10/21/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

This is actually pretty good for the money. $15 locally in Austin. I think it justifies its existence very easily at that price tag. It's dry, it's bubbly, and it doesn't have any off flavors. My wife thought it might have been a touch "fruity", but I actually didn't taste that. The sparkler clearly doesn't measure up to Champagne though. I am leaning more and more in favor of buying only Champagne and opening them more selectively rather than buying this kind of sparkler and opening it more liberally. YMMV.

10/21/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

No need for me to write a long note on this one. Very similar to the 2008 I reviewed very recently...but better in my opinion. There is more fleshiness in the 2009, and I find this incredibly fun yet serious to drink at the same time. Another wine to buy by the case. Just under $20 here in Austin.

10/21/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

This is really a great "garden variety" Valpolicella. It manages to strike a wonderful balance between power and elegance of fruit. It is silky and velvety at the same time, and has ample acidity, yet the acidity is balanced perfectly by the fruit and structure. Drinks well right out of the bottle, and can probably last a few years. This came highly recommended by a very trusted palate (thanks Smokey), and it did not disappoint. At roughly $17 here in Austin, this is a wine to buy by the case. Highly recommended.

10/12/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

After the plusher style of the Ripasso the night before, this bottle of Beretta Ripasso is showing more like the Castellani Ripasso again. All the dried fruit and spice cake components are present in this wine, but the texture is lighter and silkier and the earth component is more pronounced. It is also remarkably floral with violets and roses. A very nice wine in a very versatile and food friendly style. $18 here locally in Austin. Recommended.

10/12/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

This is a big bruiser of a Ripasso that almost reminds more of Amarone than Ripasso. Dark, thick, unctuous, and slightly sweet, this wine shows tons of dried fruit, spice cake, earth and a hint of salinity. Strong entry, mid-palate, and explosive finish. I really loved this on many levels, but I am still slightly puzzled by the Amarone style of this Ripasso. This is almost a baby-Amarone for less than $20 locally here in Austin. The only tricky thing with this wine is the food pairing. Because it is more Amarone-like, I think certain foods like game, rich cheeses and roasted meat will be required for this to show well with dinner. Definitely Recommended.

10/6/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

This is a good, solid wine for the money, but it leaves things to be desired. Fairly straightforward and lacking complexity, this is a good wine to drink with a simple dinner. Dark cherry fruit and tree bark with some hints of violets and earth. Unfortunately, this won't be for everyone as it has a texture more akin to Burgundy than that of Valpolicella. This is a wine that I will not be re-purchasing.

9/28/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

This gem delivered exactly what I expected. Lovely dark fruit and concentration, yet very measured, fresh, and light on its feet. Olive tapenade, blackberry, meat juice, a grilled herb note and lots of earthiness. This is one of the finest Crozes-Hermitage I have ever tasted although this still does not approach the greatness of Alain Graillot's Crozes. That said, this is the kind of wine that I wouldn't mind having a few cases of. The only mistake I made was not to buy much more at release when this was still pretty cheap. Now, the ship has sailed. Highly recommended if you can find it somewhere on a restaurant list or at retail.

9/28/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

A solid wine for the $17 I paid for it locally in Austin. Dark cherry and berry fruit with some milk chocolate and plum. Earthy but clean and a decent finish. Nothing to swoon over and not something I would repurchase. There are tons of wines that are better in this price class in my opinion. That said, this seems to be a very reliable wine, so that is always a plus. Not bad if you are in a bind, but not something I can recommend wholeheartedly.

9/23/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

Tremendous nose of cherry, berries, earth, raisins and spice cake. As a true Ripasso, this Valpolicella was run over the dried grape must left over from the Amarone wine making process and as such shows some of the sweetness and dried fruit characteristics that is typical of Amarone, yet it doesn't have the sweetness and heaviness of Amarone. The nose of this wine is particularly interesting, but the wine is no slouch on the palate either. Mid palate and finish are very nice, too, and the texture is silky and very pleasant. At just under $20, this is a good value and something that would always be a good match with grilled and stewed meats and other flavorful fare.

9/23/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

This is a really nice wine for the money. At just under $20, this delivers a lot of flavor and complexity. Lovely dark blackberry, leather, licorice, and meat jus. Floral and elegant, too, yet powerful and muscular. Has the texture of something in between a ripe Pinot and a lithe Cabernet. Lagrein is the perfect wine to pair with wild game or earth beef stew and it's a grape that every wine geek should absolutely have tasted. Recommended.

9/16/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

I was making a beef stew on a rainy day in Austin, and the umami of the beef stew was calling for a Bordeaux. The 2006 Lynch Bages fit the bill perfectly. While I don't drink as much Bordeaux as I used to, I still can appreciate how great Bordeaux can be, and this bottle was great for sure. Black cherry and red currants, earth, violets, tobacco and dark chocolate. Fleshy palate, killer finish, amazing elegance. One to buy and cellar if you can get it for $70 or less.

9/15/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

Loved this one. Like the 2007 I tasted a few days ago, this one is pretty classic IGT. Mostly Cabernet and some Merlot, sourced from different vineyards than the estate's Sassicaia, but purportedly, a few barrels that don't make it into the Sassicaia usually find their way into the Guidalberto. Either way, same winemaking team and method, and the pedigree is definitely obvious in my opinion. Cherry, milk chocolate, earth and grilled herbs. Drinks great now, but I think it has the legs to drink well for quite some time. Great value at the roughly $30 price tag at release.

9/13/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

Well...Fanti just isn't one of my favorite Brunello producers. His wines always seem a little "fat" with slightly too much fruit and a hint of bitter chocolate that I find distracting. The fruit is thick black cherry and dark plum and comes with dark chocolate, earth, and tree bark. A very "clean" style of Brunello that lacks finesse and complexity right now. The wine certainly got better over the course of 3 nights, but it never showed just right, which I find potentially problematic for a Brunello since Sangiovese usually responds pretty well to air. I think on this one, I would urge caution if you like a more traditional style of Brunello.

9/10/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

I continue to be super impressed by Dominque Laurent...especially his 2006s. Just lovely balance. There's ample fruit without being over the top, there's lovely freshness, serious structure, seductive finish, and silky texture. Cherry, red berry and plum fruit. Gorgeous finish and that sappiness that makes it a great wine to have with dinner. Unlike the Bitouzet-Prieur from a few daus prior, this one can be paired with a variety of foods very well, I think, but I would personally veer towards pairing it with earthy foods like calf liver and onion, boeuf bourgignon, or roast pork or chicken. Totally worth the $35 I paid for it several years ago.

9/8/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

This is the real deal. Yes, I drank this way too early. Yes, this will be better in 10 years. But this is so good, it is just silly. While it is unmistakably from a very ripe vintage, as evidenced by the perfect ripeness in this wine, it also has something I have not yet tasted from any other 2007...namely an incredible sense of place and completeness about it. Classic kirsch liqueur, licorice/anise, garrigue, and earth that will make your heart beat faster if you love CdP. But despite the youthful fruit, there is nuance and incredible finesse present in this wine. Really one of the most impressive young CdPs I have ever tasted and certainly worth each and every one of the 98 points Monsieur Parker bestowed on it. This is a wine that CdP lovers should buy in large quantity.

9/3/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

This was my very first bottle of this that I have liked. It still shows very tannic, but the fruit seemed to have caught up with the structure this time. It is a wine in a very "vinous" style. Dry and somewhat straightforward, this one still lacks ever so slightly in the complexity department. Red berries, sour cherry, raspberry and red currant flavors are probably the best descriptors of this wine...along with a little earth. It went great with a roast chicken, but I think this wine can present some issues in terms of food pairing, especially when the food gets progressively bolder seasoned. I liked it, but I certainly didn't love it.

8/26/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

This was awesome. Very much a puppy of a wine despite being 17 years old. Lots of fruit still in this wine, but loads of leather, dried underbrush, berries, and tree bark. Almost a cinnamon spice and all spice component that is really interesting. This also has a saline note on the finish, which I adore (especially when drinking this with some nicely seasoned lamb or beef). As far as weight and texture is concerned, this isn't as lithe as Lopez de Heredia or even the Ardanza from the same wine maker. It's closer in style to the CVNE Imperial...power and finesse wrapped into one complete package. This one isn't cheap, but it's 100% worth the price of admission.

8/23/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

This continues to drink very well. To me, it's tell tale IGT with nice cherry, chocolate, and leather flavors, but it has that Italian "funk" and a very nice dried herb component. Pretty nose and lovely finish. In this price class, I think this is one of the best wines one can buy in this style.

8/18/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

I have to say, the Rhys Skyline wines are my favorites in the Rhys lineup. This wine has striking minerality, depth of fruit, refreshing sappiness, a lipsmacking finish, and a certain spice and autumnal quality. Maybe it's just that I worked up on Skyline Boulevard for 7 years (King's Mountain feels like a second home to me), but this wine is simply unique an unlike any other CA Pinot I have ever had. While I personally don't have the patience to let these rest for 20 years, I can imagine that in 2027, this wine will be drinking otherworldly. Unfortunately, this was my last bottle, but I am grateful I got to drink as much of this as I did. If you can get your hands on this wine, don't hesitate for even a second. This one is special.

8/18/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

Still a stunner of a wine. Somehow, this one exited the bottle kind of "stinky" but the stink/mustiness blew off (it wasn't TCA btw). Lovely red and black cherry, leather, chocolate, and tree bark make this a great wine to have with any tomato based sauce foods or with grilled meats alike.

8/13/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

This is more like it. While this is still big and fruit forward, it doesn't show heat on the finish and isn't Frankenstein-esque. Dark color, blackberry and plum fruit all the way. Black licorice, spice, and some earth. Finishes well and goes great with lamb burgers, sausages, and side dishes loaded with flavor. Recommended.

8/10/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

While I like this wine, I do think it was slightly overdone. It is huge and enormously fruitforward. Ultra dark color with thick, unctuous texture and rip-roaring blackberry and blueberry fruit. There is some earthiness and Herbes de Provence underneath, but the fruit simply dominates. Unfortunately, there is also a hint of heat poking out on the finish. I opened a second bottle a few days later and that one showed consistent with the one described in this post. Clos Saint Jean is a producer I am currently avoiding because the experiences with their wines I have had have been less than ideal. If you like more "modern" CdP, though, this might well be for you.

8/6/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

This vino continues to be a fantastic QPR. Fresh, clean, steely Chardonnay that shows nice citrus and fresh spring water qualities along with some white spring flowers, peach, and orange peel. At this price point, unoaked Chardonnay doesn't get much better.

8/6/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

I was wrong with my first review of this wine...this wine is not just awesome...it is even BETTER than I originally reported. This was a second bottle we opened, and it was even better than our first. Beautiful red and black fruit, lovely perfume off the nose, but what really makes this is the spice and dry aromatic underbrush notes in the wine. This wine has tons of character and at $17 per bottle ($15 with case discounts), this is a stupendous value. If you see it anywhere, buy at least a case. I drank my third and last bottle a few nights later. Since I cook a lot of Italian food at home (Homemade Pizza, Pasta, lamb meat etc), this wine is the perfect weekday dinner wine.

8/6/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

As always, a very reliable wine that I acquired at closeout for about $25/bottle. Deep, dark, purple color with a brawny nose of licorice and berry compote. On the palate, it is still searingly tannic for a generic CdP its age, and it delivers huge flavors of licorice, cherry, blackberry, and underbrush. While this is price-wise more of a weekday wine, I suspect it will hold up for a very very long time. I find Pierre Usseglio's basic CdP to be maybe the best value in basic CdP, so you really can't go wrong with this bottling unless you are considering buying a very poor vintage in the Southern Rhone (ala 2002). Recommended.

8/6/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

My last of three half bottles of this. Drank wonderfully right out of the chute. Pretty, silky, floral, red berries, leather, and a hefty dose of earth. Dill pickle (from the American oak) was there, but not obtrusive...rather very pleasant. Finished great and I am glad to have 3 more 750ml bottles. So one out of my three half bottles was completely flawed and the other two were fantastic. Let's hope the 750s are all going to be like my last two half bottles.

8/4/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

This is the good stuff. Purebred Brunello from start to finish. Cherry and plum fruit with chocolate, leather, lots of earthiness, and a heap of funk. It is a more traditional rendition of Brunello with ample acidity yet plenty of fruit. Lovely balance and finesse. It does need some decanting though at this point to have the fruit come out from behind the acidity. Super tasty and highly recommended.

7/28/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

I love the Rocca Montegrossi Geremmia. It's not pretentious. It hits your palate with some pretty big cherry fruit, chocolate, grilled herbs and earth and continues to be a very fun wine to drink from the front of the palate to the finish. Best consumed with tomoato based sauce dishes or a nice Bistecca Fiorentina. Highly recommended.

7/28/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

Family farm is always good, but never quite gets to the heights the Skyline or Alpine Vineyards can get to. Cherry fruit and spice on the palate and a hint of crushed rock and earthiness. Seemed a little tired that night, although I don't think it was in decline...just in a slightly unexciting stage of its life cycle. Good, but not great.

7/27/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

This wine was a real stunner. Unlike earlier vintages of Laurent which had left me worried...more recent vintages of Laurent are really some very nice and reasonable value Red Burgundies. This one was really pure cherry and berry fruit with lovely acidity and a fantastic spice component that matched the subtle Sushi we drank it with perfectly. Outstanding finish. This one was emptied rather quickly by the eight folks in attendance at the local Sushi haunt Tomo.

7/26/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

I thought this one might not be so good because prior bottles and other vintages have been marred by excessive oak treatment. This bottle was really good though. No oak to speak of, and simply nice black currant, leather, and tobacco on the palate. Nice finish, nice mid-palate, perfectly pleasing wine to have with a nice steak.

7/22/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

Impressive showing. Lovely dark berry fruit with earth, five spice, and a nice dose of earthiness. Pretty acidity, and a more masculine expression of Burgundy in my opinion with some serious tannins and texture still trying to unwind somehow. Drank better on night 2 than it did on night 1, so I suspect this wine has a decade or two of life in it if properly stored.

7/21/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

Opened this with some roasted leg of lamb and it was terrific. Probably a little fruit forward than some of the other CVNE offerings, but a special wine nevertheless. Red cherry and currant fruit with saddle leather, dried herbs, and tons of earthiness. Super sappy on the finish and if paired with herb crusted, salty meat, it is clicking on all cylinders. Highly recommended.

7/21/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

As always, very solid and reliable. This one was particularly goos as the minerality in the wine came out more than on previous occasions. Red fruit profile with nice clean spice and lovely silky texture. Can be held for many more years, but this is drinking in its sweet spot right now for my palate. As good as Pinot Noir gets in California, in my opinion.

7/15/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

This was slightly disappointing on night 1, but really turned the corner on night two. Pitch black color and impenetrable fruit and oak on night one. Definitely closed for business and the oak was overwhelming. By night 2, this had evolved nicely. Still black fruited and severely backward, the fruit had mellowed and plushed up nevertheless, and the oak had completely receded and given in to overall balance. While I wouldn't call this elegant, it does have a beautiful core of blackberry and black currant fruit with tar, dried herbs and earthy flavors. I thought this might be in the early stages of its drinking window, but it is still oh so young. Leave it alone if you have some, and drink lesser vintages like 1999 instead right now.

7/17/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

One of my favorite CdPs out there. Classic cherry/kirsch liqueur, garrigue, earth, spice and dried herbs, and licorice. Just wonderfully sappy acidity along with velvety fruit yet a very silky texture. Killer finish. This one was served from magnum and showed young. One of Laurence's many master pieces.

7/15/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

Mind bogglingly good wine. I popped and poured this over dinner with a pal and we drank it over the course of about 3 hours. Started out big, bold, and brawny with the Cabernet really shining through. Because it has so much fruit, it was initially vaguely reminiscent of a CA Cab, but with time, the nuances began to show beautifully. Saddle leather, cigar box, chocolate, earth. Ultra pure wine that just sails across the palate and into the finish. Glad to have 2 more. While the current retail price is pretty steep (~$150), it was a great QPR at the time of purchase (about $50). Highly recommended.

7/13/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

Popped this to go with grilled steak and chicken at a friend's house. Really a nice wine. Remarkably dark and brooding for a Reserva its age. Very pure blackberry and black currant fruit with dried herbs, a touch of licorice, violets, and red meat jus. Great on the palate and lovely finish. While I think it can rest for many more years, this is drinking perfectly right now, in my opinion. Fantastic wine that at $22 is a great QPR. Highly recommended.

7/9/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

Another wine from the Negroamaro grape. This time a Salice Salentino from LiVeli. This wine is better than the Copertino from a day prior. It has a dark and brooding quality and shows blackberry fruit with pine resin, dried herbs, spice, and a wonderfully balanced freshness at the back of the palate. This is really a fantastic wine for the price. Would do well with meat, fowl, and all hearty Italian fare. $16.99 locally in Austin at Central Market and I can highly recommend it at that price.

7/9/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

This is a great QPR wine. Mostly Negroamaro and a touch of Malvasia, this wine shows carmine red and shows flavors of cherry, leather, earth, and dried herbs with a very nice acidity backing up the ripe fruit. Copertino is near Salice Salentino in Apulia and the wine shows a little more backward and rustic than the wines from Salice Salentino. All in all, this wine is a great companion for Antipasto platters, pasta dishes, and other hearty Italian fare. $14 per bottle locally in Austin at Central Market. Recommended.

7/5/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

Served this with grilled lamb and it was a slam dunk. It is still a puppy in terms of age, as is evident in the still remarkably present tannins on the finish. But being a 100% Grenache blend, I love this wine. Classic flavors of licorice, earth, garrigue and blackberries, this wine delivers in spades. Bosquet des Papes "A la Gloire de mon Grand-Père" is a home run wine for me in every vintage in CdP.

7/3/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

My last bottle. Really nice wine that could have developed for several more years. Soft plum and cherry fruit with nice earthiness and saddle leather. Hint of tobacco. Finished strong and was the perfect match for Italian food. La Gerla's base Brunello is one of my favorite base Brunellos period. Highly recommended.

7/1/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

Delivered as always. Deep, dark black berry flavors and loaded with tobacco, tar, green bell pepper and aromas of barnyard. Chinon all the way through and proof once again why Olga Raffault is often referred to as the "Queen of the Barnyard". Highly recommended.

7/3/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

I thought this was undrinkable. I like steely and minerally, but this seemed green and unripe and with a bitterness I didn't care for. Really zero fruit. Very unappealing and at $20, this is very poor value.

5/27/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

I don't know why, but this was the first bottle of Rhys that I remember where I liked it better on the first night than on subsequent nights. On night one, it seemed fresh and lively, but also very serious and interesting. Plum and cherry fruit are pretty dark in this wine, and I get a little bit of asian five spice and cinnamon on the finish. On nights 2 and 3, the wine seemingly kept getting flabbier and less interesting to me. I wonder if the wine is going through a weird phase, or if it is best consumed sooner rather than later. Not sure on that one.

5/26/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

Very nice. Crisp, fresh, steely and interesting. Quite a bit of apple and peach fruit in this one along with some cut grass and white flowers. Solid all the way from the mid-palate through the finish. Really a very nice wine and at less than $18, this is really a very nice value white wine that delivers tons of flavor and goes well with a meal. Recommended.

5/21/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

Unfortunately, I didn't like this one nearly as much as the Talamonti Trabocchetto Pecorino the other night. A blend of Friulano, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc. The nose is dominated by the Sauvignon Blanc in this wine, and the palate is dominated by the Friulano. In sum total, this wine is a bit of a Frankenstein in my opinion. Slightly bitter on the mid-palate, and overly floral, reminiscent of a muscat ice wine profile on the finish. Just an odd duck kind of wine. Definitely drinkable and at $15 a decent value since it's still real wine, but it's not as good as other stuff one can buy for just a few bucks more. This one's a pass.

5/18/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

This was pretty good, but maybe a little too heavy handed in its approach for Barbaresco in my opinion. The fruit seemed very forward and the acidity lower than I expected. Vaguely reminiscent traces of balsamico notes on the palate and a very nice plum and blackberry fruit profile. Maybe a touch too voluptuous for me in the execution. That said, still a very nice wine, but one I would pair completely differently with food next time. This one really needs some beef to stand up to it rather than the fowl I chose to pair it with.

5/21/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

Run, do not walk...to buy some of this stuff. Purchased locally in Austin for under $18, this has to be one of the finest obscure and inexpensive whites I have ever had. Pale yellow color, this has a wonderfully aromatic nose of flowers and fresh white peach and nectarine fruit. Just awesome on the mid-palate and with a killer finish. Apparently Pecorino is consumed largely with fish in Italy, and I tested this hypothesis successfully. What makes this wine so interesting is that it has beautifully ripe fruit, yet racy lipsmacking acidity. This is definitely meant to be consumed young, but it's worth picking up a case of this anytime. Truly remarkable stuff. My wife loved it too.

5/18/2012 - steffenpelz wrote:

This is a really serious white wine. Not at all the simple sipper that I (maybe foolishly) expected it to be. Straw yellow color and almost a little spritzy on night one. Slightly reductive nose of honey, toasted nuts and honeydew melon. Reminiscent of a poor man's white burgundy on the palate with plenty of freshness, toasted hazelnut, bees wax, and peaches. Very full bodied and mouth coating white wine. Finishes very strong and it really begs to be had with some food. Great wine that is worth the price of admission.