Concha y Toro Frontera Sauvignon Blanc 2007

This post from Michelle brings us back to the theme of value priced whites for summer:

-- Michelle's Review ---

When the weather turns a bit nicer, my palette strives for refreshment. Not the kind you can find in a butt kickin' red. So lately I have been desiring a crisp, juicy white. Something to quench my thirst. A friend brought this nicely chilled from her fridge. We were sitting at her cottage on one of our few sunny days and out comes this Sauvignon Blanc. I do like SB's but some leave that tongue smacking dryness (tannins) that I am not a fan of. In the glass, it looks exactly like the "text book" SB. Straw colored with tinge of green. First on the nose was peach, citrus as we all know a SB to have also. What I liked best was the drinkability. Nothing offensive about it at all. Ours was perfectly chilled. Crisp, clean and nothing left behind (aforementioned tannins). Not over the top fruit though..peaches, citrus and even a hint of green grass. If there was a perfect summer wine out there, this has to rank up there quite nicely. Two thumbs up…or at least an 88/100.

Price: $9.49 (but for some reason it was on for $8.49 Friday at Mountain Road)
Value: 5/5
Rating: 88
Region: Chile
UPC: 7804320043265

Vignamaggio Terre di Prenzano Chianti Classico 2006

This review is from Vesper and her husband - he hasn't given a name, so we'll call him "Mr. Vesper."

--- Vesper & Mr. Vesper ---

This wine was purchased on sale at $17 - regular $22ish.

Nose: dried cherry, untanned leather, sun-dried grape tun, white pepper on tail.

Palate: front - sour dried cherry, middle - cigar box, cherry but less obviously dried, concentrated, and perhaps soured.

To say that this wine is well-balanced would be an act of desperation. It might be a reasonable buy at $12; but at $17, even on sale, it feels like the sort of mistake which happens at a previously untried restaurant on a sunnily optimistic afternoon. This wine strikes three notes, and they don't add up to anything more than a dissonant chord.

Joint rating: 2.5/5. We may be missing subtlety, so let's say 3/5. Generously. Okay, maybe too generously.

Price: $17.84
Score: 85
Value: 3/5
Region: Italy, Chianti
Grape: Sangiovese
Tasted: March 2009
UPC: 8028114000138

Giotto Rosso Chianti 2006

Here's sale wine review from Michelle -- and it looks like we might have a winner in the 'value wine' category.

--- Michelle's Review ---

Everyone loves a sale. Slap a "discount" sticker on anything and someone will buy it. This especially rings true when it comes to wine. On this occasion I was happy to find a Chianti smack dab in my price range. What a treat. It was Friday, I had a bad week and this was the light at the end of my dark tunnel. I was almost salivating at the thoughts of drinking this wine.
I opened this bottle but did not decant because I thought I would be drinking this alone. I let it breathe in the bottle for about 1/2 hour then poured into my glass for another 15 minutes. I love doing the initial smell as soon as the cork is pulled versus after breathing. The first nose I got...vanilla (????) Where was the oak, dirt and earth? Then once it had been in my glass the aromas came forth! The first sip I got the oak, light and slightly earthy. Very nice smooth finish. Picture a sitting under an oak tree after a summer rain shower. :-)

Price: $14.09 (on Sale)
Score: 89
Value: 4 / 5
Region: Italy, Chianti
Grape: Sangiovese
Tasted: March 2009
UPC: 8004401000500

Antinori Peppoli Chianti Classico 2005

On first pour this had a very appealing floral nose but was a bit acidic on the palate. (The latter is something I associate with Sangiovese - and the association is not entirely positive.) With air the nose faded (bad) but the balance improved (good). In fact, the balance was excellent with some good dark (chocolate?) notes on the medium length finish. Fine tannins.

Kelly liked it a bit better than I did. Here's her note: "Very nicely balanced - reserved but flavourful - nose of smoky plum, cloves, earth, minerals, violets follows through on palate. Long Clean and nicely structured, with firm tannins. Not quite as full and complex on the palate as on the nose. Slight bitter edge on end of palate initially, seemed to dissipate after an hour or so."

I wonder if it might be too young, but Wine Spectator said "Drink now" when they reviewed it a year ago. WS gave it an 88, while Stephen Tanzer gave it 87.

Price: $28.99
Score: 88(N) - 91(K)
Value: 3/5(N) - 4/5(K)
Alcohol: 13%
Tasted: Oct 2008
ANBL UPC: 8001935001362

Frescobaldi Nipozzano Riserva Chianti Rufina 2005

I don't usually drink a lot of Chianti - I've generally found it to be too sharply acidic to be enjoyable. So I was curious to try Iron Chef's suggestion . I'm glad I did. This is an elegant wine - and by that I don't mean it's tasteless. It is true that it is a bit reserved, though it opened up over a couple of hours. But I call it elegant because it has very clean fruit on an open mineral structure, with a bit of licorice(?) on the finish to add interest. Kelly got blackberries and spruce on the nose (though she's finding evergreens in everything these days) and coffee on the palate. Excellent balance - the acidity made it crisp rather than sharp. (But I can't say that I got much on the earthy / mushroom end of the spectrum.)

This is probably a wine for those who like an old world style. Note that ANBL online lists the vintage as 2003, but it's the 2005 that is currently in the stores.

Day 2 update: This wine has changed a bit in the half bottle, but I think it's gotten even better. That a bonus in itself - a wine that gives two days of pleasure is better than one that tails off on the second day. And I'm getting some really great flavours on the palate and finish. Kelly says the nose has got black cherry ice cream and is "really freaky." I'm not sure if she means freaky in a good way, but I like it. I'd originally given this a score of 89 and 4/5 for value, but on the basis of today's experience, I'm bumping it up to 91. Maybe even 92. It is awesome value at the price. I always worry about grade inflation, but I think I've got to give it a 5/5. I should say that I've had a very long day, so maybe I'm just in the right mood, but right now I'm loving this wine.

Price: $26.79
Value: 5/5
Score: 92
Alcohol: 13%
Tasted: Sept 2008
ANBL UPC: 8007425000181