Decant Stop Tasting Wine Blog

I’m sort of unimpressed with this wine, but I’m hesitant to say that to you.  Reason being, I’m a huge fan of Argentine Malbec, and have had so many of them that to me rival most other wines I’ve had.  So my expectations for Argentine Malbec is always fairly high, especially “for the price” – even under $10.  This is a good wine though, and at $10, is still, in my humble opinion, still a good value.  All I really needed from this wine was more fruit, and I would have been very happy.  I’m happy with all of the complexity it offers, fairly classic varietal profile… but it just needs more fruit.  I’m not a fan of fruit bombs either.  Too bad really, because otherwise it totally has what it takes to be a 90+ wine.  It reminds of Durigutti, but it falls a little short of that wine.

If you like old school Italian wines, or non-fruit bomb Argentine Cabs, then you’ll like this wine.

Rating:  88

Price:  $10

I bought this wine as a party wine for the Summer.  I only bought one bottle, to try it out in fact, really unsure if it would even be “good enough” for a party wine.  Let’s face it, 7 bucks doesn’t usually buy a very good wine.  Wow, was I blown away!  I mean, it isn’t one of the better wines I’ve had, but for 7 bones???  This wine rocks!  It’s rather opaque… I could barely see the sun through it (I was drinking while swimming in the pool for the first time this season)!  It has an almost soda-like acidity that screams SUMMER!  There’s also a bit of citrus and herb on the pallet.  What’s more, it isn’t just a big ole fruit bomb – it actually has structure, tannin, and a decent vegetal aspect.  This is truly classic Italian fare here.  I’ll note that it doesn’t have much of a bouquet, just kinda dusty old Italian wine smell, without much fruit or other interesting odors… but also no funkiness.

This wine will be perfect for Summer BBQ’s, and even just drinking over-chilled on hot summer days poolside.  Beyond that, in general I’d say this is the best wine I’ve ever had for the price.  Highly recommended!

Rating:  88

Price:  $7 (K&L)

I needed a white wine to do some cooking with this week.  I wanted a Sauvignon Blanc for its varietal characteristics (complexity/vegetal), but didn’t want to pay more than 10 bucks for cooking wine.  Note that I also won’t cook with “cheap” wine, so only a place like K&L or possibly Wine House could pull this off for me.  Rika first made a dish based on Shrimp Étouffée, so I figured I’d drink a little of it with the meal.  My first sip put that “oh wow” look on my face.  LOL  Now, granted, my expectations were pretty low, plus anyone who’s read this blog much knows I’m not big on white wine.  But I actually like this wine!

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Is this Borolo?  Sure tastes like it.  This is a massive and serious wine!  We had it with our Valentine’s dinner.  Before the pour i wiffed the cork and got really excited… but let’s not get ahead of ourselves!

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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.

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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, Read more

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.  Read more