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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 92 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 59 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by bobadopolis on 1/26/2023 & rated 94 points: 30 minute decant, then spectacular (830 views) | | | Tasted by Rossdhu House on 5/14/2022 & rated 93 points: Amazing. (1028 views) | | | Tasted by Nfmds on 2/13/2022 & rated 93 points: Deep ruby color
Nose: dark fruit (blackberry, black cherry)
Flavor: bursting, lingering fruit, warm spice, subtle tobacco
Very smooth mouthfeel with nice structure and long linger (1156 views) | | | Tasted by ewasowicz on 11/8/2020 & rated 91 points: Nose: covid
Taste: tobacco, raisins, tart plum. Tart plum. (2824 views) | | | Tasted by megathomps on 4/30/2020: Phenomenal smooth full bodied red (2689 views) | | | Tasted by Devo77 on 4/4/2020 & rated 87 points: Worth $30-35 (1580 views) | | | Tasted by gkrueger on 4/4/2020 & rated 92 points: Delicious �� (2136 views) | | | Tasted by billyabbott on 2/15/2020: Leathery hints on the nose with big fruit on the palate: berries and cherries. A touch of toast and jam. (1679 views) | | | Tasted by Coachron13 on 11/14/2019 & rated 91 points: All five Bordeaux varietals, with cab sauv the leader at 76%. Good solid blend, still pretty young, good value for the $50 we paid. (1404 views) | | | Tasted by Buzzer on 8/4/2019 & rated 90 points: The wine looks purple colored. The legs are medium. There is no sediment in the bottle. It smells like blackberry and stoniness. It tastes like black currant (cassis), flint and oak. The body is full. The wine has round texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has medium acidity. Surprisingly jammy. (1297 views) | | | Tasted by ski695 on 11/24/2018 & rated 90 points: I do not often drink Cali cab but always nice to go outside my norm. n. Soft, ripe, plum types of fruit, round and medium length finish. Not real long, not very grippy, but easy and fairly simple Cali cab. Introduced to a new wine student. It is what it is and is perfectly enjoyable and a good example of the wine type. (2073 views) | | | Tasted by floridawinedrkr on 9/23/2018 & rated 93 points: Drank 5 of these with friends the other night. Showed outstandingly well. Soft, deep, smooth, and complex. Very easy to drink. A great buy at $45. (1897 views) | | | Tasted by floridawinedrkr on 8/5/2018 & rated 92 points: Really good. Smooth and extremely approachable. Drank from coravin at Trulucks Naples. Much softer and more subtle than the 2013. Drank them side by side. (1840 views) | | | Tasted by Nfmds on 7/20/2018 & rated 92 points: Red ripe fruits (plum, cherries) and leather in nose. More spice, star anise with time. Smooth, velvety mouthfeel. Moderate tannins. More smoke, tobacco as it opens. Long lingering, peppery finish (1453 views) | | | Tasted by NCWino1 on 7/16/2018 & rated 93 points: Very nice red meritage. Very good now but has the stuff to last another 8-10 years. (1424 views) | | | Tasted by Ben Christiansen on 7/10/2018: The top wine of the estate. And the founder of the estate. And this dude died and is buried on the estate.
Ripe and pure, beautiful Alex fruit. 76% Cabernet. Very rarely a Cabernet, 12% Merlot and just a touch of the others.
At 12 months of aging of the different lots the wine maker picks it ou tthe best and then puts it back into the barrel for 12 more months.
Tightly woven and structured, really darn good. A great representation of Alex Cabernet. '13 shows more red fruit character. Nose still has the real violet and floral character. (1056 views) | | | Tasted by MicklethePickle on 4/2/2018 & rated 91 points: Opened yesterday. Opaque blood-red ruby. Classic young cabernet nose with iodine, mulberry and a hint of cedar. Drinkable already, but with plenty of years to go, this is a fine rendition of an Alexander Valley cabernet. More red berry than black. Sleek but with a good backbone or tannin and acidity. Well-made. 4-13-16-8: 91/100. (1405 views) | | | Tasted by Ryan.Vento on 3/31/2018 & rated 93 points: I love this wine. The nose is dynamite with rich black fruits, baking spices, candle wax, and licorice. Strikingly well-balanced with plentiful notes of plum jam, blackberry cobbler, cedar, dark chocolate, and coffee on the palate. (877 views) | | | Tasted by Doc2 on 3/21/2018: Nice wine at iron bridge (1130 views) | | | Tasted by nzinkgraf on 2/2/2018: Very beautiful nose. Shows fruit spice to the nose. Blackberry soda. (1181 views) | | | Tasted by Ryan.Vento on 1/28/2018 & rated 94 points: Love this Bordeaux blend. So elegant and classy, yet vibrant and mature. 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot, and 2% Malbec. On the nose juicy, dusty red fruits. Candle wax, graphite, menthol, and potpourri. Suave mouthfeel with ripe berries, blackberry cobbler, Christmas spice cake, and fig on the palate. (890 views) | | | Tasted by yasha on 11/4/2017 & rated 92 points: needs more time (1203 views) | | | Tasted by TuscanSon on 10/8/2017 & rated 93 points: Gotta upgrade this wine from my last tasting. The intensity of fruit here is remarkable. Just perfectly ripened cab. Lots of oak yes, but at least its not American oak. The fruit carries the oak nonetheless. Herbs, leather, dried cherry. Everything is in abundance here, but there is a lot of acidity too, which balances the flavors on the palate. Big powerful, but in balance - if I discount the tannins, which are still pretty youthful and grippy. Works fine now with some red meat. In 4 or 5 years this will be absolutely fantastic in any setting. (1111 views) | | | Tasted by Busguy1 on 8/12/2017: Entry error (1159 views) | | | Tasted by Charlie.Gail on 6/24/2017 & rated 90 points: This wine is very nice, and will get better with a few more years of aging. Tannins, although not overpowering, make the wine a little tight. Aging will smooth this out. (1279 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Alexander Valley Vineyards Producer website
Alexander Valley Vineyards is owned and operated by the Harry Wetzel family. Founded in 1975, it is located on Cyrus Alexander's old homestead.
The Wetzel Family Estate now grows fourteen grape varieties, on diverse sites stretching from the banks of the Russian River up onto the hillsides. Each grape variety is matched to a specific soil type and exposure. Vineyard Manager Mark Houser and Winemaker Kevin Hall work as a team to maximize fruit flavor in the vineyard and to create balanced wines that capture the grapes’ varietal characteristics. Hank Wetzel oversees the vineyard and winery operations, and his wife Linda continues to oversee administration. Now the third generation of Wetzels has joined the winery. Harry Wetzel, IV is assistant winemaker while younger brother Robert is the National Sales Manager.
Alexander Valley Vineyards produces 100,000 cases annually, 17 varietal wines and proprietary blends. Seventy-five percent of AVV’s production is red wine. Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon constitute roughly half of total production. Other varietals include Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Gewurztraminer, Syrah, Sangiovese, Viognier, and Cabernet Franc.Red Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Sonoma CountyMendocino CountyAlexander Valley Alexander Valley Winegrowers Association | Wikipedia
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