#kunde estates

On Thursday night several bloggers both in person and via the interwebs, participated in a virtual tasting during the airing of KundeLive. This was just the latest installment of Kunde Estates effort to bring wine tasting to the social graph and it was another complete success.

Credit is due to the entire Kunde family (quite literally, the Kunde Family), Zach Long the winemaker and Ed Thralls (@winetonite) the man behind the social media curtain at Kunde. It is a sign of the times when generations cross the social media divide to conduct live, on-air, virtual tastings. Furthermore, thanks go out for including me and the wine blogging community in this event.

Now to the good stuff. We tasted three releases including the 2011 Magnolia Lane Savignon Blanc, the 2009 Red Dirt Red blend and the 2009 Kunde Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Each had remarkable qualities, all but the Sav B were somewhat young. Young wine is fine especially when you sense quality at this stage - the best will be yet to come as these age for a few years.

First up is the 2011 Magnolia Lane Sauvignon Blanc

This varietal consists of 95% stainless steel and 5% neutral French oak fermented grapes. This is and interesting combination as it is more a functional method for enhancing the structure. With hints of white peach, white grape (yeah, I know, it is a white grape) and a balanced, but crisp acidity this Sav B is a great partner for summertime. 

2009 Red Dirt Red, Sonoma Valley Red Wine

This is an interesting blend with Barbera being the primary varietal and even though there is a healthy does of Petite Sirah, it does not overtake the wine, which can be a problem in with PS in some wines, IMO. Awesome earthy notes, deep red fruits, cherry and some fruit forward balance from the Zin. I love Zin, Syrah and Barbera and I also like the Sangiovese in this too. This is going to be great in 2 more years, but is a pretty great right now too. Some folks from the virtual tasting were pairing with brisket and from what they were saying the smokiness of the wine was a hit with the spicy-smoke from the brisket.

2009 Kunde Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet junkies, check this out. This Reserve selection, even though slightly on the younger side is gonna make you happy, or as Emeril used to say "happy, happy." In 3-4 years this will blow your socks off, but right now, it might just loosen up your Sperry's. This is a deep, rich Cab that is so soft on the palate. It spent 20 months in the French oak barrels (70% new) and has just enough tannin to satisfy your Cab cravings. Big for sure, but so mellow. I hate to overuse the word mellow, but it is just that. Big AND mellow - is this possible? I think so and I love big Cabs.