Wine 59: Pinot Meunier

Back to a nice well developed red. Its not that I think light wines are bad, I would just rather drink a dry, complex red. Still working off of my backlog, though I do have a bunch of new wines to drink.

Domaine Chandon Carneros, 2008 Pinot Meunier
color: ruby red
aroma: cherry, light, oak
taste: There were light tannins with a touch of smoke, raspberry, and leather. The oak developed over time.
rating: very good

Wine 58: Stueben

Finished off this winery with another typical New York red wine, sweet and light.

The Winery at Marjim Manor, Stueben
color: bright apple red
aroma: strawberry, cherry, roses
taste: It was light and semi sweet. There was some raspberry and is best chilled.
rating: decent summer wine

Wine 57: Cherry

I really didn't mean to buy this. I wanted one bottle and decided to buy another to cut down on the shipping per bottle cost. I thought and to this day I swear that the site said it was cherry port, which might have been interesting.

The Winery at Marjim Manor, Cherry Serenade
color: dark rose
aroma: light bubblegum, why no cherry
taste: It was pretty sweet. Tasted like alcoholic red pop and is best served chilled.
rating: below average

Wine 56: Bobal

I got lazy and stopped drinking wine for a while, but now my supply is restocked. So, I clearly need to restart this so my tasting notes don't backlog even more.

Corolilla Crianza, 2007 Bobal
color: dark inky red
aroma: cherries/cranberry and oak
taste: It started with warm vanilla and a touch of chocolate, opens up to a nice dark berry flavor
rating: very good

Wine 55: Monica

I wasn't really drinking wine for a few weeks (beer instead), so I didn't really feel the need to post. This is probably the second time I've bought a bottle of Monica, but the first time I was actually able to drink it.

Argiolas Perdera, 2008 Monica
color: dark ruby
aroma: molasses, raisins, vanilla
taste: Initially, it had a dark concentrated flavor with a bit of vanilla. Some berry came out as it breathed.
rating: good

Wine 54: Baga

I went into this bottle with high hopes, I generally like Portuguese wines. Ah well, perhaps this was a bad bottle.

Luis Pato, 2009 Baga
color: light rose
aroma: floral with a touch of strawberry
taste: It was dry and tasted like bleh. I could only really taste oak and maybe some straw.
rating: bad

Wine 53: Brachetto

I bought this wine at one of the rare wine tastings I go to. I just have to take the guy's word that it is a Brachetto. He said if they called it a varietal then the Italian government would have taxed it more or something like that.

Sansilvestro Cantine, Dulcis Rosso (Brachetto)
color: light red, almost a rose
aroma: grape, floral
taste: It was carbonated with a light grape flavor. I got it because it is slightly sweet and best chilled, which makes for a nice wine on a hot day.
rating: good (nice summer wine)

Wine 52: Chianti

Yet another example of a wine I ordered because they only listed one varietal in the description. I must not have been paying attention because it is a Chianti and therefore must be a blend. I really need to pay more attention to my ordering, though in this case I don't regret it because it is a really good wine.

Tenuta Santedame, 2007 Chianti Classico
color: garnet red
aroma: berry, oak, floral
taste: It was medium dry and well balanced. There was raspberry, oak, and tart cherry all of which made for a decent amount of complexity.
rating: very very good, not great but close (I have unrealistic standards)

Wine 51: Il Falcone

Another long break due to laziness, oh well. This wine is nearly a varietal, 70% Nero Di Troia. It does fall short of my strict definition, so it doesn't count towards my goal. Just for completeness sake, the other 30% is Montepulciano.

Rivera, 2005 Il Falcone
color: dark purplu
aroma: oak, cranberries
taste: It had warm vanilla with dry light tannins.
rating: good

Wine 50: Douro

Another break from varietals because I ordered several bottles of wine that one varietal listed  on the website but are in blends. I don't mind so much with this bottle because I always seem to like Portuguese wine.

Muxacat, 2005 Douro
douro
color: dark red/purple
aroma: currants, vanilla, spice
taste: It was warm with dry leather and spice. There was medium amount of tannins.
rating: good

Wine 49: Charbono

I was looking forward to this and was somewhat dissappointed. Not that it was bad, it just didn't live up to the hype. I heard great things about this variety. I will at some point give it another chance because I have heard it is a vary variable varietal. I guess I just wasn't expecting something this light

Coturri, 2007 Charbono
color: dark purple
aroma: oak, cherry
taste: It was bright and fruity with raspberry/cherry flavors. Light like a boujoulais.
rating: average

Wine 48: Dolcetto

Another wine I've had before but never blogged. I believe I originally bought this either because they had a two bottle minimum or I wanted to spread out the shipping costs a bit.

Tularosa Vineyards, 2009 Dolcetto
color: light apple red
aroma: cherry and roses
taste: It was a light wine with slight tannins in the background. Medium dry overall and floral with a hint of cherry.
rating: good, for a light wine

Winw 47: Ives

It's been a while since I actually drank this. I've had field work and just skipped drinking for a while, so I suppose that backlog of entries created by my laziness is now useful.

Johnson Estate, 2009 Ives
color: cherry red
aroma: grape
taste: Surprisingly not very sweet. A bit like white grape juice, not much if any complexity. Also, it's slightly carbonated.
rating: decent

Wine 21.2: Grenache

Erg. I thought this was a Neilluccio, and it partially is, but it is 80% Grenache. The actual percentage isn't on the label and the site selling it only listed the one grape. I forgot what that one grape was so I went to look up the wine and found out I was wrong.

color: garnet
aroma: floral, raspberry
taste: It was interesting, almost tasted carbonated but wasn't. It was kind of light and jammy with cran/raspberry flavor. Very fruity.
rating: average

Wine 46: Chambourcin

I should start out with a disclaimer: I have had Chambourcins that I've liked, unfortunately, this wasn't one of them. As I think I've mentioned earlier, one of the problems with trying to try every type of red is that you don't really know if you don't like a variety or if you don't like what the winery did with it.

Johnson Estate, 2009 Chambourcin
color: rose colored, not rose
aroma: oak, dark, leather
flavor: It was not dry with some cranberry and vanilla flavors. I just didn't like the taste of it. It seemed a bit off.
rating: below average

Wine 45: Mission

I had low expectations for this wine. Something from New Mexico? I thought it would either be something sweet or something bland and I was wrong. It turned out to be a nice wine.

Tularosa Vineyard, Mission
color: light red, almost a rose
aroma: raspberry, cherry
taste: Odd, I was expecting something sweet. It was a bit like drinking cherry juice though not as intense in flavor. If someone told me it was cherry wine, I would have a tough time refuting them. Slightly sweet, no real tannins.
rating: good

Wine 44: Port

I am annoyed with this port. I was supposed to be a Villard noir. That was what I ordered, it is what I was charged for, but I got this instead. I've never actually had Villard noir, so maybe the guys doing the shipping did me a favor. However, I'm pretty sure they just grabbed the wrong bottle.

Tomasello Winery, 2008 Vintage Port
color: dark red
aroma: little
taste: It was sweet and had a slightly concentrated grape/raisin flavor.
rating: average

Wine 43: Alicante Bouschet

So, I said I was going to do more posts but didn't account for my inherent laziness. Typical. Here is the first celebrity wine I've ever drank. I normally stay away from these because being famous is hardly a qualification for making wine. It's really more of an endorsement because I doubt he is actually there every day overseeing it. It also has an annoyingly long name. Despite my complaints, it is a decent wine.

Francis Coppola, Diamond Collection, Magenta Label, 2008 Alicante Bouschet
color: dark purple
aroma: cherry and earth
taste: It was tart with not much tannin. There was warm vanilla and strawberry flavors.
rating: good

Wine 42: Schiopettino

I got lazy and let my wines back up on me. I have about 4 empty bottles to post about and I hope to clear the backlog this week. I also have about 5 bottles left until I try a Charbono, that is the one I am really looking forward to.

Dorigo, 2007 Schioppettino
color: inky red
aroma: tabacco, spice, raspberry jam
taste: It was dark and full bodied with an almost a concentrated flavor. Touches of earth and warm spice. Later there was a bit of cranberry with tart apple and hints of oak.
rating:good

Wine 41: Ruche

So I got in contact with the website I last ordered wine from, three weeks ago. The order had stalled because the only had 4 of the 7 I ordered. Not surprising and not the first time it has happened.

Ruche di Castagnole Monferrato, 2007
color: dark garnet
aroma: floral, raspberry
taste: It started out dry, warm and dark. There was a type of berry flavor I can't quite place. The fruit grew after the first day. I really liked it.
ratinf: good

Wine 40: Cinsault

And now, the last of my backlog. I no longer have a file full of tasting notes. Perhaps I should have spread them out to cover dry spots. I think I will have one soon because my last wine order was made last week and I still haven't heard from them. Anyway, I clearly need to back off when taking photos

Vin de Pays d'Oc Escapade, 2008 Cinsault
color: dark purple
aroma: strong cranberry
taste: It started out with cinnamon and medium tannins. The cherry developed a bit and it became smokey.
rating: average

Wine 39: Grignolino

I checked my stats for the first time this week, people actually look at this thing. It is odd, as this is really just a way to archive my tasting notes. I had a spike of Serbian traffic when I reviewed those wines. I shall try not to let the fame of hundreds of people looking at this place go to my head. Again I apoligize for the poor picture, but the out-of-focus picture showed the color of the wine better.

Da Cascina 'Tavijn, 2008 Gridnolino
color: rose or pale red
aroma: roses and vanilla
taste: It was dry with light flavors and a stronger aftertaste of cherry and indian gum. The wine was tarter up front later on, very fruity, a lot of cherry.
rating: good

Wine 38: Fer Servadou

I apologize in advance for such a poor photo. I am now waiting for my next shipment of wines. I ordered only the most obscure things I could find, so I think I will get an email full of regret saying that they only have half of them actually in stock. Alas. Pretentious statement about the dangers of being a connoisseur. Another statement about hardships of having a sense of entitlement.

Marcillac "Lo Sang del Pais", 2009 Fer Servadou
color: dark purple
aroma: a bit of cherry with some chocolate
taste: In the beginning there were slight tannins and some berry in the aftertaste. Light overall. A bit later it had cranberry with some cherry and soft tannins
rating: good

Wine 37: Baco Noir

The one wine I got for Christmas that I wasn't really expecting. There are a bunch of semi-obscure varietals like this up in Canada, I just can't seem to find a spot willing to ship them down. As a plus, I remember visiting Pelee Island as a kid. I think the waves overwhelmed me and my brothers.

Pelee Island Winery, 2007 Baco Noir
color: ruby
aroma: blackberry, vanilla, oak
taste: Was there some foxiness? It was mostly light berry, but dark with vanilla and slightly smoky.
rating: good

Wine 32.2: Shiraz

Still working off a little more of the backlog I've created by not publishing regularly. Here is another shiraz, this time a cheap one I got as the result of a friend moving out of town.

Yellow Tail, 2009 shiraz
color: garnet
aroma: strawberry, it sat for a while before I got around to drinking it
taste: It had mild tannins, some tart cherry, raspberry, and was slightly carbonated.
rating: average

Wine 36: Refosco

The last of the double posts for the foreseeable future. I bought one of these wines and then had one given to me for Christmas.

Geretto, 2009 refosco
color: ruby red
aroma: blueberry
taste: It had a nice blackberry flavor with some vanilla.
rating: average

Dorigo, 2004 refosco
color: ruby red
aroma: plum tobacco
taste: It had a mild blackberry/earth flavor and was drier than the first. By the second day, the berry faded and left with more oak/tobacco. Hard to say which I liked better.
rating: average

Wine 35: Carmenere

I actually had two bottles of this varietal, but I only took pictures of one. You will just have to trust me. Unfortunately, I didn't write down the name of the first one, so I won't include a review for it. You are left with seconds. The wine I am reviewing was a semi parting gift from a friend. I also did not get all the information from this label so I am guessing the vintage.

Root 1, 2008 Carmenere
color: garnet
aroma: cranberry, lemon?
taste: It had a light cranberry taste with a bit of cinnamon. There was also some tobacco and oak, especially in the aftertaste.
rating: average

Wine 18.1: Cabernet Sauvignon

Another rehash of today's standard red wine. This one I ordered from a wine tasting because I thought it had an interesting flavor.

Graham Beck, The Game Reserve, 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon
color: dark blood red
aroma: leather
taste: It was earthy with a full body. There was a tart aftertaste and it got more smoky as it breathed. It probably would have benefited from a bit more aging.
rating: good

Wine 34: Prokupac

The second of my Serbian wines and the last new wine I found at the annual mega-tasting. I still have two more wines to post before I am caught up. Nobody actually reads this so I suppose it doesn't matter.

Ivanovic, Prokupac 2008
color dark garnet
aroma: tannin/oak, tart apple, earth
taste: It had the taste of leather and not much else. I thought it needed to breathe, but it never really developed much in the way of fruit. Instead it became more smoky.
rating: average

Wine 33: Vranac

A have a big backlog of reviews written done and waiting to be posted. I will hopefully clear all them out this week.

Vrsacki Pannonian Red, Vranac 2007
color: inky garnet
aroma: berry, vanilla, oak
taste: It started out very subtle but with a full body. It needed to breathe. The flavors were raisins, vanilla, a bit of strawberry, more initial tartness on the second night.
rating: good