Tag Archives: livermore valley

Red Wine Review: Murrieta’s Well The Spur

Murrieta’s Well The Spur 2009 | Livermore Valley, California, USA

A few months back, I reviewed the 2008 vintage of Murrieta’s Well The Spur. Now, the 2009.

The suggestion was to enjoy this wine with food from the grill. Unfortunately, I live in a place where grills are verboten — which kills me, because I love grilling — so I had to improvise.

Since I don’t have a grill, I instead turned the toaster oven on “broil” and popped in a sliced vidalia onion and small filet mignon. Those two items were joined by fresh kale sauteed with bacon and onions and a sweet potato. Guess what? The Spur was a wonderful match with everything. As you might expect, it was particularly tasty with the beef, as it unlocked delicious flavors of sweet red raspberry, some black fruits, licorice, and cocoa.

The fruity nose and juicy, almost jammy upfront flavors of this wine threw me off, because my initial impression was one of “typical sweet California blend.” However, that thought flew out the window quickly, as the midpalate and finish whacked me with ample acidity and firm tannins — so much so that this wine became difficult to enjoy on its own. For me, that’s a good thing, because in my mind, wine belongs on the table, to be drunk with food.

The PR kit suggested barbecue, and I agree. The screwcap closure certainly makes it especially BBQ / picnic friendly. Would I buy this and bring it to an outdoor dinner party / picnic / barbecue? Absolutely — and I’d expect it to be a crowd-pleaser.

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Disclosure: I received this wine as a press sample

This wine was also reviewed by The Frugal Wine Snob, Drinkhacker, and Pull That Cork, among others (if you reviewed it, or see another review, let me know in the comments).

Red Wine Review: Murrieta’s Well The Spur

Murrieta’s Well The Spur 2008 | Livermore Valley, California

Lately I’ve been spending too much time at my very awesome job, commuting, blogging elsewhere, giving baseball lessons, and doing other things in life that take me away from writing here. I took a look at my list of “drafts” and there are now two dozen waiting in the hopper — but, not all are necessarily “ready” by my standards, which is why they’re not yet published. However, I’m going to make an effort to get some of the reviews out — even without much editing — because if I wait any longer you won’t find some of these wines at your retail shop any longer.

So without further ado, herewith a review of Murietta’s Well The Spur, tasted far too long ago and likely tasting even better now.

A Bordeaux blend — 54% Cabernet Sauvignon 23% Petit Verdot 10% Petite Sirah 9% Cabernet Franc 4% Malbec — from California, but I wouldn’t confuse this with a true Bordeaux. The nose is expressive, dominated by chocolatey spice notes and black fruit — plum, cassis, blackberry. In the mouth you get some sweet oak spice upfront, with blackberry, cassis, black raspberry, and plum flavors following. Decent acidity and dry tannins appear in the finish, which also brings in dusted dark chocolate. For me, this was a hard one to match with food because of the sweet oak character, but it’s a nice “cocktail” wine to drink on its own. For me, it profiles similarly to a modern (i.e., American oak-aged) Rioja. At about $20-$25, this is a good deal.

Visit my friend Christopher Null’s site “DrinkHacker” to read a review of Murrieta’s Well The Spur 2009 vintage, which is more likely to be found at your local retailer.

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NOTE: I received this wine as a sample

Tamas Rosato

Tamas Estates Rosato Riserva 2010 | Livermore Valley, California, USA

Let me premise this by stating that I don’t like the idea of using the words “Prima Classe” “Rosato” and “Riserva” on a wine produced in the United States. I understand it is Tamas trying to be cute by emulating the terms that might be found on a bottle of Italian wine. However, that marketing ploy only further confuses an already confused wine-drinking public. To be clear: this wine is from the Livermore Valley of California.

That complaint aside, this pink wine delivers juicy strawberry and white cherry flavors on the nose and palate, mouthwatering acidity, and is overall a pleasant, refreshing, and enjoyable quaffer that fits most any budget. It’s nice alone, but better with food. I matched it successfully with roast chicken, BBQ ribs, mild cheese, crawfish cakes, and shrimp/scallop cakes. At under ten bucks, this is a good value. Pick up a bottle while the weather is hot and the wine is still fresh — it’s not something to lay down.

Learn more about the winery at the Tamas Estates website (though, I couldn’t find any info on this particular wine there).

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Red Wine Review: Concannon Syrah

Concannon Syrah 2005 · Livermore Valley

Concannon Syrah wine bottle from Livermore Valley CaliforniaFor whatever reason, I’ve always associated Concannon with Petite Sirah — perhaps because they were the first California winery to varietally label the grape back in 1964. And their Petite Sirah generally rocks.

So it was with a little hesitation, overcome by curiosity, that I plucked this bottle from the shelf.

For those unaware, Petite Sirah and Syrah are completely different grapes. Syrah rootstalks were imported from other parts of the world (probably France), while Petite Sirah (which is neither small nor Syrah) is thought to be indigenous to California. We’ll discuss Petite Sirah at greater lengths another time — there’s actually an interesting story and some controversy surrounding its origins. For now, we’ll concentrate on Syrah — the one made by Concannon.

The vintage stocked at my local wine shop is 2005, and it’s drinking very nicely. You may be able to find the 2006 or the 2007 in your area; if so, and you’ve tasted it, please share your notes in the comments.

Tasting Notes: Concannon Syrah 2005

Open nose of mature, overripe black fruits — blackberry, blackcurrant, black raspberry, with hints of tobacco and earth. In the mouth it has a smooth, almost syrupy texture, ripe blackberry and black raspberry flavors. Acidity is mild, tannins are mild. Flavors evolve into a finish of blackberry, blueberry, mild tobacco, and a hint of dark chocolate that is held up with drying acidity. The alcohol is barely noticeable, which is pleasantly surprising for a wine with this much upfront, ripe fruit. OK on its own, perfect with lean-beef burgers, mild cheeses, blackened chicken, sloppy joes, tacos, swedish meatballs.

a-8 t-8 b-8 fc-7 v-7 ~ 88 Points

Bottom Line

A soft and jammy Syrah with enjoyable black berry flavors and perfect match for lean meat dishes. At under $10, a great value.

Where To Buy It

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Learn more at the official website: Concannon Vineyards