Category: Impressive

Domus Pensi – Terra Alta, Spain

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Somehow both fresh and leathery on the nose.  Ripe red and black fruits on the front end, flowing quickly into tannin-laden leather notes and a faint hint of violets.  This is a young one, but a beauty.  All those powerful notes, but still somehow manages to hold a medium body, feeling fresh and clean in the mouth.  It went equally well with heavy Italian sausage as it did with lighter Portuguese seafood paté.

  • Rating: Impressive
  • Name: Domus Pensi 2013
  • Winery: Altavins Viticultors SL
  • Region: Terra Alta
  • Country: Spain
  • Varietals: 45% Cabernet, 30% Garnacha, 15% Syrah, 10% Merlot
  • Price: ~$25
  • Where to Buy: Total Wine

L’assemblage de Coeur Rouge 2016 – Vaude, Switzerland

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A fresh and mellow expression of these varietals popular in Switzerland.  The nose has fresh white pepper and a spacious red fruit.  Not dense, but enveloping.  More red fruit on the palate with a green wood freshness, rather than mustiness.  Gentle, but not non-existent, tannin give just the right structure on the back end.  A lovely red wine, really surprising to those accustomed to American-style pinots.  This was a gift from a friend in Switzerland and really hit the spot.

  • Rating: Impressive
  • Name: L’assemblage de Coeur Rouge 2016
  • Winery: Cave de Jolimont, Mont-sur-Rolle
  • Region: Vaude
  • Country: Switzerland
  • Varietals: Gamaret, Garanoir, Pinot Noir
  • Price: ?
  • Where to Buy: ?

Vermentino i Fiori 2013 – Sardegna, Italy

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The nose of this one hits you with a mossy, salty note reminiscent of craggy rocks splashed clean by ocean surf.  The front of the palate echoes the same notes, smoothed with an almost creamy mouthfeel.  This is a minerally, slate and clay, white with a body that is at the same time fresh and summery, but not as light and forgettable as a languid Summer afternoon.  She plays well with all manner of seafood and well into the crushed leaves of autumn.

  • Rating: Impressive
  • Name: i Fiori Vermentino 2013
  • Winery: Azienda Agricola PALA di Mario Pala & C.
  • Region: Sardegna
  • Country: Italy
  • Varietals: 100% Vermentino
  • Price: $17
  • Where to Buy: Whole Foods et al.

La Suerte de Arrayan 2011 – Méntrida, Spain

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Fresher than expected on the nose:  notes of grass, strawberries, and wood.  Front palate of red fruit, blueberries, and faint vanilla notes.  Chewy and rich with tobacco, cocoa, and more vanilla rounding into a wall of warm tannins red fruit.  A soft, berry-laden finish that melts away quickly.  Lovely.

  • Rating: Impressive
  • Name: La Suerte de Arrayan 2011
  • Winery: La Verdosa, S.L.
  • Region: Méntrida
  • Country: Spain
  • Varietals: Garnacha
  • Price: 25
  • Where to Buy: S&R Liquors

Champs Pentus – Faugères, France

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This one starts with a ripe, bright explosion of cherries and blackberries on the nose, rounding out with some grassy notes.  The fruit fades into tree bark, woody/mossy scents and flavors, with just the right amount of tannin to back it up.  This is how I imagine the wet woods tasting when you wake early from your tent on a camping trip.  The finish is short, but clean, with a faint saltiness and a whisper of the original cherry bomb.  Stylistically, the bright and medium-to-light body isn’t really my favorite, but if it were I would consider this more than worth the price-tag.

  • Rating: Impressive
  • Name: Champs Pentus 2013
  • Winery: Frédérico Brouca
  • Region: Faugères
  • Country: France
  • Varietals: 40% Syrah, 30% Grenache, 30% Carignan
  • Price: $23
  • Where to Buy: S&R Liquors

Monica i Fiori 2013 – Sardegna, Italy

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Starts with a woody, mossy nose, with background notes of red fruit.  The front pallet has a fresh red fruit and grass character, though not necessarily like the thinness of a young wine.  A certain fresh, green quality closes out with light tannins and a fascinating strawberry-balsamic after taste.  We tasted this one after the Corash, so the tasting could have been impacted by the bold fruit and toughness of its Sardinian cousin.  Both were had with Osso Buco and played stunningly well with it.

  • Rating: Impressive
  • Name: Monica i Fiori 2013
  • Winery: Azienda Agricola PALA di Mario Pala & C.
  • Region: Sardegna
  • Country: Italy
  • Varietals: Monica
  • Price: $17
  • Where to Buy: Litteri

Corash Riserva 2013 – Sardegna, Italy

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This wine practically jumps out of the bottle at you.  Aggressive cherries and vanilla attack the nose, backed with scents like freshly hewn wood and green orchid.  (Yes, I know what these smell like – grew up in Kentucky, where I chopped more than I wanted to, and lived in Miami for a number of years, where you might just mow over orchids in your lawn.)  Many of these same flavors repeat on the front palate, with a burst of blackberries and chewy raisins.  A little acid and leather come as it glides across the tongue, with abrupt tannins that bring the finish up tight, with a slight floral after taste.  This one’s an adventure that was magnificent with the tender richness of home-made Osso Buco.

  • Rating: Impressive
  • Name: Corash Riserva 2013
  • Winery: Cantina Della Vernaccia Oristano
  • Region: Sardegna
  • Country: Italy
  • Varietals: Cannonau
  • Price: $20
  • Where to Buy: Litteri

Gilles Barge Cote Blonde 2013 – Cote-Rotie, France

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So Georges dos Santos explained to me that Cotes Blonde is an indication that the winery chose only the best of the best fruits to produce a selection.  I have to take his word for that, and you should too.  Red fruits and thyme (yes, thyme) on the nose.  Light peppery notes, more red fruit, and a strong tannin finish.  I could have let this one lay down for a while – wish I’d known (OK, 2013, I should have known, but was too excited and jet-lagged to think about it please stop picking on me, thanks).  Spice, white pepper, and green herbs on the finish.  A lovely full bodied wine that, yet again, belies France’s reputation for almost exclusively producing finesse wines.

  • Rating: Impressive
  • Name: Gilles Barge Cote Blonde 2013
  • Winery: Gilles Barge
  • Region: Cote-Rotie
  • Country: France
  • Varietals: Rhone blend, certainly including Syrah?
  • Price: 50 Euros
  • Where to Buy: Antic Wines, Lyon, France

12 Volts 2013 – Mallorca, Spain

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I admit to expecting something different when I popped this one open.  Bright red fruit on the nose, gave way to elegant, silky vanilla flavors and bright sour cherries.  This was definitely a lighter wine than I had expected, but the bright (notice the theme) and luscious notes on both the palate and the nose made for a lovely little wine.  I picked this beauty up in San Sebastian or Barcelona some time in 2015, but it appears that T. Edward New York is bringing it in to the U.S.

  • Rating: Impressive
  • Name: 12 Volts 2013
  • Winery: Apol-lonia Viticultors S.A.T.
  • Region: Mallorca
  • Country: Spain
  • Varietals: 50% Callet; 30% Syrah; 10% Cabernet Sauvignon; 10% Merlot
  • Price: 30 Euros
  • Where to Buy: Edward New York

Arenes Sauvages 2010 – Cornas, France 

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Another Georges dos Santos selection.  Complex, intense nose of roses, vanilla, old wood, and fig.  An acidic kick to the front of the palate, with more wood, intense florals, with a hint of cocoa.  I find myself reaching for the name of a flavor that just eludes me.  Tannins come in with hints of slate and red fruits, in a deep, powerful attack.  Just wow.

  • Rating: Impressive
  • Name: Arénes Sauvages 2010, plot selection
  • Winery: La Cave de Tain
  • Region: Cornas
  • Country: France
  • Varietals: Syrah
  • Price: 30 Euros
  • Where to Buy: Antic Wines, Lyon, France