2009 Vecchia Cantina Rosso di Montepulciano, Italy

Elegance in a glass…Dark purple with a ruby rim and an ebony core

Magnificent aromas…Blueberry, mulberry, black cherry, vanilla and coconut

Joyous flavors…This is only the second Montepulciano I’ve tried since starting this blog; the first was a complete disaster this one is at the opposite end of the spectrum. I purchased this as another red wine to pair with Thanksgiving dinner, but at the last minute decided not to open this up. A few days ago I finally decided to pop the cork on this, and I was greeted with an absolutely wonderful drinking experience. The attack is silky and smooth with raspberry and semi-sweet cherry fruit flavors that are backed by leather, vanilla and burnt sugar. The mid-palate is nicely acidic with an even astringency and tannins that are smooth and balanced; overall the mid-palate is just a little too short for my tastes and edges into a medium finish. The finish is the most balanced part of this wine as the fruit flavors (cherry, raspberry and red currant) meld seamlessly with tobacco, vanilla, leather, and bittersweet chocolate. The finish is gorgeously smooth and leaves an aftertaste of burnt caramel and semi-sweet cherry.

Overall this wine is a definite winner. I believe I paid 10 dollars for this bottle; at that price this is a great QPR. This wine shows more “oomph” than most Italian reds and can be paired with a wider variety of foods. It held up well to burgers and fries, beef stew and spaghetti. Though it lost a little complexity with the hearty stew. I highly recommend this is you enjoy balanced and smooth red wines or just need something a little more complex than your usual table wine for about the same price. Pick this up by the case if you can, you won’t be disappointed.

Vecchia Cantina

2009 La Carraia Umbria Sangiovese, Italy

Quite the delight…Dark purplish-black core surrounded by ruby red fading to violet at the rim

Two-toned nose…Cherry and vanilla

Why do I feel so wishy-washy…This wine held my attention for the entire first glass. I enjoyed the look, aroma and taste right down to the last drop. Then I waited for a few hours while cooking dinner and sampled my second glass. My attention seemed to wander during this glass. ‘Maybe it’s the food’ I thought to myself. But the next evening I experienced the exact same thing. Finally it dawned on me; this wine is pretty darn good all by itself but takes a backseat when it’s paired with just about any food. Let ‘s talk specifics about the wine itself. It has a very narrow scope of flavors as far as the attack is concerned. Mainly I can taste cherry, some raspberry, and peppers (both black pepper heat and bell pepper zest). The mid-palate is moderately acidic with some pucker factor from both alcohol and tannins and minimal astringency. The finish is medium in length featuring more pepper, savory spices (sage and basil), tobacco and very muted berry/cherry notes. I get a definite “weight” to the wine but it’s really only a medium bodied effort. The aftertaste itself is long and runs mainly to sour cherry and plum pits. It’s a nice effort and shines by itself though it becomes demure when paired with food.

Overall, I write that entire review about how good the wine tastes by itself to say that I actually enjoyed it more when I drank it with a meal. Normally I would want my glass of wine to shine with every sip I took, but this wine did something completely different. While the flavors of the wine itself were somewhat undermined the food itself took on a whole new level of “good”. I liked drinking this by itself because I could taste the wine, but I liked it even better when I paired this with spaghetti because it made the garlic marinara taste so much better. I know it’s an anomaly and I never expect to have this happen again, but this bottle gets a good QPR all the way around but for totally different reasons. I think I paid 10 bucks for this and that’s not bad. I’d recommend this for your table on any night you want an Italian red to go with your Italian dinner. It’s not an amazing wine, but it hits the spot especially with a nice plate of spaghetti.

La Carraia

2006 Waterbrook Melange Noir (28% Cabernet Franc/21% Syrah/19% Cabernet Sauvignon/17% Sangiovese/14% Merlot/1% Tempranillo) , Washington

Color – Dark red, with a purple core

Nose – Blueberry, vanilla, grapes

Taste – I had hoped when I picked this up on clearance at my local supermarket, that this would be a standout wine. I had hoped it would surpass the two other Waterbrook wines I had tasted up to that point. Unfortunately I was sadly mistaken. This isn’t a bad wine, but it doesn’t have the depth and complexity that the Waterbrook Syrah and Waterbrook Cabernet-Merlot characterize so well. This wine looks big, bold and dark. It smells just a little more timid than that. But it’s in the flavor that it fails for me. The attack is full of jammy, fruity blueberry, raisin and plum flavors with veins of brown sugar, molasses and leather running through all the fruit. The mid-palate is relatively one dimensional, with the alcohol and astringency hiding and chewy, playful tannins showing up as the mid-palate makes its way into the finish. The finish might have redeemed this wine had it been just a little more complex and a little longer. It’s a medium finish that holds more brown sugar, molasses and plum flavors and brings on hints of vanilla, licorice and very minimal baking spices. The wine itself is medium bodied, though when left to sit and reach slightly above-room temperature this wine feels “heavier” on the tongue.

Overall, I can’t call this a bad/poor wine or QPR. At its normal price of 17 dollars I would have called it a poor QPR. But I picked this up at 9 dollars and for that price this wine is lightyears ahead of most other 9 dollar wines. The reason I deride it is because the other Waterbrook wines I’ve tasted have been so good, I expected the same from this wine. I didn’t get it. It’s a little thin, a lot confused as far as flavor goes and lacking anything I would call depth or complexity. If you can get this for under 10 dollars then I would recommend grabbing it just to try it and maybe you‘ll prove me wrong. If you can only find this for more than 10 dollars I’d advise passing and grab any other Waterbrook red wine.

Waterbrook Wines

2008 Zingari Toscana, Italy

Color – Ruby red with a near black core

Nose – Blueberry, strawberry, cherry

Taste – This is a recent addition at my local Costco that sells for 9 dollars, and while I’m not overly familiar with Toscana (This is a blend of Merlot, Sangiovese, Syrah and Alicante; I was unable to find the specific quantities of each) I figured I would try it just to see if it passed my test. First off this wine benefits from decanting, and if you have the patience it really needs to sit overnight before you drink it. I sipped my first glass of this right after opening the bottle just to see what the wine tasted like and while it’s not bad it’s very tight with sharp flavors and tannins that tend to bite just a little. When I poured my second glass of this the following day the wine had softened, the berry flavors were not as sour and the tannins had mellowed giving this wine a pleasing all around flavor. The flavors on the attack are all berries and cherries; strawberry, raspberry and blueberry with a little ripe red cherry mixed in. The mid-palate has a mild alcohol tingle to it, tannins that still bite but not nearly as much as before and subtle astringency. As the mid-palate moves into the finish semi-sour cranberry flavors begin to pop up blended with sour cherry and raspberry flavors. The finish itself is medium in length with middling complexity that only really shows up in the aftertaste where flavors of leather mingle with the berries present throughout this wine. This is a light-to-medium bodied wine with limited depth in its flavor but that’s not necessarily a bad thing as the wine fares well with pizza, pasta and even salads.

Overall, I would say this is a decent-to-good QPR. The flavors are limited and they aren’t what I really seek out in a wine, but the wine itself isn’t bad rather it’s not my “cup of tea”. It drinks well with pizza and pasta as one would imagine, and doesn’t taste terrible by itself. It’s not going to win huge votes of admiration in my house, but I wouldn’t pass it up if I saw it at a pizzeria and wanted a glass of red to go with my slice of pepperoni pie. I would recommend this if you like cherry/berry reds with sour notes in the mid-palate and finish or as an alternative to your house Chianti. As for me, I’ll pass on this for now, but give it a passing grade.

Petra Wine

2008 Mil Piedras Malbec, Argentina

Color - Ruby Red

Nose - Blackberry, plum, black cherry

Taste - This is a fruity wine, that's the first opinion I get of this wine. Even though it's fruity, it packs a huge herbal aftertaste, very clean and grassy. The initial flavors are of sour cherries, blackberries and black pepper. This wine has a comfortably smooth texture and a very nice mouthfeel; something silky and smooth and very inviting. I would caution not to drink this wine above 65 degrees because it gains a slightly bitter taste which is not very pleasing to say the least. There is the presence of clean, fruit skin flavors in the aftertaste which is very nice and compelling and makes this wine feel more complex than it is. This is better if consumed by itself, it doesn't fair well with particularly savory food. It can hold up but gets bogged down and gains a strong bitter aftertaste after the attack of the fruit.

Overall, This is very good though fruity by itself. This wine is medium bodied with similarities to Chianti or Sangiovese. Fruity and somewhat complex this a better wine than many at the 15 dollar mark and this is less than that. In one sentence. This is another Argentinian Wonder, buy it now!

Mil Piedras Wines

2008 Notro Sangiovese/Bonarda, Argentina

Color - Plum color with a reddish-pink rim

Nose - Raspberry, strawberry

Taste - This is a fruit forward wine, but not a fruit bomb of a wine. The fruits seem to be lurking under the surface of very smooth flavors hints of leather and tobacco that most likely come from the Bonarda. I expected sweetness in this wine due to the Sangiovese, and it's there just not in the overwhelming way I imagined. It lacks the creamy complexity I've found in other Bonardas, but it does have hints of the tannins, acidity and flavor complexity of Bonardas to offset the sweet fruit of the Sangiovese. This wine is light-to-medium bodied with a medium finish. Others might complain about the acidity and sweetness of this wine, but it makes a perfect compliment to pizza or spaghetti. In fact this is the most well rounded example of a Chianti alternative I've found. Nothing about this wine is complex or amazing, but nothing about this wine is offensive or particularly disappointing. This is a solid wine, put it on the table as your "house" red wine.

Overall, this is my new favorite red blend/table wine. It's not what I'd expect from a Sangiovese (not sweet enough) or a Bonarda (not complex enough), but it's still good in and of itself. Great with pizza, sausage, burgers or just about any pasta. At 4.99 a bottle at Cost Plus World Market but a case or two and make it your everyday wine. It won't disappoint.

2008 Arizona Stronghold Mangus, Cabernet Sauvignon/Sangiovese/Merlot

Color - Nice even Red

Nose - Strawberry, cherry, plum

Taste - This wine is fairly sweet and quite fruit forward. It's not unpleasant even though I don't usually like sweet reds. It's not particularly complex, has smooth round tannins, and a nice clean, even finish. The finish contains hints of smoke and apple skin. This wine is young but not biting from too much alcohol or bitter like a lot of young red wines. The Sangiovese sweetens the red, but the Cabernet Sauvignon keeps it grounded. I would have to say the Sangiovese is much more dominant in this wine even though there is a higher percentage of the Cabernet. The blends from Arizona Stronghold lean on the sweet but but also dry with a very decent structure and enough depth to keep my taste buds from getting bored.

Overall, this is a decent wine though you can find others at the same price point that are just as good. It's good and will last in the bottle. The wine might mature into something more complex. But it is really quite enjoyable as an every day drinker. I would definitely recommend this wine as one to pick and try, even to keep on hand. It's sweet, yes, but it's smooth with a medium bodied and something to keep a smile on your face.

Incidentally, this is a partnership between Maynard James Keenan (yes that MJK) and Eric Glomski (Renowned Vigneron and owner of Page Spring Cellars) to make good wine blends from Arizona grown grapes.
Arizona Stronghold Vineyards

2009 Bolla Valpolicella, Italy

Color - Light red with a near pink rim

Nose - Slight cherry, clean herbaceous hints

Taste - Having never had this particular style of wine, I didn't know what to expect, but right off the bat two things hit me. One, this wine is much lighter than I am used to drinking. Two, this wine has an interesting sour cherry flavor that permeates every sip. The wine is light colored and light in body, it doesn't hang around on your palate after you've swallowed though the sour cherry flavor stays with me for several long seconds before it fades. There are hints of grass, herbs or light mint as the wine fades on the tongue and nearly a pucker factor. Though the wine is sour it is still fruity and not particularly dry. The vegetal flavors are quite pleasant in the wine almost enough to balance the sourness. The wine is very smooth as far as mouthfeel goes, the tannins are nearly lost (in my opinion due to the fact that your mouth is dealing with so much sour cherry). It's young and kind of muddled, but not necessarily bad, just different. I usually stick with Chianti or Sangiovese if I purchase and Italian red wine, I tried this out because it was cheap and the back label made it sound like something my mouth would enjoy. There is a slight bite from the alcohol, but not a lot of heat from it, nothing.

Overall, this is a difficult wine for my palate to peg. My gut instinct is to find a different brand of this wine before I discount Valpolicella altogether, but to be quite honest I don't really like the wine all that much. I'm not fond of light red wines. This wine reminds me more of a sour apple Sauvignon Blanc more than it reminds me of a Chianti or other light red. Even the aroma has more in common with the few dry/sour whites I've come to enjoy. It's not an unpleasant wine just not what I would pick. I would hazard a guess and say a person looking to transition from white-to-red might enjoy this wine as an ice breaker into red wines. For the price I'd pick up a Chianti or Tempranillo or even a decent red table wine before I'd buy this again.

Bolla Wines