2006 Salice Salentino Riserva

2006 Leone de Castris Salice Salentino Riserva
This winery has been making this wine since 1954 with 90% Negroamaro and 10% Malvasia Nera grapes. The winery is located in the province of Lecce, the most southern province in the heel of the boot that is Italy.

This wine is beautiful ruby red. On the nose I get dark cherries, blackberry, and Italian spices (basil and maybe just a hint of garlic). Not terribly aromatic, but enough to draw you in and there is nothing obtrusive to scare your nose in this bouquet.

The fore-palate is briefly fruit-forward, including the cherry and blackberry from the nose, along with dark plum. This is followed by a mid-palate of well balanced but stout tannins, which are enjoyable and not too lengthy on the finish. The finish is long with fruit and diminishing tannins...very enjoyable. My friend PJ and I enjoyed this with spaghetti and a spicy sausage-driven red sauce...brilliant!

Retail: $13
Rating: 90
This is an absolute steal! If you see it, buy at least one, maybe two. Thank You PJ for buying this one and serving it with dinner, I'm going to pick up a few bottles for my next couple Italian dinners.

2006 Mollydooker Blue Eyed Boy Shiraz

2006 Mollydooker Blue Eyed Boy Shiraz
I was lucky enough to have a glass of this at a tasting and it definitely got my attention. I usually don't like the Syrah grape, and its not for lack of trying many of them, but this one is so different that it's worth talking about.

This is a brilliant dark violet on the pour and then you give it a good swirl...and then...this is when the wine first gets the drinker's attention...there's a bunch of sediment stuck to the side of the glass...so you hold it up to the light and see sediment evenly distributed throughout the whole glass of dark wine. At first I thought 'Did I get the bottom of the bottle?'...but no, the whole bottle looks like this all the time (I held the bottle up to the the light a couple times to check).

Then on the nose: brilliant blueberry and dark plum fruit all over the front of this wine; followed by an ever-changing group of soft spices along with a dry tomato smell too, then tobacco, more black raspberry fruit, and dirty mineral nose too. I enjoyed the evolving aromas and they all seem to complement each other somehow in the end.

The palate his heavy and long with cherries, raspberries, blueberries, dark plums, lots of different spices, especially black pepper (which persists through the whole evolution and sequence of flavors). The finish never really stops (this was the last wine of the evening and I could still taste it over an hour later) and it is surprisingly enjoyable in this capacity. The tannins are present throughout but are well blended and not obtrusive in any way. The sediment is not in the way of any of the flavors and probably adds to or intensifies some of the best flavors in this wine - the wine does not quite require chewing, but a few of the other tasters described it that way.

Retail: $50 (definitely worth having a glass at a wine shop or good wine bar)
Rating: 93
This is the best Syrah I have ever had by a very large margin. I thoroughly enjoyed every sip and the complex evolution and combination of flavors that this wine afforded. Brilliant!

2005 Montecillo Crianza Rioja

2005 Montecillo Crianza Rioja
This is made of 100% Tempranillo grapes. A Crianza is a Rioja which is aged for at least two years: one in the bottle and at least one in oak casks.

This wine is ruby-red on the pour. The nose is strong with plums, black cherry and just a touch of oak. The edges on the nose are pretty sharp at first, but they round out after about half an hour.

The first taste is a bit strong as well, but rounds out after a little oxygen as well. The taste is heavy with black cherries and blackberries, surrounded by an oaky spiciness. There are also hints of white pepper and definite moments of vanilla on the midpalate. The finish is not long but it is oaky and enjoyable.

Rating: 88
Retail: $12
I like this as a red table wine, nothing spectacular but a very good example of non-reserva (and non-gran reserva) Rioja.

2005 Saint Jeans du Barroux

2005 Saint Jeans du Barroux Phillipe Gimel l'Oligocéne
This wine is made of 75% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 5% Carignan and 5% Cinsault grapes. These grapes are hand picked and hand-stemmed. This wine comes from Southern Rhone from a northern facing slope on the foothills of Mont Ventoux (of Tour de France fame, added plus for this wine).

The nose is beautiful with floral, dark cherry, a sweet raisin scent, a hint of subtle chocolate, a little spice box feel, and maybe a touch of licorice. Amazing evolution from second to second on the nose, I love it!

Then on the palate, what a beautiful and perfectly balanced set of flavors! The palate starts with a burst of cherry: sweet cherry, sour cherry, and a touch of chocolate with cherry. The tannins make their appearance on the midpalate, but are immediately followed by another rush of acid and fruit. This medium bodied wine is velvety and long on the finish. The 15% abv is covered perfectly with these flavors and never rears its ugly head.

This wine is more acid driven on the palate than a northern Rhone wine would be (northern Rhone is fully fruit-driven); because of that fact, this is a time when a full-blooded red french wine pairs perfectly with salmon. The fattiness of the fish is perfectly complemented by the acidity of the wine...perfect pairing (yes, one of the rare times you'll ever hear me say that).

The finish just kept on keepin' on. Minutes after the first tasting-sip I was still getting a finishing flavor of spice and herbal and a touch of floral too (Lavender I want to say) along with a sour cherry bite. This is one of a few wines which can change someone's whole point of view about what wine can be and honestly what wine should aspire to be.

As you can tell by this review, I love what Philippe Gimel is doing on his 12 hectares in the south of France. This wine will only improve with time over the next 5 to 8 years, and I'm already looking forward to the next time I have the opportunity to have this wine again.
Rating: 93
Retail: $30

2009 Maculan Pino & Toi

2009 Maculan Pino & Toi

This is an Italian wine from the northern part of the country, a region called Veneto. This wine is made up of 60% Tocai Friulano grapes, 25% Pinot Bianco, and 15% Pinot Grigio.

 

The pour is pale yellow with a hint of light green as well. On the nose I get lots of fruit: mostly pears and apples, and a touch of wet stone (almost salty like a coastal rain shower). Nothing spectacular, but very appealing none the less.

The palatal flavors are a nice mixture between the acidity of good white wine and the fruity dry flavors from these particular grapes. The green apple and pear return from the nose, with a little peach too. The finish is crisp and refreshing. This wine was enjoyed with a variety of things, including Brie and Stanser Rotelli cheeses, steamed mussels, wild boar fettuccine, and pan roasted duck. I would also recommend this on its own, or with other seafood or antipasti dishes.

Rating: 89

Retail: $14

This is definitely worth picking up if you see it; fun, fruity, and cheap - brilliant combo. I enjoyed this as a change-up from the same ol' inexpensive Pinot Grigio.

2006 Director's Cut Chardonnay

2006 Francis Ford Coppola Director's Cut Russian River Valley Chardonnay

This is a GREAT bottle of Chardonnay, upon the first smell I was intrigued and then on the palate I fell in love with this wine! The pour is a beautiful pale golden color; a good swirl leaves a fun set of legs from this 13.5% abv Chardonnay.

The nose is ridiculously aromatic, a TON of scents hit the nose at once and in sequence, all at the same time, love it! Ripe pear, orange blossoms, honeysuckle, a titch of vanilla, and a dose of citrus. These flavors come in layers and then blend wonderfully into a great fragrance!

Then on the palate: the honeysuckle sweetness and the citrus return from the nose, and I get a great taste of green apple as well. There is a split second where the vanilla returns as well, but it is directly followed by a great rush of French Oak, the cask in which this wine is kept for 10 months before bottling. I love a great oaky Chardonnay and this delivers! I chilled this bottle down to 12˚C, and as it warmed a bit in the glass I liked it more and more up to about 16˚C (perfect Chard temperatures).


Rating: 92
Retail: $24

I love this bottle of Chardonnay! I was looking forward to opening it and I was not disappointed at all. This has jumped up into my top three Chardonnay bottles (along with Rombauer Carneros Chardonnay and Moshin Russian River Valley Chardonnay) - and this is cheaper than each of them! Don't pass this up if you have a chance and are in the mood for a big step up from flat apple chardonnays.