Clos LaChance - 2005 Petite Sirah

About a month ago I took a look at several releases from Clos LaChance in San Martin California. Across the board I really enjoyed their wines and found them to be well made. So naturally I wanted to include them in the 12 Days of Petite Sirah. They make a diverse portfolio of offerings across several tiers. The Petite Sirah I'm looking at is from their Estate Series. The 2005 Clos LaChance Petite Sirah is 100% varietal. Some of the wine (12%) spent 18 months in new French oak with another 12% in new American oak. Just 385 cases of this wine were produced. The suggested retail price is $35.

For anyone who has seen the movie Spinal Tap they no doubt recall that the cover of their album was black. In fact they decided it was so black that it could be "none more black." Well I'm here to report that the Clos LaChance 2005 Petite Sirah could be none more purple. It could probably inspire Purple Haze and Purple Rain with it's incredible color. Aromas of wild berry and violets are very prominent. Jammy blackberry leads the way and continues through with a big round, opulent mid-palate. The finish features dark chocolate, spice and a chicory note along with an undercurrent of earthiness. Match this one up with full flavored foods.

The Clos LaChance Petite Sirah has firm, persistent tannins. It strikes me that this wine is really a baby right now. At the moment it features a fruity, jammy appeal. Time in the bottle will settle that fruit down a bit, bring out the earthiness and simply serve this one well as it comes together even more. If you like Petite Sirah, whether you drink this selection today or cellar it for a decade, you'll be rewarded. As with each of the other Clos La Chance wines I looked at, the Petite Sirah is a well crafted wine made to enjoy with a meal.

Check out PS I love You, the Advocacy Group dedicated to this great varietal.

Please Stay Tuned: 12 Days of Petite Sirah Continues!!!

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Clos La Chance - 2004 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2004 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is the last wine from Clos La Chance I'll be covering this week. Their Petite Sirah will be included in my coverage of that great varietal later in the month during Petite Sirah Week. As the name indicates this wine is from Clos La Chance's Estate Series. Cabernet Sauvignon represents 93% of this wine with Cabernet Franc making up the rest. 60% of the wine spent 27 months in new French Oak with 30% in 1 year French Oak. A modest 800 cases of this wine were bottled and it's suggested retail price is $40.

The Clos La Chance Estate Cabernet's nose opens brimming with leather, cedar and casis notes. That nose, no doubt elevated by the Cabernet Franc makes an impressive first impression. Dark berry and mocha present themselves from the first sip and carry onward to the mid palate which also adds in some earthiness and spice in the form of white pepper. That mid palate is big, round, rich and mouth-filling. Black pepper and additional earthiness by way of mushroom notes come out in the smooth, elegant finish. This is a nice big Cabernet Sauvignon that cries out for a steak or perhaps lamb chops to pair with it.

There is a present but approachable tannic structure to this wine. It's drinkable right out of the bottle but a little time in the decanter is definitely suggested to allow it to blossom properly. This wine has the stuffing to evolve nicely and drink well for quite a few years. I'd guess it has at least 7-10 years of life ahead of it. In that time I'd expect what is already a present earthiness to emerge closer to the forefront.

Well made, age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignon isn't inexpensive. For $40 I feel this wine is priced fairly. As with the other Clos La Chance wines I looked at this week, it's well balanced and food friendly.

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Clos La Chance - 2005 -Black-Chinned Syrah

Today's selection from Clos La Chance, a Syrah, is part of their Hummingbird series. This 2005 wine is 77% Syrah with the remainder being made up of Grenache, Mouvedre, Carignane and Petite Sirah. 24% of the wine spent 16 months in a combination of new, French and American oak. The total production on this wine was 4,700 cases and it's suggested retail price is $18. The Black-Chinned Syrah has a nose of mulled spices and berries. The first sip out of the glass reveals a host of blueberry notes.  the mid-palate has some earthiness and a hint of bacon fat that carries through to the finish which also features some pepper and vanilla notes. This wine will go well with grilled meats but also drinks nicely on it's own.

This is a medium bodied wine with good acidity that's also fairly smooth and easy drinking. It brings to mind wines of the Northern Rhone more than the average California Syrah. Part of that is likely due to the 12% Grenache which lends a nice balance to this wine.

Much like their numerous wine tiers, Clos La Chance's wine club is full of options to those interested. If you happen to lean towards one of their wine tiers more than another, there's likely a club option for you. I'm told that they take the wants and needs of their members very seriously and do whatever they can to accommodate them. Much more detailed information including specific discounts and benefits afforded for each level are available on the Wine Club portion of their website.

Coming Tomorrow: Clos La Chance 2004 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon.

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Clos La Chance - 2005 - Buff-Bellied Zinfandel

The 2005 Buff-Bellied Zinfandel is part of Clos La Chance's Hummingbird Series. These are their entry level wines and most of them retail for between $14 & $18. Even though it's one of their entry level selections all the fruit was sourced from their estate vineyard in San Martin, CA. They also name each of the wines in this series for a specific type of Hummingbird, one that they feel relates in some way to that varietal. Just over 7,000 cases of this Zinfandel were made. 83% of it is Zinfandel with Petite Sirah, Primitivo and Alicante Bouchet making up the rest. A quarter of the wine was aged for in new American oak for 14 months with the remainder in neutral oak. This particular wine retails at $18 and it can be found pretty commonly for closer to $15.

The Buff-Bellied Zinfandel offers a nose-full of raspberries and spice with subtle vanilla notes. Upon first sipping, I found it to be a bit tart out of the bottle. However it opened up quickly. Thirty minutes in the decanter had it really showing off it's charms. Once it did open up there was abundant dark fruit followed by a mid-palate with lots of both light and dark jammy berry notes and more prominent vanilla characteristics. This is a mouth-filling wine that lights up your senses as you drink it. A subtle plum note and white pepper that lingers for a good long while close it out.

I find that I often enjoy Zinfandels that have a generous amount (10% in this case) of Petite Sirah blended in. The tradition of doing that goes back to many of the Italian field blends that have been popular in California for many years. What I feel the Petite Sirah adds to these Zinfandels is a dark brooding bottom end to balance the bright Zinfandel fruit.  If a Zinfandel like this were a rock band I think of the Petite Sirah as the thumping bass while the Zinfandel itself is the screaming lead guitar.

The Clos La Chance Buff-Bellied Zinfandel is well balanced with excellent acidity. It has some jammy characteristic but it's far more elegant that the typical Zinfandel. That being the case this wine will go with a much wider variety of food than most Zinfandels. I had it with Penne Arrabiata and found that to be an excellent match for it.

Throughout the year I drink and/or taste quite a few Zinfandel's as they're of particular interest to me within the larger world of wine. I found the Clos la Chance Buff-Bellied Zinfandel from the Hummingbird Series to be a fine example of one made in a traditional style at a fair price.

Up Next: Clos La Chance Black-Chinned Syrah

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Clos La Chance - 2005 Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay

Clos La Chance releases wines in three tiers and designations. Throughout this week I'll look at a total of four wines, two from the Hummingbird Series and two from the Estate Series. Close La Chance will also be featured again on this blog at the end of April during Petite Sirah Week. Today's wine is one of several Chardonnays Clos La Chance produces. A couple of them are vineyard designate wines (part of the Special Selections Series). The 2005 Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay is part of their Estate Series. Just under 3,500 cases were produced and the suggested retail price is $20. 20% of the wine spent 10 months in new French oak with the remainder in either 1 year oak (30%) or neutral (French & American) oak.

The nose of this Chardonnay presents an abundance of pear and pineapple alongside subtler spice notes.  Pear comes out in droves with the first sip. That carries through the creamy, mouth-filling mid-palate which also showcases more prominent spice notes. The finish has hints of vanilla, apple pie spices and a light minerality.

This Chardonnay has excellent varietal character, and good acidity. It features enough oak to offer significant complexity in it's price cetegory but it's never obtrusive to the fruit. This wine tastes incredibly fresh and springlike.

For $20 this wine is an excellent value. It puts me in a mind of some of the Chardonnays I enjoy year in and year out. With 3,500 cases out there it should be fairly easy to locate. If you like well made Chardonnay, that actually tastes like Chardonnay, with good complexity, this is definitely one to try.

Coming tomorrow: Clos La Chance, Buff-Bellied Zinfandel

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