The Cellar: California

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Friday, October 30, 2015

Steffen Rasch, GoLocalWorcester Wine Writer

This week my focus is on two wines from California which are based on the popular varieties Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Priced at $10-15 and $35ish respectfully, I have chosen these wines because I believe they represent great values within their respective categories; a delicious ‘everyday’ Central Coast white and an outstanding ‘special occasion’ Napa Valley Cab.

This week’s first wine is from Mandolin, a value brand winery which was founded in 2000 as a collaboration between veteran winemaker Philip Zorn and longtime wine executive Brent Shortridge. The grapes that go into Mandolin’s wines are sourced from throughout California’s Central Coast, an area that stretches from San Francisco to Santa Barbara and encompasses many smaller sub-regions. As a whole, the many wineries of California’s Central Coast produce a diverse portfolio of wines ranging from light and crisp whites to rich and extracted reds. Much of this flexibility in winemaking can be credited to the regions climate, which is heavily influenced by the Pacific Ocean’s steady winds and ocean fogs, which help create a long, cool and dry growing season.

The grapes for this Chardonnay were sourced from vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands sub-region of the Central Coast. After harvesting, the wine underwent fermentation in French oak barrels and then aged for 5 months in the same oak barrels. The wine, however, only underwent partial malolactic fermentation assuring crucial acidity in the final wine. The result is nice, easy-drinking, medium-bodied Chard with flavors of tropical fruit, lemon custard and moderate oak with refreshing acidity on the finish. At under $15 per bottle, this is a wine you can easily stock up on and comfortably pour anytime you’re in the mood for a quick glass of white.

This week’s second wine is made by Mount Veeder Winery in the prestigious Napa Valley located north of San Francisco. While the label says ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ the wine is technically a blend as it is ‘only’ 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, with 11% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec and 1% Cabernet Franc. The makeup of this wine, along with the fact that all the grapes are grown at the Mount Veeder Estate, makes this an ‘Estate Bordeaux blend’, a wine that proprietor Michael Bernstein was among the first vintners to make in Napa Valley. 

The first wine released from Mount Veeder Winery was their 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon.  Since then the Bernstein’s have planted additional vineyards in Mount Veeder’s steep hillside terrain. The tough growing conditions produce small, intensely flavored and colored berries that produce powerful, bold wines and the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon is exactly that; an intense and dense wine. 

At $35ish per bottle you really are getting a lot for your money – especially considering that this is Napa fruit. The wine is packed with flavors of dark cherries and plum, with hints of vanilla and licorice. Texturally, the wine grabs you with lovely tannins and lingering acidity. This is a young wine in many ways, still quite tight; a wine that needs an hour in the aerator. I see this aging well and gaining in complexity for up a decade. Good stuff!

Cheers!

Steffen Rasch is a Certified Sommelier and Specialist of Wine. Feel free to email him at [email protected] with any wine-related questions or learn about wine in person by signing up for one of his tastings at the Providence Wine Academy. 

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