Wine By Nine

Red Wine by Tablas Creek from Central Coast, California. The 2003 Esprit de Beaucastel is dark black-red in color, with a rich briary nose of blackberry and rare steak. The elegant, layered palate shows spicy plum and cherry fruit, smoky flavors and ripe tannins. The long finish shows flavors of mineral and black cherry. The 2003 Esprit de Beaucastel, a blend of 50% Mourvedre, 27% Syrah, 18% Grenache, and 5% Counoise, exhibits a saturated deep ruby/purple color in addition to a superb nose of blackberries, blue fruits, crushed minerals, new saddle leather, animal fur, and flowers. With wonderful concentration and purity buttressed by considerable structure as well as moderately high tannin, this foudre-aged effort will benefit from another 1-2 years of cellaring, and promises to keep for a decade or more. -The Wine Advocate

Red Wine by Bonny Doon from Central Coast, California. A little bit of a stylistic departure for Bonny Doon. Since I have been hanging out with Patrick Ducournau, I have learned the mantra: I will fear no tannin. Cigare has always been fruit-driven (in the Australian parlance) and usually has had the soft, plush texture of the upholstery one finds in a vintage Citro?n. We have upped the ante and given the wine a little more grip, more conjones, if you will. I think that in doing so, we have enchanced this Cigares ability to age. Varietal composition: 34% Grenache, 33% Syrah, 27% Mourvedre, 2% Viognier, 2% Cinsault and 2% Carignane.

Red Wine by Wattle Creek from North Coast, California. The 2003 Triple Play is a dense, inky Rhone blend showing deep vibrant shades of reds and purples. It has aromas of blackberry and tarry molasses combined with a subtle smoky nuance from its barrel maturation. The flavors follow with blackberry and anise, a dense profile with a sense of terroir, toasted French oak and a structured finish. This is a rich, powerful wine with tremendous profile and integrity. Try this wine with roasted rack of lamb and cheese au gratin potatoes. Enjoy! Blend: Syrah 95%, Petite Sirah 3%, Viognier 2%

Red Wine by Tablas Creek from Central Coast, California. Like most wines of the Southern Rhone, the Tablas Creek Vineyard Cotes de Tablas is a blend of varietals, featuring the fruitiness of Grenache balanced by the spice and structure of Syrah, with meaty, earthy notes from Mourvedre and Counoise. The 2005 Cotes de Tablas has an intensely Grenache nose of rare steak, pepper and blueberry. It is juicy and rich in the mouth, with ripe tannins and a finish laced with licorice. Food pairings: Grilled steaks, pastas with meat sauces, rich beef stews, spicy sausages

Red Wine by Terre Rouge from Sierra Foothills, California. Tête-à-Tête is our fun easy drinking assemblage of Mediterranean varietals (in 2003 - its 70% Mourvèdre,19% Syrah & 11 % Grenache). We blend it with current drinkability in mind, for drinking both at homeand as a restaurant pour. We generally put it together from our younger vines and our more forwardtasting barrel lots. 2003 was a year where most of our Rhône varietal lots excelled. Therefore this winedrinks like better than most Côtes-du-Rhône Villages bottlings: sappy, spicy, fabulous flavor, and greattexture. It is an eminently enjoyable everyday bottle. The 2003 has a deep boysenberry fruit suggestions,smoky/meaty/gamey complex flavor components that emphasize our terroir, and a lengthy creamytexture. Aged for 14 months in François Frères barrels. This is a great California wine value !