Cliff's Wine Picks

 

 

2013 La Fortuna Rosso di Montalcino

2008 Quinta do Crasto Douro Reserva Old Vines

2007 Anthill Farms Cabernet Sauvignon Timber Crest Farms Vineyard

2007 Carlisle Syrah Pelkan Ranch

2013 Domaine Loubejac Pinot Noir

2004 Dupéré Barrera Bandol

 

 

 

2013 La Fortuna Rosso di Montalcino – $14.91

Purchased from Last Bottle see info below on joining the site.

 

La Fortuna is one of the oldest wineries in Montalcino.  The Zannoni family has been running the winery of 5 generations, over 100 years.

 

This wine has 14% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

 

The wine is ruby red in color.  The very inviting nose has black cherries, dusty minerals, roasted leafy herbs, scorched earth, underbrush, well worn leather, tobacco and dried wildflowers.  This has medium body with soft to moderate tannins and very nice acidity.  On the palate cherries, dusty minerals and roasted herbs jump out quickly on the front end with scorched earth, tobacco and leather coming in later.  The finish has nice length with dried flowers and underbrush entering the picture.  A really nice Rosso di Montalcino.  This one will last in the cellar for at least a couple years.  (91 pts)

 

 

2008 Quinta do Crasto Douro Reserva Old Vines – $33.24

This is a blend of 25 to 30 grape varieties from at least 70 year old vines.  This wine has 14.0% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

 

The wine is a deep ruby to purple color.  The exotic nose has blackberries, cocoa beans, cherries, tobacco, warm baking spices, vanilla bean, dried flowers and crushed stone minerals.  This has medium body with moderate tannins and nice acidity.  On the palate ripe berries, spice and minerals jump out first with cocoa beans and vanilla coming in later.  The finish has very nice length with dried flowers and tobacco entering the picture.  This is drinking very nicely now and should hold for at least a couple more years.  (92 pts)

 

 

2007 Anthill Farms Cabernet Sauvignon Timber Crest Farms Vineyard – $25.00

Every year the winery produces a “one off” wine.  In 2007, this was the wine that was produced.  This was the only vintage of this wine that was ever produced.  This wine was produced from a clutch of gnarled, diseased vines that surround the winery in the middle of Dry Creek Valley.  As far as they know, these vines are (were?) the oldest existing Cabernet in Dry Creek Valley, planted in 1962. The vines produced only a few clusters per vine, which gives the fruit exceptional concentration.

 

This wine has 14.2% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a natural cork.

 

The wine is a medium to deep ruby red color.  The outstanding nose has cassis, plums, licorice, dried herbs, spice box, crushed stone minerals, tobacco and dried wild flowers.  This has a medium body, fairly solid tannins and very good acidity.  This is not a big, overly ripe, heavily extracted style of cabernet, this is much more restrained and nuanced.  Nice fruit and spice take center stage on the palate with minerals, spicy oak and dried herbs coming in on the sides.  The finish has good length and also showcases the fruit, spicy oak and dried herbs.  This has outstanding balance and it is very food friendly.  (92 pts)

 

 

2007 Carlisle Syrah Pelkan Ranch – $32.50

The grapes for this wine are from a vineyard on a rocky ridge top (1000′ elevation) in the Knights Valley.  There were only 260 cases produced.

 

The wine is a deep garnet color.  The enticing nose has blackberries, minerals, black pepper, dark chocolate, road tar and dried wildflowers.  This has medium to full body with moderate tannins and nice acidity.  On the palate peppery, berries and minerals quickly jump out with dark chocolate coming in on the back end.  The finish has very nice length with a nice dried floral note entering the picture.  A touch of alcohol shows on the nose and makes another appearance on the finish.  I’d advise drinking before the alcohol takes over.  As is, this is still very tasty.  (91 pts)

 

 

2013 Domaine Loubejac Pinot Noir – $15.29

The winery is named for the historical town of Loubejac, in the south of France.  The vineyards are seventy miles south of Portland and forty miles east of the pacific coastline, which produces fruit with a new world style flavor profile through consistent ripening of fruit.

 

The wine is a light to medium ruby red color.  The inviting nose has cherries, earthy underbrush, white pepper, roasted leafy herbs, minerals and dried violets.  This has medium body with soft tannins and nice acidity.  On the palate earthy cherries and white pepper come through on the front end with minerals and roasted herbs coming in later.  The finish has nice length with a dried floral note popping out.  This doesn’t offer much complexity but is still tasty.  (87 pts)

 

 

2004 Dupéré Barrera Bandol – $24.81

I’ve been a fan of the Mourvedre based wines from France’s Bandol region for quite a while.  To me, these wines fall into the “something different” category.  Like most people, we fall into a bit of a rut having slightly different styles of essentially the same wine, these wines are my “rut busters”.  If you’ve never had a nice Bandol, check one out some time.

 

About the wine

Bandol “Cuvée India” :

• Blend is almost entirely comprised of Mourvèdre
• East, south-east, and northern sun exposure
• Harvested at the beginning of October
• 90% of harvest is de-stemmed
• Long fermentations of 4-6 weeks, with punch-downs, regular pump-overs, and gentle, slowmoving pump-overs
• Wine ages for 36 months (18 months in foudres and 18 months in old, oak fûts from Domaine de la Romanée Conti and Domaine de Beauséjour Bécot
• Yields range between 25-30 hl/ha
• Bottled manually by gravity under a waning moon, unfined and unfiltered

 

The wine is a shade lighter than maroon.  The intoxicating nose has crushed berries, stony minerals, warm baking spices, vanilla, melted licorice, earthy underbrush, garrigue and violets.  This has medium body, moderate tannins and good acidity.  The palate has nice focus and outstanding intensity with berries and minerals grabbing hold, slowly allowing the spices and dried herbs to slip through the cracks.  The finish is long and nicely layered with a touch of vanilla and some subtle earthiness adding considerable interest.  This is perfectly balanced and a joy to drink.  An absolutely stunning wine from the under appreciated Bandol region.  (94 pts)

 

 

 

I am a big fan of the “Flash Wine Sale” site Last Bottle.  One of the wines in this post was purchased from the site, La Fortuna Rosso di Montalcino.  This wine was purchased at a big discount.  I highly recommend getting on their e-mail list.  Like most of the flash sale sites, they offer one wine per day until it sells out.  They also have a couple two-day marathons during the year.  Last Bottle is a great site to buy special wines at prices low enough to open any day of the week.

 

If you sign up using this link you will get a $10 credit that can be used on your first purchase.  I will also get a credit if you make a purchase.

 

Other than getting a credit as explained above, I have no financial interest in the site.  After you are on the list, you can also get the same credit by introducing friends to Last Bottle.

 

 

 

Connect with me

You can follow me on Twitter for more wine info, potential food pairings, and an occasional recipe or two.  Be warned, I’m also a sports fan and there are occasional Pittsburgh Penguins, Steelers, and Pirates tweets.  I attended the University of South Carolina, so during football season, there will also be some Gamecock posts.

 

If you like this post, consider joining Cliffs Wine Picks Wine Blog on Facebook and giving me a Like.

 

Cheers!

 

 

This is original to CliffsWinePicks.com.  Copyright 2016 Cliff’s Wine Picks.

All rights reserved.

 

 

 

***** Shameless Self Promotion *****

 

Here is a link to a YouTube video of me getting “coal” from Santa for being named the “Nicest Person in Social Media” in 2012.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOvQTeGR3-c

 

 

 

Breaking news from Klout:

 

 

Cliff’s Wine Picks mentions or other posts

Here are posts, newsletters, blogs or other articles that either mention this site or that I have written:

 

Click here or on the “Cliff’s Wine Picks On Other Sites” link in the top right corner to see links to other sites that either have my reviews, my thoughts or other posts I have written.

 

 

 

Remember to support your local wine store!

 

 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Notes – I use the “official” Cellar Tracker name for the wines.  I use Cellar Tracker to help manage and organize my cellar.  I highly recommend checking it out at www.cellartracker.com.  Loading you existing cellar is a lot less intimidating than it would first appear.  There is a good chance 99% of your wine is already in the system, so you generally only need to enter part of the wine’s name and the system will find it for you.

 

 

Prices noted are the prices I paid at the time of purchase.  I don’t shop around to find the best prices, but always check out the sale and close out items when in a store.  Wines purchased direct from a winery do not include any shipping charges.  None of the prices include the sales tax.

 

 

All wines that were sent to me free of charge to sample will be noted and I will show suggested prices when available.

 

 

 

Cheers!