Stay Rad

Hello,

I just got back from visiting my folks in Reno for the Thanksgiving holiday.

On Friday, while many folks were out pepper-spraying each other to get their hands on electronics, Kara and I took a trip over to our favorite wine bar in Reno…

Vintage, A Wine Shop

It’s a tiny little shop on the outskirts of downtown, with over 50 bottles open and ready to taste through their fancy tasting machines.  In the 10 or so times that Kara have hit this place up, we have found the shop to have a very relaxed atmosphere.  The staff is always helpful, and never pushy.

This is also THE place that turned me on to Ridge Vineyards about 5 years ago, when I tasted the 2003 Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon (an amazing bottle that I look forward to opening up later on this year).

Let’s see what gems were in store during our latest visit…

Arger-Martucci 2007 Viognier ($22):

A beautiful nose of fresh-cut flowers and lime.  On the palate, this wine is a bit more rich than I would like, though the fatty mouthfeel is cut nicely by the lime acidity and stone minerality.  88 points.

THE Four Graces 2009 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir ($29):

Mint and cedar on the nose.  The taste is loaded with bright cranberry fruit.  There is a nice finish of jerky smoke.  88+ points.

Trefethen 2007 Merlot ($27):

At this point, I need to keep tasting Merlot until I get this grape down… You feel me?  Trefethen makes a delicious bottle of wine.  From the Oak Knoll district of the Napa Valley, this wine has a beautiful nose of blueberries and blackberries with a touch of walnuts.  On the palate, this Merlot brings a velvety texture crammed with blackberry jam, black olives (Yup!), and rubber.  Very nice.  90 points.  (Note: Wine Enthusiast gave it a 93, but who are you gonna trust?)

Hess Collection 2006 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon ($40):

I’ve long been a fan of Hess, ever since our first visit to their winery/art gallery in Napa.  If you’ve never been, you must go.  The Mount Veeder is classic Cabernet Sauvignon.  It’s got a neat little nose of pencil shavings and plum.  On the palate, there are some huge graphite tannins.  There is some good plum and blackberry fruit that transitions into cedar notes on the medium long finish.  Good stuff.  90+

In the end, it was another great Vintage wine tasting.

I was very happy with every single wine I tasted.

And, for 27 bucks, why wouldn’t you pick up that Trefethen Merlot?

It’s a good buy!

Goodbye.

Stay Rad,

Jeff

Tags: Arger-Martucci 2007 Viognier, Hess Collection 2006 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon, Jeff, Stay Rad, THE Four Graces 2009 Pinot Noir, Trefethen 2007 Merlot, Vintage A Wine Shop

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