Author: Bruno Donaggio

California Sparkling

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On August 6th, I attended the California Classic Sparkling Wines tasting which was held at Corkbuzz wine bar. The wine bar is located at 13 East 13th Street in the Union Square neighborhood of Manhattan.

The event was curated by Please the Palate, a marketing company for wine and spirit events.

It was a walk around tasting of sparkling wines from the California producers of Domaine Carneros, Schramsberg and Roederer Estate.

All the producers poured their entry level Rosé and non vintage Brut but what were the stand outs were their vintage and disgorged offerings. I was not able to attend the earlier seminar where they poured some older vintages. Fortunately they carried over some of those wines to the walk around tasting so I was able to sampled some of the older bottles.

Those vintage and disgorged wines stood up to anything that was produced in Champagne and in a blind tasting would be hard to tell the difference. Not unexpectedly, Corkbuzz put out some nice charcuterie and fried chicken to go with all that good sparkling wine.

Some of what I sampled:

Domaine Carneros

2016 Le Reve2020 Brut
2006 Le ReveNV Brut Rosé
1995 Le Reve

Schramsberg

2004 J. Schram Late DisgorgedNV Brut Rosé
2014 J. Schram NoirsNV Blanc de Blancs
2015 J. Schram Blancs

Roederer Estate

2007 L’ Ermitage BrutNV Brut Rosé
2017 L’ Ermitage BrutHarvest 2020 Black Road Vineyard

VinExpo New York City 2024

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VinExpo is a wine and spirit event organized by Vinexposium. This year the expo has and will be held in Paris, Hong Kong and Mumbai. On June 24-25, the expo was held in New York City, “the trendy wine market that never sleeps”.

The event was held at the Jacob K. Javits convention center at 429 11th Avenue on the far West side of Manhattan.

It featured 260 exhibitors from over 30 countries including off the radar wines from Armenia, Georgia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Brazil. The vast majority of the wines at the event were definitely from France with Italy a distant second with the U.S. represented with only a small handful of producers. Spirits and beer were on hand as well with a large selection of Japanese whisky.

While most of the wines were French, the majority of those French wines were from the Rhone Valley. That’s not a bad thing since some excellent wines come from that part of that country. I particularly like the underrated white wines made from local grape varieties such as Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier while there were plenty of reds from Chateauneuf du Pape, Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Crozes-Hermitage and Cote-Rotie to name a few of the Rhone appellations that were present.

VinExpo was held in conjunction with the Fancy Food Show, so when I needed to cleanse my palate after trying several wines, I would make my way to the food show and graze on the numerous and excellent domestic and international cheeses.

I did attend one of the Masterclasses.

Crus Bourgeois du Medoc.

Crus Bourgeois are the unclassed growths of Bordeaux, as such they are usually a good value compared to the classified growths. They are red wines that come from 250 chateaux produced in 7 appellations. Bordeaux has had a string of good vintages up until the 2021 vintage and in good vintages, there is so much good grape juice that the quality extends to all the tiers of producers.

2020 Chateau de Panigon (Medoc): 50% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot. Clear medium red, crushed rock and petroleum on the nose, tight and tart with some green notes.

2019 Chateau d’Agassac (Haut Medoc): 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc. Opaque dark red to black, smoky black fruit on the nose, juicy with crushed rocks on the dusty, firm finish.

2019 Chateau Reverdi (Listrac Medoc): 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Petit Verdot, 30% Merlot. Opaque dark red with a purple rim, crushed black fruit and gravel on the nose, concentrated and dusty fruit with firm tannins on the dusty finish.

2022 Chateau Mongravey (Margaux): 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc. Opaque dark red to black with a purple rim, closed nose of herbs, concentrated and dusty with some cardboard notes on the fruit.

2019 Chateau Tour de Pez (St. Estephe): 63% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc. Opaque black with a purple rim, tarry dark chocolate on the nose, tight, minty red fruit ending with big tannins.

Zachys Escape to Tuscany Italian Tasting 2024

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Zachys has been a family-owned seller of fine wines and spirits since 1944. As with most wine shops they will host tastings for consumers at their store. On occasion they will hold a more intensive tasting that you need to buy a ticket to attend.

I’ve been to a few of those ticketed events, and they have been worth the cost of admission and the hour train ride to Port Chester as they can be counted on to pour quality juice for whatever theme they are pouring for that day.

They held one of those ticked tastings on Father’s Day weekend last June. The “Escape to Tuscany” was a tasting of 50+ Italian wines from the (mostly) 2021 vintage.

In addition to the wines, they had a handful of premium spirts on hand to sample. That included single malt Scotch from Dalmore, Laphroaig and Port Askaig, Tequila from Hiatus and Italian malt whiskey from PUNI.

Some of what I sampled:

2021 Vallepicciola Bianco (Tuscany): 100% Chardonnay. Medium gold with a floral nose, tight with nice acidity with lime notes.

2021 Fattoria le Pupille Piemme Bianco (Tuscany): Clear yellow with a floral nose, moderate fruit with a touch of sweetness in the back end, good balance.

2019 Vallepicciola Migliore (Tuscany): Bordeaux Blend. Opaque dark red with tar, dark cherry and cigarette smoke on the nose, silky, smoky fruit with silky tannins and a good grip at the end.

2021 Tenuta Luce Luce (Tuscany): Opaque medium purple, closed nose of tarry meat, tight red fruit ending with big tannins.

2021 Le Serre Nuove Ornellaia (Tuscany): Clear dark red, earthy, black cherry nose, crushed dark fruit with oak notes, gritty tannins.

2021 Poggio Valente Le Pupille (Tuscany): Clear light brick, red cherry tar on the nose, juicy red fruit, good grip. long finish.

2021 Greppicaia I Greppi (Tuscany): Opaque medium red with a brick rim, tar, smoke and graphite on the nose, silky, violet and tarry fruit with a red cherry finish. good grip.

2021 Tenuta di Biserno Il Pino (Tuscany): Clear medium red, closed nose of tar and barnyard, chunky dark chocolate fruit ending with firm, gritty tannins.

2021 Tenuta di Beserno Berseno (Tuscany): Clear medium red, crushed red cherry on the nose, red cherry fruit, moderate acids, long bitter cherry finish.

2021 Voliero Rosso di Montalcino (Tuscany): Clear light brick, spicy tar on the nose, silky red fruit with moderate acidity and firm tannins.

2021 Antinori Guado Al Tasso (Tuscany): Clear medium red, black cherry and barnyard on the nose, cherry dark chocolate and dark black fruit, great balance and a long finish.

2021 Torre Alle Comete Campo Alle Comete (Tuscany): Clear medium red, perfume of earth and smoke, chewy, silky fruit ending with firm, silky tannins and a long finish.

2021 Montepeloso Nardo (Tuscany): Clear medium red, earthy tar on the nose, silky fruit, silky tannins with a good grip on the great finish.

2021 Montepeloso Eneo (Tuscany): Clear light brick, earthy, smoky dark chocolate on the nose, silky and smoky fruit with smoke notes on the balanced finish.

2021 Castello dei Rampolla Chianti Classico (Tuscany): Clear medium reds, earth, tar and leather on the nose, tight silky red fruit ending with dusty and firm tannins.

2020 Felsina Fontalloro (Tuscany): Clear light brick, earth and tar on the nose, chewy red leather fruit with firm acidity.

Decanter Fine Wine Encounter NYC 2024

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Decanter is a British based wine magazine that covers news of the wine and spirits world. As with other wine-based magazines, they rate wines as well.

On June 8th, for the third consecutive year, they held the Fine Wine Encounter wine event in New York City. The event was held on the 60th floor at Manhatta restaurant located at 28 Liberty Street in lower Manhattan. Similar events by Decanter will be held later this year in Singapore and London.

The event featured a Grand Tasting which was a walk around event featuring award-winning wines from 50 producers with various masterclasses throughout the afternoon. In addition to the wines in the main room, they had a separate room that featured about 30 bottles of their Platinum, Gold and Best in Show rated wines to sample.

As in the past, it was an excellent tasting with a nice selection of top end wines of the world. I have to say, not in my top three but still an excellent tasting with the outstanding view in the venue as an added plus.

As is usual in the case of these big tastings, I focused on Bordeaux and Napa Valley Cabernet for the most part while sampling a few others. One good thing about this particular tasting is that many of the Bordeaux producers brought bottles of older vintage wines to sample and it’s always nice to try a Bordeaux with some age to it.

Some of what I sampled:

Old World

2003 Chateau Lagrange Magnum (St-Julien): Opaque dark red with a brick rim, pretty nose of crushed rocks and crushed black fruit, silky with slate notes on the firm finish.

2004 Speri Amarone “Sant’ Urbano” (Veneto): Clear medium brick with roasted nuts on the nose, leather notes on the balanced fruit with a good grip.

2010 Chateau Talbot (St-Julien): Opaque dark red with a brick rim, earth and mint on the nose, chunky with tight tannins.

2016 Chateau La Dominique (St-Emilion): Opaque dark red with a brick rim, perfume of crushed black, cooked fruit with silky red fruit, firm tannins and a long finish.

2016 E. Guigal Chateau de Nalys Chateauneuf du Pape Jeroboam (Rhone): Opaque medium red, perfume of tar, smoke, spice and mint on the nose, silky and juicy with stone notes on the fruit with great balance and finish.

2018 Chateau Giscours “La Sirene de Giscours” (Margaux): Opaque dark red to black, oak and crushed black fruit on the nose with chewy dark fruit ending with a nice grip.

2019 E. Guigal Chateau d’Ampuis Cote-Rotie (Rhone): Opaque medium red with roasted red fruit on the nose, chewy, sweet red fruit ending with a long finish.

New World

2004 Catena Zapata, Nicolas Catena Zapata Cabernet Sauvignon (Mendoza): Opaque black with a brick rim, toasty and chewy with ripe, cooked fruit notes.

2006 Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon “Insignia” Magnum (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a brick rim, sweet tar and earth on the nose, silky, chewy fruit with silky tannins and dark chocolate mint on the finish.

2012 Santa Rita Casa Real Reserva Especial Cabernet Sauvignon (Maipo Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, warm roasted meat on the nose, chunky with tight tannins.

2013 Quintessa Red Blend (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, cooked black fruit, dark chocolate and roast nuts on the nose, silky red fruit with gun metal notes, good grip, long finish.

2014 Stonestreet Cabernet Sauvignon “Christopher’s Vineyard” (Alexander Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, black tar and vanilla on the nose, fruit starts out silky and ends with big tannins,

2019 Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon “Insignia” (Napa Valley): Opaque black, roast meat on the nose, tight and dense black fruit with a firm and balanced finish.

2019 Domaine Anderson Pinot Noir “Dach” (Anderson Valley): Clear light red, barnyard on the nose, dusty fruit with roasted nut notes.

James Suckling Great Wines World NYC 2024

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James Suckling is a wine writer with the blog jamessuckling.com. The blog reports on news of the worldwide wine industry and reviews and rates wines using a 100-point rating scale.

Mr. Suckling hosts several wine tasting events throughout the year and on June 5 & 6 he hosted the Great Wines World tasting event in New York City.

It was two days of over 500+ wines from 380+ producers that have been rated 92-100 on the JamesSuckling.com website. Those wines and the producers were spread over the two days but if you only attended on one day, that was still enough time to try a couple of hundred wines.

The event was held at The Glasshouse event space at 600 12th Avenue on the far west side of Manhattan overlooking the Hudson River. It was an event space that I have never been to before.

I attended on Wednesday and the sprawling event space overlooked the Intrepid Museum which was docked right outside. There were more than enough excellent wines of the world to occupy the whole evening sampling them. I had wished that the organizers of the event had grouped the wine booths by country as they normally do instead of by alphabetical order as they did in this case which would have made things less confusing, but that’s a minor point when drinking so much good juice.

As usual, in mega tastings like this I focused my energies primarily on Bordeaux and Napa Valley Cabernet with the occasional foray into the other regions.

Some highlights:

2019 Pahlmeyer Chardonnay (Napa Valley): Medium gold, tropical fruit notes on the nose, green herbs and pineapple on the fruit with good structure.

2021 Merryvale Chardonnay “Silhouette” (Napa Valley): Light gold, lime and tropical fruits on the nose, tight, with lime notes on the fruit, good structure.

2021 Chateau Boswell Chardonnay UV Vineyard (Russian River Valley): Light gold, lime and green herbs on the nose, tight with crisp acids.

2010 Chateau Phelan-Segur (St. Estephe): Opaque medium red with a brick rim, pretty nose of mint and toasted twigs, silky and smoky fruit with a great balance.

2013 Quintessa Winery Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): Opaque black, dark tar and leather on the nose, silky dark chocolate fruit with gritty tannins and a great balance.

2015 Chateau de Fieuzal (Pessac Leognan): Clear medium brick, ripe tar and cigarette smoke on the nose, toasty fruit with a long, tight finish.

2015 Chateau Prieure Lichine (Margaux): Clear medium red with a brick rim, barnyard and ripe red fruit on the nose, dusty fruit with a nice balance.

2016 Pym-Rae Red Blend (Napa Valley): Opaque dark brick with sweet cooked fruit on the nose, chewy, leather fruit on the long finish.

2016 Brane-Cantenac (Margaux): Opaque dark red with a red rim, roast meat and crushed rocks on the nose, silky fruit with herb notes ending with tight tannins.

2018 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, toasty and smokey on the nose with turned earth notes on the tight fruit.

2018 Pym-Rae Red Blend (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a red rim, barnyard on the nose, chewy graphite fruit ending with a good grip.

2018 Chateau Phelan-Segur (St. Estephe): Opaque medium brick, closed nose of earth and tar, silky black fruit with a bitter almon finish.

2018 Marques de Carceres “Gaudium” (Rioja): Opaque black with a red rim, barnyard on the nose with chewy graphite fruit and a good grip at the end.

2018 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon “Fay” (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, warm toasted nuts on the nose, juicy with a long, grippy finish.

2019 Pahlmeyer Red Blend (Napa Valley): Opaque black with sweet herbs on the nose, silky and dusty sweet tar on the fruit, nice balance with a good grip.

2019 Pontet-Canet (Pauillac): Opaque dark brick, earthy tar on the nose, silky, chewy and earthy fruit with a long finish.

2019 Chateau Batailly (Pauillac): Opaque black with a purple rim, sweet tar and roasted nuts on the nose, silky and tight with a firm, long finish.

2019 Chateau Lynch-Moussas (Pauillac): Opaque dark red with a red rim, earthy red fruit and roasted nuts on the nose, tight and smokey.

2020 Chateau Gris Nuit St-Georges 1er Cru (Burgundy): Opaque medium red, pretty nose of earth, smoke and leather with bright red fruit and firm acids.

2020 Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon (Puente Alto): Opaque medium red with a brick rim, toasty roast meat on the nose, tight and silky red leather fruit with a firm finish.

2020 Chateau Maillet (Pomerol): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, tar and dark chocolate on the nose, silky fruit with white pepper notes, firm tannins.

2021 BV Cabernet Sauvignon “Georges des Latour” (Napa Valley): Opaque dark purple, chalk and crushed raspberry on the nose with tight and dusty fruit. Still young at this point.

Scarsdale Music Fest 2024

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The fourth annual Scarsdale Music Festival was held on June 1 in the village of Scarsdale, New York.

Scarsdale is one of the bucolic suburban towns in Westchester county located along the Metro North Harlem line. It’s about a 40-minute train ride from Grand Central Terminal.

The event was a benefit for the Daniels Music Foundation and featured vendors, a kids play area, a couple of stages with live music playing all afternoon, and more importantly for me, a Grand Tasting tent.

This year the tent had a new sponsor, Amici dei Vini, a local wine shop. It was a consumer oriented tasting with a good selection of wines and made for an enjoyable afternoon of wine and music. Some nice cheese too.

Some of what I sampled:

White

2019 Domaine Anderson Estate Chardonnay (Anderson Valley): Clear light gold, tropical fruit on the nose with moderate tropical fruit notes, easy drinking.

2021 Resonance Chardonnay (Willamette): Light yellow, floral nose with floral fruit with some lemon notes on the balanced finish.

2022 Nortico Alvarinho (Portugal): Light yellow with floral notes and nice acidity.

2023 Domaine de Piaugier Sablet Blanc (Rhone): Clear medium gold, white flowers on the nose, full fruit, good grip.

Red

2019 Silver Oak (Alexander Valley): Opaque dark red, mint, tar and cigar smoke on the nose, chewy dark chocolate fruit ending with firm tannins.

2019 Silver Oak (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red with a brick rim, toasty, dark chocolate nose, silky fruit with white pepper notes, good grip.

2019 Timeless Red Blend (Napa Vallery): Opaque black, pretty nose of earth, dark chocolate and stewed fruit, silky and firm with silky tannins and a long finish.

2019 El Enemigo Cabernet Franc (Mendoza): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, black pepper on the nose, juicy.

2019 Luca Malbec (Uco Valley): Opaque medium purple, roast nuts on the nose, tight, light fruit.

2020 Feudo Maccari Saia Sicilia (Sicily): Clear light red, earthy leather on the nose with bright red fruit.

2021 Twomey Pinot Noir (Dundee Hills): Clear medium red, dark leather and dark black fruit on the nose, silky red fruit with cola notes.

2021 Michael Chiarlo “Le Orme” Barbera (Piedmont): Clear medium red, dried herbs on the nose, bright red fruit with crisp acids.

Rib King NYC 2024

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Memorial Day weekend is the traditional start of the Summer season and what better way to start the session than with a huge BBQ event.

On Saturday, May 25, Food and Jimmy Carbone who have hosted such foodie events as Ciderfeast, Pig Island, Brisket King and Bowl of ‘Zole held their annual Rib King BBQ festival.

The event took place at Industry City, a repurposed warehouse district located at 68 34 Street near the Brooklyn waterfront.

The event brough many BBQ establishments and their pitmasters who served their signature version of BBQ along with a couple of ethnic versions as well.

On hand were cider from Barrika and Romilly and spirits from New Riff, Fort Hamilton and Brooklyn Gin.

It was an afternoon spent in a smoke-filled courtyard sampling some very, very tasty meat.

Some of the producers:

Iron & Oak CateringTaste of Surabaya
Kam Rai ThailandMorgon’s
Smoke Sweets BBQThe Dancing Pig
Empire BBQFire & Smoke
Blue SmokeArchie Moore’s
Dinosaur BBQ

Wine Enthusiast Sip of South America 2024

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Wine Enthusiast magazine is a lifestyle magazine focusing on travel, food, wine and spirits. A good portion of the magazine is dedicated to wine reviews.

On Monday, May 6, they held a Sip of South America wine tasting that explored the current state of South American wines in the United States. Not surprisingly, they focused on the wines of South America, particularly from Chile, Argentina and Uruguay that have the magazines 90+ point rating or their Best Buy designation.

The event was held at City Winery, a restaurant/winery located at 25 11th Avenue, overlooking the Hudson River, next to the Meatpacking District on the West side of Manhattan.

Each country poured wines made with the signature grape of each country, Carmenere in Chile, Malbec in Argentina and Tannat in Uruguay, but the other French varietals were represented as well, I tried some nice Pinot Noir.

They poured a solid lineup though I would have liked to have sampled more wines with additional bottle age.

They also had a Pisco Lounge that served cocktails made with Chilean Pisco, which is a brandy like spirit made from grape must.

Some of my highlights:

White

2021 Zuccardi Poligonos Semillon (Uco Valley): Medium gold, white flowers and lemon curd on the nose, medium citrusy fruit with nice acidity.

2023 Catena High Mountain Semillon-Chenin (Mendoza): Light gold, floral and earthy nose, with moderate fruit and good balance.

Red

2015 Vinas Luis Felipe Edwards Pater Cabernet Sauvignon (Colchagua Valley): Clear medium brick, tar and leather on the nose with those tar and leather notes on the silky fruit, good balance.

2017 Matetic Syrah (San Antonio Valley): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, smoky bacon on the nose, tight and concentrated ending with silky red tannins.

2018 La Celia La Consulta Cabernet Franc (Uco Valley): Clear medium red with a brick rim, perfume of bell pepper with tight green herbs and spicy fruit.

2018 Salentein La Pampa 1997 Vineyard Malbec (Uco Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, tar on the nose, silky black fruit with a nice grip on the long finish.

2019 Clos de los Siete C7 Red Blend (Uco Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, crushed black fruit on the nose with chunky black fruit ending with firm, silky tannins.

2020 Luca “Beso de Dante” Red Blend (Uco Valley): Black with a purple rim, sweet cigar smoke on the nose, tight silky fruit with a smoky finish.

2020 Montes “Wings” Carmenere (Apalta, Colchagua Valley): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, crushed dark fruit and steel notes on the nose, concentrated and toasty with good grip on the smokey finish.

2021 Valle Secreto Private Red Blend (Cachapoal Andes): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, toasty roast meat on the nose, chewy, steely fruit with a long, firm finish.

2021 Escudo Rojo Baron Phllippe de Rothschild Cabernet Sauvignon (Maipo Valley): Opaque dark brick, smoke and bell pepper on the nose, silky, smoky fruit, nice balance.

2021 Ventisquero Tara Pinot Noir (Atacama): Clear medium brick, barnyard nose, silky, earthy and stinky fruit, good balance.

2021 Ventisquero Grey Cabernet Sauvignon (Maipo Valley): From a single block, clear dark purple, sweet tar and cigarette smoke on the nose, silky, graphite fruit ending with a good grip.

2021 Antigal UNO Estate Malbec (Mendoza): Black with a purple rim, tar and slate on the nose, chewy dark chocolate fruit with nice structure.

2021 Argento Single Block Malbec (Uco Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, sweet violets and cigarette smoke on the nose, bright red fruit ending with crisp acids.

2022 Viu Manent Vibo Punta del Viento GSM (Colchagua Valley): Clear medium purple, smoky nose with bright red fruit with a good grip.

2019 Brunello Revisited

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Brunello del Montalcino is an Italian red wine made from 100% of the Sangiovese Grosso grape grown around the town of Montalcino in Tuscany, Italy.

They produce a regular Brunello and a Brunello Riserva. According to the DOCG rules, the regular Brunello has to age a minimum of four years and can be released on January 1st of the fifth year. The Riserva an extra year.

That means the current release, the 2019’s, were released in January of 2024. In November of 2023, the Consorzio del Brunello, an organization representing the Brunello estates, held their Benvenuto Brunello tasting in New York City for members of the restaurant trade which was a pre tasting of the soon to be released 2019 vintage wines.

This was an opportunity to sample the wines before they were released to the consumer.

Those pre release tastings can be a little tricky. The wines have just been bottled and they are awkward at this point and a little rough around the edges, but you take that into consideration when tasting.

Keeping that in mind I attended the event and tasted many of the 2019 wines (and a few 2018 Riserva).

I have to say that at the end of the day, I wasn’t that impressed with the wines, knowing that they were way too young to be drinking at the time.

Since then, I’ve been hearing a lot of accolades about the vintage. Accolades such as “an excellent vintage”, “vintage of the decade”, etc., so I was hoping to be able to try the wines again with a few more months in the bottle.

Fortunately, that opportunity came on May 4th at Zachys wine shop. The wine store, located at 30 Midland Avenue in Port Chester New York, held a consumer tasting of the 2019 Brunello di Montalcino.

Zachys is a wine store in business for 80 years. As most wine stores do, they hold complimentary tasting for customers. On occasion, they have more intensive tastings that purchasing a ticket is required for. Those tastings are worth the hour ride on Metro North since they can be counted on to pour quality juice.

They poured 25+ Brunello, a handful of grappa, and a trio of some excellent organic Sicilian vermouth from Naturlale.

The tasting was very different this time around. The wines were starting to drink well, still young and some more accessible than others, but I enjoyed the quality of the wines overall.

Some of my highlights:

2019 Brunello di Montalcino

Val di Suga: Clear medium brick, tar and leather on the nose, earth notes and nuts on the fruit with silky tannins.

Val di Suga “Poggio al Grancho”: Clear light brick, sweet cherry and bacon on the nose, tight with gritty tannins.

Talenti: Clear light brick, dark chocolate and roast meat on the nose, silky fruit, good grip, nice balance.

Cal di’Orcia: Clear light red, perfume of roses and dark chocolate, balanced, silky red fruit, long finish.

Castelgiocondo Frescobaldi: Clear light red with a brick rim, forest floor and dark chocolate on the nose, firm finish, nice balance.

Piancornello: Clear medium brick, perfume of roast meat and vegetable, silky red fruit with a nice balance.

Poggio Salvi: Clear light brick, perfume of barnyard with earthy fruit and firm but silky tannins.

Castello di Camigliano: Medium brick with a perfume of red tar, silky fruit, firm, silky tannins.

Casanova di Neri: Clear medium red, earth and dark chocolate on the nose, silky red fruit. firm fruit.

Casanova di Neri Tenuta Nuova: Medium brick, perfume of barnyard and dark chocolate, silky red fruit with dusty tannins

Biondi Santi: Clear light brick, tar and cigarette smoke on the nose, tight fruit with a bitter cherry finish.

Tenuta Luce: Clear light red with a brick rim, crushed red fruit and green herbs on the nose with silky red fruit.

Banfi: Clear light red with a brick rim, forest floor and dark chocolate on the nose, firm fruit with a nice balance.

Pioggiotondo: Clear light brick, dark chcocolate on the nose, silky chocolate fruit, firm tannins.

Pelagrilli Siro Pacenti: Clear medium red with a brick rim, barnyard and sweet black fruit on the nose, chewy dark fruit ending with firm tannins.

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Winebow Springtime Portfolio Splash

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Winebow is one of the several importers and distributors in the New York City area that deal with wines and spirits.

As with the other distributors, periodically they will have a tasting for members of the restaurant trade to showcase their portfolio or a part of their portfolio.

This past April 23rd, they held a small tasting of some of their new acquisitions as well as wines for the upcoming Summer season. Since it was a small tasting, it was held at their office at 31 West 27th Street in midtown Manhattan.

Not surprisingly, for their Springtime Splash tasting, there was a large selection of Rosé wines poured. I sampled a few including those from Charles Joguet, Chateau Trinquevedel, Domaine de Reully, Tres Sabores and Wolffer Estate from Long Island.

The Champagne house of Laurent Perrier was represented with their Cuvee Rosé Brut, Blanc de Blanc Nature and the 2012 Brut Vintage.

Some other interesting wines I sampled:

2021 Andrew Murray Syrah Tour les Jours2021 Andrew Murray Syrah Roasted Slope.
2022 Brown Estate Red Blend2022 Seghesio Vermentino
2022 Argle Bloomhouse Pinot Noir2021 Textbook Cabernet Sauvignon The Pey Family
2021 Macroste Nightwing Pinot Noir2021 Joseph Drouhin St. Veran
2019 Dry Creek Vineyards The MarinerNV Faustino Cava Brut
2023 Garzon Single Vineyard Alberino2022 Garzon Tannat Reserva
2021 Realm Cellars The Bard 2019 Pecchenio Barolo San Giuseppe
2022 Santa Julia Vineyard La Vaquita Clarete2022 Cleto Chiarli Lambrusco del Fondatore
2021 Elizabeth Spencer Napa Cabernet Sauvignon2021 Vietti Timorasso Colli Tortnesi