2017 Irwin Family Vineyards The Bull, Sierra Foothills
Tasting Notes
A Tempranillo blend, The Bull exudes flavors and aromas of blackberries, pomegranate, black currant, violets, mocha, and earth. Lower alcohol, moderate tannins and a lingering, long finish make this an excellent food pairing.
Vineyard Notes
The Bullâs grapes were sourced from 2 distinct vineyards in Nevada and Amador County - all at or above 1,800 ft. in elevation. Rolling hills with varying aspects allowed for multiple renditions of varietals, even within the varietals themselves. Yields in 2017 ranged from 2.1-5 kilos per vine and all shoulders and wings were removed.
Production Notes
The grapes for the 2017 were all harvested in the wee hours of the morning in early to late October 2017. The brix ranged anywhere from 22.8 to 25.4.
Fermentations were all started spontaneously and punched down by hand in small fermenters 3-4 times per day, depending on extraction. Primary fermentation was finished in barrels and Battonage ranged from 6-12 months on a weekly basis.
2017 Irwin Family Vineyards The Bruin, Sierra Foothills
Tasting Notes
The Bruin exudes flavors and aromas of black cherries, raspberries, red currants, anise, mocha and earth. Bright acidity, moderate tannins and a lingering long finish make this an excellent food pairing.
Vineyard Notes
The Bruinâs grapes were sourced from 2 distinct vineyards in Nevada and Amador County â all at or above 1,800 ft. in elevation. Rolling hills with varying aspects allowed for multiple renditions of varietals, even within the varietals themselves. Yields in 2017 ranged from 2.5-4.8 kilos per vine and all shoulders and wings were removed.
Production Notes
The grapes for the 2017 were all harvested in the wee hours of the morning in early to mid-October 2017. The brix ranged anywhere from 23.8 to 26. Fermentations were all started spontaneously and punched down by hand in small fermenters 3-4 times per day, depending on extraction. Primary fermentation was finished in barrels and Battonage ranged from 4-12 months on a weekly basis.
Specs
2017 Irwin Family Vineyards The Bull, Sierra Foothills
Blend: 50% Tempranillo, 29% Petite Sirah, 10% Malbec, 7.5% Syrah, and 3.5% Grenache
Appellation: Sierra Foothills
Harvest: Early to Late October 2017
Sugar: 22.8 to 25.4 Brix
Alcohol: 14.4%
2017 Irwin Family Vineyards The Bruin, Sierra Foothills
Blend: 57% Barbera, 24% Petite Sirah, 12% Malbec, 4% Tempranillo, 3% Petit Verdot
Appellation: Sierra Foothills
Alcohol: 14.8%
Included in the Box
4-bottles:
2x 2017 Irwin Family Vineyards The Bull, Sierra Foothills
2x 2017 Irwin Family Vineyards The Bruin, Sierra Foothills
Case:
6x 2017 Irwin Family Vineyards The Bull, Sierra Foothills
6x 2017 Irwin Family Vineyards The Bruin, Sierra Foothills
We are proud to call the California Sierra Foothills the home of our wines for over 10 years. With the foothillsâ rich soils and Mediterranean climate paired with the right varietals, great wines can happen.
When I set out to start a âfamily wineryâ, I wanted it to be just that: a winery owned and operated by the people I love most, my family. There are no outside sources - no winemaker, no delivery man and no vineyard manager. There is us, the Irwin family. We harvest our own crops and make each delivery ourselves. We are a family winery, in every sense of the word, and we wouldnât have it any other way. We are a producer of exquisite vineyard designate Spanish varietals, with a New World twist.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Irwin Family Vineyards The Bull and The Bruin
4 bottles for $74.99 $18.75/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $189.99 $15.83/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
Irwin Family Vineyards The Bull and The Bruin - $35 = 15.54%
2017 âThe Bruinâ Red Wine by Irwin Family Vineyards
The Bruin strides confidently through the dense thicket girding the vineyard, stopping to smell the mountain air. Berries! Raspberries â and close by. He sniffs for the source of this dusty scent. His keen sense of smell leads toward a clearing he knows well, one ringed-round by old oaks and the dried remnants of wildflowers. As he breaks in, he is intoxicated by the wafting alcohol of dropped berries, and he pauses briefly to sop it up. A free thicket, and all for him!
Berries and bears â like bees and honey. Soon he is brown-snout deep in them, boldly pushing through the briars. He has them all to himself, and they are perfectly ripe. Each berry is a silky brightness, a bright and bold fruit. He pauses to sit and savor as the juice runs his chin in thick rivulets.
And â Boom â something changes. He tastes that pie he pilfered from the campground â raspberry pie with some sort of spice. And those chewy red Twizzlers he found last week. And that Vanilla Coke he licked up when he startled those hikers. The Pacific light lowers, and he beds down by a nearby hardwood trunk, his mouth all a-tingle.
He rises to the late-morning sunâs insistence, drier than the previous day. He strides slowly again to the berry patch, pushing beyond into fresh ones, nose twitching with delight to the same aromas, feasting again on the wine of these berries: yet rich, yet bold, yet satiny, although not quite so bright or spicy.
The last berry gone, he sniffs the air pensively. There is that scent again â there must be yet another patch nearby. And he wants more. Even his brute sense is connoisseur enough to know that he wants more.
First Impression; Over compensating bottle; hefty bottle but no varietal indication. Could it be cheap juice?
Decant for an hour.
Ruby color, no sign of age
Nose; tight, alcohol, coco powder, sugar plum, light French oak
Taste; hot, blackberry, sugar plum, medium tannin
Not very exciting. I went into this excited for a heavy Tempranillo blend, I love Tempranillo, but it lacks a lot of the characters I would have liked to see, and didnât bring anything else to excite me.
Cooled down, less alcohol burn, and opened up after 2 hours decanted, tannins slight grippy, some herbs starting to show on the nose. Still not impressed enough to purchase; would have guesses $10-12 casemates price.
âOver compensating bottleâ â given that you weighed it I assume you mean that the bottle itself is somehow heavier than you think it needs to be? I didnât know there was a lot of variation in bottle weight; Iâd imagine that any winery with national distribution would be settled on some ideal strength-to-weight design for their bottles.
Do you think that a heavy bottle sends some psychological message of importance/substance/quality?
Now I guess Iâll have to get out a scale and check some bottles from the rack . . .
@Sardinicus I think there is an illusion of quality with the heavier bottles. I agree that often itâs an overcompensation though you have brands like Bedrock doing it. I get irritated by stuff like The Prisoner doing it because Iâm not sure the product matches the quality.
@Sardinicus Back in âwine glutâ days of yore, places like Grocery Outlet (West coast) would sometimes get cases of surprisingly good stuff at bargain prices. The âbottle weightâ was a simple trick to help pick out what might be good (or at least was intended to be good by the winery when it was bottled). Heavy bottles cost more and so a winery making cheap wines (i.e. 2. Chuck) always uses very lightweight bottles. Less cost and cheaper to ship. Still strong enough not to break.
It seemed to me (and maybe it was all just a parlor trick to begin with) that any company willing to fork over extra $ for heavier bottles and stronger shipping cases, and the resulting freight increase, at least was hoping their juice would be superior and wanted to treat it that way. But maybe it was all a trick ⊠15-20 years later it seems clear that maybe this is now a standard thing that is done now. I donât think this is a good measure anymore (to be fair; I never used this criterion alone; but would match it with AVA if available, color/cloudiness you could observe through bottle, whether label talks about the vineyard details and winemaking techniques, or whether it says marketing blather like âwine has been enjoyed among friends for thousands of years; we make the best plonk for your time with friends; enjoy this plonkâ that tell me absolutely nothing â except I probably want to avoid that particular wine. (marketing guys â Iâd note that some recent offerings available here have had similar blatherlicious descriptions).
So anyway I end my rant on the heavy-bottle deception, which I admit I sometimes fell for, but the chances of it actually indicating a âgoodâ wine were much better 20 years ago.
EDIT wanted to clarify that I havenât tasted this wine or researched the label or bottle. Just the general thing about heavy bottles maybe no longer meaning as much (if they ever did) as I once assumed.
Yes the bottle is overweight, but in the USA we try not to judge. I really enjoyed the Irwin Family Tempranillo. That is why Iâm in for a case, although the Temp. was less expensive and cost more than this offer. The Synthesis P. Noir came in a similarly hefty bottle but again the experience exceeded the packaging. The only nit to pick would be a similar price to the Temp. offering, but on the correct Coast we would never see these wines locally.
FWIW, as long as a 750 ml bottle of wine has 750ml of wine inside it, has the varietals that I like, and wakes up my taste buds along with a canât turndown price, Iâm in!! I would recommend 'mates to look at the composition of these two wines. One is more Tempranillo, the other more Barbera with varying percentages of Petite Sirah, Malbec, and other varietals. But if I wasnât literally up over my head in wine, I probably would have hit the button. I thought the only people interested in bottle weight would be delivery personnel and glass recyclers.
@michaelvella Too much time? Hardly. If that was the case, Iâd be down in the cellar now, setting up a spreadsheet to cross-reference each bottle by weight, variety, producer, price, and published tasting scores.
I like a heavy bottle. I like interesting bottles too. The most important thing by far is the wine inside, but I like a heavy, artful or classy bottle.
@RexSeven GARD Cabernet Grand Klasse Reserve. Heaviest bottle with a bottom âdimpleâ over 2in deep. Wifey says weâre getting ripped off on the contents, lol. âThatâs funny, honeyâ. Classy label and the wine is even more wonderful than the bottle!
Greetings from Irwin Family. Love all the feedback. These are two flag ship wines we are very proud of that compliment the foods of Spain and Italy not to mention your favorite grilled meats.
2017 Irwin Family Vineyards The Bull & The Bruin
2017 Irwin Family Vineyards The Bull, Sierra Foothills
Tasting Notes
Vineyard Notes
Production Notes
2017 Irwin Family Vineyards The Bruin, Sierra Foothills
Tasting Notes
Vineyard Notes
Production Notes
Specs
2017 Irwin Family Vineyards The Bull, Sierra Foothills
2017 Irwin Family Vineyards The Bruin, Sierra Foothills
Included in the Box
Price Comparison
$384 for a case at Irwin Family Vineyards
About The Winery
Winery: Irwin Family Vineyards
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Feb 8 - Tuesday, Feb 9
Irwin Family Vineyards The Bull and The Bruin
4 bottles for $74.99 $18.75/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $189.99 $15.83/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2017 Irwin Family Vineyards The Bull
2017 Irwin Family Vineyards The Bruin
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
Irwin Family Vineyards The Bull and The Bruin - $35 = 15.54%
2017 âThe Bruinâ Red Wine by Irwin Family Vineyards
The Bruin strides confidently through the dense thicket girding the vineyard, stopping to smell the mountain air. Berries! Raspberries â and close by. He sniffs for the source of this dusty scent. His keen sense of smell leads toward a clearing he knows well, one ringed-round by old oaks and the dried remnants of wildflowers. As he breaks in, he is intoxicated by the wafting alcohol of dropped berries, and he pauses briefly to sop it up. A free thicket, and all for him!
Berries and bears â like bees and honey. Soon he is brown-snout deep in them, boldly pushing through the briars. He has them all to himself, and they are perfectly ripe. Each berry is a silky brightness, a bright and bold fruit. He pauses to sit and savor as the juice runs his chin in thick rivulets.
And â Boom â something changes. He tastes that pie he pilfered from the campground â raspberry pie with some sort of spice. And those chewy red Twizzlers he found last week. And that Vanilla Coke he licked up when he startled those hikers. The Pacific light lowers, and he beds down by a nearby hardwood trunk, his mouth all a-tingle.
He rises to the late-morning sunâs insistence, drier than the previous day. He strides slowly again to the berry patch, pushing beyond into fresh ones, nose twitching with delight to the same aromas, feasting again on the wine of these berries: yet rich, yet bold, yet satiny, although not quite so bright or spicy.
The last berry gone, he sniffs the air pensively. There is that scent again â there must be yet another patch nearby. And he wants more. Even his brute sense is connoisseur enough to know that he wants more.
@ejrunion epic!
@ejrunion deftly written! Thank you
@ejrunion I feel a need to know what happens next. When does the next episode come out?
@pmarin The bear orders a case!!! Like any good California bear!
@ejrunion I didnât want the story to end. Thanks for the review.
First Impression; Over compensating bottle; hefty bottle but no varietal indication. Could it be cheap juice?
Decant for an hour.
Ruby color, no sign of age
Nose; tight, alcohol, coco powder, sugar plum, light French oak
Taste; hot, blackberry, sugar plum, medium tannin
Not very exciting. I went into this excited for a heavy Tempranillo blend, I love Tempranillo, but it lacks a lot of the characters I would have liked to see, and didnât bring anything else to excite me.
Cooled down, less alcohol burn, and opened up after 2 hours decanted, tannins slight grippy, some herbs starting to show on the nose. Still not impressed enough to purchase; would have guesses $10-12 casemates price.
1.75# Bottle
@KingKoopa that poor UPS person!
@KingKoopa Thank you for the report and for âweighing inâ on the bottle.
@KingKoopa Iâll see your empty bottle mass and raise you 407g.
This is a bottle I want in an alley fight.
Thatâs in kg, not lbs. 2.652 of them.
Thanks for the useful review.
âOver compensating bottleâ â given that you weighed it I assume you mean that the bottle itself is somehow heavier than you think it needs to be? I didnât know there was a lot of variation in bottle weight; Iâd imagine that any winery with national distribution would be settled on some ideal strength-to-weight design for their bottles.
Do you think that a heavy bottle sends some psychological message of importance/substance/quality?
Now I guess Iâll have to get out a scale and check some bottles from the rack . . .
@Sardinicus I think there is an illusion of quality with the heavier bottles. I agree that often itâs an overcompensation though you have brands like Bedrock doing it. I get irritated by stuff like The Prisoner doing it because Iâm not sure the product matches the quality.
@Sardinicus yes, I think that the bottle was chosen as a marketing tactic to imply the contents were of a higher quality standard.
I believe most bottles weight around 500 grams.
@Sardinicus Back in âwine glutâ days of yore, places like Grocery Outlet (West coast) would sometimes get cases of surprisingly good stuff at bargain prices. The âbottle weightâ was a simple trick to help pick out what might be good (or at least was intended to be good by the winery when it was bottled). Heavy bottles cost more and so a winery making cheap wines (i.e. 2. Chuck) always uses very lightweight bottles. Less cost and cheaper to ship. Still strong enough not to break.
It seemed to me (and maybe it was all just a parlor trick to begin with) that any company willing to fork over extra $ for heavier bottles and stronger shipping cases, and the resulting freight increase, at least was hoping their juice would be superior and wanted to treat it that way. But maybe it was all a trick ⊠15-20 years later it seems clear that maybe this is now a standard thing that is done now. I donât think this is a good measure anymore (to be fair; I never used this criterion alone; but would match it with AVA if available, color/cloudiness you could observe through bottle, whether label talks about the vineyard details and winemaking techniques, or whether it says marketing blather like âwine has been enjoyed among friends for thousands of years; we make the best plonk for your time with friends; enjoy this plonkâ that tell me absolutely nothing â except I probably want to avoid that particular wine. (marketing guys â Iâd note that some recent offerings available here have had similar blatherlicious descriptions).
So anyway I end my rant on the heavy-bottle deception, which I admit I sometimes fell for, but the chances of it actually indicating a âgoodâ wine were much better 20 years ago.
EDIT wanted to clarify that I havenât tasted this wine or researched the label or bottle. Just the general thing about heavy bottles maybe no longer meaning as much (if they ever did) as I once assumed.
Yes the bottle is overweight, but in the USA we try not to judge. I really enjoyed the Irwin Family Tempranillo. That is why Iâm in for a case, although the Temp. was less expensive and cost more than this offer. The Synthesis P. Noir came in a similarly hefty bottle but again the experience exceeded the packaging. The only nit to pick would be a similar price to the Temp. offering, but on the correct Coast we would never see these wines locally.
FWIW, as long as a 750 ml bottle of wine has 750ml of wine inside it, has the varietals that I like, and wakes up my taste buds along with a canât turndown price, Iâm in!! I would recommend 'mates to look at the composition of these two wines. One is more Tempranillo, the other more Barbera with varying percentages of Petite Sirah, Malbec, and other varietals. But if I wasnât literally up over my head in wine, I probably would have hit the button. I thought the only people interested in bottle weight would be delivery personnel and glass recyclers.
Anyone in Seattle want to split a case?
@CalJo707 hit the button Iâll split. A cab person here but willing to test the bull comments and Bruin reviews. Thanks
Who cares how much the bottle weighs. If it is good juice, itâs good juice.
Has anyone noticed a correlation between variety and bottle weight? When Iâve noticed a heavy bottle, it usually seems to be a Petite Sarah.
@rpstrong Someone with WAY too much time on their hands. Hyper-focusing on silly stuff is⊠silly.
@michaelvella Too much time? Hardly. If that was the case, Iâd be down in the cellar now, setting up a spreadsheet to cross-reference each bottle by weight, variety, producer, price, and published tasting scores.
I like a heavy bottle. I like interesting bottles too. The most important thing by far is the wine inside, but I like a heavy, artful or classy bottle.
@RexSeven GARD Cabernet Grand Klasse Reserve. Heaviest bottle with a bottom âdimpleâ over 2in deep. Wifey says weâre getting ripped off on the contents, lol. âThatâs funny, honeyâ. Classy label and the wine is even more wonderful than the bottle!
Greetings from Irwin Family. Love all the feedback. These are two flag ship wines we are very proud of that compliment the foods of Spain and Italy not to mention your favorite grilled meats.