Styring Vineyards "Wit" Reserve Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2003

i actually opened all three wines at the same time, pouring a glass of each, smelling and then leaving them site for about 20 minutes, then going back and swirling smelling and tasting them in order. the first one i will write about is the 2003, from the dundee hills region of willamette valley. the nose was very nice, with an immediate earthy tone of wet forest floor, followed by some black cherry, plum and spice notes. i am a big fan of earthy nosed wines and this came through nicely on that front. on the palate, the wine had a spicy wood and blackberry quality. the spice was a little stronger than i remembered it being the first time a tried this wine, but this is not a delicate flower. it had a very nice mouth feel and medium tannins. i sampled the wine again after a day and the tannins had mellowed quite a bit, allowing the blackberry fruit to shine through more and there was a nice earthy and mocha notes in the finish that i didn't get the first day. overall a very nice pinot. this vintage is no longer available, but sold for about $38.

Vertical Tasting-Styring Vineyards Pinot Noir

over the course of the next week i will be blogging about a vertical tasting, something i have been wanting to do for a while now. for the uninitiated, a vertical tasting is two or more wines of the same varietal, in this case pinot noir, from consecutive years, from the same vineyard. i have been holding three different years from styring vineyards, a small producer of exceptional wines in the willamette valley in oregon. this is one of my favorite areas for pinot noir. the three years i will be comparing will be '03, '04, and '05. all three of these wines are not grown on the estate as the first plantings had not yet matured yet. they are all from the valley and this area produces some of the finest pinot noir in the country, if not the world, in my opinion. styring is now producing estate grown pinots as of the 2006 release. i hope to have a bottle of the '06 soon to also compare to these other three. for more info on styring, visit their website http://www.styringvineyards.com/

Funf German Riesling

i noticed i had been hitting the red wines pretty hard so i will throw a few white wine reviews in. i tend to drink more reds during the cooler weather, so i neglect the white wines during this time. the comely brunette and i got this bottle as a gift from a friend. i have blogged on 10 rieslings previously and had mixed feelings on a few. this one falls into that arena. the nose was white peaches and honeysuckle. very sweet and floral on the nose at first pour. on the palate, an almost syrupy mouth feel and a sweet, almost cloying taste. flavors of honeydew and a little honeysuckle, with a sweet grapefruit-like finish. most rieslings have some mineral notes that actually help tone down the sweetness a bit. not this one. way too sweet, almost dessert wine quality. and the name means 'five' in german. funf after five? not for me thanks. sells for about $6.

Howard Park Scotsdale Shiraz 2002

i tried this shiraz recently with the comely brunette. we were enjoying some italian food and needed a wine to stand up to the spicing of the food. this worked quite well. the nose was bramble fruits of blackberry and raspberry with black pepper and a little clove. on the palate, a nice burst of fruit with flavors of blackberry and black pepper. i got some anise and more of the clove in the finish. very interesting and complex wine. sells for about $22. try it with italian food or a nice steak or hearty stew.

Keuka Spring Lemberger 2007

on a recent trip to new york, the comely brunette and i picked up this little known varietal from the finger lakes appellation at a local wine store. the grape hails from austria and does well in cooler climates like the new york finger lakes district. the grape that it is comparable to in my mind is pinot noir, although the lemberger is a bolder, fuller bodied taste. this keuka spring red had a wonderful earthy nose, followed by some nice raspberry and black berry notes. the palate is full of black cherry, earthy notes and toasted vanilla flavors. nice mouth feel with a long, warm finish. sells for about $18 and works well with burgers or steak.

Peñascal Estate Tempranillo-Shriaz 2006

the comely brunette and i enjoyed this blend of 85% tempranillo and 15% shiraz recently with a friend who brought home-made calzones for dinner. a thank you to the curly dark haired scientist for the food. the wine worked very well with the food. the nose was very nice with aromas of spicy pepper and ripe plum. hints of vanilla and a little leather on the nose as well. the palate was full of blackberry, plum, medium tannins and a leather note. a really nice licorice finish made an appearance as the wine opened up. good italian food wine. sells for about $10.

Glorie Farm Winery Cabernet Franc 2007

another wine from the shawangunk wine trail in new york's hudson river region, glorie primarily makes sweeter dessert style wines. the cab franc was a new release for them. the nose had aromas of raspberry, violet and a little earth. the palate was full of raspberry and earth notes, with some floral flavors as well. there was also an odd circus peanut flavor in the finish. tannins were light to medium and the wine was not bad. priced at $21, this red is a bit pricey for the type of wine it is. not bad for a northeast cab franc but i have had better. the cab franc from kinkead ridge in ohio comes to mind. i will be interested to see glorie produce this for a few years and if the wine gets better.

Benmarl Proprietor's Reserve Red Blend (NV)

i spent a day on the shawangunk wine trail along the hudson river in new york. much like the surprise i got when visiting ohio wineries, new york impressed me as well. benmarl winery was one of the stops i made. nice selection of wines and interesting varietals were there for the tasting. this red blend was one of my purchases on the day and the comely brunette and i finally opened the bottle. i am not sure what the blend consisted of and am trying to get that information. i will update this blog when i do. the nose was very fruit forward with loads of blackberries and black cherry aromas. nice spice notes and some slightly cedary wood too. on the palate, the fruity flavors of blackberry, with medium tannins and a nice finish. as the wine opened up, it got a little more complex, and some nice licorice flavors came through. sells for about $15 and is a very good food wine. meats, stews, even gyros, which i enjoyed with the wine. because of the limited production on these wines, they can be hard to get. if you live in the new york area, your local wine store may carry them. if you live elsewhere, i suggest visiting the winery website http://www.benmarl.com/ for more information. if you are in the new york area, the wine trail is well worth the visit.

Domaine Chêne 2007 Bourgogne Pinot Noir

i wrote about the 2005 vintage on this wine some time back and decided to do a comparison with the 2007 vintage. very similar nose on the 07, with strawberries and spice notes. i picked up a hint of the earthy aroma, but the spice was a little stronger this time. i also picked up some nice rose petal notes as the wine sat in the glass. the palate was also very similar to the 05 vintage. strawberry flavors were very strong up front. i wasn't getting as much red raspberry as before, but the spicy clove notes was there, along with some nice floral notes. nice medium tannins and once again a good overall impression. sells for about $12 and works well with salmon or a good roast.

Hook & Ladder "Tillerman" 2006

i tried this red blend of 52% cab, 17% sangiovese, 16% merlot, and 15% cab franc at my local wine store. nice, complex nose with aromas of of chocolate raspberry, spice and some earthy tones. the palate was smooth and juicy with flavors of plums and blackberries, followed by chocolate and pepper. impressive red wine with nice complex flavors that will work with many of your favorite winter foods like chili or stew. sells for about $18.