Reviews from Doug Wilder's wine blog

Hi everyone,

Summer is finally here at Lava Vine and we are all in a very sunny disposition following the publication of tasting notes by the dougwilder purely domestic wine blog. Doug visited us in the tasting room a few weeks ago and spent a couple hours with his nose in the glass and writing down copious notes on our wines. We were getting ready for a Chamber of Commerce mixer that day and as the crowd got bigger, we got stretched a bit thin. We were thrilled that when he was done tasting Doug turned his cap around and helped us pour wines for the event. Thanks, Doug! and thanks for the notes. We are glad you liked the wines. Here are his thoughts:

2008 Lava Vine Viognier Napa Valley; DW 89+

14.1% alcohol

Aromas: jasmine, nectarine and white peach with some crisp notes

Palate: rich, creamy white peach showing mineral and tropical fruit backbone with hints of macadamia

Impression: delightfully fresh and styled slightly round. An excellent choice for warm weather refreshing. I tried the wine initially at room temperature and a second sample from a chilled bottle had a tighter focus.

2007 Lava Vine Chardonnay Napa Valley; DW 89

14.7% alcohol, 207 cases produced

Aromas: creamy lemon, salt and mineral with some flinty edge

Palate: very accessible, soft entry yet displays some mineral and lush citrus through the core

Impression: nice choice for a weekend dinner at home, shows nice structure throughout

2006 Lava Vine Syrah Knights Valley; DW 92+

14.9% alcohol, 266 cases produced

Aromas: warm, smooth and approachable black cherry, black plum and warm blue fruits, chocolate

Palate: solidly focused vanilla, spice, black cherry and dark chocolate

Impression: Syrah needs love in this market, and here is the fluffy poodle puppy. I can’t resist!

2006 Lava Vine Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley; DW 91

14.7% alcohol, 192 cases produced

Aromas: rich cherry, black fig, licorice and slightly dried black fruit

Palate: solidly smooth structure showing chocolate, saturated black currant and red cherry

Impression: very harmonious throughout, this is one of those sneaky wines where you can get into your second glass really fast!

2006 Lava Vine Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Napa Valley; DW 91+

14.7% alcohol, <100>

Aromas: herbs, black plum and fresh, ripe fig with hints of sweet blackberry

Palate: Firm entry with well defined blackberry, cherry, garden herbs and blueberry

Impression: still showing some tightness across the finish, it needs a bit more bottle time to show its potential

We are especially excited about the direction the Cabernet Reserve is going. We don't open it for tasting very often and it is selling pretty briskly in the tasting room. Doug mentioned he would like to revisit the wine in the fall. We told him "sure, though it may all gone by then!"

Additionally, Doug reviewed the one Zacherle wine that Mike opened for him.

2006 Zacherle Syrah Crowley Vineyard, Spring Mountain District; DW 92

14.5% alcohol, 100 cases produced

Aromas: rich chocolate, black currant and dark cherries

Palate: tobacco, nutmeg with blackberry, currants and graphite

Impression: a beautifully focused Syrah, with intense vibrancy that is hard to match

All of these wines are available in the tasting room. Let us know if you want to stock up following these nice reviews.

- Bella

Doug Wilder's wine review blog can be found here