Seis Soles Red Blend is handled gently from vineyard to barrel. This wine is blended for an approachable drinking experience. A new wine lover will like the smooth texture and aromatics of this tasty blend, while an experienced red wine drinker will appreciate the structure. A pure expression of these two distinctive varieties as a single wine provides a finessed sensory experience.
Traditional Wines Designed for the Modern Palate
“I’ve crafted these wines by hand from vineyard to the bottle. I’ve always been drawn to balanced wines that pair well with food, are lower in alcohol and bright on the palate; wines made by hand from good, honest winemaking. I’ve had the privilege of learning from some extraordinary winemakers over the years. It is my pleasure to share with you a new take on tradition.” -Chris Rivera, Founder, Winemaker
Specs
Vintage: 2018
Blend: Syrah & Cabernet Sauvignon
Vines grown in Lodi, CA
Barrel Regime: French and American neutral oak barrels
My parents immigrated from central México where the Aztecs believed the world had been created and destroyed in four cycles, giving way to life under the fifth sun. Seis Soles, the sixth sun, represents the growth of our generation’s culture and values.
Every person, regardless of their skin color, belief system or geographic location, lives under the 6th Sun. Seis Soles respects tradition but strives to promote the new. A new understanding of how we all are in this together, promoting a healthy planet and a new way to think about wine.
Drawing from my experience I have created four wines that express my winemaking sensibilities. Important to me is the transparency of flavors, and the way wine fits into our lives. For this reason, my wines are very expressive, they’re both lively and balanced and offer a wide range of appeal. Seis Soles Wines are made to be enjoyed with a meal and as an accompaniment to life.
!Salud! Chris Rivera
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IN, KS, ME, MD, MN, MO, MT, NE, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TX, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2018 Seis Soles Red Blend - $20 = 13.33%
The doorbell rang on Friday, meaning the UPS man’s daily deliveries (thanks Amazon) this time required a signature*. (*in 2021, apparently eye contact with an adult qualifies?)
It was the case of Two Jakes Cab Franc I’d ordered. Well, one of the two cases I ordered. I was puzzled as to why one would get here before the other, but who can understand the complex happenings of logistics?
What’s this though? A single wine-bottle-shaped box sitting on top of the case. A 13th bottle and a chance to rat over the weekend. Outstanding - thanks Casemates! I was excited to open the box to find a red blend. We drink a lot of blends and I can often prefer them to similarly priced single varietals.
We had friends coming over that evening and the ambient temperature was great (the bottle didn’t feel warm at all) so I put it in the wine fridge at just under 60 degrees and gave it a few hours to cool off just a bit.
That night I opened the bottle. No cork issues.
Lovely color.
PnP notes: Aroma - wow that’s a lot of dark fruit. Current? Blackberry? Maybe some fig?
Swirled and sipped. Yep, lots of dark fruit. Pleasing level of dryness in the back of the mouth. 3 or 4 out of 10 on the length of finish (not too short, but definitely doesn’t linger). It’s a lot of fruit in the way that should make the purchase an easy decision or not for you. If you love dark fruits, this is for you. If you don’t, there’s nothing about this wine that will redeem it for you.
Poured some glasses to share with the rest of the crew - had three other takers. Everyone agreed “dark fruit.” One person, a self-proclaimed blackberry addict, absolutely loved it. The rest of us (not being so keen on the flavor profile) put it in the category of inoffensive but not our style. That’s worth pointing out because several of us were coming off of trying a recent Pinot purchase that we found to be truly undrinkable. Despite it not being something we’d want a case of, we’d have no such complaints if someone else poured us a glass of this.
I poured off one small glass to save for the next day.
Day two the aroma was much more muted, nearly gone. The flavor was slightly diminished as well but you still got some of the fruit.
I thought it was better on day 1 so I wouldn’t vote for stretching this bottle over two nights.
The price came in, frankly, right where I would have expected this to be. If I spent $10-12 for this by randomly choosing it off a grocery store shelf, I’d neither be disappointed nor blown away.
Often I struggle in reviews when it comes to recommending the wine to others - there’s no accounting for taste. Because of the straight-forward profile - and that this seems to be a well-made version of that - the conclusion here is very easy.
(if) you like black fruits (then) buy a case!
(else) pass for the next offering
@pupator (Other Lab Rat here) Our reports are good twins, I think. As my wife and I are dark fruit Syrah folk, we loved it. But if you’re not, this wine would still be okay. Unless you were beaten up by a gang blackberries when you were a kid.
Should have mentioned that at dinner I had two pairing options to test: roast chicken and chili. To me, it was better with the spicy chili (nice contrast to the heat) than with the chicken, which it just completely overwhelmed.
@PatrickKarcher Agreed. Given the swill most people buy (grin), if I were at someone else’s house and they poured me a glass of this, I’d be quite happy. But in terms of spending my own money on a case, I’d pick a different flavor profile.
@pupator I can see how a hearty chili would be a better companion to this wine. Lodi has a wide spectrum when it comes to wines but this wine is intentionally big fruit and easy drinking. Thank you!
@PatrickKarcher@pupator I hear ya. My intent for Seis soles is to create a wine lineup that novice drinkers and experienced folk can share. This blend specifically is my go to for those that are interested in reds but still apprehensive. Low to no tannin but still has weight, viscosity and big flavor. I can see how this wouldn’t be the ideal wine for those looking for no to subtle fruit expression. It’s BIG on fruit. Thanks for the review and giving the wine a try.
@6soleswinery@pupator I, too, am against berry violence in general. But for this wine in particular, when it assaulted me with black fruit on Saturday, it was more like this:
@PatrickKarcher@pupator Ha! I hope others find the fruit a positive experience but Kevin Bacon is a national treasure and I don’t mind being associated with him
@salpo That’s funny because I was happy with the District 7. Not spectacular, but quite OK by my tastes. And there are tons of very unlikable “budget” PNs I’ve experienced (taste like fake cherry soda without the bubbles) and the District 7 was way better than those in my opinion. But I can understand why some wouldn’t like it at all.
That said my vast preference in PNs would be a Willamette Valley single-vineyard or estate blend that “tastes like the dirt it grew in.” But hard to find those at <$30.
@pmarin@salpo Yeah I just read the old thread - sounds like some huge variation. My case has no smoke taint or fizziness. I wonder if there was an issue with shipping.
@salpo Agree on District 7, fortunately I can’t remember the last time I bought a case of undrinkable vino (probably going back to the old, old Woot days). Tastes like it was filtered through an old gym sock filled with cigarette butts…dreadful stuff
Interesting… I will admit to not being a fan of the District 7 Pinot, but I wouldn’t say it’s undrinkable. It HAS however been relegated to cooking wine, since it’s decidedly meh for me.
@salpo I just poured a glass of the District 7, and man. Yeah. Quite a disappointment, and glad I managed to split the case with a friend. Not as bad as the six (SIX!) bottles of family made wine I poured down the drain tonight. (They were poorly stored and completely corked. ) I’d kill for a bottle of alcoholic blackberry juice at this point.
Well, at least for a white wine you don’t like, if it’s been Madeirized (even accidentally) it can be a good thing, at least for cooking. My mother had some CA chardonnay in her garage for about 15-20 years, and it was of course not drinkable for pleasure. But when used in a slow-cooker with chicken and shallots it was an amazing ingredient. I asked if there were any more bottles of it.
(don’t ask why my mother had old chardonnay in her non-air-conditioned garage for 15 or 20 years…)
I don’t have a good recipe for what to do with undesirable reds, though.
I don’t have a good recipe for what to do with undesirable reds, though.
Pretty much anything where you’d boil/simmer it for a long time as part of a braise would probably do it. Or pretty much anywhere you want to add some wine to deglaze but don’t need it to be a central flavour element. I use alcohol to deglaze at least 3 or 4 times a week these days. Frequently it’s Two Buck Chuck.
Tasters background: My wife and I both love Syrah, our top varietal. Her favorite by far, followed by Grenache. At the bottom of her list are Bordeaux varietals; Merlot is okay, but the others don’t make the cut, whether French or West Coast. Syrah is tops for me too, with Grenache/PinotNoir up there too. I don’t like Cabs either. Although, lately, we’ve gotten some expensive Cabs/BordeauxBlends as gifts for my company’s at-home virtual happy hours, and we’ve had to admit these (Dellile, Long Shadows level) Cabs had something to offer. We’re just starting to like what Cab Sauv can do as a minority blending grape.
Delighted was I to open the surprise box Friday and see this beautiful bottle. Back label said 60% Syrah / 40% Cabernet Sauvignon. We’d recently been lucky enough to have a bottle of Long Shadows Chester-Kidder CB/Syrah blend, which we thought was great but that they should have had more Syrah. Well, our wish seems to have been granted. I planned burgers for lunch, beef stew for dinner the next day. When on Saturday morning I saw this NOT come up, I new I could relax a little.
Opened at noon. PnP: Big pleasant fruit aromas. My wife says fruit and spice. What fruit, what spice you ask? We both found it was difficult to move ‘out’ on aroma wheel from there. Wonderful fruit nose, we just can’t tell you what fruit. Dark fruit? Initial taste: general fruit and spice. Which spice? a little of all of them. Finish was great. smooth, lengthy and pleasant. SWMBO got coffee on the finish. You could see the Cab Sauv clearly on the finish.
2 hours opened, with burgers: I was getting the spice my wife saw earlier. SWMBO’s note: enhanced spice - licorice. This held it’s own with the burger, easily. Had it not been for our love of science and you people, it would have been gone.
6 hours opened, with beef stew: On nose I got a very little alcohol/menthol maybe, not much. As expected, held it’s own with stew just fine. With great difficulty (and great love for you people in my heart) we left a small serving in the bottle to sit on the counter overnight.
28 hours opened, with steak: (no refrigeration, no vacuvinning. Just sitting on the counter with cork in it). It was still good! My wife thought maybe better than day before. Nose had lessened I think, with no alcohol/menthol, just the initial fruit. I should have given the aroma wheel another stab to drill down. My wife continued to catch licorice. More pronounced at this final tasting was a flavor that was there the day before, but stronger now. I told SWMBO there was a great fruit flavor that is specifically something but I don’t know what it is, but that I like. She agreed 100%. So, strong flavor of Fruit X. With this pairing (steak), I liked the (slightly bricking, just how I like) 2014 Twisted Oak Syrah we were having more, but my life liked the Seis Soles more! I think that’s certainly a compliment.
Summary: I can’t wait to see what other rats and the internet say about this. To us it’s a super great table wine for strong meaty foods. We couldn’t pick out a lot of nuances, so we were pretty sure it wasn’t a $30+ fancy-pants wine. It did what a successful table wine does, but double. General purpose pleasing and fun, dialed up to 9, getting nothing wrong, nothing remotely off-putting. I don’t think this wine was made to impress sophisticates, but targeted to maximizing quality table-wine-ing, and making you popular with your friends, and getting people drunk before they know what happened (not due to high-alcohol, but imbibing volume). This might be a good gateway drug wine. I’m wondering how great this would be with mexican food, and I sure want to see.
For us: This wine is right up our alley. We are Syrah folk. So take this glowing review with that grain of salt. Now, other people’s “nice weeknight wine” is our weekend wine. Our weeknight wine is box Pinot Grigio from Costco or boxed Syrah or Chardonnay from Trader Joes. For us a $12 bottle of wine had better be good, and gets metered out carefully, with flourish. I see a case of Seis Soles sitting next to the case of Cheer From Over Here serving in the same cellar-defender/bring-to-parties/non-wineaux-guests roles, but for stronger, spicier, meatier meals. And judging by how good this was after 28 hours sitting on the counter, it’s not going bad soon.
Neighbors: I brought a sample to our neighbors, recently abducted into our cult. I mean, recently inducted into the casemates family of shrewd, sophisticated buyers. They loved it, and said it would go with anything. I agree. But not like Pinot Noir goes with anything. Methinks tacos, barbeque, hamburgers, nachos, spicy chicken enchiladas, noodles in pepper/sausage red sauce, spaghetti, etc.
Value: My initial guess upon seeing/hefting the bottle and it being from Lodi, was probably a $20-something wine for $10-13 on casemates. I became increasingly worried this might be more expensive. (background: I am in incredible cheapskate, and due to limited budget I’m ruthless on value) So now, I’m going to look through the offering and see the price . . . $10.83 a bottle. Whew. Better than I feared. But, this is going to be a big problem for my budget.
Final Word: Besides being mighty tasty, I wonder if this might be a more sophisticated wine that I perceive. Maybe the winemaker was so good/lucky, he included too many subtle fruit flavors, or all of them. (Woops!) I hope there’s a rat with more experience. What is that day 2 fruit? And this was quite good on day 2. Hmmm. Well, my neighbor is ordering his first case himself, and I’ve got to decide one case or two (with two I’ll have some to share).
Oh crap, no Virginia! oh man. This is cruel. I think someone has mentioned before, but I too would rather lab rat for wines that I’d be able to purchase, in case I like them.
I don’t know how fast they can fill out the Virginia paperwork, but I can guarantee at least 4 case orders if they do.
@PatrickKarcher You mentioned the CHEER which I enjoyed as well, though not as much as the Spellbound Cab. How would you say this compares to the Cheer From Over Here? On par? Better?
Thanks for the great review. I think you get this wine and what I wanted to accomplish. I’ve been working with these Syrah and Cab Vineyards for years now and have seen how they can deliver earthy and fruity notes at a value. I tend to pick up light clove (perhaps the spice you picked up on?) with vanilla coming from the French oak. I did not specifically have “sophisticates” in mind, you are correct! I pictured friends sitting around a dinner table on a Thursday night in comfy clothing sharing laughs and more glasses of vino than intended I wanted to deliver something that can poured for any guest and talked about easily. I have 2 different Syrah Vineyards and 3 Cab vineyards in this blend so I did take my time in layering the different components to create a budget friendly yet substantial drinking experience. I’m going for complexity without difficulty if that makes sense? Thanks for your thoughts.
@6soleswinery@rjquillin Clove, hmmmm, could be. I would have guessed multi-vineyard. Complexity without difficulty, yes, you did that.
How long do you think this would age, btw? My guess is it wasn’t your priority to make it age forever, and there’s not massive tannins, but it seems to have some structure. (I suppose your Gran Reserva was made more with aging in mind.)
@6soleswinery Thanks for sharing this wine with us, and thanks for making it that I and my neighbors could get a case. It’s a special and successful wine; I’ll probably regret just getting one case, but my budget is toast. We hope to see you back.
If you hit the target on your other wines like you did with this red blend, I’d like to try them all. Maybe @WineDavid49 can strongarm or blackmail you into a mixed case offer (whatever it takes) later this year or next. (maybe with that Gamay!)
@PatrickKarcher@Winedavid49 thank you for the fun experience. As far as the future offerings we’ll see! This was a great experience so I’m sure I’ll be back.
That’s right. I wanted to create a wine that was ready to enjoy earlier as opposed to cellaring. The previous vintage (2017) was my first with this blend and it still tastes great. Acid, color and structure held up so I’d be comfortable saying 3-4 years (lower tannin profile) although the Syrahs and Cabs out of these vineyards I’ve been able to taste have held up for 5+ years. I wouldn’t recommend planning on aging this bottle past 3 years. Enjoy it, I have more coming
@6soleswinery Curious what you do with your other wines. Do you aim for anything with a longer ageing window that’s more acid driven than fruity? Lodi can be all over the map with flavour profiles, all the way from the cooler end of the spectrum to overripe “tastes like wine”!
@klezman the “SolTierra” 2018 Blend of Cab, Merlot, P. Verdot and 10% Napa P. Sirah is most aging friendly. I cut my teeth on a cult favorite Zin out here in Lodi that I feel has strong similarities in profile and chem composition so I wouldn’t be surprised if SolTierra could age 10 years before starting to get tired. Overall, Seis Soles embraces a wine style that aims to bring new wine drinkers to the table so fruit characteristics are a big intentional component for all the wines in my lineup. With that being said the Gran Reserva would be the least fruit driven and drier red blend out of the 3. That has Cab, Syrah and Merlot. Thank you for asking!
This harvest I will be fermenting small lot wines like Native ferment Zin, Beaujolais style red and will rounding out what I offer with more acid driven wines to compliment what Seis Soles already has to offer.
@6soleswinery@PatrickKarcher
Nice! Yeah, I’m obviously of the preference for more acidity and earth than most new wine drinkers. Bring 'em in!
What was the winery you are modelling your style after? Not sure what counts as “cult” in the Lodi Zin world. For reference, my favourite Lodi winery so far is McCay.
If this was anywhere near my wheel-house, I’d be in for a case just because of your participation.
Hopefully you’ll return with some of those other offers you’ve mentioned.
@6soleswinery@rjquillin
I feel a bit bad that Ron and I are the ones commenting here since our style preference isn’t matched with this particular wine. But I will echo Ron’s point that being engaged and transparent about what you’re doing and what you’re trying to do (and why) goes a very long way with us and this whole community. Thanks for joining us!
@klezman@rjquillin Please don’t feel bad. I am being very deliberate with the style and intended experience so as winemakers we have to know that that might not appeal to some. Your questions and feeedback are important and helped describe the wine. What I took away was that although it wasn’t your preferred style the wine has a lot going on, rich fruit expression and no faults. I think that reaches a pretty broad segment of wine drinkers so if this style is in their wheelhouse they can feel assured they’re getting a great deal. Thank you!
@6soleswinery@rjquillin Yup, that’s exactly it! And we completely agree that trying to please all with wine leads to mediocre wine that ends up pleasing few (if any).
I’d still very happily try one of these if one materialized at my door. It’s always good to see where these things land.
Not sure if you know what a whisper is, or if you’re seeing them, but you have some.
They will be messages with a grey background visible only to the named recipients.
@kaolis I think the last wine I had that was District 7 bad was also a CA Pinot from Woot. Can’t quite shake the name from my memory palace though. I want to say it was called 1001 or something like that?
2018 Seis Soles Red Blend
Tasting Notes
Specs
Included in the Box
6-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
$276/Case at Seis Soles Wine Co. for 12x 2018 Seis Soles Red Blend
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IN, KS, ME, MD, MN, MO, MT, NE, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TX, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Apr 26
Seis Soles Red Blend
6 bottles for $74.99 $12.50/bottle + $1.33/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $129.99 $10.83/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2018 Seis Soles Red Blend
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2018 Seis Soles Red Blend - $20 = 13.33%
The doorbell rang on Friday, meaning the UPS man’s daily deliveries (thanks Amazon) this time required a signature*. (*in 2021, apparently eye contact with an adult qualifies?)
It was the case of Two Jakes Cab Franc I’d ordered. Well, one of the two cases I ordered. I was puzzled as to why one would get here before the other, but who can understand the complex happenings of logistics?
What’s this though? A single wine-bottle-shaped box sitting on top of the case. A 13th bottle and a chance to rat over the weekend. Outstanding - thanks Casemates! I was excited to open the box to find a red blend. We drink a lot of blends and I can often prefer them to similarly priced single varietals.
We had friends coming over that evening and the ambient temperature was great (the bottle didn’t feel warm at all) so I put it in the wine fridge at just under 60 degrees and gave it a few hours to cool off just a bit.
That night I opened the bottle. No cork issues.
Lovely color.
PnP notes: Aroma - wow that’s a lot of dark fruit. Current? Blackberry? Maybe some fig?
Swirled and sipped. Yep, lots of dark fruit. Pleasing level of dryness in the back of the mouth. 3 or 4 out of 10 on the length of finish (not too short, but definitely doesn’t linger). It’s a lot of fruit in the way that should make the purchase an easy decision or not for you. If you love dark fruits, this is for you. If you don’t, there’s nothing about this wine that will redeem it for you.
Poured some glasses to share with the rest of the crew - had three other takers. Everyone agreed “dark fruit.” One person, a self-proclaimed blackberry addict, absolutely loved it. The rest of us (not being so keen on the flavor profile) put it in the category of inoffensive but not our style. That’s worth pointing out because several of us were coming off of trying a recent Pinot purchase that we found to be truly undrinkable. Despite it not being something we’d want a case of, we’d have no such complaints if someone else poured us a glass of this.
I poured off one small glass to save for the next day.
Day two the aroma was much more muted, nearly gone. The flavor was slightly diminished as well but you still got some of the fruit.
I thought it was better on day 1 so I wouldn’t vote for stretching this bottle over two nights.
The price came in, frankly, right where I would have expected this to be. If I spent $10-12 for this by randomly choosing it off a grocery store shelf, I’d neither be disappointed nor blown away.
Often I struggle in reviews when it comes to recommending the wine to others - there’s no accounting for taste. Because of the straight-forward profile - and that this seems to be a well-made version of that - the conclusion here is very easy.
(if) you like black fruits (then) buy a case!
(else) pass for the next offering
Thanks Casemates!
@pupator (Other Lab Rat here) Our reports are good twins, I think. As my wife and I are dark fruit Syrah folk, we loved it. But if you’re not, this wine would still be okay. Unless you were beaten up by a gang blackberries when you were a kid.
Should have mentioned that at dinner I had two pairing options to test: roast chicken and chili. To me, it was better with the spicy chili (nice contrast to the heat) than with the chicken, which it just completely overwhelmed.
@PatrickKarcher Agreed. Given the swill most people buy (grin), if I were at someone else’s house and they poured me a glass of this, I’d be quite happy. But in terms of spending my own money on a case, I’d pick a different flavor profile.
@PatrickKarcher @pupator Say no to berry violence!
@pupator I can see how a hearty chili would be a better companion to this wine. Lodi has a wide spectrum when it comes to wines but this wine is intentionally big fruit and easy drinking. Thank you!
@PatrickKarcher @pupator I hear ya. My intent for Seis soles is to create a wine lineup that novice drinkers and experienced folk can share. This blend specifically is my go to for those that are interested in reds but still apprehensive. Low to no tannin but still has weight, viscosity and big flavor. I can see how this wouldn’t be the ideal wine for those looking for no to subtle fruit expression. It’s BIG on fruit. Thanks for the review and giving the wine a try.
@6soleswinery @pupator I, too, am against berry violence in general. But for this wine in particular, when it assaulted me with black fruit on Saturday, it was more like this:
thank you sir may I have another
@PatrickKarcher @pupator Ha! I hope others find the fruit a positive experience but Kevin Bacon is a national treasure and I don’t mind being associated with him
@pupator Thanks for the honest notes! Yes, agreed: that District7 is absolutely garbage. Can’t believe I got a case of it.
@salpo That’s funny because I was happy with the District 7. Not spectacular, but quite OK by my tastes. And there are tons of very unlikable “budget” PNs I’ve experienced (taste like fake cherry soda without the bubbles) and the District 7 was way better than those in my opinion. But I can understand why some wouldn’t like it at all.
That said my vast preference in PNs would be a Willamette Valley single-vineyard or estate blend that “tastes like the dirt it grew in.” But hard to find those at <$30.
@pmarin @salpo Yeah I just read the old thread - sounds like some huge variation. My case has no smoke taint or fizziness. I wonder if there was an issue with shipping.
@salpo Agree on District 7, fortunately I can’t remember the last time I bought a case of undrinkable vino (probably going back to the old, old Woot days). Tastes like it was filtered through an old gym sock filled with cigarette butts…dreadful stuff
@83fxwg I haven’t heard a better analogy in a long time. Gym sock (old!) plus cigarette butts is, unfortunately, extremely accurate
Interesting… I will admit to not being a fan of the District 7 Pinot, but I wouldn’t say it’s undrinkable. It HAS however been relegated to cooking wine, since it’s decidedly meh for me.
@salpo I just poured a glass of the District 7, and man. Yeah. Quite a disappointment, and glad I managed to split the case with a friend. Not as bad as the six (SIX!) bottles of family made wine I poured down the drain tonight. (They were poorly stored and completely corked.
) I’d kill for a bottle of alcoholic blackberry juice at this point.
Well, at least for a white wine you don’t like, if it’s been Madeirized (even accidentally) it can be a good thing, at least for cooking. My mother had some CA chardonnay in her garage for about 15-20 years, and it was of course not drinkable for pleasure. But when used in a slow-cooker with chicken and shallots it was an amazing ingredient. I asked if there were any more bottles of it.
(don’t ask why my mother had old chardonnay in her non-air-conditioned garage for 15 or 20 years…)
I don’t have a good recipe for what to do with undesirable reds, though.
@pmarin
Pretty much anything where you’d boil/simmer it for a long time as part of a braise would probably do it. Or pretty much anywhere you want to add some wine to deglaze but don’t need it to be a central flavour element. I use alcohol to deglaze at least 3 or 4 times a week these days. Frequently it’s Two Buck Chuck.
Tasters background: My wife and I both love Syrah, our top varietal. Her favorite by far, followed by Grenache. At the bottom of her list are Bordeaux varietals; Merlot is okay, but the others don’t make the cut, whether French or West Coast. Syrah is tops for me too, with Grenache/PinotNoir up there too. I don’t like Cabs either. Although, lately, we’ve gotten some expensive Cabs/BordeauxBlends as gifts for my company’s at-home virtual happy hours, and we’ve had to admit these (Dellile, Long Shadows level) Cabs had something to offer. We’re just starting to like what Cab Sauv can do as a minority blending grape.
Delighted was I to open the surprise box Friday and see this beautiful bottle. Back label said 60% Syrah / 40% Cabernet Sauvignon. We’d recently been lucky enough to have a bottle of Long Shadows Chester-Kidder CB/Syrah blend, which we thought was great but that they should have had more Syrah. Well, our wish seems to have been granted. I planned burgers for lunch, beef stew for dinner the next day. When on Saturday morning I saw this NOT come up, I new I could relax a little.
Opened at noon. PnP: Big pleasant fruit aromas. My wife says fruit and spice. What fruit, what spice you ask? We both found it was difficult to move ‘out’ on aroma wheel from there. Wonderful fruit nose, we just can’t tell you what fruit. Dark fruit? Initial taste: general fruit and spice. Which spice? a little of all of them. Finish was great. smooth, lengthy and pleasant. SWMBO got coffee on the finish. You could see the Cab Sauv clearly on the finish.
2 hours opened, with burgers: I was getting the spice my wife saw earlier. SWMBO’s note: enhanced spice - licorice. This held it’s own with the burger, easily. Had it not been for our love of science and you people, it would have been gone.
6 hours opened, with beef stew: On nose I got a very little alcohol/menthol maybe, not much. As expected, held it’s own with stew just fine. With great difficulty (and great love for you people in my heart) we left a small serving in the bottle to sit on the counter overnight.
28 hours opened, with steak: (no refrigeration, no vacuvinning. Just sitting on the counter with cork in it). It was still good! My wife thought maybe better than day before. Nose had lessened I think, with no alcohol/menthol, just the initial fruit. I should have given the aroma wheel another stab to drill down. My wife continued to catch licorice. More pronounced at this final tasting was a flavor that was there the day before, but stronger now. I told SWMBO there was a great fruit flavor that is specifically something but I don’t know what it is, but that I like. She agreed 100%. So, strong flavor of Fruit X. With this pairing (steak), I liked the (slightly bricking, just how I like) 2014 Twisted Oak Syrah we were having more, but my life liked the Seis Soles more! I think that’s certainly a compliment.
Summary: I can’t wait to see what other rats and the internet say about this. To us it’s a super great table wine for strong meaty foods. We couldn’t pick out a lot of nuances, so we were pretty sure it wasn’t a $30+ fancy-pants wine. It did what a successful table wine does, but double. General purpose pleasing and fun, dialed up to 9, getting nothing wrong, nothing remotely off-putting. I don’t think this wine was made to impress sophisticates, but targeted to maximizing quality table-wine-ing, and making you popular with your friends, and getting people drunk before they know what happened (not due to high-alcohol, but imbibing volume). This might be a good gateway drug wine. I’m wondering how great this would be with mexican food, and I sure want to see.
For us: This wine is right up our alley. We are Syrah folk. So take this glowing review with that grain of salt. Now, other people’s “nice weeknight wine” is our weekend wine. Our weeknight wine is box Pinot Grigio from Costco or boxed Syrah or Chardonnay from Trader Joes. For us a $12 bottle of wine had better be good, and gets metered out carefully, with flourish. I see a case of Seis Soles sitting next to the case of Cheer From Over Here serving in the same cellar-defender/bring-to-parties/non-wineaux-guests roles, but for stronger, spicier, meatier meals. And judging by how good this was after 28 hours sitting on the counter, it’s not going bad soon.
Neighbors: I brought a sample to our neighbors, recently abducted into our cult. I mean, recently inducted into the casemates family of shrewd, sophisticated buyers. They loved it, and said it would go with anything. I agree. But not like Pinot Noir goes with anything. Methinks tacos, barbeque, hamburgers, nachos, spicy chicken enchiladas, noodles in pepper/sausage red sauce, spaghetti, etc.
Value: My initial guess upon seeing/hefting the bottle and it being from Lodi, was probably a $20-something wine for $10-13 on casemates. I became increasingly worried this might be more expensive. (background: I am in incredible cheapskate, and due to limited budget I’m ruthless on value) So now, I’m going to look through the offering and see the price . . . $10.83 a bottle. Whew. Better than I feared. But, this is going to be a big problem for my budget.
Final Word: Besides being mighty tasty, I wonder if this might be a more sophisticated wine that I perceive. Maybe the winemaker was so good/lucky, he included too many subtle fruit flavors, or all of them. (Woops!) I hope there’s a rat with more experience. What is that day 2 fruit? And this was quite good on day 2. Hmmm. Well, my neighbor is ordering his first case himself, and I’ve got to decide one case or two (with two I’ll have some to share).
Oh crap, no Virginia! oh man. This is cruel. I think someone has mentioned before, but I too would rather lab rat for wines that I’d be able to purchase, in case I like them.
I don’t know how fast they can fill out the Virginia paperwork, but I can guarantee at least 4 case orders if they do.
@PatrickKarcher You mentioned the CHEER which I enjoyed as well, though not as much as the Spellbound Cab. How would you say this compares to the Cheer From Over Here? On par? Better?
@ACraigL probably depends on what you have it with. We like this more, I think. It hit our Syrah buttons.
@PatrickKarcher Let’s get this person some paperwork. STAT!!
That’s great if you can make it happen @6soleswinery ! However if they can’t @PatrickKarcher we may have to work some state-‘mates magic instead.
@6soleswinery I didn’t understand your comment above exactly. You think you’d be able to work VA in, for this offer?
@PatrickKarcher I emailed casemates about adding VA to the offer. Met be too late but we’ll see.
@6soleswinery @winedavid49, @dave
True, perhaps VA can get added?
If all the paper is signed?
@dave @rjquillin @Winedavid49 VA is being added to the offer as we speak.
@6soleswinery @dave @rjquillin @Winedavid49 Excellent! Thank you.
creepy-golden-maid
Hmmm. Not going to get a giffy for that.
@6soleswinery @dave @PatrickKarcher @Winedavid49
Oh my, that whisper…
Thanks for the great review. I think you get this wine and what I wanted to accomplish. I’ve been working with these Syrah and Cab Vineyards for years now and have seen how they can deliver earthy and fruity notes at a value. I tend to pick up light clove (perhaps the spice you picked up on?) with vanilla coming from the French oak. I did not specifically have “sophisticates” in mind, you are correct! I pictured friends sitting around a dinner table on a Thursday night in comfy clothing sharing laughs and more glasses of vino than intended
I wanted to deliver something that can poured for any guest and talked about easily. I have 2 different Syrah Vineyards and 3 Cab vineyards in this blend so I did take my time in layering the different components to create a budget friendly yet substantial drinking experience. I’m going for complexity without difficulty if that makes sense? Thanks for your thoughts.
@rjquillin
Just tagging you because this person needs their winery badge.
@kawichris650 yup, already on it.
@6soleswinery While we’re waiting on your
could we get a name and your position with the winery?
@rjquillin Of course. My name is Chris Rivera and I own Seis Soles. It’s a one-man show so far so I’m the custodian and sales rep as well!
@6soleswinery @rjquillin Clove, hmmmm, could be. I would have guessed multi-vineyard. Complexity without difficulty, yes, you did that.
How long do you think this would age, btw? My guess is it wasn’t your priority to make it age forever, and there’s not massive tannins, but it seems to have some structure. (I suppose your Gran Reserva was made more with aging in mind.)
@6soleswinery Thanks for sharing this wine with us, and thanks for making it that I and my neighbors could get a case. It’s a special and successful wine; I’ll probably regret just getting one case, but my budget is toast. We hope to see you back.
If you hit the target on your other wines like you did with this red blend, I’d like to try them all. Maybe @WineDavid49 can strongarm or blackmail you into a mixed case offer (whatever it takes) later this year or next. (maybe with that Gamay!)
@PatrickKarcher @Winedavid49 thank you for the fun experience. As far as the future offerings we’ll see! This was a great experience so I’m sure I’ll be back.
@6soleswinery @PatrickKarcher @Winedavid49
Great to to have the active participation you provided.
Cheers
That’s right. I wanted to create a wine that was ready to enjoy earlier as opposed to cellaring. The previous vintage (2017) was my first with this blend and it still tastes great. Acid, color and structure held up so I’d be comfortable saying 3-4 years (lower tannin profile) although the Syrahs and Cabs out of these vineyards I’ve been able to taste have held up for 5+ years. I wouldn’t recommend planning on aging this bottle past 3 years. Enjoy it, I have more coming
@6soleswinery Curious what you do with your other wines. Do you aim for anything with a longer ageing window that’s more acid driven than fruity? Lodi can be all over the map with flavour profiles, all the way from the cooler end of the spectrum to overripe “tastes like wine”!
@klezman the “SolTierra” 2018 Blend of Cab, Merlot, P. Verdot and 10% Napa P. Sirah is most aging friendly. I cut my teeth on a cult favorite Zin out here in Lodi that I feel has strong similarities in profile and chem composition so I wouldn’t be surprised if SolTierra could age 10 years before starting to get tired. Overall, Seis Soles embraces a wine style that aims to bring new wine drinkers to the table so fruit characteristics are a big intentional component for all the wines in my lineup. With that being said the Gran Reserva would be the least fruit driven and drier red blend out of the 3. That has Cab, Syrah and Merlot. Thank you for asking!
This harvest I will be fermenting small lot wines like Native ferment Zin, Beaujolais style red and will rounding out what I offer with more acid driven wines to compliment what Seis Soles already has to offer.
@6soleswinery @klezman The Zin is a Beaujolais style, or you’ve got Gamay?
@klezman @PatrickKarcher I’m on a list for some central coast Gamay. Might do some carbonic maceration but still looking at options.
@6soleswinery @PatrickKarcher
Nice! Yeah, I’m obviously of the preference for more acidity and earth than most new wine drinkers. Bring 'em in!
What was the winery you are modelling your style after? Not sure what counts as “cult” in the Lodi Zin world. For reference, my favourite Lodi winery so far is McCay.
@klezman @PatrickKarcher yeah, I hear you. Room for everyone! I’m referencing Klinker Brick Old Ghost Old Vine Zin.
@6soleswinery @klezman @PatrickKarcher
Ahhh, good memories both from the last tour.
If this was anywhere near my wheel-house, I’d be in for a case just because of your participation.
Hopefully you’ll return with some of those other offers you’ve mentioned.
Thanks for being here.
@6soleswinery @PatrickKarcher ah, we enjoyed our visit there, too. I preferred their whites and pinks as it turned out.
@klezman @PatrickKarcher @rjquillin of course! Thank you for the consideration! I had a great time and appreciate the constructive criticism.
@klezman @PatrickKarcher yeah, I can see how that was your experience. Glad you enjoyed your visit to Lodi.
@6soleswinery @rjquillin
I feel a bit bad that Ron and I are the ones commenting here since our style preference isn’t matched with this particular wine. But I will echo Ron’s point that being engaged and transparent about what you’re doing and what you’re trying to do (and why) goes a very long way with us and this whole community. Thanks for joining us!
@klezman @rjquillin Please don’t feel bad. I am being very deliberate with the style and intended experience so as winemakers we have to know that that might not appeal to some. Your questions and feeedback are important and helped describe the wine. What I took away was that although it wasn’t your preferred style the wine has a lot going on, rich fruit expression and no faults. I think that reaches a pretty broad segment of wine drinkers so if this style is in their wheelhouse they can feel assured they’re getting a great deal. Thank you!
@6soleswinery @rjquillin Yup, that’s exactly it! And we completely agree that trying to please all with wine leads to mediocre wine that ends up pleasing few (if any).
I’d still very happily try one of these if one materialized at my door. It’s always good to see where these things land.
@6soleswinery
Chris,
Not sure if you know what a whisper is, or if you’re seeing them, but you have some.
They will be messages with a grey background visible only to the named recipients.
@rjquillin I’m only now figuring out what that is
cool feature!
This wine sounds right up our alley based on the rat reports. Would love to keep in mind if MI gets added to the shipping in the future.
@a5meiser I’ll make sure to add MI next time. Also follow @6solesvino for future sales if you can please.
@6soleswinery I subscribed to your newsletter so I will keep an eye out!
@a5meiser thank you!
So District 7 has now become a measuring stick… hmmmm
@kaolis I think the last wine I had that was District 7 bad was also a CA Pinot from Woot. Can’t quite shake the name from my memory palace though. I want to say it was called 1001 or something like that?
@83fxwg @kaolis yea. i recall…
@kaolis I still don’t get the District 7 hate, but there has been speculation of very different case lots. Maybe some were genuinely “bad.”
Also I think PNs are probably one of the most subjective varietals. In any “case” I almost regretted not getting 2 for the price.
I wasn’t fond of one of the holiday wine offerings (not the most recent) but others seemed to like it.
Anybody in RDU area interested in a split case on this?
The pandemic has turned me into a cliché wine mom, and my wine rack needs more easy drinkers.
/giphy bleary-vindictive-scotch
