Give CO wine a taste...

WINE TALK
41

last night I tasted the Snowy Peaks vineyard 2013 Petit verdot. I was quite impressed. It needed about 2 hrs to open up. Medium in color, on the nose, plum, anise. Taste-dark berries, sl. celery, graphite,good acidity and moderate tannins. Long finish. My score-90. Don’t know the price point-but well worth trying. Thx for sending! champagne.gif

42

Glad you enjoyed it. It’s about $27. Only ~80 cases produced.

43

We tried the Plum Creek 2015 Dry Riesling and the BookCliff 2013 Cabernet Franc. The riesling was indeed dry, in the Alsatian style. A pleasant floral nose and the palate was dominated by grapefruit flavors.

The cab franc had a beautiful nose of spices and flowers, followed by very Bordeaux-like flavors. The middle was pretty thin and the finish was practically non-existent. At the same time, I didn’t really get the impression that more age would round this out.

Everyone in the group at our friends’ lake house enjoyed the wines but we quickly moved on to other bottles. Like many Maryland and Virginia wines I’ve tried, these wines were quality-wise about what I expected, but at their price points ($17 for the riesling and $26 form the cab franc) you have to be willing to spend up to support local producers

Thanks again for putting this together, Kyle.

PS - I wonder if Boulder-based BookCliff is channeling TomHill-style punctuation? :slight_smile:

44

Yup, Tom…they’ve followed me from the very start!! [snort.gif]
Tom

45

I uncorked my 2nd bottle last night, and did a double-take when I actually looked at the label - a 1991 Colorado Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon. A 25 year old Colorado wine - who knew?

I didn’t finish the bottle, so if I get the chance I will update my thoughts with a “day 2” glass, but it wasn’t bad as a wine, and the fact that it was 25 years old and still drinking reasonably well definitely gives it “extra credit”. As I tried it last night, I did get some green/vegetal notes that some folks might associate with underripe grapes - I like Togni wines, so those notes don’t trouble me personally, but I could see someone commenting on that facet of the wine.

At any rate, I was glad to take part in Kyle’s little “experiment”/survey - both wines I tried were certainly well-made at a minimum, and while neither of them would probably motivate me to seek them out, it was educational nonetheless. [cheers.gif]

46

For those interested… RH Drexel, who writes Loam Baby, just published a story over on Wine Advocate’s Wine Journal: Shadows from the Starlight: Visiting Colorado Wine Country

47

Nice article. I enjoy seeing an outsider’s perspective when visiting our fine state. One of the first things they did was visit a pot shop. I find that odd, but I think that is what people associate with Colorado now.

48

FWIW, in 2013 I had a glass of

Colterris Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
Grand Valley, Colorado

No extensive TN but I found it a very nice Cab. At the time it was ca $20.

49

So I am finally getting around to posting my notes on the two bottles I received:

  • Bookcliff Vineyards (Boulder) - 2014 Syrah, Grand Valley AVA
  • Whitewater Hill Vineyards (Grand Junction) - 2014 Shiraz, Grand Valley AVA

I found the Whitewater Hill Shiraz to be a bit ahead of the Bookcliff Syrah for my immediate impression after opening (and overall impression), although the Bookcliff seemed to evolve more and reveal subtlety the longer it was open (whereas the Whitewater Hill tasted consistently over several hours). I perceive that both pair well with Colorado-inspired cuisine, in my case I enjoyed with Colorado Elk burgers with grilled Brussels sprouts & bacon…really any lean meat or earthy-spiced dishes like a braised beef short rib with chipotles, etc.

Both of these wines veered toward the ripe and bright, good acidity but not overly so, both had enough background interest to play off the smoky and gamey characteristics of the Elk and open-fire cooking, furthering the complimentary spice characteristics that make them interesting alternatives to California and Australia Syrah/Shiraz.

I’m not convinced either of these would deliver much from cellaring for any extended period, but certainly will drink well for the immediate future (5+ years). Especially at the price (each of these wines retails around $18), there is likely little to be gained. If nothing else, these wines provide a unique drinking experience to pair with your fall harvest (for the hunters out there) or perhaps the cuisine of the Rocky Mountains / Southwest.

Well-done, and thanks again Kyle!

50

Mark, glad you enjoyed the wines. I’ll be doing the same thing this year in the next few weeks once all the new Governor’s Cup Case wines come in to the office… [cheers.gif]

51

Let’s give this a go again. I’ll be shipping the 2017 winners to various wine media and now it’s time for 6 Berserkers to get some wine. What I am proposing again is sending six of you a few bottles of CO wine so you may share your thoughts (good or bad) here with the community. Each person will get 2 wines of my choosing. If you would like to taste a few CO wines, the first six people interested to post will get a box of wine via FedEx. [berserker.gif]

52

I’ve did it two years ago, but I would be happy to do it again. I can even pick them up from you.

53

If it’s free (or near free), it’s for me!!
I’d give them a whirl with some friends and family and report back.

54

Michael if you are offering again you can count me in! Just ship to:

Dennis Callahan
C/O Off the Vine
26641 Cabot Road
Laguna Hills, CA 92653

I’ll look forward to setting up a neighborhood taste event.

55

I would be happy to try – have not tried Colorado wine yet!

56

I just hope they don’t give me Rocky Mountain Barking Spider-or maybe I do!!!

57

I’m definitely interested!

58

I’d love to try some CO wines!

59

Thanks everyone! Looks like we have our group. PM me shipping addresses and if you want to mention style/variety preferences I’ll see what I can do. There is a quite the mix of wines:

Bookcliff Vineyards Riesling
Whitewater Hill Vineyards Sweet Red
Decadent Saint Cabernet Sauvignon
Creekside Cellars Cabernet Franc
The Winery at Holy Cross Abbey Merlot Reserve
Colorado Cider Company Grasshop’ah
Meadery of the Rockies Strawberry Honey
Guy Drew Vineyards Syrah
Carlson Vineyards Lemberger
Colorado Cellars Raspberry
Infinite Monkey Theorem Sparkling Albarino
Two Rivers Port

60

I’m sending the wines out today via FedEx. Each of you will get three wines. Two from this year’s Case (one sweet-ish, one dry) and one red from the previous year’s Case that people tried last year.