John and I taste a sampling of wines from Columbia Crest.

2006 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot

Price: $8.00-$11.00
Varietal: Merlot
Region: Washington > Columbia Valley
John’s Rating: 88-90 points

2007 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon

Price: $8.00-$11.00
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: Washington > Columbia Valley
John’s Rating: 88-90 points

2004 Columbia Crest Reserve Merlot

Price: $25.00-$30.00
Varietal: Merlot
Region: Washington > Columbia Valley
John’s Rating: 92 points

Our other podcasts:

Animation Station: www.animationstation.info
Crash! Bang! Pow!: www.crashbangpow.com

John and I taste a sampling of wines from the Meek Family Estate.

2006 WJ Meek Syrah

Price: $15.00
Varietal: Syrah
Region: Washington > Yakima Valley
John’s Rating: 88-91 points

2005 Meek Family Estate Syrah

Price: $25.00
Varietal: Syrah
Region: Washington > Yakima Valley
John’s Rating: 92-93 points

2005 Meek Family Estate “Inherit”

Price: $30.00
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot
Region: Washington > Yakima Valley
John’s Rating: 92 points

Our other podcasts:

Animation Station: www.animationstation.info
Crash! Bang! Pow!: www.crashbangpow.com

John reviews a few California Cabernet Sauvignon wines and then John, Patrick and I taste a 2006 Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon.

2005 Waterstone Cabernet Sauvignon

Price: $15.00-$25.00
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: California > Napa Valley
John’s Rating: 92 points

2007 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon

Price: $50.00-$60.00
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: California > Napa Valley
John’s Rating: 93 points

2005 Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Reserve

Price: $60.00-$70.00
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: California > Napa Valley
John’s Rating: 94 points

2006 Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Price: $15.00-$20.00
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: California > Napa Valley
John’s Rating: 94 points

Tad’s Rating: Like It
Patrick’s Rating: Like It
John’s Rating: Like It

Links mentioned in this episode:

100 point rating system guide: www.wineglas.com/ratings.html

Our other podcasts:

Animation Station: www.animationstation.info
Crash! Bang! Pow!: www.crashbangpow.com

Continuing our discussion on Cabernet Sauvignon. Most notably Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Located 55 miles northeast of San Francisco, Napa Valley produces only around 5% of all of California’s wine.

The early 1840s recorded the first wines produced in Napa Valley by George C. Yount. Commercial wineries popped up twenty years later:

• Charles Krug: 1861
• Schramsberg: 1862
• Beringer: 1876
• Inglenook: 1879

André Tchelistcheff and Brother Timothy are generally credited with ushering in the modern era of winemaking in California in the 19oos. André introduced several new techniques and procedures to the region, such as aging wine in small French Oak barrels, cold fermentation, vineyard frost prevention, and malolactic fermentation. Brother Timothy established Christian Brothers as one of the leading brands in the state’s budding wine industry.

Following the Second World War, the wine industry in Napa began to thrive again. In 1965, Napa Valley icon Robert Mondavi broke away from his family’s Charles Krug estate to found his own winemaking operation in Oakville. It was the first new large scale winery to be established in the valley since before prohibition.

The 1976 blind tasting, known as the The Judgment of Paris, pitted California wines vs. classic French wines. The 1973 Stags Leap Wine Cellars won best of show in the Cabernet wine category and the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay won best of show in the Chardonnay category beating the best of Burgundy.

Today Napa Valley features more than 700 wineries that grow many grape varieties including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Zinfandel, and other popular varietals. While some winemakers produce wines from specific AVAs within the valley, the majority choose to blend or cuvée their wines using a mixture of wine from grapes grown on the valley floor.

Trivia:

1. What was the first $100 bottle in Napa?
2. What year did Napa become an official AVA?
3. What was the first official Bordeaux Blend in Napa?
4. What AVA is in Napa and Sonoma?
5. What is Napa Valley’s most expensive wine?

John reviews a few wines from Bordeaux’s left bank region and then John, Patrick an I taste a 2005 Château Colombier-Monpelou.

2006 Château Bellegrave

Price: $12.00-$35.00
Varietal: Red Bordeaux Blend
Region: France > Bordeaux > Médoc > Haut Médoc
John’s Rating: 88 points

2005 Château Potensac

Price: $25.00
Varietal: Red Bordeaux Blend
Region: France > Bordeaux > Médoc
John’s Rating: 90 points

2001 Château Montrose

Price: $50.00-$105.00
Varietal: Red Bordeaux Blend
Region: France > Bordeaux > Médoc > Haut Médoc > St. Estèphe
John’s Rating: 94 points

2005 Château Lascombe

Price: $60.00-$160.00
Varietal: Red Bordeaux Blend
Region: France > Bordeaux > Médoc > Haut Médoc > Margaux
John’s Rating: 94 points

2005 Château Colombier-Monpelou

Price: $16.00-$36.00
Varietal: Red Bordeaux Blend (Cabernet Sauvignon 65%, Merlot 25%, Cabernet Franc 5%, Petit Verdot 5%)
Region: France > Bordeaux > Médoc > Haut Médoc > Pauillac

Tad’s Rating: Like It
Patrick’s Rating: Love It
John’s Rating: Like It

Our other podcasts:

Animation Station: www.animationstation.info
Crash! Bang! Pow!: www.crashbangpow.com

St.-Estephe:
Containing 5 classified growths, St.-Estephe is the northern most Commune in the Haut Medoc. It encompasses 2,960 acres and its terroir is comprised of heavy soil and clay. St.-Estephe’s top wine producers include: Cos d’ Estournel, Calon Segur, Montrose and Lafon-Rochet.

Pauillac:
Pauillac contains 18 classified growths, three of them first growths. It encompasses 3,000 acres and is comprised of sandy, gravelly soil that drains well. Pauillac’s top wine producers include: Lafite-Rothschild, Mouton Rothschild, Latour, Pichon Lalande, Lynch-Bages, Pontet-Canet, Duhart-Milon, Pichon Longueville-Baron.

St.-Julien:
The smallest commune, St.-Julien only encompasses 2,220 acres, yet contains eleven Cru Classe chateaux. St.-Julien’s gravelly soil promotes good drainage. Its top wine producers include: Leoville Barton, Leoville-Las Cases, Leoville Poyferre, Gruaud Larose, Ducru-Beaucaillou, Gloria, Lagrange, Talbot

Margaux:
The largest commune within the Medoc, Margaux encompasses 3,460 acres and is comprised of sandy, gravelly soil that drains well. Margaux contains 21 Cru Classe chateaux, the most in the Medoc. Margaux’s top wine producers include: Chateau Margaux, Chateau Palmer, Chateau Brane-Cantenac, Chateau Lascombes, Chateau Kirwan, Chateau Rauzan Segla, Chateau D’Issan and Chateau Giscours.

Our other podcasts:

Animation Station: www.animationstation.info
Crash! Bang! Pow!: www.crashbangpow.com

The first episode in a series exploring one of the most popular red wines, Cabernet Sauvignon, we discuss France’s Bordeaux region.

Located one hour from the Atlantic Ocean, Bordeaux is the most famous wine region and the largest fine wine region in the world. The Gironde River separates Bordeaux into the Left and the Right Bank and is home over 15,000 grape growers.

In 1855 there was a Classification Order that rank the top wines from the Medoc. Wines in 1855 were classified via growths by wine brokers who wanted to showcase the best wines of the Left Bank. There are currently 5 first growths, 14 second growths, 14 third growths, 10 fourth growths, and 18 fifth growths. The system is outdated and only one change has occurred since 1855 and that was the upgrade of Mouton Rothschild in 1973 to a 1st Growth.

Red grape varieties grown in the Bordeaux are Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petite Verdot. Almost all the Bordeaux wines are blended.

Reds from the Bordeaux will usually have the following aromas: cherry, plum, black fruit, raspberry, earth, leather, oak, mineral, tobacco

Recent great vintages of Bordeaux include: 2005, 2003, 2000, 1998, 1990, but best value for the money is 2004.

Our other podcasts:

Animation Station: www.animationstation.info
Crash! Bang! Pow!: www.crashbangpow.com