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Italian Varietals from WA/OR/CA and Italy...Blind

Eastside Wine Storage

Tasted January 23, 2010 - January 24, 2010 by tarheel17 with 567 views

Introduction

I dont' know much about Italian wine, so I don't feel bad about getting a whopping 1 of 12 blind guesses right. It's a learning experience, I tell you.

Flight 1 (3 notes)

White
2006 Kris Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie Italy, Delle Venezie
81 points
nose: stinky sock, woodsy, kinda weird.
palate: thick, a littler papery, with bruised citrus and a watery, empty midpalate. My least favorite of the flight.
White
2007 Breggo Cellars Pinot Gris Wiley Vineyard USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
85 points
nose: some funkiness, also some flower stems
palate: way sweeter on the palate than the nose would lead me to believe. Almost too sweet, like sugar was added.
Compared to the Bethel Heights pinot blanc, this was much less balanced and a lot more fake. Blind tasting sure does change a palate.
White
2008 Bethel Heights Pinot Blanc USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills
87 points
nose: tropical, very exuberant fruit, some stone
palate: very citrus in intensity, and surprisingly complex (more so than the Kris and Breggo Pinot gris/grigio tasted alongside). My favorite of the flight.87-88

Flight 2 (8 notes)

Red
2001 Woodward Canyon Dolcetto Estate USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley
nose: a little funk, some mushrooms and meat
palate: boring fruit, imbalanced. I did not like it very much.
Red
2004 Cascade Cliffs Nebbiolo Estate Reserve USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
This was really delicious to begin with, but faded very, very fast. By the end of the tasting, I revisited and it had died on the table. Sad. Notes from the initial tasting (opened maybe 1 hour prior to pouring).
Very light brown in color, this had the look of a wine over the hill, and in fact it was.
nose: strawberry jam, unmistakable.
palate:black tea (sorry, Cindy), some strawberry, tannin so light it was nonexistent, very ethereal in weight. Hard to guess blind - who knew WA Nebbiolo would age so fast?
Red
2003 Masseria Frattasi Aglianico del Taburno Iovi Tonant Riserva Italy, Campania, Aglianico del Taburno
89 points
The nose was lovely, absolutely lovely. Tar, smoke, some metallic sensations, red licorice...it was really interesting and singular
the palate was intense, with dark, heavy tannin, good acid, and it tasted "purple" which means only something to me. Nice mouthfeel....my first aglianico, so I had no idea how to guess what this was in the blind format. Very good, though.
Red
2006 Càntele Primitivo Salento IGT Italy, Puglia, Salento IGT
81 points
nose: cooked fruit, some greenery
palate: very soft (in comparison to the aglianico, which means very little) some greens, medium tannin, berry-like fruit. I guessed dolcetto, but I didn't particularly enjoy it. It was OK.
Red
2005 Mauro Veglio Langhe Nebbiolo Angelo Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
88 points
nose: rose petals, cinnamon, red fruit tea
palate: red fruit, very pure and well-balanced, though not intense. I really liked this, though I didn't find it overly complex. But it's only $10! Stocking up time.
Red
2001 Lazzeretti Brunello di Montalcino Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino
nose: dirt and greenery, smoke
palate: a bit green and dark, this didn't display a whole lot of fruit, though I still found it "yummy" according to my notes. A bit dirty and closed, I think this deserves a revisit after decanting.
Red
2005 Columbia Winery Zinfandel USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Horse Heaven Hills
65 points
In a word: blech.
nose: so oaked, it reminds me of fritos and buttered popcorn.
palate: alcohol. American oak. Not good.
Red
2005 Mark Shannon Promessa Rosso Salento IGT Italy, Puglia, Salento IGT
This was WILD. the nose was like smelling brown sugar, honey, and soy sauce. It smelled almost like BBQ sauce - I've never had quite this aroma come from a wine before. Really dark in color, too.
Palate: interesting. Sweetly odd. Not sure how I felt about it, but it sure was a novelty. I think it was in the end, too weird for me to enjoy it. 83ish.
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