Decant Stop Tasting Wine Blog

Another pretty successful tasting party I think.  Of course, for me it would have been better if I didn’t come down with the 24 hr stomach flu that’s going around.  I started feeling it around 8 that night and it quickly took hold.  Luckily I was able to taste all of the wines before retiring, but by that time I was so far gone that I couldn’t do proper reviews for the wines.  But the food was good and the wines everyone brought were all good.  Obviously some better than others, but that’s what its all about, and it was fun finding out which were the best.

The theme this time was 2003 Italian red wines.

Here’s a list of the wines at the tasting (right to lift in the image below):

2003 Il Ducale Tuscana
2003 Fratelli Revello Dolcetto d’Alba
2003 Blason "Vencjar" Friuli Isonzo Rosso
2003 Zonin Amarone della Valpolicella
2003 Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva
2003 Ruggeri Corsini Barolo "San Pietro"

The "winning" wine was the Barolo, followed by the Chianti Classico, then the Amarone.  Hopefully I can give you reviews of these wines soon.  I have purchased the Barolo again to do the tastings, but the other two, oddly enough, are proving more difficult to find.  Check back soon!

Thanks to all who came!

I bought this wine in the hopes of finding an every day wine for 10 bucks that was readily available, and that I could count on – as from what I read this wine is pretty consistent with every vintage.  It isn’t bad, but it didn’t make me want to keep buying bottles of it either.  Mostly, it has the simplicity of most mass produced wines, the fruitiness of the California versions, but without the oak. 

It is a pretty medium to medium-light ruby red with a slight hint of violet for color and has a fairly nice aroma with cherry and raspberry being dominant with a floral aspect and tiny bits of veggies.  Mouth-feel was fairly light, but smooth and somewhat acidic, and just a hint of soft tannins.  Taste was similar to the nose, but not as good really.  Again, red fruit mix – the usual suspects, with a very slight hint of black pepper.  The after taste was all the vegetal aspect of the nose fleshed out on your palate, along with a mineral residue not a lot unlike the after taste you get when you eat something salty. 

This is a decent meal wine actually, and it would probably work decently to cook with, but I wouldn’t recommend drinking it on its own.  There are better wines for the price for that purpose.

Rating:  87

Price:  $10

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You know, with all the rave reviews of this wine I thought I would really enjoy it.  While I’ll agree with the reviews on some points, like the fact that it was complex with out of the ordinary flavors and aroma, but we certainly didn’t think it was “delicious”.  Also, I really wanted to try a good Albarino and at 91 points, this should have been it, but instead it was a disappointment. 

Straw in color, with an aroma of grasses, pineapple, lemon, and [to me] some “Lemon Pledge”.  It tasted like pineapple and lemon mostly, with some of the lemon peel left in, some kind of grassy flavor I couldn’t put my finger on… maybe some white asparagus, and a vegetal sweetness – like the sweetness you get in edamame (soy beans).  Mouth-feel was actually pretty good – weighty, especially for pairing with food, as it had good acid and no sign of butter, which I was happy about.  On the finish it got a bit awkward though, leaving you with that sweettart after taste – not the part where you’re still chewing it, the part a bit after you’ve swallowed it and it leaves you with a chemically taste on the back of your tongue.  Not really that pleasant.

At $16 I’m going to recommend you pass on this one.  Who knows though, maybe we’re just high on crack and it was as good as those critics say!

Rating:  82

Price:  $16

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BevMo’s Wilfred Wong rated this wine 90 points, and I figured at $10, it sounded like a bargain.  I bought it before our experience with bad bottles from BevMo and originally had fairly high hopes for this wine.  But since then my expectations have dropped considerably.  When I first decanted this wine and gave it a whiff I thought it might be spoiled… but I think that was paranoia.  

Color was medium ruby with touches of purple.  Aroma is alcoholic cherry and cassis, pretty mellow.  Flavors of blueberry, plum, and cherry, along with ripe tannins.  Medium acidity and decent tannin structure on the mouth-feel.  Finish is plum, lemon peel, and slight tannins.

Overall the wine was enjoyable, and didn’t change much from one night to the next.  Sometimes wines reach a peak (tastes best) 2-3 hours after opening, and then start to die out… losing flavor and becoming overly simplified and unenjoyable.  This is not one of those wines.  We drank half last night, and the other half tonight and taste change was unnoticeable.  This stability is something the better wines we’ve tried had, and something I appreciate.  Of course, some wines seem to just get better the longer it is open, but when that happens we just keep drinking and suddenly, the bottle is empty!    I think this wine would be likable to a wide audience, but I’m not sure how available it is anymore.  BevMo is sold out online.

Rating:  88  (I can see where some would rate higher, but it isn’t our preference of wine)

Price:  $11 (Beverages and More)

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This is from the Duero region of Spain, which I’ve taken an insterest in lately, ever since I saw the winelibrary tv show on them.  I have found that I typically like Spanish wines, so was happy to hear about a region I hadn’t discovered yet.  Eiko brought this wine over when we had her over for spaghetti last night.  Thanks Eiko!

On the pour into the decanter it was pretty purple and I knew I was in for a fruity ride.  On the nose it was raw meat and black fruit – blueberry and blackberry mostly.  I was surprised had how balanced it was, and that it wasn’t like dark fruit and vodka.  It was very smooth and supple, and as expected, plenty of fruit.  There was a little bit of rip tannins and some oakiness as well.  It has low acid on the pallet, but was very well suited for a steak.  Finish wasn’t particularly memorable, but certainly not unpleasant. 

Rating:  89

Price:  $16 (Wine House and K&L Wines)

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Color was medium ruby and had a very nice floral and red fruit aroma.  It tasted of red fruits mostly, plus a very light toasted oak and ripe tannins.  Delicious.  There was a nice amount of acid… not to much and not too little, and a light amount of tannins.  Finish was good with a hint of black pepper (one of my favorites) red fruit and plum peel. 

This paired very well with the spaghetti we ate, and would probably fair well with most meats and cheeses.  Maybe not strong enough for the heaviest, like lamb chops or steak.

Rating:  90

Price:  $10 – $18 (bought this bottle on sale for $10 from K&L, but they are now out of stock)

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We have been looking for a Chianti that can serve as an every day wine, but taste more like a “serious” Chianti than the typical find it everywhere Chianti and what not.  It took us a few tries, after a lot of research, but we have found one. 

The color is mostly deep ruby red with a little of the purple hue due to its youth. Some of that goes away after decanting for a while.  It is quite pretty.  On the nose you get a floral, stone/concrete, and tar mixed with a little toasted oak, minerals, black plum, cherry, and a hint of strawberry, and tiny bit of orange peel.  The biggest factor is stone/concrete and tar, laced with flowers and the rest you have to really look for. 

As nice as the nose is, the taste is where this wine shines.  It is a good balance of delicious fruit, ripe tannins, and old world structure.  On the fruit side there’s strawberries, blackberries, blue berries, and black plum (in order of prevalence).  This is supported well by the ripe tannins, mild toasted oak, and minerals.  Mouth-feel is pretty light, however… smooth and just a little acid.  The finish is a bit short, but you’re left with mild ripe tannins, and the mix of fruit, which lasts about 30 seconds.

This was good with pasta with meat sauce.  I don’t think it has the acidity necessary for really heavy things like barbeque or steak, but really nice with pasta and light chicken dishes.  I would say the best pairing would be either by itself or with cheese.  If it had a little more acid and spiciness, as well as a longer, stronger finish, I would have given it another point or two… but even without these it is a really good wine and a VERY low price (for the quality).

Rating:  90

Price:  $10  (K&L Wines)

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Confession:  I bought this wine because it was on display near the register at K&L as I was picking up other wines and I saw that it was $8 and rated 90 points by RP.  I rarely do this, but I figured, ah, what the heck.  Turns out, it really is a decent wine, and a great bargain.

Color is violet (purple-red) and pretty dark.  It has a pretty nice and interesting aroma of smokiness, tar, licorice, and black fruit.  It doesn’t smell like your average 7-9 buck mass produced wine you find at your local Ralph’s/Von’s/etc, this smells like a serious wine.  Tastes like a fresh tobacco wrapped black plum, as well as a mix of blackberries, blueberries, and cherry.  That might not make you feel like running out and buying a case of the stuff, but believe me, it is better than it sounds.  When you mix it all up it is quite good.  There is a spiciness and acidity that builds on the pallet and it has a substantial feel to it.  Not a wimpy wine by any means.  The after taste is more on the smoky side with some nice black cherry and blueberry, followed by nice ripe tannins. 

I would say this is a terrific bargain at $8, beyond any shadow of a doubt.  Robert is a little bit high on this wine though… I don’t think it quite makes the 90 point grade… but CLOSE.  I think, like me, he was initially sensationalized by how good this is for 8 bucks… and some places sold it at 7 bucks initially.  Consider also that he tastes SO many wines back to back and know that he didn’t have time to calm down and think rational about it.  Rika and I shared this whole bottle over the course of the night, so had plenty of time to consider our reaction.  I still highly recommend buying a bottle and trying it.

Rating:  89

Price:  $8 (K&L Wines)

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This wine was part of a batch of wine we bought at $10 or less as part of our “every day wine” search.  I wanted to try something from Portugal and this was my pick.  I’m not really impressed with it, but not at all disappointed.  As far as every day wines go, this is a good candidate, if for no other reason, it tastes like “a real wine”, as opposed to many of the mass produced wines in this price range that sell millions of bottles out of grocery stores everywhere.  I would drink this over yellowtail or the like any day.  It is also pretty versatile.  We drank it while snacking on all sorts of things… cheeses, salami, ham and cheese sandwich, etc. and it didn’t clash with any of it.  In a nutshell, it is a well rounded, not too complex, very drinkable wine.

Color is deep ruby.  It smells of forest floor… woodsy, dirt, etc., and black fruit – especially black cherry, and a hint of vanilla bean.  It isn’t a very intense aroma, but enough to pick out those aromas.  The taste is a verital fruit punch with a mix of black and red fruit… mostly blackberry and plumb, but also raspberry and milk chocolate.  There’s a hint of oak and a little ripe tannin action, just enough to make it taste a little more serious.  Mouth-feel is nice and smooth with a little spice at the end and finishes with ripe tannin and a light fruitiness. 

Rating:  88-89 (couldn’t decide)

Price:  $9

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Basically, I’m adding this one because (a) I drank it, and (b) I have to make a post to put it in the “don’t even try it” category.  I bought it at TJ’s for $5 so I wasn’t expecting much, but it didn’t even live up to those expectations.  Like you might think it should be $2 better than the 3 buck Chilean Chuck, but you’d be wrong.  This wine is dysfunctional at best.  Awkward every step of the way and I can’t imagine anyone finding a reason to drink it.  If it were $1 a bottle I’d say OK, it is the cheapest thing out there for the “kids” to get drunk on, but at $5 you can get a LOT of other wines that are better… even 2 1/2 bottles of 2 buck Chuck. 

Rating:  70

Price:  $5 (TJ’s)

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