Ridge Estate 2009 Chardonnay And Roland Lavantureux Grand Vin De Bourgogne 2009 Chablis

Ridge Estate 2009 Chardonnay, $33.14-$38.99, 89 points, begins its rite of passage with an unpleasant aroma, though subtle we all noticed (Made me think there might be a problem with the bottle itself) the off blue cheese nature of it, but as it breathed for sometime, I notice that negative quality dissipated and was replaced with ripe melon; all these aromas were present on my palate, but late palate pepper became apparent and made for a rather nice finish with just a touch of spearmint. The color is light gold in a matrix of a medium body.
I've been a big fan of Ridge wines, and I'll want to try another Ridge Chardonnay, but this one doesn't get a buy from me, because of the price.


Roland Lavantureux Grand Vin De Bourgogne 2009 Chablis, $18.69-$21.99, 88 points, has a pale yellow color, an aroma of gentle lemon-zest, a medium body, and flavors of grapefruit-lemon with just a hint of lime. The finish is fair with ginger and floral notes.
Though I like this wine there are other Chablis wines I've reviewed that I like better and at a comparable price.


Both these wines were up to the task of pairing with Buffalo-wings, fried Haddock, and Turkey-gravy with mashed potatoes.


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Plumpjack NAPA Valley 2009 Chardonnay An Expensive But Worthy Thanksgiving Choice

Plumpjack NAPA Valley
2009 Chardonnay Reserve, $39.09-$49.99, 92 points, is nearly everything an excellent California Chardonnay should be: balanced with subtle oaky vanilla, quaffable and creamy, but very refreshing (Not heavy) pear-pineapple, and hints of quince; there is the gentle aroma dominated by pineapple, the color of transparent gold, and the long finish with noticeable ginger that works so good together.
We liked this wine very much, and though we served the Plumpjack Chardonnay with Lobster-bisque this is a wine for almost any cuisine.
Now I know my neighbors won't like the price (I didn't, even at $39.09), but let's face it, Thanksgiving-Christmas is only once a year; this is not an every-man-everyday bottle of wine. As for me, I don't eat-out more than two or three times a year, and when I do the cost is always more than the price of a bottle of Plumjack, which makes this my treat.

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Zenato Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripassa 2007

Zenato Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripassa 2007, $28.00-$32.99, 93 points, is a beautiful wine of great depth, but possesses the simplicity of liquid velvet wound in its deep ruby-red. It clings to your glass as it clings to you palate and finishes long on flavors layered and fluted. Okay, make fun of me, but this wine has many "faces" and will please many people, both those who want something special and those who just want something with their meal, but either way, if you are going to spend a hundred dollar or more on your Thanksgiving dinner, then why not display the "mettre en évidence des repas" in an elegant bottle with and elegant flavor that will be remembered for a long time?

"Verona in America, un bellissimo vino di fiori e frutta per abbellire il nostro tavolo."


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Castello di Gabbiano 2006 Chianti Classico Riserva

Castello di Gabbiano 2006 Chianti Classico Riserva, $11.99-$19.99, 90 points, is of a clear Burgundy color, having a black cherry-cedar nose with hints of cooking spice.
The medium body carries a good acidity with firm tannin.
The flavor of plum-cherry with earth notes is very good, and the finish is fair with hints of spice.
This is a typically food friendly wine which I can see pairing well with a host of different foods; I enjoyed this Chianti with asparagus and chicken pie.
It's hard to imagine a better QPR when this wine was purchased for $11.99.

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Marcheside De NIPOZZANO 2007 CHIANTI RUFINA RISERA

Marcheside De Frescobaldi Nipozzano 2007 Chianti Rufina Riserva, $20.39-$23.99, 91+ points, has a muted black-berries aroma, the color is dark Burgundy, the medium body carries a well balanced wine with tart and toasty black cherry excited by its firm tannin and acidity flowing long and pleasantly with hints of peppery licorice.
If you are looking for an affordable quality Chianti Rufina (Mountain Chianti), this will do marvelously.
This Chianti was perfect with a hearty black-olive, onion-steak pizza, and my guess is that it would sit nicely on that Turkey-Table.
Varietals were 90% Sangiovese and 10% authorized others.

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Brunello di Montalcino Mate 2006, Do See, Have You Handled Or Tasted The Art?

I was listening to a concert tonight, and it made me wonder if we are in touch with the "Art" of wine? The history, the people, the land and sky, the Oak, the age, the bottles and labels  and so much more. Just a thought.

In case your curious what the concert was:   

Janine Jansen performs on youtube Vaughan Williams' Lark Ascending

As for art, check out Mate 2006 Brunello di Montalcino, $54.49-$56.99, 95 points: this is another deep-dark wine, there's a bit of debris here (That doesn't bother me), but there is so much here, so much art, so much character, it has aromas that are lovely perfumes from sun-drenched vineyards with earth and lightning, the flora of which is bramble-berries and clove, there is dewy touches of mushroom and dawn-sized strawberries and cinnamon, much of which carries-over all through your palate on a medium to full-body of delicious juiciness, rich on this canvas of "Blood, Sweat, and Tears" of the many hands and souls of those who over the years have refined a majestic wine for almost any occasion. This wine is rich, yes, but it is accessible, it is young, but your whole mouth comes alive with feelings as well as flavors, especially one that I haven't been able to pin-down that is light and sweet, yet some berry that eludes me, it packs within it a measure of metaphoric joy. I love this wine like a great sonnet, symphony, or the Sicilian sunrise. Okay, okay, I've gone over-board with this one, but when your "ascending" what you see transcends, and ends with a long spicy finish.

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Italian art in song: "O Mio Babbino Caro" from "Gianni Schicci" (Giacomo Puccini)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhtX2GbOQBg&feature=related

667 Monterey 2010 Pinot Noir

667 Monterey 2010 Pinot Noir, $14.99, 88+ points.
I found this wine at The Londonderry, NH Hannaford's Supermarket.
Drinking a Monterey PN was instigated by, Steve Heimoff in his Nov. 8 post, where he lets us all know that he would be in Monterey Town on Saturday doing a live program and reviewing some "big-guns" wines. So, I reverted to doing one more Pinot Noir to celebrate with all those folks having a grand-ole-time.
667 Monterey 2010 Pinot Noir (I have tried their 337 Cabernet and their 181 Merlot, both top QPR wines) is a dark magenta with violet hints, the tart cherry on the nose is complimented by earth, cinnamon, a bit of grape-blueberry.
This Pinot is very fresh and very smooth, a quaffer with lots of juicy blueberry, blackberry, and hints of cran-cherry, and having an easy finish of spiced plum. Quite a nice wine for the full price of just $14,99.

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