Day One, Winery #3: Sebastiani is one of those solid, standby wine producers which we turn to often when in a pinch.  We honed in on their limited production, Reserve wines.  Solid and dependable, we will be more willing to order these wines in restaurants more often when seeking out a wine to go with our meals. Wines tasted:

1. 2004 Alexander Valley Merlot: Tasting notes provided by the winery - The aromas reflect the terrior nicely with Black Cherry and Blackberry fruit.
2. 2005 Sonoma County Barbera: The aroma is filled with anise, raspberries, vanilla smoke, and tart fuit with a smooth finish.
3. 2005 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel: The spice of pepper, cinnamon, vanilla and cocoa melds with a finish of dry cherries.
4. 2004 Sonoma Valley Syrah: Deeply colored with touches of dried herbs and smoked game meats.

It was at this point that Greg proclaimed: “I believe I’ve reached the point where everything tastes good…”

Day One, Winery #1:  Matanzas Creek winery has traditionally produced one of our favorite Merlots.  We were pretty excited to find out that this winery was very near our hotel, and so we planned on making this the first stop of our winery tour, on the very first day. 

We were so eager, in fact, that we got to the winery before the tasting room opened.  No big deal.  The grounds of the winery are beautiful, and though it pained us to wait 15 minutes for our first tast of wine, it was only 9:45 AM and it wasn’t going to kill us.  We wandered and enjoyed the view.  A note to those heading to Matanzas Creek - the winery makes picnic grounds available, and it is a terrific place to take a break from touring if the timing works out.  Bring your own food, as they do not sell it on the grounds.

We tasted a total of 7 wines at Matanzas Creek:

1. 2006 Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc:  Tasting notes provided by winery - This 2006 wine begins with bright citrus aromas, including pink grapefruit and Meyer lemon.  The nose will evolve to also include richer melon hues including cataloupe and honeydew.  The palate is consistent with the nose, embodying crips citrus and melon flavors.  The addition of Sauvignon Musque strengthens the mid-palate and renders a softer, longer finish.  Our notes:  We aren’t really white wine drinkers, but it was fine.
2. 2005 Sonoma Valley Chardonnay: Tasting notes provided by the winery - This outstanding wine is masterfully blended from our vineyards in the Carneros and Bennett Valley regions where cooler climates yield Chardonnay grapes that give this wine a refined and complex character.  A first glimpse of the wine reveals a pale, straw color, quite typical for a sophisticated Chardonnay.  The palate is round and velvety with a prolonged, flavorful finish of honey and melon.  Our notes:  Eh, it’s a Chardonnay.  A good one, but a Chardonnay.  Bring on the reds!
3. Sonoma County Rose Wine of Merlot:  Tasting notes provided by winery - Our second Rose in twenty-nine years, this wine celebrates the dynamic nature of Bennet Valley varietals - Merlot and Syrah.  As seen by the brilliant crimson hue and captivating nose, emphasis is placed on maintaining the true integrity of the harvested fruit’s color and flavor.  Bright raspberry fruit prevails on the palate, followed by hinds of both cranberry and cassis.  Best when enjoyed slightly chilled.  Our notes:  Not bad.  Where are the reds?
4. 2004 Bennett Valley Merlot: Tasting notes provided by the winery - Sourced from our vineyards in Sonoma County’s Bennett Valley, this 2004 vintage wine represents our 26th vintage of Merlot.  Bennett Valley offers this Merlot model growing conditions.  Both the terraced vineyards of the esteemed Jackson Park Ranch and the vineyards surrounding our Estate benefit from the cool breeze and coastal fog that travel up through a pathway fom the Pacific Ocean.  Also beneficial is the presence of basalt in our soils - an ancient ocean floor rock - that offers smokey character to the wine.  Our notes:  It was recommended that this wine be served slightly cool, and it was very good.
5. Members Blend Merlot: Tasting notes provided by the winery- This exclusive blend of Sonoma County Merlot  was specially crafted by Winemaker Fracois Cordesse as a special tribute to Matanzas Creek Wine Club members.  This wine possesses both a deep, rich crimson color and a nose characteristic of a classic merlot-harmonious aroms of black cherry and dark berries.  Our notes:  We loved it, probably because you can’t buy it, of course.
6. Sonoma County 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon: Tasting notes provided by the winery - Representing the fifth vintage of our limited production Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine is comprised of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah from four of Sonoma County’s celebrated growing regions - Knights Valley, Alexander Valley, Chalk Hill and Bennett Valley.  The diversity of each of these varietals, and Sonoma County appellations, coalesce to fasion a truly distintive Cabernet Sauvignon.  Our notes:  THIS is why we love Matanzas Creek.
7. Jackson Park, Bennett Valley 2002 Merlot: Tasting notes provided by the winery - This is the second vintage of our single vineyard Merlot sourced from our Estate-owned vineyards in Jackson Park.  The picturesque mountain vineyard is locarted over 900 feet above Bennett Valley’s floor and overlooks Matanzas Creek Winery.  Bennet Valley provides ideal conditions for Merlot to develop due to its long growing season brought abut by the coastal fog that flows into the valley from the Pacific Ocean.  In addition, the unique terrior in Jackson Park has an excellent, loamy soil structure and contains Basalt, an acient ocean floor rock that adds smokey characteristics to the fruit grown there.  This wine can be aged for up to ten years.  Our notes - What a way to kick off our tasting excursions!

What we did not know is that Matanzas Creek also produces a lot of lavendar, which they grow, harvest and turn into various products.  Lavendar field below…

It’s World Wide Wine Blogging Wednesday, as envisioned by Lenn, from Lenndeavors! The theme for the inaugural event: New World (non-US) Merlot for under 15USD.

When Lenn first suggested this event, I was on board immediately. We indulge in wine with every evening meal, and so we have made a fine art of finding wines that are affordable, yet extremely drinkable. A challenge that expands our horizons is always welcome.

And so we went shopping at the liquor/wine store in town that has the best selection of a wide variety of wines and found…. almost nothing.

I was a bit stunned. Oh, there was a plethora of California reds of any flavor. There were gaggles of Australian Shiraz/blends. But there was nary a new world Merlot in sight. We search up and down the aisles and eventually stumbled across a meager selection. And, without further ado, here’s what we chose:
Concha y Toro
Marques de Casa Concha 2002 Merlot

We served this with a Chilean Stew (recipe in a previous blog entry).

The back of the bottle states: From grapes of our prime Peumo vineyards in the Rapel Valley, this limited production Merlot has been barrel-aged in French Oak for fourteen months. With its intense plum and cherry aroma and flavour evoking the Peumo terrior, the wood adds generous hints of chocolate and vanilla. It is full-bodied with velvety tannin.”

Let me get this out of the way right off the bat, though it may get me kicked out of the ACME Wine Tasting Club: I never, ever taste chocolate or even vanilla in my red wine. Ever. (And trust me, I know the taste of chocolate well!) So I am always a bit at a loss as to what I’m supposed to be looking for there.

But I definitely agree with the statement regarding the intense plum and cherry aroma. In fact, one of the first thoughts that was blurted out was “Hey, for a $14.00 bottle of wine, this has a really nice nose!”. In fact, I’d say that was the defining point of this wine, which is a compliment, as the nose is one of the things that we enjoy the most out of a glass of red.

The other interesting thought that came out of the tasting: This wine had aggressive tannins that reminded us of one of our favorite grapes - Cabernet Franc. It was not a wimpy Merlot. While it lacked the smoothness of some of the higher priced examples of Merlot, it was a good example of the modern International style. (Greg made me say that, and when I protested, he said, “Ok, just say it was a decent wine for the price”.)

Perhaps the most noteworthy point of this wine was the weight of the empty bottle. No, seriously. It was much heavier than your average red wine bottle, which is a bit odd.

Would we buy this wine again? Probably.

So this was fun! What’s next? Bring it on!