In a weeks time, I taste a boatload of wine (seriously). I lot of my friends think that I’m lucky. Well, they’re right, and I wouldn’t give this job up for the world. The only thing that makes my job hard, is my feeling of responsibility to taste the samples given to me as quickly as possible and to put my reviews either in my Moleskine, on my Youtube channel (Stan The Wine Man TV), or right here on Stanthewineman.com. Here for your reading pleasure, are thirteen wines that I have reviewed in my Moleskine (good or bad), this past week.
2012 Condes de Albarei Albarino (Rias Baixas, Spain)… $10.
Aromas of saline and orange blossoms. Minerals all over the palate, with notes of orange blossoms coming through. Creamy on the mid-palate with hits of white pepper and saline on the almost oily finish. Orange blossom and citrus notes linger on the backside of the finish. This is one of those wines that seems simple on the nose, yet it has some intriguing complexity for a stupid price. (A-)
2012 Buxy Bourgogne Aligote (Buissonnier, France)… $10.
Notes of melon, citrus, dried herbs, lemon and wet stone on the nose. Honeysuckle, white flowers and wet stone on the front of the palate. It gets a little creamy on the mid-palate with a little lemon zest sneaking in, finishing clean and minerally. (B)
2008 Caparzo Brunello Di Montelcino (Tuscany, Italy)… $36.
This is what old world is all about on the nose. Intense notes of iron, red flowers, leather, cherries, earth and bark. Good intensity on the palate with notes of earth, rust, cherries and minerals front to back. A little leather, crushed rock and cranberry on the finish. This Brunello delivers a lot for the price. (B+/A-)
2012 Novellum Chardonnay (Pays d’oc, France)… $12.
Wet stone dominates on the nose, joined by notes of stone fruit, apples, pears and white flowers. Ripe pears on the palate along with wet stone and melon. There is a touch of fig on the back end backed by wet stone. Interesting flavors and aromas, but lacks intensity…Average juice at best. (C)
2013 Miradou Rose (Cotes de Provence, France)… $10.
Light notes of cherries and strawberries on the nose. Bone dry on the palate with notes of crushed rock, raspberries and strawberries. This sucker is light and boring, with very little acidity to drive the flavors. (D+)
Non-Vintage BellaFina Prosecco (Italy)… $10.
With the popularity of Prosecco continuing to increase, there are a lot of them out there to choose from. I was curious what I would get out of this one for the price.
Aromas of white flowers, orange blossoms, pears and apples. Full and soft on the front of the palate, with pear notes coming through. Clean and dry on the finish with notes of apple skins and a touch of crushed rocks. Not too bad for the price. (C+)
Non-Vintage Jean-Michel Gautier Vouvray Brut (Loire Valley, France)… $20.
I really love Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley. It’s funky, delicious, vibrant and mineral driven. When you add bubbles, it gets even more interesting.
Aromas of wet wool, crushed rocks and yeast. Peach pit, yeast and wooly in the mouth with a touch of citrus on the finish. This is clean, fresh and funky with delicious old world appeal. If you want to throw your palate a curve, this will be a fun and interesting ride. (B+)
Non-Vintage Carra Pulcinella Treviso Prosecco (Veneto, Italy)… $12.
Ripe pears and apples on the nose. Pears all day on the palate with a little apple sneaking in on the minerally finish. Finishes dry with a little lemon citrus hit.
Prosecco is a tough category, because there are so many good ones out there in this price range. (C+)
2012 Domaine de la Perriere Sancerre (Loire, France)… $23.
Aromas of slate, minerals, lemon and a hit of honey. Slate, granite, crushed rock, lemon and lime hit you on the palate all the way through into a lime/citrus finish with a dash of crushed rock and slate. I love old world sauvignon blanc from this region of the world and this one has all the elements I’m looking for with fresh acidity driving the mineral driven palate. (B+)
2012 Les Charmes Chardonnay Macon-Lugny (Burgundy, France)… $11.
Earthy on the nose with notes of mushrooms, fig, apples and melon. Good minerality on the palate with notes of mushrooms coming through, backed by lemon and Honeydew melon. The acidity is there but in nice balance with the earth and fruit notes leading into a delicious finish with a little fig hit coming through. Pretty nice little Chardonnay for the money. (B)
Non-Vintage Valdo Prosecco Brut Rose (Veneto, Italy)… $14.
Cherries, strawberries and a touch of watermelon on the nose. Round, plump cherry notes on the palate with a backdrop of strawberries and ripe watermelon. Pretty simple stuff, but delicious enough to please a crowd. A blend of Nerello, Mascalese and Glera. (B-)
Non-Vintage Barons De Rothschild Brut Champagne (Champagne, France)… $99.
The Rothchilds have decided to jump into the Champagne business with a little attitude. Asking a Benjamin for your first release in no small task. The question is, will it deliver. In this case I will have to say a resounding YES! I was nearly blown-away by this bottle of Champs.
Aromas of marzipan, bread dough, applesauce and yeast. Very dry and crisp giving it a laser sharp, focused feel on the palate. Notes of lemon and tangerine, compliment the bread dough and marzipan. The bright acidity drives the flavors into a mouth-watering, clean, long finish. Talk about coming to the party with flair, the Rothchilds have hit the ground running in the Champagne category. (A-)
2008 Glen Fiona Mourvedre (Columbia Valley, Washington)… $16.
Red and black licorice all over the nose, joined by notes of blueberries, currants (on the raisin side) and orange peel. Smooth tannins support notes of currants, orange peel and cola with a chalky edge. There is an underlying brightness to this wine with some bittersweet chocolate notes showing on the back-end along with orange peel and orange blossom notes that linger. Glen Fiona has been around for a long time and I was excited to give this a try… It didn’t let me down. (B+)
Cheers!
Stan The Wine Man
