Friday, December 29, 2006

RUFFINO IL LEO CHIANTI SUPERIORE - 2003

Red Wine Chianti by Ruffino from Tuscany, Italy that retails for around $13.

TASTING NOTES:

Medium red color and body with pleasant red fruit aromas and flavors of cherries, vanilla oak and spice.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

85 PTS
Average wine with a decent mouthfeel and flavor profile. This red is the equivalent of a bar "house wine" that is fair with a meal or appetizers but not a wine you want to enjoy on its own. Short finish and a bit cloying. The alcohol is not "hot" but it is poorly integrated into the wine. Approachable, but not really worth the time or money.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

CHARLES CREEK MERLOT MIRADERO - 2002

85% Merlot (57% Napa County Merlot and 43% Sonoma County Merlot) and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. This California red has a hefty 14.5% and is aged in a mix of French and American oak.

TASTING NOTES:

Dark red color with cocoa and cherry on the nose. Dry cherry, currant, vanilla, spicy cedar and charred wood on the palate with some rough tannins and a bit of heat.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

87 PTS
An interesting Merlot that is muscular and subtle at the same time. This is a good wine that has been described as being very Bordeaux-like. Lots of wood and cherry but not intriguing enough for my palate. I'd much rather drink an inexpensive Merlot based Bordeaux or a more straight-forward California or Washington State Merlot. Fair.

Thursday, December 21, 2006

EL NIDO CLIO - 2003

This red blend from Jumilla, Spain is 30% Cabernet Sauvignon from 26-year-old vines and 70% Monastrell (Mourvedre) from 61-year-old vines. Matured in French and American oak and a Jorge Ordonez selection.

TASTING NOTES:

Beautiful dark ruby-purple color with scents and flavors of licorice and chocolate. There's some cherry, char-grilled oak, and a hint of canned whipped cream on the mid-palate. Smooth, round, luxurious with enormous concentration. The whopping 15.5% alcohol is so beautifully integrated it's unnoticeable once the wine opens up.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

95 PTS
A stunning and amazing wine. For about $30 a bottle, I'm not sure what's out there in any part of the world that can deliver complexity like this. Tremendous value. I can't wait to try the 2004 Clio which is now available.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

DASHWOOD SAUVIGNON BLANC MARLBOROUGH - 2004

"Dashwood is a picturesque area situated at the seaward end of the Awatere Valley, Marlborough, in the South Island of New Zealand."

TASTING NOTES:

Nice light golden color. Bright, vibrant and crisp with aromas of apple and citrus and flavors of ripe grapefruit, apple, sweet white grape juice from concentrate and a lingering melon finish. Good acidity.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

88 PTS
There seem to be endless options to choose from when selecting a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. This is another great example of the affordable quality coming out of this country.

Sunday, December 17, 2006

VALDESIL MONTENOVO GODELLO VALDEORRAS - 2005

Made from 100% Godello grapes grown on 140 year old vines, this native Spanish white variety of D.O. Valdeorras has 13% alcohol.

TASTING NOTES:

Extremely pale color like ginger ale. Aromas of apple, pear, honey, and lemon-lime with zesty citrus, sour green apple, sweet white grape juice, and a tart finish that lingers with caramel-honey notes. Some heat early on and lots of acidity.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

88 PTS
Bright and zesty. Unique white wine with lots of complexity and nuances. A wonderful appetizer white to start the evening. At around $10 a bottle or less this is a tremendously inexpensive white that overdelivers.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

CHATEAU BEAULIEU COMTES DE TASTES - 2005


Believe it or not, some 2005 Bordeaux has already started arriving in stores. Eager to sample the fruit from this proclaimed historic vintage, I didn't hesitate to pick up a bottle.

This early release Bordeaux Superieur is a Grand Vin situated in Salignac (northeast of Bordeaux) and sports a 13.5% alcohol content. The 25-acre vineyard is planted in clay and limestone soils. The 20-year old vines are 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet. Malolactic takes place in barrel and then the wine was aged on its lees for 12 months.

TASTING NOTES:

Deep, dark purple color with a strawberry jam and creme de cassis nose. Rich, intensely saturated and flavorful fruit that tastes like a mix of Welch's grape juice, briar patch berries, and black currant. A hint of creaminess, with a bold, round mouthfeel, firm tannins and a vanilla finish.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

90 PTS
Wow! If this is what 2005 Bordeaux has to offer, then I'm really excited. The power in this bottle reminds me of a Spanish fruit bomb or a California Cabernet. Incredibly grapey and fruit forward. With a few years of cellaring, this bottle can only get better. You have to commend this early release which will clearly be able to take advantage of the 2005 Bordeaux buzz and satisfy the curiosity of impatient wine geeks like myself. A bargain at around $15 a bottle.

Sunday, December 10, 2006

WALL CELLARS CABERNET SAUVIGNON - 2004

Bargain Cabernet from Napa, California with 14.2% alcohol.

TASTING NOTES:

Dark saturated color with intense aromas and flavors of blackberry jam and plum. Some black currant and a very round and smooth mouthfeel. Lush with a creamy vanilla oak mid-palate and finish.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

88 PTS
Very straightforward Cabernet but very easy to drink. Incredible quality for $12 a bottle. This is a tremendous QPR. Not very complex or profound, but still a huge thumbs up for the great value here.

Saturday, December 09, 2006

CONVENTO CAPPUCCINI BAROLO - 2001

Convento Cappuccini has been producing wines since the 17th century. Through its long history, the goal has remained the same: to produce stylish yet simple made wines that are easy to drink. This Italian red made from the Nebbiolo grape has 13.5% alcohol.

TASTING NOTES:

Light, transparent red color with a thin to medium weight mouthfeel. When first opened the wine exhibits strong aromas of shoe polish and leather. After it breathes for awhile the traditional Barolo nose of tar and roses appears followed by flavors of leather, sweet tobacco, cherry cough syrup, tart berries and a hint of licorice on the mid-palate. Extremely dry, tart and acidic with a little heat that eventually settles down. The short finish disappears in a blink.


SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

87+ PTS
For a $20 Barolo this has some really nice flavors bouncing around. However, it is perhaps too acidic and tart. It is slightly out of balance, not round, and lacks harmony. Barolos by design exhibit mouth drying tannins, but here the alcohol and structure are not in agreement. If you have never tasted Barolo before this is a cheap introduction to the varietal since most Barolos will run you $50 or more. May improve over time.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

BRAUT & SISTRA SONOMA COUNTY CABERNET - 2002

Braut & Sistra or "Brother & Sister" is a Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma, California with 14.2% alcohol.

TASTING NOTES:

Dark red color with an Old World style to the elegant nose of vanilla and oak. Immense flavors of black cherry, herb, cedar, strawberry, chocolate and currant. This wine is all over the place. It constantly changes in the glass from one moment to the next before transitioning to a nice vanilla finish.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

90 PTS
Wonderful nuances with a ton of fruit and flavors packed into the mid-palate. Round, well-balanced, dynamic and exciting to drink. At only $20 a bottle, you won't be disappointed. You will have to look hard to find California Cabs in this price range that can deliver even close to this.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

KITTLING RIDGE VIDAL BLANC ICEWINE - 2004

Kittling Ridge is an Ontario, Canada producer from the base of the Niagra region on the southern shores of Lake Ontario.

TASTING NOTES:

Golden-colored sweet elixir with aromas and flavors of honey, caramel, citrus and pear. Unctuous with a rich sweet finish and well-balanced acidity.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

90 PTS
Delightful and delicious. Really nice ice wine that is not overly sweet. Fairly harmonious but not stellar. Not sure it can compete with Inniskillin or Peller, but a good dessert wine.

Saturday, December 02, 2006

WOOT CELLARS MONKEY PRIZE CABERNET SAUVIGNON - 2004

Wine.Woot.com is a site that offers one new wine deal each week. This particular offering, Monkey Prize, is not only a Wine Woot exclusive, it is made by Wine Woot! It is a 75% Lake County Cabernet and 25% Sonoma County Sangiovese blend with 14.2% alcohol. The wine will be released for sale on Wine.Woot.com on December 4th. The estimated price will be somewhere in the $10 - $15 range.

TASTING NOTES:

This elegant looking medium-red colored wine exhibits vanilla, oak and a vegetal, almost green pepper-like aroma on the nose when first opened. Rich with plum, red fruits and black cherry flavors. There is considerable heat on the finish but when I tasted the wine again the following day, most of the heat had disappeared and was replaced with nice strawberry-cherry aromas and flavors and hints of tobacco.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:


88 PTS
A pretty good offering especially for the price. This bottle needs considerable time to breathe to shed some of the heat apparent on the finish and to bring out its ripe red fruit flavors. A worthwhile purchase and at the very least a great introduction to what Wine.Woot.com is all about if you haven't discovered the site yet. A solid effort.