FRIDAY’S FIVE

Posted on June 19, 2020 by Stan The Wine Man

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.

2019 Fat Bastard Les Freres Bastards Rose’ (France)… $11.

Aromas of dried herbs, strawberries, watermelon and a kiss of cherries. Very light strawberry and watermelon notes on a bed of crisp, acidity. Quite watered down on the palate, especially on the finish where it is almost like flavored water. Very simple and lacks flavor. Grenache, Syrah Merlot (D+)

2017 Leyda Pinot Noir (Valle De Leyda, Chile)… $14.

Smoked strawberries and cherries on the nose with a little bit of diesel underneath. Smoked cherries come through on the palate, backed by solid acidity and a hit of rubber boot. Spice notes come through on the back-end with a good shot of black pepper and rubber boot. Quite thin in the mouth front to finish. (D+/C-)

2016 Lapostolle Cuvee Alexandre Carmenere Apalta Vineyard (Valle De Colchcagua Apalta, Chile)… $20.

Aromas of tomato stem, twigs, perfumed cherries and rhubarb with a little hit of red flowers. Tobacco and earth surround notes of dark cherries and bittersweet chocolate on the palate supported by chalky tannins. A little veggie action joins up on the mid-palate into the finish where white pepper joins the party, lingering with the tobacco and earth notes. There is just a splash of Cabernet Sauvignon. (B+)

2014 Duorum Colheita Tinto (Douro, Portugal)… $19.

Sweet beets on the nose joined by dirt and candied cherries with a small hit of rose petal. Solid currant notes on the palate that rest on a bed of earth and dried bark. The tannins are tight and soft. Rose petal notes sneak in on the back of the mid-palate into a dirty, currant driven finish where black and white pepper notes sneak in and linger. Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz (B+)

2019 Aveleda Vinho Verde (Portugal)

Melon and minerality on the nose with a kiss of white flowers and apples. Granny Smith apples on the palate with a kiss of lime and lemon. Good balance and very clean. Vibrant on the finish where notes of Jolly Rancher green apple and melon sneak in with a touch of fizz. Fresh, clean and delicious. (C+/B-)

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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BITS & BOBS

Posted on June 8, 2020 by Stan The Wine Man

I saw the funniest thing the other day. I went to the courthouse in town to get new tabs for my truck. They had a board near the door that declared. “Essential business only.” Now, I was under the assumption that almost anything conducted in a courthouse is essential. Am I wrong? So, I walk in and find the corridor to the licensing department is cordoned off. One of the employees told me to go online to get my tabs and if I wanted something at the courthouse I needed to make an appointment. She was a bit abrupt, but I could handle it. I walked away laughing, because a couple of days earlier I saw her in the store I work at shopping for her groceries. Point of this story? I guess we at the grocery store (deemed essential) and other businesses that are now open around town that are not essential, are not as special as the folks at the courthouse who by the way, get their paychecks from our tax dollars. There are more customers in line at any given time in the grocery store than there will be all day at the courthouse (sans the courtroom). Open your doors, please!

I have been getting my hands on some wines for the store that normally do not come my way. Turley, Quilceda Creek, Kosta Browne etc. Because restaurants have been closed for so long, which is another story and somewhat sad, wine distributors are looking to move product that is normally deemed “restaurant only.” It would be nice if wine distributors held some wines for retail shops like mine so we can get them every year. Sadly that is not how things work in the wine world and for now, I am going to take advantage of this opportunity to get some gems in the store for our customers.

There are two wines that I am particularly stoked about this year. One is a Frappato/Nerello Mascalese blend from Sicily. The other is a Grenache/Syrah blend from southern France. Both are outstanding in totally different ways. If you want to find out more about them, check out my latest YouTube episode where I feature both of them. There is another red that is on my radar that will most likely be featured on my YouTube channel made from an obscure grape called Susumaniello, only grown in the Salento region of Italy. Stay tuned for that.

From now until the end of the year is when I start focusing on wines for my “Top Forty Wines Under Twenty Bucks” list I put out every December. The three aforementioned wines are on the top of the list for now. If the vintage changes, I will have to re-taste them to see if they still qualify. As most of you know, I hate putting wines on a list and the consumer can’t go out and buy a bottle because that vintage is sold out. It makes my job a bit tougher, but I feel it necessary to only put wines on the Top Forty list that are available for purchase. Especially in the top ten.

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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FRIDAY’S FIVE

Posted on June 5, 2020 by Stan The Wine Man

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 Saintsbury Chardonnay (Carneros, CA)… $23.

Apples and pears on the nose with a touch of butter and butterscotch. Lemon and apple notes front to finish on the palate, joined by butter and butterscotch notes and a good dose of oak. There is a nice spine of acidity that gives it a freshness and balance. It dances lightly on the palate with good flavors and a long finish. (B)

2018 Olianas Canonau Di Sardegna (Sardinia, Italy)… ?

Aromas of crushed red brick meets blackberries, plums and strawberries, with a little earth and powdered chocolate thrown in. Dry and somewhat chalky tannins on the palate that support notes of red flowers, chocolate, black olive, blackberries and strawberries. Light bodied with solid flavors and clean. Red flower notes expand on the mid-palate into the dry, long finish where a hit of raspberries comes through. Not super complex, but well made. (C+/B-)

2015 Borsao Berola (Campo De Borja, Spain)… $15.

Aromas of dark cherries, bark, red flowers with a little beet and strawberry action. Dark cherries on the palate all day with a big dose of black and white pepper. Dark red flower notes join the fruit that expands on the mid-palate into the finish where tobacco notes join the palate party. The tannins show up with a little attitude on the back-end. Good balance and complexity. The fruit tries to go big but is held in check. 70% Garnacha, 20% Syrah, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon (B-/B)

2018 Bonny Doon Vineyards Le Cigare Volant “Cuvee Oumuamua (Monterey County, CA)… $17.

Quite stinky on the nose with notes of burnt wood, strawberries and blackberries. Underripe strawberries and blackberries on the palate with soft tannins and balanced acidity. The underripe fruit is prominent with a hit of licorice on the mid-palate. Tobacco notes join up on the finish. 52% Grenache, 35% Cinsault, 13% Syrah (C+/B-)

2019 Ponga Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough New Zealand)… $12.

Grape seeds and white grapefruit on the nose with a hit of thyme. Grapefruit and grapefruit pith on the palate, joined by kiwi and lemon backed by solid, balanced acidity. Kiwi notes hit big-time on the mid-palate into a dry finish that is almost mouth-puckering. Talk about a great white to go with Shellfish at a decent price. (B-/B)

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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BITS & BOBS

Posted on June 1, 2020 by Stan The Wine Man

I pulled off my first virtual tasting event on Zoom earlier in May. Trey Busch, owner and wine maker at Sleight Of Hand Cellars did an awesome job presenting his wines and the wines themselves were stellar. The Cab Franc Rose’ was dry and delicious with some herbal notes thrown in. My favorite of the bunch was the Archimage. It’s a Bordeaux style red blend that comes as close to Bordeaux as you can in the new world. The 2016 is drinking great now, but will improve over the next 10-15 years. It’s not cheap, but it’s worth the investment. It was so nice to get together on Zoom with my wine group after a two month recess. Everyone who participated thought it was a fun and educational experience. Now, it’s on to June where Rob Griffin will join us on Zoom. This will be Rob’s fourth time addressing my wine group. It was like pulling teeth to get him to the island the first time. Now he loves doing it. I’m sure he’ll miss coming to our island, but at least he will have another chance to share his knowledge and wines with us in a virtual way.

I had a slight hiccup on my YouTube channel and missed an entire week putting up a new episode. I can’t figure out how it happened, because I have been consistent of late. I’m experiencing a lot of traction with my channel and I hope to hit 300 followers soon. If you could help me out with this I would appreciate it. My recent episodes include a review of Bordeaux Blancs (the other sort of Sauvignon Blanc) and a review of Barbera which I believe makes a fantastic wine for BBQ. I really enjoy teaching a bit about the wine world and finding wines that are worth the money. As I keep doing the episodes, I am trying to improve the quality. I would like any kind of feedback you can give me to help improve my channel.

We have a lot of crazy going on around us right now. It has to be the most surreal start to a year that I have ever seen. I can remember sneaking in a tasting event at the Mullis Center in March, just before everything started to bust loose. Now here we are going into June with people all around me wearing masks and trying to practice “Social Distancing” a term I am beginning to loathe. I think when this is all over we should start practicing “Social Smothering” just to get back in the practice of getting close to our fellow humans again. One of the toughest aspects of all this is trying the recognize the person behind the mask. I can’t tell you how many times someone has said “hello Stan” to me and I had no idea who it was. Once I started chatting with them it occurred to me who was behind the mask. It’s been going on long enough now that I can identify many of my mask-wearing friends.

I have two favorite wines right now that I can’t get enough of. One is a Frapatto/Nerello Mascalese blend from Italy, the other is a Syrah Grenache blend from France. They are both under twenty bucks and are sure to land in my “Top Forty Under Twenty Bucks” list I put out at the end of the year. Keep your eyes open for an article or two I am planning to write about the aforementioned wines. If you live on San Juan Island and would like to try them, stop by the store and I will show you the where to find them. I don’t often buy the same wine over and over again, but I can’t help myself this time, they are that good.

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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