I remember tasting a previous vintage of this wine the last time I was in Arizona in 2010 and liking it. This wine, while not the most complex package, is a fun wine at a great value. I picked up aromas of cherries and pepper. The palate shows juicy cherries and strawberries, licorice, leather and spices. It's almost Beaujolais-like in its' lightness and freshness, but with more pepper and spice. The acid keeps this wine balanced and pleasant. The make-up of the blend changes every year, and the 2011 is a unique mix of 64% zinfandel (Arizona), 13% pinot noir (Arizona), 12% syrah (California), 5% barbera (California), 4% grenache (Arizona), and a 4% dash of gewurztraminer (California). This really is a fun effort, and very reasonable at $16.
I really like this interpretation of zinfandel (which contains 11% petite sirah and 2% alicante). It's light and fresh with herbal aspects, but it still maintains that bright zinfandel fruit. Aromas of cherry pie, rhubarb and white pepper. Well-structured on the palate, quite restrained, showing herb-tinged strawberry and cherry fruit and hints of charcoal, chestnut and white pepper. Warm and spicy finish. I like this zin's focus on red fruit and spice, and it's by no means jammy or port-like, which turns me off to a lot of zinfandels. Not bad at $25.
I liked this a little less than the 2010 Vine del Barrio, but the 2011 is still a fun wine. It's really spicy on the nose, like red plums dusted with black and red pepper. Fine tannins and fresh acid provide a backbone for the cherry and raspberry flavors. Hints of pepper, nuts and toasted oak add complexity. The 2011 is a blend of 53% syrah, 22% petite sirah, 16% tempranillo, 7% alicante and 2% mourvedre.
Every year Page Springs blends together a bunch of varieties and creates a blend known as Vino del Barrio. The varieties? "Varied." It shows zinfandel-like aromas of raspberries and pepper. The acid is surprisingly tangy, and the tannins are soft and plush. Flavors of red plum, white pepper and kisses of oak. It has a pinot noir-like delicacy and freshness. I picked up a bottle to serve blind for friends because I think a lot of people would like this and would be surprised it's from Arizona.
The Flavor Saver Red is a field blend of red varieties from the Rolling View Vineyard in Southern Arizona's Cochise County. The color and aromas of this wine are darker than the others I tasted. The nose shows more dark plums, cherry sauce and vanilla. The palate is rich and toasty, almost bourbon-like, with grippy tannins. Nice dark plum and blackberry flavors hold up to the significant oak. Long finish. For $26, it's not the best quality-to-price-ratio, and it's not exactly my favorite style. That said, for those who like coconut-toasty wines with dark fruit, this won't disappoint.
Page Springs does it again with another 2011 red blend called El Serrano. The nose is full of blackberry and raspberry jam, accented with white pepper. Plummy as hell on the palate, with notes of blueberry, charcoal and a distinctly rich earth and loam flavor. Toast lingers on the finish. This is a bold wine, but it maintains elegance and precision. A blend of 40% mourvedre, 27% syrah, 28% petite sirah, and 5% alicante from California. Not the greatest bargain at $30, but an impressive wine nonetheless.
2011 Page Springs Cellars Mules Mistake 86 Points
USA, Arizona
I remember tasting a previous vintage of this wine the last time I was in Arizona in 2010 and liking it. This wine, while not the most complex package, is a fun wine at a great value. I picked up aromas of cherries and pepper. The palate shows juicy cherries and strawberries, licorice, leather and spices. It's almost Beaujolais-like in its' lightness and freshness, but with more pepper and spice. The acid keeps this wine balanced and pleasant. The make-up of the blend changes every year, and the 2011 is a unique mix of 64% zinfandel (Arizona), 13% pinot noir (Arizona), 12% syrah (California), 5% barbera (California), 4% grenache (Arizona), and a 4% dash of gewurztraminer (California). This really is a fun effort, and very reasonable at $16.
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2011 Page Springs Cellars Zinfandel 87 Points
USA, Arizona, Cochise County
I really like this interpretation of zinfandel (which contains 11% petite sirah and 2% alicante). It's light and fresh with herbal aspects, but it still maintains that bright zinfandel fruit. Aromas of cherry pie, rhubarb and white pepper. Well-structured on the palate, quite restrained, showing herb-tinged strawberry and cherry fruit and hints of charcoal, chestnut and white pepper. Warm and spicy finish. I like this zin's focus on red fruit and spice, and it's by no means jammy or port-like, which turns me off to a lot of zinfandels. Not bad at $25.
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2011 Page Springs Cellars Vino del Barrio 85 Points
USA, Arizona
I liked this a little less than the 2010 Vine del Barrio, but the 2011 is still a fun wine. It's really spicy on the nose, like red plums dusted with black and red pepper. Fine tannins and fresh acid provide a backbone for the cherry and raspberry flavors. Hints of pepper, nuts and toasted oak add complexity. The 2011 is a blend of 53% syrah, 22% petite sirah, 16% tempranillo, 7% alicante and 2% mourvedre.
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2010 Page Springs Cellars Vino del Barrio 87 Points
USA, Arizona
Every year Page Springs blends together a bunch of varieties and creates a blend known as Vino del Barrio. The varieties? "Varied." It shows zinfandel-like aromas of raspberries and pepper. The acid is surprisingly tangy, and the tannins are soft and plush. Flavors of red plum, white pepper and kisses of oak. It has a pinot noir-like delicacy and freshness. I picked up a bottle to serve blind for friends because I think a lot of people would like this and would be surprised it's from Arizona.
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2011 Page Springs Cellars Flavor Saver Red Rolling View Vineyard 84 Points
USA, Arizona, Cochise County
The Flavor Saver Red is a field blend of red varieties from the Rolling View Vineyard in Southern Arizona's Cochise County. The color and aromas of this wine are darker than the others I tasted. The nose shows more dark plums, cherry sauce and vanilla. The palate is rich and toasty, almost bourbon-like, with grippy tannins. Nice dark plum and blackberry flavors hold up to the significant oak. Long finish. For $26, it's not the best quality-to-price-ratio, and it's not exactly my favorite style. That said, for those who like coconut-toasty wines with dark fruit, this won't disappoint.
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2011 Page Springs Cellars El Serrano 87 Points
USA, Arizona
Page Springs does it again with another 2011 red blend called El Serrano. The nose is full of blackberry and raspberry jam, accented with white pepper. Plummy as hell on the palate, with notes of blueberry, charcoal and a distinctly rich earth and loam flavor. Toast lingers on the finish. This is a bold wine, but it maintains elegance and precision. A blend of 40% mourvedre, 27% syrah, 28% petite sirah, and 5% alicante from California. Not the greatest bargain at $30, but an impressive wine nonetheless.
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