This vintage Barbera D’Asti pretty well lives up to its reputation.  I wish we could have tried a bottle of it 5 years ago to see what the years have done to this wine though.  My feeling at this point about vintage wines in general is that after 10 years they all tend to contain what we’ve come to call “that vintage taste”.  It is a slightly sour and dusty flavor… not in a bad way though.  It just makes the wine go better with sushi!  Have you ever had a decent wine that was at least 8-10 years old?  Then you probably know what I’m talking about.

The color gets an orange hue, although not so much this one… yet.  The dusty smell… there with this wine, but with pretty nice fruit as well – pretty much cherry and strawberry, with a hint of spice.  There is a hint of oak and vanilla, which is surprisingly little considering it spent 2 years in French oak.  The fruit, which is very integrated at this point, is orange, strawberry, and cherry.  That orange might sound strange, but its yummy, and common for older vintage wines, according to our palate.  It is delicious!  The finish could be longer, but no complaints here.  It is pleasant, especially if you like the taste of cork and oak.  :)  Not that it is acidic… it is quite low, but I love the citrus on the finish.

There are still some bottles of this to be found, believe it or not.. expect to pay close to $50 for it.  I think release price was $48.   Bargain?  Probably not.  Worth buying?  Sure, if you love that vintage taste.  If not, pass on it.

Rating:  93

Price:  $48 (we got it on clearance sale for $25, sorry)

This is a blend of 85% Sangiovese, 10% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Spicy on the nose, and a light to medium color density.

I wasn’t expecting much before opening this wine, given the low cost and who’s heard of an Italian wine with a screw cap? Not me, I’ve only seen it in Aussie wines mainly, and occasionally with Californian wines. But hey, I tried a Cote de Rhone this summer that was not only screw cap, but had a plastic bottle! OK, we’re not talking about a very serious wine obviously, but still… winemakers are clearly willing to experiment.
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First off, we probably shouldn’t have openned this wine yet… 2007 vintage, red, France… bad idea.  Anyway, we were mixed on this wine… I like it, Rika doesn’t.  For her I think there isn’t enough fruit.  In a way, I agree… but then, it is complex, dry, and there’s nothing foul about it.  It is a dark garnet color with a violet fringe.  It looks dark, but doesn’t taste that dark.  It has an interesting nose, that you’ll mostly appreciate after a couple of days of decanting (or wait a few years to open it), with flowers, spices, citrus, cedar, and wild berries.  The vegetal component is immediately evident as soon as the wine touches your tounge, but is soon mixed with leather, wood (not really oak), and a variety of subtle fruit flavors, fairly evenly mixed red, blue and black.  There is some acidity, good enough for medium weight meals.  On the finish I like the spices that linger, with cherry, tobacco, and… some kind of wood.  I’m not a fan of oak in my wine, and I’m not saying this wine is oakey, but I can’t escape the taste of some sort of wood.  I get a little flashback from when I was a little boy… and chewed on a piece of wood from time to time.  I guess I liked it.  I guess I still do!  I’m giving it a combined rating between mine and Rika’s… because that’s how we roll.

Rating:  88

Price:  Paid $10 (K&L)  Retails for $17

see photo and read what others have to say about this wine

This isn’t too far off of typical McLaren Vale wine… thick and yummy, but with the addition of Grenache to the Shiraz, it has more complexity, and a notable vegital factor.  Based on the flavor profile, and especially for the sake of the Grenache, this could have used at least another couple of years in the bottle to develop.  Still, I liked it quite a bit.

The fruit is pure and more on the red side than usual Aussi Shiraz and has nice dry tannins and slight acidity.  I especially like the spices on the mid-palate, but not that fond of the tanginess on the back end.  Once that subsides you’re left with an aftertaste that is similar to having had a good vinagrette salad with black pepper. 

In all this is a nice wine that should please many critics… and has.  I’ll have to side with Rober Parker on this one (91).  Steve Tanzer gave it 90, as did Wine Spectator.

Price: $13

Rating:  91

Wow, what a mouth full the name is!  At first glance (referring to color and density) it was a little scary… I’m usually not a big fan of “light” wines.  But oh boy, with a sniff I was already imressed, and had instantly become optimisitc.  Basically, it smells like a rustic Italian Rosso, Continue Reading »

Another bargain from K&L’s clearance!  Dark ruby color, dusty, smokey, black and sour red fruit on the nose, and smokey oak, plum, and black cherry, with a bit of tannin and spice on the pallet – and little veggie action and orange peel on the back end.  Light acidity, but a great food wine.  Continue Reading »

My experience with wine has made me a disbeliever of labels.  Almost like the prettier the bottle the worse the wine.  I know that is a gross generalization and should never actually be applied, but….  Anyway, the bottle is one of the best I’ve seen.  It looks like its hand painted grape vines and wording.  The big turn off for me, like a big red flag,

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This is a big, big wine!  It is like pouring yourself a glass of ink!  Forget about seeing through it, but on the edges there’s some beautiful dark violet color.  The aroma, to me, reaks too much of alcohol… but beyond that there’s dark fruit, cherry, and rose.

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I didn’t have really high expectations for this wine, because I saw it as “the cheap version” of the Felsina Chianti Classico “Rancia”, which goes for twice the price.  But this wine is not half as good.  I’ve fallen for this scenario before… buying the lesser wine of a maker who’s premier wine is fabulous.  I have found this seldom means much.  In this case, however, what you get is what you would expect, if you didn’t have my experiences… a very nice Chianti Classico with real character and depth. 

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This is the 2nd vintage of this wine we’ve had, the first being the 2003.  Again, my expectations were high, but this time impressed me even more.  This is for sure the same wine and most of what was found in it last year, are present this time around, but with a bit more fruit and acidity.  It isn’t at all hot, and still has little tannin.  After 18 months in the barrel, you can definitely taste it, a little smokey vanilla.  The black pepper was more subtle this time and licorice was non-existant sadly.  The finish is quite nice and long.  Most people will see this as a better wine, including myself.  Highly enjoyable!  Remember to decant!

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