Posted by Ben in 2004, General, Other, petite sirahJul 30th, 2010 | No Comments
Original Review, March, 2009: The 2004 Chez Ray Petit Sirah comes from Lodi, CA, fresh grapes. In the glass, it is a deep red, almost opaque in the middle, moving to medium red at the edges. Quite unusual for such color after a few years in the bottle.
Aroma is oddly piquant, bringing your nose into what seems like a massive explosion at a perfume factory housed in a barnyard. Weird stuff indeed. The perfume is flowery and violet, but like you're actually inside the flower, not smelling its aroma.
On the palate, this is a rounder, richer, gentler version of the aromas, rolling and gliding along your tongue. Few acids; fewer tannins. But the pure concentration causes this to linger.
I want to try it again, so that is three stars on the
Spirit of Wine scale. A plus is added for its exquisite oddity.
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Updated Review, over a year later, now 6 years from vintage date, July, 2010: Consistent color and aroma. The palate is so round I am concerned it will fall over to senility soon.
Following long decant, two days under vacuum in partially-filled bottle: Just enough to cause it to roll-over, now crossing over pleasant to the "vegetable-y" side of taste.
Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherJul 29th, 2010 | No Comments
The mustang grapes are ripening all over Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. I've received a number of emails, snail mails and phone calls concerning making this wine. The most common questions this year, as in many years in the past, have to do with (1) how much juice does "x" pounds of mustang grapes yield and (2) why does one dilute the juice to reduce acidity and then add acid blend to the must? Read more....
Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherJul 29th, 2010 | No Comments
Back on May 27th I asked the question, "When can we call it wine?" I've received several replies worthy of note. One answered another question I asked in that entry and I concede his point. A second offered a point of his own that I also conceded. A third dug up a California regulation to offer a legal view of when we can call it wine. Read more....
Posted by Ben in 2002, General, Other, zinfandelJul 28th, 2010 | No Comments
Tasting notes courtesy of
Todd:
Chez Ray Old Vines Zinfandel 2002: Young jammy nose with evident alcohol; Fruit forward on palate with grape jam flavor & lively acidity. Bark & alcohol in medium finish.
Earlier description of this wine
here.
Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherJul 23rd, 2010 | No Comments
I finally put up my new website,
Free PC Services. I have been working on it for three months – probably no less than 4 hours a day (12 hours some days) since late April – and decided to publish it even though it isn't anywhere near where I wanted it to be when I debuted it. The web site is a selective cataloging of free programs for your desktop, laptop or notebook computer. Read more....
Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherJul 23rd, 2010 | No Comments
I took down the counter on my "Winemaking Home Page". This may not seem like a big deal to you but it was to me. I agonized over it for weeks. When I discovered the "big discrepancy" I started looking for another counter that provided the service I expected (at a minimum, the ability to reset the count from time to time when it proved inaccurate). Read more....
Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherJul 19th, 2010 | No Comments
I was recently interviewed by Ken Payton of the blog "Reign of Terroir" on the subject of the commercial prospects of non-vinifera grape and non-grape wines. I think it went pretty well. I got a lot of things off my chest that had been fermenting for a while, and I expressed once again what I think is key to being a good, competent winemaker. I am sure almost everyone will disagree with something I said, but I dare anyone to disagree with everything. Read more....
Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherJul 19th, 2010 | No Comments
Charlie Suehs sent me and several others a link to a video that caused a stir among members of the San Antonio Regional Wine Guild. At our June meeting, we had Charlie demonstrate the procedure. He succeeded, but with some difficulty. First, click on the image below to go to another site and view the video. If it opens in the same window as this blog, please click your browser's "Back" button (arrow) when done to return here. By the way, the video is in French, but you will have no trouble understanding the technique. Read more....
Posted by Jack Keller's WineBlog in General, OtherJul 19th, 2010 | No Comments
Charlie Suehs, Secretary of the San Antonio Regional Wine Guild and elected its first President back in 1976, wrote asking a question put to him by a father-daughter team of new winemakers. They wanted to know if methanol was a potential problem in homemade wines. This was the second time in two weeks I had been asked this question, so I had a reply fresh in my mind and sent Charlie four paragraphs. But I thought the subject might have greater interest and also deserved expansion. In other words, it deserved a "WineBlog" entry. Read more....
Posted by Ben in 2005, General, Other, merlotJul 18th, 2010 | No Comments
Original Review, July 2008: This is a newer vintage Chez Ray wine, vinted from Brehm frozen grapes from Napa county. This pure-breed merlot was first sampled
here and its making was described
here.
This is one of two Carneros merlots I made from 2005. The other one is reviewed
here.
Let see what this one is like: In the glass, it is a medium magenta with purple highlights. The aroma is intriguing: "eau de helium" is how I would characterize it; actually seems like you are sniffing inside a balloon! Not a bad aroma, just odd. Let's see, here's the balloon knot, hmmmm, very smooth sides, etc...
Now let's see what the inside of a helium balloon tastes like: most of what you notice first are an onslaught of acids across the palate, this is backed by a tannin finish that further puckers after you're already puckered from the acids. My face is a sorry sight at the moment.
This definitely has structure and acids, but no fruit and no classical aroma of note. I would recommend laying down for a few years. My fingers are crossed, but I'm somewhat dubious. One star out of five on the
Spirit of Wine scale, with a plus for hope for the future.
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Now a year later, late May, 2009: Mid-deep red - serious blood color. Aromas are not helium any longer - deep, serious, subdued black fruit. On the palate, a lifted acid and solid tannic core, but a solid fruit is squeezing up from out of the depths. The combination is taking on a serious, tough sweetness. Clean finish. Quite intriguing. Time will still help. Now three stars. Good promise for future.
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Updated Review, July, 2010, about five years from vintage date, and three and a half years since bottling; just over one year from last review (picture is from this tasting): Consistent color and serious black cassis on the nose. An acid-driven, but full tannin and fruit-backed structure on the palate. Excellent "fur" and sweetness on the long-lasting palate, with tongue-prickling acids at the end. Still a strong three stars. May even grow to a higher level with more time.
