Author Archives

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2016 Tenuta Gugi, Amarone Della Valpolicella

Any time I have the presence of mind to pick up an Amarone (like this 2016 Tenuta Gugi Amarone Della Valpolicella), I’m rewarded for the choice. There’s just something about the production of this wine that strikes a chord with my favorite tastes in wine. And that feels odd to say, because it’s very different from the big Napa reds that I often enjoy and write about here in Notes.

2016 Tenuta Gugi, Amarone Della Valpolicella, Italy

The 2016 Tenuta Gugi, Amarone Della Valpolicella has dark fruit notes in plentiful supply. Culled from Corvina (60%), Corvinone (20%), Rondinella (15%), and Oseleta (5%) grapes in the Illasi Valley of the Veneto region, it’s a wine made in the classic Amarone style. It’s different enough from most modern wine production that I’ve talked about in nearly each Amarone wine entry. In the Tenuta Gugi, the grapes are harvested and left to dry for 90 days. They’re fermented for 80 days, and aged in French oak barrels for 30 months.

Fantastic stuff, and indicative of the Amarone Della Valpolicella DOCG. This results in raisin-like cherry flavors, delicate spices that are just beyond your reach, and notes of licorice and black pepper. It pours the most intense, blood-like red in your glass, but it’s also soft and flavorful without being too overbearing.

I picked this up (good price point too!), and a few more just like it, from one of my favorite online suppliers. I’d encourage you to keep your eyes open for the same. Cheers to you in the meantime, and thanks as always for your readership.

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2017 Antal’s Selection Zinfandel, Buena Vista Winery

The 2017 concentrates powerful dark fruit flavors and spice notes into deep, inky red hues that tumble, fresh, into your glass. Notes has previously presented the 2015 Antal’s Selection, and the newer vintage carries forward the wine’s history—the zin is a varietal that Count Haraszthy helped flourish when he brought the grape to the new world nearly 150 years ago.

2017 Antal’s Selection Zinfandel, Buena Vista Winery, Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California, USA.

 

Antal’s Selection throws a heavy cloak over you, a full-bodied red with a dark cherry profile and just a bit of smoke and pepper. Apologies for the shorter review in back-to-back entries (time is in short supply, even in this pandemic climate) and encourage you to browse further for the last Antal review or others in Notes here on Buena Vista wines—they’re my favorite and in ample supply.

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2018 The Cuttings, The Prisoner Wine Company

The Cuttings Cabernet Sauvignon has achieved cult following here in Notes, as this is now the fifth vintage of the wine covered in these pages. This 2018 measures up to previous reviews, which you’re encouraged to explore further by tapping on any of the links shown in the caption.

2018 The Cuttings Cabernet Sauvignon, The Prisoner Wine Company, Oakville, California, USA. For notes on previous years of this flight, please click here for the 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014.

A big shout to Chrissy Wittman of The Prisoner Wine Company—it’s a treat to sample her work not just here during Women’s History Month but all year long.

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2018 Post & Beam, Far Niente Wineries & Vineyards

If you’re an oenophile of any sort, you probably know Far Niente by name, reputation, or at perhaps its signature label. Yes, me too. When I first saw the 2018 Post & Beam and its attractive price tag I scooped up a few right away.

2018 Post & Beam, Far Niente Wineries & Vineyards, Napa Valley, California, USA.

It’s the debut vintage from the Napa great, with amazing plum and dark berry notes woven throughout this hearty red. There is fantastic depth in this wine, and all kinds of subtle accents that I look forward to sampling in the next bottle.

This first one accompanied a Chicken Romano dish (yes I was pleased by how it turned out – a challenge unto itself when your audience is a professional!), smashed potatoes, green beans, and an arugula salad. There’s another portion of the chicken in the fridge but none of the sides—or the wine!

The winemaker comments, “Classically crafted from carefully selected Napa Valley vineyards, Post & Beam Cabernet Sauvignon honors the fundamentals of traditional winemaking. It is our purest expression of Cabernet Sauvignon, with elegant layers of fruit, supple tannins, whispers of oak, and a finish that is pure finesse.”

Great wine. I’m craving more even here as I jot out this brief sketch for you! If it’s stocked at your favorite wine store, be sure to grab several because this is going to go fast. It’s that hot!

 

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2018 Chronicle Cabernet Sauvignon, Rebel Wine

The attributes of this wine line right up to the preferences of this oenophile. The 2018 Chronicle is produced on California’s North Coast, it’s a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (88%) and Petite Sirah (12%), and has an intriguing label that just may include an individually numbered bottle. Let’s dig deeper…

Generally, the North Coast includes Mendocino, Lake, Sonoma, Napa, Solano, and Marin counties. St. Helena is just west of the Mayacamas Mountains, located in the Napa Valley AVA, and is home to many of California’s best-known wines. The Valley itself extends about 30 miles from Napa at the south to Calistoga in the north, right along Route 29 and including St. Helena.

Fog in the region impacts its vineyards in meaningful and very specific ways. The complexities of cool and warm climates, sunlight, ocean airs, and earthquakes makes for diverse appellations and even subappellations conducive to different types of grapes (e.g., Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon), even among neighboring growers and towns. It’s a place that beckons to my soul even while I’m jotting a few notes for you all here.

2018 Chronicle Cabernet Sauvignon, Rebel Wine, St. Helena, California, USA.

The 2018 Chronicle is a medium- to full-bodied dry red blend, with dark fruit notes that I’m calling more blackberry or black cherry than plum. Sometimes my palate can pick that up; other times it’s less clear so use your own judgment here. I do smell a bit of leather in my glass, and the peppery finish is suggestive of both the Cab and Sirah grapes for the wine.

We had the Chronicle with Julia Child’s Beef Bourguignon, served with mashed potatoes and green beans. It was flat-out great, with tenderly seared beef and vegetables so tender…wow! Those who follow Notes regularly know the meal is often less relevant to this taster than is the accompanying wine, but this is not one of those occasions. The dish was so rich and savory that I really thought less of the Chronicle and more of the food flavors. Understand me: the wine is tasty but the stew even better.

The label (but less easy to support with online research) suggests that Joel Gott and Charles Bieler are the vintners here for the 2018 Chronicle. Thanks gents for your contribution to a great evening. I enjoyed your wine and will buy more in the future, but what I’m really excited to repeat is the Beef Bourguignon.

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2017 The Cuttings Cabernet Sauvignon, The Prisoner Wine Company

Number 500! It’s a great pleasure to share with you all post #500 on Notes Of Note. Only recently did I realize Notes was approaching this milestone and glad that a New Year’s Eve bottle rings the bell.

I’m thinking about death by 10,000 paper cuts. Water over Niagara Falls. All these metaphors and images about slowly chipping away at it over time. Gladwell’s notion that you need 10,000 repetitions to achieve mastery of a given skill…none apply to Notes so let me simply say I’m pleased to still be at this occasional hobby after all these years.

A 2010 wine (I think?) led off this blog back in 2011, and I encourage you to check it out. My motives are intact. The format is largely unchanged, a mix of time, places, a casual photo…perhaps a little research or the winemaker’s comments to explain further? Those are all staples of the column nearly a decade later.

2017 The Cuttings Cabernet Sauvignon, The Prisoner Wine Company, Oakville, California, USA. For notes on previous years of this flight, please click here for the 2016, 2015, and 2014.

What’s different? My understanding of how many thousands of oenophiles do this same thing, embrace this same love of wine, tasting, and sharing. All the Vinvo, Wine.com, and Instagram apps and accounts devoted to wine tasting. Still thousands more tackle the process, the vineyards, and the related foodstuffs that go hand-and-glove with wine.

Also different from that simple start are my tastes. There are dozens of grapes, varietals, and wines covered here, including Cabs and red blends (more than 100 each!), Pinot (72 at present), Zins (30+), and even rareties like Zweigelts. Anyone reading from the origins of the column to its current posts show a clear and growing bias for California Cabernet Sauvignon, to jammy red blends and earthy new world Syrahs. Structured, dark-fruited wines, often with peppery accents and leathery notes. So if you are deciding on me as your wine influencer (ha thanks brother for the chuckle) be sure to base your choices accordingly.

And fans. New followers and tenured supporters, you know who you are!

This bottle has fans among my favorite people. Enjoyed it on birthdays, ECFF draft weekends, and my favorite dates. Including this one. We’re having the 2017 Cuttings with fondue to usher in the new year. There are two different kinds of bread (including a solid pumpernickel), two veggies (hello asparagus and broccoli!), and both filet and kielbasa (the latter a surprisingly great treat!) poised for our Gruyere/Swiss blend. I’ve had nearly as much fun looking up vintage fondue pots and recipes as I have sipping this amazing wine, courtesy of the Prisoner Wine Company.

It’s 80% of Cabernet Sauvignon (80%) and a blend of Petite Sirah, Syrah, and Zinfandel, and it’s as great as the first vintage I tasted years ago. Black berry fruit, black cherry, and earth spices—just exquisite winemaking! It’s so damn good that we’re not going to make it to the champagne tonight; this bottle of 2017 Cuttings is all the celebration we need. So here’s to milestones, and hoping for another 500 posts on Notes. Best to you all too in the year ahead.

Most importantly, thank you for your readership!

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The Ones That Got Away – Winter 2020

This gallery contains 6 photos.

  I’m always regretful when the business of daily life prevents me from sharing tasting notes. There are so many bottles and so little time…here’s a snapshot of several of the great wines that closed out this 2020 year. Best to you all in the year ahead! -R