Michele Chiarlo Barbera d'Asti Superiore Le Orme DOC 2005 As we found with the 2003, the wine displays textbook acidity in a very light bodied package with a bit of earthiness and some tannin. This works as a budget Barbera though won't delight...
Monchiero Carbone Birbet nv Red fruits, light carbonation and sweetness that is not at all cloying. The lift of the carbonation lightens the weight of this wine. A natural for drinking with fresh berries. The grape is Brachetto grown in Roero at...
Taylor Fladgate, Porto, Late Bottle Vintage 2000 Porty and pruny with a noticable sense of the fortifying spirit – true to type and sometimes the wine seems to have the alcohol integrated even better than usual. Bottled in 2006 in Oporto, by Taylor...
Gran Sasso, Puglia, Primitivo IGT 2005 Tasted in May '08 this wine was blooming with brett and would repulse most consumers. A bottle tasted later in the summer proved to be a different animal. Oaky and earthy with new world fruit, an appropriate...
Isole e Olena Chianti Classico DOCG 2003 Tonight’s bottle showed some herbaceousness and tannic grip, as well as evolving fruit. The bottle opened earlier in the year showed classic cherry fruit and complexing earthiness with some evolution and...
This flight pairs two of Italy's well-known white grapes. Vernaccia from Tuscany and Vermentino from the island of Sardegna. Classically the Vernaccia has been described as crisp and full of minerality while the Vermentino was known for its...
Jocelyn Lonen Napa Valley Zinfandel Port 2004 This wine combines sweet fruit, an essence of chocolate and spirit. One of the class affectionately described it as like a chocolate candy filled with liqueur, 'alcohol in an envelope of something...
This flight features 5 Zinfandel from 2001 to 2005 sourced from Napa and Paso Robles. Eberle Paso Robles Zinfandel 2005 Like eating a sweet cherry pie, this wine combines rich fruit, glycerol and oak into a viscous delight. Even with the high...
Marsala is known the world over but like Madeira it often gets categorized as a mere cooking wine. This is unfortunate as the flavors can delight and since the wine is out of fashion, it's price point is attractive. Florio Marsala DOC Fine Ambra...
Cantine Rallo Moscato di Pantelleria DOC 2003 This is the second bottle of this vintage tasted this year. The Muscat comes through (known as Zibibbo in this part of the world). During the last tasting we placed it side by side with a Passito from...