Simplicity has charm when the few elements are in balance, like the beauty of a silent, spare morning. This Sangiovese from Tuscany’s most celebrated wine region has such charming simplicity.
The aromatics are evocative. Black cherry amidst an herb garden—a bit of mulch, a few twigs, and bay leaf, nicely unified but without distinct, focused aromas. A background wood note is not yet integrated but doesn’t distract.
The palate is poised, its earth-toned body sits patiently between lush and lean as it rapidly thins out at the back of the midpalate. A fruit layer persists through the mid-length finish but more like a memory than a dream. Forceful tannins and incisive acidity provide a rough edge; the wine would fit well in tender, calloused hands, head encircled by a straw hat.
A lovely Rosso for the price.
Intimate, familiar and agreeable, perhaps a bit desolate but hopeful with a mid-tempo, deliberate rhythm like Bruce “Waitin’ on a Sunny Day”.
The story: 2016 is a promising vintage in Montalcino. For some reason this relatively small, family-run winery skipped the Brunello and put their premium grapes in their Rosso. 100% Sangiovese from 25–35 year old vines, aged 6 months in large Slovenian barrels, 6 months in used French barriques and 3 months in the bottle before release.
This red blend hails from Sardinia. Isola Dei Nuraghi is an appellation that covers all of Sardinia and surrounding islands and is used primarily for wines that do not fit the DOC or DOCG regulations.
A wine of real pathos at a tipping point. Although the nose shows muddled strawberry with faint hints of licorice and white pepper, the signature fragrance of a passing season, autumn leaves, is dominant with background hints of old books.
On the medium bodied palate, the opening of dried fruit lacks intensity, but it becomes juicy and mouthwatering midpalate showing more vivacity when the acid kicks in. Peppery tannins add a spicy rusticity on the finish which shows good length enlivened by a halo of spring water freshness.
This is still enjoyable but it’s losing it grip on life. Tinged with melancholy, fatalistic but still fervent it paired best with the wistful yet firm Sister Lost Soul by Alejandro Escovedo.
Technical Notes: This is a blend of Bovale 40%, Cannonau 30% and Monica 30%. “Cannonau” is the Sardinian name for Grenache. Bovale Grande is called “Carignan” in France and “Mazuelo” in Spain. Monica is a blending grape grown primarily in Sardinia. The island is warmer than the south of France where Grenache/Carignan blends are plentiful but cooler than Spain’s Cariñena where a similar blend flourishes. The grapes for this wine are grown on the west coast near Terralba; the wine is aged in stainless steel tanks.
Graced with feminine athleticism, buoyant, agile, swift as a bounding deer, this invigorating beauty is made from Teroldego, a grape most at home along Italy’s northern border in the shadow of the Alps.
Deep purple to the eye, the aromas strike a lovely balance between fruit and earth—blackberry, forest floor with a hint of barnyard, espresso, and a furtive note of cinnamon.
The fruit turns red on the palate, plum gesturing at pomegranate. Fresh and light on its feet at entry, intense floral top notes with citrus overtones bob on a wave of expectation as the wine executes a swift crescendo closing the midpalate, dashing into a medium-length finish featuring bitter herbal notes, and sneaky, reticent fine-grained tannins.
Supple, capricious, kinetic and ghosted by subtle signs of the mystical, so of course it pairs well with Kate Bush Running Up That Hill.
Technical Notes: Teroldego is the grape; Teroldego Rotaliano is the DOC, one of the rare appellations named after a grape and situated in the larger Trentino Alto-Adige region. DNA testing shows that Teroldego is a parent of Lagrein and a sibling of Dureza, a parent of Syrah. The Vescovi family have farmed this region since the 18th Century. This wine was fermented in open wooden vats with ambient yeasts and aged in a mix of Slavonian oak casts and stainless steel tanks for 15 months.
In the shadow of shadows probing the dark opacity of bottomless crypts. You don’t drink this wine; you do battle with it.
The nose, redolent of freshly tilled soil, dark roasted coffee, and red plum with prune undertones, hints at the coming conflagration. In the mouth, chocolate and baking spices provide a fleeting moment of repose before the pincer movement arrives quick and bold. The lovely middle seam of juicy fruit struggles mightily for attention against the mouthwatering top-note river of blazing acidity while the tannins spread like wind-stoked wildfires.
Unless you have a well-marbled T-bone handy, this wine isn’t ready yet. Nine years after vintage date the tannins are still sandy and grippy. Tannins aside, the wine isn’t weighty. It’s kept aloft by vibrant acidity which persists from front to back through the long, bracing finish that features bitter, dark chocolate notes. There is a lot of flavor here if you can weather the assault.
The Sagrantino grape is the pride of the Umbrian region of Montefalco in Central Italy. Noted for its firm tannins that winemakers in the region are struggling to control, Sagrantino is beginning to be recognized in the U.S. and is worth seeking out. There is no other wine like it. This wine has years of life left in it.
Bitter, glowering, defiant. Is it angry or anguished? Probably a bit of both, one of the few wines you could pair with Slipknot’s Psychosocial
Technical Notes: Aged in mostly Tonneux for 30 months with 24 months of bottle age before release.
This wine is a revelation. A delicious revelation–the best kind. One of the finest wines I’ve tasted this year.
What is Norton you might be asking? If you’ve spent much time tasting wine in the Midwest, Middle Atlantic states, and parts of the South you have inevitably encountered Norton. Winemakers in those regions love it because it survives cold winters and resists mildew and other diseases caused by excessive humidity. (They also hate it because it has a peculiar chemistry—high acidity and high pH.) Consumers love it because it is a big, dense wine with lots of flavor and soft tannins. The problem is that when compared to conventional Vitis Vinifera varietals it can have a one-dimensional “grapey” flavor. More importantly, it’s loaded with malic acid making the wine sour with a hard mouthfeel even after malolactic fermentation (which raises the pH even more leading to spoilage problems). I’ve tasted a few good Nortons and many that would be better used flavoring a beef stew.
So what’s the solution? Winemaker extraordinaire Clark Smith says “grow the grapes in California”. These grapes are from the Herringer Family Estate in Yolo County at the north end of California’s Central Valley where plenty of sunlight, great diurnal temperature variation, and a long growing season knock down the acidity and make Norton a very happy grape. The problem is there is little Norton grown in California. Thankfully Clark has access to some of it.
The result is a magical wine—dark, mysterious yet strewn with a lacework of crystalline top notes that appear like sudden sorcery—think Poe rewritten by Castañeda.
Blackberry is the dominant aroma but some red fruit notes meld with mocha setting the stage for lovely violet top notes enveloped by warm spice accents.
In the mouth the wine is round and full at entry. When the acidity kicks in the movement is a deft, mouthwatering crescendo finishing in those jangly, crystalline top notes yet anchored by persistent, large-framed fruit power that gives the wine tremendous frequency range. The suppleness and depth that gives definition to the midpalate never flags throughout the lengthy finish that features gently lapping, delicate astringency.
A dark, visceral, exotic experience that takes you on a journey to Bjork’s Hidden Place.
Technical Note: High pH is usually associated with low acidity but not in Norton because of high potassium levels. The high pH, which leads to spoilage problems if not addressed, can be controlled by adding tartaric acid which makes the wine even more sour. It’s a real headache. Norton is a non-vinifera grape from the species Vitus aestivalis. It is sometime called Cynthiana, especially in Southern Missouri and Arkansas.
Score: 94
Price: $40 (Purchase here. A new vintage is on its way.)
A different expression of Nebbiolo than what we are accustomed to.
The Treves features pretty, well delineated aromas–dusty cherry, hints of anise and rose, with a bit of mushroom in the background. But this is a spare and slender wine with a wan smile and dry, sardonic wit.
The entry on the palate is thin with a compressed fruit layer. There is some top note thrust with a stony climax at midpalate but little depth or roundness to rein it in. The finish is lengthy with sandy tannins that don’t grip. But the lack of persistent fruit power yields sour and bitter threads giving the wine a rustic feel.
By no means a brutal wine, it’s civilized as Nebbiolo goes. A pairing with Cat Power’s “The Greatest” makes the bitter seem sweet.
Notes: The Canavese DOC is a Piemonte appellation north of Turin which produces a variety or red and white wines. This wine is 95% Nebbiolo with Barbera and Freisa making up the other 5%. The wine is aged in barrels for 3 months.
As transparent as a freshly wiped pane of glass yet the funk gives it a quirky dimension. Great quality for the price.
Focused aromas of black cherry, cranberry and paprika swathed in eau de salami make a very intriguing nose.
In the mouth it’s on the light side of medium bodied and refreshingly crisp after a juicy introduction. It has a soft, calm midpalate but spicy, peppery notes punctuate a clean, limpid seam of fresh spring water on the long gentle finish.
The tannins are shy, the acidity bright but never sour. This is where cheerful and trippy meet—pair with some Good Vibrations by the Beach Boys.
Technical Notes: A biodynamic producer, and one of the first to commit to making red wine in Austria, Heinrich has been in operation since 1990. This wine is fermented with native yeasts, spent extended time on the lees, and was aged for 8 months in 500 liter used Slavonian and Austrian oak casks. Zweigelt is native to Austria and is their most popular red grape. It’s an offspring of Blaufrankisch and St. Laurent. We should drink more Zweigelt.
The Thema red blend of 60% Agiorgitiko and 40% Syrah is warm, inviting and good natured but not entirely serious.
On the nose, black cherry flaunting a vaguely citrus note, a dash of nutmeg, and a dusting of pencil lead give the wine an exotic yet cheery demeanor.
In the mouth the wine is round and plush with a soft, velvet texture and a balanced dose of toasty oak. Persistent, powdery tannins are a docile accompaniment to the swollen seam of juicy, brotherly love fruit which occupies a substantial middle seam. The wine’s evolution is linear, the acidity only gradually emerging, but it becomes quite prominent on the finish as the fruit begins to fade.
This is a very nice wine although as the fruit fades on the finish the tannins don’t quite mask a hint of sourness. The distinctive personality—jovial, yet tender and sort of campy—is worth the price of admission. It pairs well with the cheeky, jazz-influenced stylings of Nellie McKay’s Won’t You Please Be Nice”.
Technical Notes: Aged for 12 months in 70% new French oak. Agiorgitiko is the most widely planted red grape in Greece. It is noteworthy for its aromatics which are on display in this wine. Drama is a wine region in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace with a climate that varies from Mediterranean in the flatlands to continental in the foothills.
Inky and deeply concentrated, Carmenere originated in France, a cross between Cabernet Franc and Gros Cabernet. It has largely disappeared from their preferring the warmer, drier climate of Chile where they are committed to this grape.
This wine is caught bobbing between soft and smooth and sharp and unruly. But it all comes together nicely. A highly recommended study in contrasts. Red raspberry and blackberry aromas are animated by a strong dose of jalapeno wrapped in chocolate—a simple but bold nose. That green pepper or wild herbal note is what makes this grape distinctive.
Carmenere is not noted for its acidity. But this wine vibrates with a peppery tang, and a hi-toned mineral seam that draws a contrast with the concentrated, persistent fruit power, rich chocolate and tobacco notes. The initial impression of richness is supplemented by a pointed angularity as the finish unfolds with some bitterness that gives the wine a pleasant but bracing, rustic edge. A dark, burnt wood quality lurks in the background.
Tender and rowdy like Bonnie Raitt Love Sneakin’ up on You.
Technical Notes: 93% Carmenere with a dash of Cabernet France and Cabernet Sauvignon. 13 months in oak. William Fèvre is best known for their Grand Crus vineyards in Chablis but they bought several vineyards in Chile in the early 1990’s.
In wine and dating, first impressions can be misleading.
My first impression of this Portuguese blend was that it showed good aromatic intensity and depth. Black Cherry, raspberry, clove and cinnamon surrounded with a penumbra of dark toast were almost intoxicating—but the more I sniff the more I get blasts of tire rubber that come and go.
On the palate it’s full bodied and round up front and when the tannins emerge they are unexpectedly soft and fine-grained, almost cashmere like, which is unusual for Douro reds. But acidity becomes really prominent on the finish pushing the prominence of stony mineral notes just as the fruit power is dying. The final gasp is a disappointing mélange of powder and sour berry. The wine shows good tension from the persistent seam of acidity but its quite linear until the bottom drops out. Firmer tannins on the back end would have given the wine more balance.
The personality of this wine doesn’t come together. Its spicy and flavorful, soft and tender, but then turns irascible as the finish unfolds, like a person eager to charm but just too cynical to pull it off, an attitude captured well by Jenny Lewis on Red Bull and Hennessey.
The price is all over the map on this wine. At the average of $15 there are better options available. For the $23 I paid it’s not good value.
Technical Notes: A blend of Touriga Nacional (60%), Tinta Roriz/Tempranillo (25%) and Touriga Franca (15%), 12 months in new and used American oak barrels.
Simplicity has charm when the few elements are in balance, like the beauty of a silent, spare morning. This Sangiovese from Tuscany’s most celebrated wine region has such charming simplicity.
