Wine of the Week: Rosenburg Estates The Buzz

Wine: Rosenberg Estates The Buzz

Grapes: Merlot (50 percent), cabernet sauvignon (50 percent)

Region: Dry Creek Valley, Calif.

Vintage: 2006

Price: $5.99

Availability: Lee's Discount Liquor

In the glass: Rosenberg Estates blended wine is a deeply opaque garnet-red color with streaks of tinged red going out into a firm garnet rim definition with high viscosity.

On the nose: There is an impressive onslaught of creme de cassis, boysenberry sorbet, crushed ripe Bing cherries, tobacco box, cedar and tons of vanilla and oak references with underlying soft black fruit crush compote, herbs de Provence and earth-driven minerals.

On the palate: The wine coats the palate with delicious, juicy black forest fruits, crushed black currants, hints of eucalyptus leaf, loganberry, subtle oak notes and lots of chewing tobacco, minerals and black wine gums. The midpalate is well-defined with supple soft tannins and layered black fruits, going into a plump and rather concentrated finish with notes of cassis and spice box that lasts for a good half-minute. It is a huge wine that does not disappoint, especially considering the price.

Odds and ends: You do not come across high-end bottles of gold-medal winning wines like this every day, and especially not ones that have reached full maturity. This is an incredibly interesting wine, having been made from single-vineyard fruit sourced in the highly regarded Seaton Vineyard, which happens to be owned by the legendary Buzz Seaton, so the wine is dedicated to him by its name. Seaton Vineyard is easily considered one of the best in the Dry Creek Valley American viticultural area, and so this classic Bordeaux blend wine from the excellent 2006 vintage is a great find. While most would taste this and guess it to be correctly in the $50 range, it actually is available at Lee's for less than $6. I know it sounds too good to be true, but a deal is a deal and as a consumer advocate, this is as good as it gets. If you love big-time Napa wines, this is really great. It has reached a plateau of maturity now that it will stay on for another two to three years before it begins to take on secondary flavors and the fruit starts drying out, so drink it now through 2018 and try it with slow-cooked pot roast or the like.

Gil Lempert-Schwarz's wine column appears on Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89106-0749, or email him at gil@winevegas.com.