Wine Reviews: Weekly Mini Round-Up For April 22, 2019

I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes in a “mini-review” format.
 
They are meant to be quirky, fun, and (mostly) easily-digestible reviews of (mostly) currently available wines (click here for the skinny on how to read them), and are presented links to help you find them, so that you can try them out for yourself. Cheers!

• 2016 Dry Creek Vineyard Old Vine Zinfandel (Sonoma County): Bold, fresh, and kicking the dust off of its trusty leather boots. $33 A-
• 2016 Day Grist Vineyard Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley): The supple, sexy sides of showing off one’s power. $43 A-
• 2017 Bedrock Wine Co. ‘Papera Ranch Heritage’ Red (Russian River Valley): Papera’s got a brand new bag… and it’s full of tea, roses, & character. $60 A-
• 2016 Matrix Bacigalupi Zinfandel – Petite Sirah (Russian River Valley): All is big and black – as in black fruit, black licorice, black plums, black spices, and a brooding soul as dark as a black, moonless night. $38 A-
• 2015 Hendry ‘Block 7 & 22’ Zinfandel (Napa Valley): Plummy fruit that’s purer than a mathematical proof. $39 A-
• 2015 Hendry ‘Block 7’ Zinfandel (Napa Valley): Focused like a missile on delivering big, juciy, jammy black fruit, licorice, and violets. $38 A-
• 2016 Hendry R.W. Moore Vineyard Zinfandel (Coombsville): More like it’s from “Spiceville” or “Lovelyville.” $40 A-
• 2017 Rock Wall Wine Company St. Peter’s Church Vineyard Zinfandel (Alexander Valley): Savory and screamin’, so put your big boy/big girl pants on and drink with abandon. $42 B+
• 2016 Rock Wall Wine Company Hendry Vineyard Block 29 Reserve Zinfandel (Napa Valley): When the term “fruit bomb” can actually be used in a positive context. $45 A-
• 2015 Ridge Vineyards Geyserville Red (Alexander Valley): Juicy, tempered, and perfumed, and putting on a spice clinic. $48 A-

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Copyright © 2016. Originally at Wine Reviews: Weekly Mini Round-Up For April 22, 2019 from 1WineDude.com
– for personal, non-commercial use only. Cheers!
Source: http://www.1winedude.com/wine-reviews-weekly-mini-round-up-for-april-22-2019/

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Getting The Tables Turned On Me For WIN Advisor

Vinessens 2016 “La Casica del Abuelo” Alicante

Vinessens 2016 “La Casica del Abuelo” Alicante

Vinessens is a small family-owned winery located in Spain’s Valencia wine region. This particular bottle comes from the sub-region of Alicante and is sourced largely from a vineyard of 80-year-old Monastrell vines.  This is the type of Spanish wine that is so undervalued that it is criminal. Locally, this currently available for less than $11, and drinks like a wine twice it’s price.

The nose has a sauvage element, studded with cinnamon and smoke. The palate is medium bodied and lush, with a thread of acidity turning the dark fruit into a hit of Meyer lemon on the finish.  A funky note of wet earth shows a nod to natural winemaking. Monastrell loves oak, and there is plenty here, but it’s well-balanced and plays well the other elements in this wine.  Serve this with smoked pork butt or some duck confit.

The post Vinessens 2016 “La Casica del Abuelo” Alicante appeared first on Wine School of Philadelphia.

Source: https://www.vinology.com/vinessens-2016-la-casica-del-abuelo-alicante/

source https://meself84.wordpress.com/2019/04/18/vinessens-2016-la-casica-del-abuelo-alicante/

“Sweet Lincoln’s Mullet!” (2019 San Diego International Wine & Spirits Challenge Highlights)

Wild Horse 2015 “Cheval Sauvage” Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley

Wild Horse 2015 “Cheval Sauvage” Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley

Long before the movie Sideways, Santa Barbara County has been a hot spot for Pinot Noir.  In particular, Sanat Maria Valley is home to some of  California’s top vineyards for the grape. That list of top spots includes Garey, Rancho Real, Rancho Sisquoc, and Bien Nacido vineyards. All four of them found their way into this remarkable bottle.

Steeped plums, earl grey tea, and molten licorice make for an exhilarating aroma.  Hedonistic flavors and lush texture amplify the pleasure here. Then comes a rich chocolate flavor that is complex but also simple: it is the holy trinity of movie theatre candy, blended together: Milk Duds, Sno-Caps, and Raisinets. That moment disappears. You are left with flavors that can only be described as eating steak tartare from a rusty can. And somehow that feels just right.  This is a wine is full of impossible contradictions and is immensely better for it.

As of this writing, this bottle was selling for under $20 in and around Philadelphia. Considering this sells for $65 at the winery, I’d say this is one of the greatest values for Pinot Noir in some time.

The post Wild Horse 2015 “Cheval Sauvage” Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley appeared first on Wine School of Philadelphia.

Source: https://www.vinology.com/wild-horse-2015-cheval-sauvage-pinot-noir-santa-maria-valley/

source https://meself84.wordpress.com/2019/04/16/wild-horse-2015-cheval-sauvage-pinot-noir-santa-maria-valley/

Wine Reviews: Weekly Mini Round-Up For April 15, 2019

I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes in a “mini-review” format.
 
They are meant to be quirky, fun, and (mostly) easily-digestible reviews of (mostly) currently available wines (click here for the skinny on how to read them), and are presented links to help you find them, so that you can try them out for yourself. Cheers!

• 2017 San Valentino Bio ‘Vivi’ (Colli di Rimini Rebola): White flowers, white peaches, red cheeks from drinking so much of it. $16 B+
• 2017 San Valentino ‘Bacaia’ Sangiovese di Romagna Superiore (Emilia-Romagna): Vibrant, spicy, versatile, delightful, and dammit please bring me a hamburger! $NA B+
• 2016 San Valentino Terra di Covignano Sangiovese di Romagna Superiore Riserva (Emilia-Romagna): Single vineyard, single clone, various responses – from plummy sexiness, to leathery grip, to funky vibrancy. $NA B+
• 2017 Celli ‘I Croppi’ Secco (Albana di Romagna): Apricots, saline, flowers, minerals; this is the luv that happens when this zesty grape meets the right limestone soils. $13 B+
• 2015 Celli ‘Bron & Ruseval’ Sangiovese Bertinoro di Romagna (Emilia-Romagna): Sour cherries and orange peel held together with sinewy tension. $NA B+
• NV Osborne ‘Sibarita’ 30 Year Old V.O.R.S Oloroso Sherry (Andalucia): Basically, you will burst out into song with “Spanish Caravan” in praise of this, or you probably lack a soul. $99 A
• 2016 The Infinite Monkey Theorem Cabernet Franc (Grand Valley): When otherwise friendly Colorado gets mysteriously dangerous in its dark intensity. $24 B+
• 2017 Whitewater Hill Riesling (Grand Valley): You’ll dig the honeysuckle, lychee, and sweet green apple; you’ll just wish that they hung around longer. $14 B-
• 2018 Gran Moraine Rose of Pinot Noir (Yamhill-Carlton District): So zesty, so vibrant, so earthy, so tasty, so pricey. $30 B+
• 2017 Bonterra Vineyards Rose (Mendocino County): You want to drink a lot of this. Yeah, you do. Admit it. $16 B

Grab The 1WineDude.com Tasting Guide and start getting more out of every glass of wine today!

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Copyright © 2016. Originally at Wine Reviews: Weekly Mini Round-Up For April 15, 2019 from 1WineDude.com
– for personal, non-commercial use only. Cheers!
Source: http://www.1winedude.com/wine-reviews-weekly-mini-round-up-for-april-15-2019/

source https://meself84.wordpress.com/2019/04/15/wine-reviews-weekly-mini-round-up-for-april-15-2019/

Julia’s Dazzle 2017 Pinot Gris Rose, Columbia Valley

Julia’s Dazzle Pinot Gris Rose Columbia Valley 2017

Don’t judge this wine by its bottle.  This is the type of packaging I’d expect for a White Zinfandel geared towards functional alcoholics that sell bedazzled dog leashes on Esty.  This is not such a wine: it’s a project by winemaker Gilles Nicaul of Long Shadows winery in Washington State’s Columbia Valley.

This is a seriously good rosé, a skin-fermented pinot grigio from a single vineyard in Horse Heaven Hills.  This is a beautiful wine that is this closer to an orange wine in technique than the fermented sadness that is white zinfandel.

Every spring and summer I pack my fridge with delicious rosés. I expect bottles of this wine will be gracing my top shelf from now to August. Sage and apple-skin aromas are followed by rich textures and freshness. Flavors of wild strawberry and tangerine are complicated with a hint of herbs and spiced coconut.

 

The post Julia’s Dazzle 2017 Pinot Gris Rose, Columbia Valley appeared first on Wine School of Philadelphia.

Source: https://www.vinology.com/julias-dazzle-2017-pinot-gris-rose-columbia-valley/

source https://meself84.wordpress.com/2019/04/11/julias-dazzle-2017-pinot-gris-rose-columbia-valley/