Thursday, August 7, 2008

Lodi Continued: Michael-David Family of Wines

Michael and David Phillips are fifth generation winemakers in Lodi.  The Michael-David Winery(www.lodivineyards.com) was very familiar in name to us as we have had some of their wines elsewhere and remembering the names of them is quite easy as they are very catchy.  They have 7 Deadly Zins, 7 Heavenly Chards, and a line called “Earthquake”.  In addition to the tasting room, there is a farmer’s market with gloriously fresh looking produce, and a bustling café that came very highly recommended…a perfect place to have lunch.

Wines we tasted:

2006 Incognito Viognier – Lovely varietal Viognier with some apricot and peach flavors.  There also was a bit of tropical fruit and a lingering finish and excellent acid balance.  This was our choice to go with our light lunch in the café.

2004 6th Sense Syrah – This wine has been awarded Best of Class and chosen as one of the 10 top Syrahs in the world, along with its 7 gold medals to date.  It is a big, bold syrah with lots of fruit and a long, full finish.

2005 Petite Petit – Petite Verdot showing lots of complexity and intense cherry and black cherry fruit.

2004 Earthquake Cab – Huge wine, one of the best cabernets I have tasted in awhile.  There was black cherry, chocolate, a bit of anise and a smooth, silky finish rounding it out.

2005 Lust Zinfandel – Aptly named.  Luscious is the word that comes to mind…a really big wine and weighing in at an outrageous 16.9% alcohol.  It has a little Petite Sirah blended in.  Pricy at $59.00 a bottle but at 16.9% alcohol, you probably wouldn’t be able to drink as much.

2003 Rapture Cabernet Sauvignon – Just when I thought the Earthquake Cab was one of the best cabs I had tasted in awhile, this one came along.  Really complex and unusual with cinnamon roll in both the aroma and aftertaste, plus raspberry and black cherry to compliment it..  Once again, a little pricy at $59.00 a bottle.

Interestingly, the Lust and Rapture wines are obviously in demand, despite the price, because they are allocated at a limit of 6 bottles per person.

We had a wonderful lunch in the Michael-David Café with our Viognier accompanying our food.  My lunch consisted of an excellent salad of various types of greens, cucumber, tomatoes, pecans, and some hard cooked egg, complimented by their house made salad dressing, which was creamy and having just a touch of dill and a bit of a sweet/sour flavor to it.  The Viognier was a perfect match.  The nice thing about a winery having a café associated with them, is that you are certain to be able to match the wine with the food, as this is what they strive for.  I highly recommend this café if you are in the neighborhood.

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