“Ah, my Beloved, fill the cup that clears today of past Regrets and future Fears: Tomorrow! – Why, Tomorrow I may be Myself with Yesterday’s Sev’n thousand years,” Edward Fitzgerald, 1809-1883, The Rubaiyat of Oscar Khayyam, St. 21.
Michael and David Phillips, joint owners of a 700-acre winery in Lodi, Calif., (about 30 minutes south of Sacramento), released their first wines in 1984 under the Phillips Vineyards label years after growing grapes for other wineries. I remember them as good and fairly priced. Over the years, the winery has grown steadily and has garnered some dandy awards. For many of us, a number of their more visible wines that appear on retail shelves are 7 Deadly Zins, 7 Heavenly Chards, 6th Sense Syrah, Incognito, Petite Petit and a new line of upper-crust releases under the Michael David label.
I recently received impressively packaged samples of three of these wines. Surprisingly, many retailers in town do not stock them. Of the stores I contacted, only Consumer Beverage Outlet in Hales Corners has them but receives positive feedback from customers. After some quick research on the Michael David website, I’ve also included the suggested retail prices on my reviewed wines. Here are my tasting notes, based upon my typical “A”-“F” scoring basis:
1. 2008 Seven Heavenly Chardonnay, Lodi, $17: Sister to its 7 Deadly Zinfandel, I found it had a light straw color with medium body. The nose carried hints of SO2 (often dissipates with time), some notes of oak, pineapple and melon with a touch of vanilla (might be the oak). On the palate, it displayed nice, complex depth with notes of butterscotch, and it finished cleanly. The winery calls it “Simply Angelic.” I gave it an A-, mainly because it improved over time.
2. 2007 Earthquake Zinfandel, Lodi, $28: Deep, inky, red/brown notes with brooding body. Forward, almost medicinal nose with extracted punchy notes of berries and chocolate. Deeply gripping extracted fruit with a long finish and a touch of bitterness. B+
3. 2007 6th Sense Syrah, Lodi, $17: Deep purple hue, which I found to be more intense than many Syrahs. With a clinging, opulent body, it had an intense, brooding nose. It strutted deeply plum-like and cocoa notes of fruit that were almost like a Port (could be the 16 percent alcohol). Stylistically, I found this to be a kissing cousin of the Earthquake. Not for the faint of heart! B+
Today’s winner, especially after a little breathing room, was the Chardonnay.
I couldn’t readily pick out a price/value winner because none of these wines was particularly reasonable.
That being said, I feel it’s appropriate to make an overall comment on the state of pricing in the wine industry. There is literally an ocean of excess wine available in the marketplace, often at attainable prices. Our sour economy doesn’t seem to bode well for upward prices. To survive, the wine industry needs to constantly strive to reinvent itself as it positions wines to be more affordable to us mortal-types. Michael David is a nice quality operation, but I objectively feel that they should examine their pricing structure. I’d be delighted and honored to review a reinvented Michael David!
