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2004 Castle Rock Sonoma Zinfandel, $9.99,13.9% alc.: Dark garnet in color, with a rich “zinberry” profile of spicy raspberry, blackberry and a hint of blueberry, all prettied up with a kiss of sweet oak. The tannins are moderate and the acidity is good, making for a solid $10 Zin. Find this wine 2004 Castle Rock Lodi Petite Sirah, $9.99,13.5% alc.: Dark in both color and character, with big, rich black plums and berries, and tarry undertones that add interest and character; this is well oaked, but the ample fruit soaks it up quite well. Medium tannins and acids don’t get in the way of enjoying a bottle tonight, but they’ll take it a few years down the road for further development. Find this wine 2002 Castle Rock Napa Merlot, $9.99,13.5% alc.: Perhaps surprisingly, this ruby dark garnet colored Merlot is the most structured of the current lineup of Castle Rock reds available in Day-twah, with tannins and acids that will certainly allow for at least a few years of development. It gives big, spicy toasty oak over dark plums and currants, with subtle accents of cedar, making for a nice glass of wine that’s anything but a stereotypical wimpy California Merlot. Find this wine 2003 Castle Rock Alexander Cabernet Sauvignon, $9.99,13.9% alc.: Deep, dark garnet in color, with sweet, creamy oak over black currant, blackberry and blueberry aromatics; these follow through on the palate with sweet fruit, some tobacco in support, good weight and structure and a nice finish. Drink now or hold for a few years. Find this wine 2003 Castle Rock Central Coast Syrah, $9.99,14.5% alc.: This stuff looks like ink in the glass, and exudes lots of dark plums and berries shaded with coffee and toast, but you probably shouldn’t have it with breakfast! Big fruit here, with plenty of structure and a fairly long finish; this may be my favorite of the six reds (but I enjoy them all). Find this wine ~ ~ ~ ~
2004 Casa Silva Colchagua Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva, $10.99, 14% alc.: Dark garnet in color, with a kiss of sweet oak that complements the black currant and black cherry aromatics; the bright, rich, moderately sweet flavors echo with medium tannins, decent acidity and a slightly earthy finish, all the while retaining true Cabernet character. A friendly match for burgers, steaks or any red meat, this is yet another fine example of why Chile is among the leaders when it comes to excellent QPR wine producers, and Casa Silva is at the forefront for this price range. In fact, their entire lineup shows good quality, with more than a competent middleweight Merlot, a solid Sauvignon Blanc and a perfectly serviceable Chardonnay. For my money though, the Cabernet and the Carmenčre are the stars of their show. Find this wine Imported by Vin Divino, Chicago, IL ~ ~ ~ ~  From
Chile comes a new venture called duo
(yes, it’s in lower case on purpose), a collaboration between the
legendary Agustin Francisco Huneeus
(Franciscan Oakville Estate, Mount Veeder,
Estancia and Quintessa of California and Veramonte and Concha y Toro of
Chile) and Cellar Door, a
division of Pacific Wine Partners and Constellation Brands, Inc. When I
first heard about duo, I wondered whether it might not be just another
brand turning out serviceable industrial wines, or worse, but after
getting a sample of their two offerings, I was fairly impressed with
what they have to offer. 2005 duo Sauvignon Blanc Casablanca Valley, $11.99, 13.5% alc.: Pale to medium straw in color, this is one very good glass of white wine, with its rich, musky pinecone, grapefruit and gooseberry flavors and aromas. It has the kind of zippy acidity that one expects from Sauvignon, being medium to medium full bodied and fairly long on the finish. A solid match for the usual fish and fowl suspects, including chicken and seafood prepared in any number of ways, this is also a great back deck summer sipper. Find this wine 2004 duo Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Casablanca Valley, $11.99, 14% alc.: A blend of 77% Cabernet and 23% Merlot, this red is at once rich, ripe and very user friendly. Dark garnet in color, it sports an attractive bouquet of dark berries, currants and plums graced with a little chocolate and a kiss of sweet oak, all of which follow through generously on the palate. With a lush texture that belies its modest price, and enough structure to carry it well over the next year or two, this is definitely a drink-me-now kind of wine, and well worth the tariff. Find this wine Imported by International Cellars, Gonzales, CA ~ ~ ~ ~ Rolling Wines is Philip Shaw’s latest project; Shaw was Rosemount Estate's winemaker from 1982 until 2003, and as such, was responsible for some memorable wines for Kim and this taster. In 1989, Shaw established his own vineyard in the foothills that surround the town of Orange, New South Wales, Australia, located 200 kilometers west of Sydney on the slopes of the Great Dividing Ranges, and in 2003, he began working full time in the district for both Rolling Wines and as CEO of Cumulus Wines. 2005 Rolling Central Ranges NSW Australia Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, 60% Sauvignon Blanc, 40% Semillon, $11.99, 13.5% alc.: Medium straw in color, and clean, crisp and correct in both flavor and aroma, offering good, rich fruit, with impressions of green apple, grapefruit and melon that are shaded with a hint of lime; it actually improves with some air, showing good length on the finish. This is an excellent everyday white, warm weather or otherwise, and quite food friendly to a variety of the usual fish and fowl suspects; in fact, it might be my favorite of these four wines. Find this wine 2005 Rolling Central Ranges NSW Australia Chardonnay, $11.99, 13.5% alc.: Medium straw with a tinge of lemon to its color, this exhibits textbook New World Chardonnay aromatics, reminiscent of apples, pears and overtones of tropical fruit. The rich, ripe flavors echo, with an added note of lemony citrus, a good acidic backbone and an undertone of stony minerality that adds interest and complexity. It has good weight (but it’s not heavy), it finishes well and like the Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, it’s very food friendly. Find this wine
2004 Rolling Central Ranges NSW Australia Shiraz, $11.99, 13.5% alc.: Dark garnet color, fading to pink at the rim, with flavors and aromas of black currants and berries accented with some subtle earth, oak and dark chocolate; sleek and medium full bodied, it’s well balanced, with moderate tannins and a nice finish. The wine opens nicely with air, becoming more and more harmonious, and like all of these, it shows no rough edges or excesses. Find this wine Are any of these wines “knockouts?” No, but they are all solid daily drinkers, and that’s good enough for me; they’re food friendly and do just what they’re supposed to. The pastoral labels are also a far cry (and a welcomed relief) from the hoard of animal labels that have flooded the market over the past few years. Imported by Cape Wine Ventures, LLC, Deerfield Beach, FL In the meantime, don’t forget Rule # 1 of Bastardo’s Rules of Wine Acquisition: ALWAYS buy by the case! };^)> Reporting from Day-twah, Bastardo
Other Recent Wine Explorations Wines of Domaine Berthet-Rayne
Back to the Underground
Index
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t’s
probably no secret to some that Castle Rock
Winery is putting out some of the best
QPR (quality – price – ratio) wines to
be found these days, and more people seem to be catching on to that fact
all the time. Castle Rock doesn’t own a winery or any vineyards, but
they do have a line on some of the best bulk wine sources in California,
Washington and Oregon. They state that in some cases, they’ve had to
sign nondisclosure contracts with well-known producers who don’t want it
known their fruit is used in making such value-priced juice.
August “Joe” Briggs is the consulting
winemaker, and the wines are made on a contract basis at
Rombauer Vineyards, Laird Family Vineyards
and the Sebastiani winery in
Sonoma. Their Pinot Noirs were the first of their wines to make a
splash around here, but in fact, they currently make more than forty
different wines from several different varietals. The wines are
definitely geared towards those with so-called “California palates;”
they’re fruit forward and accessible, with a generous dose of oak that
never goes overboard. 
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