In a weeks time, I taste a boatload of wine (seriously). A lot of my friends think 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 five wines that I have reviewed in my Moleskine (good or bad), this past week.
2016 Prodigo Nero D’Avola (Terre Siciliane, Italy)… $10.
Ripe currants with a touch of raisin on the nose and a kiss of ripe plums. Plush ripe currants on the palate with an undertow of acidity. There is a touch of citrus on the back of the mid-palate, leading into a ripe currant driven finish on soft, structured tannins and a kiss of white pepper. (C+/B-)
2016 Ancarani Sangiovese “Oriolo” (Romagna, Italy)… $19.
Aromas of red flowers, cherries and raspberries with a touch of hard candy coming through. Solid cherry and raspberry notes on the palate resting on a bed of minerals front to finish. Tobacco notes join up on the mid-palate with a little funky leather sneaking in underneath. Good balance of acidity, minerals and fruit. (B/B+)
2018 Badenhorst Family Secateurs Rose’ (Swartland, South Africa)… $17.
Earthy on the nose with notes of Strawberries and rose petal with a touch of mushroom. Sweet strawberry notes on the front of the palate that morph into citrus notes of lime and lemon with a hit of tangerine. Good balance of acidity and fruit with a dry, tangy finish. (B)
2017 Solar Fortun Red (Valle De Guadalupe, Mexico)… $30.
Aromas of bacon fat, ham hocks and tobacco, with a little dirt thrown in. Notes of boysenberries, dark cherries and bacon fat on a spine of fresh acidity with a splash of white and black pepper thrown in. Char, earth and tobacco notes join up on the finish and linger. Fresh and balanced. 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Syrah (B+/A-)
2017 Finca La Carrodilla “Canto De Luna” Red (Valle De Guadalupe, Mexico)… $21.
Smokey cherries and bark on the nose with a pinch of plums and tobacco. Dark cherry and plum notes on the palate with underlying boysenberry and white pepper. Tobacco notes hit on the mid-palate into the finish where they hang with boysenberries, white and black pepper on structured, smooth tannins. There is just a hint of blueberry that comes through on the back of the finish. Excellent balance and complexity. 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Syrah, 10% Tempranillo (B+/A-)
Cheers!
Stan The Wine Man
