2007 Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Merlot

Norm's Tasting Notes
by: Norm Bentley
North Georgia Wine Advisor
normwine@bellsouth.net





2007 Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Merlot
#nb-26-10

Cold weather and steaks hot off the grill! What could be better? Last night we indulged ourselves with two inch thick, medium rare, filet mignons, and a bottle of 2007 Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Merlot. Many of you know the Blackstone California Merlot as a good solid choice for a value priced red wine, but the Reserve is a real step up!

The 2007 Blackstone is still a touch on the young side, and should take another twelve to eighteen months for the tannins to mellow out. This is a Cabernet drinker's Merlot with big hearty flavors of cherry and dark berries. The nose is exciting and entices you to linger over the glass before your first sip. The flavor of the wine with the steak was magnificent, and made for a great match. The wine was aged for twenty months in oak, which should give it a long life. While quite good right now, it should be at its best by the fall of 2012.

The Reserve Merlot gets a score of 91 from the "Wine and Spirits" magazine with the following quote: "The moderate 2007 season created wines like this cool, mouthwatering red. It's neither fussy nor ambitious; it just tastes clean and bright, lasting with the flavor of cherries slowly ripened in the shade." This Merlot is predominantly from the Alexander and Dry Creek Valleys of Sonoma County, California.

Serve this wonderful Merlot with steaks, chops, or red sauced pasta. Norm's score is 90.

This year for Christmas the "Chardonnay Queen" and I will be spending the holiday at our little cottage by the sea in Matlacha, Florida. While there, we will be fishing and eating fish, and consuming great quantities of wine, mostly white. We will have, however, our traditional Christmas Dinner of Chateaubriand and a hearty red wine! There will not be another edition of "Norm's Tasting Notes" until our return at the beginning of the new year. Until then, Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

Price - $16 - $20
Score - 90

Norm

Norm's Tasting Notes can also be accessed at his Blog: http://normwine.blogspot.com/

Norm's Tasting Notes available online at either:

dawsontimes.com or
pineisland-eagle.com

2008 Rodney Strong Reserve Chardonnay

Norm's Tasting Notes
by: Norm Bentley
North Georgia Wine Advisor
normwine@bellsouth.net





2008 Rodney Strong Reserve Chardonnay
#nb-25-10

Ever since my wife Mary, "The Chardonnay Queen", met Rodney Strong in the mid 80's, Chardonnay from his winery has always been her favorite. A very nice person gave her a bottle of 2008 Rodney Strong Reserve Chardonnay for her birthday in May, and we saved it for the Thanksgiving Feast this November.

The Reserve Chardonnay gets scores of 90 and above every year, and this was no exception. This 100% Chardonnay is predominantly from the Russian River area of Sonoma County, California, and has the big lush fruit flavors normally associated with the grapes grown there. The wine was aged for fourteen months in French oak, and underwent malolactic fermentation, which brings out that buttery and creamy texture that many of us love so much!

This year for Thanksgiving we had Cornish Game Hen instead of turkey, and the R. Strong Reserve was a most excellent match. This is a big full-bodied Chardonnay with bold fruit, tinged with mild citrus notes, and all of the typical apple and pear flavors of Chardonnay. As I said before the fruit is lush and succulent and finishes crisp and clean, with the presence of oak firmly established , but not over-powering. The taste just begs for another sip!

This Chardonnay was great with our Thanksgiving Feast, and would pair well with almost any fowl. The best combination would be with lobster or shrimp, with lots of butter and garlic! Norm's score is 92.

Price - $35 - $40
Score - 92

Norm

Norm's Tasting Notes can also be accessed at his Blog: http://normwine.blogspot.com/

Norm's Tasting Notes available online at either:

dawsontimes.com or
pineisland-eagle.com

2008 Gnarly Head Old Vine Zinfandel

Norm's Tasting Notes
by: Norm Bentley
North Georgia Wine Advisor
normwine@bellsouth.net




2008 Gnarly Head Old Vine Zinfandel
#nb-24-10

Old vines mean great wine! The 2008 Gnarly Head Old Vine Zinfandel really isn't great, just really good, but when you factor in the under ten dollar price, it is a great buy! The noted wine writer Wilford Wong scored it an 87 and said, "A joyous, table wine zin, the easy drinking '08 Gnarly Head Old Vine Zin has plenty of character but without hard tannins that often make the older vines too hard; finishes well."

This is a hearty Zinfandel with aromas of blackberry, which sail into flavors of spice and rich laryers of dark berries. The finish has oak in it, but not overpowering, with jammy and peppery notes at the end. This wonderful Zinfandel is smooth enough for a plate of spaghetti, but with enough backbone to stand up to barbecued venison, or any other hearty meat dish.

Someone once asked me what was the best wine for barbecue, and I replied, beer or sweet ice tea. That was before my first taste of an old vine Zinfandel! The Gnarly Head old vines are grown down in Lodi, California, and are between 35 and 80 years old. They produce smaller quantities of grapes with more intense juice, which is the perfect match for any barbecue except chicken. The wine is just a little too powerful for chicken, but as I said before, it is great with spaghetti! Norm's score is 89.

Price - $8 - $10
Score - 89

Norm

Norm's Tasting Notes can also be accessed at his Blog: http://normwine.blogspot.com/

Norm's Tasting Notes available online at either:

dawsontimes.com or
pineisland-eagle.com