2009 Caleo Salento Primitivo

Hello everyone!! We had this great little wine the other night with hoagies ala Al. The color was a deep violet ruby. The nose was not real big, but contained aromas of blueberry, cherry, and black raspberry along with toasty vanilla and a little spice. On the palate it was smooth and fruity with soft tannins and enough acid to support the fresh fruit. It also had a lingering fruit filled finish. Overall, it was yummy! And I only paid $8 for this at Total Wines in Atlanta. It was actually a very nice pairing with the spicy meats and onion of the hoagies.

2008 Villa Maffei Valpolicella Classico Ripasso

Hello everyone!! We enjoyed this terrific wine tonight with bolognese sauce and pasta. It was a great pairing with the brightness of the wine cutting through the richness of the sauce. It was a deep ruby red in color. The nose contained aromas of cherry, almond, vanilla, and spice. It was fresh and crisp with bright cherry flavor. The tannins were very smooth. It was of medium body. I really liked this wine. it was extremely pleasant and easy drinking and not too heavy. I paid $15 for this at Total wines in Atlanta.

2009 Caleo Nero d'Avola

Hello everyone! We had this really surprising wine a few nights ago. We first had it with pork chops stuffed with fontina and prosciutto, We had the second half bottle the next night with home-made pizza. This wine was much better on the second night. The color was an inky violet red. On the nose there was cherry, vanilla and licorice. On the palate there was cherry, vanilla and much more dark flavor than on the nose. There was licorice, tar and tobacco. This wine was really interesting because the body was medium, but the flavor profile was very dark. It had soft tannins, but a bright acidity. It was a little disjointed on the first night, but on the second night everything had smoothed out and it was very enjoyable. We paid $8 for this wine at Total Wine in Atlanta. This was a really great find!

2007 Il Poggione Rosso Di Montalcino

Hello everyone!! We just had one of my best efforts ever! Our older son has been staying with us this week while on spring break and is leaving for Atlanta this evening. So, I planned a special "Sunday dinner" for the occasion. We had a truly Tuscan meal. I felt as if I was sitting in a villa in Tuscany enjoying the food and wine while breezes floated in from the vineyards. We had tuscan roast chicken with pancetta and olives, polenta with red pepper and cheese, and broccoli rabe with sausage. The dishes were all complementary without being too similar and the wine was spectacular with the food. I got excited as soon as I saw the color on this wine. It was a deep brick red, not too dark. On the nose there was cherry and vanilla (the oakiness on this wine is really under control and in no way overshadows the wine itself). There were also aromas of licorice and some blueberry and raspberry aromas. The flavor was true to the nose, and this wine had a wonderful silky texture. The tannins were present but soft and well integrated. It had a nice lingering cherry vanilla finish. There were traces of earthiness present. Overall this was a very elegant medium bodied Italian wine. This is an example of why I love Italian wines so much! I got this wine at Total Wines in Atlanta for about $30, and I wish I had more of it. Al suggested getting more and setting it aside for awhile, but this is "ready to drink". It required very little time to open and would probably not benefit from more time in the bottle.

Dinner with friends: NV Il Conte D'Alba Moscato d"Asti, 2008 A to Z Oregon Pinot Noir, 2004 Brunello di Montecino

Hello everyone!! We had dinner with some friends on Saturday night. I made this really intense mushroom lasagna with homemade pasta. We also had salad and bread, and brownies for dessert. We had a great time! Forgive me if the notes are a little brief, but we went through several bottles and I made notes after our guests left.

We started the evening with the Moscato d'Asti. This was given to me by a friend from our little food and wine group. I thought it was delicious! It was sweet, but refreshing with a nice bit of fizz. Interestingly, it had a regular cork, not a screw top and not a champagne cork. It was pleasantly floral on the nose. The flavor profile was of apple and pear with a bit of minerality. This made a nice apertif, and would also be great as a dessert wine.

We opened the A to Z pinot noir as we started on dinner. It was very nice. It a little heavy for a Burgundian pinot and a little too light for a typical New World pinot. This hits a sweet spot for many people, which is probably why it's so popular. It had the aromas and flavor of strawberry and blueberry with a bit of spice. It started out a little "rough", but mellowed out nicely after 15 or 20 minutes in the glass. I got this at McScrooge's for about $20. It was very nice, especially after opening.

Then we opened the 2004 Brunello from Casisano-Colomboio. This was an excellent, delicious, silky smooth wine. It had a similarity to the A to Z pinot noir, but with an elegance and sophistication lacking in the Oregon pinot. It had aromas of vanilla (oak, but well under control) There was raspberry and cherry with horehound and a little spice on the finish, which was beautiful and lengthy. It was balanced and smooth, but very real and a little rustic. The elegance of this wine made me think of the Testa Rossa with its amazing silkiness. That was such a beautiful wine! But I come back again and again to the Italian wines. I think it's because they ARE more rustic. They have a richness of character, a complexity that is unique to these wines. Oh well, I guess my personal bias is showing, but I LOVED this wine! It sells for about $40 at Total Wines in Atlanta.

Finally we opened a Fonseca 10 year tawny port to have with the brownies. It was yummy with the dried cherry and raisin flavors. I still have half the bottle in the fridge, and I'll make more complete notes later. My first impression is that we liked the Graham's better, but it may be that because we had it after the delicious Brunello, it affected my opinion of this wine.

2008 Cataldi Madonna Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

Hello all!! I enjoyed this wine with Al several nights ago. We have had this wine before in earlier vintages. It is available locally at Ashes and McScrooges and probably at other liquor stores, and tends to cost about $20 a bottle. It had a very dark violet-ruby color. The nose started out as fairly tight, but it became more aromatic as it opened. There were aromas of violets, blueberry, plum and cherry. The flavor profile was true to the nose, with more cherry and vanilla developing as it opened. There was current and spice on the finish. This was not a big heavy wine, but had a light to medium body. It was interesting, and it became better as it opened, developing more spice on the finish and softer, smoother tannins. I liked this wine! It's a nice, honest wine with lots of personality. It would be very good with lighter Italian dishes prepared with mushrooms.

2006 Ruffino Ducale Chianti Classico Riserva

Hello everyone!! We enjoyed a fabulous meal tonight! We had duck with rice and lentils, and an arugula and grape salad. I love duck and this one came out particularly well. The wine was very good. I chose this wine because 2006 is supposed to be a terrific year for chianti and it's getting hard to find. I really enjoyed the wine and it was an excellent pairing with the food. The color was a deep brick red. The nose was of cherry, blueberry, a bit of licorice or horehound and a hint of forrest (cedar?). The flavors on the palate were true to the nose. The tannins were very smooth, giving the wine a silky feel (unusual for a chianti). It had a soft finish of cherry, vanilla, and black tea. It was not real big, allowing the delicacy of the Sangiovese grape to come through. It was of light to medium body, making it a nice accompaniment to the food. I really liked this wine. It managed to express a lot of personality, and do so without "shouting". I have another bottle, and while I believe it will age well for a few years, it's certainly ready to drink now.

2005 Da Vinci Chianti Classico

Hello all!! I have written up Da Vinci Chianti before, but I had it at a party at someone's else's house, so I didn't note the vintage and I don't believe it was a classico. I've been trying to lose weight, but we took a break from all the of veggies and had home-made tortellini with home-made brown spaghetti sauce, bread, and salad (very healthy with lots of broccoli). The wine was very, very good with this. I love opening a bottle of wine and sharing it with one other person (Al). It makes a couple of hours of sipping. During that time I get to experience it in all its glory as it slowly opens and sometimes fades. This evening was like that. The wine started out as a deep ruby red with a little brick color to it. The nose was not huge, but carried aromas of cherry, vanilla, and a touch of licorice. The flavors were cherry, plum, vanilla and horehound. As time passed current developed to mingle with the other flavors, and eventually overtook the cherry. The horehound became licorice. The color became even darker and the licorice stronger. The tannins started out as soft and velvety, but as the color darkened and the licorice became stronger, the tannins roughened up. I believe this wine is a "drink me now" wine. It was fascinating to watch it literally age with me over the course of two and half hours. I would buy this wine again, but I'd look for an '06, (supposed to be a very good year for chianti and could probably be held longer).I believe this wine was $25 at McScrooges.

2008 Maia Lina Chianti

Hello all!! This is a lovely, honest little wine from Italy. Ashes has been selling it for $9-$10 dollars a bottle. It's a not very dark garnet color. The nose is pleasant but not too big. The flavors are lots of cherry and raspberry with a little oaky vanilla. It comes across as very fresh and fairly light, with a light to medium body. This makes a nice everyday wine and is light enough to have with salmon or chicken dishes, especially when served with a tomato based sauce.

We actually took several bottles of this wine with us to Philadelphia recently when we visited Al's parents. We also took an exciting side trip while in Philly. We found ourselves with an entire evening and most of the preceding afternoon without family commitments. So, we drove North into New Jersey and to Wine Library! I was pretty excited about it. Wine Library wasn't all that big, but there was soooo much wine. And the gourmet department was great, too. The variety of great stuff to be found in that amount of space was really impressive. I felt like I was making a little pilgrimage! I wish I could have bought more wine, but alas, I got what I could. I did get several bottles that will be blogged eventually. And I'm looking forward to other opportunities to visit the Wine Library.

2005 Reserva Solestium Salice Salentino

I'm really far behind in my blogging responsibilities. I have a backlog of wines for which I have recorded tasting notes on little index cards lying around the house. The holiday festivities extended to include a trip to visit relatives out of town in Philadelphia (not too far from Wine Library in New Jersey). But for now...

This very nice little wine came from total Wines in Atlanta for $9. To tell you the truth, I delayed opening this wine because at this price I was worried that at this price it wouldn't be very good. On the other hand, at this price, I couldn't resist it. The color was deep, dark ruby. The aromas were cherry, vanilla and a little horehound. The flavor profile was similar with cherry, vanilla, and horehound, moving to rootbeer on the finish. It was very silky with soft tannins and acids. It was smooth and elegant and had a high delicious factor. All for $9!!!

Gattavecchi 2004 Vino Noblie di Montepuluciano, Reserva Dei Padri Serviti

This was a beautiful bottle of wine, full of soul and personality!! It is made of 100% Prugnolo Gentile grapes (aka Sangiovese). It had a deep garnet color, reminiscent of blueberry juice, and was not terribly dark. The nose was of plum, blackberry, cedar and licorice (the label also mentioned vanilla, but I didn't pick it up). The palate was much like the nose but also with a dark cherry component that rounded out the other flavors nicely. The flavors were well integrated and all were present on the finish. It was very smooth and elegant. The tannins were somewhat firm, but not too strong. The weight was medium. It got better and better as it opened over an hour or so of sipping. I got this at Atlanta Wine and Spirits for a little less than $30. I've already blogged this wine in the '03 vintage and we loved that too, but '04 is reputed to be even better, and I think it was. Both wines were excellent and I'll continue to seek out this producer.
We really liked this wine! It was a bottle that really brought home what wine writers mean when they talk about authenticity and soul. It felt like a very serious wine. It was almost like having a third person at the table, someone who is very adult, polite, and pleasant. A sharp contrast to the last wine. I have to say that the Big Guy red was pretty much like its name. It was loud and a little too slick, like those "party guys" we all know who get a little too loud and have a little too much fun. He's ok for an outdoor barbeque, but not someone you can have a serious conversation with. He's too busy impressing other people and telling slightly off-color jokes. The Montepulciano, on the other hand, is like that quiet, well traveled older friend. You can sit and converse with him and perhaps he'll share some of his experience with you. It's a totally different kind of relationship. I could digress into a discussion on "Old World" versus "New World" wines here, but I think there's already enough mud-slinging on that topic. I've had wines from the New world that have Old World soul and vice versa. One of the challenges I face when buying wine is to find these soulful bottles in a price I can actually afford, or to put it another way, to avoid the wines that are just cheap consumer products. I hate to make generalizations like this, but we all know that all wines are not at the same level. The trick is to find wines that are really enjoyable (and moving, if possible). That's really what all the wine talk is about.

2008 Abbona Dogliani Dolchetto

Hello!! I've just tried my first Dolcetto and I have to say, it was very nice! Dolcetto is from the Langhe zone in Italy. It is an everyday wine of that region and is commonly enjoyed with the lighter appetizer course, but also with everyday meat or vegetable dishes. It is very food friendly and pairs with foods much as a pinot noir or Cotes du Rhone would. It's a light to medium bodied Italian red with light acid and fairly firm tannins. This wine had a very nice nose of cherry with a little vanilla. The flavor profile was similar to the nose with lots of cherry and a nice bit of toasty vanilla oak. It was a very smooth, somewhat silky wine which hit the entire palate, although it was lighter on the back of the palate. Still, it had a nice finish. Overall, very pleasant, but not very complex. I could see this as a very nice everyday wine which would pair well with a variety of foods. Here's the downside. This varietal is very popular in Italy, especially in the Langhe region, but not a lot is exported. Consequently, it's a little pricey. I paid $27 at Ashes for this wine. This particular wine is supposed to be a very good example of the varietal. Would I buy it again? Yes, I will pick up another bottle soon (while they still have it). It is just so food friendly and so yummy, to us. It you do a lot of casual Italian cooking a couple of times a week, like I do, you may want to keep one or two in your wine rack.

2004 Podere La Vigna Brunello Di Montalcino

Hello!!! We had a fabulous wine last night! I prepared a beef stew with onions, garlic, tomato, and rice. The Brunello was a good match. It had a rich garnet color, with a nice brick red color at the rim. It had aromas of cherry with a little vanilla and a hint of smokiness. The flavor was very true to the nose. The tannins were firm but smooth. The acidity was soft. What really set this wine apart was the elegance of it. It was so smooth, so well balanced, and so elegant. The flavor profile was similar to many wines we've had (and enjoyed) in the past, but this wine had a beautiful silky texture. I will say that it was better with the food. The tannins became a little intense after dinner when we were sipping the wine by itself. All in all, this was one of the best wines I've ever had! This wine was ordered online from Wines Til Sold Out. This site offers deeply discounted wines listed one at a time, until they sell out. This wine was about $45, originally listed at about $90. I have one more bottle of this, and I wish I had more. I believe I have just become a Brunello fan.

Nervi 2001 Gattinara (nebbiolo)

Well, I'm sorry to say that this wine was a bit of a disappointment. Wine Library has recently been reviewing nebbiolo and Gary was very enthusiastic about this varietal. I'm not sure if it's a difference in palates or if this wine just wasn't a good example. I was actually expecting something bigger and more full bodied, so maybe the mistake was my own expectations. I opened this wine to have with a spinach lasagna. The lasagna was also lighter than I expected, with a sauce that was very vegetal (lots of aromatic vegetables). It was very good, just less tomato and less hearty than I expected. so, while the pairing was a bit of an accident, the food and wine actually matched better than it might have. This wine was fairly delicate and reminded me of pinot noir more than anything. It had a lovely tawny red current color, which was light and transparent. On the nose there was current, strawberry, violets maybe some rose petal and definitely some forrest smells. The taste was true to the nose with soft tannins and nice acidity. It was reminiscent of a pinot noir, but more tannic and with a bit more oomph. I actually liked this wine, but more as Italy's answer to burgundy. I'm uncertain on the price, because Michael picked this up for me at Total Wines in Atlanta. The wine I asked for was a Nervi Gattinara 2001 Vigneto Molsino at $24. I can't find Vigneto Molsino anywhere on the label, but Nervi does make a whole range of nebbiolo and nebbiolo blend wines, so I'm probably not too far off on the price. I'd try this (or a different nebbiolo) again, mainly to explore the varietal further.

2006 Cesari Mara Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso

Hello! Wow, did we have a great meal last night! We had black and blue steaks, baked potato, sauteed onions and mushrooms, and side salads. It was all great with the Mara Ripasso! The steaks were easy to fix. I took two filet mignon from Kroger's and cut a pocket into the width of the steak. Then I put a little salt in the pocket and stuffed it with blue cheese. I then wrapped the steak with a strip of bacon, and then lightly salted the steaks. Then I pressed cracked pepper into the steaks. Then I sauteed the steaks in olive oil. Once the steaks were done, I removed the excess fat from the pan and sauteed a shallot, then deglazed the pan with some beef broth. I reduced the broth and spooned it over the steaks. Delicious! The wine was such a nice compliment. It started out with a lot of black licorice on the nose along with dark cherry and a nice undercurrent of earthiness like dry leaves. On the palate there was cherry, plum, and raisin. The tannins were firm, but smooth, leaving a feeling of silkiness. As it opened the flavors became more integrated and mellow. $27 at McScrooges.

Chanti

Hello!! I want to talk about chianti wines today. Last night was the Winers get together and we did pizza night. Everyone brought a food and a wine pairing. I have to say, the pairings get better and better with this group. Anyway, because there were pizzas, there were two different chianti wines. I love this wine. Chianti has gotten some bad press in the past. Forget about all that! There are some fabulous chiantis out there. And I'm always impressed with sangiovese varietals. Sangiovese is the main varietal in chianti, Brunello, Montepulciano di Nobile, Super Tuscans, and is sometimes labeled as Sangiovese, especially when produced outside Italy. I'm fascinated by how different these wines can be from each other and with how much variation exists between different chianti wines based on style and winemaker. I've personally discovered a very llightly oaked chianti, Tiziano, which is light and fruity. I often serve this wine instead of a rose (I'm not much of a rose person). It's a very good wine when having guests that are not big wine drinkers and food that begs for an Italian wine. I serve it with Italian food made with light tomato based sauces. A little heavier than the Tiziano is Da Vinci chianti. We had this last night paired with a pepperoni and cheese stromboli. It was very smooth and mellow, still with the characteristic cherry vanilla, a bit of earthiness, and fairly soft tannins. Bigger than the Tiziano, but still very easy to drink and a good choice for people who don't drink a lot of Italian wines. Not a very complex or challenging chianti, but pleasant. We also had a Gabbiano last night. It was a little harsher, with firmer tannins. I liked it, but it might be a little rough for some people. I believe it would have been better if it had more time to open. Then there's one of my favorites, Cecchi chianti classico. It's a bigger wine than any of the previously mentioned wines. I'd drink it a lot more often, but I spend a lot of time exploring different wines. There's so much out there. I think the Cecchi is a terrific food wine for many Italian dishes. It's great with lasagna, spaghetti, pizza, steaks, anything with a tomato based sauce. It's much like the Da Vinci, but with more structure and complexity. And finally I want to mention one of my all time favorite italian wines, Francobaldi Chianti Reserva. It's big but mellow, with a wonderful velvety weight on the palate. Maybe the Cecchi would become more like this with age, but I lack the patience to find out. The Francobaldi is a little more pricey, at close to $30 a bottle, but it's worth it. It approaches a really good Montepulciano di Nobile in character. I keep at least 3 different chiatis in my winerack. Right now, we have the Tiziano, the Cecchi Chinati Classico, and the Francobaldi Chianti Reserva. This way, I always have the right chianti at hand. I'm considering adding the Da Vinci just to round out my lineup.
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Dinner guests: 2008 Martin Codax Albarino, 2007 Sebastiani Pinot Noir, 2006 El Coto Rioja, 2005 Las Rocas Garnacha

Hello!! Well, we have been drinking wines this past week, but nothing new until this weekend. We had another couple over Saturday evening. For starters I fixed little crostini with green beans, zucchini, salsa verte, and feta cheese. We had the Albarino with this. It was very quite good. Subtle aromas of jasmine and white flowers. I picked up well integrated flavors of peach, mild citrus and hazelnut. It was very well balanced and had a nice rich body. It was my first Albarino and now I know what all the fuss is about. I'll be keeping one in my winerack. This particular wine was $16 at Ashes. They have one on sale now for $10 or $11 which was rated 90 or 91 by the Wine Spectator.

Next came Italian mushroom stuffed crepes and salad. Our guests brought the Sebastiani pinot noir, and we opened it with dinner. It was a pleasant, soft well balanced pinot, somewhat lacking in complexity, but it was a nice wine with dinner and took a bit of a back seat to the food. It had soft tannins and acids and pleasant, easy to drink fruit flavors of strawberry, cherry, and plum.

The other two wines were after dinner sippers. The Las Rocas is one we have had before, $19 at Ashes. This is one of my current favorites. It's a fairly big wine with a big, aromatic nose which rises right out of the glass to greet you. The aromas are dark cherry and a soft spiciness. On the palate it's dark cherry, blackberry, and cedar with a little bit of pepper. It's fairly smooth and full bodied with firm tannins and a nice balance of acid. It had a pleasant lingering finish. Lastly, we opened the El Coto. To me, this was a bit of a disappointment, but Al liked it better than I did. It had a big, in your face nose, with bright cherry and oak. The taste was pretty much the same. It seemed simple and very "new world" after having had the Las Rocas. It wasn't bad, but was a bit of a fruit bomb and the oak monster was definitely with us on this one. Personally, I think you can find better Spanish wines. To each his own.

2007 Italian Tiziano Chianti

Hi!! this is a very nice everyday wine that pairs well with many foods. I reach for this wine when I want a red that's not too heavy or "big". We had this wine with scallops fra diavolo (which was very delicious). It's also a good wine to serve to people who are not big wine drinkers. The tannins and acids are pretty soft. My notes from a previous tasting are that it is delicate and elegant with no apparent oak. It tastes and smells of cherry. It's a very pleasant,easy drinking wine that pairs well with a variety of foods. We often have it with lighter pasta dishes with fresh, bright tomato sauces. It does improve after opening for about 30 minutes or so.

2005 Pio Cesare Barolo

Hi!! We tried a barolo a few days ago and I'm still trying to decide whether I liked it or not. We had it with home-made tortellini stuffed with ricotta and served with a very meaty tomato sauce. Thad Cox, at Ashes, recommended that if we wanted to drink it now, we should decant for at least 4 hours. Well, it was opened and decanted 2-3 hours before dinner. It was still very tight. In fact, I now know exactly what people mean by this. It was extremely rough when first opened, with harsh tannins and strong acid. It did soften a bit, but really it just never finished opening, even after about 6 hours. It seemed pretty well balanced to me, with firm tannins, bright acid, and dark cherry with a little licorice on the finish. It was quite pricey at $69 a bottle at Ashes. Really, I'd like to get another bottle and set it aside for 5-10 years.

Barolo is supposed to be an iconic wine from Italy, one that collectors take quite seriously. It's definitely a "big red" and is best served with meat ro meaty dishes. As you may know from previous blogs, this wine is definitely out of my usual price range. But, it was on the Matt Kramer list of Italian wines as a "don't die without trying it". It has quite a reputation as one of those eye opening wines that turn people on to drinking wine. I can't say that this Barolo had that kind of effect on me. But, it did make me realize how important aging is for some wines. I suspect that my impression of this wine would be very different if it aged 5-10 years or more. Some say these wines age well for 30 years or more. Really, I feel it's unfair for me to evaluate this wine. It's just too young. But, after drinking it, I now know just what that means.