Tag Archives: complex wine

December 15, 2013 · 1:51 PM

2004 Piccini Sasso al Poggio IGT

98921

Piccini Sasso al Poggio Toscana IGT

Italy, Tuscany, Chianti

Wine Tasting Note:

Folks, this is some serious wine for the price. After 30 minutes open, more black fruit is peeking out. I will be buying more, if I can find it… Subdued gamey, black fruit nose. Black cherry is on the front of the palate, blackberry, black currant and vanilla on the mid-palate moving towards dark chocolate with an herbal medium length finish that includes a touch of spearmint. The mouth-feel is a bit watery, but is very soft. Medium acidity with medium high tannins. This is not a fruity wine, but for those who appreciate complexity… for $10/btl this is your value wine. I am wrestling with the idea of whether I have tasted a better $10 bottle of wine… Italy continues to provide the biggest surprises in fine wine value in the world! OK, IMHO…

2 Comments

Filed under Chianti IGT, Super Tuscan Blend, Wine Tasting Notes

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 7, 2013 · 2:16 PM

2009 d’Arenberg The Laughing Magpie

638

d’Arenberg The Laughing Magpie

Australia, McLaren Vale

Wine Tasting Note:

This is not a typical Aussie fruit bomb. 92% shiraz and 8% vognier. Northern Rhone in its way… grapey nose with creme brulee and cinammon. Definitely give this at least a 30 min decant. Directly out of the bottle, this is very smooth, but watery and the flavors are off-putting – like grape candy. As it opens, it becomes more complex. The palate hits you first with black table grapes and blackberry. The mid-palate has black-currant moving into a long bitter dark chocolate finish. I have tasted other syrah blends like this and the viognier (8% is too much?) had the same effect on the nose and palate. The acidity is medium-high, but the tannins are mostly hidden until decanted, then they reveal themselves in a fairly big way as chewy and medium-high. Has a little bit of that Northern Rhone oily, tar characteristic, but no olive tapenade and earthiness. The grapey fruit flavor begins to subside after an hour, but is still too much. At this stage of its life, this would not be much of a food wine, although it has the backbone for it. I enjoyed it as an aperitif (after decant) and for $20/btl, it was a good value. This may just be too young. I am thinking after 3-5 years, the fruit may subside a bit and allow other flavors to present. It certainly has the backbone to allow aging. Will tuck the others away for a few years and see if it has the potential to improve, as I hope.

Comments Off on 2009 d’Arenberg The Laughing Magpie

Filed under McLaren Vale, Syrah/Shiraz, Wine Tasting Notes

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 4, 2013 · 5:20 PM

Can You Justify Spending on Premium Wines?

Okay, I know there aren’t many wine drinkers out there that maintain a diverse cellar of bottle-aged wines, but for those of you who do, and invest in the spendy, premium wines… how do YOU justify it?

Which Wines Are in Your Cellar?

2/3 of my cellar is made up of moderately priced red and white wines of good value.  The other 1/3 is reserved for more expensive, special red wines.  So, just what constitutes a “special” wine worthy of a premium price? It has taken me 20 years of collecting wine and an evolving palate to finally arrive at a couple of answers.  My justifications for spending $75+ on a bottle of wine are:

1. Wines that have structure, balance, texture, be complex, BUT ALSO be accessible in no more than 5 years, and be able to age (AND improve) for 10 years or more from the vintage date (yes, even Barolo).

That doesn’t mean the wine will be in its prime drinking window then, just that I can enjoy it and then look forward to another beautiful experience down the road.  Enjoying wines this way, requires a purchase of several bottles of a wine, per vintage.  I will rarely do this until a producer has proven a good match for my palate and been consistent with quality vintages, year over year.  Although, sometimes you just know from drinking a wine… and I say “drink”, not taste.  This has happened too many times… Tasting Room Attendant hits you with attitude, goes on and on about the wine and presses you to purchase his/her amazing $100 (speaking of Napa here) bottle.  Then, you are hit with a 1 oz. pour!  Who needs a direct relationship with a winery, when you are treated like that!  With a good experience, enjoyable wine and the right value, I will become a year-over-year customer and they can start thinking of me as a revenue source for years to come…

2. Wines that my family and friends enjoy.

An example in this category for me is expensive champagne.  Not what I personally would spend big dollars on, but I really enjoy sharing good bubbly with friends who appreciate it!

Overview

IMHO, the holy grail of wine is the 1st category.  Examples for me would be vintages of Barolo, Southern & Northern Rhone (also CA “Rhone Style”) and mountain fruit Napa Cabernet Sauvignon (Veeder, Spring, Diamond & Howell).  Yeah, I know… no classified growth Bordeaux & cru Burgundy included.  I have not tasted Bordeaux meeting that criteria under $75/btl. AND other regions bring the same level of enjoyment for $50.  ENTRY LEVEL Burgundy STARTS at $50/btl and I just don’t enjoy pinot noir enough to explore that varietal for that kind of money.  My Oregon Pinot is just fine thank you.  I have Bordeaux and Burgundy in my cellar, but just to provide a representative collection, and it skews my average bottle price more than I would like.  I know many of you DO spend that $150+/btl for Bordeaux and Burgundy.  I wonder, how do you justify devoting the disproportionate percentage of your wine budget?

2 Comments

Filed under Barolo, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Howell Mountain, Mount Veeder, Napa Valley, Northern Rhone, Southern Rhone, Spring Mountain, Wine Cellar, Wine Collecting, Wine Tasting

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

November 26, 2013 · 10:28 PM

2009 Domaine Drouhin Laurene Oregon Pinot Noir

264401

Domaine Drouhin Laurene Pinot Noir

Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills

Wine Tasting Note:

The nose has red fruit and earth, with a floral influence. The palate begins with fresh red cherry under-pinned with a delicate floral note. The mid-palate transitions to black cherry and spice, then a medium short finish of earth and bitter chocolate. Medium-high acidity with slightly dusty tannins. The texture was initially silky, but became watery quickly on the mid-palate. You notice the alcohol on the finish. This wine needs more time in the cellar to reach its potential. There was a lot more going on here than a simple, fruity new-world pinot. This was very feminine in character, with a solid backbone. Another 5 years of bottle-aging and I would expect this will be very elegant and composed. I can envision this as a 10 year old pinot reaching its drinking window… add a little barnyard on the nose and Burgundy comes to mind!

Comments Off on 2009 Domaine Drouhin Laurene Oregon Pinot Noir

Filed under Dundee Hills, Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Wine Tasting, Wine Tasting Notes

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

November 16, 2013 · 6:06 PM

2007 Geyser Peak Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Walking Tree Vineyard

122881

Geyser Peak Winery

California, Alexander Valley

Wine Tasting Note:

Powerful aromatic nose of black fruit, spice and vanilla. Fruit forward palate of blackberry, red plum and black currant. High acidity with medium tannins. Tasted this last year. Still the same big fruit, but the tannins are beginning to soften and it is developing some texture. Needed a little time for the alcohol to blow off. The complexity is improving with the addition of more bitter chocolate in the mid-palate and a short finish with some graphite coming through. The tannins are starting to moderate and I like a red wine with some backbone, so I am going to say this wine is in its optimum drinking window. Drink now and the next couple of years, at most. At $18/btl, this wine has my vote for the best value cab sauv in California. I would expect a wine of this caliber to be in the $30-35 range in Sonoma County. I prefer not to put a number to wines if I can, but in this case I will put that aside and give it an 89. It needs more minerality, the mid-palate and finish could be stronger and the texture wasn’t there to be rated higher, but for that kind of price… this is impressive!

Comments Off on 2007 Geyser Peak Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Walking Tree Vineyard

Filed under Alexander Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon, Wine Tasting, Wine Tasting Notes

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

November 11, 2013 · 7:11 PM

2010 Robert Oatley Vineyards, James Oatley TIC TOK Cabernet Sauvignon

255052

Robert Oatley Vineyards

Australia, Western Australia

Wine Tasting Note:

Nose of alcohol, red raspberry and spice. High acidity and medium tannins. For a low alcohol cabernet, the alcohol is obvious. The palate is full of fresh red raspberry and strawberry up front with a subtle mid-palate that introduces faint elements of eucalyptus and vanilla. The wine has a short finish of bitter, sour cherry. I found the complexity of flavors interesting, but the texture was watery and the elements didn’t come together well. This seems like a low-priced attempt at an old-world style wine, from a new-world producer. For a $10/btl cab sauv pretty decent, but I would rather spend an extra few bucks and purchase something a bit more enjoyable for a daily drinker.

Comments Off on 2010 Robert Oatley Vineyards, James Oatley TIC TOK Cabernet Sauvignon

Filed under Cabernet Sauvignon, Western Australia, Wine Tasting, Wine Tasting Notes

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

November 9, 2013 · 2:02 PM

2007 Frank Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

190136

Frank Family Vineyards

California, Napa Valley

Wine Tasting Note:

Right out of the bottle, this wine was horribly disjointed. After a couple of hours, it started to come together. Maybe just a dead phase for the wine?. The nose is full of alcohol, vanilla and red plum. The texture is a bit thin. High acidity and medium high tannins. The palate is strange for a Napa cabernet. My first impression is of strawberry jam, but then in the mid-palate the traditional flavors show up of blackberry and plum and then leaves you with a medium length finish of lingering fruit and sweet vanilla. No minerality, or earthiness whatsoever. There has to be merlot mixed in this. The alcohol is less integrated than I would prefer. This wine had too much fruit and not enough complexity.

Comments Off on 2007 Frank Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Filed under Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, Wine Tasting, Wine Tasting Notes

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,

November 8, 2013 · 8:40 PM

Fine Wines are Over-Priced? WATCH THIS!

I have been involved in many discussions regarding the cost of producing a bottle of wine. As bulk wine brokers tell it, no wine should retail for more than $15/btl. You talk to small wineries producing estate bottled wines and they will tell you their cost is $30-40/btl. Watch this video and you begin to understand the difference.

Paloma Vineyards

When I was at Paloma Vineyards a couple of years ago, the owner Barbara Richards was talking about making up to five passes through her vineyards hand pruning each vine and making the decision to drop up to a third of her crop to achieve the proper concentration in the juice. Then, literally harvesting a block at a time, as shaded, or sunny blocks were at optimum ripeness. When you add the labor for the kind of berry selection shown in this video and the loss of the culled fruit, you begin to see how premium wine production can become expensive.

Blankiet Harvest Selection Video

Here is the link: Antonio Galloni – Blankiet Estate.

Take a minute to check it out. This may sway your view of wine production costs.

Comments Off on Fine Wines are Over-Priced? WATCH THIS!

Filed under Wine Education, Wine Industry, Wine Tasting

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

November 7, 2013 · 8:59 PM

2010 Bodega Norton Reserva Malbec

Norton 274088

2010 Bodega Norton

Argentina, Lujan de Cuyo

Wine Tasting Note:

Lots of alcohol on the nose with black fruits. The most noticeable aspect is the texture. This a very soft, silky wine. The palate is not fruit forward. A bitter tar-like, smoky dark chocolate hits you first, then hints of vanilla and a brambly mid-palate. Not much finish. If there is fruit, perhaps black currant. Good acidity, with a minimum of tannins. A little disjointed. More tannins would add some balance and the virtual lack of fruit is a bit disconcerting. Drinkable and interesting, but not my preference for a daily drinker.

Comments Off on 2010 Bodega Norton Reserva Malbec

Filed under Malbec, Mendoza, Wine Tasting, Wine Tasting Notes

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

November 6, 2013 · 5:50 PM

2008 Tenute Folonari Cabreo Il Borgo Toscana IGT

15147

Tenute Folonari

Italy, Tuscany

Wine Tasting Note:

Black cherry, blackberry, with a bit of vanilla and earthiness on the nose. Black fruit with a touch of prune on the palate initially, softening to a mid-palate of vanilla and a slightly bitter medium length chocolate finish. Good acidity with medium tannins. Nice silky texture initially, that turned a bit chewy after a few hours. Complex enough to make it interesting, but I really wish some of that earth on the nose would have come through on the palate. I enjoyed this wine… would be a good aperitif, or food wine paired with red meat, or red tomato sauce dishes.

Comments Off on 2008 Tenute Folonari Cabreo Il Borgo Toscana IGT

Filed under Chianti IGT, Super Tuscan Blend, Toscana, Wine Tasting, Wine Tasting Notes

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,