WHY: This Bordeaux style wine is a mosaic of French & American influences. To start, the complete nose of the Mountain Cuvee is a French wine drinker’s dream. (Specifically speaking, a hot Spaniard with a rockin’ tan and well-placed tattoos… or maybe that’s just ours.) After pulling the cork, the nose shifted and changed like a chameleon – as only the best wines do. It had all of the rich topsoil dust of a Bordeaux bouquet complemented by deeper aromas of cigar box and toasted barrel. Despite a consistent progression, we still knew that even after an hour of decanting, this wine’s secrets were still being kept aggressively guarded. After two hours, the wine only then began to deliver subtle hints of stewed blackberries and figs. We could have spent a full day dissecting the nose without even tasting the wine but where’s the fun in that?

The smallest sip of the Mountain Cuvee covers the mouth, front to back, cheek to cheek. The touch of unavoidable, angry alcohol from Napa blends with a soft mosaic of French-inspired features to create a kaleidoscopic, yet complete taste. This is the stuff that Robert Parker’s dreams are made of; California in the front, Bordeaux in the back. Notably, there is a lack of fruit in this wine, but once you peel back the layers of earth, baking chocolate, and mulling spices, you will still find a rich, decadent, and evenly balanced wine.

The Wrap: If you’re a Napa fan with a penchant for the old world, the 2007 Chappellet Mountain Cuvee is for you. As far as “bang for your buck,” it doesn’t get much better. This bottle retails around $25 in savvy wine shops & will stand up to the “big boys” of Napa. We were very fortunate that Danny thought it important for us to try this wine and gifted us this bottle from his private collection. Since then, we’ve probably purchased at least half a case without leaving one bottle in our cellar for proof. Do as we have, and treat yourself well without breaking the bank.

WHY: Arizona Stronghold set out to create a re-imagined “Super Tuscan” ending up with this label as the payoff. Mangus strikes a balance of old world poise and new world spunk. We noticed that the 2007 vintage was slightly dominated by the Sangiovese (’07: 43%, Sangiovese, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot 9% Cabernet Pfeffer, 3% Petite Sirah VS. ’08: 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Sangiovese, 9% Merlot) so we asked Tim White, the winemaker, about the difference in vintages. (We’re nothing if not thorough.) He explained that they just had more Cab to work with for the ’08 but would like to see the blend return to being Sangiovese-driven for subsequent vintages. The name Arizona Stronghold may also ring a bell with some of our readers, as one of the wine labels associated with famed musician Maynard James Keenan. Other affiliated wine labels also include Caduceus & Merkin. His passionate exploration of wine has been recently documented in the film, Blood Into Wine.

The 2008 Mangus is a remarkable wine. Considering the rugged region in which these grapes were grown makes this accomplishment even more significant despite the more than 400 years of viticultural history in the state. We breathed in scents of buttered toast, dusty attic, and the sweetness of freshly-baked cranberry wheat bread. At the time, we expected a buttery dusty wine such as this to also have the scent of vanilla. Now, knowing that the wine bathed in mostly neutral oak, the lack of that note isn’t surprising. While not the dominant grape in the blend, their Sangiovese adds a rustic old-worldness to the wine lending to an approachable complexity on the palate. All four of us were amazed by the stand off of acid and tannin in the Mangus blend. As the wine rolls over one’s tongue, the mouth both waters and dries at the same time. This duality elicited a few “yums,” one “giggedy giggedy,” and [REDACTED] from our group.

The Wrap: Italy has something to learn from this new world interpretation of their wine. We suggest drinking this bottle with lamb kabobs, roasted red peppers, blackened anything, or gumbo. Seek out flavorful foods for this wine and take the time to decant it before pouring. Just because the wine is from Arizona doesn’t mean that anyone should feel comfortable letting the bottle heat up past 60°. This is a wine that need not be aged as it is already primed for consumption. In regards to this bottle, we were very lucky to have a sample sent to us by ASV, but we’ll be buying more in the near future. Likewise, their Nachise blend as featured in Our Top Wines of 2009 has already become a regular impulse buy.

Ben’s Top Wines of 2009

2006 Michael~David Lust Zinfandel
Lodi, 100% Zinfandel
The name says it all; after the first taste, all I wanted was more. Every time I passed by this caramel-infused, spit-smoked, blackberry beauty in my local wine shop I couldn’t help but reach for it. This wine should be chewed and not swallowed if possible.
2007 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa, Unk% Cabernet Sauvignon
This is possibly the most velvety-soft 2 year old wine I’ve ever drank. The tannins dissolve in your mouth like melted chocolate running off of a dried cherry. Perfectly smoked and masterfully crafted, this wine will be good from now until I can’t taste anymore.
2007 Papapietro Perry Charles Vineyard Pinot Noir
Anderson Valley, 100% Pinot Noir
If you thought you knew what Pinot tasted like check again. This bad boy from the Anderson Valley in Mendocino packs more flavor than most Zins I’ve tried. Peppered Pork and ripe strawberry with hints of melon make this wine absolutely mouthwatering. The rest of the crew can attest; it took me longer to finish this glass of wine than any other I’ve had in recorded history.

Jesse’s Top Wines of 2009

Non-Vintage Frank Family Rouge
Napa, Unk% Pinot Noir, Unk% Chardonnay
For a moment, as we poured this sparkling wine into our champagne flutes from its dark green glass bottle, we gasped as if we’d been victim to a color-changing Willy Wonka treat. Up until just a few moments ago, this wine was the most deeply-colored sparkling wine we’d had. In its own surprising way, it wasn’t unlike our major tasting note: a blood orange.
2007 Akemi Pinot Noir
We can’t tell you. Neener, neener.
The first rule of Akemi is, you do not talk about Akemi. (Gary Vaynerchuk, eat your heart out.)
2007 San Liege Côtes-du-Coast White Rhone Blend
Paso Robles, 46% Viognier, 28% Roussanne, 26% Marsanne
I may not have kept notes on this bottle, but I kept the bottle. I’ve already put one email and a call to the winemaker to join his 150 person limit wine club, but by the spring, I’m sure he’ll have handed me a half case and restraining order.

• WHY:Fess Parker was an actor who played Davy Crockett in Disney’s 1950’s series. Fess (Can we call him, “Fess?”) opened his first resort in Santa Barbara in 1986. In 1987, he purchased 714 acres in the Santa Ynez valley for plotting and planting Fess Parker’s Winery & Vineyard. So, if Fess played Davy apparently we weren’t too far off when we said, “while it smells like the armpits of a Frontier man, it doth7s not taste so.” (Here at Hipster Enology, we use silent numbers.) So what were we getting at here? (This was the first of one of our “4 bottle nights.” There are only 4 of us. Do the math and give us a break.) This wine has a very earthy, musky smell when first opened. This is a hobo-chic, one-with-the-earth sort of stink… If a wine could have BO, Frontier Red has it. However, as it pits out, or rather, opens up, you will find some fruit. Jesse even found a rare tang of unripe blueberries in the nose. But, enough about its body odor, don’t judge this wine until you taste it.
  First, Frontier Red Lot No. 82 is HOT. At 15.WTF% ABV this wine needs to breathe before imbibing. (Not that the nose wouldn’t tempt you to put baby in the corner in the first place.) This is now the third time we’ve mentioned this, because it was that hot. Not like Paris hot, but actually hot. Alcohol for miles. Once it cooled off a bit, Ben described the taste as, “It’s like spice and fruit had a fight, but then had sex at the end. Spice and fruit had make up sex.” This became quite an ironic note, because the discussion attempt to define the lingering heat of the wine and taste of pepper caused a small argument. (Ah yes, Serrano vs. Jalapeño: The Couple’s Argument.) Ultimately, we all settled on Jalapeño because the fruity nature of the beast just couldn’t be ignored. Following this spicy, front fruit forward taste was a simple finish: not flat, not overly sweet, yet not dry with no tannin.
• The Wrap:Buy this wine. This is the 5th release of this wine that Fess has tackled, Lot No. 41 being the first. It’s ready to drink and will be sure to please at any barbecue. That brings us back to that heat. All that spice, fruit, earth and alcohol compliments those rich sweet sauces very well. Since the wine isn’t overly complex or rough with tannins, you aren’t going to flatten the taste of your BBQ meats and potato salads. And, as a screw cap, Frontier Red Lot No. 82 would be great to take camping. It’d be just like taking a little Davy Crockett with you.