2017 Tommaso Bussola Ca' del Laito Valpolicella Ripasso

Vintage: 
2017
Score: 
92
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$22.00USD

Tasted at a wine bar in Charlotte, North Carolina.  $33 off the menu.  Great wine and worth twice the price.  Deep garnet in color.  The nose has cherries, slight dried cherry, and spices.  Great texture.  Great acidity.  Delicious.  It will be better with food.  A rich pasta dish would be great.  Drink over the next five to eight years. 

2004 Villa Mongalli Montefalco Sagrantino Della Cima, Italy, Umbria, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2004
Score: 
89
Grade: 
B+

This is a new producer for me, and it showed very well.  Purple in color, some browning, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with red and black cherries, slight dried cherry note, and smoke.  Medium bodied.  Firm tannins.  Good acidity.  On the palate, lots of black cherry fruit.  Interesting as it seems a bit old and not quite fully open at the same time.  It does come together a bit with air.  Good finish.  I don't think the the tannins will ever resolve so best to east this with bigger or fatty foods.  A nice beef stew with an Italian bent should be perfect.  Drink over the next few yea

2017 Ca' Marcanda (Gaja) Promis Toscana IGT, Italy, Tuscany, wine review

Vintage: 
2017
Score: 
92
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$45.00USD

This is from the Tuscan branch of Gaja, more widely known for their wines from Piedmont in northern Italy.  It is a blend of 55% Merlot, 35% Syrah,  and 10% Sangiovese.  Purple in color with ruby swirls, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries, black cherries, sandalwood, slight chocolate and spice.  Firm tannins.  Full bodied.  On the palate, cassis, black cherries, slight forest floor and chocolate.  Long finish.  This is tasty now but obviously young.  It could use a few more years of cellaring and then drink for ten to fifteen after that.  Nice on its own, this would w

2017 Montonale Lugana Montunal, Italy, Lombardy, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2017
Grade: 
Current Price: 
$25.00USD

Lugana is a wine region in Italy along the southern side of Lake Garda.  The grape is Turbiana, previously known as Trebbiano di Lugana.  13% abv.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is spicy with slight peach.  My guess is that on release, the peach notes were stronger but have faded over time.  Slightly oily texture.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, there is some sweetness to the wine (demi-sec?).  Also apples.  This bottle seemed well past prime but it may not have been a proper bottle as it has some mustiness to it.  Was it TCA or just bottle stink?  Not sure.  Hopefully, I can

2020 Cantina Terlan Pinot Grigio Tradition, Italy, Alto Adige, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2020
Score: 
91
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$18.00USD

Served blind.  Light golden in color with a touch of copper color making me think Pinot Grigio.  The nose is nice with lots of minerality.  Also dust, apples and some initial sulfur notes (which blew off).  Slightly oily texture.  Medium bodied.  A fair mount of oak showing but it somehow works.  On the palate, limes and apples.  Good acidity.  This is an excellent winery with good values.  Drink over the next few years.  This will work on its own or with a pasta with a cream sauce.

Stemmari 2021 Grillo

Vintage: 
2021
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$12.00USD

While common in Italy, and a grape native to the island of Sicily, you don’t find much Grillo is other parts of the world. And that’s okay as Italy does an admirable job with the grape. It offers good minerality, nice acidity and flavors of subtle lemon-lime, white peach, kumquat, apricot, resin and honeysuckle, light mango and other tropical fruit notes. In terms of food pairing, this is the kind of wine that is ultimately versatile, and Stemmari offers a terrific value. ORIGIN: Sicily, Italy. ALCOHOL: 13%

2019 Lungarotti Torgiano Rubesco Sangiovese Colorino Rosso di Torgiano, Italy, Umbria, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2019
Score: 
91
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$17.00USD

This is a blend of 90 Sangiovese and 10% Colorino from central Italy.  Deep ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cherries, with some cranberries and slight spice.  Medium bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, plums, slight chocolate and spice.  Clean.  This drinks easy.  Nice on its own, this is very food friendly.  A nice plate of pasta would work well.  Drink over the next seven to ten years.  Great value.  

2019 Arnaldo-Caprai Montefalco Rosso, Italy, Umbria, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2019
Score: 
91
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$19.00USD

This is a blend of 70% Sangiovese, 15% Sagrantino and 15% Merlot from central Italy.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries, cherries, char and spice.  Medium bodied.  Medium tannins.  Good acidity.  On the palate, black cherries, cherries, milk chocolate and slight smoke.  Long finish.  This is a lovely Sangiovese with a firmness from the blend that gives it s bit more seriousness.  It is drinking well now and should for the next seven to ten years.  A very nice value.  This is very food friendly and will work better with food.  Pasta Bolo

2000 Arnaldo-Caprai Montefalco Sagrantino 25 Anni, Italy, Umbria, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2000
Score: 
95
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$140.00USD

This bottle was bought on release and well stored until serving.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose was great with black cherries, dried cherries, slight tobacco, spice and slight smoke.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  This is certainly close to peak but maybe not quite there yet.  On the palate, this is deep and complex.  Black cherries and cherries with some char and earthiness.  Long finish.  Great on its own, this went great with a variety of cheeses.  Drink over the next ten to twelve years.  

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