Fine Wine Source Club June 2022

Posted on June 20, 2022 by thewineraconteur

The month of June was the Trifecta for wine club selections as I also picked up from my local club The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan.  I always enjoy the curated selection from my shop, and a chance to catch up with them; if they are busy, I never interrupt a sale, which is one of the first lessons that one learns in retailing, but seems to be lost on the new crop of clerks and not salespeople.  Normally, the club selection offers a wine from the Old World and one from the New World.  The color of the wines will always be a surprise, as well as the actual wines.

Chateau Mourgues du Gres “Fleur d’Eglantine” Rosé Costieres de Nimes 2020 represents the Old World.  A former agricultural estate of the Ursulines de Beaucaire since the Sixteenth Century.  “Mourgues” is the word for nuns in the Provencal dialect and “Gres” refers to the round rocks that is part of the defining part of the soil of the Costieres de Nimes.  Francois Collard returned to his family estate in 1990, confident of the terroir and the newborn Costieres de Nimes AOP and his first bottling was 1993.  Costieres de Nimes is the southern-most region of the Rhone appellations and the entire region is based on the round rocks. The wine is a blend of sixty percent Grenache Noir, thirty percent Mourvedre and ten percent Syrah.  After the crush, the varietals are blended prior to fermentation.  The wine stays on the fine lees for a month and then is aged for two months in Stainless Steel, and there was no Malolactic Fermentation involved. A description from the winery describes the wine as a rose-petal colored wine with notes of red fruit and florals.  On the palate tones of cherry, strawberry and raspberry, finishing with subtle spices and terroir.

Kenwood Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County/Mendocino County 2018 from their “Discovery” series represents the New World this month.   Kenwood Vineyards was established in 1970 in Sonoma.  It was founded by the Lee family when they purchased the estate and winery of the Pagani Brothers that began in 1906 and were successful until Prohibition.  In 1999 the winery was bought by F. Korbel and Bros. and in 2014 Kenwood was bought by the international beverage concern of Pernod Ricard.  Kenwood Vineyards has twenty-two acres of estate vineyards and also sources fruit from dozens of other growers in Sonoma.  The winery has been known for years for some of their Single-Vineyard wines, as well as some of their other collections.  The wine is Cabernet Sauvignon with a little assistance of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.  The wine is fifty-one percent Sonoma County and forty-nine percent Mendocino County.  A deep dark wine that offers notes of cassis, plum, black cherry and spices.  On the palate this full-bodied wine offers bright fruit and dried herbs and a nice long finish of terroir. 

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Two More From ATOM

Posted on June 18, 2022 by thewineraconteur

It is always wonderful to be surprised when you receive a wine club shipment, of course from A Touch of Monterey, they ship three bottles at a time, and I normally only discuss two bottles of wine at any given time.  The main reason is that I have published for over ten years an article every other day and then I can “advertise” two different wines on Facebook and Instagram; and then I can start all over again. I have thought about cutting back, but I am already feeling lazy as it is, so I guess I will just continue having a glass of wine and try to concentrate. 

We received a bottle of Scott Family Estate Chardonnay Dijon Clones Arroyo Seco 2019. The funny thing is that Scott Family Estate is from Carneros in Napa Valley and is actually part of the much larger Rutherford Ranch Winery of Napa Valley, and they actually have a total of nine different labels and the wines can be tasted at their tasting room in Rutherford, Napa Valley.  The winery is named after the owner’s grandfather, and this wine is produced from Dijon Clones grown on the Arroyo Seco estate.  The estate has gravely soil, with hot days and cool evenings and almost a month longer growing season that is found in Napa Valley, so the region is perfect both for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.  The wine was aged for ten months in a combination of Stainless Steel and new and old French and American Oak. The aging potential is for five to six years. The wine has been written up as offering notes of stone-fruit, green apple and sweet oak.  On the palate tones of citrus and minerals with a creamy soft finish and some bright acidity.

Comanche Cellars Petite Sirah San Antonio Valley AVA 2019 is from a small winery that produces under a thousand cases of wine, and it is named after the horse that Michael Simon had when he was ten years old, and Comanche’s horse shoes are on the label. Michael Simon has created some long-standing relationships within Monterey and maintains a tasting room in Carmel-by-the-Sea.  San Antonio Valley AVA is a rather isolated district in Monterey and it is considered rather high in altitude, which allows intense sunshine during the day and much cooler evenings. The soil is alluvial, made of clay, loam and gravel and free draining.  This is a new varietal for the winery and it was aged for twenty-eight months in American Oak, of which half is new.  There were eighty-nine cases produced.  The wine is described as having notes of dark fruit, vanilla and bay leaf.  On the palate it is said to be big and bold with velvety tannins.  and they stress that you won’t confuse it with Syrah.

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ATOM Reserve Wine Club June 2022

Posted on June 16, 2022 by thewineraconteur

We received our second shipment of wine club wines this month from A Taste of Monterey Wine Club and we opted years ago to get their Reserve Wine selections.  I mean back when we started with the club, Michigan was still a felony state for the shipment of wines, and this club said that they could ship to Michigan.  A couple of syndicated wine writers from Michigan had to sue the governor of Michigan, thankfully she lost, she ended up a one term wonder, moved to California and until recently was basically forgotten about.  I and many others were glad to see her go, as we could stop shipping “olive oil” to our home or business. 

The first wine in the carton was from Meniketti Wines, another celebrity winery, which is becoming all the rage these days.  I had to look it up, but Dave Meniketti is the lead singer, lead guitarist, principal songwriter and founder of the globetrotting rock band, Y&T.  Jill Meniketti is the manager for the rock band Y&T, as well as an author.  One of the perks of performing around the world, is the chance to enjoy beverages, especially wines.  They were tempted by both friends and wine industry associates to start their own winery and label.  They have sourced fruit from California vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands and Monterey appellations.  They are eco-friendly and only deal with SIP (Sustainable in Practice) certified farming techniques.  They also use light-weight bottles, natural corks and their wines are Vegan.

The wine we received is Meniketti Wines “Forever” Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands 2017.   “Forever” is one of Y&T’s most popular songs from their “Black Tiger” album.  The fruit for this wine was harvested at the Tondre Grapefield in the famed Santa Lucia Highlands of Monterey County.  The wine was aged in French Oak, of which twenty-five percent was new.  The aging potential is six to eight years.  The wine is described as having notes of spicy dark fruit.  On the palate tones of blackberry and cherry and spices in a medium-bodied, softer tannin and well-balanced wine with a finish of terroir.       

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Why We Joined Black Star Farms’ Club

Posted on June 14, 2022 by thewineraconteur

Back when the world was young and fun, we were at a board meeting at the Inn at Bay Harbor, and a delightful time it was.  The food was excellent and normally the wine takes a back seat to the liquor selection and the craft beer selection, but this time even the wine was excellent.  The final evening of events the wines were from Black Star Farms of Michigan, and there was quite a lot of buzz, at least in Michigan wine drinking circles, because the Black Star Farms Arcturos Dry Riesling Michigan 2017 had won the Best in Show at the Canberra International Riesling Competition.  We did not have the Dry Riesling being poured, but we tried their Cabernet Franc 2013 and it was that great, along with two other wines, that my Bride wanted to make a special stop at the winery to see if we could get the Cabernet Franc and some of the Dry Riesling.  We were so impressed with the service from the representative that we did a tasting with, that we signed up for their club. 

We just received the June 2022 wine selections and the first two wines out of the box were the Black Star Farms Arcturos Dry Riesling Michigan 2017, as the winery decided to put two pallets aside for some additional aging and a surprise bonus to their club members.  So, we have a couple more of this exceptional wine, as we had bought as much as we could find.  At the Canberra International Riesling Competition there were 567 Rieslings entered for the challenge, from six countries; Australia, New Zealand, USA, Germany, France and the Czech Republic.  This wine carries the Michigan AVA, because the fruit came from their vineyards from both sides of Traverse City; Old Mission Peninsula AVA and the Leelanau Peninsula AVA.  According to the newsletter, the wine is drinking exceptionally well.  “Bright yet complex, this wine truly expresses its vintage and terroir.  Flavors of peach, honeydew melon, and ripe apple are complemented by nuances of honeysuckle and pear on the nose.”

The second set of wines in the shipping carton was Black Star Farms Arcturos Cabernet Franc Michigan 2019.  The first bottling of Cabernet Franc was 1998, and this grape has taken on a life of its own, not only in Michigan, but around the world.  What was once considered a blending grape by most, but others knew better; has become a grape of its own right and has even acquired its own wine day along the way.  The cooler climate and the extended growing season has been very beneficial to this grape, not to mention that the vines are also maturing.  There was a little over a thousand cases produced of this wine with fruit that was harvested from two of their best vineyards; Old Mission Peninsula AVA and Leelanau Peninsula AVA. The tasting notes described the wine as “dark fruit aromas, dominated the nose and are followed by flavors of blackberries, plums, oak and herbal notes in the finish.”   

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We Had Visitors

Posted on June 12, 2022 by thewineraconteur

My Bride and I live in a suburb that was originally a township.  I am not sure what the definition of a township is where you live, but originally in Michigan in meant thirty-six square miles or six miles by six miles.  The old city planners were quite ingenious and created an industrial park that is six square miles through the city along the railroad lines, and this industrial park has always been beneficial to the homeowners when it came time to pay land taxes.  Even when the township became a city, to this day there are a couple of small farms, a turkey farm and at one time there was a mink ranch and a rabbit ranch.  The rabbits escaped and I would venture to say that there is a rabbit warren almost in every backyard here.  We have had pheasants, turkeys, rabbit, opossums, raccoons and the other day we had a young deer maybe checking out the real estate market here. 

We also had some of the family from Louisville for dinner, after they had lunch at my Brother-in-Law’s sister home and it had been a couple of years since he saw all of his family.  His sister probably only lives about five miles from our house, so, I just mentioned that my Bride should not even think of starting a dinner, until they showed up.  We just had a casual dinner with a Caesar Salad (are you surprised?), New York Strip Steaks and Candied Carrots.

I went into the cellar and grabbed something that I thought was interesting.  We had a bottle of Duckhorn Vineyards and Winery Decoy “Migration” Napa Valley Red 1997.  We still have some of the wines that we bought from our initial visit to Duckhorn, arranged through a customer of mine, one of the sons (when it was still a family-owned winery) gave us a private tour, and a private tasting in the back of a semi-trailer, as we sat on cases of wine, and on occasion we would have to get up, to open another case to try another wine.  Memories like that can’t be duplicated. The wine was a blending of different varieties and different contract and owner properties, back when Duckhorn Vineyards produced all of their wines in Napa Valley, now Duckhorn is one subsidiary and Migration is another subsidiary.  The original concept for Migration is that the wine could change from year to year.  This wine was produced from fruit harvested from seven different vineyards within the appellation.  The wine was fifty-one percent Cabernet Franc, twenty-six percent Merlot, thirteen percent Cabernet Sauvignon and ten percent Petit Verdot.  The wine was aged for eighteen months in a blend of sixty percent French Oak (ten percent new, sixty percent second and thirty neutral) and forty percent American Oak (all second use). I had my Durand corkscrew so the cork remained whole.  For a twenty-five-year-old the wine was excellent, with a beautiful deep color. The nose was vintage Right Bank, and on the palate the tannins were soft, but it was still a chewy wine with a good long finish; and for some odd reason there was no leftover wine for the next day. 

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An Eightieth Birthday

Posted on June 10, 2022 by thewineraconteur

You may think this is about me, but I haven’t made this milestone.  It was going to be a surprise party, but at the last minute, his wife thought the stress might be a shock, so she told him.  It was quite a successful surprise party, until that moment, considering how many people knew about it and never let it leak out.  We got at the restaurant before the designated time, as we were going to help one of the co-conspirators decorated the room.  They showed up at the designated time, but there was plenty of time for the decorations as the guest of honor was almost an hour late for his own party.

We thought it would be rude to start eating ahead of time, but we did order a bottle of wine for our table, but we were the only ones to celebrate in that manner.  We had a bottle of Bodega Abito Rosé Barranca, Argentina 2020. A winery that has decided that their emblem is an eye, to let the consumer realize that the wine is watching them.  Barrancas is a small wine region in the Maipu district of Mendoza in Argentina and they have probably the lowest altitude, and hence the warmer climate typically means that the wines are softer and riper.  The soil is alluvial and allows the vines to grow deep roots. This region actually began producing wines in the 1880’s, making it one of the earliest areas.  This wine is a blend of fifty-six percent Malbec, thirty-six percent Syrah and eight percent Cabernet Franc.  Twenty percent of the wine was aged in French Oak for months and I shall suppose that the balance was done in Stainless Steel.  The wine had a deep rose color with notes of red fruits.  On the palate, this wine was crisp and dry with tones of raspberry, strawberry and cherry with a short finish. The crowd finally showed up and my Bride ordered a Chicken Bibb Salad with Romaine, Sundried Cherries, Cinnamon Pecans with Grilled Chicken Breast with Raspberry Vinaigrette with a side of fresh fruit.  While I had the Key West Shrimp, sauteed Tiger Shrimp with Spinach, Roma Tomatoes and Shallots, flash flamed with Tequila and a hint of garlic (I asked for more than a hint).

You might be surprised to find out the wine ran out, before the food, and way before the desserts.  So, we had to get something festive for the occasion and we went with splits.  One of the splits was Famiglia Zonin Prosecco DOC NV. Casa Vinicola Zonin SPA is based in the Veneto region of Italy with wineries across Italy and the USA.  They were founded in 1821, and in the 1960’s began an expansion starting in Friuli and Chianti Classico and finally the Barboursville Vineyards in the State of Virginia.  There was not much to find about this particular wine, but it probably is marketed to food establishments.  It is Prosecco DOC, so it is Prosecco and probably made in the Charmat Methode.  It was just an easy-going wine with a nice golden color, medium size bubbles with a very soft nose and a slightly sweet finish.  I liked it, just the way it was, and I think that it would be too sweet in a Mimosa, and perfectly priced for the majority of restaurants.

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Those Model T’s Are Fast

Posted on June 8, 2022 by thewineraconteur

There are some days when plans are changed the last minute, and I was going to be alone for the day, and then my Bride was free.  I took advantage of the information and decided that we were going to have a date, right then and there.  We have season tickets to one of the finest educational sites in North America; The Henry Ford.  When I was a kid and I used to ride my bicycle there it was known as Greenfield Village and The Henry Ford Museum.  A few years ago, some marketing guru decided to combine the two under one name, the old names are still being used for the two entities.

Greenfield Village is a town setting of historical buildings that Henry Ford had dismantled from their original sites and moved to their new location at the Village.  I am sure that he saved plenty of buildings that could have been torn down, because of “progress.”  Some of the structures are very spartan, like homes from the 1600’s, blacksmith shops, even slave quarters from a dark-time in the not-too-distant past. There is Menlo Park where Thomas Edison had some of the most brilliant minds creating all kinds of inventions and new ideas, even Edison’s Florida laboratory was moved as well.  The Wright Brothers bicycle shop is there, where they originally tinkered and created their airplane.  Surrounding all of this are vintage trains and coaches that circle the village, there is an old River Boat plying one of the man-made lakes, and of course there are motorized tours available in chauffeured and curated Model T’s, the car that mobilized man affordably.  One actually had to keep alert because the Model T cars loaded with tourists moved at a pretty good clip, of course the paved streets are well maintained and are not maintained by our governor.  After walking the entire Village, we went and had a quick lunch.  My Bride had a French Onion Soup and a salad.  On a hot day, the perfect wine that they were offering was Kris “Artist Cuvee” Pinot Grigio delle Venezie IGT 2020 from the Winebow Group.  The label is the work of Riccardo Schweizer, a friend of the winery owner, a native of Northern Italy and a student of Pablo Picasso and Joan Miro.  Delle Venezie is one of the best-known designations of Italy, because of all the Pinot Grigio wine.  In 2017 the name was transferred to a new DOC and the IGT changed its name to Trevenezie, but if the winery doesn’t adhere to the rules of the DOC, it can still use the IGT designation.  There were no production notes on this wine, but I think it is safe to say that the wine was made in Stainless Steel to keep the fruit and the acidity as fresh as possible.  The nose was very light and so was the wine, it was what we call a quaffable wine and perfect for a hot day.

The Henry Ford Museum which is housed in a building that looks like Independence Hall is a collection of all types of gadgets, because Henry Ford liked gadgets.  There one can see furniture, small appliances, electronics, airplanes, trains and of course, automobiles.  It is fascinating, and it still holds my attention after a lifetime of visits. We could have done another tour of the Museum, but we were only going in to have lunch at their newest restaurant run by Plum Market, a specialty market with several locations in the Metropolitan Detroit area.  Plum Market also employs Madeline Triffon who was the first female Master Sommelier in America, as their In-house Sommelier.  After being in all of the fresh air, a Bratwurst on a bun, just sounded so enticing.  I washed it down with a glass of Black Star Farms Arcturos Sur Lie Chardonnay Michigan 2020.  Black Star Farms is rather unique in that it has vineyards and tasting room facilities on both peninsulas, so that they are kind of surrounding Traverse City which is kind of the focal point for all of the wineries in the area.  The fruit for this wine came from vineyards from both peninsulas and hence the Michigan AVA.  In 1998 Black Star Farms purchased Sport Valley Farm which was a one-hundred-twenty-acre equestrian facility, and the stylized black star was part of the architectural décor in the main house.  This was a nice medium bodied wine done in Stainless Steel.  It offered notes of ripe citrus, and some floral and finished with a bit of terroir.  And after lunch the only Model T cars that we saw were on exhibit and parked, so all was good.

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Sometimes, We Get Touted

Posted on June 6, 2022 by thewineraconteur

Periodically, we get touted to try a restaurant, and a most of the time it happens to be a chain and I just don’t get that excited.  I guess it was all the years of being an independent retailer, so chains operations are not my cup of tea.  Some people feel very comfortable with chains, because there won’t be anything novel, in fact a lot of them are cookie-cutter designs, just like as if they are a fast-food carry-out joint.   Eventually that may be the way of the world, as when we travel, I do like to eat at local restaurants to get the flavor of the city, but just like nowadays most retail establishments are the same from city to city, so are most restaurants.  It also gives me a point of reference, so that I can see if there are any trends that I may have missed, and there are plenty, because of my avoidance of chains of any type.  My Bride does say that I can be a real pain-in-the-arse, and she probably is telling the truth.  I think that I have done quite well, considering that for decades, the City of Lincoln Park, was designated back in the Fifties as the perfect cross-section of America by a survey conducted by Amy-Joy Donuts and then for years every chain attempted to win over the populace of Lincoln Park, but I digress and ramble as I am wont to do at times.

My Bride surprised me and decided to get a “tower” of “BLT sliders.”  I know that sliders are all the rage now, but I think of them as a student’s cure for hunger when I was a kid, and some local establishments would sell like a dozen sliders for two dollars.  Granted, I used to joke that sliders were concoctions of little buns heated on greasy grills, sprayed with essence of meat, chopped and fried onions with a slice of American cheese and pickle slices.  My Bride got this elaborate dish (tower) where the BLT sliders were impaled on a built-in spear perpendicular to the dish that was covered with well-done and spiced French-fries.  The sliders were Brioche buns slathered with Lemon Aioli, Roma Tomatoes, Lettuce and their “Millionaire” bacon which was thick, spiced and candied. It was a very nice dish and she enjoyed it.  She had a glass of McManis Family Vineyards Pinot Grigio River Junction AVA 2021.  McManis Family Vineyards is a family-owned wine producer based in Ripon, near Modesto and founded in 1990.  The estate has thirteen-hundred acres all in the River Junction AVA, one of the smallest AVA designations in California and the designation was awarded in 2001 with only one winery.  The fruit for this wine was night harvested on the estate.  The grapes first have a gentle crush and then the must is pressed again and is cold fermented in Stainless Steel.  The wine is a blend of seventy-six percent Pinot Grigio and twenty-four percent Chenin Blanc.  This straw-colored wine offered notes of lemon, lime and grapefruit.  On the palate the citrus fruits were crisp and had a nice medium finish with some terroir thanks to the sandy loam of the AVA.   

As for me, I was debating between a burger or ribs, but when I heard that the meat falls off the bone, I had to have the ribs, with the well-done and spiced French-fries and Cole Slaw, which is just the perfect combination for me.  I went with a Pinot Noir for some fruit in hopes that it would pair with the barbeque sauce.  I had the Imagery Estate Winery Pinot Noir California 2020 which was designed for experimentation in winemaking.  The original winemaker was Joe Benziger and the second winemaker is his daughter Jamie who took over the reins in 2017, as she grew up between her family’s two Sonoma wineries and she also went away to learn at other wineries as well.  In 2019 she was named Best Woman Winemaker in the International Women’s Wine Competition. The wine is Pinot Noir, except for five percent Petit Verdot.  The deep colored wine offered notes of strawberry and cherry and on the palate, it offered tones of a blend of jammy red fruits, a touch of oak, soft tannins and a soft finish of fruit.  I did enjoy it with the ribs.    

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Podere Ciona Riserva and a Super Tuscan

Posted on June 4, 2022 by thewineraconteur

Lorenzo Gatteschi, a family member and winemaker at Podere Ciona was at my local wine store, The Fine Wine Source conducting a wine tasting.  The owner of the shop and Lorenzo have become fast friends over the years and when he is town, he even stays with the owner at his home, and they have dinner at his restaurant after the tasting session is concluded.  Not only that, but Podere Ciona has some guesthouses on the property that date back to the 18th Century and fully modernized and can be seen on their website. Since the property is between Florence and Siena, it is the perfect location for a vacation and a chance to do enjoy some wonderful wines. During the tasting sessions there were people that were also making inquiries, which I am sure also make Lorenzo happy.

We had a chance to taste the Podere Ciona Chianti Classico Riserva 2015. I think that when most people think of Tuscany, their first thoughts are a traditional Chianti Classico and if they can get a Riserva, all that much better. The wine is estate grown on their quartz, clay schist and marl soil.  The wine is a blend of ninety-five percent Sangiovese, seven percent Merlot and one percent Alicante Bouschet; and the vines are between fifteen and sixteen years of age. The fruit is all hand-harvested and the initial fermentation is for about ten days in Stainless Steel.  Then malolactic fermentation of the juice on the skins is for about a month in French Oak.  With this being a Riserva, the wine is then aged for twenty-four-months in a mix of French Oak of which ten percent are new, and then an additional twelve months in bottles, before being released.  There were about eighteen-hundred six packs of this wine made. From my notes for 2015, this was a powerhouse vintage for Chianti and this deep ruby-red wine offered notes of plenty red fruit.  On the palate, the cherry and other fruit was excellent, was well balanced and velvety tannins and a nice lingering finish of terroir.  This bottle will cellar well and it needs at least an hour to breath before serving.   

Then I was poured the Podere Ciona Le Diacce Rosso Toscana IGT 2015 and Le Diacce is the estate’s flagship wine featuring their finest Merlot grapes and a touch of Alicante Bouschet.  Outside of Chianti Classico Riserva, Toscana IGT is the other famous designation of Tuscany, and Toscana IGT is the most famous of all the IGT designations in Italy.  Back in 1984 when Sassicaia was granted it very own title of DOC Bolgheri Sassicaia, instead of Vino de Tavola, the floodgates were opened for Toscana IGT and whatever the winemaker can create.  This wine is ninety-seven percent Merlot and three percent Alicante Bouschet.  All hand-harvested and the best grapes are selected for this wine and the initial fermentation was for ten days in French Oak.  This was followed by post-fermentation maceration on the skins for about thirty-five days and Malolactic fermentation in French Oak.  The wine was then aged in French Oak for twenty-four months, and then another twelve months in the bottle.  There were three-hundred-thirty-three cases produced.  A rich deep purple-red wine with notes of red fruit, chocolate and nuts.  On the palate deep tones of cherry and red fruit (very fruit forward), totally balanced and lush with a nice long finish of fruit and terroir.  This was a second tasting of this wine and my notes were stellar both times.         

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Podere Ciona Chianti Classico and Semifonte

Posted on June 2, 2022 by thewineraconteur

Lorenzo Gatteschi of Podere Ciona was hosting a tasting of his wines at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan.  The estate is located in the original and oldest part of Tuscany’s Chianti wine-growing region and the area is still romantically symbolized by the Gallo Nero or Black Rooster from days of yore.  The estate is on a south-facing hill and there is over a difference of four-hundred feet comparing the highest and lowest altitudes of the vineyards.  The estate is comprised of thirteen acres of vineyards, two acres of olive groves and one-hundred acres of woodlands.  They also have fruit trees, chickens, two vegetable gardens with beehives coming soon.

The Podere Ciona Chianti Classico 2018 is the winery’s basic Chianti wine and they still maintain their desire to only produce one bottle of wine per vine.  The soil of the vineyards is a mix of sandstone, clay schist and marl. Depending on the vineyard the vines are between seven to eighteen years in age.  The wine is eighty-nine percent Sangiovese, nine percent Merlot and two percent Alicante Bouschet.  They still maintain hand harvesting and initial fermentation is in Stainless Steel for about ten days with extended post-fermentation maceration on the skins for about a month, followed by malolactic fermentation, and then aged in French Oak for about eighteen months, finally refined for twelve months in the bottle.  This light-ruby colored wine offered notes of red fruits and spices, and on the palate fresh fruit, soft tannins and a velvety texture from the Merlot with a nice medium finish of fruit and terroir.

The Podere Ciona Semifonte Gaiole in Chianti IGT 2018 and is termed a Tuscan Rosso wine.  Toscana IGT is the most famous of the IGT designations and it actually has three sub-regions already, and there are ten provinces that are allowed this designation.  Tuscany is the home of Italy’s most famous IGT category, but it was where this category forced the hands of wine classification for a new designation, because some of the wine makers felt constrained by the current rules, and originally had to use the lowly Vino de Tavola or Table Wine designation for their new wines.  Finally, in 1984, Sassicaia was granted its very own title of DOC Bolgheri Sassicaia and the floodgates were opened.  IGT is Italy’s version of the Common Market’s designation of IGP.  This particular wine is seventy-five percent Merlot and twenty-five percent Alicante Bouschet, the same varietal that they add to their Chianti Classico.  This is a high-altitude Merlot planted on a mix of quartz and clay of vines that average about nineteen years of age.  The initial fermentation was for ten days in Stainless Steel with post-fermentation maceration on the skins for about a month and has been aged for twelve months in French Oak and then cellared for twelve months in the bottle, before being released.  There were about two-hundred cases produced and according to The Fine Wine Source they have the lion’s share of the production.  The bright purple-red wines offered notes of plums and herbs and on the palate a smooth well rounded wine offering layers of cherry and red fruits with spices and a medium finish of fruit and terroir.   Since, I always mention how much I enjoy Merlot, I guess I am already biased towards this wine.    

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