In a week’s 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 on Stanthewineman.com. Here for your reading pleasure, are five wines that I have reviewed in my Moleskine (good or bad), this past week.
2017 The Ned Pinot Noir (Marlburough, New Zealand)… $18.
A little smoke and char on the nose with a backdrop of dark cherries and red flowers with a kiss of cranberries. Cranberries and cherries on the palate with a splash of orange citrus front to finish. The citrus notes peak on the mid-palate into the cranberry-citrus driven finish with a touch of smoke underneath. (B-)
2015 Villalta Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore (Veneto, Italy)…$20.
Aromas of ripe currants, rose petal and rust. Currant and rust notes blend seamlessly on the palate with red flower and spice notes underneath. There is a slight tobacco hit on the mid-palate leading into a savory, long finish. Good acidity that is nicely integrated and will give it some aging potential. Maybe 5-8 years. (A-)
2017 Ca’ Dei Zago Prosecco (Valdobbiadene, Italy)… $21.
Aromas of yeast, bread dough, nuts and apples with a touch of pear. Sweet fruit on the palate up front and dries out on the crisp finish. Citrus and apple notes front to finish, backed by solid, balanced acidity. Nut and yeast note lurk in the background and come out on the finish where they linger. (B-/B)
2019 Villa Sparina Gavi Cortese (Gavi, Italy)… $16.
Applesauce, wet stone and apricot on the nose. Fresh on the palate, with notes of apple and apricot that expand on the mid-palate into the minerally finish where the apple notes take over with apricot in the background. Excellent balance of acidity, fruit and minerality with a long finish. (A+)
2018 The Ned Pinot Noir Rose’ (Marlburough, New Zeland)… $15.
Sweaty arm pits on the nose, joined by cherry and pink rose petal notes. Almost too powerful in the stink department. Strawberries and cherries on the palate, balanced by nicely integrated acidity. The fruit is ripe with a hit of watermelon joining up on the finish. This does not pretend to be a dry rose’ by any means, but it is well made. (C+/B-)
Cheers!
Stan The Wine Man
