February 2009
We had a great tasting last night and it focused on one of my favorite grapes, ... surprise.
9- 2004 Deerfield Sonoma County 14.6% $25
Groups #11 my #11
Eddie was this wine biggest proponent finding it “ unique and funky with salt and red licorice on both the nose and... Read moreWe had a great tasting last night and it focused on one of my favorite grapes, ... surprise.
9- 2004 Deerfield Sonoma County 14.6% $25
Groups #11 my #11
Eddie was this wine biggest proponent finding it “ unique and funky with salt and red licorice on both the nose and palate. Toni was ambivalent finding “ a bit of vanilla at first then I felt something was off. It tastes smooth and subtle but it wanted to be something but it missed the target.” Evan “didn’t enjoy this at all, its rasiny and has a sherry nose.” Paul was right to he point “ this is flawed and undrinkable, I didn’t want to smell it after the first whiff.” Cheryl then bid up a unit by adding “ this is the Mollydooker or Kosta Brown of Sangiovese. It’s too sweet even for me!” This bottle was a mess, no doubt. Another bottle described below showed better but be prepared for heat, sweetness, and innocuous dark fruit.
Flight 4 - Modern Sangiovese
10- 2005 Stolpman Santa Ynez - 14.9% $28
Groups # 4 my # 8
Toni found this to be “ very ripe, with rich fruit and rich spice on the nose but it suddenly disappeared. The taste is very light, very cherry like and very smooth. While this is very drinkable I can’t see it with food but I like it a lot.” Eva also noted the “very subtle nose” and enjoyed the balance of “ minerality, sharp and astringent against the sweet fruit.” Paul found this to be “ kind of over-ripe with roasted black cherry on the nose. It’s very sweet in the mouth, it needs acidity to cut down the over-powering sweetness.” While very modern and woody this did have fine Sangiovese character in a rich, soft package that has broad appeal.
11- 2004 Marleo Salustri Montecucco Rosso 13.5% $24
Groups #12 my #12
This bottle sucked. I’m not completely convinced that it was atypical; another bottle was about as bad. Cheryl “bad” Paul “I liked it less and less” Eddie weak” Eva “ dried fig and raisin” Evan “off nose off flavors” Toni “hated it.” Yup yup.
12- 2006 Miner Gibson Ranch Mendocino 14.1% $24
Groups # 3 my #2
Evan found “rich blackberry and spices on the nose with leathery dark fruits. I liked the acidity and astringency of this wine>’ Eddie thought this offered “ sweet/tart fruit with much new oak adding a lot of tannins finishing firm and dry with Indian spices.” Paul noted that this was “ really powerful with a lot going on, spicy dark fruit, well balanced, this wine gets an A.” Cheryl felt that “ageing this might be the right thing to do, it’s short and flat in the mouth with drying tannins, while fine it’s not my favorite.” This was certainly the densest, most structured wine of the night and should benefit from cellaring and while a fine bottle it lacks some Sangiovese typicity.
The following week we sat down with another group to taste another lineup of Sangiovese
1- Me
2 - Allen - Wine Enthusiast
3 - Eddie - Wine Professional
4 - Justin - Wine Professional
5 - Stu - Wine Professional
6 - Eric - Wine Enthusiast
7 - Dave - Wine Enthusiast
Flight 1
1 -2005 Cosentino Il Chiaretto California 14.8% $18 87pts
2 - 2006 Ruffino Santedame Chianti Classico 13.5% $18
3 - 2007 Flora Springs Napa Valley 14.2% $15
Flight 2
4 - 2004 Podere il Palazzino La Pieve Chianti Classico 14% $20
5 - 2005 Ruffino Riserva Ducale Tan label 14% $22
6 - 2006 Pope Valley Winery Napa Valley 14% $18
Flight 3
7 - 2004 Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva 14% $20
8 - 2004 Felsina Chianti Classico Riserva 13.5% $30
9 - 2004 Castellare Chianti Classico Riserva 13.5% $35
Flight 4
10 - 2005 Kuleto Estate Napa Valley 14.8% $20
11 - 2004 Deerfield Sonoma 14,6% $25
12 - 2006 The Midlife Crisis Winery Paso Robles 16.6% $20
Flight 1
1 -2005 Cosentino Il Chiaretto California 14.8% $18
Group’s 7th, my 8th
We started off with a solid wine that Eddie found to be “pleasant on the nose with cherry fruit and a touch of spice and red licorice” on the palate. Both Dave and Stu felt this showed a little Merlot like character with Stu commenting on the wine’s “cocoa powder, leather and spice notes”. Justin found the wine to be “ soft with sour cherry fruit, sandalwood and allspice…light and pleasant.” I tend to agree though the alcohol was a bit much here and gave the wine a disjointed feel.
2 - 2006 Ruffino Santedame Chianti Classico 13.5% $18
Group’s 8th, my 7th
Eric felt this “smelled very tightly wound and herby with some cherry notes very nice acids with raspberry fruit” but he also commented on the “little bitter on the long finish.” Justin found this to be “ a touch tannic… with black cherry and earth notes but it’s trying to do more than what was there, nice acidity though.” Stu was more complementary noting the wine’s “ vivid and dense” feel and “rich chocolate” notes but felt the “good amount of oak and drying tannins left a lingering bitterness on finish” All in all this was a solid showing for a solid wine that could use a bit more finesse
3 - 2007 Flora Springs Napa Valley 14.2% $15
Group’s 1st, my 4th
Justin -found “ a woodsy note like fresh cut grass” on the nose here and noted the wine had “ good depth and concentration to the strawberry fruit. It’s a little tannic on the finish. Dave found the nose to be “cranberry, candy” with Notes of “ cologne, manure and cedar” and noted the wines “earthy minerality” on the palate. Eddie, on the other hand, found “cherries with a touch of oak” on the nose and felt the wine was “ medium bodied, tannic with decent fruit and a dry tart finish.” I loved this wine. It’s a bowl of unwashed freshly foraged wild strawberries and while fruit driven is just a joy to drink.
Flight 2
4 - 2004 Podere il Palazzino La Pieve Chianti Classico 14% $20
Group’s 5th, my 5th
Eric commented on this wine’s “ cheese rind, moldy” noted which was a consensus feature of this wine but found nice “ cherries and mineral, notes with some plum on the finish” Stu felt the funk was more “ barnyard and wet forest,” and felt this was “ Burgundian styled” with a “smooth, silky mouthfeel, pretty sweet and ripe, but hot on the finish.” Dave felt the funk was more like “manure and rubber” but found “black berries and smoke” on the palate whish had “big pucker factor” I found this to be a simple if solid bottle that would be a safe bet on a restaurant list.
5 - 2005 Ruffino Riserva Ducale Tan label 14% $22
Group’s 9th, my 9th
Sometimes a blind tasting reveals the truth about a wine, like in this case. This very popular wine had a “seductive and alluring nose” according to Eddie with “dark cherries on the palate” but he also found the wine to be “ soft and short finish” Justin felt the flavors were a bit blurred with cherry cola notes… with a nice round mouthfeel, but no mid-palate or finish” Stu also enjoyed the “rich licorice, cherry coke, cola” but felt the wine’s “finish had a greenness that popped up then dropped away leaving this heavy and rough in the mouth.” For me this was a decent wine but it felt as though it could have been better. It had a little of everything it needed but enough on nothing.
6 - 2006 Pope Valley Winery Napa Valley 14% $18
Group’s 2nd, my 3rd
Justin found a “dust and old furniture” quality on the nose and “earthiness on the palate” that was appealing and felt this finished with “ good acidity with wild berry and sour cherry fruits. Stu also found “ berry sour cherry, candied, bright fruit” in this wine and felt that while this exhibited a “liberal use of wood and vanilla “ he enjoyed the “pretty soft yet dense” feel of this wine. Interestingly Eric thought this resembled a “modern style Dolcetto” with its “toasty blackberry, cedar, sour cherry vanilla” profile. I thought this was just a great wine that spoke a little bit about Sangiovese, perhaps more about California but was so well made I really didn’t care.
Flight 3
7 - 2004 Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva 14% $20
Group’s 3rd, my 1st
Allen enjoyed this wine’s “earthy quality with an interesting bit of wood and licorice” and felt the wine had a “long finish that lingers quite a bit.” Eddie enjoyed the wine’s “soft and smoky fruit with peppered meats” and found it to be
well balanced with subtle fruit” Dave also commented on the “smoked meats” on the nose along with “barnyard, violets and ripe fruits” and enjoyed the “nice balance of acid and tannin” on the palate. This traditional Chianti was coy, earthy, complex and totally compelling. A brilliant wine and a great value!
8 - 2004 Felsina Chianti Classico Riserva 13.5% $30
Group’s 10th, my 10th
I don’t know what the deal is with this wine. All 3 bottles I’ve had have been tainted and this was noticed by everyone and well described by Justin, as “chemical, rotten vegetable” Nonetheless there’s a lot to like here though in a rather modern idiom with almost everyone picking up notes of cola and root beer. Another popular descriptor mentioned by Eddie, Stu and Eric was cherry or red licorice. So far not a particularly typical set of descriptors for Sangiovese that really should not be an issue but along with the funk this sweet candied character did not a great Chianti experience make.
9 - 2004 Castellare Chianti Classico Riserva 13.5% $35
Group’s 4th, my 2nd
Stu found a touch of “ farm and blackberry” on the nose but enjoyed this wines “very ripe fruits and pretty deep flavors” though he did note it was “lacking acidity.”
Justin on the other hand found this to have “good weight and intensity with fine grained tannins” and while it may be “a bit monolithic” it was still “pretty good”
Eric found a lot on the nose here picking up “ oak, green veggies, wet fur, black berries and raw beef” and enjoyed the notes of “ black berry, green pepper and orange rind” on the palate. A solid showing and good reception for a slightly abrasive, slightly closed yet fine Chinati.
Flight 4
10 - 2005 Kuleto Estate Napa Valley 14.8% $20
Group’s 6th, my 6th
Eddie noted “ripe sweet fruit with salty olives and oak” on the nose of this Sangiovese/Cabernet blend. Eric also found “olive leaf” along with “sweet blackberry licorice, dry flower and tobacco.” He found the wine to be “very mouth filling with jammy black currant fruit.” Allen enjoyed the wines “long finish with a hint of licorice” but also commented that the wine was “a little dry if well balanced.”
Dave probably enjoyed this most finding it to have a “plush nose of super ripe cherry, vanilla and barnyard with intensely ripe fruit flavors.” A big bruiser of a wine, this certainly had it’s merits and was a wine that I could see improving.
11 - 2004 Deerfield Sonoma 14,6% $25
Group’s 11th, my 12th
Dave thought this smelled of “ cough syrup with a really funky nose with a vinegar edge” and like many added that it “tastes fortified.” Allen called it “syrupy and a little alcoholic” Eddie also felt this had a “funky nose” with “sweet oxidized fruit and coconut.” Justin thought this was “velvety polished, very smooth” but as Eric added “it has a long but tiring finish.” Stu concurred finding a “fortified quality” to the wine making it “feel like a port, with sour cherry, medicinal cough syrup flavors” and a “really sweet finish.” A strange bird indeed. Not sure what the intent was with this wine but the results speak for themselves.
12 - 2006 The Midlife Crisis Winery Paso Robles 16.6% $20
Group’s 12th, my 11th
Justin called this simple “fruitcake” and noted that it was “very full bodied and a bit low in acid.” Eddie agreed calling it a “low acid fruit bomb with high residual sugar and zinfandel like boysenberry fruit.” Allen felt it was more “blackberry” toned but also noted the wine’s ‘sweet finish.” Eric chimed in agreeing that the finish was “a little cloying” and noted that this smelled “ like a dessert wine with honeysuckle, almond, clove, brown sugar and mulling spice.” Another well made wine that really didn’t speak much of grape or origin. And the exceptionally high alcohol was noted by every taster, and not in a good way.
And that is that. Two weeks of blind tasting’s focusing on Sangiovese. We had one corked bottle.
Gregory Dal Piaz is the Community Manager at Snooth, an avid Wine Geek with a passion for things Italian, and a long suffering Mets fan (hide)
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