The Centine is a blend of 60% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot. The blend works beautifully. There is nothing of the leanness and acidity that is often associated with Sangiovese in this price range. On the contrary it has a soft lush quality that must come from the Merlot. In fact, it's maybe a bit too soft for my taste, though not by much. It has bright clean but slightly candied fruit in the mid-range - cherries, I suppose (though I have a wine blog, I'm not great at putting names to flavours. I leave that to Kelly.) Not a great deal of complexity, but you wouldn't really expect it at the price.
This is what Kelly says: "Stewed dark fruit, cloves, and cedar on nose, then smooth and slightly sweet on palate, progressing to firm tannins. Longish, balanced."
Price: $21.99
Score: 86(N) - 88(K)
Value: 3/5(N) - 4/5(K)
Alcohol: 12.5%
Tasted: Oct 2008
ANBL UPC: 8015674830862
Friday, October 10, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
d'Arenberg The Stump Jump Red 2006
This is a guest post on the d'Arenberg Stump Jump Red, which is a GSM blend of 48% Grenache, 28% Shiraz and 24% Mourvedre (24%). Kathy, Ted and Dean shared it (non-blind) over dinner.
Dean: "Moss and wet earth, red berry and cloves on the nose. smooth mouthfeel with licorice and berry notes, and firm tannins. Well structured and nicely balanced. Fruit forward now but could develop nicely after 3-4 years in the cellar."
Kathy: "Way too fruity, too sweet, almost candied. Not a fan, couldn't finish the glass."
Ted: "Balanced, with firm but not overbearing tannins. fruit forward, with some spice from the shiraz that compensates for the somewhat candied characteristics, presumably from the grenache. Overall, an interesting wine that is drinking well now and at under $20, very good value for money. Much much better than the entry level Australians from Lindemans, Penfolds or Rosemount. Score: 86 value for money: 4/5"
Note that both Kathy and Ted remarked on the candied characteristics. That's something I have come to recognize in lower price Grenache (in the same way that lower priced Merlot reminds me of Bazooka Joe bubble gum - which I hate). Some people don't mind that characteristic in a wine, while others - like Kathy - hate it. Best to know where you stand when you think about picking up this wine. And if you don't know where you stand on the candy issue, try this wine and find out.
The score and value are Ted's. Wine Spectator also gave this an 86.
Price: $16.79
Value: 4/5
Score: 86
Tasted: Oct 2008
ANBL UPC: 9311832314007
Dean: "Moss and wet earth, red berry and cloves on the nose. smooth mouthfeel with licorice and berry notes, and firm tannins. Well structured and nicely balanced. Fruit forward now but could develop nicely after 3-4 years in the cellar."
Kathy: "Way too fruity, too sweet, almost candied. Not a fan, couldn't finish the glass."
Ted: "Balanced, with firm but not overbearing tannins. fruit forward, with some spice from the shiraz that compensates for the somewhat candied characteristics, presumably from the grenache. Overall, an interesting wine that is drinking well now and at under $20, very good value for money. Much much better than the entry level Australians from Lindemans, Penfolds or Rosemount. Score: 86 value for money: 4/5"
Note that both Kathy and Ted remarked on the candied characteristics. That's something I have come to recognize in lower price Grenache (in the same way that lower priced Merlot reminds me of Bazooka Joe bubble gum - which I hate). Some people don't mind that characteristic in a wine, while others - like Kathy - hate it. Best to know where you stand when you think about picking up this wine. And if you don't know where you stand on the candy issue, try this wine and find out.
The score and value are Ted's. Wine Spectator also gave this an 86.
Price: $16.79
Value: 4/5
Score: 86
Tasted: Oct 2008
ANBL UPC: 9311832314007
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Gallo Frei Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon 2002
This is another one from the liquidation table. I don't tend to drink a lot of cab. (I think that might be because a lot of good cab comes from California and I tend to find US wine overpriced - but that's for another post.) In any event, I'm always on the lookout for good value cab and since the Stefani worked out pretty well, I thought I'd go back for the Frei Ranch.
To begin I should point out that Wine Spectator totally trashed this vintage of the Frei Ranch. It gave a score of 79, citing "wet cement" on the finish. No doubt that's why so much is still available on liquidation. Maybe there is bottle variation, but there is no way the bottle we had warrants a 79 - no wet cement at all.
Another point is that right now this wine needs to breathe for an hour so. It was quite harsh out of the bottle, but smoothed out considerably with some air.
With all that said, I thought this wine was pretty good, but for me it didn't have great balance or mouthfeel. There was some reasonable fruit in the middle but nothing outstanding. I'll give it an 86.
Kelly liked it quite a lot better. There's a pattern developing here - we generally agree quite closely on our scores, except about cab. So if you like cab, her scores might mean more to you than mine. Here's her note:
"Mostly stewed dark fruit on nose - cherries, plums, raisins - and also cedar and menthol; same flavours are soft on palate, with slightly sweet edge, followed by cedar and firm tannins. Long. I guessed this wine was Italian, and definitely wouldn't have thought it was a cab. I'd be interested to know what someone who likes French wines would say about this. The stewed fruit reminds me a bit of the Coudoulet de Beaucastel."
Kelly gave it an 88.5 - she didn't want to give it an 89 because she definitely likes the Stefani better, but she thought it's better than an 88 - this is our score compression problem again.
How will it develop? We had the '96 Frei Ranch cab a couple of years ago when it was about 9-10 years old and we loved it - much better than the 87 that WS gave to it. Will this one improve as well? Your guess is as good as mine - if it does, it will be a real bargain at $22.
Day 2 update: We had this wine again last night (Sat) after it spent a few days in the half bottle. Kelly thought it had suffered a bit, but I liked it much better this time - a solid 89. I'm not sure what's going on, but at the price I'll pick up a couple more.
Price: $22.29
Value: 3/5
Score: 86/89(N) - 88.5(K)
Alcohol: 14.5%
Tasted: Oct 2008
ANBL UPC: 085000223055
To begin I should point out that Wine Spectator totally trashed this vintage of the Frei Ranch. It gave a score of 79, citing "wet cement" on the finish. No doubt that's why so much is still available on liquidation. Maybe there is bottle variation, but there is no way the bottle we had warrants a 79 - no wet cement at all.
Another point is that right now this wine needs to breathe for an hour so. It was quite harsh out of the bottle, but smoothed out considerably with some air.
With all that said, I thought this wine was pretty good, but for me it didn't have great balance or mouthfeel. There was some reasonable fruit in the middle but nothing outstanding. I'll give it an 86.
Kelly liked it quite a lot better. There's a pattern developing here - we generally agree quite closely on our scores, except about cab. So if you like cab, her scores might mean more to you than mine. Here's her note:
"Mostly stewed dark fruit on nose - cherries, plums, raisins - and also cedar and menthol; same flavours are soft on palate, with slightly sweet edge, followed by cedar and firm tannins. Long. I guessed this wine was Italian, and definitely wouldn't have thought it was a cab. I'd be interested to know what someone who likes French wines would say about this. The stewed fruit reminds me a bit of the Coudoulet de Beaucastel."
Kelly gave it an 88.5 - she didn't want to give it an 89 because she definitely likes the Stefani better, but she thought it's better than an 88 - this is our score compression problem again.
How will it develop? We had the '96 Frei Ranch cab a couple of years ago when it was about 9-10 years old and we loved it - much better than the 87 that WS gave to it. Will this one improve as well? Your guess is as good as mine - if it does, it will be a real bargain at $22.
Day 2 update: We had this wine again last night (Sat) after it spent a few days in the half bottle. Kelly thought it had suffered a bit, but I liked it much better this time - a solid 89. I'm not sure what's going on, but at the price I'll pick up a couple more.
Price: $22.29
Value: 3/5
Score: 86/89(N) - 88.5(K)
Alcohol: 14.5%
Tasted: Oct 2008
ANBL UPC: 085000223055
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Montes Cab Revisited
Since writing the original post Kelly and I have had a second chance to try the Montes Cab. It was much better the second time around, and I've revised the original post accordingly.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Wine Expo 2008
The annual Wine Expo is a great chance to try new wines, but there are way too many to try them all. So what's caught your eye on the Wine Expo list?
I've tried a few previous vintages of some of the wines listed. The 2003 Pio Cesare Fides was a great wine (and great value) and I'll write up a post on it soon. I'll be very curious to try their Moscato d'Asti, which can be a wonderful light slightly sparkling wine. Too bad they're not going to let us try the Ornato or the Il Bricco. I've also recently had the Travaglini Gattinara - it's an excellent and different style of Nebbiolo. I've already blogged about the Farnese Edizione Cinque Autoctoni 2004 - I expect it will be the '06 at the Wine Expo.
But for now I want to open this thread to by asking if anyone else has noticed any wines that are particularly worth trying? Here's the list.
I've tried a few previous vintages of some of the wines listed. The 2003 Pio Cesare Fides was a great wine (and great value) and I'll write up a post on it soon. I'll be very curious to try their Moscato d'Asti, which can be a wonderful light slightly sparkling wine. Too bad they're not going to let us try the Ornato or the Il Bricco. I've also recently had the Travaglini Gattinara - it's an excellent and different style of Nebbiolo. I've already blogged about the Farnese Edizione Cinque Autoctoni 2004 - I expect it will be the '06 at the Wine Expo.
But for now I want to open this thread to by asking if anyone else has noticed any wines that are particularly worth trying? Here's the list.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
d'Arenberg The Coppermine Road 2005
I was away for a few days, so I have to do this review by proxy; Kelly had this with Kathy and Ted. Maybe that's just as well, as I'm beginning to think that I'm not really a cab person. I'm also bending the blog rule about discussing only wines bought through ANBL. While the 2005 Coopermine Road isn't available here, the 2004 is. As both rated the same from Wine Spectator I thought a review of the '05 might be helpful.
That gets us to the Wine Spectator rating - 83 for both the '04 and '05. All three of the tasters agreed that "there's no way in the world that this is an 83."
All agreed that it had good cab character and a very good mouthfeel, but perhaps a bit of a harsh finish. Here's Kelly's note (blind tasted and scored as usual for her): "Blackberries, cedar, raspberries, leather, pepper, green olives on the nose follow through on palate. Firm tannins, longish. Not a fruit-driven wine, although there are some nice fruit flavours here. This is a nicely structured wine and the best cab I've had in some time."
It's almost certainly too young; time should smooth out the tannins and give it more complexity. But for now the score is a 90. (Note that Kelly liked this quiet a bit better than the Stefani even though she only scored them 1 point different - we're running into the problem of score compression in this area of the scale.) Right now it's not a great value, but it will be good value if it develops as anticipated.
Price: $52.29
Value: 3/5
Score: 90
Tasted: Oct 2008
ANBL UPC: 9311832317008
That gets us to the Wine Spectator rating - 83 for both the '04 and '05. All three of the tasters agreed that "there's no way in the world that this is an 83."
All agreed that it had good cab character and a very good mouthfeel, but perhaps a bit of a harsh finish. Here's Kelly's note (blind tasted and scored as usual for her): "Blackberries, cedar, raspberries, leather, pepper, green olives on the nose follow through on palate. Firm tannins, longish. Not a fruit-driven wine, although there are some nice fruit flavours here. This is a nicely structured wine and the best cab I've had in some time."
It's almost certainly too young; time should smooth out the tannins and give it more complexity. But for now the score is a 90. (Note that Kelly liked this quiet a bit better than the Stefani even though she only scored them 1 point different - we're running into the problem of score compression in this area of the scale.) Right now it's not a great value, but it will be good value if it develops as anticipated.
Price: $52.29
Value: 3/5
Score: 90
Tasted: Oct 2008
ANBL UPC: 9311832317008
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Ch. Montus Madiran 2002
Madiran is a dark masculine wine from the south of France. I'm a big fan of this style and the Montus is from Alain Brumont, by far the best known producer in the region. A lot of it is the mouthfeel. The tannins are big but not harsh and the wine coats your mouth with smooth persistence. But with all that said, I didn't like this as much as I expected. The nose is great. Restrained but with a distinct menthol note as well as some earthier notes I can't put my finger on (Kelly is the one with all the wine words) . But the palate is a bit disappointing in comparison. Great mouthfeel but not a whole lot else going on.
Kelly felt generally the same, but liked it better: here's her note: "Dark, luscious nose of stewed plum, cedar, violets, anise, campfire. Mostly fruit, licorice, and lots of tar on the palate. Long, with grippy tannins. The nose promises a bit more than the palate delivers, but on the whole this is a nicely structured wine with lots of interest."
Day 2 update: I like this quite a lot more on the second time around, even though Kelly says it may have faded in the half bottle. Maybe I'm just paying more attention today. There's lots going on, but mostly in the low notes, so you have to kind of pay attention. But it pays off if you do. I'm going to raise my original score from 88 to 91. (I should have known better than to disagree with Kelly.)
Price: $38.29
Value: 4/5
Score: 91
Alcohol: 14.5%
Tasted: Oct 2008
ANBL UPC: 3372220021019
Kelly felt generally the same, but liked it better: here's her note: "Dark, luscious nose of stewed plum, cedar, violets, anise, campfire. Mostly fruit, licorice, and lots of tar on the palate. Long, with grippy tannins. The nose promises a bit more than the palate delivers, but on the whole this is a nicely structured wine with lots of interest."
Day 2 update: I like this quite a lot more on the second time around, even though Kelly says it may have faded in the half bottle. Maybe I'm just paying more attention today. There's lots going on, but mostly in the low notes, so you have to kind of pay attention. But it pays off if you do. I'm going to raise my original score from 88 to 91. (I should have known better than to disagree with Kelly.)
Price: $38.29
Value: 4/5
Score: 91
Alcohol: 14.5%
Tasted: Oct 2008
ANBL UPC: 3372220021019
Friday, October 3, 2008
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
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
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Montes Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Since I posted the review below, Kelly and I had a second chance to try this wine at a friend's house. The second bottle was very different and much better. It seems clear that we just got a bad bottle first time around. We can't post a new review - Kelly didn't taste it blind and more generally we weren't in 'wine review' mode. But I'll bump up the rating anyway. While Kelly didn't do a full review, she was convinced that it is much better than a typical cab at this price. (I'm still not much of a cab guy.) But beware of bottle variation.
Here is the original review:
"Here's one that Vesper recommended in the "Make a Suggestion" thread. I can't say that I was as keen on it. I thought it was a bit candied with a slightly bitter, chalky finish. With that said, it's quite reasonable value at $16 - it didn't have what Kelly calls "that nasty cheap wine taste." But a few dollars more you can do quite a bit better, for example with the Wynns Shiraz. And if you look, I think you can do better for less money."
Price: $15.99
Value: 3/5 (1st bottle); 4/5 (2nd bottle)
Score: 83 (1st bottle); 86(?) (2nd bottle)
Tasted: Sept 2008
ANBL UPC: 715126000017
Here is the original review:
"Here's one that Vesper recommended in the "Make a Suggestion" thread. I can't say that I was as keen on it. I thought it was a bit candied with a slightly bitter, chalky finish. With that said, it's quite reasonable value at $16 - it didn't have what Kelly calls "that nasty cheap wine taste." But a few dollars more you can do quite a bit better, for example with the Wynns Shiraz. And if you look, I think you can do better for less money."
Price: $15.99
Value: 3/5 (1st bottle); 4/5 (2nd bottle)
Score: 83 (1st bottle); 86(?) (2nd bottle)
Tasted: Sept 2008
ANBL UPC: 715126000017
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
E&J Gallo Stefani Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2000
What's worthwhile at the current ANBL Liquidation sale? While they don't have the 2000 rated, WineSpectator rated the Gallo Stefani Vineyards Cab consistently at about 88 from '94 through '98. At $25 even a 88 is reasonable value and occasionally (as with the Bocca di Lupa) an 88 turns out to be spectacular. So I so I thought I'd give it a try.
I thought this was a solid mature cab with soft tannins and reasonable fruit, though without a lot of complexity or striking character. WineSpectator gave other vintages about a 10 year drinking window, but I don't think I'd hold on to this much longer; it's definitely not over the hill yet, but the fruit is muted and it hasn't picked up a lot of complexity.
Kelly liked this quite a lot better than I did: "Cedar, raspberries, cherries, leather, tar, roses, and veggie lasagna follow through on palate, with addition of licorice. Lots up front on palate, and long. Very firm tannins throughout." (Veggie lasagna is her giveaway for cab). We tasted this with the Nipozzano (Friday's review) and she thought the Stefani had more complexity, while I felt the other way.
Bottom line, if you like cab, this is a wine worth picking up from the liquidation table.
Price: $24.99
Value: 3/5(N) - 4/5(K)
Score: 88 (N) - 89 (K)
Alcohol: 14.5%
Tasted: Sept 2008
ANBL UPC: 085000208076
I thought this was a solid mature cab with soft tannins and reasonable fruit, though without a lot of complexity or striking character. WineSpectator gave other vintages about a 10 year drinking window, but I don't think I'd hold on to this much longer; it's definitely not over the hill yet, but the fruit is muted and it hasn't picked up a lot of complexity.
Kelly liked this quite a lot better than I did: "Cedar, raspberries, cherries, leather, tar, roses, and veggie lasagna follow through on palate, with addition of licorice. Lots up front on palate, and long. Very firm tannins throughout." (Veggie lasagna is her giveaway for cab). We tasted this with the Nipozzano (Friday's review) and she thought the Stefani had more complexity, while I felt the other way.
Bottom line, if you like cab, this is a wine worth picking up from the liquidation table.
Price: $24.99
Value: 3/5(N) - 4/5(K)
Score: 88 (N) - 89 (K)
Alcohol: 14.5%
Tasted: Sept 2008
ANBL UPC: 085000208076
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