2004 Fattoria Vignavecchia Chianti Classico

I had the pleasure of enjoying my newly acquired 2004 Fattoria Vignavecchia Chianti Classico last night with my own pairing, a focaccia bread with sun dried Roma tomatoes, pickled artichoke hearts, white onions, covered in Parmesiano-Reggiano baked to perfection (well as close I can get to perfection anyway.)

This is one of my recent purchases through WTSO.com, the online wine seller, who sells nice bottles at 40 - 80% retail with free shipping! Most of the wines on this site are unknowns to me, so I try to do as much research as I can before actually committing to purchase.

So, cost me $14.98 per bottle (4 ordered) with free shipping. For just under $60, I received four bottles for what one might expect to pay for one bottle of really good Chianti or brunello di Montalcino. I am pleased at this relative bargain.

More fruit forward than a lot of Chianti because of the cement tank aging process. Only a portion of this wine saw time in oak barrels. Also note the composition of this wine - 90% Sangiovese and 10% Merlot. The Merlot's affect is noted by the noticeable dark fruit and softened palate. The Tuscany spice is still present as well. I picked up on some dark spices, pepper, and plums with a good finish. This is not the thin "Chianti" your local chain pasta palace will serve you as "house" wine. Rather, this is a bigger stout red with some polish and less of the often too spicy notes from Tuscany. Not too thin, not too spicy.

T-Scale 90. I figure the low price of $14.98 for a bottle that usually retails for twice that price is worth an extra point. There are Italian blends that are better, but you will pay the price for them.

Chalone VIneyards 2007 Edna Valley Estate Chardonnay

So anyone who is familiar with the "Bottle Shock" saga knows that Chateau Montelena is the wine which took the grand prize at the famed French v. US taste-off in 1976. Steve Spurrier, however, picked this bottle of Chardonnay to win the competition rather than Montelena. Since C is reading the book I just learned about this wine.

So we found it on the shelf at the local "Mecca du vin", Jungle Jims. Not cheap ($27) but quite good for this price.

Expect very ripe, low oak chardonnay here. Apricots, honey, and pears are prevalent with a nice bit of acidity as a finish make this one of my new favorite chards. This is similar to Monterey/Carmel Valley-style chards I've tried from Bernardus and Talbot, but at a much lower price point. When you consider also that this bottle hit the top 100 wines of the year in Wine Spectator in 2009, it quickly becomes a wine to consider often.

T-Scale 92. Not only does the Chalone offer one of the better Chardonnays I've tried, the price will not give you "bottle shock." Very much a great Chardonnay here!

De-fin-i-tive Pinot Noir - (3) different vineyards

So far, I've seen this label on four different bottles of Pinot Noir from Definitive Vineyards. Tried this week were the bottles labelled "R" for Russian River, "W" for Willamette Valley, and "N" for Napa Valley. As you can see, "S" stands for Sonoma which I'm assuming is not the Russian River part of Sonoma County.

Well I tried to research this winery but had little luck. Apparently it is a second label from winemaker Ken Bernards at Ancien Wines in Napa. This has not been confirmed however.

What I can tell you is that my forum of four brought three bottles of Definitive to the table thinking that all were the same vineyard, just different vintages. What we found that the we had three different vineyards from the same producer. So I'll call this a "lateral" tasting as opposed to a "vertical" tasting.

Willamette Valley, as one might expect, is lighter with more spice and pepper on the taste. This quickly mellows into a wonderful light pinot which would pair great with grilled chicken or olive oil-based pastas. Think of this as a summer Pinot Noir.

Napa and Russian River were quite similar. Only after a few minutes did the two of them start showing their differences. Both are bold Pinots with much red fruit forward. Both show some earth and dark berries on the nose. The Napa ends a bit sooner than the Russian River however. I give the edge, therefore, to the "R."

Any of these are great Pinot. If you're like me, you prefer them ripe and fruity. N and R will provide that. If you like more earth and spice, W is for you.

T-Scale: W - 88, N - 89, R - 90. Great price points on these. Don't pay more than $24 each. I can't tell you much more about this wine than this. If you can get it, let me know. There is one case of R on the shelf at Party Town in Florence, KY now. Beat me to it if you dare!