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Posts Tagged ‘4-Star’

…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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When thinking of Italian red wines, names like Amarone, Chianti, Montepulciano and Sangiovese certainly come to mind for many wine drinkers.  However, there is one lesser known (at least to me!) Italian red wine, called Lacrima, that you just might want to consider looking for the next time you’re out shopping for wine.

Lacrima dates back to ancient times and is not considered a true grape varietal because it generally includes the addition of either Montepulciano and/or Verdicchio grapes in its production.  This wine is mainly produced in the village of Morro d’Alba in Ancona Province, Marche.  The profile on this Italian wine is that it is a medium body wine with moderate acidity and mild tannins, and it possesses big floral and red-fruit aromas, while displaying earthy and herbal characteristics.  The flavors can also be somewhat sweet for a red wine.

About a week ago, I was looking for a red wine under $20 to go with our traditional Friday dinner of spaghetti and meatballs.  While I was talking it up with a buddy of mine, he suggested that I give the 2008 Velenosi Lacrima di Morro d’Alba a try.

Not being familiar with this particular style of Italian wine, I was expecting it to display a dried cherry/fruit characteristic, accompanied by a mild astringent finish that would tell my taste buds, “Hey buddy, you’re drinking an Italian red!”  What I didn’t expect to happen was to taste an Italian red wine that would break all of the “rules” of how I thought an Italian red wine was supposed to taste.

The 2008 Velenosi Lacrima di Morro d’Alba is a complete detour from your typical Italian red wine.  To start, when I smelled it, flowers was the first thing that came to mind – lavender, maybe?  As far as taste goes – it totally bails on the commonly used dried cherry/fruit component, and there is absolutely no hint of the familiar astringent aftertaste.  Instead, the folks at Velenosi opt for a massive blast of vibrant sweet berry flavors (an explosion of blueberries and boysenberries), then they lay the smack down on you with a velvety smooth, long finish that seems well… downright “Un-Italian”. 

I must say that it doesn’t quite jive with spaghetti and meatballs the way a traditional Italian red would, but don’t let this discourage you in the least from trying this fabulous, well-crafted wine.  It totally rocks on its own and seems to be an ideal match for rack of lamb, roasted chicken, duck, or any other gamey stuff.  A big high five to Frank for sharing this magnificent discovery with me!

 4 Stars out of 4.  The 2008 Velenosi Lacrima di Morro d’Alba is a big, juicy, and unique Italian red wine!

($19.99)

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Like a lot of other people this past Sunday night, we were glued to the TV set sayin’, “Man, she looks terrible!” or “Wow, she looks really great!”  We were also wondering if James Cameron and Jon Landau’s 10 year project, “Avatar”, would runaway with all of the Oscar trophies.  But just like so many other past Oscar nights, there was that dark horse in the bunch that surprised everyone.  This year, it was a night to remember for the folks involved with the film “The Hurt Locker”, which won six Academy Awards including “Best Picture”.

As we watched “The Hurt Locker” put a hurtin’ on fellow nominees, we were putting a hurtin’ on a couple great bottles of wine!

The first of the evening was the 2009 Finca La Linda Torrontes bottled by Luigi Bosca.  This wine was produced in Argentina and consists of 100% Torrontes grape.  Torrontes is the wonderful and distinctively aromatic signature white grape of Argentina.  If you’ve never tried a Torrontes before, this one will certainly make a great first impression on you!  There’s a lot of interesting layers of flavors swirling around in this wine.  It’s a bombshell of racy, crisp acidity, packed full of tropical flavors, that reminded me of a Pina Colada.  The 2009 Finca La Linda Torrontes was a big winner and left us wanting more.  Costing less than $10, it secures a lofty 4 star WineLife365 taste rating and also earned itself many repeat visits as the weather in our neck of the woods continues to warm up.

Next up was the 2006 La Corte Solyss Negroamaro.  This red wine is from the South of Italy in the Puglia (Apulia) region.  Negroamaro, also known as Negro amaro, is one of the most widely planted native red grapes grown in the Southern regions of Italy.  It’s grown almost exclusively in Puglia (Apulia) and also in Salento, which is located at the “heel” of Italy.  The Negroamaro grape and the winemakers in this region tend to allow these wines to express rustic, earthy, and natural tasting characteristics.  This particular Old World red showcases some really interesting mineral, herbaceous and cherry twists that will undoubtedly make you question whether you’re a fan of it or not.  We were fans of 2006 La Corte Solyss Negroamaro and give it 3 stars out of 4 on our taste scale.  One final note on this wine – I paid $12 for it at a local retailer, but I’ve seen it as high as $25 online.  I’m not sure whether or not I’d be willing to fork over 25 bones for it, but if you can find it for less than $20, it’s certainly worth a shot!

With the 2010 Oscars behind us, I can’t say that there were many moments that will replay in my mind for any length of time.  However, I did find some winners that will have repeat performances in my glass.

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