Geyser Peak's 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon from Alexander Valley

I was pleasantly surprised at lunch when the wine by the glass I ordered had such a pleasant nose of berries and a rich, velvety cherry flavor that coated the mouth and left a long, smooth finish.
Reminded me of a Hess I had a few weeks ago in Santa Clara. Even better, it's on wine.com for $16 a bottle. I ordered 3 to make sure it's not a fluke.
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Thorne Clarke's 2010 Shotfire Quartage from Barossa Valley

While I have had the bottle before (always buy in 3s), it didn't show very well. Nose was too much of tar with a mouthful cherries but too tannic to really enjoy. This one was barely drinkable.
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Cielo's 2009 WildBerrys from the Woodstock Collection

Sitting down in the warm afternoon SoCal weather helps to abate the disappointment here. 

Normally a big fan of the Woodstock Collection, today I was disappointed.

A very pleasant nose of fresh, ripe, red fruit, but followed by a slight taste of sour cherries (using the venturi made it taste worse).  Ironically, it smells and tastes like a GSM, though it claims to be a Cabernet-based wine (100% Cabernet from Alexander Valley).

Drinkable, but not spectacular.

Wine-searcher has it for $19.99  Ironically from Wade's…

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Updated:  We tried the wine after storing half the bottle in a hand-vacuum pump.  Ironically, it got much better.  It took on structure and tasted more like a complex blend from Tuscany or Bordeaux.  Now the trick is to figure out how to "oxidize it, just right" consistently.

Robert Mondavi's 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon

At $12.50 a glass, you have an appropriate expectation of greatness, but this bottle clearly delivers a drinkable but not great Napa Cabernet experience.

The nose was film of blackberries and black currants--almost jammy. But upon initial taste, the fruit did not come through. Later, as the bottle opened, the tannins softened and a very drinkable wine came through, but perhaps not a great wine.  It score consistently in the 89-91 range.

You can find this on wine.com for $19.99.

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Sunstone's 2009 Merlot

Back at Cafe Firenze for lunch on a Saturday and would normally go for a glass of Rosso di Montalcino but I wanted to give that Merlot from a few weeks ago another test drive.

Bouquet still very cherry. Delivers a mouthful of cherry with soft tannins and a pleasant lingering finish. Not quite as big as I remember but big enough to stand up to a truffled gnocchi. Perhaps not earthy enough for my tastes but very, very drinkable. And for a Merlot, a veritable home run in my book.

$9 a glass at Cafe Firenze.  $16 on Wine Searcher.

$ / ++

Yalumba's 2008 Eden Valley Shiraz-Viognier

A surprisingly well-balanced wine, with fruit up front and a decent, but not bitter or teeth coating finish.

Yalumba is famous for their Shiraz (try the Octavius for something akin to La Grange), but this is a great everyday wine with a screw top (easy to open) which has a small amount of Viognier (to soften the palate).  While I don't agree with James Halliday's 94 rating, it is certainly worth your $20.

$ / +.

You can find it on wine.com for $19.99.

James Tobin 2009 Primo

While this Sangiovese from Paso Robles started off as a "fistfull" of black berries and cherry, it ironically went down hill as it opened, tasting like dried, almost pickled fruit by the 2nd glass.  The smell was difficult to nail down--very pleasant to start and finishing somewhere between roadtar and leather (we actually argued about it).

Hmmm.

$ / -

You can find this wine for $16.99 on wine-searcher.

Cantena's 2010 Malbec

A consistently well-structured Malbec from Argentina.

I found the nose jammy and a little dusty. 

The taste was light, with supple red fruits, a medium finish, but with a lingering but less pleasant aftertaste.  It did open up after an hour, losing some of the tannic after taste.

Robert Parker gave this vintage a 91, where is has consistently scored over the years.

$ / +

You can find this wine on Wine.com for $19.99.

Geyser Peak's 2007 Walking Tree

A decent cabernet from the Alexander Valley near Napa, California.

Pleasantly strong smell of cherries.

Fruit forward flavor, with a Big, oaky mouthful, medium finish and slightly tannic after taste. 

A great everyday wine which scores on one of the ratings services in the low 90s just about every year.  Perfect for that everyday wine to stock up in your pantry.

$ / +

You find this on Wine.com for $19.99.

The Stolpman Sauvignon Blanc and Sunstone Merlot steal the show

Headed down with a neighbor on Wednesday the 23rd of January to Cafe Firenze in Moorpark, CA, to try their new wine tasting format.

Very pleased with the format, the ambience, and the wines themselves, surprising myself with my top picks being wines I would not normally graviate to.

2011 Stolpman Sauvignon Blanc, Santa Ynez organic, biodynamic, dry farmed

Crisp, light, green apple

$ / ++

$18 on Wine Searcher

2010 Cline Cellars Pinot

Smooth, clove aroma. Smoky. 

Coats the mouth, bitter

? / -

2009 Sunstone Merlot

Spicy smell almost like a barista valley

Big fruit up front, but round quick finish 

$ / ++

$16.00 on Wine Searcher

2008 Zaca Mesa Z Cuvee

Smell of asphalt, leather

Bitter and tannic for a GSM. Lingering bitter finish

? / -

2010 Stolpman Estate grown Syrah

Plum, blackberry jam. Smell

Mouthful of blackberries. Slight dusty finish. Dry, lingering after taste

Coated teeth

? / +

Covento's 2011 Las Claras

From the Ribero del Duero of Spain.

Tempranillo (100%)

Smells earthy with hints of red fruit.

The wine coats your tongue completely, with softer tannins but is earthier than most Tempranillos.

I am not aligned with RP score of 93 on this wine.  Might be a bad bottle.  Will check again and update the blog if I find it different.

$ / +

You can find it on Wine.com for $17.99 

Yalumba's 2009 "The Scribbler"

A decent wine from from Barossa Valley, Australia (my favorite source of Shiraz).

61% Cab, 39% Shiraz

Smell.  Cassis and cherry.

Taste.  Big, mouthful of juice, pleasant finish.

Very drinkable.

$ / ++

You can find this on Wine.com for $19.99