What’s better on a fine Spring evening in North Beach than to kick back with some vino Italiano. We decided to do things with a little bit of a twist this week and had a more free-form tasting. Drink at your own pace and add your nasal notes and palate points as you go. As a result, the notes were a little more scatter-brained than usual but we did walk away with a few notes. Thanks to Kim for hosting…here’s what we tasted:
1. 2006 Lamole di Lamole Chianti Classico (DOCG) – Aged 9 months in Barriques
Nose: Katie got smelled something peppery, meaty and smoky. Josh agreed with the smoke smell.
Palate: Colin tasted strawberry and thought it tasted like a standard Chianti. Katie said it had some nice tannins and tasted some cherry.
2. 2005 Barolo La Loggia (DOCG) – $15
Nose: Jason thought it smelled odd and a little like juniper. Colin thought it smelled tannic.
Palate: Josh thought that this was an easy drinking wine and that it was a bit tannic and astringent. Jason thought it was good. Colin tasted black cherry Kool-Aid
3. 2008 Quattro Mani Motepulcianco D’abruzzo Velenosi
Nose: Colin smelled poupoun (??) and cinnamon. Kelly smelled cherry candy.
Palate: Kelly thought this wine was very fruit forward and tasted raspberry. An unidentified taster got cherry cough syrup on the palate. Kim tasted marinara sauce and on a similar note, Zack tasted spaghetti.
4. 2005 Merlot Candoni “True Italian Wine”
Nose: Colin thought this wine smelled like port, honey, and prune juice. Katie thought it smelled syrupy and Josh smelled dried raisins. Other smells included spaghetti with meatballs, bing cherries and an overall sweet/tart smell.
Palate: Kim tasted blueberries and did not like it. Zack tasted challah bread and honey. Josh thought this wine tasted lighter than it smelled and Katie thought it was salty with a hint of white lemon pepper.
5. 2008 Bolla Chianti
Nose: Jason thought it smelled like a typical Chianti. Katie smelled dried strawberries. Colin didn’t smell much but caught a whiff of oak. Josh smelled light red fruit and Zack smelled nothing.
Palate: Colin thought it was very smooth and balanced and tasted strawberry. Katie thought it was fruity, tart and drinkable. John thought it was light bodied and Josh tasted light red fruit (hooray for matching nose and palate).
6. 2007 Dio Cesare Barbera d’Alba
Nose: Colin smelled lemon dish soap and swimming pool. Jason thought this wine had a big nose. Katie smelled a Duraflame log and nail polish – specifically, a dark nail polish with glitter. Josh smelled light wood (that’s what she said!).
Palate: Katie tasted vanilla and Colin tasted lemon. Kim tasted talons and tannins while John tasted caramel. Jason thought this was the best tasting wine of the night.
7. 2005 Rosso Di Montalcino Fanti Red Wine
Nose: Katie smelled salami. Colin smelled manure and Josh smelled fertilizer. Apparently, this wine is of the meaty-barnyard smelling variety.
Palate: The overall consensus was that this wine tasted a lot better than it smelled. Josh said that this is not a wine you’d want to give to a first date. Colin tasted boysenberry and Holly thought this wine would go well with a steak.
8. 2007 I Perazzi Morellino Di Scansano La Mozza (Sangiovese)
Nose: This wine had a mild nose. Colin smelled crayons and Kelly smelled thick-skinned cherries.
Palate: Katie thought this wine had a cream soda after taste. Colin thought this wine was dry and tannic.
9. 2008 Pogio Basso Chianti
Nose: Jason said this wine had a “pretty damn nice nose” and also smelled mild fruit. Katie got strawberry. On a similar note, Josh smelled light red fruit. On a different end of the spectrum, Zack smelled citrus.
Palate: Katie tasted a cherry-watermelon love child. Kelly thought this wine was sweet and watery and tasted a tannic cherry.
10. 2008 Mashalzoni Valpolicella
Nose: Ellen smelled deviled ham and Kelly got some earth stink.
Palate: At this point notes were essentially a lost cause but the one note that did make it came from Kelly: “more fucking cherry. God damn.”
the young winos of san francisco 
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