WineLife365

Archive for the ‘4-Star’ Category

…but not of the risky kind with the 2008 Robert Mondavi Fumé Blanc.  Right out of the gate, one gets a sense of seriousness from this 2008 Sauvignon Blanc – pardon me – this 2008 Fumé Blanc from one of Napa Valley’s most respected wineries – the Robert Mondavi Winery.

For those that may not know, Fumé Blanc is actually a pseudonym for Sauvignon Blanc.  The person responsible for this brilliant and innovative marketing name change is Robert Mondavi.  Prior to the 1970s, Sauvignon Blanc was typically produced in a way that gave it an overly sweet taste, hence giving it a poor reputation in California.  In 1968, the Robert Mondavi Winery was offered a large and particularly good crop of Sauvignon Blanc grapes.  Mondavi then decided to embrace this as an opportunity to differentiate his Sauvignon Blanc from the others with barrel aging and eventually released a new style of California Sauvignon Blanc under the name Fumé Blanc, and the rest is history.

While tasting the 2008 Robert Mondavi Fumé Blanc, it certainly didn’t take long for my taste buds to get the sense that the boss was somehow still calling the shots, and the winemakers at Mondavi are following through spectacularly.

Dream sequence…

Boss:  As you know, we here at the Mondavi Winery created Fumé Blanc, but over the years, stiff competition from other terrific Sauvignon Blanc producers sure has made it tough for us to sell our Fumé Blanc.  I need all of you to pitch in and give me your best efforts!

For starters, we’ve got to tame that unruly Sauvignon Blanc with some barrel aging, but we can’t have people scream “Yuck!” because the oak is completely overpowering the wine. 

Winemakers:  CHECK!  We hear you boss.   We’ve got that beast Sauvignon Blanc and the oak under control!

Boss:  What about the fruit flavors?  It has to be great and keep people coming back for more! 

Winemakers:  We’ve got it boss!  Our wine will possess great tropical fruit flavors, along with a special added bonus that will enhance the consumer’s enjoyment of our wine:  with our tried and true barrel aging process, our Fumé Blanc will be as creamy and decadent as a fine Chardonnay – just like the French stuff.

Boss:  One last thing:  we need to make this the best damn wine for less than $20 (US). 

Winemakers:  A hush fell across the room, but after only a momentary hesitation, the winemakers said, “Done!”

Boss:  OK THEN – Let’s go out there and show the wine drinking public what we’re made of!

4 Stars out of 4.  Mission accomplished.  The Robert Mondavi Winery has been making Fumé Blanc for a mighty long time, and years of hands on experience really shows in their 2008 offering.  Try pairing it with a crab cake and Caesar salad.

($20 MSRP, Sample)

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…or need to spend an arm and a leg to live high on the hog!

Produced and bottled by Barrel 27 Wine Company, the 2008 High On The Hog White Wine is a magnificent blend of 39% Grenache Blanc, 36% Viognier, 20% Roussanne and 5% Marsanne grapes.

It possesses an incredible juicy concentration of tropical fruit flavors with a massive round and elegant finish that, dare I say, rivals some other top notch California Chardonnays and the “M” word…France’s Puligny-Montrachet.

I’d like to give a special shout out to Steve Kogler@ Teller Wines in Lewes, DE for introducing me to this wine – I’m completely addicted and want more!

4 Stars out of 4.  For $18.99/bottle you can afford to show off your great taste to all your wine buddies and have enough dough leftover to pay for dinner.

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Sexy from head to toe is the best way of describing the 2008 Altovinum Evodia Old Vines Garnacha.  I discovered and fell in love with the 2007 Altovinum Evodia Old Vines Garnacha last year.  But oh, oh, oh, oh – the 2008 edition is truly something special and just pure gold in the under $10 wine category.  Produced from 100 percent Garnacha vines, some up to 100 years old, from an altitude of 2400 – 3000 ft. in the village of Atea in Calatayud, the 2008 Altovinum Evodia is rock solid from start to finish.

The word Evodia comes from a Greek word that means “aroma”, and yes, the 2008 Altovinum Evodia Old Vines Garnacha certainly smells quite nice with its mineral, earthy essence; but the real X-factor with this Spanish red is the major POW that it delivers in the taste department with its sweet, dark fruit flavors laced with black tea and peppery notes.  And get this:  It achieves its delicious smack down without ever spending any time in an oak barrel – a truly remarkable feat considering its complexity and affordability!

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that the 2008 Altovinum Evodia Old Vines Garnacha just might be the best tasting red wine on the planet for under $10.  To this end, if you’re reading this review and know of a red wine that’s as good as or better than this beauty (for less than 10 bucks), I’d sure like to hear about it!

4 Stars out of 4.

($9.99)

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The Wine:  2007 Luigi Bosca Reserva Malbec.

Birth place:  La Linda Estate (Vistalba vineyard) in Luján de Cuyo, an area of Mendoza, Argentina.

The Altitude:  960m above sea-level.

Inside the Bottle:  Estate grown and bottled, 100% Malbec grapes from low-yielding vines. 

Time spent in the Barrel:  12 months in French oak.

Aging Potential:  Up to 10 years from its born-on-date is what they say.

How does it taste?:  Off the charts delicious!  Want to bathe in it good!  Humongous dark fruit and peppery spices that tantalize and seem to last, and last, and last!

WineLife365 Rating:  4 Stars out of 4.  One of the tastiest reds I’ve tried so far in 2010.

Price:  16.99.

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