The perfect wine for appetizers, light meats and fish. It's light and crisp. Made from 100% Cortese grape in all stainless steel, it doesn’t try to be anything other than direct, and works nicely with salty appetizers. You will definitely want to reorder a few bottles of this one. The price is great and is handy to have around for you and/or your guests.
Rated: 88 by Josh Raynolds, Nov/Dec 10
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar
Light gold. Mint, lemon and pear on the nose. Light-bodied orchard and pit fruit flavors provide good palate coverage and show a vaguely viscous texture. Easygoing, fruity wine with good finishing cling; I'd have liked a bit more backbone.
Typically I wait until BBQ weather to start in on the Zinfandels but just couldn’t pass up this Zin in fear that it wouldn’t be around during summer. This is one of those wines where you are going to look at the label and think “Oh god, this is not going to be good.” They are lacking in design but not in winemaking. You might get the idea of this wine’s experience based on what the winemaker wrote: R2R wines are full of expression, pushing to each rail while staying in control, maintaining a balance. They are about elation from sun and surf or great food and excellent company or whatever makes you feel like you’re momentarily off the grid.
I love that energy and the personality comes through in the wine. Taste a bit of sunshine during these winter months.
Affordable and worth the price of admission is sometimes hard to come by with popular Chateauneuf du Papes. The owner, who looks like he could be George Clooney’s father, is Robert Rocchi who commandeers the helm of a local producers. The producer, Patrick Jaumes, for the this CDP makes his of 85% Grenache, 8% Syrah, 5% Mourvèdre and 2% Cinsault.
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: 90 points
Rated: 90 by Josh Raynolds, Jan/Feb 12
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar
Glass-staining ruby. Dark berries and potpourri on the highly fragrant nose. Ripe and fleshy on entry, then firmer in the mid-palate, offering blackberry and blueberry flavors that show an exotic quality. Closes on a sweet note, with seamless texture and very good fruit-driven persistence.
My colleague Anya writes: It's 100% Cabernet Sauvignon grown on rocky hillside vines with no oak treatment whatsoever. We love its overall "quaffability" as well as its food friendliness. The aromatics scream of violets, minerals, and that rustic Old Worldy Cabernet fruit. The palate is fresh and alive, fruit co-mingling with minerals and tobacco with zippy acidity and fine tannins. Its freshness gives it the impression of being more on the medium bodied side, but we've got a hunch it'll do a juicy bistecca right. The finish is harmonious, as the vibrant acidity carries each component home intertwined.
Many of you have tasted and experienced Elisabetta’s wine of Montendioli. Ambra Tiroboschi would be her twin in Lombardy. Spoiler: if you taste this wine and think it has oak, the buzzer will sound. All stainless steel fermentation in this 100% Trebbiano vino blanco and how full bodied it can be without the use of oak. Complexity and the care you can taste comes is the additional treat atop the citrus, grassy and mineral elements on the nose and palate.
The perfect dinner guest has arrived. Solid in its stature, this wine seems uptight and guarded at first, but then the layers fold back with brilliant conversation. An incredible amount of complexity at this price point. Deep and intense, definitely a guest you want to invite back. Made from 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc.
Since this is the last Chardonnay for the year for Company’s Coming, I thought we should finish strongly. Jean-Marie, the first certified organic farmer in Viré-Clesse, created this new Cuvée that he formerly blended into “Vielles Vignes” since he knew it could stand on its own...and does it ever! It shows the elegant minerally side of Burgundy well.
Last month, we featured a well-balanced Burgundy Blanc at an inexpensive price point. This month, we found one from Sonoma between Glen Ellen and Kenwood. In the past, they have vinified their Chards with 100% new oak; this time 25% was in steel. It has given their Chardonnay life. Not a blockbuster Chard, but nicely balanced.
This has become my house white since it is so versatile and a crowd pleaser. Easy on the pocketbook, with some complexity: At $11, it’s a tremendous value. The screw cap top is perfect for all the pre-holiday gatherings that I have hosted. Made from 50% Sauvignon Blanc, 40% Semillon and 10% Muscadelle, it’s a lively balanced wine, on that’s been vinified with a distinct character. I met the winemaker a few years back and I can still hear him say that his goal was to reserve as much of the lively nature of the Sauvignon Blanc as possible.