The Grape Crusader

Winery: Palmina Wines

Bottling: 2007 Barbera Santa Barbara County

Region: California

Sub-Region: Santa Barbara

Estimated Retail Price: $22

Purchase Details: Purchased for $20 plus tax from Blackwell’s Wines & Spirits in the Richmond District neighborhood of San Francisco, California.

Tasting Notes: In the glass, I’m staring at a pretty dark and opaque ruby red hue.  On the nose, the wine smells fresh and alive.  Aromatic scents of lavender, dried thyme, red fruits and raspberries.  In the mouth, wow!  Again the wine just feels alive.  Flavors of red and blue fruits like pomegranate, raspberries and blueberries tango in my mouth. (geez that was cheesy).  A tart, but fleshy finish ends the ride.

A well-balanced wine that really drinks well now, but could definitely cellar for a few years.  Absolutely delicious!  That’s the best way to sum up the flavor experience with the 2007 Palmina Barbera.

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Winery: Cantine Valpane

Bottling: 2006 Barbera del Monferrato “Rosso Pietro”

Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant

Region: Italy

Sub-Region: Piedmont

Estimated Retail Price: $15.99

Purchase Details: Purchased directly from Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant in Berkeley, California for approximately $16.

Tasting Notes: In the glass; purple and plum hues.  On the nose, notes of sweet tobacco, leather, spice and dried fruit.  Flavors of dried red and black cherries, and more leather and spice.  In the mouth, super fine grained tannins and an umami tinged deliciousness on the finish.  A very unique, refreshing and very likeable style of barbera.  You can’t find a more drinkable barbera than this.

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Yes I realize the label is a little small, but I threw the bottle away by accident and couldn't take a picture. I also couldn't find a very good label size on the web.

Winery: Eberle Winery

Bottling: 2006 Barbera

Region: California

Sub-Region: Paso Robles, Central California Coast

Estimated Retail Price: $20-$25

Purchase Details: Friend who shared this with us purchased this directly from the winery for $25.

Tasting Notes: In the glass, a deep ruby color accented by a pink rim.  On the nose, vanilla spice and berries.  On the palate , more vanillin spice, cloves, cherries and red plum.  This is a medium to full-bodied wine with lots of fruit framed by toasty oak, a firm structure and decent acidity.

A little more oak than I like, but still a crowd pleasing, mass appeal effort.  I think this will appeal to a wide range of drinkers.

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Winery: Ca’ Rome di Marengo

Bottling: 1996 Dapruve (80% Nebbiolo & 20% Barbera)

Importer: Empson & Co.

Region: Italy

Sub-Region: Piedmont

Estimated Retail Price: About $30 on release

Purchase Details & Tasting Source: Bought this from someone’s personal collection for eight bucks

Tasting Notes: I often read that Nebbiolo is a grape that’s difficult and unappealing in many aspects such as farming, winemaking and consumer appreciation.  It’s a grape that needs time to soften and come together in order to be more drinkable.  A well-informed industry person once told me that one of the challenging things about nebbiolo are the many different drinking windows and peaks the wine has during its life.

I was hoping that we’d catch this particular 1996 vintage Dapruve on a good night.  The color was typical nebbiolo red brick with orange and rust on the edges.  It had a little darker ruby/purple color, probably due to the barbera in the blend.  In the mouth was a plush, velvety and even silky feel.  There were still a lot of life left in the tannins and the wine still seemed very fresh.  Red plum, earth, red berries and lots of orange peel were the dominant flavors.  Roses and minerals were also present.

I can see why people would have a hard time taking a liking to a wine that puts you through so much work just trying to figure out when to drink it.  I’ve had several older ones that just didn’t do it for me, while others were outright fabulous.  This one was definitely on the side of the scale that leaned towards fabulous.

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My fascination with aged wines continues with the 2002 Palmina Barbera.  Well, I wouldn’t reference “aged” in a traditional “collector” sort of way where you wait ten years or so to open a bottle.  I’m talking about waiting a couple of years after release or purchase of the wine.  I wish I had a chance to try this on release, which probably would have been in 2003 or 2004 at the latest.  It was really interesting trying to reverse-extrapolate (is that even a word?), how this might have tasted when released.  It sure was tasty and still tasted as if had been bottled recently. (more…)