This week’s selection:
Winery: Francis Coppola
Varietal: Cabernet-based Bordeaux Blend
Price Paid: $23.99 on sale for $18.99
Vintage: 2007
Area: Napa, Sonoma and Eldorado, CA
Alcohol: 13.5%
Purchased: Meijer (even less at Costco or Sam’s Club)
Overall: Very good Cabernet blend for the price. It tasted even better the 2nd day and still drank well the 3rd day. Definitely taste the dark fruits: blackberry and dark cherry. It is an intense cab for the price. I have never been disappointed by this wine.
Reviews
Winemaker Comments:
A blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot, 4% Merlot, 4% Malbec and 3% Cabernet Franc.
The 2007 vintage got underway earlier than most years as a result of premature bud break. This occurred because of an unseasonably warm winter. The season lasted longer than normal as well because of prolonged moderate temperatures. These conditions were ideal for creating physiologically perfect fruit, which is why winemakers have declared this one of the best vintages of the decade. Our Claret is always elegant, but this year it's a true show stopper; lush with a beautiful tapestry of smooth tannins, intense flavor, and seductive aromas. With a deep crimson color, this wine gives way to aromas of blackberries, plums and vanilla cream while flavors of wild berries, cherries, spice and mocha dance on the palate.
When paired with classic dishes such as beef stroganoff, leg of lamb or potato gratin, you can create a sublime dining experience.
K and L Wines
2007 Francis Coppola Diamond Series Claret
What's claret, you ask? Don't be fooled. Claret is just the British word for Bordeaux style blend! And that's exactly what Coppola's Diamond Collection Claret is…a blend of Cabernet, Merlot, Cab Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot from Napa, Sonoma and El Dorado. Wrapped in a crimson-colored robe, this affordable blend has an evocative nose redolent of black fruit and vanilla, and an equally appealing raspberry, cherry and blackberry-filled palate with hints of coffee and chocolate on the finish!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
Sangria Blanca or Limonada
1 bottle of fruity white wine (Spanish Albarino for example)
1/2 cup thawed of frozen, undiluted,raspberry lemonade concentrate
1 lemon thinly sliced
1/2 cup of vodka (optional)
16 oz. club soda
1 cup raspberries
Ice for glasses
1 thinly sliced lemon for glasses
Additional raspberries for glasses
Chill all ingredients. combine white wine, raspberry lemonade, lemon slices and vodka in a pitcher. Add chilled club soda and raspberries just before serving and stir gently to combine. Place a few ice cubes in each tall glass and pour Limonada over ice. Place a lemon slice and a few extra raspberries in each glass.
Perfect for summertime. Looks great and gets rave reviews!
1/2 cup thawed of frozen, undiluted,raspberry lemonade concentrate
1 lemon thinly sliced
1/2 cup of vodka (optional)
16 oz. club soda
1 cup raspberries
Ice for glasses
1 thinly sliced lemon for glasses
Additional raspberries for glasses
Chill all ingredients. combine white wine, raspberry lemonade, lemon slices and vodka in a pitcher. Add chilled club soda and raspberries just before serving and stir gently to combine. Place a few ice cubes in each tall glass and pour Limonada over ice. Place a lemon slice and a few extra raspberries in each glass.
Perfect for summertime. Looks great and gets rave reviews!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Castle Rock 2008 California Cuvee Pinot Noir
This week’s selection:
Winery: Castle Rock
Varietal: Pinot Noir
Price Paid: $13.69
Vintage: 2008
Area: California Cuvee – Geyserville, CA
Alcohol: 13.8%
Purchased: Bella Vino Fine Wine and Spirits, 12 Mile East of Orchard Lake Rd
Overall: Decent Pinot Noir for the price, simple, fruit forward, cherry and strawberry flavors. But, I would opt for the Oyster Bay Pinot Noir over this for the $5 more a bottle.
Reviews
Castle Rock Winery Comments:
Our Castle Rock Pinot Noir is produced from grapes grown in a carefully selected group of California vineyards, at which the climate and soil conditions provide excellent growing conditions for this Burgundian varietal. The wine is elegant and medium-bodied, offering aromas of cherry, tea and herbal spice. On the palate it is smooth with a silky texture and mild tannins, giving flavors of black cherry, plum and spice, and finishing long and harmoniously, This versatile food wine pairs well with lamb, veal, salmon and light pasta dishes.
Rated: 85 by Connoisseurs' Guide, Oct 09 Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wines
Okay, it's direct, a little on the grapey side and fairly soft on the palate. No one is going to accuse it of challenging for a place in the cellar, but it is also tasty in an up-front way and comes with enough cherry character to suggest its varietal heritage. GOOD VALUE
Winery: Castle Rock
Varietal: Pinot Noir
Price Paid: $13.69
Vintage: 2008
Area: California Cuvee – Geyserville, CA
Alcohol: 13.8%
Purchased: Bella Vino Fine Wine and Spirits, 12 Mile East of Orchard Lake Rd
Overall: Decent Pinot Noir for the price, simple, fruit forward, cherry and strawberry flavors. But, I would opt for the Oyster Bay Pinot Noir over this for the $5 more a bottle.
Reviews
Castle Rock Winery Comments:
Our Castle Rock Pinot Noir is produced from grapes grown in a carefully selected group of California vineyards, at which the climate and soil conditions provide excellent growing conditions for this Burgundian varietal. The wine is elegant and medium-bodied, offering aromas of cherry, tea and herbal spice. On the palate it is smooth with a silky texture and mild tannins, giving flavors of black cherry, plum and spice, and finishing long and harmoniously, This versatile food wine pairs well with lamb, veal, salmon and light pasta dishes.
Rated: 85 by Connoisseurs' Guide, Oct 09 Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wines
Okay, it's direct, a little on the grapey side and fairly soft on the palate. No one is going to accuse it of challenging for a place in the cellar, but it is also tasty in an up-front way and comes with enough cherry character to suggest its varietal heritage. GOOD VALUE
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Gruet 2007 Chardonnay
Winery: Gruet
Varietal: Chardonnay
Price Paid: $15.99
Vintage: 2007
Area: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Alcohol: Not on bottle...
Purchased: Papa Joe’s, Birmingham, MI
Overall: Surprise! You can get very good Chardonnay out of New Mexico. I tried this at my friend Rick Russ’s house and was shocked at how good it was. These guys get incredible accolades for their reasonably priced sparkling wines. Their founder was a French champagne maker who discovered New Mexico. (See the winery link on the right side of the page.)
Aged in French Oak for 8 months, the oak is not over the top. It has the oak nuances but also a certain crispness to it as well. This is a great bottle of wine for the money. Surprise your friends with a wine from New Mexico. They will enjoy this wine.
Reviews
Gruet Winery Comments:
The warmth of the season produced grapes with tremendous richness. The Chardonnay is light golden straw in color. Light oak, so the fruit shines through, it opens with peach and apples aromas, strikes a fascinating Balance between fruity and mineral one. A young wine with a good structure that reveals unbelievable freshness. Winemaker's Note: Ripe and fruity, weaving together complex pear, vanilla, citrus and apple flavors with a nice delicate oak finish.
See links at top right for reviews and information on Gruet.
Varietal: Chardonnay
Price Paid: $15.99
Vintage: 2007
Area: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Alcohol: Not on bottle...
Purchased: Papa Joe’s, Birmingham, MI
Overall: Surprise! You can get very good Chardonnay out of New Mexico. I tried this at my friend Rick Russ’s house and was shocked at how good it was. These guys get incredible accolades for their reasonably priced sparkling wines. Their founder was a French champagne maker who discovered New Mexico. (See the winery link on the right side of the page.)
Aged in French Oak for 8 months, the oak is not over the top. It has the oak nuances but also a certain crispness to it as well. This is a great bottle of wine for the money. Surprise your friends with a wine from New Mexico. They will enjoy this wine.
Reviews
Gruet Winery Comments:
The warmth of the season produced grapes with tremendous richness. The Chardonnay is light golden straw in color. Light oak, so the fruit shines through, it opens with peach and apples aromas, strikes a fascinating Balance between fruity and mineral one. A young wine with a good structure that reveals unbelievable freshness. Winemaker's Note: Ripe and fruity, weaving together complex pear, vanilla, citrus and apple flavors with a nice delicate oak finish.
See links at top right for reviews and information on Gruet.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Liberty School 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon
This week’s selection:
Winery: Liberty School
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Price Paid: $12.79
Vintage: 2006
Area: Paso Robles, CA
Alcohol: 13.5%
Purchased: Bella Vino Fine Wines
Overall: What a great everyday drinking Cab! I have had this wine in numerous vintages and it is consistently a good, easy to drink Cab that tastes like Cab. Have it with burgers or steak, it will drink nicely with either and it is a great wine to buy for the crowd.
"The Liberty School label was created in 1975 by Caymus Vineyards to absorb surplus cabernet sauvignon grapes. In 1987, after the brand became popular, the Hope family, which owned vineyards in Paso Robles, began selling cabernet grapes to Caymus. By 1995, production of Liberty School had moved to Paso Robles, and within four years, a Central Coast chardonnay and syrah had been introduced. Liberty School is now a label under the umbrella of Hope Family Wines, which includes Treana, Austin Hope and Candor."
By the way, I recently had a bottle of the 2007 Caymus and it was spectacular.
Reviews
Snooth Consumer Reviews: (No critic’s reviews found)
06/23/09
If your looking for something for daily consumption, this is about as good as it gets in the $10 range.
Very nice balance of fruit and spice, subtle oak on the finish, soft tannins.
07/01/09
A surprisingly good wine for the price - best cab I have had in that price range
06/15/09
Very good entertaining wine. I always have a case on hand.
Winery: Liberty School
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Price Paid: $12.79
Vintage: 2006
Area: Paso Robles, CA
Alcohol: 13.5%
Purchased: Bella Vino Fine Wines
Overall: What a great everyday drinking Cab! I have had this wine in numerous vintages and it is consistently a good, easy to drink Cab that tastes like Cab. Have it with burgers or steak, it will drink nicely with either and it is a great wine to buy for the crowd.
"The Liberty School label was created in 1975 by Caymus Vineyards to absorb surplus cabernet sauvignon grapes. In 1987, after the brand became popular, the Hope family, which owned vineyards in Paso Robles, began selling cabernet grapes to Caymus. By 1995, production of Liberty School had moved to Paso Robles, and within four years, a Central Coast chardonnay and syrah had been introduced. Liberty School is now a label under the umbrella of Hope Family Wines, which includes Treana, Austin Hope and Candor."
By the way, I recently had a bottle of the 2007 Caymus and it was spectacular.
Reviews
Snooth Consumer Reviews: (No critic’s reviews found)
06/23/09
If your looking for something for daily consumption, this is about as good as it gets in the $10 range.
Very nice balance of fruit and spice, subtle oak on the finish, soft tannins.
07/01/09
A surprisingly good wine for the price - best cab I have had in that price range
06/15/09
Very good entertaining wine. I always have a case on hand.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Louis Jadot 2008 Macon-Villages Chardonnay
This week’s selection:
Winery: Macon-Villages
Varietal: Chardonnay
Price Paid: $14.99 on Sale
Vintage: 2008
Area: Burgundy, France
Alcohol: 12.5%
Purchased: Kroger’s
Overall: This is a wine I have been buying on and off since around 1992 and have enjoyed it in the past (great for cutting through a rich cream sauce because of being un-oaked). 2008 was a tough growing season in Burgundy and this wine shows it, with no fruit and very little if anything going for it. I like un-oaked Chardonnay’s but this is a poor wine in a tough vintage. Ugh.
Reviews
Wine Makers Comments:
Mâcon-Villages Jadot is a clean, fresh Chardonnay with typical varietal fragrance and elegant, citrus and white fruit flavors on the palate. Vinified without oak contact, the delicate acid balance carries into a refreshing, crisp finish.
Vintage Remarks (Please note this is not a fine Burgundy wine that gets babied in the vineyard with careful attention to detail):
Region: Burgundy
Grade: Whites (B-); Reds (C+)
The 2008 harvest in Burgundy was nothing short of a miracle. Growers breathed a collective sigh of relief after picking enough healthy Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to save what looked initially like a complete disaster.
The challenges in the vineyard were multiple. Coulure, millerandage (small, seedless berries, leading to uneven bunches), mildew, oïdium, botrytis and even hail in some vineyards kept vintners on their toes throughout the growing season. Finally, in mid-September, a change in weather brought a north wind, with cool temperatures. The conditions dried the vines and helped increase sugar levels while keeping acidity levels high. Along with diligent sorting, this allowed domaines and houses to put decent grapes into the fermenting vats.
"This vintage was really a miracle," said Romain Taupenot of Domaine Taupenot-Merme in Morey-St.-Denis. "Meticulous work in the vineyard and painstaking attention to detail were the key factors for success."
Cold and rainy weather extended the flowering in June to as long as three weeks. This resulted in a natural reduction of yields due to coulure and millerandage. It also led to uneven development and ripening of grapes from parcel to parcel, making it necessary to adapt the vinifications according to the quality of grapes from each site.
Mildew pressure in June and an outbreak of oïdium in July prompted spraying to protect leaves and developing grape clusters. "We sprayed 12 times from mid-May to mid-August, once a week," said Claude de Nicolay-Drouhin, co-owner of Domaine Chandon de Briailles in Savigny-lès-Beaune. "For two years now we have decided to leave grass in the middle [of the rows] and just plough between each vine. I think it was a good decision because the grass is a perfect sponge when it's raining."
Hail, a common problem in Burgundy, created isolated damage in Meursault, Volnay, Marsannay and the southern part of the Mâconnais, around Pouilly-Fuissé. "At the bottom of the slope, in the Bourgogne vineyards on the Volnay side, we suffered significant hail damage, up to 70 percent, depending on the parcel," said Jean-Marc Roulot, winemaker at Domaine Roulot in Meursault.
Harvest was delayed until September's sunny and dry conditions quickly ripened the grapes. "We could see the sugar increasing almost every day and the fruit getting more and more concentrated thanks to dehydration, yet still with good acidity because of the cold weather," said Nicolaÿ-Drouhin.
The hail and dehydration reduced the volume of the harvest anywhere from 30 to 50 percent in some places compared with 2007. Furthermore, the cool conditions during the growing season and harvest left grapes with high levels of malic acid. The wines will change dramatically after malolactic fermentation.
Early reports suggest Chardonnay is more successful than Pinot Noir. The white grapes were healthier and the botrytis-affected Pinot Noir required diligent sorting. However, 2008 is a year where generalizations won't apply and the results will vary not only from grower to grower, but also from parcel to parcel.
Chablis may have benefited the most from the north wind. Christian Moreau of Domaine Christian Moreau Père & Fils reported that spraying kept vineyard diseases at bay, while the picking was done under nice, if cool weather. "With the good natural degree and the good acidity I really believe at this moment that 2008 will be a very rich vintage with higher acidity if you compare it to '05 or '06," he said. Volume was 10 to 20 percent less than an average year.
Dominique Lafon of Domaine des Comtes Lafon, who makes wine from several vineyards in the Mâconnais, was pleased with the results there. Despite the presence of mildew and oïdium, the grapes in general were healthy. Unfortunately, the drying north wind and late harvest dates resulted in 30 percent less volume than 2007.
Like any difficult vintage, those who did the work in the vineyards will be rewarded, but overall results will be variable. "In the end, I'm quite happy," said Carel Voorhuis, estate manager at Domaine d'Ardhuy. "It certainly won't be the vintage of the century, but it all looks better than average."
—Bruce Sanderson
Winery: Macon-Villages
Varietal: Chardonnay
Price Paid: $14.99 on Sale
Vintage: 2008
Area: Burgundy, France
Alcohol: 12.5%
Purchased: Kroger’s
Overall: This is a wine I have been buying on and off since around 1992 and have enjoyed it in the past (great for cutting through a rich cream sauce because of being un-oaked). 2008 was a tough growing season in Burgundy and this wine shows it, with no fruit and very little if anything going for it. I like un-oaked Chardonnay’s but this is a poor wine in a tough vintage. Ugh.
Reviews
Wine Makers Comments:
Mâcon-Villages Jadot is a clean, fresh Chardonnay with typical varietal fragrance and elegant, citrus and white fruit flavors on the palate. Vinified without oak contact, the delicate acid balance carries into a refreshing, crisp finish.
Vintage Remarks (Please note this is not a fine Burgundy wine that gets babied in the vineyard with careful attention to detail):
Region: Burgundy
Grade: Whites (B-); Reds (C+)
The 2008 harvest in Burgundy was nothing short of a miracle. Growers breathed a collective sigh of relief after picking enough healthy Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to save what looked initially like a complete disaster.
The challenges in the vineyard were multiple. Coulure, millerandage (small, seedless berries, leading to uneven bunches), mildew, oïdium, botrytis and even hail in some vineyards kept vintners on their toes throughout the growing season. Finally, in mid-September, a change in weather brought a north wind, with cool temperatures. The conditions dried the vines and helped increase sugar levels while keeping acidity levels high. Along with diligent sorting, this allowed domaines and houses to put decent grapes into the fermenting vats.
"This vintage was really a miracle," said Romain Taupenot of Domaine Taupenot-Merme in Morey-St.-Denis. "Meticulous work in the vineyard and painstaking attention to detail were the key factors for success."
Cold and rainy weather extended the flowering in June to as long as three weeks. This resulted in a natural reduction of yields due to coulure and millerandage. It also led to uneven development and ripening of grapes from parcel to parcel, making it necessary to adapt the vinifications according to the quality of grapes from each site.
Mildew pressure in June and an outbreak of oïdium in July prompted spraying to protect leaves and developing grape clusters. "We sprayed 12 times from mid-May to mid-August, once a week," said Claude de Nicolay-Drouhin, co-owner of Domaine Chandon de Briailles in Savigny-lès-Beaune. "For two years now we have decided to leave grass in the middle [of the rows] and just plough between each vine. I think it was a good decision because the grass is a perfect sponge when it's raining."
Hail, a common problem in Burgundy, created isolated damage in Meursault, Volnay, Marsannay and the southern part of the Mâconnais, around Pouilly-Fuissé. "At the bottom of the slope, in the Bourgogne vineyards on the Volnay side, we suffered significant hail damage, up to 70 percent, depending on the parcel," said Jean-Marc Roulot, winemaker at Domaine Roulot in Meursault.
Harvest was delayed until September's sunny and dry conditions quickly ripened the grapes. "We could see the sugar increasing almost every day and the fruit getting more and more concentrated thanks to dehydration, yet still with good acidity because of the cold weather," said Nicolaÿ-Drouhin.
The hail and dehydration reduced the volume of the harvest anywhere from 30 to 50 percent in some places compared with 2007. Furthermore, the cool conditions during the growing season and harvest left grapes with high levels of malic acid. The wines will change dramatically after malolactic fermentation.
Early reports suggest Chardonnay is more successful than Pinot Noir. The white grapes were healthier and the botrytis-affected Pinot Noir required diligent sorting. However, 2008 is a year where generalizations won't apply and the results will vary not only from grower to grower, but also from parcel to parcel.
Chablis may have benefited the most from the north wind. Christian Moreau of Domaine Christian Moreau Père & Fils reported that spraying kept vineyard diseases at bay, while the picking was done under nice, if cool weather. "With the good natural degree and the good acidity I really believe at this moment that 2008 will be a very rich vintage with higher acidity if you compare it to '05 or '06," he said. Volume was 10 to 20 percent less than an average year.
Dominique Lafon of Domaine des Comtes Lafon, who makes wine from several vineyards in the Mâconnais, was pleased with the results there. Despite the presence of mildew and oïdium, the grapes in general were healthy. Unfortunately, the drying north wind and late harvest dates resulted in 30 percent less volume than 2007.
Like any difficult vintage, those who did the work in the vineyards will be rewarded, but overall results will be variable. "In the end, I'm quite happy," said Carel Voorhuis, estate manager at Domaine d'Ardhuy. "It certainly won't be the vintage of the century, but it all looks better than average."
—Bruce Sanderson
Monday, March 22, 2010
Monte Antico Toscana 2006
This week’s selection:
Winery: Monte Antico
Varietal: Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon
Price Paid: $11.99
Vintage: 2006
Area: Tuscany, Italy
Alcohol: 12.5%
Purchased: Colasanti’s Market
Overall: I hated this wine the first night. All I could taste was the bracing acidity and could not get past it. It confirmed my suspicion that with Wine Spectator you have to be over the top to get attention. (WS #61 on the top 100 wines list.) I picked it up 3 days after being opened and thought this has mellowed a bit and I can taste the sangiovese (the grape of Chianti) and enjoyed it. By the fourth night it was even easier drink and I enjoyed another glass.
This is one of the reasons it is good to let a wine sit for at least a day if you do not like it the first day. I would not recommend this wine but it was reasonably good by the third or fourth day. Too much work for an $11.99 bottle of wine.
Please let me know your thoughts if you try this wine.
Reviews
Critical Acclaim:
Just so you folks know that I am not alone in my opinion, I went on Snooth and these were two of the first 3 regular people reviews
First User Review on Snooth: I picked this bottle up at Costco and have to say that I rarely pour out a bottle of wine, but couldn't stand this bottle. It has a wonderful jammy bouquet, but has no body. There was very little taste and it imparted a bitter, almost sour taste on the back of my tongue.
I put it in the decanter and tried it again today, but nothing seemed to help. After looking at the other reviews here I'll try it again as people seemed to like it, and will change my review if on 2nd taste my opinion changes.
Third User Review on Snooth: Rating 86 Although the nose is long and complex the excessive fruit acid makes this wine unbalanced. the underlying structure is very good. I considered this not to be a bargain !!
• Tags:
• too much acid
Wine Spectator: WS 90pts. - #61 on Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2009 - According to James Suckling on his WineSpectator.com blog: I came across an incredible value in my office in Tuscany today. Tasting a range of wines from $10 to $25 with Neil and Maria Empson of Empson & Co., I found some excellent wines. But what was the most impressive for the money was the Monte Antico 2006. Its suggested retail is $11, and it could sell for less (like here). And it is in the market now. Granted, I have not tasted it blind yet. But it’s in the very good to outstanding range. The wine is 75 percent Sangiovese, 15 percent Merlot and 10 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. It is made from 25-year-old vines minimum, mostly from Pisa, Maremma and Chianti Classico areas. Of course, the quality of the 2006 vintage in Tuscany shined through on this wine. This is a superb Sangiovese year. The aromatic quality of Sangiovese is mind-blowing for most wines from Tuscany. The 2006 Monte Antico has beautiful plums, berries and fresh acidity. Fantastico! And for $11!
Winery: Monte Antico
Varietal: Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon
Price Paid: $11.99
Vintage: 2006
Area: Tuscany, Italy
Alcohol: 12.5%
Purchased: Colasanti’s Market
Overall: I hated this wine the first night. All I could taste was the bracing acidity and could not get past it. It confirmed my suspicion that with Wine Spectator you have to be over the top to get attention. (WS #61 on the top 100 wines list.) I picked it up 3 days after being opened and thought this has mellowed a bit and I can taste the sangiovese (the grape of Chianti) and enjoyed it. By the fourth night it was even easier drink and I enjoyed another glass.
This is one of the reasons it is good to let a wine sit for at least a day if you do not like it the first day. I would not recommend this wine but it was reasonably good by the third or fourth day. Too much work for an $11.99 bottle of wine.
Please let me know your thoughts if you try this wine.
Reviews
Critical Acclaim:
Just so you folks know that I am not alone in my opinion, I went on Snooth and these were two of the first 3 regular people reviews
First User Review on Snooth: I picked this bottle up at Costco and have to say that I rarely pour out a bottle of wine, but couldn't stand this bottle. It has a wonderful jammy bouquet, but has no body. There was very little taste and it imparted a bitter, almost sour taste on the back of my tongue.
I put it in the decanter and tried it again today, but nothing seemed to help. After looking at the other reviews here I'll try it again as people seemed to like it, and will change my review if on 2nd taste my opinion changes.
Third User Review on Snooth: Rating 86 Although the nose is long and complex the excessive fruit acid makes this wine unbalanced. the underlying structure is very good. I considered this not to be a bargain !!
• Tags:
• too much acid
Wine Spectator: WS 90pts. - #61 on Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2009 - According to James Suckling on his WineSpectator.com blog: I came across an incredible value in my office in Tuscany today. Tasting a range of wines from $10 to $25 with Neil and Maria Empson of Empson & Co., I found some excellent wines. But what was the most impressive for the money was the Monte Antico 2006. Its suggested retail is $11, and it could sell for less (like here). And it is in the market now. Granted, I have not tasted it blind yet. But it’s in the very good to outstanding range. The wine is 75 percent Sangiovese, 15 percent Merlot and 10 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. It is made from 25-year-old vines minimum, mostly from Pisa, Maremma and Chianti Classico areas. Of course, the quality of the 2006 vintage in Tuscany shined through on this wine. This is a superb Sangiovese year. The aromatic quality of Sangiovese is mind-blowing for most wines from Tuscany. The 2006 Monte Antico has beautiful plums, berries and fresh acidity. Fantastico! And for $11!
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