2003 Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva

Type: Red
Producer: Castello di Monsanto
Variety: Sangiovese Blend
Designation: Riserva
Country: Italy
Region: Tuscany
SubRegion: Chianti
Appellation: Chianti Classico
Price: $23.99



The Little Wooden Guy offers the Sun Salutation to this quite reasonably priced product of earth and sunshine.

Night One

The color is very dark in the center, almost black, with a bright ruby edge about three-quarters of an inch deep.

The nose is interesting, offering more than most chiantis in this price range. It has cherries and some pomegranate, but also adds earth, chestnuts, and some spices, as well as a bit of tar.

The palate is filled with red fruit, opening with cherries, their sweetness mitigated by dry cranberry and perhaps some pomegranate. There is more than just fruit here, though. This is a very floral wine, with violets ripping across the palate. The mid-palate is pucker-dry, cranberries and violets, plus a touch of tar on the finish. Acidity is good, quite bright, and the tannins are a touch rough, not much, and very drying This could improve significantly from Night One to Night Two.

Night Two

The nose is floral, more so than on Night One, rich with violets and roses. The fruit has changed some, too. Before, it was cherries and cranberries. Now, it is dried cherries and dried cranberries.

The palate has not changed a lot. Acid is still bright, tannins perhaps slightly smoother. I saw this wine for $17.99 today at Costco. For that price, this is surprisingly cellar-worthy. Based upon a two-day tasting, I expect it has a couple more years of not just life, but perhaps improvement as well.

2003 Bacalhôa Vinhos de Portugal Touriga Nacional Só

Type: Red
Producer: Bacalhôa Vinhos de Portugal
Variety Touriga Nacional
Vineyard: Só
Country: Portugal
Region: Terras do Sado
Appellation: Vinho Regional Terras do Sado
Price: $27.98



The Big Wooden Guy is doing a little dance. He's just excited to find something this interesting.

Night One

A very light sniff near the rim brings the smell of cherries to the nose. If you put your nose in the glass and inhale deeply, though, coffee and the clear scent of hazelnut liquor fill the back of your sinuses.

The palate opens with tart red fruit, sour cherries and cranberries. On the mid-palate it changes, the tartness remaining as background but the fruit disappearing replaced by coffee and chocolate, coarsely ground medium roast coffee and very high cocoa content barely sweetened chocolate. The finish is very long. Chocolate an coffee linger, joined by the hazelnuts from the nose. Tannins are very firm, leaving the mouth with a sense of chewed leather.

This is a startling wine with amazing clarity in the coffee and chocolate flavors. I am actually excited to see how it will change from Night One to Night Two.

Night Two

What a difference a day makes. The nose is entirely different from the nose on Night One. Now it opens with a blend of dark cherries and cherry candy, with hazelnuts, and enough tobacco you might easily mistake it for cabernet franc.

The palate is not as radically different from Night One as the nose. It still opens with sour cherries and cranberries. This time, on the mid-palate, as the fruit fades tobacco starts to come forward, followed by much lighter coffee and cocoa. The finish remains long, and the tannins firm, though not overpowering, leaving a mouth feeling of leather.

On Night Two the wine seems to have settled down a bit, moving smoothly from attack to mid-palate, and then finish. Flavors don't change quite as rapidly or radically as on Night One. Even with that, the tannic structure still hints at some more cellar time and improvement. This is good, and perhaps even more important, interesting, wine and one worth spending some time exploring.

2003 Zonte's Footstep Cabernet-Malbec

Type: Red
Producer: Zonte's Footstep
Variety: Red Blend
Designation: Cabernet-Malbec
Country: Australia
Region: South Australia
SubRegion: Fleurieu
Appellation: Langhorne Creek
Purchased from: Wines 'Til Sold Out for $12.00



The Little Wooden Guy has mixed feelings about this one. It was very good for the price on Night One, but it shows real over-use of oak on Night Two, and as you know, he takes the unnecessary use of wood personally.


Night One

The appearance is slightly cloudy, ruby-colored at the edges, very dark in the middle.

Oh gosh, that's an interesting nose. It opens with some good earthy funk, but very quickly big dark fruits blast through it, first cassis, and then blueberry compote. A little smoked meat and black pepper round out the nose.

The palate opens with the Cabernet and closes with the Malbec. The attack opens with blackcurrant and blackberries. On the mid-palate it begins to morph into Malbec, adding bloody meat, pepper, and black cherry, then finishing with sweet milk chocolate. Tannins are firm, still drying, and I expect some positive changes from Night One to Night Two.

Night Two

The nose is far simpler than on Night One, offering up just vanilla and blueberry compote. Not promising.

The palate verifies the nose. This just collapsed between Night One and Night Two. All that is left now is a brown sugar and maple oak-infused mess.

Well that was disappointing. It was really interesting, and good, on Night One. Then, ... nothing. Drink this one on Night One. It is actually pretty good up front. But don't let it linger, and don't count on any improvement in the cellar.

2003 Simi Cabernet Sauvignon Landslide

Type: Red
Producer: Simi
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vineyard: Landslide
Country: USA
Region: California
SubRegion: Sonoma County
Appellation: Alexander Valley
14.1% alcohol
$26.99 Costco in Indianapolis, Indiana



The Little Wooden Guy is mixed on this one. On one hand, it's pretty much exactly what you would expect from a California Cab, even slightly interesting. On the other hand, at $26 a bottle, why bother?

Night One

Color was surprisingly light for Cabernet, bright ruby but slightly translucent.

The nose was a little hot (no surprise, with more than 14% alcohol. It was also bright and fruity, a mix of black and red fruits, cherries and plums, plus a little vanilla. It differed from most $30 California Cabernets by not having just loads and loads of prototypical blackcurrant.

The palate opens with cherries and blackberries. There is really no mid-palate. Acidity is bright and tannins are soft and leathery, like fine-cut suede. Finish is long.

Night Two

Now, after a night of rest, the nose disappoints, with bloated fruit and extravagant wood. The smell is all cherry pie filling, vanilla and cedar. The palate, too, is big and bloated, with pie filling, pie crust, brown sugar and cedar. There is no mid-palate at all.

This is a very commercial Cabernet, big fruit, big wood, big disappointment. It is a style that appeals to a lot of people (and grocery store buyers). I am just not the target audience.

2003 Pico Maccario Barbera d'Asti Berro

Pico Maccario
Italy
Piedmont
Barbera d'Asti
Alc. 12.5%
$16.98 in Indianapolis

Night One

The nose of this wine is dark and sweet. Black cherries, licorice and molasses are balanced out by a whiff of varnish over freshly sanded oak. On the palate, red fruits and high acidity, plus a bit of oak, offer an adequate but generic Barbera.

Night Two

This wine changed as much overnight as anything the Wooden Guys and I have had here at 2 Days per Bottle.

The nose was lighter, far lighter, exhibiting cherries and strawberries up front, then a clear but momentary hit of sweet birch beer in the back of the sinuses at the end. There was a more full mouth feel on the palate, only moderate acidity and no discernible tannins. Flavors were mulberry and cherries, followed by a light dusting of pumpkin pie spices.

For $16.98 I do not expect to be awed, but I do hope for far more backbone and structure than I found in this bottle.

Century Oak Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

Housley's Century Oak Vineyards
Lodi, California
2003
Alcohol 14.6%

The nose is very vegetal, lots of green pepper and cut stalks. Blackcurrants and some blueberries peek out from the green. Finally there is a hint of vanilla under the fruit and the vegetation.

The palate is also very vegetal. If I tried this blind I would guess it was from South America, with the distinctive green pepper taste. Blackcurrants and vanilla are there too, flopping on the edge of sharp hard tannins.

I am not loving this wine. Can you tell? But don't give up too fast. I will give it a second look tomorrow night.

NIGHT TWO

The nose is still weedy, all cuttings and green pepper. On the palate, well, it did not get better. I can, however, describe this perfectly. First, grind up some oak very fine, down to powder. In a separate bowl combine the juice of 1/2 a cup of blackberries and one small plum (save the skin) with a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Now poke small holes in the plum skin and, using it as a seive to catch the blackberry pips, pour it into the bowl with the oak powder. Stir well. Drink. But only if you must.

Ravenswood Zinfandel Vintners Blend 2003

13.5% Alcohol

Bottlenotes:

Full, dark, spicy, fruity and -more than anything- fun, Zinfandel is Calfornia's ...

screw the bottlenotes. Go straight to my first video review.