Bottle Notes, Zinfandel

2011 Turley Zinfandel Juvenile – Bottle Notes

Turley Wine Cellars was founded in 1993 by Larry Turley and specializes in small lots of Zinfandel and Petite Sirah from some of California’s most historic and treasured vineyards. Turley now makes 28 separate wines from 35 different vineyards, some with vines that date back to the late 1800’s. Tegan Passalacqua is the Director of Winemaking at Turley and has been…

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Bottle Notes, Merlot

2006 Cayuse Flying Pig – Bottle Notes

The 2006 Cayuse Flying Pig was the wining bottle in the September Installment of Pick My Next Bottle. Cayuse was founded in 1997 by Christophe Baron, a native of France who grew up in family of winemakers in Champagne. Baron studied viticulture in Burgundy and Champagne, and had ambitions to make Pinot Noir in Oregon. However, on a visit to…

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Bottle Notes, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

2003 Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape – Bottle Notes

Vieux Donjon was formed in 1966 by Marcel Michel. The current iteration came about in 1979 with the marriage of Lucien and Marie José Michel. Both Lucien and Marie José’s parents owned vineyards in the region, and those holdings were combined to form Vieux Donjon. The domaine covers fourteen hectares of vineyards, thirteen planted to red grapes and one planted…

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Random Musings

The Week in Zinfandel (9/21/15)

Welcome to the latest installment of The Week in Zinfandel. If I missed your post or story please send me a link and I will be sure to include it next week. Cheers! Cliff’s Wine Picks reviews the 2007 Ridge Geyserville. Santa Cruz Sentinel writes My, My – An Arousing Zinfandel. Ridge Wine Blog writes That’s a Wrap on Lytton…

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Bottle Notes, Zinfandel

2006 Williams Selyem Zinfandel Feeney Vineyard – Bottle Notes

Williams Selyem Winery began when Ed Selyem and Burt Williams started making wine as a hobby in 1979 in Forestville, California. Their first commercial release was in 1981, and in less than two decades they created a cult-status winery of international acclaim. Setting a new standard for Pinot Noir winemaking, they put Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley at the forefront…

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Buying Wine

Pick My Next Bottle – 2006 Washington Merlot

The September installment of Pick My Next Bottle focuses on 2006 Washington Merlot. As I mentioned in the first installment, the purpose of this series is to provide insight into specific wines or producers you may currently have in your cellar. I plan on opening the winning bottle this coming weekend and will publish a Bottle Note shortly thereafter. 2006 was…

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Bottle Notes

Force Majeure Fall Release Wines

Force Majeure was founded in 2004 by Paul McBride and Ryan Johnson and made its name pairing some of Washington’s highly acclaimed winemakers with fruit from one of Washington’s highly acclaimed vineyards, Ciel du Cheval. The winemakers contributing to the “Collaboration Series” is a Who’s Who of Washington winemakers including Ben Smith, Carolyn Lakewold, Chris Gorman, James Mantone, Mark McNeilly and Mike…

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Random Musings

The Week in Zinfandel (9/14/15)

Welcome to the latest installment of The Week in Zinfandel. If I missed your post or story please send me a link and I will be sure to include it next week. Cheers! Now And Zin Wine Blog reviews the 2013 Lodi Native Zinfandel Marian’s Vineyard. San Francisco Examiner writes El Dorado County: An Unexpected Wine Region. Wine Enthusiast writes…

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Bottle Notes

2013 Navarro Vineyards Gewürztraminer – Bottle Notes

Located in the Anderson Valley, Navarro Vineyards has been producing exceptional, fairly-priced wines since 1974. The winery is best known for its range of Pinot Noirs, including the showstopper Deep End Blend (available through futures). They also produce an age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignon a delicious Zinfandel and their whites are noteworthy with a one-of-a-kind Riesling, Gewurztaminer and Muscat Blanc. Very light in…

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