floor 

Rhone Rangers

We have an exciting tasting this week. As a fan of the wines from the Rhone Valley, I am pleased to show American versions of these wines, which I find more interesting than the more familiar Chardonnays and Cabernets.

If you are unfamiliar with the term, Rhone Rangers are American winemakers who promote the use of grape varietals grown in France’s Rhone Valley. The Rangers began in California in the 1980s, but did not really catch on with consumers. The movement received some further attention in the late 1990s when the Perrin family, proprietors of Chateau de Beaucastel, one of the two or three best estates in Chateauneuf du Pape, founded Tablas Creek Vineyard in Paso Robles, in partnership with their American wine importer. They also began a nursery with grape vine cuttings from Beaucastel itself, which they both sell to other growers and use to make their own wines.

In the southern Rhone, the wines are almost always blends, while northern reds are nearly all Syrah, and the whites, if not single varietals are two or three at the most. However, in America, winemakers are free to make either single varietals or blends at their will. While the Rhone Ranger are now represented in a number of winemaking states, all of this weeks wines are from California.

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The Perfect Summer White Wine (by John Syfor)

The name may sound familiar, as I recently featured this wines' "red relative". Well, Summer is here and it is time to bring out some "refreshing white wines". The 2011 Cooper Hill Pinot Gris from Willamette Valley, Oregon grabbed my attention with its crisp acidity and enticing fruit. It is light in body, but has plenty of Pinot Gris’ characteristic. Peach and green herb flavors. Grab a bottle and chill it down to cut through the heat. This wine is perfect for a barbecue, the beach, or just relaxing by poolside (or on the stoop, depending on "how you roll"). And just like the red wine from this producer, it is made with organic and biodynamic grapes.

John Syfor - Wine Consultant

Federal Wines and Spirits

29 State Street, Boston MA

john@federalwine.com

The Most Interesting American Pinot Noir (by John Syfor)

The Most Interesting American Pinot Noir I have Tasted So Far

      

     Part of my job is to taste wine everyday...I know, boo hoo. Truth is, most of what I taste is uninteresting, especially when it is American wine.  That said, I am always in search of "interesting" American wines. Recently I had the opportunity to taste the wines of Bergstrom, a winery from Oregon. From the first taste of their Chardonnay to the last sip of their single vineyard Pinot Noir, I was hooked. These wines speak of the earth from which they come, which is common of European wine, but not always so of "New World" wines. Like their "high-quality" European counterparts, these wines are not inexpensive, but dollar for dollar, they are much more affordable. 

The featured wine is the Cumberland Reserve Pinot Noir: this wine is a blend of fruit from four vineyards. 

Color: Clear, Dark Garnet

Aromas: Black Cherry, Smoke, Spice, Meaty

Mouth: Medium-Full Body, Cherry, Earthy Spice, Smokey, Balanced Acidity, Long Finish

John Syfor - Wine Consultant
Federal Wines and Spirits
29 State Street, Boston MA
john@federalwine.com

2009 Bordeaux Is Here!

    Bordeaux is a wine region which many young wine drinkers have heard of but have very little experience with. This is mainly due to continually rising costs of the top name Chateau of the region, which put these wines out of reach for many of us. Also there is the ageability of these wines. Many of us have randomly purchased a bottle of current release Bordeaux only to find the wine to be both very acidic and tannic, making it almost undrinkable. Most of us do not have the storage space nor the time to wait these wines out to catch them in their full glory.

   
 Well, the 2009's are just beginning to arrive here in the States and I must say there are many which are  presenting very well early on. This is mainly to do with the vintage. 2009 being very ripe vintage. What this means is more fruit up front and less acid and with smoother tannins. There are still many wines, especially those which carry higher price tags, that should be held onto for a longer period of time, but I have already tasted a few which have shown well after only a few hours of breathing time. If you have the time and space, it would be best to wait 2-3 years to start drinking. If like me you do not, then just pull the cork, decant and wait about two hours. And the best thing is, most of what I have tasted have been under $30.
 
  If you are looking for any recommendations or suggestions, just shoot me an email or pay me a visit at the store.

John Syfor - Wine Consultant

Federal Wines and Spirits

29 State Street, Boston MA

john@federalwine.com