Winery Visit: Murietta's Well

I rode my bicycle eight miles up the amazing MINES ROAD in Livermore, and saw Murietta's Well and decided to give them a try.
They had a couple of basic fruity "supermarket wines" BUT they were also pouring a quite intriguing TOURIGA NACIONAL.

Intriguing stuff! Medium bodied, with an emphasis on red fruit. Quite lovely cherry fruit aromatics. I quite liked the mouth feel, and there was a very interesting touch of funkiness and earth-very high toned in character-that I quite liked. The Bordeaux blend and the Portuguese blend were also savory and quite enjoyable, but the Touriga Nacional really stood out.

Plus, the tasting room staff were very mellow and friendly-the place had a quite nice vibe.
I will revisit when not on a bicycle!

If I had to pick between Wente (which owns Murrieta's Well) and Murrieta's Well, I'd go with the latter. The red blends are pretty tasty and not too overpriced. I haven't had a varietal touriga nacional from them, though.

If you want to buy, Costco in Livermore usually has one or two at good prices.

Mines is a lovely road to ride up, no? Wide enough bike lanes and not too hilly. I've only got a heavy mountain bike, so my pace is pretty leisurely, but especially this time of year it's a pleasure to go for a ride.

Walt