Mankas Hills Vineyards, “Amelie”, Suisun Valley 2004 ($14.90)

Mankas Hills is a family winery with a passion for Cabernet Sauvignon and, interesting enough, for blogging. They are among a few wineries that have taken the plunge into the blogisphere as another way to connect with customers. I received this sample after responding to their post a few weeks back and applaud their initiative as being the first California winery to take a page from the Stormhoek playbook. If you haven’t heard of the Suisun Valley AVA, you are not alone, as I had never heard of it either. According to Appellation America, the AVA has a long history of growing wine grapes and being just north of the Napa Valley, it is not a stretch to expect some pretty interesting Cabernet-based blends coming from the appellation.

Amelie is one of those blends being 75% Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot grown elsewhere. The wine is garnet-purple in color with aromas of blackcurrant, blackberry, eucalyptus and vanilla. In the mouth it is nice and rich with nicely concentrated blackberry and blackcurrant fruit finishing with sweet tannins a very slightly bitter note which didn’t bother me very much. This is a very good wine and a nice value at less than $15 a bottle. 13.9% ABV. Finished with natural cork. Score: 8/10

I hope more wineries follow Mankas Hills’ lead and send bloggers samples of their wines for review. It will certainly extend the conversation about their wines far outside the traditional wine media and encourage positive word of mouth. So if you see Amelie in the supermarket or wine store, give it a try.

Overgaauw Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon, Stellenbosch Valley, South Africa 2001 ($26) - Dark purple in color with elegant blackcurrant aromas. Black cherry, eucalyptus, spices and a hint of chocolate with fine tannins and a long finish. Delicious. Score: 9/10

Vera De Estenas, Crianza, D.O. Utiel Requena 2001 ($16) - A blend of 50% Tempranillo, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon & 15% Merlot. Dark ruby in color with aromas of blackcurrant, spice and mint. Black cherry fruit together with black pepper and spices make for a delicious wine and excellent value. Score: 9/10

Water Wheel Vineyards, “Memsie”, Bendigo, Australia 2004 ($17) - An interesting blend of 83% Shiraz, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Malbec. Garnet in color with black cherry, current and spice aromas. Plum, black pepper and spice flavors finishing with dusty tannins. Delicious and a great value. Score: 9/10

Buy this wine online.

In my quest to taste the entire range of this label, I present the final red:

HRM Rex-Goliath, “Giant 47 Pound Rooster”, Cabernet Sauvignon NV ($9) - Dark purple in color with aromas of currant, plum and vanilla. Black currant and plum flavors with sweet tannins. Another nice value from this producer. Score: 8/10

You can catch my takes on their Shiraz, Merlot and Pinot Noir in the archives. Now just have their whites to taste, just as the weather has turned to summer

Today’s podcast is a return after more than a month away from the mic with a look at Sonoma’s Russian River Valley AVA.

Show Notes:
00:22 - Welcome
01:01 - Russian River Valley Background
02:20 - Tasting Notes
02:40 - Papapietro Perry Winery, Pinot Noir, Elsbree Vineyards 2004 ($45)
03:06 - Papapietro Perry Winery, Pinot Noir, Leras Family Vineyards 2003 ($45) *
03:41 - De La Montanya Winery, Pinot Noir, Tina’s Vineyard 2004 ($38)
04:23 - De La Montanya Winery, Pinot Noir, Christine’s Vineyard 2004 ($38)
04:51 - De La Montanya Winery, Syrah, Estate Vineyard 2004 ($30)
05:05 - De La Montanya Winery, Pin-up Series, “Cabaret - Series II”, Cabernet / Zinfandel / Syrah 2003 ($38)
05:59 - Felda Creek, “Pinot Squared” 2004 ($32)
06:36 - Moshin Vineyards, Pinot Noir, Barrel Select 2003 ($22) +
07:18 - Moshin Vineyards, Pinot Noir, Lot 4, 2003 ($35)
07:37 - Davis Bynum, Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley 2002 ($28)
08:28 - Davis Bynum, Pinot Noir, Lindleys Knoll Vineyard 2002 ($55)
08:46 - Davis Bynum, Pinot Noir, “Le Pinot”, Rochioli Vineyard 2002 ($80)
09:23 - Davis Bynum, Cabernet Sauvignon, Laureles Estate Vineyard 1999 ($50)
09:48 - J Vineyards, J Vintage Brut 2000 ($30)
10:24 - J Vineyards, J Chardonnay, Russian River Valley 2003 ($32)
10:47 - J Vineyards, J Pinot Noir, Nicole’s Vineyard 1997 ($40)
11:12 - J Vineyards, J Pinot Noir, Nicole’s Vineyard 1998 ($40)
11:30 - Best of Tasting *
11:43 - Best Value +
12:05 - Full Disclosure
12:44 - Contact Details
13:13 - Next Show Theme

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Copyright 2006 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

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Beaulieu Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2001 ($17) - Garnet in color with aromas of black cherry and spice. Black cherry, mint and black pepper flavors with moderate tannins and a nice dusty finish. A nice Cab to have around for everyday drinking. Score: 8.5/10

Andrew Lane, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2002 ($15-ish/sample) – Deep ruby in color with aromas of black cherry, plum and vanilla; rich plumy fruit with some spice and very fine tannins and a nice, thick mouth feel. A Napa Valley Cab re-imagined as a fruit bomb. A great value for the price Drew quoted when he gave me the sample. Score: 8.5+/10.

Humanitas, Cabernet Sauvignon, Monterey Country 2003 ($15) - Dark purple in color with black cherry and blueberry aromas and a hint of spice from some oak; juicy dark fruit and white pepper flavors finishing with fine tannins. A very good Cab and a great cause to support. Score: 8.5/10

Hands down, this was no contest. It was Chateau Leoville-Las Cases 1989 that I enjoyed with the Grape Radio crew at the Podcast Expo last month (yes, Alan from the RatCast, Michael from Reel Reviews and Anne and Mia from EatFeed were also at the dinner). This is a wine that truely changed my impression of aged Bordeaux and Cabernet-based wines in general. My tasting notes:

Chateau Leoville-Las Cases, Saint-Julien 1989 (approx. $120 currently) - Ruby in color with a pink rim, nice blackcurrant fruit, spice and mushroom aromas. Concentrated blackberry flavors with supple tannins and a long, complex finish. Delicious now, but will continue to please for another decade or more. Score: 9.5/10