A Taste of Two Rooks

Seeing as how Corvidae Wine Co., the new Owen Roe value label, made two different versions of their 2007 "Rook" red blend, I thought I'd get a bottle of each and taste them head-to-head. First, a little information about each wine, and then the tasting notes.

The Oregon blend was from 100% Southern Oregon fruit: 77% Cabernet Sauvignon from Ironbird Vineyard in the Applegate Valley AVA (also providing all of the fruit for the Owen Roe Ironbird Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon), as well as 15% Syrah and 8% Merlot from undisclosed vineyards in the Rogue Valley AVA. The resulting wine is 13.0% alcohol, and was bottled at Owen Roe's St. Paul, OR winery.

The Washington blend is 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Syrah and 28% Merlot, sourced from undisclosed vineyards in the Columbia Valley AVA (check out the Owen Roe Vineyards List to see the potential vineyards used), and bottled at Owen Roe's new Sunnyside, WA winery. Alcohol is at 14.3%, reflecting the higher brix of their Washington-sourced fruit. And now my tasting notes:

• 2007 Corvidae Wine Co. Rook Cabernet - Merlot - Syrah - USA, Oregon
  Color is a dark maroon with a bit of purple, just slightly lighter than the Washington wine. Nice fruity nose of blackberries with just a touch of plums and earth. Quite smooth in the mouth, although lacking a bit on the mid-palate...Seems somewhat thin there. Tastes of black fruit and some bittersweet chocolate, with Asian spices, following to a medium length finish. A very tasty blend, but seems like it needs something on the mid-palate. (90 pts.)


• 2007 Corvidae Wine Co. Rook Cabernet - Merlot - Syrah - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
  Color is darker than the Oregon wine, with more purple tones added to the maroon. On the nose, this wine is more sweet smelling, but needs some swirling to bring about the aromas. A touch of black pepper in there also. On the palate, this is much more full-bodied than the Oregon blend, with big blackberry fruit and black pepper notes. Mid-palate is nicely rounded and not as thin as the Oregon blend. The wine ends with a long finish of berry and dark chocolate. Much more sweetness in the fruit also. I definitely like the Washington blend more, although I think both wines will improve with 6-12 months of additional bottle age, but not much more than that. (92 pts.)

Tasting notes posted from CellarTracker

Zupan's Wine Tasting Event

STAG'S LEAP WINE CELLARS - Zupan's Burnside Market Wine Cellar, Portland, OR (7/21/2009)

Held in the basement wine cellar of Zupan's Burnside Market grocery store in Portland, and presented by a representative of Stag's Leap Wine Cellars. Too many people were invited, which made it extremely uncomfortable temperature-wise (they had to turn off the wine cellar cooler so we could hear the speaker), and the fact that most of the appetizer/food pairing course was snarfed up by attendees eating their dinner at this tasting. Show some class people! The wines:

• 2007 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Sauvignon Blanc - USA, California, Napa Valley
  Melon, pineapple and a touch of citrus. Very crisp with nice acidity. Refreshingly dry. A blend of 69% Sauvignon Blanc, 26% Sauvignon Musque, and 5% Semillon, aged 5.5 months in 4-5x used French oak. (85 pts.)


• 2007 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Chardonnay Karia - USA, California, Napa Valley
  Flavors of pears and apples, with a bit of oak. Not buttery at all. Quite crisp and acidic, with only 35% malolactic fermentation allowed. I prefer my Chardonnay a bit more buttery and smooth. 100% Chardonnay aged 8.5 months in 23% new French oak. (84 pts.)


• 2006 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Merlot - USA, California, Napa Valley
  While the nose shows red licorice and raspberry notes, the palate is all bitter cranberries, with just a touch of raspberry. A total let-down from the beautiful nose. 92% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged 14 months in 52% new French oak. (83 pts.)


• 2006 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Artemis - USA, California, Napa Valley
  Nice nose of blackberry with some vanilla/oak as well. In the mouth, lots of blackberry fruit, but with a somewhat bitter, short finish, and lots of harsh, drying tannins. 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, aged 18 months in 33% new French oak. (87 pts.)


• 2005 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Fay - USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District
  Spicy nose of oak and cassis, with a touch of eucalyptus. Flavors of cassis, berry and green pepper. Light tannins, and a somewhat-bitter green finish. Much softer than the 06 Artemis (89 pts.)


• 2005 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon S.L.V. - USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District
  My Wine of the Night (since we were denied the Cask 23). Lots of creamy oak and vanilla, a leather play with some black pepper (or other spiciness) also. Very structured and powerful, but with the tannins starting to resolve nicely. This had been open much longer than the other wines (it was poured last), which may explain the lack of drying tannins. QPR is in the negative, as there are so many wines out there that surpass this, at half the price. Yes, it is good, but it is not $120 good. (91 pts.)

Even though the invite email and website stated we would get to taste the Cask 23 Cabernet, we were denied that privilege tonight. A major Disappointment, as Cask 23 was the only reason I bought a ticket in the first place. As usual, the tasting notes posted from Cellartracker.