I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes in a “mini-review” format.
They are meant to be quirky, fun, and (mostly) easily-digestible reviews of (mostly) currently available wines (click here for the skinny on how to read them), so you can get right to the point and decide if they’re for you (or not). Cheers!
- NV Andre Jacquart Vertus Experience Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Extra Brut (Champagne): Pretending to be much pricier than it is; and largely succeeding brilliantly. $39 A-
- 2016 MacPhail The Flyer Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast): Youthful and friendly facade belying earthiness and and a potent punch. $50 A-
- 2017 Sokol Blosser ‘Bluebird Cuvee’ Sparkling (USA): Hearkening the arrival of the bluebird of pithy, peachy, friendly happiness. $28 B+
- 2014 Torre d’Orti Amarone della Valpolicella (Veneto): Enormously spicy, or is that spicily enormous…? $55 B+
- 2015 Tenuta Sant’Antonio Selezione Antonio Castagnedi (Amarone della Valpolicella): Burly, brambly, gamey, and chocolaty… so, basically, exactly what it’s supposed to be. $45 A-
- 2017 Donnafugata Sul Vulcano Bianco (Etna): Flinty and laser-focused; the kind of sipper that’s nearly impossible to put down. $35 B+
- 2016 Donnafugata Chiaranda Contessa Entellina (Sicily): Hitting its lemony, hazelnut-filled stride, and kicking all kinds of ass while doing it. $33 A-
- 2018 Donnafugata Sherazade (Sicily): Violets and cherries, grown within breezy proximity to the sea. $22 B+
- 2016 Donnafugata ‘Fragore’ Contrada Montelaguardia Rosso Etna (Sicily): From chewy and smooth, to balsamic and fresh, to spicy and piquant, a promising study in elegant contradictions. $68 A-
- 2015 Donnafugata ‘Mille e Una Notte’ Contessa Entellina (Sicily): Still reigning supreme as Nero d’Avola’s most elegantly modern incarnation. $76 A