wine Archive

2000 Longoria Syrah
Syrah
Score: 88

Very deep ruby color, as expected from a Syrah, nice dense cork, intoxicating nose, and yet, a little flat on the after taste. Not fruity, so a good example of a well made Syrah, yet a little light and airy on the after taste, something a little odd for one of the deep reds like Syrah or Zinfandel. Overall, a good purchase at the $30 price, and ready to drink now. Proof the Central Coast is worth looking into.

I have had questions and emails about the rating I use on this website when discussing wine. I go by the Robert Parker 100 point scale, which is actually just a 50 point scale since the wine pretty much gets 50 points just for fermenting grapes. The scale “offically” breaks down like this:

Extraordinary ’95-100 points’
Outstanding ’90-94′
Very Good to Excellent ’85-89′
Good ’80-84′
Average ’75-79′
Below average ’70-74′
Avoid ’50-70′

Now, that does still leave a lot of room for wines to rate and still be worth drinking. But you need to also look at the price and then decide if it is a good value for you. So from now on, I will be putting prices on the wines I review. These will be retail prices here in Texas, or the price I paid for it when it was shipped to me. Either way, it is the price I paid, or would have paid if I had purchased at a retailer.

If you would like more information on the Robert Parker scale, check out the offical Robert Parker Scale Legend.

1996 Bodegas Montecillo Rioja Gran Reserva
Tempranillo
Score: 88

A very nice, yet a little disappointing Tempranillo. Good color with an extremely floral nose, but the structure was a bit light. We let it sit for about an hour and warm up a bit, but still didnt really open. Three days later, it was quite a bit smoother, so perhaps it just needs a couple more years in the bottle. I would consider purchasing again, but below the $25 price point.

2004 Robert Mondavi Winery Pinot Noir Private Selection
Pinot Noir
Score: 70

Unimpressed! Fruit forward and unstructured, I think this tasted more like Welch’s that went north rather than wine. This is a mass produced wine and should really be avoided unless you are just getting into reds and like a fruity sweet type of taste that KJ Chardonnay made you think was the point of wine. Otherwise, just open and pour…down the drain. Do not even give it away unless you really dislike the person.

2002 Artesa Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
Score: 80

Inexpensive and easy to find are two attributes that most wines I review do not have. Artesa Cabernet Sauvignon has both. It is a fairly approachable wine, especially to those red lovers looking to move into the realm of California Cabs. Decent nose, a little floral and some spice, smooth texture, currants, and a little earthy with little to no aftertaste. I did find it lacked structure and finesse, was more of a simple wine with a little too fruit forward palette. Overall, a decent wine for the price, but there is better out there.

I have added a new topic, “buy wine”, where we will review wine stores, wine e-tailers ‘online retailers for your n00bs’, and other wine purchasing information. I will also make a mention of a few wine sites I enjoy and often find myself at.

1999 Castellani Chianti Classico Riserva Campomaggio
Sangiovese
Score: 71

Good cork, nice and dense so I was really expecting a great wine. I was so very wrong. Good floral on the nose, again just a tease. No fruit at all in the palatte, just harsh bitter tastes. Tried decanting for about an hour, no real improvement. Maybe this wine was good 4 years ago, but it is past its peak and is maybe fit for cooking, but I doubt it. A terrible example of Sangiovese wine. The worse CCR ‘Chianti Classico Riserva’ I have ever had.

2002 Feudo Maccari Saia
Nero d’Avola
Score: 82

Decent, a little closed and peppery with an odd aftertaste that may be due to the varietal as this was my first experience with this one. I will probably just stick with Tuscan and Peidmont wines. This wine was good from the standpoint of cost, only $68 at Del Frisco’s, but the overall feel of the wine was a bit off. Good structure, it smoothed out as the night progressed. It was decanted there at the table, so it was allowed to open up. I did miss the floral nose usually found in Italian wine. There was nothing “wrong” per se with this wine, it was just different.

2002 Russian Hill Pinot Noir Estate Grown Tara Vineyard
Pinot Noir
Score: 66

I wish I could say this bottle was defective, but alas it was the winemaker. A huge blackberry explosion that didnt diminish with decanting. No finish to speak of, but of course I could have still been reeling from the fruit bomb. Run far far away. Ended up getting our money back for this bottle of “wine”. The server said it was light and airy, something we wanted to follow our seafood appitizers and go with our delicate lamb and pork dishses, but instead we got a bottle that was just awful. We left over 3/4 of it sitting on the table. We tried to give it a chance to open up, but it never happened.

2000 Luce La Vite Lucente Toscana IGT
Super Tuscan Blend ‘Sangiovese & Merlot’
Score: 95

I never get tired of this wine. It needed to breathe for a bit, but after about 30 minutes, wow. It had a great currant and floral nose, subtle cherry fruit followed by an abbreviated but smooth finish. Like all Italian wine, this is meant to be had with food, friends, and family and I highly recommend it in that setting. I had beef lasagna, and Jessica had Stromboli. Make sure to save some wine for after the entre;e but before dessert, when it will be the perfect temperature, and your palette will be totally opened up to enjoy this wonderful Super Tuscan.