La Crema 2006 Chardonay

The Winery: La Crema
The Wine: 2006 Chardonay
The Price: $18.99 at Safeway

This review was suggested by Tina. It took me several weeks to get around to this one, but here it is, Tina.

La Crema is a Sonoma County winery. I've never sampled La Crema before, and don't know much about them.

The wine is light yellow, and is very clear in the glass. It has scents of citrus fruit and berries.

The wine has a very smooth, velvety taste. It has flavors of pears, grapefruit, honey and a slight hint of vanilla. Chardonay is not normally a wine that I gravitate towards, but this one is very good. I'll definitely be picking up a few bottles next time I'm stocking up my supply of wine.

Erath 2006 Pinot Noir

The Winery: Erath
The Wine: 2006 Pinot Noir
The Price: $16.99 on sale at QFC (Regular price $22.99)

Erath has been around for over 35 years. I always knew them at Knudsen Erath, an name I have a hard time letting go of. I don't know what precipitated the name change, and the very brief internet search didn't yield any insight.

Erath has switched from natural cork to synthetic cork to screw tops. On their website they claim that the screw top is the best method for ensuring the quality of wine is retained over the years. But I'm a traditionalist (I sometimes write with a fountain pen, I often wear cufflinks, and I open doors for women), so I have a hard time dealing with the switch to screw tops. Perhaps one day I'll research the subject and post my findings here. I'll even try to keep an open mind.

In the glass this wine looks fairly light in color. The legs are also not terribly well developed.

The wine has scents of prunes and cherries with just a hint of a smokey smell.

This wine tastes pretty thin. The flavors are not well developed, and lacks the full velvety flavor that I've come to expect from Northwest Pinot Noirs. No single flavor really jumps out. There are hints of berries or cherries and a slight carmel flavor. It has a bit of a pepper bite at the finish. All in all, I'm not a fan of this wine. It's not a very good example of a Northwest Pinot Noir, especially in the $20 price range.

Columbia Winery 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon

The Winery: Columbia Winery
The Wine: 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon
The Price: $21.99 (marked down from $27.99).

I have a very busy week, so I'm getting this week's review done a couple days early.

Tonight's wine is another selection from Columbia Winery. This is from their David Lake signature wine series. When I opened the bottle there was a lot of sediment on and around the cork. This wine is 18% Merlot, 82% Cabernet Sauvignon.

The wine is dark ruby in color and has odors of cherries, plums and oak.

This is a very smooth, well developed wine. It has a slightly sweet flavor, with notes of cherry and berry with a very slight pepper finish. The wine is very, very well balanced. The flavor is unexpectedly sweet, but in a very good way.

This wine is best wine I've sampled from Columbia Winery. They've really outdone themselves with this one. I highly recommend this wine.

Chateaux La Prade 2005 Bordeaux

The Winery: Chateaux La Prade
The Wine: 2005 Bordeaux
The Price: $23.99 at Fine Wine and Cigars.

This review was inpired by an article in one of my local papers that I intended to bookmark, but I forgot. Anyway, the article was saying that the 2005 Bordeauxs were very good and many of them are now ready for drinking. So I went out and bought a bottle at my local wineshop. Not knowing one Bordeaux from another, I went for a mid-priced bottle.

I have not been able to locate much meaningful information on this wine or the winery. It is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cab Franc.

The wine is a very dark wine, owed to its Merlot/Cab Franc roots.

The wine has scents of cherries and blackberries. It predominantly has a cherry flavor with a mossy undertone. The wine has a fair amount of tannins present, and would due well to age another few years. Once properly aged, this has the potential to be a very excellent wine.