Wannabe Wino

Although I grew up in New England and didn't leave until about 5 years ago, I'm tired of winter this year. It hasn't even been a particularly bad winter here, and certainly not by the standards I was used to, but nonetheless, I want summer. So with that in mind I am pretending and drinking more Sauvignon Blanc.

The bottle for the evening was a 2004 Mazzocco Sauvignon Blanc. It has a real cork, weighed in at 15% alcohol (holy smokes!), and cost us $14 at the winery.

On the nose I found melon, grass, vanilla, oak, and lemon. I was surprised. I don't really remember tasting this wine at the winery, but I must have, and I usually don't care for oaked Sauvignon Blanc. In the mouth, the flavors were melon, lemon, grass, and lime. The wine was citrusy overall, but the oak gave it a really full body.

At 16.9% alcohol by volume, this wine is the most alcoholic (besides a port) that I can ever recall drinking. Thankfully, it didn't seem over-extracted or have any of the qualities I tend to see in some overly-alcoholic wines.

The wine was a Mazzocco 2004 Zinfandel from Alexander Valley out of Stone Ranch Vineyard. It cost $24 at the winery and had a real cork closure.

On the nose I found spices, cedar, oak, and blackberries. The spice was really very pungent and I know I've come across the aroma before, but I can't place it. It triggers a memory, but I can't put my finger on exactly what it is. In the mouth the fruit was incredibly fresh and dark. There were blackberries and raspberries and a bit of spicy cedar in the mouth.

This wine needs to come with a warning: decant before attempting to drink or risk lighting yourself on fire with the fumes. The wine itself is a 2002 Mazzocco Merlot.

Weighing in at 15% alcohol by volume, the bottle had a real cork and cost us $25 at the winery. (One of our purchases on our recent trip.)

After the alcohol blew off the nose (really, trust me on this one, decant) strawberries showed through. Then, and I realize this will sound incredibly odd, chocolate leather. Neither simply chocolate or leather, it was honestly a combination. In the mouth there were more strawberries and the wine was earthy overall.

I would describe this as a big wine. Big flavors, big alcohol, big aroma. The wine was the darkest wine I think I have ever seen. Not a ray of light was getting through this deep purple wine. The wine was also very tannic, it could certainly age for quite a while longer and I think it would develop into an incredible wine in another 3-5 years. It took several hours for the flavors to smooth out.

I served this with bbq pork chops, parmesean cous cous, and white corn on the cob. It was an excellent match for the bbq and I would definite suggest a bbq pairing for this one!

One afternoon on our trip we were bored and had managed to hit all the places I had planned on us seeing. As we were driving around we decided to stop at a winery on the road called Mazzocco. The tasting room set up on slight hill among the vineyards was very pretty, especially later in the afternoon with the sun glowing behind it. I gather they were purchased by Wilson Winery several years ago, but prior to that had been owned by a Dr.Mazzocco.

Inside, the tasting room was enormous and very open. The tasting bar was huge, easily 30 people could have stood around it without feeling crowded. Our tasting room attendant was friendly, though a little busy with several groups showing up all at once.

2004 Russian River Sauvignon Blanc: $14. Some oak and lemon, very reserved.

2004 Sonoma County Chardonnay: $18. Oak and spice. Peah, smooth and very flavorful.

2004 Sonoma County Reserve Chardonnay: $28. Buttery nose, oak. More "reserved fruit" than the non-reserve, lemon, drier in flavor.

2003 Alexander Valley Carignane: $18. Chocolate and cracked pepper. Pepper and scpicy red fruit in the mouth.

2002 Sonoma County Merlot: $25. Milk chocolate on nose, berries. Smooth and tart with some drying tannins on the end. Bought one bottle.

1999 Matrix Estate Bordeaux Blend: $40. Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Black currants, bell pepper. Bell pepper in the mouth too, very spicy.

2004 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel: $24. From the Cuneo and Saini Vineyards. Oak, dark flavors, currants. Currants, spice, and earthy in the mouth.

2004 Alexander Valley Stone Ranch Zinfandel: $24. Spicy blackberries, leather. Chocolate, blackberry jam and spice in mouth. Bought one bottle.

2004 Dry Creek Valley Home Ranch Estate Zinfandel: $27. Currants, raisins, peppery, a little blackberry. Strong tannins, more juicy than jammy.

2002 Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve: $50. Dark cherries, leather on the nose, fresh raspberries in the mouth. I liked this the best, but not enough to spend $50. Served with brownie covered in chocolate wine sauce.