Sunday, January 28, 2007

San Antonio Winery, 2002 Heritage


Well, this was an interesting find. The San Antonio Winery is located in Los Angeles, California and is one of the last wineries still producing there. The winery started in 1917 and now has a fine restaurant and wine shop attached. This wine is a blend of Rhone grapes from the Central coast. The make up is Syrah, Petite Sirah, Mourvedre, and Grenache. The Syrah came from Monterey and all the other grapes came from Paso Robles. I was a bit sceptical about a wine made in Los Angeles, but upon opening the bottle I was very pleasantly surprised.

Color: This wine is dark, you can't see through it, and as soon as it hits the glass, it starts coating everything in its dark purple color, the edges are softening a bit giving a slight brick hue but again, the color is phenomenal.
Nose: Right out of the bottle there is some awesome chocolate/mocha and toasty vanilla notes and after a half hour this turns into some real jammy dark fruit characters. Kirsch, and dark cherry aromas and stewed fruit abound with a smokey backdrop.
Palate: Full bodied, the blend covers every bit of my tongue. The tannins are soft and the finish is long. A sweet vanilla coffee flavor lingers for minutes after the swallow.
Overall: I really loved this wine. It retails for $25 but unfortunately it is only found in the Los Angeles area. You can order the wine off of their website of just give them a call. Nice job San Antonio Winery! I give it an A.

75 Wine Cellars, 2004 Amber Knolls Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.


This wine was recommended to me by a local wine steward who said it the next big cab. The 75 Wine Co. was started by the Beckstoffer family who moved to the Napa Valley in 1975. They have been growers for many high end wineries in Napa and Sonoma since there arrival to the area and this is their first offering under their own label and it is from their Amber Knolls Vineyard in Lake County, just North and East of Napa.

Color: It is on the light side, sharp edges showing its youth.

Nose: Lots of young red fruits, strawberries, cherries, and a hint of vanilla. After about a half hour the fruit dries up and leaves you with more vanilla and some toasty oak nuances.

Palate: Pretty light body, finishes quickly but leaves some tannin on the back. I get a lot of the vanilla and smokey characters but not much more. I am a bit disappointed.

Overall: The wine steward said that he loved this wine and it's the next big thing. It IS a tasty wine but I paid $20 for it. I feel like I can find some much better values for less. If the wine was $10 I would give it a B, but I am going to have to give it a B-.

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