26 Tuesday Jun 2018
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The last of my Kirkland test wines…. Cherry nose with some fresh cut pine thrown in. The palate continues the light cherry profile but adds mushroom and a crushed violet note. Rose water comes to mind as we transition to the finish. Overall, this is not a great wine point wise. It lacks depth, the flavors are somewhat out there and the extraction is pretty thin. I’m not sure I would buy again. 85 points and 2 stars for this $9 offering. Salut….
05 Tuesday Jun 2018
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It’s been a few years since I tasted the 2001 Poggio. As part of my cellar-moving I decided to open this one up to pair with some seared Strip steaks, a tomato salad with Balsamic infused onion strips.
For a seventeen year old wine it shows off nicely in the glass- full purple, no sign of bricking and quite opaque. The nose, OMG, what a nose. This is textbook aged Sangiovese, reminiscent of old Burgundian Pinot Noir. Leather, cedar box, tobacco, cassis and more, it just keeps coming. On the palate I am in love with the Old Worldness of this wine. It gushes with bramble, black berries, the tobacco, leather and cedar along with black tea and olives. Immense and rather concentrated, this wine is amazing, can you tell I’m liking it?
This is what makes cellaring a wine so worthwhile. The earthiness is profound, the freshness- still lively. Fruit, tertiary flavors, integrated tannins and perfect acidity. What more could you ask for? It begs for lighter fare to enable the nuances to come out, I almost regret the seasoning I coated the steaks with. This wine will shine by itself in a spectacular fashion. The finish is long, with more of the black fruits coming out again. Amazing. 96 points from me for this apparently still young wine. The major difference I noted between the last time is that the much lighter Cherry notes were now replaced with heavier, more brooding fruits. I paid $35 for it awhile back, wishing I had bought more than the 2 bottles that I have now drunk. 5 stars for sure. Drink till 2025. Salut….
01 Friday Jun 2018
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Another one in the value range I am working through from Costco. It retailed for $14. In the glass it is very see-through, pale and fresh looking. Strawberry, hay and some pomegranate hit me on the nose, typical for young Sangiovese. The wine is rather light on the initial palate, strawberry and some cherry juice are the predominant flavors. The mid palate is very juicy, the acidity being prominent but curtailed by some nice tannins that appear toward the finish. Basic flavors, easy to drink and priced right. I would pair it with pizza, pasta and maybe roast chicken on the charcoal. 88 points from me and 4 stars. Drink now till 2020. Salut….
30 Wednesday May 2018
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Dark purple in the glass, opaque AF. The nose is unique…. pomegranate meets cherry reduction and almonds. On the palate I’m confronted with wood bark, black fruits, more nuttiness and a dense stack of tannins. Brooding, rich and foreboding- it is a heavy duty wine with decent balance and good grip. The dryness of the tannins kick in on the finish in a big way. This wine could use a trip through the aerator. I like it as is with some grilled lamb or possibly with pasta after aerating. If you read the label closely you will see that it is made in the Ripasso style, being a blend of Corvina and Rondinella. 90 points and 4 stars for this very reasonable $17 wine. Salut….
24 Thursday May 2018
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Another in the latest series of inexpensive Costco finds- a Montepulciano Reserve. I think I paid a whopping $10. It shows a decent purple, pretty opaque. On the nose I get tar, black berry, licorice. On the palate it is somewhat brighter than I had imagined. Uplifting blackberry extract, star anise, mint. Sour cherry kicks in on the mid palate and makes me pucker ever so slightly. Medium tannins balance the finish off which is short to medium in length. This is the perfect wine for tonight’s burgers and tater tots. Refreshing, somewhat lighter in style yet offering a juicy cut to the fatty patties. Generally speaking this is an everyday drinker that deserves 87 points but get 5 stars from me for its value and easygoing style, perfect for summer. Salut….
22 Sunday Apr 2018
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$125, 5 stars, 94 points, Italy, sangiovese, super tuscan, Tuscan
The second wine of the Birthday dinner at Chez Francois. This one was stunning. No notes were taken but I remember thinking that this is what being a wine lover is all about. Near perfection in the bottle. Rich, ripe, sumptuous, balanced, maturing yet showing youth and verve. This wine blends some Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc with the majority Sangiovese. It gets 94 points from me and 5 stars, even with its $125 current price tag. I believe I have one left in storage and will look forward to the next opportunity. Paired beautifully with Lamb Chops. Salut….
03 Tuesday Apr 2018
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The first thing I noticed was the length of the cork. It was super long, Magnum size. Made me wonder… In the glass this wine is somewhat opaque with a lighter purple hue. On the nose it offers tart cherry, red berries and muted barnyard. On the palate I get some really refreshing strawberry and cherry notes. Crisp acidity and gentle tannins are also present. The wine is young, very young. Nutmeg and kirsch appear later on, a strange combination but I’m liking it. The tannins are really kicking in towards the mid to finish leaving me with a very dry sensation on the seemingly long finish. More classic Sangiovese flavors of tobacco and leather are evident in small amounts but the main thrust is the dominant cherry. Delicious, but I would love to see evolution, say another 5 years minimum. 92 points from me and for the hefty $80 price tag, 4 stars. If you are a cellaring type, this one will rock a roasted Cornish Hen some day. Salut….
26 Tuesday Dec 2017
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Very pale and see through, just like a Pinot. On the nose I get crushed cherry, strawberry and slate. Kinda like Pinot! On the palate it’s different, much more brooding than lets on. The flavor profile is more strawberry but I get a dark fruit note as well. Tannins are grippy and give the wine a juicy mouthfeel. The finish is generous with dark fruits coming through on its medium length. This wine needs a bit of time, 2019-2027. It gets 91 points from me and for the $45 list price- a 4 star effort. Salut….
05 Sunday Nov 2017
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I really loved the 2010 Campogiovanni when I drank it last year. So much so that I bought six bottles of the 2012 on spec. It got great ratings (96 WS), was priced right at $45 and delivered free.
This one shows a slight orange tinge when I poured it, which is unusual for such a young wine. The nose is cherry, earthy funk, mushroom, oak and a trace of truffle. On the palate it shows primal fruit flavors of cherry, leather, gorgeous tannins and a juiciness from the impeccably balanced acidity. The tannins deserve a sentence of their own- fine grained, discrete at the beginning, working themselves squarely into the mid palate and reaching a crescendo on the finish. Not mouth puckering, but certainly apparent, very lithe yet powerful. They hold the wine together nicely. The finish has an oak hint to go along with the cherry and game notes. This wine is very young, and holds promise for many years of cellaring that will help it develop secondary notes, maturing into a great Brunello. I can’t wait to taste the evolution, perhaps starting in 2020. I will have to go with 93 points right now and 5 stars. Tonight’s pairing is with a Beef Pot Roast, bathed in Petite Sirah and braised for 6 hours. Salut….
12 Thursday Oct 2017
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My son is visiting from Nashville so we decided to order some Chinese food. Faced with trying to pair reds with Mogolian Beef, Walnut Crisp Shrimp, General Tso…. I gave up and looked in the fridge. I wanted something on the lower side of the alcohol scale. This crisp Pinot Grigio rings in at 12.5%, perfect for my Far Eastern foray. It shows a pretty gold and pink hue in the glass and offers lemon zest, pineapple and green apple on the nose. On the palate it is not as crisp as I had imagined, slightly more weighty and silky. It reminds me of unoaked Chardonnay in a way. Waxy, pear, apple and citrus peel. The mid palate is really interesting with more green fruits, melon and a hint of beeswax. The finish has that classic lemon profile. This Italian Pinot Grigio is more akin to Oregonean or even Alsatian Pinot Gris with it’s heavier profile, darker complexion and flavor charachteristics. I’m not complaining, it’s a decent wine and I am enjoying it immensely with my exotic dinner. 89 points and 5 stars for this $10 wine that needs to be stocked in multiples! Drink now till 2018. Salut….
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