Around the holidays, I was contacted by Trione Winery to try their wines. I gladly accepted, as I’m always eager to try new (to me) producers!
First off, how danged cute are those little bottles? They’re the perfect size for tasting, traveling or just nights where you want a glass of wine, but don’t want to open an entire bottle!
The wines included:
– 2010 Sauvignon Blanc
– 2008 Russian River Valley Chardonnay
– 2008 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
– 2008 Russian River Valley Syrah
– 2007 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
– 2007 Alexander Valley Red Blend (Cab/Merlot)
The Sauvignon Blanc was a very pretty, pale greenish-gold color in the glass with a nose of grass, gooseberries and line-dried linen. On the palate, the grass and gooseberries dominated with a very strong minerality. This was my least favorite out of the six. It was all over the place.
Next was the Chardonnay. This poured pale gold into the glass and had a nose of toasted nuts. On the palate, it was tart and had a lovely essence of baked apples with a long finish. I enjoyed this one.
After the Chardonnay came the Pinot Noir. Now, I’m admittedly biased to Pinot, since I live a hop, skip and jump from the heart of Oregon’s Pinot Country. But this Pinot erased my bias with dominant cherries that lead into a warm sage scent on the nose. The cherries continued to the palate with a very smooth, long finish.
Next in the lineup was the Syrah. On the nose, there were hints of earth, violets and roses at the very end. On the palate, there was a mixture of plum and tart blackberry pie with a solid finish and nice tannins. This was, hands down, my favorite of the lineup.
The fifth wine in the lineup was the Cabernet Sauvignon. This was a nice, full bodied Cab with hints of clove and baking spice on the nose and lots of black currants on the palate. This was another one with a long finish.
The sixth, and final wine, of the lineup was the Red Blend. This is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. On the nose, there’s an interesting blend of sage and dark chocolate. On the palate, there’s a nice dark fruit that balances the herbalness and the chocolate.
So there you have it…an exploration into the wines of Trione Winery. Out of the six, I’d recommend five of them without thinking twice about it.
