Michael Stickings
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Reviews
Zenato San Benedetto Lugana 2014, Doc
Veneto, Italy$19.95
Here's a solid, typically food-friendly Italian white made by a solid, reliable producer. And it's very good, if not terribly exciting. Made from the Trebbiano di Lugana grape (Turbiana) on the south coast of Lake Garda, it offers notes of lemon, apple, and stone fruit, with almond providing that characteristic Italian touch. It's zippy and refreshing but also quite restrained, a touch of elegance elevating it above the basic. While not terribly complex, it does have decent flavour depth and impressive length, crispness but also nice body. Nicely done, overall, even if it falls a bit short.
3.0 Stars
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Lingenfelder Bird Label Riesling 2013, Qualitätswein
Pfalz, Germany$11.75
This solid-value Riesling from the Pfalz is so good... and then so not. It is, at first, just as you might expect, a straightforward, uncomplicated expression that is also very tasty, off-dry but only just, with soft peach and pineapple accented with lime and slate. There isn't enough acidity, nor enough minerality, but the ripe tropical and orchard fruit is nice. But with time, things really fall apart. The fruit just seems to crumble, and what's left is an almost undrinkable mess of stale nuts, bitterness, and an odd funk. This was an 87-88, then a 79-80. Drink it right away.
3.0 Stars
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Idaia Kotsifali/Mandilari 2010, Pgi Crete
Greece$14.75
This delicious Cretan red plays like a well-composed Bordeaux or Loire blend built around Cabernet Franc, with luscious dark berries and cherry-pomegranate tang intermingling with leather, earth, mint, black pepper, graphite, cedar/pine, and glycerin through to a smoky, spicy finish. It's quite rustic initially, so decant it for a bit, even for a few hours, or better yet let it sit for a day, by which time everything has come together, it's deeper, richer, and even more complex, and the rusticity has given way to Bordelais elegance. Lovely now, but with the stuffing to go further. A great find.
3.0 Stars
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Porta 6 2013, V R Lisboa
Portugal$13.95
This Aragonez-Castelão-Touriga Nacional blend from north of Lisbon comes across at first like decent Merlot, with its softness, sweetness, juiciness, and aromatic abundance of red and darker berries, cherries, and other dark fruit, though time brings complexity with vague floral and herbal elements along with leather and Syrah-like meaty and peppery notes. But the bold flavours are muddled, the combination rough and brooding, with a tinny metallic note, and it needs some acidity to pull it up out of the morass. Still, exceptional value for a serious, intriguing, and versatile wine.
3.0 Stars
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Pasión De Bobal 2012, Dop Utiel Requena
Spain$14.75
This opens with a burst of confected sweetness that's like opening a bag of cheap fruit gummies -- an aroma of fake cherries and berries (mixed with rubber). That overpowering aroma remains, but the wine does settle down to reveal a more complex array of elements, such as vanilla, earth, black pepper, chocolate, and red licorice, the last of which is quite prominent on the palate. The curious aspect is the acidity, which just isn't there initially, a sort of gooey flabbiness prevailing. Time and a light chill help, but ultimately this is just a decent curiosity fabricated for commercialism.
3.0 Stars
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Antichi Vinai Il Mascalese Nerello Mascalese 2013, Igt Terre Siciliane
Sicily, Italy$13.75
Remarkably light in colour and body, this has pleasingly dense aromas of strawberry, raspberry, cherry, earth, baking spice, and black pepper, with notions of florality and some smokiness hovering about. The production allows the Nerello varietal to speak for itself without the weight of wood or artifice, but there's a basic roughness to it that comes through on the palate, especially with the fruit thinning out. But what's more distinct on the palate is the electric acidity -- too much of it, and this could use some time to calm down a bit. Still, an interesting diversion at the very least.
3.0 Stars
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3.0 Stars
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Balbas Reserva 2001, Do Ribera Del Duero
Ribera Del Duero, Spain$20.95
Yes, hard to believe this is a 2001, given its fruity vibrancy and deep purple colour, but there are certainly signs of serious aging in the leather, fig, plum, raspberry, earth, and slightly funky notes that come later; before that, the inviting aroma of creamy brown butter dominates, supported by rich dark fruit like cassis, as well as vanilla; there's a bit of bitterness on the finish, along with youthful tannins that demand further maturing, but once this opens up after at least an hour, there's ample complexity for contemplative enjoyment. Tasted September 2014.
3.0 Stars
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3.0 Stars
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