La Fortuna 2008 Pinot Noir

Not much flavor. Drinkable, but not enjoyable. No overriding negative flavors, but still all I really taste is the heat of the alcohol. Memo to self - when in Chile - stick with Cabs.

You can see from the photo the wine was "hand harvested". It was also organically grown. Too bad someone went through all that effort because the end product wasn't so good.

HEY LOOK - Seven posts in November. I've exceeded my goal of 4 per month.

Alma Rosa Chardonnay

"Buttery" chardonnay. What does that mean? I never smelled or tasted "butter" in my chardonnay. Until now! My wine smelled like the buttered popcorn at the movies. In my quest to find a chadonnay for Mrs. Vino I've become a fan myself. When I did the broad tasting in the store this one would have been second to Oatley (below), but now I'm not sure. The distributor informed me that the vineyard formally produced Sanford. Huh! My Dad and my wifes maid of honor must have drank 8 bottles of Sanford at our rehersal dinner. To this day, they both shudder whenever the rehersal dinner topic arises. I read that many chardonnays these days are junk and while I'm no expert this one seemed just fine to me and I would look for this one!

Pieropan - Soave

Picked up this Italian white on my quest to find a Chardonnay for Mrs. Vino. The guy representing this wine suggested we pair this up with pasta and clam sauce, so we do just that. Perfect. BTW - I also learned that Italy has 400 grape varieties. Gracious. There are just so many good things to say about this wine. Light - and I get a distinct pear flavor - not at all sweet. A substial white wine that I will definitely look for again. Do the same! I paid $13 becasue the distributor was there, but it regularly is $17. (I read today that most folks who rate wines from 1-100 miss their prior score by 4 points the next time they rate the same wine. I knew there was a reason I thought that scoring system was bull.

Robert Oatley Chardonnay 2007

Mrs. Vino requests some white wine - pinot grigio or chardonnay. A few day later a local wine store announces a special tasting with 6 distributors. I'm on my way. I'm not used to tasting whites - but am willing to learn! The second wine I taste stands out. The distributor overloads me with info as I taste. The slightest hint of alcohol entering my brain distracts from a long story about someone I don't know. Robert Parker Jr scored this one a 90, but who is he? The label suggests a melon flavor and I'm thinking honey dew or do list -which I think I'm working on. I digress. A slight hint of oak. I really liked this wine. A bit pricey at $14, but it generally retails higher (like $20 I think) so I feel good about the extra dough. I don't rate wines like some school test. My rating comes as a suggestion - Look for it!!

Barbera D'Alba Poderi Elia 2004

If you've been keeping up with my posts, you know that it is time to check out the oaked Barbera. This one is an 04 and the prior Barb (we're comfortable with each other) was an 08. Surprise, surprise, surprise. (Jim Nabors - dead or alive?) - I like this one better. "Smoother" says Mrs. Vino. Yup, and the oak is hardly noticable, but the wine just has more flavor and better "length" - the pleasant flavor lingers for a while. Our neice Rachel, picks up on some cherry flavors and Mrs. Vino get's black licorice. (I agree - now that it is suggested.) Look for it! It is also in the $10 range. (Alive!)

Briccotonido - Barbera - Fontanafredda 2008

I asked my local wine merchant for something different and he pointed me to an un-oaked (this wine) and an oaked (next review) Barbera from Italia. This wine was very nice. Yeah, I know, "nice" isn't really a descriptive word for wine - but that is what it was. Nothing complex. Fruit forward, but certainly not sweet. More flavors came through toward the end. Given my oak-phobia, I'm guessing this wine will beat out the oaked one - but we'll see. Oh - geez I almost forgot -this one was in the $10 range - you weren't expecting anything else.

Vina Rufina Tempranillo Crianza 2004

I apologize for the weak effort in October. I kept drinking wines I had already reviewed and was therefore left with nothing to write about. I've vowed to write-up 4 wines a month. That will force me to keep trying new wines and it will also keep my many readers happy. We have a disagreement on the first wine of November. I like the balance and spice of this inexpensive Tempranillo - a grape variety I generally like. Mrs. Vino is surprised by the zippiness and asks me how many bottles of it I bought. Not a good sign. ;) Give it a try and let me know what you think!