2009 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot

Norm's Tasting Notes By: Norm Bentley North Georgia Wine Advisor normwine@bellsouth.net 2009 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot #nb-11-13 It seems like year after year the Columbia Crest folks come up with a quality Merlot at a good value price, and the 2009 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot is no exception. We opened a bottle the other night with before dinner appetizers for some guests at our house, and everyone was quite pleased, and surprised to find a wine of this quality in the under fifteen category.   The Columbia Crest brand is a secondary label For Chateau Ste. Michelle, and the wine comes from the Columbia Valley in Washington State. The Wine Spectator liked this one well enough for an 88 score, and had this to say; "Lithe, polished and approachable, with generous raspberry, cranberry, floral and white chocolate flavors that linger easily against refined tannins." The alcohol content is 13.5%.   I noticed cherry, raspberry, and blackberry highlights among the rich fruit flavors swirling throughout the wine, but did not detect the presence of cranberry. The finish is strong with subtle tannins, and the taste lingers in anticipation of another sip. Norm's score would be 89.   While we enjoyed the wine with cheese and other appetizers, it would be a good companion for grilled meats, preferably steak, or a hearty pasta dish. It is easy to see why Columbia Crest maintains such an elevated reputation, while others struggle to produce wines of this quality, even in the twenty dollar range.   Score 89   Price: $12 - $16 Norm Norm’s Tasting Notes can also be accessed at his blog: http://normwine.blogspot.com/ Norm’s Tasting Notes available online at either: http://cumminghome.com/ http://dawsontimes.com/ http://pineisland-eagle.com/ WINE – God’s Proof of his love for humanity

2009 Villa Antinori Toscana IGT

Norm's Tasting Notes By: Norm Bentley North Georgia Wine Advisor normwine@bellsouth.net 2009 Villa Antinori Toscana #nb-10-13   Dating back past 1385 when the house of Antinori joined the Italian Wine Makers Guild, the Antinori family has helped define the history, as well as the wines of Tuscany,  Tuscany is a beautiful countryside famous for its beautiful wines, and the 2009 Villa Antinori Toscana IGT is a classic example of Italian winemaking art. Like most Super Tuscans, it is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Sangiovese, and a favorite style of wine for me, as well as many others. The color is a deep and intense red, with a bouquet as large as the sky itself, filled with the scent of cherries and dark berries. The flavor explodes from the glass with a burst of cherry and currant highlighted by chocolate and spice. The finished sails on, like a clipper ship on an around the world voyage. Needless to say, I found this wine to be most enjoyable and I will join other critics with a rating of high praise.  Norm's score is 91.   The wine is perfect with most meat and game dishes and would be a wonderful choice for a true Italian dish like veal Marsala, with a side of spaghetti marinara. Score 91 Price: $19 - $ 24 Norm Norm’s Tasting Notes can also be accessed at his blog: http://normwine.blogspot.com/ Norm’s Tasting Notes available online at either: http://cumminghome.com/ http://dawsontimes.com/ http://pineisland-eagle.com/ WINE – God’s Proof of his love for humanity

2010 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Chardonnay

Norm's Tasting Notes by:Norm Bentley North Georgia Wine Advisor normwine@bellsouth.net   2010 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Chardonnay #nb-09-13     Once again Columbia Crest, a secondary label for Chateau Ste. Michelle has produced another quality entry in the value price range. The 2010 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Chardonnay is the fifth or sixth vintage in a row to rate in the high eighties or low nineties. The Wine Spectator scored this one an 89.   The opening bouquet is filled with the scent of a fresh fruit bowl of apples and pears joined with a wafting breeze of citrus drifting across the top. The flavor is abundant with green apples, and a slight influence of tropical fruit trailing off into a mild suggestion of lemon-lime citrus. The finish is well balanced between the acidity and the fruit, with a crisp and lingering aftertaste tinged with buttery oak. The wine was aged in both old and new French oak, with about one quarter of the juice done in stainless steel. The alcohol content is 13.5%.   We enjoyed this pleasant Chardonnay with a bay scallops and pasta Alfredo dish teamed with zucchini and yellow squash stir fry. This would also be a good choice for lemon-herb chicken or another well seasoned fish or fowl entree. Norm's score is 88.   Score: 88 Price: $9 - $12 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 cumminghome.com pineisland-eagle.com WINE - God's proof of his love for humanity

2011 Kendall Jackson Grand Reserve Chardonnay

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




2011 Kendall Jackson Grand Reserve Chardonnay
#nb-08-13

I have raved about my wife's "Special Shrimp Scampi" on numerous occasions in the past, and will probably do so again in the future. The "Chardonnay Queen" loves to cook with garlic and butter, and what better wine to go with this dish than a good California Chardonnay. The 2011 Kendall Jackson Grand Reserve Chardonnay was a great choice to pair with one of my most favorite seafood dinners!

We had sampled the 2010 vintage recently and found it to be quite good, with scores from critics being as high as 92. When we got to our local retailer, they had already advanced to the 2011 vintage, so we picked up this bottle to sample and opened it to go with our Shrimp Scampi. It was delightful. The grapes are sourced from KJ vineyards in both Monterrey and Santa Barbara Counties, and the juice was barrel fermented in mostly new French oak, producing a mild oak finish to accompany its 13.5% alcohol. Malolactic fermentation was introduced to produce the big fruit and buttery taste adding to the wine's complexity, and the end result is quite nice.

The big fruit flavor suggests a bit of lemon and lime citrus to complete the taste of mango and tropical fruit layered with the scent of orange blossom and pear. The wine ends in a clean and crisp goodbye which calls you back for another sip. The KJ was excellent with the Chardonnay Queen's "Special Shrimp Scampi" and would pair well with most any seafood or fowl entree. Norm's score is 90.

Score: 90
Price: $14 - $18

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
cumminghome.com
pineisland-eagle.com






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2009 Bodega Norton Reserva Malbec

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






2009 Norton Reserva Malbec
#nb-07-13

Over the last decade I have looked forward to sampling Malbec wines from Argentina, This Bordeaux grape has become the signature red wine from Argentina, and it was with great relish that I opened a bottle of 2009 Bodega Norton Reserva Malbec the other night. I was not disappointed!

The grapes come from Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina, where the vines are over thirty years old, and the wine is 100% Malbec. It was aged in new French oak barrels for twelve months, and the wine comes in at 14.5% alcohol. The color is a very dark red with purple tinges, and the nose explodes with scents of dark berries containing undertones of cassis and plum. The flavor is rich and full bodied with well-rounded accents of black raspberry, plum, and spice. The finish is bold and lingering, but not over-powering, with hints of vanilla oak and sweet tannins.

This Malbec is a perfect match for a two inch thick fillet mignon grilled medium rare, and would also pair well with an assortment of other grilled meats and hearty fare. It is excellent right now, and should improve for several more years. It will continue to be very drinkable well into the next decade. Mr. Parker and "The Wine Spectator" both rated this one at 89, but Norm's score is 90, and might possibly be higher in another year or two.

Score: 90
Price: $13 - $18

Norm

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

Norm's Tasting Notes available N>online at either:
dawsontimes.com
cumminghome.com
pineisland-eagle.com






WINE - God's proof of his love for humanity

2011 Franciscan Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

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





2010 Franciscan Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
#nb-06-13

I must be slipping. This is my sixth article of 2013, and yet only my first review of a Cabernet Sauvignon. I have often confessed that Cabernet Sauvignon is my favorite of all wines, and especially the Cabs from the Napa Valley. So it is only fitting that the first Cab reviewed this year should be a good one, and this is the case with the 2010 Franciscan Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

This, like many Cabs today, is a blend featuring 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 3% Syrah, and a 1% pinch of Malbec. The color is a dark garnet red with a fragrant nose displaying plums and dark berries. The flavors abound with currant, blackberry, and a touch of cherry. The wine was aged for twenty months in oak, so the finish is accented by rich tannins which may need a little breathing time, so as not to over-power the lingering big fruit ending, which sails on into the night.

You cannot ask for a better wine with steak than the Franciscan, with its big, rich, full-bodied character asserting itself with any grilled meat. This is a good example of a quality Napa Cab in the under thirty dollar range, and it will rival many Cabernets costing more. While it is very good right now, it will be even better by 2015, if you can wait a couple of years.  Norm's score is 89.

Score: 89
Price: $19 - $27

Norm

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

Norm's Tasting Notes available N>online at either:
dawsontimes.com
cumminghome.com
pineisland-eagle.com







WINE - God's proof of his love for humanity

2010 Rodney Strong Knotty Vines Zinfandel

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





2010 Rodney Strong Knotty Vines Zinfandel

I sampled the 2009 Rodney Strong Knotty Vines Zinfandel last fall and enjoyed it quite a bit, so I was delighted to have an opportunity recently to taste the 2010 vintage. The vines in the Knotty Vines Vineyard in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County date back to the early 1900's. The folks at Rodney Strong combine these grapes with those from their vineyards in the Alexander Valley to produce an excellent Zinfandel, which pairs well with a variety of grilled meats, and other hearty fare.

I had read that the 2010 vintage took a Double Gold Medal at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition recently, so I was eager to have a taste. The wine is a deep red purple in color with an explosive nose of dark fruit, which fills your senses with its presence. It has jammy flavors of blackberries, black raspberries, and dark cherries, with a hint of the pepper taste that I like so much in Zinfandel. The wine was aged for sixteen months in French and American oak so it has a firm backbone, with smooth tannins in the finish. The flavor lingers with a clean and smooth mouth-feel which belies the 15% alcohol content..

We enjoyed the Knotty Vines with grilled pork loin chops, roasted new potaoes and a fresh green garden salad. It was excellent. This wine would also be great with steak, or a hearty Italian pasta dish. Norm's score is 94.

Score: 94
Price: $15 - $19

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
cumminghome.com
pineisland-eagle.com






WINE - God's proof of his love for humanity