2004 Chateau La Nerthe – Chateauneuf du Pape – Rhone – France

This is a blend of 56% Grenache, 24% Syrah, 12% Mourvedre, and 8% Cinsault. It’s also another wine I bought and decided to open up before it had much age on it as a way to gauge what “young” wines taste like.

This has nice dark fruit aromas black currant and black cherry along with dark violets and chocolate. Most noticeable though are the white pepper aromas that emerge at the end. It is a deep rich purple color with a somewhat tannic structure but still smooth (although it would certainly become smoother with age.

This is a nice and solid wine that although it drinks well know, I can tell that with enough age (or air), it will just soften and blossom.

2005 Beckman – Le Bec Blanc (Santa Ynez Valley)

Beckman Vineyards is in the Santa Ynez Valley of Santa Barbara County and this wine is a Rhone blend of Rousanne, Marsanne & Grenache Blanc.

It’s light golden colored with lovely aromatics of cloves and apricots along with lighter hints of citrus, nutmeg and caramel. The nutmeg, clove and caramel also come on in the taste with a dash of lemon peel. It’s a medium to full bodied wine with a long finish.

Overall a food solid B wine what’s a great example of some of the Rhone blends currently being made in Central California. This bottle was $20 from Chelsea Wine Vault and worth picking up a bottle.

2005 Qupe - Bien Nacido Cuvee (Santa Maria Valley)

This is from Santa Barbara County's Qupe Vineyards who are known for their Central Coast Rhone Varietals. This is a blend of 50% Chardonnay and 50% Viognay from a rather well know vineyard in Santa Barbara County called Bien Nacido.

The wine is a vibrant yellow color with nice aromas of citrus, hey, and a floral element. Very pleasant. Citrus on the taste. Some orange. Medium bodied that leads to a lasting finish. The only real knock on this wine is that it’s a bit too acidic and that puts it slightly off balance for me. Slightly too much acidity for its weight.

A decent effort but really a B- wine for my tastes. $20 from T.B. Atkerson Wine in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn.