Decant Stop Tasting Wine Blog

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 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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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

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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I like simple labels, and that’s one thing that appeals to me about this wine.  It looks simple, but you get the feeling all the passion went into the wine.  Upon decanting this bottle, that was also apparent.  The nose was quite interesting, with ripe fruit (mostly red), floral, and spice… and sweet somehow, not like candy so much as maybe a confection.  On the pallet it is floral, smooth red and blue fruits, low-medium acidity, and bit of tannin at the end.  There’s mostly the same on the finish, but adds a bit of black pepper and a vegetal component.  The after-taste is quite long, and I could swear that in there somewhere there’s watermelon.

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If you have tried the “7 Layer Cake” wine we’ve reviewed, and liked it, you will almost without a doubt like (at least) this wine also.  Depending on when you take a sniff, it smells very much like the 7LC, and depending one when you taste it, and what you drink it with, it also tastes a lot like it.  Two of the major differences were the increased smokey/oakey-ness and acidity.  The back of the bottle says a piece on the makers of this wine, but not much, other than a mention that it is rich, about the wine itself.  It is, in fact, pretty rich, even decadent.

The color is, well, damn dark, ruby with a hint of purple.  On the nose it is smokey/oakey, dark baked fruit, sweet tobacco, vanilla, and a hint of sulfur.  It smells like some vanilla cakes I’ve made, but much more complex.  Mouth-feel is rich and acidic.  We had this wine by itself the first night… just one glass by the pool while star gazing.  It was fabulous in this situation.  The second (and final) night I made homemade tomato/basil/fresh mozzarella pizza, with left-over BBQ chicken on the side.  This is where the wine really showed it’s stuff.  This is probably the most diverse wine I’ve ever had.  It tasted completely different with each food.  It had enough acidity to cut the grease of the chicken, yet the smoke and subtlety to match beautifully with my pizza.  In the end the flavor was back to the same as the night before, with a little added aroma and complexity since it had aired a bit more.  I can’t imagine a meal too bold for this wine, but also, I think it has enough finesse to  match up with more delicate meals.  I don’t think I’d serve it with any kind of fish, but anything above that is fair game.

So, this now ranks as our top value red, since it is $2 cheaper than the 7 layer cake – our previous top value red.  If you know of a red wine that is a greater value let us know.  This wine is a serious wine, not a fruit bomb, but quite fruity.  It has great complexity that will have you intellectualizing it until it runs out.  What I like most about this wine is the amount of flavor, fruit and all, without tasting or smelling extracted.  Seems impossible these days.

Rating:  95

Price:  $15  (K&L)

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I asked our guy at Wine Expo for an "already aged" red that was similar in style to a Barolo, for around 20 bucks.  The guy never fails us.  If you’re good at describing what you want, he’ll hand it to you (no silver platter available).  That’s pretty much what this is.  At about 10 years old it has some aging under its belt, although I could see how a little more would still serve it well, and who knows how long it will last.  The cork was a bit moldy, but the wine was unaffected. 

It is pretty earthy and dusty on the nose, with some indication of red and dark fruit.  However, once in the mouth it opens right up with plum, apple peel, slight oak and tannins.  Mouth-feel is medium bodied and light to medium acidity.  Right as you swallow you get a bit of red fruit with spice and black pepper.  The finish is long and goes from watermelon and muscat and fades to what I can only describe as cucumber.    Very interesting and very delicious.  All in all a great wine for a good value, especially with its age and complexity.  The thing holding it back from a better score is its dustiness.  It is ever-present and a little distracting.  I would still recommend this wine, but luck will have to be with you to find it.  Give Wine Expo in Santa Monica a call as they are your best bet.

Score:  90+

Price:  $22  (Wine Expo)

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Sometimes you read reviews of wines that say you can enjoy it now… but your experience with wine tells you it is probably best to cellar it for at least a few years.  Then you open the wine at the review’s recommendation, and you find you should have cellared it.  This is one of those times.  Oh, when will I learn?  For the most part, if it is a French red, cellar it 3-5 years after release.  It may or may not gain anything, but undoubtedly won’t lose anything.  If you have a case, open a bottle a year upon release… who cares.  We don’t have that kind of budget though, plus, we’d rather drink lots of different wines than more of the same. 

The color is medium ruby, quite pretty.  Aromatically it is pretty nice, after decanting, with some dustiness and a nice red fruit tart (not sure what, but maybe has some blackberry in it as well).  I think what I’m also smelling is actually the tannins, which would be the first time I noticed that in a wine.  Mouth-feel is probably what you’d expect from a Cotes Du Rhone… a little bit lighter than most of what we drink typically, with what I can only describe as perfect acidity – can be drank by itself or will probably go with just about anything.  The fruit is pretty much a nice red fruit mix; strawberry, raspberry, and cranberry – and a nice surprise… orange and lime peel!  Add a little black pepper (joy) and spice, very smooth and balanced oak and tannin, and you’ve got the flavor profile. 

This is a really nice little wine for the money.  Made me want pizza for some reason… a nice gourmet basil and mozzarella, not Pizza Hut anything.  Basically, something simple but delicious.  This isn’t weak like a white, so it doesn’t require weak flavored food.  You just want to be able to appreciate the wine, so don’t blow it out with something too complex or intense. 

My advice is to find this wine, cellar it for a few years, decant it for an hour, and enjoy.  Even if you can’t/don’t want to decant, it is very enjoyable right now.  I do think it has the structure/backbone to continue to blossom for another couple of years at least, so if you can, drink in 2010.

Rating:  90

Price:  $13 (K&L)

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This is an Australian red blend of 94% Shiraz and 6% Viognier.  That’s right, a white grape.  My take is that the Shiraz alone was thick and dense like tree sap (but probably tasting a lot better) and the only thing they had laying around to thin it out was Viognier.  I’m joking, of course.  I think they actually were trying to add complexity and aromatics, which they did succeed in doing. 

My problem with this wine is that it just doesn’t taste… right.  At least not for my tastes (nor Rika’s).  I would love to tell you what kind of fruit it tastes like, but I can’t place it.  Basically, it is dense (still) in bouquet, color, and flavor.  The profile is red fruit, maybe a mix of all of them… but it is too jammy for me.  When I opened it the aroma of blackberry jam slapped me in the face.  I actually thought "cool!"  But after tasting, was pretty disappointed and confused.  It never got worked out… sip after sip until the whole bottle was gone.  After-taste wasn’t too bad, and lasted a while… mostly the oak, tannin, and black pepper.

If you like a challenge, buy a bottle and try to figure out what it tastes like.  Be sure to post it here!  But then, for the price, you can get far better wine.

Rating:  86

Price:  $16

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