Tag Archives: Italy

Tenuta Ghiaccio Forte Toscana IGT 2016, Tuscany, Italy

26 Tuesday Mar 2019

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See through purple in the glass, which makes sense for a Sangiovese.  The nose has a pretty floral note to it alongside red licorice, cedar and raspberry.  On the palate it is more subdued, less flowery, with crisp flavors of red cherry juice, rhubarb and a dose of black tea.  Tannins are rampant, from the get-go, they are quite present throughout the palate and are quite astringent.  There is a greeness to the mid palate that is bothersome, but it gives way to more sour cherry on the finish that keeps this wine lively and fresh.  Overall there is a slight unbalance between the fruit and the tannins, with the acidity being a touch heavy.  This wine is for near term drinking and I would pair with BBQ, perhaps pizza and for sure Moussakka.  87 points from me and 3 stars for this  $15 effort.  Drink till 2021.  Salut….

Campagnola ‘Giuseppe Campagnola’ Valpolicella Classico Ripasso 2016, Veneto, Italy

08 Friday Mar 2019

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Medium opacity purple, with a nice sheen in the glass.  The nose offers up bacon, plum paste, raisins and ……  On the palate I get nice round blackberry cobbler notes, bright acidity and very fine grained tannins.  If you know how Ripasso is made you would expect a bit more weight, extra flavor and a heavier mouthfeel.  This wine is a touch more refined, somewhat lighter and a bit fresher.  The mid palate has a nice cherry meets plum characteristic that feeds into the decent length finish.  The tannins taper off leaving a somewhat astringent mouthfeel right at the end.  It’s certainly interesting.  89 points and 3 stars for this $15 blend of Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella.  Drink till 2026.  Salut….

Cascina Adelaide Barolo DOCG 2013, Piedmont, Italy

05 Tuesday Mar 2019

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It pours out as expected, reddish purple, see through and intriguing.  On the nose I get strawberry, rhubarb and sour cherry juice.  On the palate this wine is very young with copious tannins immediately attacking the gums- finally giving way to lush cherry, cinnamon, cedar box, leather and tobacco flavors.   This wine is chock full of everything- flavors, dryness, acidity…. you name it.  Very interesting mouthfeel to boot.  It really needs a pour through the Vinturi, but I can’t help myself with these tannins, they are so intriguing and mouth puckering that I will have to sit here and suffer a little longer before I soften them up.  The mid palate is all sour cherry, not in a bad way.  The finish is much of the same…  cherry, leather, mushrooms, acidity, mouth puckering tannins but it eases off nicely.  This is going to be an awesome wine one day when it has grown up, shed the flab, softened the tannins and developed secondary flavors.  For now I am going with 92 points and 4 stars.  This Nebbiolo lists at $80 and should be cellared until 2024 then drunk till 2034.  Salut….

Ornellaia ‘Le Volte dell’Ornellaia’ Toscana IGT 2014, Tuscany, Italy

04 Monday Mar 2019

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I bough this wine on its pedigree for $24.  Medium opacity purple in the glass with visible legs.  The nose has kirsch, raspberry and bing cherry by the boatload.  On the palate it is brimming with red fruits, bright acidity and delightful tannins.  Young and vibrant- it needs a little time to settle down.  It is slightly one-dimensional at this time. I hope it evolves and gains tertiary flavors.  The mid palate is more or less the same.  The finish is of medium length with more cherry extract and a dose of rhubarb as well as lingonberry.  The tartness of which shows up at the end.  Overall- a decent wine that gets 89 points from me and 3 stars.  Cab, Merlot and Sangiovese make up this Tuscan red.  Drink from 2022 till 2027.  Salut….

Barbanera Ser Passo Toscana IGT 2016, Tuscany, Italy

08 Saturday Dec 2018

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Bright purple in the glass.   Black cherry and sassafras come to mind on the nose.  The palate is very tasty, brimming with Black cherry, cola, and dark chocolate.  Very fine grained tannins introduce themselves right off the bat and help to coat the gums very gently all the way through the mid palate and onto the finish.  Speaking of the mid-palate, there’s more cola than fruit here along with some licorice.  It’s quite nice!  The finish is medium length and continues the theme.  A very satisfying wine that I am enjoying with pasta and meatballs.  90 points, drink till 2025 with anything Italian!  For the $13 price tag, you need some of this 5 star wine.  Salut….

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Borgo Salcetino Chianti Classico DOCG 2015, Tuscany, Italy

04 Sunday Nov 2018

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Light purple, medium opacity.  The nose is generous with pencil lead, blueberry and cherry, yet somewhat atypical.  On the palate it is a little restrained but there are notes of sassafras, bing cherry, rhubarb.  The mid palate gives me lots of juiciness, acidity and the beginnings of a tannic push.  The cherry component really hits on the back end.  89 points and 4 stars for this $12 effort.  I would sit on a few bottles to let the acidity reaper and the tannins to soften slightly.  2020- 2023 Salut….

Castellani Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2012, Tuscany, Italy

25 Thursday Oct 2018

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After a cork failure, I had to sift through the debris to find a light purple wine that is nearly see-through. The nose has pencil lead, plums, sour cherries.  The palate is somewhat lighter than I imagined, cherry being the prime player here.  There is a certain amount of garigue I sense in addition to mushroom and leather.  The acidity is slightly overpowering the mild tannins, but I don’t mind.  It has a nice cut to it.  The astringency hits on the finish, where the tannic dryness grips the gums.  I would say the fruit has really taken a back seat here.  Drink till 2021 with pasta, pizza or charcuterie.  88 points and 3 stars from me for this $15 wine.  Salut….

Cantina Colomba Bianca ‘Vitese’ Nero d’Avola Sicilia IGT 2016, Sicily, Italy

23 Tuesday Oct 2018

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Inky purple with medium opaque hues.  Nose is crushed blueberries with black berry jam.  The palate is lovely, blueberry with açaí berry and fig.  The tannins are so sleek, they sneak up on me at the end.  The mid palate has a nice body to it and shows off more blue fruits.  The finish is of medium length, slightly dry and more of a black fruit tint.  90 points and 5 stars for this $12 wine.  Paired with Truffled Ravioli, seared Petit Sirloin and tomato jam.  Drink till 2022.  Salut….

Kirkland Signature Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2014, Tuscany, Italy

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….

Carpineto Vigneto Poggio Sant’ Enrico 2001, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG, Italy

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….