Michael Stickings
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Reviews (246)
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Reviews
Alvaro Palacios Camins Del Priorat 2011, Doca Priorat
Priorat, Spain$25.95
Ah, Priorat. This Palacios blend has the famous freshness, the famous acidity, and the famous minerality derived from the famous llicorella terroir, along with characteristic ripe fruit notes of blackcurrant, blackberry, and raspberry backed by savoury notes of earth and spice. It's truly the minerality that stands out, though, and it adds a great deal of complexity in and of itself with graphite, slate, and crushed rock elements. It also has well-integrated tannins, but the acidity, lively bordering on aggressive, needs more time to calm down. Still, a great entry point into a great region.
3.5 Stars
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Maria Alvarez Serrano Abadía De Gomariz 2010, Do Ribeiro
Spain$14.75
The aromatics of this powerful Ribeiro blend of Sousón, Ferrol, Brancellao, and Mencía are truly exceptional, direct and unabashed with characteristic Mencía notes of blueberry, blackberry, and violet, along with dried figs, prunes, cinnamon, and earth, while on the palate it presents a broad array of fruit from the dried (as on the nose) to the tart (raspberry, cherry) but with the emphasis still on wild berries complemented by baking spice and pepper. It's quite rustic, both in taste and texture, but what it lacks in complexity and sophistication it makes up for in concentration and depth.
3.5 Stars
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Evening Land Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011, Willamette Valley
Oregon, Usa$33.95
This is quite savoury and complex, with strong initial earthiness on the nose joined by cherry, raspberry, raspberry leaf, olive brine, mushroom, and black pepper, and there are nice berry replays on the palate, with spiciness building through the finish, even if there's a confected cherry-berry note that reduces the overall appeal. It's fresh and lively, with well-integrated elements supported by a solid structure... until it goes over a cliff with time in the open, a distinct woodsy note emerging, the fruit disappearing, and bitterness taking over. Ultimately disappointing and overpriced.
3.5 Stars
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Versado Malbec 2012, Luján De Cuyo, Mendoza
Mendoza, Argentina$25.95
Still quite young, with marvellously rich and fruity aromas of cassis, blueberry, and blackberry, backed by mint and pine, with underlying subtle smokiness; solid tannic structure that could have used some maturing, but a serious, pleasant, and very tasty wine overall.
3.5 Stars
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Château Clarke 2009, Ac Listrac Médoc
Bordeaux, France$42.95
This fabulous blend of Merlot (70%) and Cab Sauvignon (30%) begins with beguilingly complex aromas of leather and tobacco joined by cassis, blackberry, raspberry, cherry graphite, vanilla, and black pepper, with amazing dark fruit, herbal, and spicy replays on the palate. It's quite ripe, as per the 2009 vintage, but there's also nice freshness, and in that balance it is both powerful and robust on the one hand and elegant and refined on the other. Indeed, everything is in place, well-integrated tannins and acidity, and the depth and length are both exceptional. Brilliant, high-value Bordeaux.
3.5 Stars
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Grant Burge The Holy Trinity Grenache/Shiraz/Mourvèdre 2011, Barossa Valley
South Australia, Australia$29.95
There's no "wow" factor, but this GSM blend offers elegant appeal in its calibrated expression of that trinity of grapes, solid structure along with decent depth and excellent length, offering myriad cherry notes (stewed, dried, dark ripe, and kirsch) along with raspberry/blackberry, black pepper, and Provençal herbs (including wisps of lavender), nothing out of place, no one note dominating the rest, the fruit expressive but proportional to the rest. That said, it just doesn't have the depth or overall impact for a 90, and, whatever the balance, some "oomph" at least would have been nice.
3.5 Stars
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Dandelion Lioness Of Mclaren Vale Shiraz 2011, Mclaren Vale
South Australia, Australia$19.95
There's nothing restrained about this McLaren Vale Shiraz. With a gorgeous deep violet colour it brings big-time aromas of cassis, black pepper, and smoke, with ripe dark cherry and sweet black plum, as well as graphite, a touch of resin, and an odd intermittent bretty note. It's quite thick in the mouth, at least until the bitterness of the finish, and it's certainly very juicy, but it lacks structure and there's not nearly enough acidity to cut through the fatty fruitiness of the whole thing, and so it comes across like overripe alcoholic grape juice. Even at the price, a disappointment.
3.5 Stars
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Jim Barry Cover Drive Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
Australia$26.95
Dominated by graphite on the nose and sour currant on the finish, it takes time for this Aussie Cab to find itself, even a day or so, but when it does it achieves wonderful balance and harmony -- old/new, light/dark, sweet/savoury, rich/refreshing all at the same time. The graphite-currant duo remains, but there's serious complexity with leather, dark chocolate, tobacco, spice, and red berry notes, with a hint of mint in the background. The deeper elements are worth pondering, but in no way is this some brooding beast, and while the tannins could have been softer, the results are excellent.
3.5 Stars
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Faustino I Gran Reserva 2001, Doca Rioja
Rioja, Spain$35.95
This unabashedly old-fashioned wine is a remarkable thing to experience. At any given time, it's anywhere from 87-91, fabulously complex at its best, unbalanced at its worst, shifting and evolving over the course of minutes, hours, and days. The main problem is the barnyard funk that dominates at first and then ebbs and flows. It's fine as part of the mix but somewhat repugnant when at its strongest. But for a 2001, there's still so much going on, with vibrant cherry, currant, and red berries, along with leather, baking spice, licorice, vanilla, and oak. So much to like, but, alas, that funk.
3.5 Stars
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Achaval Ferrer Malbec 2012, Mendoza
Mendoza, Argentina$25.95
There's a good deal of depth and complexity in this big, bold Malbec, with aromas of plum, blackberry, mocha, cola, cinnamon, clove, black pepper, violet, and herbs leading to a dense mouthfeel with similarly rich and spicy flavour elements, and there's good structure even if it does come across as excessively sweet and syrupy. But the heat (14.5%) is just too much, all in all, preventing the elements from speaking for themselves, and by the second day, while interesting meaty notes appear, the fruit is all but gone, their absence serving to highlight the basic problems.
3.5 Stars
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