Thursday, September 8, 2011

Andrew Murray and his wines part 2

In a post of a few days ago I blogged about Andrew Murray Vineyards and 2 of his Syrahs that I tasted. In this post I will blog about 3 blends I and some wine enthusiasts tasted from Andrew.

2010 RGB Camp 4 Vineyard- The only white wine we tasted, this 50/50 blend of Rousanne and Grenache Blanc comes from Santa Ynez Valley. Fermented together in stainless steel and then put into neutral French oak until its time to bottle. It has melon and pear aromas on the nose & sweet vanilla and honeysuckle on the palate. It's dry wine and has good acidity, a medium body and medium finish. Only 200 cases were made of this white Chateauneuf du Pape like wine and retails for about $25.

2008 Esperance("Hope" in French) from the Central Coast is a blend of 60% Greanche Noir from Paso Robles, 25% Syrah from Santa Ynez Valley and 15% Mourvedre from Paso Robles. Big on the nose and the palate, this wine uses a lot of new French oak and grapes from both warm and cool climates. Buttery and with nice tannins, it's well balanced and has a nice, long finish. It tastes great and has the best finish of the 5 wines tasted. 400 cases were produced and is a steal at $30.

2009 Syrah Watch Hill Vineyard from Santa Ynez Valley is blended with 5% Viognier. Aged for 18 months in French oak barrels, half which were new this is a full bodied wine with a smoky, bacon nose. With good raspberry fruit this wine has a shorter finish. Several tasters said "WOW" upon their 1st taste. Only 212 cases made and should retail for about $36.

So after tasting 5 wines from Andrew Murray Vineyards my fellow wine drinkers agree that the accolades from Robert Parker and others are worthy. If you find Andrews wines on your wine stores shelf or a restaurant wine list, do yourself a favor a give these limited production wines a try and see why they drink like you should be spending a lot more money than you actually will. Cheers!

1 comment:

  1. I could not agree more brother! I just drank one of my favorite wines tasted in any tasting room again last night.....AMV Esperance. Love, love, love that wine! Advocate said 92.....I'm thinking it could add another point or two. Not only are the wines stellar, but Andrew is a really great man and he has some great people on his team.

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