Category: Impressive

Emmanuel Darnaud 2014– Crozes-Hermitage, France

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So here’s a wine I was not going to review.  I picked this up on Georges’ recommendation, from Antic Wine.  Georges is, in a word, the man.  I talk about Georges more in the Antic Wine entry, but much of what you need to know about Georges you can pick up from the way he marked this bottle in the photo.  antic-pricingWhen I first opened this wine, I shouldn’t have.  But I came back the next day and found that she is a delicious beauty of blackberry pie, cherry tart, autumn leaves, moss, and dusty dried flowers, with a perfectly balanced tannic closing, to boot.  Wow.  I haven’t had a French wine do this for me in a while.

  • Rating: Impressive
  • Name: Emmanuel Darnaud 2014 Crozes-Hermitage
  • Winery: Emmanuel Darnaud
  • Region: Crozes-Hermitage
  • Country: France
  • Varietals: ?Syrah?
  • Price: 15 Euros
  • Where to Buy: Antic Wines, Lyon, France

Clos Signadore – Patrimonio, Corsica

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The crispness of apples with cherries, grass, and a dank cocoa note.  More dried cherries, musty walnuts, moss, and vanilla on the front end.  Powerful tannins come in with pepper, red fruits, and an echo of cocoa and cinnamon.  This is a wine with a story:  I picked this up from Georges dos Santos of Anti Wines in Lyon, France.  Georges is an interesting character, a real personality that styles himself as “the flying sommelier” which, as far as I can tell, is pretty accurate.  According to Georges, after a few glasses, he had to plead and cajole his way into getting his hands on just a few cases of this wine.  Apparently, the Corsicans prefer to consume it all at home, the world be damned!  If you can place hands on a bottle, I suggest you do so.

  • Rating: Impressive
  • Name: Clos Signadore
  • Winery: Christophe Ferrandis, Clos Signadore
  • Region: Patrimonio
  • Country: Corsica
  • Varietals: Nielluccio
  • Price: 40 Euros
  • Where to Buy: Antic Wines, Lyon, France

Barbazul – Cadiz, Spain

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I actually exclaimed at the first mouthful of this one.  Out loud.  Balsamic, cherries, and florals on the nose.  This deep, rich babe of a wine attacks the front palate with just the right balance of dark and red fruits, vanilla, and tobacco flavors.  It tastes rich and dark from the instant it touches your tongue.  Rich mineral, tobacco, and dried prune flavors blend with grassy and floral notes, as tannins come in with a spicy punch, leading to a mineraly dried-fruit finish.  It’s very likely that I’ll be upgrading this one to Stunning upon another tasting, but for now I’m going conservative with an impressive rating.  Did I mention it’s rich?

  • Rating: Impressive
  • Name: Barbazul
  • Winery: Huerta de Albalá
  • Region: Cadiz V.T.
  • Country: Spain
  • Varietals: Tintilla de Rota, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Price: 15 Euros
  • Where to Buy: Zona d’Ombra, Barcelona, Spain

Sueños 2009 Reserva – Sierras de Malaga, Spain

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Raisiny, cherry, slate and herbs on the nose.  Thyme.  Dark fruits and dusty raisins on the front palate.  The tannins are chewy, again, raisin-like.  This must be from the hot Southern Spanish sun.  The word BLACK springs to mind and sticks in the brain, and it’s not just from the label.  But with an odd lightness in the center, almost like the airiness of melon.  Long, spicy finish, with strawberries, cream, cocoa, and vanilla.  So much fun.  I picked this on up in Malaga at El Club del Vino on Bernardo’s suggestion.

  • Rating: Impressive
  • Name: Sueños 2009 Reserva
  • Winery: Cezar Viñedos y Bodega SL
  • Region: Sierras de Malaga
  • Country: Spain
  • Varietals: Petit Verdot
  • Price: 17 Euros
  • Where to Buy: El Club del Vino

Altosiós 2011 – Costers del Segre, Spain

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This one takes a while to open up – it needs to breath a bit.  But once it has, a complex bouquet of roses, cocoa, slate, and faint tobacco notes gets things started.  The opening attack has more acid than expected, with somewhat lemony notes and red fruit.  Not exactly what you would expect from the bouquet, or color of the juice.  The red fruit gives over to an echo of luscious pear and grass, before chewy tannins come in to help deliver raisiny cocoa and hot stone notes (yes, that’s a thing, thank you very much).  This wine was a blind faith purchase from Javi at Vinalium.  There will be more such purchases in the future.  It was gorgeous with fuet and piquillos, and opened up in exactly the way Javi described that it would.

  • Rating: Impressive
  • Name: Altosíos
  • Winery: Bodegas Costers del Sió
  • Region: Costers del Segre
  • Country: Spain
  • Varietals: Syrah, Tempranillo, Garnacha
  • Price: 17 Euros
  • Where to Buy: Vinalium, Barcelona

Almodí – Terra Alta, Spain

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The rich, tough bouquet of leather, dried cherries, and slate are just a hint of what is coming.  Soft acid, leather, almonds, dark fruits, and mineral form a solid, grounded opening.  Rich, soft tannins join the deep, swirling cocoa and cherry notes leading toward a long spicy finish.  I didn’t know what to expect here, but I’m very happy that I went for it.  This wine was a revelation with a plate of cured hams and sausages.  At 8 Euros, this wine is so cheap I’m almost embarrassed to call it impressive!

  • Rating: Impressive
  • Name: Almodí
  • Winery: Altavins
  • Region: Terra Alta
  • Country: Spain
  • Varietals: Garnatxa
  • Price: 8 Euros
  • Where to Buy: Zona d’Ombra, Barcelona

Pacheca Grande Reserva 2011 – Douro, Portugal

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This powerhouse greets the nose with a blend of peppery spice, moss, black fruit, raisins, and cocoa.  The front palate gets a kick in the face from fresh strawberries and cocoa, and a hint of pepper.  Black rubber, old leather, cocoa, faint vanilla, and red fruits are pulled together by powerful (but no too) tannins and a peppery finish.  This is a true reserva, with all the aged wisdom that comes with that.  It was fantastic with roasted pork, and I imagine it paring well with any version of parillada.

  • Rating: Impressive
  • Name: Pacheca Grande Reserva 2011
  • Winery: Quinta da Pacheca
  • Region: Douro
  • Country: Portugal
  • Varietals: Touriga Nacional
  • Price: $?
  • Where to Buy: Lisbon

 

Vale da Poupa 2015 – Douro, Portugal

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A bursting fresh nose with kiwi, citrus, pear, and passion fruit.  If you’re more familiar with New Zealand’s Marlborough Valley Sauvignon Blanc, this will feel comfortable.  Acid, grapefruit, and passion fruit hit the front palate like, well, a mallet.  So full and vibrant it almost feels bubbly in the mouth.  Slides across the center of your tongue like a flaming snake, delicious and unpredictable.

  • Rating: Impressive
  • Name: Vale da Poupa 2015
  • Winery: Consultores, Lda – Quinta da Faisca
  • Region: Douro
  • Country: Portugal
  • Varietals: Moscatel Galego Branco (Muscat Petits Grains)
  • Price: $?
  • Where to Buy: Lisbon

Herdade do Peso Reserva 2013 – Alentejo, Portugal

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Cherries and violets on the nose.  Nice acid, cherries, and cocoa hit the front of the palate.  Chocolate and leather notes intensify as it flows across the tongue, with woody notes shored up by powerful tannins.  The finish is long and chewy, and you’ll feel and taste the red fruits in your jaws as you swallow.  Herbal and earthy notes linger after the finish.  A nice red, worthy of the Portuguese label.

  • Rating: Impressive
  • Name: Herdade do Peso Reserva 2013
  • Winery: SOGRAPE Vinhos SA
  • Region: Alentejo
  • Country: Portugal
  • Varietals: Alicante Bouschet, Syrah
  • Price: $?
  • Where to Buy: Lisbon

 

 

Tradição 2015 – Palmela, Portugal

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A very fresh and mineral-driven selection grounded by fermentation and a brief layover in French Oak for 4 months.  Fresh vegetal and citrus notes greet the nose, with faint orange and coriander.  Very soft on the palate, with a gentle brininess and soft vanilla wrapping the tongue like a cashmere blanket.  A crisp finish and faint echo of green apples linger like the last dance.  One doesn’t first think white wine with chorizo, but damn if Nuno didn’t nail the pairing again.

  • Rating: Impressive
  • Name: Tradição 2015
  • Winery: Família Horácio Simões
  • Region: DO Palmela, Setubal
  • Country: Portugal
  • Varietals: Semillon (Boal in Portugal)
  • Price: $?
  • Where to Buy: Wine Bar do Castelo, Lisbon