Tag Archives: Clayhouse

Good Wine Doesn’t Have to Cost $50

31 Thursday Jul 2014

Posted by in California

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What’s for dinner? A grilled, spiced pork chop.

I want wine. I search the wine rack and pull out a ‘suspect” cabernet from Central California. Now I can’t possibly like this wine. It’s going to be flabby, not taste like cab, no balance, no fruit or too much fruit. It’s going to be jammy. There won’t be any depth or meaningful seconed notes – or mid-palate if you prefer – to discern. The finish will be like water or if lucky maybe bitter.

437479-Royalty-Free-RF-Clip-Art-Illustration-Of-A-Cartoon-Male-Wine-TasterI can’t possibly like this wine and it’s going to be just awful because, you ask? This wine was not one of my $50 or $100 bottles.

Recently a number of wine bloggers had this nice little circle confab (blushes) that certainly summed it all up. “There is no such thing as great wines under $20.” Now, I’m not prepared to argue that particular premise. Those who take themselves and their wine writing way too seriously slugged it out.

While in California for 11 days in July, I tasted stunning Cab at Daou Vineyards atop a mountain in Paso Robles – $85 for the best bottle Then just a few days later I tasted Pride Mountain Cabs which retail at $90 and $135. I sipped Cab and Insigina at the icon Joselph Phelps winery – those bottles SRP at $65 and $250.

man-sniffing-wine copyI was lucky to get into Stags Leap where I tasted killer $85 Cab. Thanks to a good friend in the wine business, I got into Spottswoode Winery in St. Helena, where they only can take 60 visitors a week, and tasted its $70 and $150 Cabernet.

Now, I admit those were GREAT wines. Those were all really great wines.

But not everyone can afford those wines. And, I’d argue, many palates are not ready to appreciate those wines unless you’re really a big wine drinker.

So you wander to the wine shop, liquor or grocery store and try to find something you might like and can afford. That scenario is why I started the wine writing nearly seven years ago.

Yes, I bought a few bottles of high-end Cabernet to tuck away for a special event, retirement, or for some future self-indulgence. I’m a lucky guy.

But on Thursday nights at home with my grill, a pork chop and empty glass. I open wines which just aren’t supposed to be all that good if you listen to some writers.

Nonsense!

clayhouseMy $14 bottle of Cabernet tonight is NOT a great wine. But it is a good wine. First, my bottle of Clayhouse 2012 Estate Vineyard Cabernet tastes like Cabernet! (They all don’t, trust me.) Second, the fruit is not a mouthful of jam. Third, it’s an easy drinker. Fourth, it’s not very complex – but I’m pretty superficial guy anyway.

It’s tasty. It’s easy to drink. Ready? It’s suggested retail price is $14. I’ve certainly tasted worse Cabernet at higher prices. Clayhouse is widely distributed and a pretty consistent value wine maker.

“Drink what you like” and, perhaps “Drink what you can afford” remains the best wine advice I or anyone can ever give you!

A Great White & A Solid Value Cab

04 Sunday Nov 2012

Posted by in California, France, Paso Robles & Mendocino

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Two more wine reviews and I’m caught up on recent bottles for review. If you want an all-purpose white wine great with food or alone, I’ve got one for you. Or, how about an affordable Central Coast California Cabernet?

Domaine du Bourdieu Entre-Deux-Mers 2010 – This Sainte Anne white Bordeaux represents what many people will tell you – white Bordeaux is one of the world’s great value buys.

The wine is Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Muscadelle. Then 10 percent of the juice sees a bit of oak. This wine stands alone with its smooth palate feel but has enough body to pair nicely with seafood.

Entre-Deux-Mers is a wonderful region just to the southwest of the city of Bordeaux.

Sainte Anne Entre-Deux-Mers White Bordeaux, these wines generally available under $20, (I bought this bottle as a package buy so don’t have SRP), Highly recommended. If you can’t find this one, try some white Bordeaux.

Clayhouse 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon – Clayhouse is one of the great value labels out of California’s Central Coast. You get the wonderfully bold flavors of Paso Robles for an average of $15.

This is not a smack-you-in-the-face like many California Cabs, but it has real Cab characteristics in the flavor with a smooth feel in the mouth. This wine will be a bit bigger than many Cabs at this price point.

It’s nice dry red wine with the dark fruit, some spice, and moderate tannins. It’s highly drinkable, affordable, and should be easy to find.

Clayhouse 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, SRP $15, Trade Sample, Recommended.

Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com

Some Really Nice Recent Wines for Review

29 Sunday Jul 2012

Posted by in California, Oregon, Paso Robles & Mendocino

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Time to finish catching up on wine reviews with a few more notes from the desk, bottles on the kitchen counter, and memories before they fade.

All of these are value wines which aren’t that tough to find. So here we go!

Clayhouse 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon – I’m always looking for a nice drinkable Cab under $20 and now I’ve found another! An under-$20 Cab isn’t going to have huge tannins and big fruit but I don’t want that at this price point – and/or it’s not going to be well made.

Clayhouse Adobe is a great value line of wines from Clayhouse owned by Middleton Family Wines. I’ve had several of their wines but never the Cabernet. I opened their Malbec recently and was a bit underwhelmed considering how good their other wines have been. The Cab was a good bounce-back for one of my favorite value Paso Robles labels.

This was rich and drinkable Cabernet. It had beautiful dark fruit, some herbal hints and enough acidity to balance the tannins enough for ribeye (which I consumed with it) but still smooth enough to sip with chocolate or some snacks. This does see a reasonable amount of oak, spending 12 months in American and French oak before bottling.

The wine is 80 percent Cab with the remaining 20 percent Petit Verdot to give a fruit kick and color! Oh, it comes with a screw cap too! There are a handful of good Cabs at this price point in your neighborhood grocery or liquor store but few are better than this one for the price!

Clayhouse 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, SRP $15, Trade Sample, Highly Recommended for the price.

Chateau de Segries 2011 Tavel –  For years the Tavel region of the Rhone Valley has been known for the world’s best Rose wines. Provence, the southern Rhone, and the Languedoc now hold equal footing in some folks eyes but the Tavel Rose wines are well worth seeking out.

The first thing you’ll notice is the deeper red color of Tavel Rose. For the most part, they are often in the hues of a cranberry or even deep red raspberry color. This wine was a blend of Grenache, Cinsault, and Syrah. This is a dry Rose with a bit more punch to the flavor than the delightfully more delicate Provence Rose with the salmon pink color.

This wine has bright cherries, raspberries and very restrained acidity. The Segries Rose has been generally well regarded garnering 91 points from Robert Parker for the 2010 vintage.

I love Rose and this was a nice change of pace. I sipped it alone and with some simple salad shrimp on a hot day. If nothing else, see out a Tavel Rose at your wine shop to compare to the other style Rose wines of France.

Chateau de Segries 2011 Tavel, $14.99, Grape Vine Cottage, Zionsville, Recommended.


Obra Prima 2007 Reserva Malbec – Malbec was the ‘next great thing’ for what seemed like the better part of a decade. If you read wine trade publications, that time has come and gone. But Malbec often delivers better wine for an affordable price point than other varieties.

I liked this big red wine with a grilled steak a lot! The wine had big red fruit  like black raspberry or blackberry and maybe even a hint of really dark chocolate. The acid and tannins were smooth and held up nicely to a New York strip I had prepared on the grill.

This is not a wine for wimps, it’s big red for big red meat. It’s available in Indiana and perfect for that beef sizzling on the grill. This was one of better Malbecs I’ve tasted in a long time.

Obra Prima 2007 Reserva Malbec, $16.99, Grapevine Cottage, Zionsville, Highly Recommended.


Sineann 2010 Red Table Wine – This was probably one of my top finds thus far this year. Sineann is a very well-known Oregon Pinot Noir producer. So when I saw the wine was a blend of Pinot Noir, Cabernet, Zinfandel, and “dashes” of Cab Franc and Melot …. let’s just say I was skeptical. You just don’t blend Oregon Pinot Noir with ANYthing! In most years the blend is approximately 50 percent Pinot.

I was wrong with my preconceived notions. I didn’t want to like it because I’m one of those wine geeks that believe great Pinot doesn’t belong in any blend. But most wine drinkers will find this to be one of the most enjoyable and drinkable reds you’ll come across in 2012.

This is clearly a ‘kitchen sink’ wine. They throw everything in it and it works remarkably well. It’s drinkable, sippable, quaffable, and more. If you find it buy it.

Sineann 2010 Red Table Wine, $17.99, Cork & Cracker, Indianapolis, Highly Recommended.

Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com

Catching Up on a Bunch of Good Wines

05 Thursday Jul 2012

Posted by in Napa/Sonoma, Paso Robles & Mendocino, Spain

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Whenever I’m looking for something on my desk and keep stumbling across notes on wines I’ve tasted, it’s time to write some reviews.

Some of these wines span back a few weeks but I always make a few notes on what I thought. I’m not ever excited about reviewing wines and not sure how important it is to readers. But I do figure if someone reads the blog regularly and finds my recommendations favorable to their palate, then it’s worth doing.

So let’s catch up …

Clayhouse 2010 Syrah  – I’m a Clayhouse fan and have written that before. This value line under the Adobe label rocks and is widely available. I don’t drink Syrah often but when I do I drink Paso Robles. Hmmm, sounds familiar?

This wine has the stereotypical dark berry and fruit flavors of plum and caramel. I liked the full mouth feel and nice long finish. This juice gets just 10 month in oak making that long finish smooth instead of tannic. It’s a relatively low 13.8 percent alcohol wine.

Clayhouse 2010 Syrah, SRP $15, Trade Sample, Recommended

Valdubon 2003 Crianza – Beautiful red wine from the Ribera del Duero region of Spain which always rocks my juice palate.

I tasted pronounced black raspberry and vanilla with that wonderful silkiness you get with well-made and aged Tempranillo-driven wines. But this 100 percent Tempranillo was bolder than some. It was beautiful wine.

Even with additional press in recent years, Spanish wines remain a great value delivering superior quality for the price.

Valdubon 2003 Crianza, Around $20, Trade Sample, Highly Recommended

Jigar 2009 Pinot Noir – This Sonoma Pinot Noir is a California keeper. It comes from the Pinot-rich region of the Russian River Valley.

It’s a more full-bodied Pinot than many you’ll pick up but with good balance. It’s rich with nice minerality and acidity on the finish. There is some dark cherry on the palate. It’s really delightful wine.

Jigar 2002 Pinot Noir, Retails around $30, I got a buy under $20 at Zionsville’s Grapevine Cottage. Recommended.

NOTE: I have a few more reviews to post as well and hope to get those up Tuesday night.



Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com

Summer Drinking – Two Whites & a Rose’

10 Sunday Jun 2012

Posted by in California, France, Paso Robles & Mendocino

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Summer time is lighter wine time for most of us and I’ve definitely been going down that path in recent weeks.

The more wine I’ve consumed in recent years, the more I’ve come to appreciate really well-made whites. I might argue the learning curve is accelerated because of the red wine dominance on my wine rack. Many will disagree, but for me it’s a little easier to identify the characteristics of red wine. White and Rose’ is more nuanced.

Enough of the geeky stuff. Here are three easy-to-find wines I purchased in Central Indiana – all under $20.

Clayhouse Adobe White – The Adobe line of Clayhouse wines from California’s Paso Robles are really great value wines. I just received samples of the 2011 vintage with a couple bottles I’ve not previously sampled. These wines clearly taste above the price point, are nicely balanced, and are available at great prices. The suggested retail on the entire line is $14 or $15.

The tasty blend is 49 percent Viognier, 26 percent Sauvignon Blanc, 19 percent Grenache Blanc, and 6 percent Princess. Princess is often called a table grape and is said to resemble Muscat in flavor. It was a new one for me. I have found Viognier I’ve loved and hated – it’s very floral and fruity normally. I remember last year’s Adobe White and was put off just a bit by the Viognier. The 2011 blend is a perfect mix.

The wine has floral, identifiable orange, peach, and honey flavors. Portions of this wine are barrel fermented, but not aged, resulting in a real creamy feel on the palate. The alcohol comes in at 12.8 percent.

Simply, this is a great summer sipper or white for lighter meals.

Clayhouse Adobe White, SRP $14, Trade Sample, Highly Recommended

Arona 2010 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc – Sauv Blanc from New Zealand often takes a hit for the big acid, over-the-top fruit, and that ‘grassy thing” many wine drinkers don’t like.

Check out Arona Sauv Blanc if you are one of those folks. I tried this wine at a tasting conducted by Derek Gray of Graybull Wines. I loved it.

This wine is much lighter on the palate than many NZ Sauv Blancs. It still had the crisp acidity which would make it perfect for lighter seafood dishes, particularly white fish. Think passion fruit, pineapple, and aroma-pleasing citrus.

If you like NZ and California Sauvignon Blanc but want a bit lighter mouth feel, grab a bottle of Arona.

Arona 2010 Sauvignon Blanc, $13.99, I bought this wine at Mass. Ave. Wine Shop in Indy. Highly Recommended.


Gerard Bertrand 2010 Gris Blanc Rose’ – I’ve been on a real Rose’ kick and this one is different as they come. First, Gerard Bertand is one of the most respected winemakers in Southern France. His wines offer great value for the price point.

This wine is a blend of Grenache Blanc and Grenache Gris. Most notably, is the very – very pale – salmon color often associated with Provence’s fine Rose’ wines.

I got peach and maybe hint of a red raspberry. The wine is lighter on the palate than many but it does have pretty serious acidity. It’s also seriously dry Rose’. It would be another choice for white fish, shell fish, or a summer salad.

I picked up this unique Rose’ at Vine and Table in Carmel.

Gerard Bertrand 2010 Gris Blanc Rose, $13.99, Recommended.

Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com