• Cabernet Franc
• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Malbec
• Merlot
• Petit Verdot
• Sonoma

Review Date:	12/25/2007
Price Range**:	$$$$
Winery:	Ledson
Vintage:	2002
Varieties:	Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot
Country:	US
Region:	California
Appellation:	Sonoma
Rating:	9/10
Notes: The fruit is very dark, and you will indeed get the occasional hint of chocolate or even oak and tobacco maybe.
** $ - approx $10 or less $$ - approx $25 or less $$$ - approx $50 or less $$$$ - approx $100 or less $$$$$ - more than $100

• Malbec
• Syrah

2004 Edna Valley Syrah & 2003 Kaiken Malbec

When you start doing research to put points of interest into the articles you discover some really interesting information.  We've already explained to everyone that we're big fans of the Diageo Company which spans the globe and owns all kinds of great brand names in the liquor and wine markets.  Evidently, it pays to drink.  We decided to try the Edna Valley Syrah last evening at our favorite dining establishment and have found out that this brand too is owned by a Diageo company.  So much the better.  We are always excited to find out that in a round about way we are supporting our habit.

Le Syrah 

Winemaker's notes:

Following two days of cold soak at about 55°F, we added a moderately fermenting yeast to our open-topped tanks. The cap was irrigated at intervals with gentle pumpovers. After fermentation was complete we put the wine to barrel for malolactic fermentation. Most of the wine was racked and aerated at least once during barrel aging to soften tannin structure. We aged the Syrah in a mix of French oak and American oak during the 11 months of maturation. We included a small amount of Petite Sirah in the final blend to add structure and volume in the mouth. A complex wine, the 2003 Edna Valley Vineyard Syrah displays opulent, black cherry and blackberry flavors, complemented by smoke, caramel and vanilla notes, a full, viscous mouthful with medium tannin and a long, chocolate and coffee finish.

Spectacular!  When jotting down notes on this one last evening, we came to similar conclusions.  We found that it the flavors and nose were dominated by red cherries, not black.  We would certainly describe the fruit as "redder" rather than "blacker".  Fabulous if you're a big fan of the cherry. It had much less pepper and smoke than did the Kaiken Malbec that we sipped alongside this one.  We also noted the "oakiness" of the nose and accompanying buttery smell. Surprizingly it had a rather short finish.

Edna Valley Syrah Central Coast Paragon 2003 (87 points, $14)

Rich and fleshy, with beef, peppery plum and lead pencil shadings. Shows its tannic muscle on the finish. An exceptional value at this price and should reward short-term cellaring. Drink now through 2008. 13,800 cases made.

-Wine Spectator

The guys at wine spectator seemed to have loved this Syrah, but we think they're being a little generous.  We don't consider it a positive that a wine tastes like you're sucking on a sharpened #2 during your standardized test.  We'd prefer to drink an Australian shiraz in lieu of this choice, though it's passable and certainly a well-priced wine.  You will enjoy this Syrah.  Try it.  It's cheap enough that if you don't love it as we didn't, it won't really matter after looking at the sales receipt.

The Malbec

Our 2003 Kaiken Malbec was fullbodied and had a nice blend of ash and fruits like black cherry. The tannins were strong but not overpowering, very rich and rustic. It's got a prominent sweet dark chocolate finish. Like most Malbecs the finish is short. We thought it would pair well with chocolate, figs, raw fennel, grilled meats, shellfish and pasta.

Malbec Mendoza Kaiken 2003 (86 points, $13)

Kaiken is a Mapuche Indian word for a Patagonian goose that lives on both
sides of the Andes. Aurelio Montes, the Chilean star wine maker, like
the goose, can be spotted on both sides of the Andes.

Rustic version, with mint and briar notes weaving through blackberry and plum fruit. Slightly chewy finish, but good fruit. Drink now through 2006. 4,000 cases made.

-Wine Spectator 

We were surprized at the note from wine spectator.
We drank this wine on 05/23/2007 and felt that although it was past it's prime it had kept in tack, in fact we would have guessed it needed more time to sit. At this price you cannot find a better Malbec. OKAY, maybe you could but our point is it's a great find. We recommed buying two bottles and sharing with friends ASAP. 

• Malbec

Review Date:	05/23/2007
Price Range**:	$$
Winery:	Kaiken
Vintage:	2003
Varieties:	Malbec
Country:	Argentina
Region:	Mendoza Province
Appellation:
Rating:	7/10
Notes: Very dark fruit including blackberries and black cherries. Plenty of smoke and pepper and some tannins on somewhat short finish.
** $ - approx $10 or less $$ - approx $25 or less $$$ - approx $50 or less $$$$ - approx $100 or less $$$$$ - more than $100

• Cabernet Franc
• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Malbec
• Merlot
• Petite Verdot

Review Date:	05/16/2007
Price Range**:	$$$$
Winery:	Ledson
Vintage:	2004
Varieties:	Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot
Country:	US
Region:	California
Appellation:	Sonoma
Rating:	9/10
Notes: The fruit is very dark, and you will indeed get the occasional hint of chocolate or even oak and tobacco maybe.
** $ - approx $10 or less $$ - approx $25 or less $$$ - approx $50 or less $$$$ - approx $100 or less $$$$$ - more than $100

• Cabernet Franc
• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Malbec
• Merlot
• Petite Verdot

Ledson strikes again with a huge wine blended from a number of different grapes.  We poured the Ti Amo into the giant Riedel Cabernet glasses since we knew the wine was going to be big.  If you put this wine to your nose immediately, you are overwhelmed with alcohol.  The wine does well if it's allowed to breathe for a bit before you start to drink so make sure if you're going to pop the cork on a bottle of this stuff that you aren't planning on drinking it with fish and be sure that you have at least 15 minutes to let the wine open up by exposing it to some air.

Historically, decanting was used to remove sediment from wine processes that are simply ancient in comparison to modern methods.  Typically, decanting now is used to remove particles of a disintegrated cork or let the relatively small amounts of sediment that can accumulate in wine to fall to the bottom.  Most often though modern wines are pretty much ready to drink, and with more modern methods of enclosing bottles the possibility of cork disintegration goes down with each passing year.  For big, bold wines like Cabernets, you may try decanting to your particular tastes.  Try various decanters and time limits, and you may find a formula that works best for you.

We let a bit of this stuff decant for a number of hours and it continued to get better with more exposure to the air.  The characteristics change dramatically from a taste with almost too much dryness and alcohol to one of smooth, complex dark fruit with almost no hint of dryness.  It's quite incredible that such a change can occur in a wine with exposure to air.

Don't forget to swirl in your glass.  You'll look cool like a wine snob and be exercising your eye-hand coordination.

2004 Alexander Valley Ti Amo
Approx. Quantity Produced: 589 cases

Winemaker's Comments:
Tiamo means I love you in Italian, and you will agree this is the proper name for this lovely wine once it touches your lips. It is a careful blending of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petite Verdot. Each component is aged separately for 22 months in French Oak barrels before blending. This wine offers a mix of ripe, rich concentrated fruit revealing uncommon depth and tiers of flavors of wild berries, black currant, and a slight touch of chocolate. This wine is very drinkable now, but will also age beautifully. You can cellar our Tiamo for 10 – 15 years. This wine would pair beautifully with the gamey flavor of venison.

Once you get past that little wait you can appreciate the complexity of the Ti Amo blend.  The fruit is very dark, and you will indeed get the occasional hint of chocolate or even oak and tobacco maybe.  The tannins will make this wine quite cellarable too.  We've put a couple of bottles away for a rainy day some ten years in the future.  We're looking forward to comparing this blend to the Cabernet Sauvignon varietals from Ledson.  Should be quite an arm-twisting chore.