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.
2015 Angela Estate Pinot Noir Abbott Claim Vineyard (Yamhill-Carlton, OR)… $33.
Aromas of orange citrus and citrus peel with underlying cherry and red flower notes with a trace of meat marinade. Dry and savory on the palate with
2016 Domaine de la Rochette Macon-Bussieres “Mont Sard” (Burgundy, France)… $26.
Pears peaches and wet stone on the nose with a hit of fresh mushrooms. Fresh acidity hits the palate up front followed by notes of peaches and pears with a little mushroom thrown in, leading into a bright finish where citrus notes and white pepper join the palate party. Citrus notes linger. This baby is fresh, bright and almost crunchy on the palate. (B-)
2017 Watermill Winery Viognier (Columbia Valley, WA)… $18.
Just a touch of stink on the nose with notes of pears, filberts, banana and hints of fig. Solid fig and pear notes on the palate joined by hits of apricot. Nicely integrated with balanced acidity that surrounds the fruit and fig notes, keeping it fresh in the mouth. Nice expansion on the mid-palate leading into the finish where fig notes lead the way. (B)
2015 Maison Roy & Fils “Petite Incline” Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley, OR)… $39.
Aromas of cherries with hits of black tea, Root Beer and Asian spices. Dark cherry notes are lifted on the palate by a spine of acidity with bark and tea notes playing underneath into the finish where Asian spices sneak in along with a little leather action. Interesting citrus notes show up on the back of the mid-palate and the finish. An elegant Pinot that leans towards the old world in style. (B+/A-)
2017 Wrongo Dongo Monastrell (Jumilla, Spain)… $11.
Cherries, beets and bark on the nose with a candied element coming through. Boysenberries and cherries meet with tobacco, earth and crushed rock on the palate. Mineral notes dominate the fruit and take over on the finish where tobacco shows up big-time and lingers. There is a slight bitter edge on the back-end. If you like minerality and tobacco, this is the wine for you. (C+)
Cheers!
Stan The Wine Man
