This post was intended to be the Weekend Wines Notes for the just completed weekend, but matters intervened, so I’m posting it today, not under that label. The point is to offer 12 red wines that depart somewhat from the ordinary run of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and pinot noir. The grapes in question range from alicante bouschet to zinfandel and make many stops in between, with prices from $15 to $65 — Something for Every Palate and Pocket Book! Geographically, we touch down in Piedmont and Tuscany in Italy; Beaujolais in France; Alentejo and Douro in Portugal; and in the good old USA, there’s Virginia, Washington state, Arizona and California — Lake County, Paso Robles and Santa Lucia Highlands. As usual in the Weekend Wine Notes, I eschew technical, geological and historical details for the sake of quick and incisive reviews designed to pique your interest and whet your palate. Enjoy, in moderation, of course.
These wines were samples for review.
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Aridus “Limited Production” Tempranillo 2017, Arizona. 14.5 % alc. Dark ruby color; iodine and mint, spiced and macerated cherries and currants; hints of cloves and lavender; flinty graphite with dense, slightly powdery tannins; gains depth and dimension in the glass, reaching for roots in licorice and bittersweet chocolate, briers and brambles; lovely balance and integrity. Now through 2022 to ’24. Excellent. About $40.
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Chronic Cellars Purple Paradise 2018, Paso Robles. 15.3% alc. 77% zinfandel, 15% petite sirah, 4% syrah, 4% grenache. Dark purple-magenta hue; blackberries and blueberries, smoke, lavender; iodine and mint; a bit fleshy and meaty; very dry but drenched with black fruit flavors; shaggy, velvety tannins permeated by dusty graphite; a few moments in the glass unfold hints of dried thyme and sage, tapenade and pot-pourri, peppercorns and fig paste; the finish is increasingly dry and loamy. Miraculously, you don’t feel the alcohol. Begs for burgers, nachos, pizzas and other simple, hearty fare, now through 2022 or ’23. Very Good+. About $15.
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Herdade de Coelheiros “Coelheiros” 2017, Alentejo, Portugal. 14% alc. 50% each aragonez and alicante bouschet. Dark to medium ruby-magenta hue; a wine of the hillsides — lavender and violets, heather, meadows; black currants, raspberries and plums; leather and graphite, a mild touch of bell pepper and black olive; a current of lip-smacking acidity with a keel of slightly resinous tannins; spare and sinewy on the palate, concluding with a finish steeped in flint, walnut shell and loam. Bring on the grilled sausages! Now through 2022 or ’23. Very Good+. About $20.
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Domaine de la Vigne Romaine Moulin-a-Vent 2018, Beaujolais Cru. 100% gamay grapes. Dark ruby-mulberry with a transparent rim; briers, brambles and loam; blackberries and blueberries, with back-notes of ripe and macerated plums; supple, dry and firm in the mouth, enveloping in its juicy black fruit flavors but balanced by bright acidity and moderate dusty tannins; opens the grape’s signature musky-blossomy-woodsy character, though ending in a fairly stalwart graphite-tinged finish. Now through 2025 to ’28. Excellent. About $28.
Imported by Quintessential Wines, Napa, Calif.
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Hawk and Horse Vineyards Petite Sirah 2015, Red Hills, Lake County. 13.9% alc. 135 cases produced. Deep ruby-purple hue shading to a glowing magenta rim; ripe and macerated black currants and cherries; a rapidly evolving melange of graphite-lavender-licorice-bittersweet chocolate, heightened by a sheen of polished oak; sleek and lithe on the palate, bolstered by lively acidity and an altogether vibrant structure; a few minutes in the glass unfurl notes of cedar and tobacco, with a touch of dried herbs; lovely balance, almost elegant, for this grape. Now through 2023 to ’25. Excellent. About $65.
The label image is two vintages retrograde.
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Morgan Winery Double L Vineyard Syrah 2018, Santa Lucia Highlands. 14.1% alc. Deep dark ruby hue; black cherries, currants and plums, opening to exotic touches of sandalwood and cloves, lavender and violets; a depth of tar and loam; then a high note of blueberry; the power of acidity like an electrical current and slightly dusty, graphite-tinged tannins; the essential hint of garrigue — a hillside of wild thyme, rosemary and sage. Now through 2023 to ’25. Excellent. About $44 .
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Poggio Stentl Pian di Staffa Riserva 2016, Montecucco Sangiovese, Toscana. 14.5% alc. 100% sangiovese. Transparent medium ruby-garnet with an ethereal rim; red cherries both ripe and dried, a touch of sour melon; black tea and orange rind, smoke and almond skin; hints of leather and loam; a high note of wild raspberry; quite dry; oak dominates the lithe sleek texture from mid-palate through the finish; elements of pine resin and damp flint. Feels more durable now than attractive; try through 2028 to ’30. Excellent. About $29.
No US importer.
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Post Scriptum de Chrysera 2018, Douro, Portugal. 14.5% alc. Typical red grapes for the Douro Valley. Deep ebony-purple, with a glowing violet rim; immediate impression of tar, iodine and lavender, blackberries, black currants and plums; you feel the loam and the airy climate of the vineyard, in a combination of earthiness and balletic lift in fruit and acid; dominating factor, though — a darkness of ripe fruit, exotic spices, coursing acidity and dusty, velvety tannins, hung on a framework of burnished oak. Now through 2025 or ’26. Excellent. About $27.
Imported by Premier Port Wines, San Francisco.
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Rasa Vineyards “Living in the Limelight” Petit Verdot 2016, Columbia Valley, Washington. 15% alc. 95% petit verdot, 2.5% each cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Production was 112 cases. Intense and concentrated in every sense, with heaps of personality and character; an abyss of black-purple hue, with a mulberry rim of startling vividness; vivacious and vibrant in nose and mouth — black currants and blueberries, mocha and espresso bean, iodine and graphite, cedar and rosemary, with a hint of that herb’s piney resonance; sleek, lithe and supple on the palate, acidity like a bright thread, generous, dusty, velvety tannins; a finish of flint and granitic minerality, loam and forest elements. Quite a performance. Now through 2025 to ’28. Excellent. About $60.
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Enrico Serafino “Picotener” Nebbiolo 2018, Langhe, Piedmont. 14.5% alc. 100% picotener, a rare sub-variety of nebbiolo. Totally transparent medium ruby color shading to an invisible rim; classic notes of tar and violets, ripe cherries, briers and brambles; loam, smoke, a hint of bacon fat; very dry but lithe and supple on the palate, propelled by whiplash acidity and moderately dense tannins; finishes with more berries, lilac, touch of espresso bean; an appealing blend of grace and energy. Now through 2023 or ’24. Excellent. About $25.
Imported by Dalla Terra Winery Direct, Napa, Calif.
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Stinson Vineyards Tannat 2017, Monticello, Virginia. 15.1% alc. Production was 225 cases. Vivid purple-magenta hue, with an ethereal rim; penetrating aromas of licorice, lavender, graphite and mint; cassis, cedar, a grind of black pepper and cloves; a few moments in the glass bring out hints of cola and cumin, blueberries and raspberries; lively and engaging on the palate, poised and dramatic, fully integrated tannins and oak for a supple, subtle structure; long finish inflected with flint and notes of tar and loam. Now through 2025 to ’27. Excellent. About $36.
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The Walls “The Ramparts” Red Blend 2017, Red Mountain, Washington. 14.5% alc. 41% mourvedre, 40% grenache, 15% counoise, 4% syrah. Production was 627 cases. First note: “Beautiful.” Dark to medium ruby-purple hue; intense and concentrated, but clean and pure, displaying an essential lightness and poise; black currants, plums, cherries; notes of peppercorns and crushed cumin, iodine, iron and mint; clean and precise in every detail; bright acidity and sleek, honed tannins; the floral element gains power after a few minutes with violets and rose petals, balanced by a depth of loam and granitic minerality. Now through 2027 to ’30. Excellent. About $44.
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