Tenuta La Marchesa 2011 “Gold Label” Gavi

Posted by Keith Wallace on May 21, 2013 in Wine Reviews | 0 comments

Northeastern Italy wine review

The wine region of Gavi has had its ups and downs. Quality hit  a significant low in the nineteen-nineties with the push toward mass-production.  We are now seeing a new high, after a decades-long push to rehabilitate the region’s reputation.

Fresh and appealing, the wine pops with white flavors: peaches and flowers, to be precise. It is deftly balanced, offering not just the brighness of acid, but it’s opposite as well: fleshy and creamy  ripeness.

Fresh pear and white pepper are found in the long finish, along with spicy barrel notes.

Maculan 2010 Brentino, Veneto

Posted by Keith Wallace on May 17, 2013 in Wine Reviews | 0 comments

A Veneto wine review

A Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blend from Northeastern Italy with a great deal of style. On the nose, classic notes of tobacco and graphite interplay with fresh plum. The texture is velvet and medium bodied with soft and integrated tannins. Vanilla and toasted cinnamon start to open up on the mid-palate with a touch of sweetness. On the finish, burnt cedar and black currants dominate. A very pretty bottle of wine that plays above its price-point.

Buena Vista 2006 Pinot Noir Ramal Road, Carneros

Posted by Keith Wallace on May 12, 2013 in Wine Reviews | 0 comments

Carneros wine review

Grown at the very bottom of Carneros, which also happens to be the very top of San Pablo Bay (let that be a lesson in geography for you)

I can imagine some Hollywood exec driving around LA in a  silver Bentley Continental. He’s in the back seat, drinking this wine from the bottle. He’s probably just leaving a meeting with Drea De Matteo and Michael Imperioli, pitching a “Sopranos in Space” musical. The meeting went well.

While most of us will never have that moment to celebrate (if that would be the correct word) in our lives, this is definitely an opulent and showy style of Pinot Noir that is a better fit as a showcase than with a meal.

Which is to say, this isn’t a typical Pinot Noir. Full bodied with dense dark fruit and french roast coffee notes. Silky texture unfolds with sweet cherry and cardamon notes that turns toward cola and licorice. The finish pushes forward with milk chocolate and a refreshing edge of minerality and perfume.

This wine was a Chairman Selection in the PLCB (Pennsylvania) stores at the time of writing.

Terre da Vino 2009 “La Casa in Collina” Barbaresco

Posted by Keith Wallace on May 10, 2013 in Wine Reviews | 0 comments

Lange wine review

I am always looking for good values for Nebbiolo. The high quality $20 bottle is a rare and wonderful thing.  Typically that takes me to the larger Langhe region, plus Gattinara and Roero. The well-known regions of Barolo and Barbareso are rarely under $3o, and when they do dip below that price point  they  are almost never worth drinking.

This is the exception that proves the rule. Linear tannins that build out a complex structure of bitter herbs and tar. The plushness of sweet cherry and black fruit come open up quickly. Flavors and scents of toast and licorice are flowed by a salinity that finishes with burnt earth and   spices.

Craiglee 2007 Shiraz, Victoria

Posted by Keith Wallace on May 7, 2013 in Wine Reviews | 0 comments

Australian wine review

The cooler climate of Victoria often delivers Shiraz with more complexity and a lighter framework than other South Australian regions.  This bottle is a wonderful example of that style.

Its dark violet stains the glass purple,  and it’s aromas offer up charcoal smoke and white pepper along with dark blueberry and cherry. On the palate, the attack is fatty and fruity, with a hint of anise. On the midpalate, the wine lightens turning fresh and light with fresh strawberry and cinnamon dominating. On the finish, the richness re-asserts itself with great tannic strength and a splash of cherry.

 This wine is a Chairman’s Special in the PLCB (Pennsylvania) at the time of this review. 

De Martino 2010 Carmenere Legado Reserva, Maipo

Posted by Keith Wallace on May 5, 2013 in Wine Reviews | 0 comments

Chilean wine review

A vanguard in the organic wine movement, De Martino has been farming organically since 1997, and has been carbon neutral for the last season. Despite that, the winery has been making great wines for the past few years.

The winery is making interesting wines, and the style has been changing over the past decade. Gone are the huge oaky beasts that they were churning out. Now, it’s more likely to see new clay amphorae than new oak barrels in their winery.

As a critic, it’s hard to get a handle on a wine when the winery is making drastic changes year to year, but it seems like they have finally settled on a house style in 2010.

The fruit does have a transparency that is unlike most Chilean wines, with fresh bing cherries and dark fruit at the forefront. Cola and chocolate notes come in mid-palate with a striking note of sandalwood. Good finish with fig and mocha notes.