Wine Review: Rocca di Montemassi Le Focaie 2016

In 1999, continuing their company’s expansion in Tuscany, the Zonin family acquired this 430-hectare property in the Maremma, of which 180 hectares are planted with vines. The lordly mansion has been restored to its ancient splendour, the little lake - inhabited by splendid swans – is a mirror for Venus, the Museum of Rural Civilization, unique of its kind in the Maremma, has found its “home” in a wing of the property whose original architecture has been restored and made extraordinarily efficient. - RoccaDiMontemassi.it

Le Focaie is an introductory level wine by Rocca di Montemassi out of Meremma, Tuscany. It's 90% Sangiovese and 10% of other varieties on the estate that aren't specified. But it could Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, and/or Merlot, as those are the other red varieties planted there. The wine spent twelve months aging in oak, and that's all I really know about it. Other than it has an ABV of 13%.

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Clearance Wine Quickie: Cecchi La Mora Morellino di Scansano 2013

90% Sangiovese with the remainder all native Tuscan varietals. Lots of cherry on the nose with strawberry licorice and hot cinnamon. On the palate it's light bodied with tart acidity and soft tannin. The flavors are fruit forward with lots of cherry and blueberry, backed up with clay and a little olive. Hey, it's okay. I'm happy with it for the discount.

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Clearance Wine Quickie: La Braccesca Sabazio Rosso di Montepulciano 2012

Yet another one off the clearance shelf! Can you tell that somebody is trying to move old, slow-moving product? This is 80% Prugnolo Gentile (AKA Sangiovese), 10% Merlot, and 5% Canaiolo Nero. The nose is outstanding with floral notes, blackberries, chocolate, and popcorn. It's light to medium bodied with dusty tannin and some bright acidity that isn't too tart. There's flavors of cherries, Fruit Roll-up, and spices. It's very much fruit forward and candy-ish but also very dry. This is a solid bottle of wine for the regular price and it's still holding up nicely after six years.

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Wine Review: Cecchi La Mora Vermentino 2014

Vermentino is big on the island of Sardinia but also has plantings here and there on the Italian mainland and southern France. This one is from the Maremma subregion of Tuscany, and it's by the famous Cecchi winery.

The Cecchi family got into the winemaking business in 1893 with Luigi Cecchi, and the first bottles of Cecchi labeled wines were produced in the early 1900's. However, the land that their winery and estate vineyards are on has been making wine for over a thousand years. Today it's run by Andrea and Cesare Cecchi, and they pride themselves on their practice of sustainability.

NOTE: In advance of moving to a new house and the arrival of a new baby, the reviews for March, April and May were written in February (this one in March, actually) and may be much quicker and to the point than you expect from this blog. Foolishness will return this summer.

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September Wine Pick: Carpineto Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva 2010

This WINE PICK of the month was written for the Luke's of Cape Cod website.

I really wanted to make my wine pick for this month one from 2010 as a toast to my daughter's sixth birthday and, luckily for me, this beauty is currently on that vintage. Carpineto is based in the Chianti region of Italy and they produce many different kinds of Tuscan wine, from entry level to high class. But there's really nothing that they do that isn't outstanding.

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Wine Subscription Review: Wineist Wine Carte, Part 2

"Small in size, big in wines" is the Wineist motto. They're I guess what you could call a wine club but they call themselves a "wine carte". Carte is actually a good choice of wordage because it can mean menu or map. You're getting a taste of the wines they sell and their wines are from all over the world!

This is how it works: you go to WINEIST.COM and see what plan works for you. You can get a monthly subscription, six month subscription or a yearly subscription. Let's just say you get a monthly subscription, which is $29 a month at the time of this review. Every month you'll receive six 50 ml sample bottles in a neat little box. There's also a pamphlet telling you what each bottle is, all the tech information you could possibly need, winery information, food pairings, etc, and space for your notes. If you like any of the wines then you can buy them in normal bottle size.

Just by seeing what they do, having this package in my hands, I can tell you this is a very cool product. But how are the wines in the package that I got?

I'm breaking it down into two reviews: In Part 1 I had a Riesling from Germany, a Pinotage Rosé from South Africa, and a Tempranillo blend from Spain. In Part 2 I've got a Chianti Rufina Cru Basciano, a Shiraz blend from South Africa, and another Tempranillo blend from Spain.

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Wine Review: Aia Vecchia Vermentino 2014 Toscana

January is White Wine Month on TheWineStalker.net!

For reasons I'm sure you'd understand, the wine reviews released this month were written in November and had to be done rather quickly. So you can still expect some shenanigans but not to the extent that you may be used to from me. This'll be quick and painless. Okay, maybe not painless. But January is jam packed with white wine (except for one lonely red at the very end) so HAPPY WHITE WINE MONTH! (PS: most of them are Italian)

VVVVVVVVERMENTINOOOOOOOO!!! Another Italian white wine starting with a V. There's gotta be like, what, two dozen of those? Vermentino is big on the island of Sardinia but also has plantings here and there on the Italian mainland and southern France. This one is from Tuscany and it's by Aia Vecchia, a winery located between Bolgheri and Castagneto Carducci.

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Wine Review: Tenuta Le Calcinaie 2013 Vernaccia di san Gimignano

January is White Wine Month on TheWineStalker.net!

For reasons I'm sure you'd understand, the wine reviews released this month were written in November and had to be done rather quickly. So you can still expect some shenanigans but not to the extent that you may be used to from me. This'll be quick and painless. Okay, maybe not painless. But January is jam packed with white wine (except for one lonely red at the very end) so HAPPY WHITE WINE MONTH! (PS: most of them are Italian)

There's some wines that let you travel back in time. And even though (until Louis Pasteur came around) wine was more like an alcoholic vinegar than as we know it today, there can be a deep tradition and history and sometimes you can just sense it. The Vernaccia variety has been made into wine in the Tuscan town of San Gimignano since seemingly forever, and it's one of the most ancient wines we know of. Pope Martin IV would drown eels in Vernaccia and eat them, washing them down with the wine. Yum yum.

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December Wine Pick: San Felice Chianti Classico 2012

This WINE PICK of the month was written for the Luke's of Cape Cod website.

I had this wine at a trade tasting in the spring and walked away saying to myself (and anybody else who would listen) "that was the winner of the night." I then proceeded to bring it into the store without haste, and it's now my Chianti recommendation of choice.

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March Wine Pick: La Maia Lina Gertrude Toscana

This WINE PICK of the month was written for the Luke's of Cape Cod website.

La Maia Lina means “little pig” in Italian. Gertrude is the local name for a breed of miniature pigs native to Tuscany. So the name of this wine pretty much translates to “little pig little pig”. Now you’re supposed to say “let me in” and it’ll refuse and then you huff and puff, etc.

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