This is really the greatest time of the year for wine lovers. The first vintages from last year's harvest, which was a good one, are arriving on dealers' shelves and in restaurants as you read this.
Among the first to be released come from Edna Valley Vineyard.
For some strange reason, the wines from any vineyards located in the Edna Valley of California are always a cut above wines from other vineyards selling in the same price range. For those wines that do sell in a similar pricing category, the wines of Edna Valley Vineyard have always impressed us by the consistency of their quality.
Edna Valley Vineyard 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon ($15) Everybody and their brother-in-law consider themselves to be experts on the subject of cabernet savignon and will expound at length on the subject. We must admit there are more versions of this variety than any other wine made today. The reason is rather simple: The "cab" is one of the oldest of the red wine grape varieties, so it has endured many stylistic changes, all of which are still around today. Actually, the variety is a great example of that old shell game credo, “you pays your money and you takes your choice.”
This version offers a softer side to the cabernet savignon menagerie, as it needs no time to age away any rough edges or imperfections; there just are none. The aroma displays cedar and oak, with hints of raspberry, plum, chocolate and currant that carry on to the flavor and to the rather long finish. Edna Valley Vineyard 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon is an excellent wine at its affordable best and a really fabulous choice for outdoor barbecues and cookouts.
Edna Valley Vineyard 2012 Pinot Noir ($20) The Edna Valley Vineyard 2012 Pinot Noir is an exception to the unwritten axiom that most pinot noir wines in the mid price range are poor to say the least. This wine, however, is a pleasant contradiction to that worn-out axiom.
This wine displays a dark ruby color, achieved only by pinot noir wines that have been carefully made. The Edna Valley Vineyard 2012 Pinot Noir exhibits a broad spectrum of flavors, with cherries, plums and wild summer berries being the most prominent. There are also a host of other flavors lying in the background with oak and an earthy mushroom flavor being the most obvious. This very well-made wine is drinkable now or can be laid down for as long as five years to gain additional complexity and depth.
Edna Valley Vineyard 2012 Chardonnay ($15) This wine is another happy exception to the basic rule of less expensive wines being low class and lacking quality. While the Edna Valley Vineyard 2012 Chardonnay may be in the inexpensive category, the wine is nothing at all like many others in its price range.
This wine presents the true and classical chardonnay aromas of apple and pear, with a hint of pineapple. In the mouth, these aromas give way to tropical fruits and melon, which are perfectly combined with mild oak. This is truly an interesting and delightful chardonnay and a perfect choice for those summertime salads and fish fries.
Edna Valley Vineyard 2013 Sauvignon Blanc ($15)Sauvignon blancs come and sauvignon blancs go, but this one will remain in memory for a long time. The wine offers this distinction because of its uncompromising smoothness and accentuated fruit flavors. This wine adds new interest to a variety that has become humdrum and at times boring in recent years.
The traditional flavors and aromas of citrus and grass, with a hint of melon, are very obvious. They result in an attractive and interesting wine that is the perfect accompaniment for seafood. If you have lost interest in sauvignon blancs in recent years, try the Edna Valley Vineyard 2013 Sauvignon Blanc; you will be pleasantly surprised.
Nixa resident Bennet Bodenstein is a wine columnist and manages ArticlesOnWine.com. He can be reached at frojhe1@att.net.[[In-content Ad]]
