If you’re interested in what we thought you can check out the post on our other blog.

There were good and disappointing aspects to each place, but in the end our favorite of the three was Four Square which came out on top because of the attention to detail in service and the overall flavor of the food.

Check out the detailed reviews on our other blog:

• Four Square
• Solas
• Il Palio

Grenache is the grape of choice for the southern Rhone but each region has its own laws dictating the blend of grapes that can be used. Grenache cannot exceed 80% of the blend in Gigondas with a minimum of of 15% Syrah and/or Mourvedre (with a maximum of 10% other “Rhone varietals”). Wines from Vacqueyras must be at least 50% Grenache with no other requirements for the remainder of the blend (other than the remaining grapes must be approved Rhone varieties). In general, wines from Vacqueyras use more Syrah in their blends than those from Gigondas.

Both wines up for review are from the reputable Rhone producer Saurel Montirius and both were purchased from Crag and Seth at Wine Authorities in Durham. As usual I will compare the wines both on style quality and value. The wines are:

2005 Montirius Gigondas “Terres des Aines”

80% Grenache, 20% Mourvedre
$34 per bottle

2005 Montirius Vacqueyras “Le Clos”

50% Grenache, 50% Syrah
$30 per bottle

Both wines were decanted for an hour before evaluating.

The Gigondas had a very rustic nose of cranberry and leather with hints of cassis, raspberries, spice, and copper penny. Very powerful, old world style palate with lots of sour cherry and cranberries, thick peppery tannins, and a black cherry-leather finish. The Gigondas is big, full bodied, and tannic with good acidity and a strong, firm backbone. Its rough around the edges and powers its away across your palate; definitely not everyone’s cup of tea but a style of wine that everyone needs to try.

Even after an hour in the decanter the Vacqueyras was still pretty tight, revealing notes of smoky meat, blood, garrigue (wild herbs), anise, and hints cherry on the nose. The palate is just as rustic, with sour cherry and rare-steak-meat-blood combined with black liquorice tannins that finish with a peppery-anise flavor. It is also a powerful and rustic wine, but lacks the acidity of the Gigondas and so seems more harsh and dry.

Style and Quality Gigondas: A

Style & Quality Vacqueyras: B+

Value Gigondas: A. A higher end Gigondas from a reputable producer under $40 is hard to find. Its starting to compete in price with the southern Rhone’s superstar wine, Chateauneuf du Pape.

Value Vacqueyras: B-. At $30 per bottle, we should be drinking the Mercedes AMG of Vacqueyras! And while this is a good wine, it delivers the same quality as other Vacqueyras I have had that cost $15 – $20.

The “Terres des Aines” is one of the better Gigondas wines that I have tried, staying true to its rustic southern Rhone roots without toning it down for an international market. I also like that they do not use Syrah in their blend, making a truly unique Gigondas that in my opinion makes it stand apart from other Gigondas wines.

The “Le Clos” Vacqueyras is also good but overpriced, especially when compared to its brother from Gigondas that costs only $4 more.

Overall, the Gigondas is more balanced and refined than the Vacqueyras, which seems ironic considering they are both rough and rustic wines. The Gigondas has more acid, is more complex, has a longer finish and greater depth. It just feels bigger, thicker, and chewier and hits all areas of the palate better than the Vacqueyras. If you are going to be spending ~$35 for a southern Rhone wine at Wine Authorities, I recommend the “Terre des Aines” Gigondas.

“Terres des Aines” Gigondas Overall: A

“Le Clos” Vacqueyras Overall: B

-Chris

2007 Corte Majoli Pinot Grigio
Veneto IGT, Italy
$9.99

The Italian wine region of Veneto is found in the northeast corner of Italy between the Alps and the Adriatic Sea, home to Verona and the canals of Venice (see map below). In wine terms it is most well know for Bardolino (DOCG), located at the western end of the region and bordering Lake Garda.

The Corte Majoli has an IGT designation meaning that the Pinot Grigio grapes used for this wine can come from anywhere in the region of Veneto. If you are a fan of the thin, watery, and flavorless Pinot Grigio found on grocery store shelves then consider those wines to be Carthage and this wine the Roman Army. One sip of the Corte Majoil and those other Pinot Grigio will be but an afterthought.

On the nose there are nice notes of lemon peel and fresh lemon pulp. Hints of honeydew melon in the background as well. The palate stays very true to the nose with supper lemon juice action. It almost burns the back of the throat, like drinking straight lemon juice, with a slightly herbal finish.

Now the critical reader might be thinking, big deal Chris. You just described a wine that is very one dimensional and have even been critical of such wines in past reviews. In the context of Pinot Grigio this wine has tremendous, unbelievable, undeniable flavor! If you hate Pinot Grigio because it tends to be flavorless and thin, and I admit I have never been a huge fan, I urge you to try this wine and leave me your comments.

The Corte Majoli pairs very well with alfredo and other cream sauces. It has enough acidity to cut through the thickness of the sauce while at the same time the sauce helps to tone down the wine’s acidity. A truly synergistic pairing. Would also be great with shrimp and other seafood dishes.

Style & Quality: A+. I have never tasted a Pinot Grigio that had this much flavor and body.

Value A+. And for only $10 / bottle!

Overall: A+

2005 Piancarda
Rosso Conero, Marches
$15.99

The Italian wine region of Marche (pronounced mar-kay) is also on the Adriatic coast, though it is farther south than Veneto (see map below). Its principle red grape is Montepulciano, the same grape made famous by its neighbor to the south, Abruzzo (as in Montepulciano d’ Abruzzo). The Piancarda is 100% Montepulciano from the Rosso Conero DOC, a small area to the south of the coastal city of Ancona.

On its own, the wine isn’t overly spectacular and drinks like many Italian reds: tart, rough acidity, and very dry, though lighter in style than your typical Chianti. You can catch glimpses of black cherries and blackberries on the nose and palate. But combine this wine with a tomato based meat sauce and wow! Total transformation. The high acidity of the wine softens and turns to silk in your mouth! It also adds an almost black pepper like spiciness to the food. Amazing.

Style & Quality Rating: A-. Decant for at least 30 minutes if you are drinking this on its own but it will really shine with Italian cuisine. Move over Abruzzo, the Marches also makes great Montepulciano wines!

Value Rating: B+. Montepulciano wines have seen a price increase in the past couple of years. If it were from Abruzzo, it would probably cost at least $20.

Overall Rating: A-.

If you have an excuse to try these wines during the week, please leave comments on what foods you paired them with. They are both so food friendly that they can compliment any type of cuisine, not just Italian food. But hey sometimes its best to stick with what works: a big bowl of pasta and a glass of wine to finish it off!

Ciao! -Chris

Italian Wine Regions

I recently gave a seminar at the Great Grapes event in Cary this past weekend (4/18) on oak and its effects on wine. I had four wines to sample at the seminar; one unoaked and one oaked each of white and red wines. After the presentation I had the participants taste the wines and see if they could tell the oaked from the unoaked wines with their new found knowledge. Here is summarized version to share with readers of TraingleVino.com.

Wines and Oak

Oak reduces a wine’s fruitiness but adds tannin, structure, complexity, and clarity of color. The oak acts as a natural filter, drawing sediment and tartaric acid crystals to it surface while beneficial compounds are extracted into the wine.

There are two primary types of oak, French oak and American oak. Each adds a unique character to wines though experts agree that the marriage between French oak and wine is superior. French oak barrels can cost up to $1000 per barrel while American oak can be as much as $700. Spanish Rioja wines owe their unique aroma to exclusive aging in American oak.

The inside of oak barrels are “toasted” at one of three levels; light, medium, or heavy, depending upon the style of wine the winemaker looks to create. The heavier the toasting, the greater chocolate, toast, and coffee flavors in the wine but less oak tannin is extracted (the layer of char acts as a barrier between the wine and the oak surface).

Wines can age in oak barrels anywhere from 6 months to 5 years, depending upon the style of wine and the regulations of the wine growing region. Whites typically age for less than a year in oak, reds less than 2 years. Spanish and Italian reds can age up to 5 years in oak!

Wines can be fermented in oak as well as aged in oak. White wines are more commonly fermented in oak than red wines because red wines are fermented in contact with their grape skins which must be punched down to prevent an explosive build up of carbon dioxide (difficult to do in an enclosed barrel).

The “oak influence” of wines fermented in oak is less noticeable and more integrated than wines that are merely aged in oak. This is because the yeasts are able to process the compounds extracted from the oak along with the compounds in the grape juice at the same time.

Oak barrels are only good for a maximum of five vintages before the build up of wine sediment and tartaric acid crystals encrusts the entire inner surface of the barrels. These barrels can still be used to store wine, but the oak influence will be minuscule because the wine no longer interacts with the oak surface.

Many wineries “rack” their wines from newer barrels to older barrels after a period of aging so that they can use the newer barrel again for another batch of wine. The frequency of racking is sometimes expressed as a percentage on the wine label. For example, a wine that has been aged in 33% new oak has spent one third of its aging in a brand new oak barrel before being racked over to an older barrel.

Less expensive alternatives to oak barrels are soaking oak chips, oak staves, or even oak powder in the wine as it ferments or ages. In some cases winemakers add “oak oils” to their wines to mimic the effects of oak aging. These alternatives are not considered to be superior to oak barrels and in some areas their use is strictly prohibited.

It is very important that the winemaker balance the use of oak with wine flavor, acidity, alcohol, and natural grape tannins or the wine will be distinctively “oaky”.

White Wines

Oak adds nutty, almonds, toasty, burnt, vanilla, coconut, and butterscotch flavors & aromas to white wines. This also deepens the color of a wine to a more golden hue.

Red Wines

Oak adds spice, cedar, clove, smoke, leather, vanilla, anise, coffee, tobacco, chocolate, and mocha flavors & aromas to red wines. This also deepens the color of the wine to a more reddish hue.

It was interesting that the seminar participants could identify the oaked white wine 100% of the time but had more trouble identifying the oaked red wine. In many cases the participants had already associated “oakiness” as a fault in wines and therefore picked the wine they enjoyed the least as the oaked wine. In terms of American consumer tastes, it seemed that the majority preferred their whites unoaked while preferring their red wines oaked!

I hope you enjoyed this mini-lesson on the influence of oak in wines. I promise to return with more wine reviews next week!

-Chris

Shrimp Toast with shaved radish salad
-Broadbent Vinho Verde NV, Portugal

“Chicken and waffles”
-Villa Wolf Rose of Pinot Noir 2007, Germany

Pork Confit with Asian pear and cabbage
-Hugel Gewurtztraminer 2004, France

Chicken Mole Poblano with crispy hominy
-Independent Producers Merlot 2007, Washington

Sticky toffee pudding
-RH Buller Victoria Tawny, Australia

What follows is not a review of the wines or of the food (which is always excellent), but of the pairing of each wine with its dish.

1st Course: B+

The Vinho Verde was very traditional in its style, with tart flavors of grapefruit, lemon zest, and pear combined with its signature spritz of bubbles. The shrimp toast had, as one would expect, a salty, “shrimpy” flavor to it. The wine added nice acidity to the dish, complementing the salty flavors of the food. However, both the shrimp toast and radish salad flavors were very delicate and needed a wine without so much sharp acidity; each sip essentially cleansed your palate of the dish’s flavors. A Chablis (or any lighter style white Burgundy), a Muscadet, or even a lighter bodied Riesling might have been better choices.

2nd Course: C

The light bodied rose served with this course never had a chance against this dish of good ‘ol southern comfort food. The chicken was breaded and fried, served with sausage gravy and thinly sliced waffle fries with asian seasoning. The wine was cold but couldn’t overcome the heaviness of the food or add any complementary flavors. A non-rose Pinot Noir or other light red would have worked better.

3rd Course: C-

Another mismatch. The bad part of this pairing was that the dish itself gave all the necessary hints of the type of wine you want to go with it. Cured pork jowls with asian pears; salty, meaty pork complemented with a light, refreshing addition of sweetness and acidity. So what wine do we get? A viscous, dry Gewürztraminer full of spice. You might as well have been drinking water because the wine had no flavor after the pork takes over your taste buds. This dish needed a high acid white wine to cleans the palate (like the Vinho Verde from the first course), a sweet wine to cut the saltiness, but is also heavy enough for a bold red wine.

4th Course: C-

I hate to be so negative, but this dish had no business being on a wine pairing menu. Don’t get me wrong. The dish was fantastic and was actually a sneak preview of the food that will be served at Charlie’s soon to open Mexican restaurant “Los Perros”. Its everything you want from Mole Poblano, lots of flavor and spice. But too much spice for a wine. Maybe the traditional “sparkling or sweet wine with spicy food” might have worked, but all you really want is something cold to quaff after a mouthful of this dish. I know its a wine review, but a crisp, clean finishing lager would have been perfect.

5th Course: A-

Desert with a  dessert wine. How can you go wrong? The toffee pudding was traditionally “cake-like” rather than the jello instant pudding style. The pairing was perfect. The thickness of the pudding muted the intense jet fuel-like alcohol from the ”port” and the Victorian Tawny added nice a hint of raisins to the sweet toffee flavors of the dessert. Could have gotten a higher rating with a more concentrated port but still deserving of a thumbs up!

If you have never been to one of Charlie’s recession dinners or to Jujube I strongly suggest you go for a meal. The food is excellent and I cannot wait to dine at the new Dos Perros when it opens!

-Chris

Shrimp Toast with shaved radish salad
-Broadbent Vinho Verde NV, Portugal

“Chicken and waffles”
-Villa Wolf Rose of Pinot Noir 2007, Germany

Pork Confit with Asian pear and cabbage
-Hugel Gewurtztraminer 2004, France

Chicken Mole Poblano with crispy hominy
-Independent Producers Merlot 2007, Washington

Sticky toffee pudding
-RH Buller Victoria Tawny, Australia

Chris

We wrote about the experience on our other blog and we will be attending the Germany and Austria class next week. Hope to see some of you there!

• 2007 Arca Nova, Vinho Verde (Quinta das Arcas)

The Arca Nova is from the Vinho Verde region, in the northwest of Portugal bordering Spain. It is a blend of Albarino, Loureiro, and Treixadura grapes.

Style & Quality: C+. Its hard to rate a Vinho Verde because I have never really been impressed with the style. Thin and watery but also tart. Faint traces of green apples with mineral on the finish. Think of the last sip of coke in a glass where the ice has melted and its watered down. Maybe I am being harsh with my ranking (or maybe generous depending upon your palate), but try it for yourself and see if you agree or disagree.

Value: C+. It only costs $10.99 / bottle, but I could readily name five other wines I would rather by for the same price at Wine Authorities.

Overall: C+

• 2007 Vinho Branco (Quinta do Carneiro)

50% Fernão Pires and 50% Arinto grapes from the Alenquer DOC near the coast of Portugal, about 25 miles north of the capital Lisbon. Vinho Branca is simply “white wine” in Portuguese.

Style & Quality: B. Very aromatic and spicy, reminded me of a lighter version of several different styles of wine. Very spicy on the palate while at the same time being very crisp and finishing clean. Not much fruit and still on the lighter side. An interesting wine and perfect for serving in mass quantities at parties.

Value: B. At $9.99, this is one of the wines I would choose before the previous Vinho Verde. Its a fair price for the quality of wine. You will not go wrong with this wine.

Overall: B

• 2007 Arinto (Quinta da Romeira)

This white wine is 100% Arinto from the Bucelas region close to Lisbon. It is a very unique wine and was served with the Portuguese Bacalhau. The Bacalhau is essentially a potato and salt cod casserole with olives and onions; salty, earthy, bordering on bland, but the wine added a nice zip of acidity that was missing form the dish. Not my cup of tea but an excellent example of wine improving the flavor of the food it is served with.

Style & Quality: B+. Very aromatic nose of peaches, tangerines, and a “spicy honey” component. Pure tangerine-grapefruit juice combination on the palate; very tart and acidic. Maybe too tart. The Portuguese do not believe in malolactic fermentation.

Value: B+. $13.99 / bottle which is a very fair price.

Overall: B+. This is the wine that you want to give to a wine lover and see if he can guess what grape the wine is made of. It is unlike any other white I have had before and while not my favorite it was good enough that I will buy another bottle just to taste the unique favors again.

• 2007 Palestra Tinto (Encostas do Douro)

40% Tinta Franca, 40% Tinta Roriz (Temperanillo), 20% Tinta Barroca from the Douro, a region best known for its Port grapes. Indeed this blend uses grapes commonly fortified into port but instead the winemakers created a dry style of wine.

Style & Quality: B-. Ripe, jammy red fruits in the nose. Hints of earth and a little funk. Says fermented with indigenous yeasts so the “funk” could be attributed to brettanomyces, a type of yeast known for imparting “barnyard” qualities to a wine. Not much fruit on the palate, dry and tannic, with a weak leathery finish. One dimensional. Might benefit from time in a decanter. Could jump into the high B’s if the tannins mellow.

Value: B. At $10.99 per bottle, a fair price for a wine that does not deliver much.

Overall: B

• 2006 “Tinto” Quinta do Encentrao

90% Baga, Portugal’s most unique red grape, and 10% Merlot from the Barrida DOC, known for producing quality dry red wines.

Style & Quality: A-. Deep notes of cassis and black fruits with some cedar spice on the nose. Very brooding right out of the bottle. Craig let me take the bottle home and I finished it the next night; it  definitely improved after being open for some time. At first the wine is tight and the tannins are thick and chewy but let it spend 30+ minutes in a decanter and it will open up nicely, revealing red berries and plums on the palate. Full bodied and dry. A tad thin on the finish but very enjoyable.

Value: A+. Are you kidding me? $11.99 / bottle? Tremendous value!

Overall: A

• 2006 Dão Reserva (Aliança)

A blend of Tinta Roriz (Temeranillo), Touriga Nacional (port grapes), and Jaen that spent 18 months in oak and another 6 in the bottle before hitting the shelves. From another DOC known for its dry reds, the Dao, in the center of Portugal.

Style & Quality: B. Very exotic nose of blueberry pie and spicy apple cider. Very tannic and dry, almost leathery, and not a lot of fruit on the palate. May need time in a decanter to really open up. Hints of menthol on the finish, very unique. Too much oak.

Value: B+. $13.99 a bottle is a pretty good price for this wine, especially if time in a decanter softens the tannins. If not pair with red meats.

Overall: B+

• 2006 Conde de Vimioso Tinto (Falua)

This wine is from the Ribatejano region northeast of Lisbon and is a blend of five varieties: Touriga Nacional (the main grape used for Port), Tricadeira, Aragones, Tinta Roriz (known in Spainish as Temperanillo), and good ‘ol Cabernet Sauvignon.

Style & Quality: B+. This is a big, bold, powerful wine. Jammy fruits and oak on the nose. Powerful, deep berry fruits, cassis, lots of pepper and wood spice on the finish. Hints of green right before the finish. Very full bodied and complex. Falls apart slightly on the finish, and too much oak influence; needs a big slab of beef to really tame the tannins. Might improve if decanted.

Value: A. This is a lot of wine for only $13.50. Great value.

Overall: A-

• Kopke Fine Ruby Porto (NV)

This is a ruby port, aged in non-wooden casks and sealed against air to retain its color and fruit flavors.

Style & Quality: C. I have to admit that I am biased against ruby ports, why drink anything but tawny? The high alcohol burns the nasal passages and the back of the throat, reminds me of cherry cough syrup  with a vodka chaser. Not a fan.

Value: C. $10 for a half bottle. Eh, I just can’t get excited about it even for the price. Costs the same as their white port which is advertised as best when mixed as a cocktail. Not sure what that tells me.

Overall: C. Try it, see if you like it. If so more power to you.

• Quinta do Infantado Tawny (NV)

Finally a tawny, but this is a “medium dry” port, which means there is less residual sugar and higher natural alcohol before fermentation. The Wine Authorities website bills the blend as “The Tintas: Roriz, Nacional, Barroca, Franca”. Well said Craig and Seth. Being a tawny it has seen time in oak casks to oxidize and gain nutty, toasty flavors.

Style & Quality: B+. Being a medium-dry port, the nose and palate emphasize the raisins, figs, and dried fruit aromas and flavors over the “sweet” caramel and toffee notes. Its very smooth across the palate with a bite on the finish. Light bodied for a port; more “oomph” and it jumps into the A’s.

Value: A-. $18.99 for a full sized 750 mL bottle. Thats quite a deal for a true oporto; just browse the port selection of Total Wine to see for yourself.

Overall: B+

Until the next wine!  -Chris

I first tasted the 2004 Page Cellars Proprietary Red at a Hope Valley Bottle Shop tasting hosted by Drew and Thomas and as an added bonus you could meet and talk to the General Manager of Page Cellars, Ben Gilette. Pouring the Page Cellars wine line up was wine rep Rich Haynes from Dionysus Distributors, whom I respect very much for his knowledge of wines. I got my tasting glass, Rich filled it with their Sauvignon Blanc / Semillon blend, and thus began my first experience with Page Wine Cellars. After I had finished tasting the only white on their lineup (which wasn’t bad), I held out my glass to try the Proprietary Red. I did my usual ritual of swirling the glass, deeply inhaling the aromas, and “slurping” the wine around my mouth. I was absolutely dumbfounded. I believe Rich asked me what I thought of the wine but I only answered him by holding out my glass and asking him if I could try it again. He obliged. After emptying my glass for a second time, I walked over to Ben and said something to the effect of “I drink a lot of wines. I love Cabernet Franc. I hate Cabernet Franc from California. I absolutely LOVE this wine.”

The reason I say that I hate Cabernet Franc from California is because it is a difficult grape to base a wine style around, as it can show serious flaws if the grapes are not grown in the perfect climate and allowed to achieve perfect ripeness. It thrives in a cool climate, most notably in Bordeaux and the Loire Valley of France and when just right, adds complexities of leafy greens or olives to a wine with red and black currant fruitiness. Not ripe enough and the wine tastes like collard greens or jalapeños. Too ripe and it becomes thin and jammy, losing its unique varietal characteristics. California is known for the latter.

The 2004 Page Cellars Proprietary Red blend recipe reads more like a wine from St. Emillion, Bordeaux than the 100% varietal wines which are the norm from California. It has seen extensive time in oak: 24+ months in 60 gallon oak barrels, 50% new french oak. It has 14.1% abv, not unusual for wines from California.

Wine Style & Quality Rating: A+. As you have probably already gathered, this wine blew me away. Drinking it was like an existential experience, almost indescribable. Like I told the General Manager, I drink a lot of wine, and more often than not they are unremarkable or their quality is good for the price you pay. I am going to do my best to describe this wine objectively so that you get an accurate idea of the wine style without seeming like a salesman trying to get you to order a case. This wine’s style may not be your cup of tea but if you are interested in trying it I urge you to evaluate the wine and judge it according to your own palate.

The first aspect of this wine that made me take notice was the subtle oak influenece. Many times wines that have spent years in oak smell like a cigar box or worse mask any fruit on the nose, but in this case the oak influence is expressed as silky vanilla, caramel, and milk chocolate notes that compliment the rich plum and cassis (black currant). Not sweet, sugary, artificial, or even dominating, but well integrated into the total aroma of the wine.

On the palate, this wine is very complex with many layers of flavor and taste transitions across the palate. The wine is silky smooth, almost sailing across your tongue with concentrated cassis and plum up front, savory olive tapenade in the middle, and a “sweet and sour” tangy burn on the finish more like natural balsamic vinegar than a shot of vodka. Seamless and elegant, nothing seems out of place. Great depth with a lengthy finish of plums, olives, and dark chocolate. It doesn’t sound like a great combination of flavors but the winemaker at Page Cellars pulls it all together and creates a very balanced wine. Its like you can  taste all of the individual components of the wine, the silky vanilla from the oak, the plums and chocolate from the Merlot, the elegant texture from the alcohol, the cassis and olives from the Cabernet Franc, and the fruit, acid, tannins, and alcohol combining for the balsamic flavor.

Ben says that the wine can spend another decade in the cellar but its drinking so well right now that I doubt I could keep bottles in my cellar long enough!

Value: A-. As enamored as I was with this wine, reality set in when I saw the price. At roughly $60 a bottle, the 2004 Page Cellars Proprietary Red is the most expensive wine I have reviewed so far. Since I evaluate a wine for both is quality and value, can I say that this wine delivers $60 worth of value? Does it deliver $70, $80, or even $100 dollars worth of value? This is obviously not a wine for everyday drinking (unless you are Donald Trump), but is it worthy as a special occasion wine, a once a month treat, a gift for a close friend, celebrating good news, etc? Well this wine was so good that I bought a bottle and shared it with a friend of mine for no other reason than I wanted him to try this wine. In fact, I am writing this review less an an evaluation and more as an attempt to share this wine with you through my notes and impressions. If I am going to spend $60 on a wine and not even plan on drinking the whole bottle myself, I have to believe it is worth the price. Considering the fact that it is from a small winery in Napa Valley (producing arguably the most expensive wines in the US), it spent two years in french oak that has to be imported, it is a blend using grapes from vineyards all across Napa Valley, and is a quality product, $60 is a fair price for this wine. This would be an outstanding value at $50 a bottle and an absolute steal under $50.

Overall Rating: A

Until the next wine! -Chris