There’s a lot of great Merlot available on the bulk market from Napa Valley these days at very favorable prices so it’s not a stretch to find some great juice in some negociant bottlings like Castle Rock. I’ve reviewed a few other varietals from this producer here in the past and have been impressed with what I’ve found.

Castle Rock, Merlot, Napa Valley 2004 ($9) - Dark purple in color with aromas of blackberry, chocolate and cedar. In the mouth, there are blackberry, currant and mint flavors finishing with dusty tannins. A solid value in Merlot.

13.5% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 85

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I have to admit that Bordeaux is a blind spot for me. It’s not that I dislike the wines made there, it’s that I just don’t drink many of them for a reason I can’t quite explain. Since my cellar is still a mess, there are bottles in boxes all over my basement and I am finding quite a few orphaned bottles. This wine is one of those either bought on sale some time ago and put in my “don’t drink now” rack or someone gave it to me a couple years ago and it got misplaced. Whatever the reason, I’m pleased to have found it and popped the cork as this might be the first in a series of tasting notes from this region.

Chateau Bellevue Peycharneau is located on the eastern border of Bordeaux and their vineyard is 15 hectares in size. This vineyard is planted to 65% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc and the blend most years is consistent with these proportions. Chateau Bellevue Peycharneau is classified as a Bordeaux Superieur which is near the lowest rung of the AOC system. So it was with fairly low expectations that I selected and opened this lone bottle.

Chateau Bellevue Peycharneau, Bordeaux Superieur 2002 ($16) - Garnet in color with aromas of black currant, forest floor and pencil lead. Black currant, cherry and white pepper flavors finish with moderate tannins. An elegant wine with nice balance that I think will age for another 4-6 years.

13% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 88

It’s time to circle the virtual Wine 2.0 wagons for another monthly online chat relating to Web 2.0 and wine. This month it will be held this Thursday, March 8th at 7:00 pm EST/4:00 pm PST/12:00 am GMT (Fri.)/ 11:00 am AEST (Fri.). in the Campfire room generously provided by the folks at WineQ.

Like last month, we will ask each participant to post their question for the group in our Google Group sometime before Thursday (preferably as early in the week as possible so we have time to think about it). I’ll moderate and anyone who didn’t get in on the last chat will be put to the front of the queue with their question. Anyone with an interest in the intersection of Web 2.0 and wine is welcome but we do have limited space so please indicate your attendance by posting a comment here or in our Google Group.

My question will be more of a presentation of the meta-data scheme for the hReview wine tasting note plug-in I’m writing for Wordpress. Pretty geeky stuff, but there are others who are more business model focused so I’m sure there will be some balance to the discussion. And maybe we can find out what’s behind the holding page at the Wine 2.0 site...

This wine was tasted the same night as Brian Lorings’ ‘05 Garys’ Pinot and I compared them a couple times to make sure I had judged this match as fairly as possible (YMMV). A lot of others have weighed in on this wine but I have to say that I’m somewhat disappointed with my first taste of Siduri Pinot. Don’t get me wrong, this is great juice, but my expectations were a bit higher. Perhaps it was the condition of the bottle here so I will revisit this wine and post another note in the future.

Siduri Wines, Pinot Noir, “Garys’ Vineyard” 2004 - ($49) Ruby in color with aromas of black cherry, forest floor and cinnamon. In the mouth, huge black cherry and blackberry flavors finish long, but hot, with supple tannins. Delicious, but marred by a bit too much alcohol from my perspective.

14.5% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 89

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Unti Vineyards is the kind of winery I really like. Located in the Dry Creek Valley AVA of Sonoma County, they have a couple vineyards planted with some of my favorite varietals: Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Petite Sirah and Barbara. They also grow Rhone varieties like Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre. Most of their wines are made in the single varietal model but Petit Frere is a Southern Rhone-styled blend. Like a lot of wineries I tend to like a lot, they spend more time making sure the grapes are right in the vineyard and then make their wines in a minimalist style. The result is very pure fruit and nicely complex wines for their price points. Plus they are great people and have the best stems I’ve ever seen in any winery tasting room.

Unti Vineyards, Petit Frere, Dry Creek Valley 2004 ($16) - A blend of 40% Grenache, 37% Mourvedre and 23% Syrah. Purple in color with aromas of blackberry, lilac and licorice. Earthy and bold in the mouth with black cherry and black pepper flavors finishing with medium-firm tannins. It also has nice acidity for food. A very nice pasta wine and good value.

14.5% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 86

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I’ve updated my “About” page with a “Code of Ethics” statement. This was inspired by Alder’s post on Vinography last summer and I wrote 80% of this at that time and then filed it away for later.

The impetus to finish this today was because I am opening Winecast up for sponsorship. Longtime readers will remember I signed up with Backbeat Media for podcast sponsorship early last year, but after only one sponsor in a year, Backbeat and I have come to the conclusion that we should come at this differently and part ways. Best wishes to Dave and all the folks at Backbeat who have been great to work with… if I was a tech podcaster, I’d still be with them.

So this is the soft launch of my new sponsorship program as I finish my media kit. Anyone who is interested can email me for more details at sponsor (at) winecast (dot) net. This step is a necessary one for me to create some additional income from what I do here but I don’t take this lightly as you can see in my ethics statements.

I’m working on a couple of other things to enhance this site and podcast. Stay tuned.