Moniker: now that’s an interesting name for a wine.
A moniker in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia or Chicago usually refers to an alias or nickname often for criminals. It is also the name of Robin Williams' character in the very funny movie "Club Paradise." But why a wine? The only answer we could come up with was, “Why not?"
To paraphrase William Shakespeare, “What’s in a name?” The wines are good, therefore they could be called anything, and it would in no way diminish their quality.
Moniker wines come from California's Mendocino County, a place where the grapes are known for producing outstanding wines. The label is owned by the Thornhill family and the wines are made by their on-premises winemaker, Mark Beaman. The reason we say on-premises winemaker is because many wineries employ a winemaker who is more like a traveling salesman serving many different customers one at a time and showing up at regular intervals to check on things. The fact that the winemaker is on premises means that from the vineyard to the bottle, he is totally in charge of production and can not only monitor its progress but can husband it through the entire process, day by day.
That fact alone is enough to tell you that the Moniker wines are something special.
Moniker 2012 Mendocino County Pinot Noir ($30)Wine writers like us usually receive technical literature on wines with all sort of statistics that would probably bore the life out of the average wine enthusiast. On this wine sheet, amid all of the statistics, was an item that caught our eye: the wine was fermented with a German yeast. That interested us because it showed the winemaker wanted to retain the color of the grapes (many yeast strains slightly bleach a wine) by utilizing a German red wine yeast strain which does very little bleaching. It is often the practice to use some of the leftover skins from the making of white zinfandel to darken pinot noirs; not here, this wine is pure unadulterated pinot noir.
The wine that resulted is picture perfect, with a rich, dark natural cranberry red color and a berry, cherry and oak aroma. The flavor is a combination of cherry, blackberry and spice with a background of soft, smoky oak.
The Moniker 2012 Mendocino County Pinot Noir is a well-made and enjoyable wine that we, as known unrepentant lovers of pinot noir wines, can happily attest to.
Moniker 2011 Mendocino County Cabernet Sauvignon ($30)California cabernet sauvignons can get a bit mundane and repetitious in their flavor and aroma. Many tend to be carbon copies of one another. That's not the case with Moniker 2011 Mendocino County Cabernet Savignon. This wine is anything but dull and boring.
The grapes come from Moniker’s own vineyard and have been carefully tended to meet the strict requirements of the winemaker for this specific wine. The results are astounding, presenting a wide-open and jammy aroma, featuring blackberries, black cherries and ripe plums with an elegant background of soft oak. The flavor is equally impressive, stressing cherries and red currants with an almond and chocolate background and, of course, oak.
Moniker 2011 Mendocino County Chardonnay ($23) If you are expecting a massive, austere and brooding continental style chardonnay, forget it; this wine is as California as they come - big, wide open, super fruity and very enjoyable.
This easy-drinking wine runs the entire gamut of the aromas and flavors to be found in a chardonnay: peach, apple, vanilla, honey, pear and oak, ending in an exceptional and fruity finish. None of the flavors are overpowering and none dominate.
They mingle into a harmonious flavor experience that should not be missed. Chardonnay wines are getting commonplace and rather boring, but this wine stands head and shoulders above the rest. Do try it.
Nixa resident Bennet Bodenstein is a wine columnist and manages ArticlesOnWine.com. He can be reached at frojhe1@att.net.[[In-content Ad]]
