Wine Reviews: Mini Round-Up for January 15, 2024
I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes in a “mini-review” format.
They are meant to be quirky, fun, and (mostly) easily-digestible reviews of (mostly) currently available wines (click here for the skinny on how to read them), so you can get right to the point and decide if they’re for you (or not). Cheers!
- 2022 La Sabbiona ‘VIP’ Famoso Ravenna (Emilia-Romagna): Super floral, super bright, super figgy, super fresh, and just plain super. $NA B+
- 2020 La Sabbiona ‘Mammatus’ (Romagna Sangiovese Oriolo): Much more vibrant and crowd-pleasing—and alive—than its fossilized moniker would suggest. $NA B+
- 2022 Poderi Morini ‘Sette Note’ (Albana di Romagna): No psychic powers required to enjoy this sexy, structured white. $NA B+
- 2019 Leone Conti ‘Progetto 2’ (Albana di Romagna): A worthy experiment, pushing the envelope on later harvest and honeyed richness—without overdoing it! $NA A-
- 2008 Fattoria Zerbina Marzieno Ravenna Rosso (Emilia-Romagna): Savory, energetic, funky, silky, ripe, plummy… and yet, never loses its precarious footing. $53 A-
- 2021 Barberani Amore Rosato (Umbria): More like a fling than a true love; apricot, bruised yellow apple, a hint of sweetness, and lots of fun. $20 B
- 2022 El Coto Blanco (Rioja): Tropical, herbal, fresh, easy. Stays out of the way so you can get on with having a good time. $10 B
- 2012 Watts Winery ‘Upstream’ Zinfandel (Mokelumne River): Considering the age and the high abv, this is holding up incredibly well. Ripe cherries FTW! $20 B+
- 2021 Dry Creek Vineyard Chardonnay ‘Block 10’ (Russian River Valley): A guilty pleasure. Ripe peach, pear, apricot, and citrus; and they are all guilty. $50 A-
- 2019 Dry Creek Vineyard Meritage ‘Benchland’ (Dry Creek Valley): Quite dark, with funky, leather, cloves, bramble, mocha, spices… think bigger Bordeaux & you’ll get the picture. $70 A-
