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"tag:italy"


Title and summary Date/time
1
Negroamaro, Rosso, Salento, 2006
Small Vineyards was at my local Zupan's recently, sporting their wares with a free tasting. And here was this $14 of Italy in a bottle. Small Vineyards is a importer, and they describe this wine this way: "Terrific body weight while retaining ... 		Mar 7, 2009
2
Avignonesi, Rosso, 2005
Our son (who's four) loves Sal's restaurant. His favorite dish there -- strangely for such a young one -- is their butternut squash raviolis. And if that isn't enough, it's done in a drawn-butter sauce with crumbled gorgonzola and toasted sage. He turns ... 		Feb 27, 2009
3
Rosso di Montalcino DOC, 'Mocali', 2006
Recently, I really enjoyed the Avignonesi, which was a Montepulciano. And seeing as I'm happy to admit novice in terms of Italian wines (and you thought French wines were complicated?), I thought this and that were the same. Apparently Montepulciano and ... 		Jan 9, 2009
4
Avignonesi, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, 2005
I really want to like Italian wines. The history. The diversity. All those names to learn -- is that a village or is that a grape (maybe both). But it's rare for me to find a Chianti that I really like. This, however, isn't a Chianti exactly. This wine ... 		Nov 25, 2008
5
Renato Ratti, Marcenasco, Barolo, 2001
It was Denise's birthday dinner and we were at Cafe Mingo, a local (and wonderful) Italian restaurant (on NW 21st). So when in Rome ... we ordered this Barolo. Besides, we don't drink all that much Italian wines generally, so it's fun to explore a bit. ... 		Nov 2, 2008
6
Banfi, Centine, 2006
We've had this before -- I think it was the 2002 the first time. This is not a bad table wine. The varietal mix is not traditional Italian -- sort of a mix of new (Cab and Merlot) and old (Sangiovese) world. The nose was plum, stems, nutmeg, cedar, ... 		Oct 19, 2008
7
Fattoria di Piazzano, di Bettarini, Chianti DOCG, 2006
I was going to an event with tons of people, and lots of them are happy to admit that spending more then $20 on a bottle is a waste for them. So I went down to Zupan's and got a number of bottles between $10 and $20 dollars (weighted closer to the ... 		Aug 26, 2008
8
Allegrini, Palazzo della Torre, 1999
This is a wine we drank years ago. It was recommended to me by a fellow buyer of wine at a local Fred Meyer. But luckily we resisted and saved this one bottle for all these years. It was good back then, and it was better today. First, this is a wine ... 		Jul 20, 2008
9
Elena Walch, 'Lagrein', Alto Adige (DOC), 2005
Smell: Cumin, musty, peat moss, tar, fennel. Apricot! Taste: Definitely dried apricot. Raisin. Fennel. Marionberry. The mouth-feel was a 2% milk consistency. Finish: Apricot and marionberry, and a granny smith apple driness. Cost: Rating: 7.5 		Mar 6, 2008
10
Fontanabianca, Sori Burdin (DOCG), Barbaresco, 2001
Smell: Chemical, wet-socks, lighter fluid -- sharp (not good). Taste: Bark, dryness of a crisp apple, raisin. Finish: Moss. Bark. Wood -- not oak or cedar, something more like fir. Earthy. Herbs: oregano and thyme. Very little (if any) fruit ... 		Feb 26, 2008
11
Perazzeta 'Rita' Montecucco, Sangiovese, 2004
Smell: Sharp alcohol smell. Underneath there's hay, dirt, ferns and mushroom. Vegetable (artichoke), pepper and a hint of cherry. Taste: Plum, pepper, marionberry and artichoke. Finish: Pepper and marionberry. The pepper really lingers--spicy! ... 		Jan 3, 2008
12
Caravaggio, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (DOCG), 2004
Smell: Moss, mushroom and prune. Earthy like a forest floor. Taste: Dirt, campfire and pine needles. Slightly sweet. Tastes like a cold lake. Finish: Prunes and vegetables (zucchini, green beans and eggplant). Cost: Rating: 8.0 		Dec 29, 2007
13
Castello di Bossi, Chianti Classico (DOCG), 2003
Smell: Turpentine and paint (no, not good). After the nose burn, hints of green bean and asparagus. Taste: Blackberry and currant. Overly sweet. Finish: Pie cherry, huckleberry and pomegranate. Slightly sour. Ear wax bitterness (yuck). Medium-bodied. ... 		Dec 24, 2007
14
Bruno Giacosa, Roero Arneis, 2004
Smell: Nothing--possibly a hint of lime. Taste: Citrus, lime, artichoke and herbs (sage). Crisp and light-bodied. Reminiscent of a muted Sauvignon Blanc (in a good way). Finish: Citrus--lemon and lime. A bit of an indiscernible nutty flavor. Cost: ... 		Dec 24, 2007
15
Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona, 'Vigna di Pianrosso', Brunello di Montalcino, 2001
Smell: At first, very perfumey--difficult to smell anything else. Later, the smell was indiscernible: sort of a weird decay, maybe old plastic. And asparagus. Taste: Nasty taste. Decaying fruit. Later, there were more spices--saffron and a sweet Asian ... 		Dec 9, 2007
16
Ognissole, Primitivo di Manduria, 2004
Smell: Sulfur, raisin, peat, fertilizer, bat guano. Taste: Peat, raisin ass, bat ass, dried fruit. Like deep-fried Mars bars--sweet. Very earthy. Our description of this wine sounds terrible, but it was a very good bottle. Finish: Very smooth, raisin. ... 		Sep 2, 2007
17
Sabazio, Rosso di Montepulciano (Tuscany), 2005
Smell: Peat, earthy. Taste: Sweet, chemically, peat, mossy. Finish: Chemical, gritty (needs to cellar a bit longer and it will mellow out). Cost: Rating: 		Aug 18, 2007
18
Gaetano D'Aquino, Pinot Grigio, 2005
Smell: Citrus. Taste: Chemical, kind of flat, floral, a little bit like earl grey tea. A good light white summer wine. Finish: Chemical. Cost: Rating: 		Jul 29, 2007
19
Casa Contini, Biferno, Reserva, 2001
Smell: -- Taste: Another good table wine. Not great, but you can't always drink insanely expensive wine. And this is not a bad one to drink. Finish: -- Cost: Rating: 		Jul 1, 2007
20
Uno, Barbaresco, 2002
Smell: Cherry, ethanol. Taste: Light like a pinot, complicated. We didn't feel we were giving it a fair chance since we were having gorgonzola crab leg tortellini -- our palates were dead. A lot less fruit. A tannic taste of a cabarnet and more ... 		Jun 24, 2007