Old-School California Cabernet, XVIII: Sequoia Grove Cambium 2007
The cambium is the sheath of cells that lies between the bark and inner wood of any woody plant that transports water and nutrients from roots to the canopy of leaves. Appropriately, then, Sequoia Grove named its new, limited edition cabernet sauvignon-based wine after this essential anatomical feature not only of trees but of grapevines....
Wine Tasting Video: Rosés from southern France
Marks & Spencer Bordeaux Rosé 2010 (£6.99 Marks & Spencer) Fresh, sappy young style, like apple and blackberry pie in a glass, with a touch of leafiness on the finish. B Sacha Lichine Le Poussin Rosé Vin de France (£9.95 Wine Hound, Last ...
Pairs of Great Wines, No. 3: Stone Edge Farm
Stone Edge Farm, set in the verdant foothills of Sonoma Mountain, is a collaboration between Mac McQuown, who helped finance Chalone Winery in what seems like a whole different era, and perennial winemaker Jeff Baker. The two were partners in the old Carmenet Winery, launched in 1980. (The Chalone Wine Group sold the Carmenet brand...
Old-School California Cabernet, No. XVII: Louis M. Martini
Highway 29 around St. Helena so long ago turned into a carnival of showcase wineries, tasting-rooms and traffic jams that it’s difficult to imagine what the Napa Valley was like in 1934 when Italian immigrant Louis M. Martini moved from the Central Valley and founded his eponymous winery. What else was there? Beringer, Beaulieu, Inglenook,...
Pairs of Great Wines, No. 2: Kelly Fleming Wines
Specialization can be a great thing; I wish more wineries practiced the habit rather than trying to be all things to all people. Kelly Fleming Wines, established in 1998, makes only limited bottlings of a sauvignon blanc wine and a cabernet sauvignon, each 100 percent varietal. Fleming (pictured below) bought 300 acres in the northward...
Head Out to JM Cellars
If you’ve never been to JM Cellars in Woodinville, you are missing out on many wonderful Washington wines. Located on a hillside called Bramble Bump, JM Cellars offers first-class wines with a view. Luck was with us a couple of weeks ago, when we stumbled upon an unexpected release party at JM Cellars. Winemaker/co-owner John Bigelow was...
Wine Tasting Video: Cabernet & Merlot from Australia, Italy and California
Some wines I filmed before Christmas when I’d been banished to one of the darker rooms in the house… Wakefield Estate Merlot 2009, Clare Valley, Australia (£9.99-£10.99 Cheers, Constantine Stores, Majestic, Nidderdale Fine Wines, Oliver
Classic Cabernets for $15 or Less
There are all kinds of Cabernet Sauvignon out there. Some are too fruity for me. Some are too green. Some are too expensive. Some are too huge, with big alcohol and palate-punishing tannins.I like my Cabernets to have a classic profile: plum and curran...
Knappstein Enterprise Cabernet 1998
Clare Valley, South Australia. Cabernet sauvignon, Malbec 3%. Cork. Cellar.Last tried as a 9 year old, this seems unchanged. It still smells and feels like a Clare red. It's sharp with blackcurrant, eucalyptus and bay leaf. There is something bushy and...
Sogno Superbo
The first time we ever tasted Cabernet Franc is stamped in our memories because we immediately fell in love with this grape. The year was 1999, when we had just moved to Seattle and took our first drive to Woodinville wine country. The winery was DiStefano. We became instant fans and remain so today. Slightly more than...
Friday Wine Sips: Super Bowl Bad Boys
Sunday is the Big Day, and millions of Americans will gather in their caves around open fires, er, I mean, in their dens, media rooms and home theaters around the hypnotic glow of large-screen televisions to watch Super Bowl XLVI and devour billions of chicken wings, pigs-in-blankets and cheesy barbecue nachos. Many will drink beer,...
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Cheval des Andes, 2005
My (software) day job is pretty intense right now. I can’t afford to spend hours researching wine. Yet, somehow, I still find time to drink it (early evenings only, you understand, and in sensible measures). So, you can find all about this Franco-Argie mix just by Googling it, or by visiting Jamie Goode’s excellent Wine Anorak....
