Silver Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Silver Ridge 2007

Cabernet Sauvignon $11.99

Napa, CA

3.5 Stars

Not a very strong smell. Black fruits, maybe blackberry or boysenberry and some woody scents.

Very fruit forward, rich and delicious. Well balanced, with a short finish. Very easy to enjoy.

Talus Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Talus 2005

Cabernet Sauvignon $6.99

Lodi, California

3 stars

Smells woody, minerally. cloves

Hints of raspberry, cherry

Tastes

Not very tannic

balanced

moderate finish

A great wine for the price!

Mark West Pinot Noir 2008

Mark West 2008

Pinot Noir $12.99

Sonoma, CA

3.0 stars

Dark licorice smell. Flavor comes on late. Tangy to start with slight citrus flavors. Blends into a smooth short finish.

Viven, Viven Tempranillo 2007

Viven, Viven 2007

Tempranillo $11.99

Ribera del Duero, Spain

3 stars

Very nice color. Not a very strong aroma.

Sweet and tangy on the tongue. Blueberry and spice flavors. Short finish.

Torremoron Tempranillo 2008

Torremoron 2008

Tempranillo $12.99

Ribera Del Duero, Spain

2.5 stars

Smells of cherry and dark spice.

Muted flavors. Citrus. Dry and tart with a short finish

Mano A Mano Tempranillo 2007

Mano A Mano 2007

Tempranillo ~$11.99

Spain

4 stars

Smells good, mainly of cherries.

Fruit forward and delicious. Has a somewhat tangy sweet flavor. Has hints of vanilla. Somewhat short finish, but overall a great drinking wine.

Wild Horse Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Wild Horse 2006

Cabernet Sauvignon $16.99

Pasa Robles

3.5 stars

Smells of raw mango, cherries and blueberries. Light hints of oak.

Light to Medium bodied with sharp crisp flavors. Tart cherry and blueberry with a short finish. Easy drinking fruit forward wine.

Magnificent Wine Company Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Magnificent Wine Company 2006

Cabernet Sauvignon $18.99

Columbia Valley, California

2.5 stars

Smells of vanilla.

Tastes of plum and currant. Slight caramel flavors. Finish was slightly dry and tannic.

Macphail Pinot Noir 2006

Macphail 2006

Pinot Noir $46.99

Sonoma Coast (Pratt Vineyard), California

3 stars

Smells and tastes of caramel. Very smooth with a long finish. This wine was easy drinking, but lacked the intensity and dimension I was looking for. Maybe it needs to be aged.

Ironstone Petite Sirah 2007

Ironstone 2007

Petite Sirah $9.99

Lodi Appellation, California

2.5 stars

Fruity and flavorful. One dimensional with plum flavor. Dry finish.

Xplorador Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

Xplorador (Concha y Toro)

Cabernet Sauvignon $8.99

Central Valley, Chile

2.0 stars

Beautiful color. Very floral. Wood and pepper, like a petite sirah.

Wine itself is dry and overly tannic. Finishes quite dry.

Cloudline Pinot Noir 2006

Cloudline 2006

Pinot Noir $17.99

Oregon

3.5 stars

This was a gift from my sister. Thanks Lauren.

Smells of cherries and blackberries.

Light to medium bodied, very well balanced. Dark fruits including cherries and plum. Tannins are present but at a very nice level. Ends in a smooth long finish.

Ruffino Chianti 2007

Ruffino 2007

Chianti $9

Tuscany, Italy

2.5 stars

slightly bitter and dry finish.

Peju Merlot 2006

Peju 2006

Merlot $30

Napa Valley

2 stars

Tastes of strawberry, cinnamon and black cherry. Tasted somewhat diluted and watery.

Vitiano Red Blend 2007

Vitiano 2007

Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, Merlot

Italy

3 stars

Smells of ripe dark red fruits. Spicy flavor with a dab of pepper.

Waterbrook Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Waterbrook 2006

Cabernet Sauvignon $14

Columbia Valley

3 stars

No notes.

Acacia Red Blend 2007

Acacia 2007

Red Blend $11

California

2.5 stars

Smells of fresh carrot, red bell pepper with touches of granny smith apple.

Tastes strongly of syrah with raspberry and walnut flavors. Dry finish.

Layer Cake Malbec 2007

Layer Cake 2007

Malbec $13

Mendoza, Argentina

2.5 stars

Smells of pepper and over ripe bananas. Spicy full flavors.

Starmont Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Starmont 2006

Cabernet Sauvignon

Napa Valley, CA

3 stars

This was a good wine. It has a slight tar smell remaniscent of a nebbiolo or barbera. Tasted of dark red fruits, radish and cranberry. Slightly spicy with a dry finish.

Ratings from our tasting at the Hogel Zoo event.

We just attended an event at our local zoo, and they had 15 wines under $15 that were rated very highly. We didn't write a full review for each, but did rate each of the wines and averaged the scores between ourselves. I was dissappointed that we didnt find a wine that we really loved out of the 15.
https://www.hoglezoo.org/events_experiences/events_calendar/08-19-2009/wild-about-wine

Sparkling
Segura Viudas Brut Reserva, Cava, Spain - $9.99 - 89 Wine & Spirits 2 stars

Rose
’08 Wolf Trap, Rose, So Africa - $9.99 - 88 Wine Spectator 2.25 stars

White
’08 Cono Sur, Viognier, Chile - $9.99 - 88 Intl Wine Cellar 2.25 stars
’07 King’s Ridge Riesling, Oregon - $11.99 - 90 Wine Enthusiast 2.5 stars
’08 Neil Ellis Sincerely, Sauvignon Blanc, So Africa - $11.99 - 90 Intl Wine 2.0 stars
’08 Pine Ridge, Chenin Blanc-Viognier, Napa Valley - $12.89 - 90 Wine Advocate 2.75 stars

Red
’07 Man Vintners Pinotage, So Africa - $8.99 - 88 Wine Enthusiast 2.75 stars
’06 Cono Sur Vision, Cabernet, Chile - $9.48 - 88 Intl Wine Cellar 2.5 stars
’07 Yalumba, Shiraz Viognier, Australia - $9.99 - 89 Wine Spectator 3.0 stars
’07 Tapena, Garnacha, Spain - $10.99 - 89 Anthony Dias 3.25 stars
’04 Ca’ntele, Salice Salentino Riserva, Italy - $10.99 - 92 Wine & Spirits 2.75 stars
’06 Goats Do Roam, Red, So Africa - $10.99 - 88 Wine Enthusiast 3.0 stars
’07 Neil Ellis Left Bank, Red, South Africa - $12.99 - 90 Wine Enthusiast 3.0 stars
’05 Curtis, Heritage Cuvee, Santa Barbara - $13.01 - 88 California Grape Vine 3.25 stars
’07 Dona Paula, Malbec, Argentina - $13.99 - 90 Wine Spectator 2.5 stars

Frey Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Frey 2007

Cabernet Sauvignon $13.99

Mendocino, CA

2.5 stars

This is an organic wine. Full bodied and peppery. Very dry short finish.

New Wine Scale

Harlow Ridge Petite Sirah 2006

Harlow Ridge 2006

Petite Sirah $11

Lodi

3 stars

Blueberry aromas. Abrupt flavor at first, but dies out quickly. Flavor is of raspberries tart/sour like the skin of plum. Quite a dry and short finish.

Guenoc Petit Sirah 2006

Guenoc 2006
Petite Sirah $13.99
Lake County
3.5 stars

Smells of dates. Slightly dry with a nice finish.

Chateau D'Arche Bordeaux 2001

Chateau D'Arche 2001

Wines from the Haut-Medoc region are usually Cabernet Sauvignon that has been blended with some Merlot and a small amount of Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot or Carmenere.

Haut-Medoc

Cru Borgeois

Bordeaux $19.99

3 stars

Smelled of rich cherries and other dark red fruits. Slightly dry on the tongue. Medium bodied and rich with tannins. Shorter somewhat unfulfilling finish.

Chateau Des Annereaux Bordeaux 2003

Chateau Des Annereaux 2003

Usually wines from Pomerol are primarily Cabernet Franc blended with Merlot and sometimes small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon.

LaLande De Pomerol

Bordeaux $26.17

3.5 stars

Very floral. Cherry, Jam and black licorice aromas. Light dry red fruit flavors. Well balanced with an extremely long finish.

Kali Hart Pinot Noir 2006

Kali Hart 2006

Pinot Noir $15.99

Monterey County

2 stars

Very tart, with a long finish. Young grapes in a mild body wine with cherry and raspberry flavors. Light in color.

Concannon Petite Sirah 2005

Concannon 2005

Petite Sirah $12.99

Central Coast

4.5 stars

OK, we finished our second bottle of this wine and enjoyed it thoroughly. It has an amazing nose, smells of plum and dark spices (pepper?). The flavor is nice and fruity, gets dryer in the middle and finishes with a very unique flavor. Havnt quite nailed down what it tastes like but I tasted hints of vanilla and white oak. The actual finish is prune like with an overtone of a dark rich wood, maybe hickory or mahogany? I need to learn my wood smells.

I think petite sirah is an interesting varietal because it is not the same or really even related to syrah/shiraz, and most of the petite sirahs that you drink do not even consist of the same grape. Its weird that they have not nailed down what each wine consists of now that they have the technology to do so.

Here is what my wine book says about it:

In the early days petit sirah vines were probably a type of syrah that had small petite grapes. Over the years other vines were mixed in which created field blends in these vineyards. As more and more varieties found their way into california the true identify of petite sirah grew more and more obscure.

With the 1990's DNA fingerprinting of the vineyards revealed 3 common possibilies. First, it could be a field blend of many varieties, including true syrah, carigan, zinfandel, barbera and grenache. Second, the wine may be made from peloursin, and ancient Rhone grape. Finally and most likely is that the wine is a Durif, a cross between peloursin and syrah created in france in the 1880's.

Vega Sindoa Red Blend 2006

Vega Sindoa 2006

60% Cabernet Sauvignon/ 40% Tempranillo $12.99

Valdizarbe Valley, Spain

4 Stars

Very delicious wine. Dark Cherry flavors with a spicy overtone. Light bodied. I can taste the alcohol, but its not overbearing. It has a slightly dry finish, but is easy drinking.

Two Dog Red Blend 2006

Two Dog 2006

Red Blend (50% Syrah, 27% Cabernet Franc, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon) $14.99

Central Coast

3 stars

Spicy yet fruity aroma. Slightly dry wine with dark fruit flavors. Spicy finish.

Louis M. Martin Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Louis M. Martin 2006

Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Sonoma County $13.99

3 stars

Extremely fragrant. Smells of ripe fruit.

Toasted Head Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Toasted Head 2006

Cabernet Sauvignon $14.99

North Coast

3 stars

Balanced, earthy tones, easy finish

Damilano Nebbiolo 2006

Damilano 2006

Nebbiolo $15.99

Barolo, Italy

2.5 stars

This wine is very fruity and has aromas of herbs and tannins. The wine itself is dark and rich and fruity. It finishes very dry with a lot of tannins. It is also slightly heavy bodied and really coats your tongue and mouth. Also has a tar like aftertaste.

Nebbiolo is a varietal that is used to make Italys most famous wine varietals Barbaresca and Barolo. This grape is massively structured and adamantly tannic when young. Nebbiolo can simply close your palatte down and cause your taste buds to shrink away. With age, nebbiolo becomes a delicious combination of suppleness and power. Nebbiolo has particular flavors and aromas of tar, violets, and often a rich espresso-like bitterness. Very little Nebbiolo is planted outside of Italy.

Briccotondo Barbera 2007

Briccotondo 2007

Barbera $15.99

Piedmont, Italy

3.5 stars

Very well balanced wine. Rich red fruits, with a tar like overtone.

Barbera is the most widely planted grape in Piedmont, although nebbiolo is more renowned. Barbera is a mouthfilling rich wine that is packed with every black fruit imaginable: blackberry, black cherry, black raspberry and black plum. The wine also has a vivacity and a vibrancy that comes from the grapes high natural acidity. Italy and California remain the major areas for Barbera. Little is planted elsewhere in the world.

Peju Province Estate Bottled Zinfandel, Napa 2004

Peju Winery

Zinfandel $27.99
Napa Valley
4.5 stars

This is spicy and dry on the nose with dried red fruits, warm maple, nutty and chocolate notes. There are also some nice spicy and tannic explosions right before the clean finish. I noticed as the wine sat and breathed, the finish softened and cinnamon notes became more dominant. This is a lovely entertaining wine. I can imagine many guests loving this wine's aproachability and many wine snobs loving this zinfandel's complex flavor finish combinations.

I give this wine 4.5 star rating for it's drinkability and strong dedication to satisfying my craving for unique spicy personalities. Cheers to Peju's 2004 Zinfandel, a sultry, spicy new wine friend of mine : ) Thanks mom, for the birthday gift!

Sean Minor Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Sean Minor 2006

Cabernet Sauvignon $11.99

Napa Valley

2.5 stars

Slightly dry, tart with some tannins. Very fruit forward. Dry finish with some wood overtones.

Clos du Bois Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Clos du Bois 2005

Cabernet Sauvignon $18.99

North Coast

3 stars

Mild subtle flavors. Black cherry with light plum.

Sagelands Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Sagelands 2006

Cabernet Sauvignon $13.51

Columbia Valley

2.5 stars

Smells of plum. Taste is tart like tart cherries. mellow and smooth finish.

Avalon Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Avalon 2005

Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Napa Valley

3 stars

Smells of slight vanilla. light, with cherry flavors. Slightly dry/bitter aftertaste.

Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Columbia Crest 2005
Cabernet Sauvignon $13.00
Grand Estates, Columbia Valley

3.5 stars
Very quick burst of flavor to start. Hints of cranberry with a slightly dry finish.

Inman Family Pinot Noir 2005

Inman Faily 2005

Pinot Noir $45.00

Olivet Grange Vineyard, Russian River Valley

3.5 stars

Well balanced. Smooth and mild. Woody/nutty with faint rich fruit flavors. Flavor comes on fast then disappears only to return to the tongue for finish.

Villa Mt. Eden Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Villa Mt. Eden 2005

Modesto, California
Cabernet Sauvignon $14.49
2 stars

Straw-like organic smell. Dry wine with a dry finish as well.

Casa Lapostolle - Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Casa Lapostolle 2006

Cabernet Sauvignon $10.99

Rapel Valley

3.5 Stars

Nice fruit forward flavors. Spicy on the nose, not so on the tongue. Raspberry , Blackberry, Cherry with fruity finish. Wet yet minerally. Well Balanced.