Category: Wine Tasting

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

Vinous Icons Tasting NYC 2024

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Vinous/Explore All Things Wine is an online wine Magazine run by Antonio Galloni that features articles of all things wine and wine reviews.

On March 1 & 2, they held their first annual Icons tasting which consisted of wine dinners and a walk around tasting. The event was held at the Altman Building venue space at 135 West 18th Street in Manhattan which is next door to its sister venue, the Metropolitan Pavillion. Both the dinners and the walk around tasting were open to consumers and to members of the trade and I attended both walk around tastings.

This was an amazing event for the sheer quantity of high-end quality wines from around the world. Most of the wineries in attendance were from the United State, France and Italy with a handful of wineries on hand from Australia, Spain, Argentina, Chile and even China. Most of the wineries poured different wines or vintages each of the two days so there was the opportunity to sample a wide range of wines.

As is the case in these types of tastings with such a large selection of top end wines, I narrowed my choices and focused my energies on California Cabernet and Bordeaux.

Hopefully this will be an annual event from now on.

Some of my highlights:

New World

2019 Brion Cabernet Sauvignon “Sleeping Lady Vineyard” (Napa Valley): Black with a purple rim, earth and tree bark on the nose, concentrated silky black fruit, nicely balanced with a long finish.

2019 Brion Proprietary Red Blend “Ecotone Vineyard” (Napa Valley): Black with a red rim, perfume of crushed black fruit and fresh herbs, thick and juicy with good structure on the finish.

2017 Cornell Cabernet Sauvignon “Cornell Estate” (Sonoma): Black with a purple rim, roast meat on the nose, dense and chewy fruit with chewy tannins and a long finish.

2014 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, saline and pickle juice on the nose, silky red fruit with saline notes on the balanced finish.

2021 Pahlmeyer Merlot (Napa Valley): Black with a purple rim, oak and tobacco on the nose, thick and chewy with mint notes with silky, firm tannins.

2013 Plumpjack Winery Cabernet Sauvignon “Oakville” (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a brick rim, warm leather and dark chocolate on the nose, sweet mont and red fruit, silky tannins.

2018 Realm Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon “The Bard” (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red with a brick rim, ripe slate and dark fruit on the nose, chewy, dense leather fruit with dusty, silky tannins.

2009 Ridge Vineyards Lytton Springs Red Blend 1.5L (Dry Creek Valley): Opaque dark red with a brick rim, pretty perfume of sweet violets, chewy and minty with dusty tannins, long finish.

2016 Ridge Vineyards “Monte Bello” Blend (Santa Cruz Mtns): Opaque dark red with a brick rim, sweet perfume of tar and violets, silky fruit with some astringency on the finish.

2013 Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon “Hillside Select” (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, dried herbs and mint on the nose, juicy, dark chocolate fruit, gritty tannins, nice balance.

2016 Stag’s Leap Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon “SLV” (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, dark leather and roasted nuts on the nose, chewy dark chocolate fruit, silky tannins, long finish.

2016 Stag’s Leap Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon “FAY” (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, crushed black fruit and red roses on the nose, concentrated black fruit, dusty tannins.

2021 Tor Cabernet Sauvignon “Beckstoffer To Kalon BFD” (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, crushed black fruit on the nose, juicy with coffee and roast meat notes on the fruit, dusty and silky tannins.

2012 Vine Hill Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon “VHR” (Napa Valley): Black with a brick rim, pretty perfume of sweet violets, tar and leather, silky red fruit with a great balance.

2020 Vina Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon “Puente Alton Vineyard” (Maipo Valley): Opaque medium red, crushed green herbs on the nose, tight with bright red fruit.

Old World

2016 Chateau Brane-Cantenac (Margaux): Opaque medium red, closed nose of mint and earth, chewy red fruit with bitter almond on the long and balanced finish.

2015 Domaine De La Chapelle “Hermitage La Chapelle” (Rhone): Opaque dark red to black with a brick rim, closed nose of roast meat, juicy and chewy black fruit with firm tannins on the great balance.

2016 Chateau Canon (St Emillion): Opaque medium red, big nose of smoke and roast nuts, tight red fruit, firm tannins.

2018 Chateau La Gaffeliere (St Emilion): Clear medium red, perfume of barnyard on the nose, chewy with gritty tannins on the long finish.

2016 Chateau Larcis Ducase (St Emilion): Clear medium brick, smoky toast on the nose, tight and concentrated fruit, silky tannins with bitter almonds on the finish.

2010 Chateau Montrose (St Estephe): Clear medium red, brick rim, pretty perfume of slate, mint and red roses, silky dark red fruit with a dusty and balanced long finish.

2019 Chateau Montrose (St Estephe): Clear medium red with a purple rim, perfume of roast meat and crushed red fruit, juicy and thick with chalk notes on the dusty and balanced finish.

2009 Chateau Pichon Longueville “Comtesse de Lalande” (Pauillac): Clear medium brick, warm cigarette smoke on the nose, dusty fruit with a smoky notes on the tight, but balanced finish.

2018 Chateau Pichon Longueville “Comtesse de Lalande” (Pauillac): Clear medium brick, tree bark on the nose, crushed red fruit with green herbs, earth and leather on the fruit, firm but balanced finish.

2014 Bodegas Vega Sicilia “Unico” (Ribera del Duero): Opaque medium red with a brick rim, tar and cigarette smoke on the nose, silky red fruit with bitter almond notes on the finish.

Wine & Spirits Top 100 2024

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Wine & Spirits magazine available in both print and online, is dedicated to the news. the people and places of worldwide wine and spirits.

The magazine of course, reviews wines and spirits of the world using a 100-point rating system.

Every year they hold a tasting in San Francisco and New York City honoring the top 100 wines of the previous year based on their ratings. The New York event was to raise money for the NY/NJ Baykeeper, an organization that advocates “clean water in the local watershed and the citizen guardian of the harbors, bays, streams and shores of the New York and New Jersey harbor estuary”.

They held their New York tasting on February 15th at the Metropolitan Pavillion event venue located at 125 West 18th Street in Manhattan.

It was the top 100 wines of the world so they had a nice selection of wines of the world. All the major wine producing countries were represented though surprisingly the wines from France were minimal with a token Burgundy presence and no Bordeaux from what I could find.

There were noticeably fewer vendors at this event than there were in previous years which was disappointing, on the other hand the catered food was outstanding, much more than the usual cheese and crackers.

Some of what I sampled:

2021 Williams Selyem Chardonnay (Russian River): Light gold with a greenish tint, nose of honey with tropical fruit and good acidity.

2021 Ridge Vineyards Chardonnay (Santa Cruz Mtns): Clear light yellow, big toasty nose, tight with a hint of tropical fruit with firm acids at the end.

2021 Williams Selyem Estate Pinot Noir (Russian River): Clear light red, dark leather and tar on the nose, bright red leather fruit, nice balance.

2021 DeLille Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon “Metier” (Columbia Valley): Clear medium red, tobacco and earth notes on the nose, tight and smoky.

2021 Ridge Vineyards Geyserville (Alexander Valley): Clear medium red, smoke and earth on the nose, tight and dusty with firm tannins. Still young.

2021 J. Lohr Cabernet Sauvignon “Carol’s Vineyard” (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red, mint and crushed black fruit on the nose, dense and concentrated, tight with fresh herbs on the finish.

2021 Walter Scott Pinot Noir “Sojeau” (Oregon): Clear medium red, toasty earth on the nose, light red cherry fruit with earth notes on the firm finish.

2020 0rnellaia (Tuscany): Opaque medium red with a brick rim, tobacco smoke and dusty black fruit on the nose, silky red fruit, gritty tannins, nicely balanced.

2020 L’Ecole No. 41 Ferguson Vineyard (Walla Walla Valley): Clear medium to dark red, wood notes on the nose, juicy, dusty, ripe red fruit with slate notes on the firm finish.

2019 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon “Volcanic Hill” (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, dark earth on the nose, dense and chewy with firm slate notes and a balanced finish.

2019 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon “Three Vineyard Blend” (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red, ripe black fruit on the nose, starts juicy then followed by firm tannins.

2019 Le Macchiole (Tuscany): Clear medium red, roasted nuts on the nose, silky dark fruit with firm and silky tannins at the finish.

2019 Bordini Barberesco (Tuscany): Clear light red, smoky tar on the nose, silky light red fruit, on the light bodied style with firm tannins.

2019 Keenan Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mt District “Reserve” (Napa Valley): Opaque medium red, smoky barnyard on the nose, silky red fruit with dried herbs on the firm finish.

2019 Keenan Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mt District “Mernet” (Napa Valley): Opaque medium red, bitter dark chocolate on the nose, silky red fruit with green herbs on the nicely balanced finish with some bitter almond notes.

2017 Rocca di Montegrossi “Ridolfo” (Tuscany): Clear medium red, sweet tar on the nose, chewy dark fruit with a dusty finish.

Union Grands Cru Bordeaux NYC 2024

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The Union Grands Cru Bordeaux is an organization representing 131 Grand Cru Chateaux of Bordeaux. They promote the wines of the top estates with a yearly world tour showcasing the current vintage.

In the United States the tour has taken them to Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and on January 22 to New York City. The wines they poured are the current release which is the 2021 vintage.

The event was held as it has been for several years now at Cipriani at 110 West 42nd Street in midtown Manhattan. Cipriani is an event space housed in a former back that was built when banks were built to impress with vaulted ceilings and lots of marble.

The wines at the tasting were still very young at this point, which I understand but it is a good way to get an overview of that particular vintage and on how the vintage is coming along and on how the wines may age in the long term.

Bordeaux has been lucky with a string of very good vintages in the past few years. In good vintages there is so much good juice grown in that region that there is plenty of good wine coming out from even the third, fourth tier and cru bourgeois estates.

Unfortunately, that streak came to an end with the 2021 vintage. It was a challenging and uneven year. For the most part I was getting a lot of tart, red cherry juice notes on many of the wines with nothing anywhere ready to drink at this point. 

Fortunately, when things are not so good in the vineyards for the regular wines means that the conditions were good in Sauterne and Barsac for the Botrytis mold to grow. There were about half the producers pouring these dessert wines at this event that they’ve had in the past but what I tried was well balanced.

Some of what I sampled:

Pessac-Leognan

Chateau CorbonnieuxDomaine de Chevalier
Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte

Saint Emillion

Chateau CanonChateau Canon La Gaffeliere
Chateau La GaffeliereClos Fourtet
Chateau Pavie Macquin

Pomerol

Chateau BeauregardChateau Le Bon Pasteur
Chateau ClinetChateau Le Gay
Chateau Petit Village

Margaux

Chateau Brane CantenacChateau Dauzac
Chateau Cantenac BrownChateau Kirwan
Chateau Prieure LichineChateau Rauzan Gassies
Chateau Siran

Saint Julien

Chateau BeychevelleChateau Branaire Ducru
Chateau GloriaChateau Gruaud Larose
Chateau LagrangeChateau Leoville Barton
Chateau Leoville PoyferreChateau Gloria

Pauillac

Chateau BatailleyChateau Clerc Milon
Chateau d’ArmailhacChateau Duhart Milon
Chateau Grand Puy DucasseChateau Haut Batailley
Chateau Lynch BagesChateau Lynch Moussas

Saint Estephe

Chateau Cos LoboryChateau Lafon Rochet
Chateau de Pez Chateau Phelan SEgur

Haut Medoc

Chateau Coufran

Sauternes/Barsac

Chateau Doisy DaeneChateau Guiraud
Chateau de Rayne VigneauChateau La Tour Blanche

Zachys Winter Champagne Soirée 2023

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Zachys has been a wine and spirit retailer and auction house since 1944. They had a store in Scarsdale for many years but ended up moving their operations to Port Chester in 2022.

Like many fine wine shops, they often host wine tastings. Some are complimentary and some are more extensive tastings that you have to buy a ticket to.

I attended one of those extensive tastings last May which featured a wide selection of wines of the world. On December 2nd they held their Winter Champagne Soirée tasting for the upcoming Christmas and New Years Eve holidays.

Many of the large Champagne houses were on hand to pour several of their wines from their “regular” bottles to their uber luxury label.

I have to say, this tasting had an excellent price to quality ratio. For the modest cost of the ticket, you had the opportunity to sample some really high-end wines.

Some of the wines I sampled:

Bollinger: Le Grande Annee 2014, PN Brut AYC 2018, Special Cuvee Brut NV.

Laurent Perrier: Grand Siecle Iteration 26, Brut Cuvee Rose NV, La Cuvee Brut NV.

Ruinart: Blanc de Blancs NV, Brut Rose Second Skin NV.

Tatttinger: Comtes de Champagne Rose 2008, Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2012, Brut La Francaise NV

Charles Heidsieck: Rare 2018, Rose 2008, Brut Rose Reserve NV

Deutz: Amour de Deutz Blanc de Blancs 2011, Brut Rose NV, Classic Brut NV

Veuve Clicquot: La Grande Dame 2012, Rose NV, Brut NV

Gosset: 12 Ans de Cave a Minima Brut, Grande Reserve Brut NV

Krug: Grande Cuvee 171st Echoes Limited Edition NV

Dom Perignon: Blanc de Blancs 2013

They also had a selection from a few small, mom & pop grower champagne producers such as Laherte Freres, Larmander Bernier and Pierre Moncult.

Benvenuto Brunello NYC 2023

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On November 28th I attended the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino Benvento Brunello New York City stop of their world tour.

This was to showcase to members of the Restaurant trade and Media, the upcoming release of the current vintage of Brunello. Since according to the DOCG regulations, the regular Brunello have to wait 5 years to be released and 6 years for the Riservas, this was the 2019 vintage for the regular Brunello and 2018 vintage for the Riservas.

The event was held at the Public Hotel on 215 Chrystie Street in the lower east side of Manhattan.

The set up was similar to what they had during Covid era and was a sit-down tasting. You would download an app with the wines that were available, and you would order up to five wines at a time to sample and they would bring the wines to your table.

Since they wines that were served were the new releases, I thought that they were still very young and could have used some more time in the bottle to smooth out the rough edges. On the 2019’s for the most part I was getting a lot of bright red fruit with very crisp acids. The 2018 Riservas were more appreciable with more dark fruit and earth notes.

Some highlights:

2019 Argiano: Clear light brick, smoky tar on the nose with nice red fruit, good balance.

2019 Carpineto: Clear medium red, earthy nose, juicy fruit with tar notes with a nice balance of moderate tannin and acid.

2019 Casisano: Clear light red with a brick rim, tar and barnyard on the nose, juicy red fruit with moderate acids and a dusty finish.

2019 Donatella Cinelli Colombini: Clear light brick, tar and leather on the nose, with firm, dusty red fruit.

2019 La Fornace: Clear light brick, sweet tar on the nose, red fruit with firm acids and earth notes on the finish.

2019 Nardi: Clear medium to dark red, tarry nose, juicy, earthy full red fruit, firm finish.

2019 Pacenti “Rosaldo”: Clear medium red, tar, anise and earth on the nose, chewy black fruit, nice and balanced, drinkable.

2018 Caprilli “AdAlberto” Riserva: Opaque medium red with a brick rim, tar and dark chocolate on the nose, red fruit with gritty tannins, anise notes, nice balance.

2018 Corte Pavone Riserva: Clear medium red with an amber rim with juicy black fruit and slate notes on the firm but balanced finish.

2018 Donatella Cinelli Colombini “Vento” Riserva: Opaque dark red, dusty tar and anise on the nose, chewy fruit with tree bark notes ending with big tannins.

2018 La Serena “Gemini” Riserva: Clear medium brick, sweet perfume of tar and smoke, tarry fruit with firm acids.

Other producers I sampled:

ArmillaCapanna
BanfiCol D’Orcia
La FioritaRuffino
Val Di SugaFanti
UccellieraSanpolo
TalentiIl Poggione
CortonesiElia Palazzesi

Cruise Ship Tasting 2023

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I recently went on a vacation. I wanted to check off another item on my bucket list one of which was to take a ship across the ocean.

I took a 13-day repositing cruise which is where the cruise ships touring European ports head to the Caribbean and South America for the Winter season.

The ship I booked on was the Norwegian Cruise Lines “Getaway” and we shipped off from Southhampton, England stopping at ports in France, Spain and Portugal before heading due West to our final destination, New York City.

If you’ve ever taken a cruise before then you know that there are several restaurants on board and that there are professional Sommelier on hand to help guests with their wine orders.

On this cruise, those Somms held wine tasting classes and I attended a few of them.

This was one of those classes and at this class and they poured three French wines paired with cheese.

2021 LaDoucette Pouilly-Fume

Medium gold with a greenish tint, green herbs and honey notes on the nose, medium bodied with balanced acidity ending with some asparagus notes on the finish. Paired with goat cheese.

2022 Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages

Clear dark purple, crushed rock. crushed raspberry and some leather on the nose, fruity, dry and chalky with nice acidity. Paired with Brie.

2022 Cellier des Princes Chateauneuf du Pape

Clear medium red with an amber rim, cooked vegetable on the nose, tight, dry with licorice notes ending with firm, toasty tannins. Paired with Camembert.

Wine On Wheels Fundraiser 2023

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On September 10th, Wine on Wheels which was established in 2012 by Somm Yannick Benjamin, held a fundraiser with the proceeds to benefit the Axis Project.

The Axis Project is a non-profit organization created by people living with physical disabilities. Their mission is to “motivate people with physical disabilities and seniors to pursue a healthy, active lifestyle”.

The fundraiser was held at City Winery located at Pier 57 on 25 11th Avenue in far west Manhattan.

It was a big event with a huge selection of wines which were donated by various spirit and wine vendors and were served by a crew of dozens of local Somms who volunteered their time.

I would have to say that the majority of the wines that were poured at the event were small, off the radar labels from producers I wasn’t familiar with.

There were some interesting wines at the Vins de Bourdeaux table which poured from four Magnums of wine which included the 2022 Chateau Le Rey “Argileuses”, 2018 Chateau de Parenchere “Raphael”, 2016 Chateau des Laurents and the 2016 Chateau Clarke.

I enjoy pet-nat wines and there were a few poured at the tasting including a 2022 Living Roots Finger Lakes Rosé.

To help raise money they held a silent and a not silent auction.