Greetings to all 2 of you reading this (hi winemom and winefather). I'm packing up the tractors, loading up the barrells (carefully...don't want to upset the wine), and heading over to another platform. Vox, you've been good to me but there's a bar in town and they've got a stool with my name on it. But you're all invited to join me. Just head over to the NEW AND IMPROVED WINEDADDY. Just click the link. (but if for some reson that doesn't work, just cut and paste this http://winedaddy.blogspot.com/ and I'll see you there).
There's a glass half full with your name on it.
Cheers!
The Winedaddy's been schooled. I'll admit it. I need to learn a thing or two from time to time and while I never claim to know a vast amount about wine, I like to think that my knowledge of wines of the Italian variety is pretty damn good. Until I met Andrew Whelder. Andrew was the affable educator who spent 2 hours last Saturday telling me, the Winewife, and a dozen other pupils about the mysteries of IGT Wines.
The classroom was one of the cooler ones you'll ever step foot into. It was the bar area at Otto Enoteca and Pizzeria; Mario Batali's lovable nod to laid back Italian pizza joints. They conduct classes here every Saturday and Sunday at 2p. (Saturdays always being reserved for classes on various subjects, Sundays always being reserved for Intro to Italian Wine classes). We did a Saturday class on IGT wines and just loved it. For those unfamiliar with IGT wines, here's a super simple explanation.
In Italy, there are 4 major classifications of wines as controlled by the government. They are: DOCG (the highest and most tightly controlled classification and only grown in very specifc regions), DOC (similiar to DOCG but less stringent and the regions are broader), IGT (wines grown in specific geographic regions but the laws governing what types of grapes producers may use is not controlled at all), Vino da Tavola (Table wines (i.e. just about anything goes).
Here's a decent link to a more comprehensive explanation.
So what's all of this have to do with me (the Winedaddy reading public)? well, I'll tell you. Out of the 6 wines we tasted, there were 2 that were definitely standouts and I thought I'd do my part to share them with you.
Alberto Longo: Calcara Vecchia
Out of all of the wines we tasted, this was by far the most interesting. What struck me right off the bat was the nose. It has a "dusty" smell to it that is familiar to some of the most noble wines of Bordeaux. It smells exactly like a very prestigous Italian wine called San Leonardo from the San Leonardo Estate in the Northern region of Alto-Adige. That wine is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvingon, 30% Cab Franc, and 10% Merlot. It also sells for around $70 a bottle.
The Calcara Vecchia hails from Puglia, in the southeastern region in the heel of Italy. So you see how odd it is that it smells exactly like a wine grown in the completely opposite end of the country. While it doesn't have any Cabernet Sauvignon, it is a blend of Cab Franc and Merlot (both native to Bordeaux) which is why it has that "dusty" smell to it. How does it taste...? beautiful. It has this wonderful velvety feel on your tounge and the dust that I have been referring to you comes through really subtly. Imagine tasting a really complex wine that has spent years and years in large oak barrell and was forgotten in a corner somewhere. That's the dust I am talking about. You just need to try it to understand what I am talking about. There's a great wine store on the Upper West Side of NYC called 67 Wines and Spirits that has it for sale online.
La Torre: Rosso di Toscana IGT '04 $28 (approx)
I'll make this brief. This is a no nonesense, well-priced Brunello knock off made from 100% Sangiovese grapes (just not grown in the DOCG of Brunello di Montalcino...hence, why it's not called a Brunello...it's also priced at almost a third of what a good Brunello would cost). La Torre is small producer located just outside of Montalcino in the heart of Tuscany. It's a very dry wine with decent spice and complexity but what makes this wine interesting is the fact that it's grown in a soil not unlike what you would find in the great Aglianico region of Basilicata. Beacuse of this, there is this funky earthiness on the nose that the winewife likes to refer to as "elephant." I know, not exactly what you want your wine to smell like but trust me, it's like tasting a stinky cheese that smells like feet but tastes like heaven. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find anyone online selling it at this time. I suggest going to Otto, order yourself some funky cheese and let them uncork a bottle of this funky wine.
Being the Winedaddy, I get asked for reccomendations all the time. Usually, the reccomendations are for, well, wine but sometimes, I get questions like "Winedaddy, I need a good Asian restaurant in midtown for lunch that's worth my time." (Kangsuh in Koreatown, NYC is simply the greatest by the way).
Recently though, I was given a hearty task. The Senior VP of my day job asked me for some reccomendations on winery visits and restaurants in the California Wine Country. Seeing is I have a huge crush on the Sonoma Valley, I immediately rose to the occasion. In fact, while it did take me a few days to complete my comprehensive (not so comprehensive) guide to Napa and Sonoma, it reminded me how much I love it out there.
I'm guessing that I'll be asked this question again in the not too distant future, so why not preserve my hard work by posting here so the entire Winedaddy reading public can enjoy. So without further ado, here is my e-mail in all it's cut and paste glory. (names have been changed for no particular reason other than, "it's fun.")
______________________________________________ From: Winedaddy Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2007 3:53 PM To: SVP of Winedaddy's Day Job Cc: Winewife Subject: Your Wine Country Trip Alright Madona. It was a few days in the works but here you go…(I expect a bump in pay for this one): Winery Visits: Highway 12 is the main road in and will be the place you spend most of your time driving on.
My first suggestion would be to visit Ravenswood, right outside of the town square. They make a really approachable and moderately priced Zinfandel that's called "Vintners Blend" that gets high marks every year and is under $15. This was also the best tour we took on our first trip as the guide was really funky and we learned so much about the winemaking process. (also it was during the crush and we tasted wine right from the barrel).
Up the road a bit is Benzinger. They have a great tram tour (Meg Griffin did it) that takes you through the vineyards for about :45 min. The tour here is focused on the agricultural side of winemaking and while it might not interest you, I loved it and was super fascinated by it. The wines are very good and not the easiest to find back east but worth tasting.
A little out of the way to the west of highway 12 in is Matanzas Creek Winery
They are one of the few places in all of that grow and harvest their own lavender. The fields are stunning and smell incredible during June/July so I'm not sure what you'll see in March but they sell all of these great lavender products in their tasting room. Their Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc is incredible and definitely worth a taste.
Here's a link to the Sonoma Valley web site
Dry Creek
If you're up for it, just to the Northwest of Healdsburg (the northern end of ) is the . It may be a trek but I hear it's gorgeous and loaded with great, small wineries. Here's a link to the Dry Creek website
Also, here are the two places my Wine Scout reccomended in Dry Creek:
A. Rafanelli (by Appt only) The epitome of classically styled Zinfandel. I finally visited the winery last year after hearing about their wines over the last decade. I can honestly say they make one of the most impressive Zins that I've tasted to date. Their Zin is a perfect balance of fruit and tannins with spice notes, it's what Zin should taste like. The winery is rustic, they taste just inside of an old barn that has been converted to a pseudo-tasting room.
J Winery About 10-15 minutes from Rafanelli. Known for sparkling wines and currently producing a few still wines. They offer different amuse bousche with each wine, it's something slightly different then the norm. They also have a patio to enjoy wines and artisan cheeses. If the weather permits, it would be a great place to visit.
A better detour than Dry Creek might be the , to the Southeast of Healdsburg (between Healdsburg and ). is where some of the best Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs are being made. In particular, I think one of the most outstanding wineries in the country is here. It's called Williams Selyem. They make extraordinary Pinot Noirs that you cannot find at retail stores in the east. They are expensive and hard to get but worth every penny. (my neighbor buys these wines by the case). Napa Start out by driving East on Highway 12/121 from Sonoma . On this highway you'll find Plumpjack (where the Carneros Inn is located). They make excellent white wines, especially Chardonnay. The property is beautiful and a great place to start out. Right near here are the places that the Wine Scout recommended Domaine Carneros On the way to . They make great sparkling wines. Eileen Crane, their winemaker studied in for many years before she became head winemaker at Domaine Carneros. Plus, their property is absolutely breathtaking. Be sure to sit out on the veranda and you'll be overlooking the surrounding vineyards in the heart of Carneros. Etude Winery (by Appt only) Just east of Domaine Carneros. Known for Pinot Noirs, Etude is a famous producer in the Carneros growing region. The winemaking techniques are old world in style and are well-known amongst wine connoisseurs around the world. When you come to Highway 29, make a left and go north. Highway 29 is the main road in (it's not so much of a highway but more of a 4 lane road). Most, if not all, of the wineries are accessible off of the highway. Silverado Trail runs parallel to 29 to the east of it and is much more scenic. Neibaum-Coppola: Definitely worth the stop but no need to take the tour. They have this one whole room of "Francis' Favorite Things" which is a trip. Do the tastings as some of the Estate Wines (wines actually made from grapes grown on the property) are really fantastic….plus you get a cool souvenir glass. Up the road from there is St. Clement: I've never been to the winery but they make a great blend called
Oroppas that's fantastic.
At the northern end of the valley is the town of . (worth a pit stop). There's a winery here that is arguably my favorite wine producers in all of right now. The wine is called "The Prisoner" and the winery is called Orin Swift Winery: There's no information on their site about visits but if you can find out where it is, it might be worth the stop. The Prisoners is an incredible wine. (I gave Bruce Springsteen a bottle for the holidays and he was blown away). Morrells over at Rock Center named The Prisoner their top American Blend for 2007.
If you get hungry, there's a Dean and Deluca in on .
If you want to hit a great wine store in the valley, go to Bounty Hunter Wine on your way back to (it's right in the town of ): This is where my "wine scout" works and is a great place to find rare and hard to find wines.
Other than that, most of the places I would visit are really out of the way, hard to find, and culty. Probably not the best places for a first time visit but I'm a freak so what can I say.
Here's a link to the Napa Valley web site: I'm guessing this probably isn't your thing but we found the Frommer's guide to and really helpful. I'd give you my copy but it's from 1998 so I'm not sure how helpful it would be.
Restaurants (I only have a few recs as it's been a while and quite honestly, we'd usually do a huge lunch somewhere and just eat bread and cheese for dinner with a bottle of wine):
The Girl and the Fig (Sonoma): It's in a new location from when we were there but the food is wonderful. Very local, very fresh, and the service is amazing. It's in an on old hotel right in the town.
What I recommend doing is plan a day in Napa but wind up at Auberge du Soliel (Napa) about an hour before sunset (it's off of Highway 29 about 10-15 min in I think??). Get a seat at the bar café (outside if it's not too cold) and then order appetizers and drinks as the sun sets. It's high up on a hill overlooking the valley and really gorgeous. The food is great and because you're sitting at the bar you won't feel like it's too stuffy (the whole resort is kind of pretentious). The view is amazing though.
My neighbor swears by Delfina (San Francisco) in the Mission . It's an Italian place that I hear is one of the best in all of SF. (it's also casual!). I'm told it's a super tough table to score so maybe see if you can get your hotel to call ahead for you or, just go, get a glass of wine at the bar, and wait for a table. Let me know how it is if you end up going.
That's all I got Madona! (I have a day job to get back to now). I expect a full report when you get back
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Remember a few weeks back, the Winedaddy gave you a heads up on the Food and Wine list of the 10 best wines under $10? (see that posting down there? yeah, there. right there). Well, I promised to report back on the wines as me and the Winewife tasted them so here I am, reporting back. Now, I must say that I have been fairly delinquent in reporting back (what can I say, I have a kid) but that's probably because the first two were fairly unremarkable. But eureka! We found one worth blogging about. And here it is
Fresh on the heels of Mollydooker mania, I actually found another bottle with an equally as funky name. The full name of this winery is: HRM Rex Goliath! Giant 47 Pound Rooster. (i kid you not). The varietal that I tasted was the Pinot Noir. Just to back up a second, I think we need to address who, exactly, Rex Goliath was. According to their website, good 'ol Rex was a huge 47 pound rooster who ran the roost (oh man...so sorry) of a travelling Texas circus. It seems as if the legend of Rex caught the attention of Hahn Estates winery a few years back and, well, HRM Rex Goliath was, uh, um, well, hatched!
Alright, on to the good stuff. I actually intended to buy the Zin, based on the Food and Wine reccomendation, but by accident, I ended up with the Pinot Noir. I'm not a huge fan of Pinot, simply because it's stock went through the roof after Sideways (sidebar...I was miserable when that movie came out because anyone that knows me and my love of wine said, "oh, you especially HAVE to see that movie. It's all about wine. And I did. And I thought it was just ok). Okay, where was I. Oh, yeah, Pinot is a bit hyped right now and unless you spend a forutune on a great Sonoma Pinot or a true Burgundy, you'll generally get a light, not so special wine.
I must say, Rex's Pinot is not bad. Granted, it's a $9 bottle of wine, and therefore, not much to shake a stick at, but for $9 it will definitely have a place along side Los Vascos in the Winedaddy's collection. Here are some tasting notes:
First off, the color is classic Pinot Noir. It's very light, almost see through, and doesn't have the depth like a good Brunello or Bordeaux. What struck me with this wine was the spice that you get right off the bat. It's very deceiving, given the color and not so special nose. Then, there's this nice light fruit thing happening, followed by a fairly mellow finish.
Again, let's just remind ourselves that it's a $9 bottle of wine. If this was my follow up to the Mollydooker, I probably would have chucked the whole bottle but given a little distance from such a high caliber wine, and a beer or two to start, it wasn't half bad. (insert joke about the girl you wouldn't talk to sober but would stand on her front lawn re-enacting the scene from "Say Anything" after a few drinks). Now, here's that scene. Enjoy.
Still reeling from the Mollydooker extravagaanza of 2 weeks past, the Winedaddy did the unthinkable and actually put his name on a mailing list. Let's get something straight, I hate spam in all forms: electronic, direct mailing, phone calls, gelatinous pink meat product...so you can see what a big step it was for me to actually add my name to a list. Not just any list though. The electronic mailing list for that quirky Australian winery that I have become so fond of.
So yes, I filled out the appropriate information (name, address, e-mail, etc.), but when i got to the "Leave Us a Comment" box, I decided, what the heck. I'll pump them up a bit more than they have already been pumped up. Here is what I said:
I normally don't buy into hype or ratings that surround particular wines. In fact, i am usually offended by them. The '05 Carnival of Love was extraordinary and one of the most unique wine experiences i have ever had. Believe the hype. You guys are making some incredible wines and deserve all of the accolades. Congrats.
I fully expected to get some sort of form e-mail back saying "Thanks mate! We've added you to our list. G'Day!" or something like that. But instead, I was shocked when an actual person from Down Under actually took the time to respond. Here is her response:
Winedaddy- We believe the hype and the ratings spur us on to bigger and better things! Sarah, Sparky and all the Mollydooker team would like to thank you for drinking our wines and requesting to be on our newsletter mailing list. We are excited to let you know that our US web site www.buymollydooker.com has just gone live. This means that you now have the opportunity to order an allocation of our new 2006 Mollydooker's which will be released in late Spring and Fall. If you have some friends that would also like to get some Mollydookers as well, please feel free to forward this email to them with the newsletter link. Janet, Sparky’s mum, has designed a special offer to make sure there is a guaranteed supply for you of some of all of the wines on the Spring and Fall offer. We hope you will be excited by it. We look forward to sharing a 2006 Mollydooker with you soon. Carol Goddard
8/938 South Road, Edwardstown
South Australia 5039
T +61 (0)8 8179 6500
F +61 (0)8 8179 6555
W www.mollydookerwines.com
Needless to say, I had to post this just to show that yet again, this wine has something special going on. They not only make exceptional wine but they also have an attention to detail that is just awesome. Cheers, oh Aussie Left-Handed Wine Makers! Keep on keepin' on.
...AND THE WINEDADDY DID DRINK ONE OF THE MOST HYPED WINES EVER. AND IT WAS GOOD.
Mollydooker. It's not the most austere sounding name for a wine, nor does it conjure up bucolic images like the words "chateau" or "domaine" does. In fact, it's actually a term for "left-hander" in Australian slang. For anyone who pays even the slightest bit of attention to the geeked out world of wine discussions though, the name Mollydooker is legendary.
If there was any doubt in the power of the wine ratings king, Robert Parker, check this out. In the fall of 2006, Parker single-handedly launched Mollydooker into cult status by bestowing a 99 on the 2005 vintage their 100% shiraz, Carnival of Love. For anyone familar with the Wine Advocate ratings, a 99 is extremely hard to get, let alone for a wine under the $100 price range. As you can imagine, the demand soared and so did the prices.
Enter the Winedaddy and his "thirst" for knowledge. Like any good member of a large pack of wolves, I followed the pack and did what anyone else would have done...I tracked down the last remaining 6 bottles of the '05 COL at a store in Napa and bought all 6...without ever tasting a drop. Of course, my plan was to unload 3 to friends and neighbors but that really didn't go as planned and instead, I was only able to get rid of 2, leaving me with 4 pristine bottles resting at a cool 55 degrees in the wine fridge.
There they were. I saw them every time I walked into the kitchen. Heard them sing to me while cooking anything with a red sauce. Felt them staring at me while i sipped my morning coffee. But the question remained: "At what point do you just decide to bust out $70 bottle of wine that's become part of the wine world's folklore? I'll tell you when. When the winedaughter is sick to her stomach all week and not making your normal sleep patterns easy. When the Winewife picks up the same bug and becomes incapable of doing just about anything for 3 days, leaving you to do overtime with your daughter. When you have friends in from out of town, invite them over for dinner only to have your daughter vomit right after you order your food and just after you give her a bath before bedtime.
That's when you crack open a bottle without decanting and pour glasses for everyone.
I'm not one to buy into hype (most of the time). So as much as I anticipated taking that first sip, I will say that there was a hint of skepticisim on my pallate as I tasted this Shiraz for the first time. I normally don't like Shiraz. In fact, I once tasted a fairly inexpensive Shiraz that a person who shall remain nameless said "oh, you are really going to like this. It's a delicious wine" and it was foul. It tasted like Robitussin. I kid you not, it took me a year or so before i even tasted a shiraz again, let alone spend over $500 on one that I had never tasted. Without further ado though, here are my tasting notes:
The '05 Carnival of Love was extraordinary. We had ordered food from Gennaro, one New York's best Italian restaurants north of 42nd street After our first bottle (see my review on the Coturri Sangiovese), we were ready for the "dooker." The first thing you'll notice about this wine is it's color. It's ink black and there is definitely a bit of sediment going on so it looks like you are drinking a glass of water that's had black paint brushes cleaned in it. What follows is a party of spices, berries, chocolate and espresso without a single tannin or a hint of cough syrup anywhere. It's definitely on the sweeter side of things, hence, a bit higher on the alcohol, hence, a little more of a buzz. It simply was incredible.
The winemakers, Sarah and Sparky Marquis, deserve all the accolades they have been bestowed. This wine is just so unique and so wonderful, words can not fully describe what a great experience drinking this bottle was. To me, this is what wine collecting is all about. It's about rolling the dice and taking a risk on something unkown. It's about putting your faith in someone elses taste and hoping you agree. It's about feeling a great buzz after a great meal and enjoying something so decadent.
Alright, enough of my romance with this wine. I have a day job calling.
Greetings (all 2 of you reading this!). Sorry for the absence but the Winedaddy made one of his west coast swings recently for the day job, proceeded to get stuck out there due to our one and only snow storm in NYC, and then returned to find the Winedaughter and the Winewife with a case of the stomach monster! (i'll spare you the details). But the good news is that since we all seem to be on the mend, i decided to celebrate in the only way i know how....popping corks!
After a bought of baby puke, several diaper changes within an hour, and slight hangover headache still lingering at 6p, the Winefamily decided to entertain some guests who were in from out of town and a good friend who was leaving town for a week. The good friend was a very good friend and decided to share a special bottle of wine with us as we hosted dinner at Casa de Puke. Here's a little story about this big wine.
Without going into great detail about the Coturri family, I will tell you that they are committed to making outstanding wines without adding anything artificial into the process. Their website is very quirky, not terribly exciting from a design standpoint, and perfect to exemplify the fact that these guys are committed to making great wines but care tremendously about the environment and conscious agriculture. They basically look like a family of hippies, living on a farm, enjoying life and making outstanding wines. Here are some tasting notes:
One of the things you will find by reading the back of the label, is that "this wine will drop sediment." (my guess because of their special "stemmer-crusher" which is "carefully designed to slowly crush grapes" which probably results in lots of other parts of the vine getting mixed in with the juices. They were right. We decanted this wine and yet, we still all managed to have some sediment floating around in our glasses, a little on the bottom of the decanter, and a whole lot lining the edge of the bottle.
I must say, i was slightly skeptical with all of this sediment floating around but this wine was a powerhouse without being too powerful. There was just the right amount of richness to it, along with some very nice strawberry and cherry notes but overall, there is this earthiness to the wine that you have to believe comes from the fact that there are no pesticides or artificial elements interfering with your palate. Maybe i'm just a romantic who wanted to believe that but whatever it was, i loved it.
If i had any left, i'd raise a glass right now to you, oh hippie winemakers of the Coturri Family, and say "Cheers! Here's to making good wine that's good for my insides."
We all like lists right? Vh1's Top 20 Countdown, America's Next Top Model, The Top 10 Things Peter Griffin Would Like to Say to America...? So I was pleasantly surprised when the Winewife suggested we buy 10 wines for $10 or less. As it turned out, the origin of her thought process was a nice jaunt through the Winedaddy's most recent issue of Food and Wine magazine (i've had a subscription for almost 8 years now). On page 72 of the Feb. '07 issue there was a nice short list of the best wines in the $10 and under category.
Seeing that diapers aren't cheap and the winedaughter is eating all sorts of solid foods these days (*use your imagination on that one), we thought we we'd stop the insanity of spending over $500 on 6 wines (see my upcoming post on the "Legend of Mollydooker" coming soon), and purchase all 10 of these wines.
To my surprise, I actually found a retailer who carried all 10 producers. (not all of the varietals and/or vintages were available but still, one stop shopping is kind of nice). They are a retailer in central NJ called the Wine Chateau. I have seen their billboards on trips out to Newark airport but was pleasantly surprised when every single producer was represented.
We are still eagarly awaiting our wines to arrive but stay tuned for postings on each wine (I may even tap into the Winewife and the Wineneighbor for some help). Until then, happy drinking.
For you casual wine drinkers, i'm going to fess up and let you know that I am about to geek out for a minute. I promise, i'll be back but i just need to get this off my chest. I own a lot of wine. Actually, no I don't. I own enough wine that I can store but compared to a lot of people, I own a lot. In a good week, I have about 40 bottles in various locations. Some are your everyday, $11.99 bottles laying around on the floor in our non-working fireplace. Others, are over-the-top gifts from friends or purchases that were lovingly carried back from wine regions all over the world. (well, CA or Italy...these are in the winedaddy's winefridge). I've tried to keep track of my wines via excel spreadsheets, microsoft word docs, notebooks, etc. but have had little success keeping up. I also never know exactly when to drink certain wines or maybe I've received a wine as a gift but I want to see what others think of it. Until now.
Enter, Cellar Tracker. It's basically an online cellar mangagement service (somewhat free) that allows you to enter all of your wines, keep track of what you have and what you've drank, see when wines will mature or are already past their prime, and see what others are saying about the wines you own. Basically, it's a great place for wine nuts like me to geek out and see others who are geeking out even more. (coincidentally, if you go to the site, search "thewinedaddy" under users and you'll see my humble little cellar. Some other bozo took "winedaddy")
The Fine Print
The site is a "shareware" site which basically means that it's free to use but they ask for "donations." A donation gets you some of the advance features like pricing and integration with some professional sites like Stephen Tanzer'z International Wine Cellar (i gave $20). The other problem with the site is that it's clunky. Not that the winedaddy is some html guru but the site could look a bit sexier and actually have a more streamlined user experience. (i'm guessing not everyone is as generous with their $20 bills as the winedaddy is.
Bottom Line is that until the Winedaddy creates his own wine empire on the web, Cellar Tracker is a great site that allows us wine nuts to geek out with each other.
Happy New Year Wineos! The Winedaddy has returned from his winter solstice (aka, a family vacation to the sunny isle of Aruba) and I have much to share. Many wines were consumed between the Christmas and New Year's holidays and while my head is still a bit foggy from over 2 weeks of vacation and my 18 days straight spent with the Winedaughter, I still think i can recall a few thoughts I had along the way about some great wines.
When is a Chianti not a Chianti? When it comes from the Tuscan region of Maremma, that's when. (incidentally, Winebow, the wine's US distributor has a nice little history lesson on the producer. I'm a big fane of Winebow. They distribute lots of my favs.)
Alright, so maybe La Parrina's Muraccio Parrina Rosso DOC is not technically a Chianti but since it's made from 80% Sangiovese grapes (with 10% Cab, and 10% Merlot), it sure tastes pretty damn close to one. (sidebar: Chianti and Chianti Classico are required to have a minimum of 90% Sangiovese to be classified as a Chianti). I recently purchased a bottle of this "near Chianti" for $18.99 and was a bit skeptical. It was one of those featured wines where the shopkeeper writes a little card saying things like: "Hurry! Buy this wine before it's gone. Last time we featured it, it sold out fast! It's a great Tuscan blend that's the right price!" I don't like to be bullied into buying wine. But the Winedaddy has also been known to buy the candy bar that's just sitting there at the checkout line, knowing full well that it's purely an impulse buy.
So when i opened it one Thursday evening as I whipped up some pasta for me and the Winewife, I had very low expectations. I must say, I was really impressed. Since Sangiovese is a very dry grape, I am normally very picky about my Chianti's because I tend to like a little fruit with my wine. Maybe it was the extra 10% that was lacking but something just came through with this wine that was really unforgettable. Here are some tasting notes:
The 2003 vintage that I tried had lots of berry stuff happening and was a little on the thick side but not too syrupy. It has really light tannins and finishes really clean. It just tastes good.
I went back online to Union Square Wines to buy more and what do you know, it was actually sold out. They weren't kidding. It truly went fast. Thankfully, I found a site called Wineaccess that links you to retailers who carry wines you are looking for. A store in Westchester, NY called Suburban Wines and Spirits had it and I bought a few bottles. Go me.
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Pinot Princess said:
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