Author Archives: colonelgrape

2010 Michele Chiarlo Barbera d’Asti

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First things first let’s talk about the grape. Barbera is grown throughout Italy however in my opinion the best wine comes from two prominent regions located in Piedmont: Asti and Alba. I’ve only tried Barbera from these regions however my Aunt and Uncle have sampled many others and find they are lacking. Barbera wines can vary greatly from a nice medium body, fruity flavor meant to be drank young to a more complex, intense wine that may need aging. They do have one thing in common though: dark ruby color, tannins, and strong acidity. I think the versatility and deliciousness of this grape just furthers the notion that Piedmont is King when it comes to Italian wine.

Top notch Barbera producers according to my Uncle: Vietti, Renato Ratti, Bovio, Coppo, Conterno, and Giacosa. Once I find some of these wines I will let you know what we thing!

On to the wine…Moby and I spent Sunday afternoon making homemade tomato sauce with hot Italian sausage. We whipped up some garlic bread and headed to the wine cellar to find the perfect match and came back with this 2010 Barbera d’Asti. For $18 this young Barbera was just what we needed.

colonelgrape: 87. A very delicious wine. A deep red color but it’s young and alive. Low tannins but quite acidic, nice and tart. I taste a nice bouquet of fruit, both red and dark….but I’d say raspberry is the most prominent. Very fresh tasting. I think this is one to drink young, it doesn’t have the tannins to be  cellared but it doesn’t need it. Stands up without food nicely.

MobyGrape: 86.  This was a tasty wine, wasn’t super dry or winey, and it certainly wasn’t crappy.  There wasn’t a super strong flavor but was kind of acidic at the end (read: battery acid) but it gave it a little kick.  This is a good wine to drink when you just feel like having a glass of red wine but don’t want to commit to something enormous.  You don’t necessarily need a meal to go with it, but I think it would be up to the challenge of say, a nice meatball sub or some pasta (like we had with it).

2008 Frogs Leap Cabernet Sauvignon

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Wow, that is a busy picture. We’ve got a Christmas tree, a Cosmo, more Christmas lights, poinsettias, a piece of cow still mooing, and most importantly a fantastic bottle of wine. Seriously if you’ve never had a bottle of any of the “Leap” California cabs you are missing out. These are the 3 “Leap” cabs I’m talking about:

Stags’ Leap Wineries

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars

Frog’s Leap Winery

You’ll notice there are two “Stag” locations in California but don’t get them mixed up, they are very different. In fact they even sued each other over the names of the wineries! You’ll notice the apostrophe is after the “s” in Stags’ Leap Wineries…that was the end result in the lawsuit…money well spent I’m sure. We have yet to review either of them but I can assure you we’ve tried them and they are fantastic….and there more bottles of each waiting for us in the cellar. All their basic bottles cost between $40-$60 with the reserve and estate bottles anywhere from $100-$300.

California cabernet has been on a roll for the past 11 years, their last bad vintage was in 2000. I personally have found 2004 and 2007 to be my favorites.  Let’s talk about the 2008 Frog’s Leap:

colonelgrape: 91. A tie with MobyGrape! This is seriously an excellent wine however I think the 2009 Groth Cabernet (CG 92, MG 88) is ever so slightly superior. Big everything: tannis, acidity, fruit, and body. Dark fruit flavors of blackberry, plum, and black cherry pop out throughout the sip. It’s not overdone though, you can drink this cab alone but I think you’re crazy if you do. What you need here is exactly what’s in the picture: a deliciously rare piece of cow…preferably fatty cow such as ribeye. The tannis will cut right through the fat leaving your palate happy throughout the meal. I can’t stress eating these cabs with steak enough…it’s meant to be. Also, this is a personal preference, but if your meat is cooked more than the bite in this picture you are doing it wrong.

MobyGrape: 91. Couldn’t be more pleased with an old cab standby.  As usual, we busted out the cab for a ribeye and potato night, and it didn’t disappoint.  And guess what?  It tasted like a cab.  Tanniny (I know the Colonel will say fruity, and maybe it tasted a bit more fruity than say Groth) and just dry enough to make you want more.  For a real treat get a nice fatty bit of steak and have it with the wine, it’ll be a little wine cow party in your mouth.  Just don’t bother trying to kiss the bottle and turn it into a prince, the wine’s better.

2010 Walnut City Wineworks Pinot Noir

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Everyone pile into the covered wagon, we’re headed down the Oregon Trail. Our friend at Vin Bin recommended this Willamette Valley Pinot Noir the other day at a tasting. We were looking for a softer red to drink with more mild dishes like chicken and fish and ended up in Oregon. Apart from the screw top, I have an irrational hatred for screw tops, it was a decent wine for $15. We enjoyed it with baked chicken breast and green beans.

MobyGrape: 75.  This wine had an overwhelming smell and taste of grapefruit.  Definitely worked better with food, where it tasted more like wine instead of someone accidentally spilling grapefruit juice into some wine and claiming it’s a wine cooler.  I’m taking some heat from the Colonel for not commenting about the other attributes of the wine.  PS it was red and wet.

colonelgrape: 78. I thought it was a fairly average pinot noir. It had a translucent bright red color, you could see through the glass easily. It was an acidic wine but I didn’t get the same grapefruit taste Moby did….more strawberries and bright fruit. Hardly any tannins and not very dry, this was the perfect style red to have with a light meal. Considering it was only $15 it’s hard not to be pleased however I think at the $30 price point this region could produce some seriously delicious pinot noir.

2011 Valle D’Oro Montepulciano d’Abruzzo

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After the most recent Chianti disaster I went back downstairs for a new wine and came back with this Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. We haven’t discussed this yet but Moby and I are big Montepulciano d’Abruzzo fans. It’s important to clarify that Montepluciano and Montepulciano d’Abruzzo are very different. Montepulciano is the name of the grape and can be grown anywhere and blended all different ways. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is from the Abruzzo region of Italy and makes quality, 85% or more (often 100%) montepulciano wines. This is probably my second favorite region of Italy next to Piedmont.

Back to the wine, this wasn’t our favorite Montepulciano d’Abruzzo but it was a solid effort. I have three bottles of our favorite in the basement waiting to be reviewed .

colonelgrape: 80. A dryer version of montepulciano but there is still fruit flavor. It initially had a smokey quality but on the palate I found blackberry and cherry flavor with some earthy spice to it. Solid tannins and good acid helped bring out the flavor. It changed in the glass for the better and I found myself enjoying it more as the night went on. I’d recommend this with heartier Italian food. This bottle was about $18 and not bad for the price. The Marina Cvetic we love is $33 and much better but at 1/2 the price of the good stuff I’d say it’s not a bad effort.

MobyGrape: 71.  Smelled really smoky at first, and that lingered when you tasted it too.  Very dry, but the smokiness dissipates the longer it sits (like smoke tends to do), and it settles into a decent tasting wine after a bit.  Didn’t wow me, but I’m glad I didn’t throw it in the garbage after I thought it was smoldering when we opened it.

2008 Felsina Chianti Classico

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What…a…disaster.

I’m not a Chianti expert, I only know the basics: It’s typically 75-100% sangiovese with the remainder made up of caniolo, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, or syrah. There are 4 tiers: Chianti, Chianti Classico, and Chianti Riserva, Chianti Classico Riserva. Chianti Classico is a sub-region of Chianti where they originally started making the wine. The higher you go on the list the older, pricier, and supposedly better the wine…blah blah blah. I would have continued my research if I actually liked the wine but it’s just not good! I think it’s safe to after our last few Chianti experiences I won’t be purchasing any more any time soon.

colonelgrape: 30. The only thing this wine was better than this year was the Beaujolais Nouveau.  I did some research on this bottle after our last Chianti experience and numerous people claimed this to be their favorite bottle of Classico. That being said I actually thought the first smell and sip were palatable but then came an overwhelming taste of rubber. I wish I had something more intelligent to say but It was literally like taking a cup of rubber bands, pouring wine on it, drinking it, and then chewing on the bands….simply awful. We each tried a few more sips to see if we could make it work but ended up dumping the bottle and moving on. I would rather take $18 out of my wallet and light it on fire than drink this wine again.

MobyGrape: 50.  Smelled like alcohol, and tasted like rubber, as though you opened a fresh bag of rubber bands and stuck your face in it.  I had to review the rating scale for this one just to figure out how to score awful.  Next.