It’s become fashionable in the California wine industry to name their wines, along with indicating the variety. Whether it is the name of a vineyard or some fancy name to attract buyers, it’s happening with greater frequency.
Wente Vineyards, one of the state’s older wine producers, adopted the naming fad, too. However, in their case, it indicates wine that is special, fantastic or out of this world.
Wente Charles Wetmore 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon ($30)
This wine offers everything one seeks in a cabernet savignon. Its color is almost black and the aroma is a kaleidoscope of blackberries and truffles. The flavor reflects concentrated black cherry and plum with a bit of oak and a hint of coffee and spice. The finish, as one would expect from a fine wine, is long and complex.
This wine is ready to enjoy right now and needs no further bottle aging, although it will improve over many years to come. With the host of cabs on the market today, this wine is definitely something special.
Wente 2014 Eric’s Small Lot Chardonnay ($25)
Eric’s Small Lot Chardonnay is made without any oak in the production or aging, meaning the pure flavors and aromas of the grape are unaffected by anything external. After handpicking and sorting the grapes, they are gently crushed, pressed and fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks rather than traditional oak fermenters.
The true chardonnay aromas of pineapple, apple and citrus carry over to the flavor and merge into a collage of tropical fruits. There also is that elusive creamy mouth feel often found only in the more costly chardonnay. making this wine rather special, too.
Wente Morning Fog 2014 Estate Grown Chardonnay ($15)
This wine is typical of all wines from Wente – luxurious, elegant and well made. Throughout the entire process, extra care is taken from the selection of the grapes to the winemaking procedures. All of this tender loving care resulted in a wine of great character and distinction featuring green apple and tropical fruit in both the aroma and flavor. Coupled with this is the traditional oak and vanilla flavor. Unlike many of the lesser chardonnays, this wine has a long, fruity and creamy finish.
Wente 2012 Riva Ranch Single Vineyard Pinot Noir ($30)
Not only is this wine from a single vineyard, but the vines in that vineyard are over 50 years old - a very good omen for a better-than-average pinot noir. The color, which is much darker than most California pinot noirs, is followed by an extremely complex and multilayered aroma and flavor.
The aroma is an ever-changing merry-go-round of black cherry, strawberry with toasted oak, cigars and an intriguing earthy sensation in the background. The flavor is just as expansive and explosive as the aroma, centered on plum, blackberry, cranberry, boysenberry and oak followed by a long lasting, kaleidoscopic and impressive finish.
Wente 2013 Louis Mel Estate Grown Savignon Blanc ($15)
With so many poor examples in the marketplace, it’s really hard to get excited about a savignon blanc. In spite of that, Wente produces a wine, which, rather than being a disappointment to the variety, elevates it to new highs.
The Wente 2013 Louis Mel Estate Grown Savignon Blanc accents all the fruit flavors available from the savignon blanc grape. Gone are the usual overly prominent grassy flavors and aromas that have often been associated with this variety and are replaced by the rich fruit tastes of nectarine, melon and pineapple. There also is oak and vanilla present as soft under-flavors and they add their individual charm to the wine followed by a long, seemingly endless finish.
Nixa resident Bennet Bodenstein is a wine columnist and manages ArticlesOnWine.com. He can be reached at frojhe@suddenlink.net.
