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Tasting Notes
Miss one of our tasting events or just want to see
what your fellow customers thought of the wines and our staff
tasting notes? Our Tasting Notes section contains tasting
notes on all the wines from each of our major tastings done by one
of the Wine Merchants crew, and sometimes the ranking of the wines based on
the total purchases at the events by our customers. Of course
the tasting notes represent the opinion of our staff taster, and the
customer rankings represent the opinions of our attending customers.
Both are subject to bias by their personal wine preferences and
since rankings are based on purchases, price can be bias factor in
determining rank.
If you would like to use the
notes and your fellow customer's rankings to order some of the wines
to enjoy yourself, just call us with your order.
Notes
from Our Most Recent Tasting Event
Italian Family Estate Reserves with David Belardino
Bedford International Imports
A Wine Merchants Customer Club Exclusive Event
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Tasting Notes
and scores by Wine Merchant’s Jamie Bronk (JB)
along with ratings done by Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, Wine
Advocate, and Italy's Gambero Rosso.
Volpi Vobis Mea Gavi DOCG 2004 $15.99
JB -100% Cortese from Piedmonte. Luscious, ripe melon, meyer
lemon, oily rich long finish. Great limestone minerality. 92 Points
Contratto Gavi di Gavi "Arnelle" 2007
$36.99 Ranked #1 in Italian Whites by Customer Purchases
JB “Beehive”, focused, melon, honey finish, smoky citrusy notes.
Great balance. 93 Points
Umani Ronchi Casal di Serra Verdicchio Classico
Superiore DOC 2006 $19.99
Gambero Rosso 2 Bicchieri
JB –Sweet lemon custard, wet stones, full throttle, long finish.
A chardonnay alternative. 92+ Points
Lungarotti Torre di Giano Bianco di Torgiano
DOC 2006 $17.99
Gambero Rosso 2 Bicchieri
JB-70% Trebbiano, 30% Greccante. Floral, crisp and light style
appertif wine. Delicious citrus foral notes. 91 Points
Borgo Magredo Pinot Nero 2007 $15.99
JB- Dark blackberry, black cherry, Pinot Noir/Syrah like with
rich fruit and dancing acidity. 89 Points
Falchini "Colombaia" Chianti dei Colli Senesi
DOCG 2006 $21.99 Ranked #1 in Italian Reds by Customer
Purchases
JB- 85% Sangiovese, 15% Caniolo. Traditional style yet fruit
forward with great balance. A perfect food wine. 91 Points
Umani Ronchi Jorio Montepulciano 2005 $21.99
Ranked #3 in Italian Reds by Customer Purchases
JB- Red and black fruit nose, with baking spices and sweet
cinnamon. Black fruits, dusty sweet cherry finish. 93 Points
Contratto Barbera d'Asti Panta Rei 2004 $31.99
JB- Blackberry, petite sirah like. Great tannins with a bursting
red berry finish. 92 Points
Michelle Castellani Seral Corvina Veronese IGT
2004 $19.99 Ranked #5 in Italian Reds by Customer Purchases
JB- “A baby Amarone”. Air dried 100% Corvina grapes. Elegant red
currant, sweet raisin, great spice, and long spicy finish. 92 Points
Dessilani Spanna Riserva DOC 2005 $24.99
JB- 100% Nebbilo. Bordeaux like complexity. Red and black
currant. Tannins will allow long cellaring. 90 Points
Lungarotti Rubesco Rosso di Torgiano DOC 2004
$19.99
Gambero Rosso 2 Bicchieri
JB-70% Sangiovese, 30% Canillo. Ligher style with soft
tannins. A great quaffer! 89 Points
Rivera Il Falcone Castel del Monte Riserva DOC
2003 $39.99
Gambero Rosso 2 Bicchieri
JB- Grand Cru St. Emilion knock off. Lengthy tannins with red
and black currant. A Great Wine! 93+ Points
Wine Advocate 92 Points “The estate’s 2003 Il Falcone
Riserva is a blend of 70% Nero di Troia and 30% Montepulciano that
spent 12 months in French oak. It is a terrific wine loaded with
character, vibrancy and elegance. Spices, red cherries, flowers,
star anise, menthol, licorice and sweet toasted oak emerge as this
pure wine opens in the glass, revealing its considerable appeal.
Anticipated maturity: 2009-2016.”
Lungarotti Vigna Monticchio Rubesco Riserva
DOCG 2000 $59.99
Gambero Rosso Tre (3) Bicchieri
JB- Drinking great now. Spicy, silky, black fruit with a long
finish. Great Wine. 92 Points
Wine Advocate 90 Points – “The 2000 Rubesco Riserva Vigna
Monticchio has the force and drive of the important vintages of the
past, ample plum and berry fruit, a solid texture, and good
complexity from the notes of sweet herbs and light oak spices. It
will drink well for another decade.”
Wine Enthusiast 91 Points – “This excellent vineyard
reserve (an Umbrian blend made with Sangiovese and Canaiolo and aged
12 months in oak) has a clean and polished nose with
territory-driven aromas of red berry, spice, chocolate and tealeaf.
It offers deep penetration and succulence in the mouth and has a
soft personality capped by fresh crispness on the close.”
Giacosa Fratelli Barolo "Vigna Mandolo" DOCG
2000 $84.99 Ranked #4 in Italian Reds by Customer Purchases
Gambero Rosso 2 Bicchieri,
JB- Sweet leather, fig, baking spices with rich tannins. A
mouthful of big flavors. 94 Points
Wine Advocate 91 Points - The 2000 Barolo Vigna Mandorlo
is traditional in style with a nose of leather, licorice, and tar.
The flavors are ripe and supple, the energy and length good. The
depth and follow through of the superior vintage are not present,
but the wine should drink well for over a decade.
Wine Spectator 93 Points - Focused aromas of crushed ripe
strawberries and roses. Full-bodied, very soft and ripe, with a
long, long finish. Exciting. Best after 2007. 1,200 cases made.
Michelle Castellani Amarone Cinque Stella 2003
$89.99 Ranked #2 in Italian Reds by Customer Purchases
JB – Cofee, mocha, spice, rich sweet vanilla, great tannin
structure, long finish, awesome black pepper spices. 97 Points
Wine Spectator 95 Points “Highly Recommended”- Tight on
the nose, offering just a hint of the clean black fruit and
coffee-stained oak character that forms a solid bead on the palate.
Full-bodied, with lots of tightly packed tannins that carry the
crushed fruit flavors through the long, long finish. Very
intense--almost closed--but super-clean and fine. A beauty. Best
after 2008. 1,200 cases made
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