Notes from the Panel Archives - Page 22 of 32 - Wine Blog from The International Wine of the Month Club

Don’s August Premier Series Top Pick

August 18, 2014 by Don Lahey

Determining this month’s Top Pick really depends upon where I am, how hot it is and what I’m eating, as each of this month’s Premier Series wines shines, but for very different reasons. If I’m indoors and meat is on the menu, my Top Pick has to go to Pietra Santa’s 2010 Cienega Valley Merlot. Why? Because it’s darn near impossible to find Merlot this good for under $30.00 per bottle, and this Pietra Santa Merlot is a winner, so it easily earns my Top Pick.

However, if I am looking for an aperitif or I’m outside at a party, I want something that’s light and gratifying and that would be Raza’s 2013 Vinho Verde. It’s a light deliciously thirst quenching Vinho Verde, one of Portugal’s gifts to the wine drinking world, especially on a hot day, so it gets a nod too. With that said, another of this month’s selections is Gini Soave, one of my personal favorites. The 2013 Gini Soave is another beautiful effort, so no slight intended. The same can be said for Dei’s wonderful 2012 Rosso di Montepulciano. This Rosso is the best in a long series of fine offerings from Dei, the fabulous producer of Vino Nobile. If pasta or almost anything Italian is on the menu, give me the Dei to enjoy!

Salute!
Don

Italy’s Undiscovered Wines

July 25, 2014 by Don Lahey

Italy and its wines never cease to amaze and delight. Even though the Italian peninsula holds more grape varieties (over 2, 700 at last count) than any other country, I am still struck by the quality and seemingly endless array of delicious wines that flow from hundreds of thousands of producers. And yet, many of Italy’s most rewarding and affordable wines remain undiscovered treasures, especially in the United States. This is especially true of wines from family producers in Umbria, Campania and throughout much of southern Italy.

Tiny productions crafted by dedicated family producers may be hard to find in the U.S, but they are here and definitely worth seeking out. Clelia Romana’s 2013 Colle di Lapio Fiano di Avellino and Gabriella Ferrara’s stunning 2013 Greco di Tufo are just two of my favorite Campanian wines. Paired with almost any type of seafood, these two white wines highlight the brilliance of small sustainable winemaking throughout Italy. Both women make tiny amounts of deep rich red wines, too, from the indigenous Aglianico variety. Antonio Caggiano’s delicious Greco, Fiano, Figre (an equal blend of Fiano and Greco) and profound age worthy Taurasi provide great drinking from Campania, too. Iovine’s sparkling red Gragnano from the Sorrento peninsula is another unsung treasure. And from further north in Umbria, Palazzone’s incredible Terre Vineate Orvieto, made from the area’s indigenous vines, continues to make my mouth water. Enjoy!

Salute!
Don!

photo credit: Mike of Surrey via photopin cc

Don’s July Collector Series Top Pick

July 24, 2014 by Don Lahey

July’s Collector Series Top Pick belongs to a Spanish wine. Although choosing July’s Collector Series Top Pick proved to be another tough choice, especially in light of the two outstanding offerings from the great Provencal estate of Chateau Margui, I have to go in favor of Spain’s Terrer d’Aubert. Terrer d’Aubert’s 2010 profound Cabernet Sauvignon from Taragona garners this month’s Top Pick. Why? It’s rare to see Cabernet Sauvignon in Tarragona and such a brilliant Cabernet Sauvignon at that. Deep, lusty and full of everything good about Cabernet, it earns this month’s Top Pick. However, you may not want to like Terrer d’Aubert too much. Only 400 cases made it to our shores, so enjoy this beauty while it lasts.

Salute!
Don

Don’s July Premier Series Top Pick

July 22, 2014 by Don Lahey

For years Eidos de Padrinan has been fashioning Spain’s finest Albarino wine and the 2012 Eidos de Padrinan Albarino more than lives up to the estate’s vaulted reputation. Brilliant, focused and layered with subtle scents and flavors that speak of fruit, stone, and minerals, the 2012 Eidos de Padrinan Albarino is simply delicious. It shines in the glass and makes a great accompaniment to all kinds of seafood, tapas, and small plate offerings. I also love it as an aperitif. For these reasons, it earns my choice as this month’s Top Pick. Taste and see for yourself, and enjoy!

Salute!
Don

Wining and Dining in Tuscany

July 11, 2014 by Don Lahey

Tuscany - Sinalunga — The village of Sinalunga in Tuscany

A couple of months ago I posted a blog on the world’s best wine travel destinations, and Tuscany was at the top of that list. This month’s only confirms my choice. Not only is the Tuscan countryside immensely beautiful, an artful blend of nature and the fruitful hands of men and woman, it contains some of the world’s greatest cities and towns. Florence and Siena remain perennial favorites for their gastronomical delights as well as their art, but the likes of Bagno Vignoni, Pienza, and the tiny villages that cling to hilltops beckon, too, at nearly every turn of the road. If the truth be told, the prospect of eating my way through Tuscany provided impetus enough to make this trip. Our first dinner set us on course, many courses in fact, including an incredible Pecorino cheese pie with balsamic vinegar, wild honey, and cinnamon over a bed of caramelized pears, followed by homemade pappardelle pasta with chianina beef ragu, and then on to tender juicy filets of herb roasted veal with cherry tomatoes and roasted potatoes, and finally the most decadent Amaretto ice cream pie that defies words. Several of us went back the next night just to have another go at the dessert.

We washed down this outstanding meal with a wonderful Vernaccia from nearby San Gimignano, followed by three delicious Tuscan reds from the region’s quintessential producer of Carmignano, Ambra. Ambra’s 2012 Santa Cristina and 2010 Riserva Montalbiolo are simply two Tuscan wines not to be missed. And Ambra’s Vin Santo with dessert completed the meal. Yet, each subsequent Tuscan meal was better than the next, and so were the wines. Dei’s irresistible Rosso di Montepulciano proves that fine wine is indeed affordable, while Caterina Dei’s 2008 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Bassona Reserva reminded me that it’s all right to splurge. The Bassona Riserva would make almost anything taste good, and a little indulgence never hurt anyone. And never before now have I enjoyed Rosso and Brunello di Montalcino as much as on this trip. Le Potazzine’s 2012 Rosso and 2010 Brunello are works of art as it Uccelieria’s 2012 Rosso and 2010 Brunello. I have not even left Italy and I am already planning to a return to sample more of Tuscany’s greatest treasures, its food and wine. And after a long day of eating and drinking, one can be quickly restored while sitting in the hot thermal baths in the picturesque village of Bagno Vignoni, just a few minutes from Tuscany’s greatest wines. Enjoy!

Salute!
Don

Don’s June Collector Series Top Pick

June 24, 2014 by Don Lahey

For me June’s Collector Series Top Pick is tougher than usual. We are offering three distinctly different wines this month with little in common, except quality. Variety is after all the spice of life and quality wines are exactly what most avid wine drinkers spend endless hours searching for as if shopping for wine were a quest for the Holy Grail. Even though I am enamored of all three wines for different reasons, a choice has to be made. So this month’s Top Pick goes to Thomas Alexander’s 2010 Le Tigre, a rare California blend of Syrah and Grenache of just 175 cases that was bottled un-fined and un-filtered. This is a wine that manages to deliver rich California fruit along with the finesse and charm of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. In short, this wine’s quality, singular expression and scarcity earn it this month’s Top Pick. Taste and see for yourself!

Cheers!
Don

Don’s June Premier Series Top Pick

June 23, 2014 by Don Lahey

For several reasons my Premier Series Top Pick this month belongs to Portugal’s 2012 Herdade de Gambia Peninsula de Setubal. We have searched long and hard for wines from Portugal that offer true value, yet represent the heart and soul of Portugal. In the sustainably made 2012 Herdade de Gambia we found the red wine we were looking for. This wine offers concentrated aromas of wild blackberry and mulberry, exotic spices, and vanilla that will captivate the nose. In the mouth the wine shows its authority and weight, offering a spate of spicy complex flavors as well as remarkable balance and elegance. Silky smooth tannins add structure but no biting astringency. Made primarily from Portugal’s signature red grape, Touriga Nacional, Herdade de Gambia expresses the region’s natural setting (the winery and vineyards are surrounded by a nature preserve) as well as the heart and soul of Portugal. Enjoy!

Cheers!
Don

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