Morellino Riserva Calestaia 2005

Federico Vincenzi is an Italian sommelier and a wine writer with the Masters Degree in Economics. He has been consulting top restaurants in Italy and Switzerland and has received many awards, including ‘Sommelier of the month’ and 'Meilleur Formateur en Vin de Champagne'. Federico lives in Milan where he founded OENOGOURMET www.oenogourmet.com

Brand: CALESTAIA

Winery: ROCCAPESTA

Vintage: 2005

Appellation: DOCG, MORELLINO DI SCANSANO RISERVA

Varietal: 100% SANGIOVESE

Winemaker: Paoletti, Bernini, Schuster

Oak: Triple grapes selection. Maceration on skins for 20/25 days. Pre-maceration at 12°C. Fermentation in steel tanks. Malolactic fermentation in wooden barrels.
the wine lays for 24 months in French oak barrels (from 5hl up to 25hl capacity).
Once bottled the wine stays in our cellar for a minimum of 12 months.

Alcohol: 14%

Average Price: € 23

Tasting Notes: From the Southern part of Tuscany – Maremma Toscana – Calestaia is dressed in a garnet red colour, still ruby red reflections. On the nose great intensity and complexity of the bouquet. The perfumes remember yet mature fruit and jam. In particular, the blueberries’ jam, blueberries in alcohol, plums, dry plums, jam of plums and the smells deriving from the refinement in wooden barrels. Among these you recognize cinnamon, black pepper and clove. Then scents of citrus fruits, orange-peel, furthermore, chocolate.
The palate is distinguished by aristocracy. The typical tannin of the Sangiovese is already damped by the refinement in wood. Also the “acidity” component is very delicate and suffused and does not cover the great softness and roundness that visual analysis had anticipated.
Robust body and clean equilibrium among the components of alcohol and sugars and among the components of mineral salts and acidity. A very persistent wine, with a lovely aftertaste.

Drink now through 2020.

Food Pairing Suggestions: You need to choose a big, hearty dish. Red meat, feathered and furry game also accompanied by mushrooms or truffles.
This “Riserva”, in addition, is excellent with cheeses: aged tomes, parmesan, Tuscan pecorino

General rating: 4 tastevins

Categories: “sit-down bottle” and “classic”.

Tasting date: March 2nd 2009

2005 Pommard, Vincent Girardin

Winery: Vincent Girardin

Vintage: 2005

Appellation: Pommard

Varietal: Pinor Noir

Oak: 16 months 33% new French

Average Price: $32.00


Tasting notes: This ruby-coloured Cote de Baune is a very delicate and fruity experience. The nose is filled with red and dark berries, and the overall feeling of the wine is that this one is a very nice drinker. Be careful when opening one of these, it will lead you to drink more than one bottle. A good long finish with soft tannins and strong fruits covers your tongue for several minutes.


Food Pairing Suggestions: I want poultry with fruit and nuts-salad and thyme potatoes. Pork and beets. And of course - do I have to mention - fried foie gras with your favorite adding.


Winery Notes: Vincent Girardin is a fairly new producer, but he already owns parcels everywhere in Burgundy. He makes excellent soft, long lasting, easy drinking and easy enjoyable wines. His wines are always good priced, so take a closer look at the wines from this serious producer.


Rating: 3,5 for an excellent wine. Share this with your friends or sit down and enjoy on a Thursday night.

A truly divine wine!

“David Grega is a certified sommelier and wine consultant living in the Napa valley. In addition to consulting and wine writing David made wine for his own label “Bellum Cellars” in 2008. E-mail davidg@wine16.com for more information."



Winery: Domain du Pegau, Cuvee da Capo

Vintage: 2003

Appellation: Chateauneuf du Pape, Cuvee da Capo

Varietal: Grenache, Syrah predominate

Average Price: $600 (may be considerably more at auction)

Tasting Notes: A powerful yet precisely balanced wine, dense layers of ripe cherry Asian plumb and black raspberry are nearly overshadowed by copious amounts of herbs de Provence, sweet basil and roasted meats. The palate has everything I could ever ask for in a wine. Amazing structure, absolutely complex flavors of black cherry, rhubarb and ripe strawberry mixed with a classic hint of pepper. The long finish caps off one of the greatest wines I have tasted this year. If you ever have the chance to taste this masterpiece, savor the moment!

Rating: (on a 1-5 scale) 4.5

Le Tour De France Des Vins

“Wilfried Sentex is born in Bordeaux, France and for sure his passion for wine comes from his home country. At present he is working in New York, at Bar Boulud, Daniel Boulud Wine bar. For more information you can reach him at willsentex@gmail.com"

Here we are back again in the Bordeaux area. Last time we talked about the “Left bank”, let's talk today about the “Right bank”. Also call the "Libournais", beacause Libourne is the major city situated in the middle of the right bank. The soils are composed of limestone, clay and sand. One of the particularities of this area is the landscape, which is very diversified, you will find some plateau and terraces, slopes and valleys, and can have the effect on the quality of the wine. The climate, like in the left bank has the influence from the ocean, with good hours of sunshine and a good humidity that helps to regulate the temperature.

The grapes in this area are quite similar to the “Left bank”, but Merlot is the most used one, with the help of the Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon (the latter is used in small quantities). Merlot will make a round wine, complex, fruity and voluptuous. As the palate, you will discover a large variety of red fruits (strawberry, raspberry) and black fruits. The wine could be jammy too depending on the vintage. Also some spices, flowers (violet, rose) and some prune and leather could appear during the ageing. Blending with Cabernet Franc is important for the ageing and to bring some fine tannins. Cabernet Sauvignon will balance the wine and make it round and calm down the tannin power of the young wines.


The “Right bank” is composed of 3 majors families of appellations: Saint Emilion, Pomerol and Fronsac, including 10 AOC (Appellation D'origine Controlee): Saint Emilion, Saint Emilion Grand Cru, Lussac Saint Emilion, Montagne Saint Emilion, Puisseguin Saint Emilion, Saint Georges Saint Emilion, Pomerol, Lalandes de Pomerol, Fronsac and Canon Fronsac. This area represents only 10% of the Bordeaux .

Those 3 families of appellations are not included in the classification of 1855, which included only the Grave and the Medoc. In 1954 the "Syndicat Viticole" decided to do a classification of the Saint Emilion, that was supposed to be updated every 10 years, but in fact it was updated only in 1969, 1985, 1996 and 2006. The 2006 St-Emilion classification has been suspended, because of the complaints of several Chateaus who have been demoted. In the end it was devided and to go back with the 1996's one. So now, in Saint Emilion there are 3 categories of classifications, Premier Grand Cru Classe A (Chateau Ausone and Chateau Cheval Blanc) Premier Grand Cru Classe B (11 of them) and the Grand Cru Classe (55 of them). But for the moment there is no classification for the Fronsac or the Pomerol wines.

The next step of this Tour de France des Vins will be the white wines of Bordeaux. Huumm can't wait for it...

A tough Harvest down under

After several years selling wine in England and Wales, Alex Bazeley decided to learn more about wine from the ground up, touring every major wine producing country in the Southern hemisphere. Visiting fairtrade projects in South Africa, learning about Biodynamics in Australia, and learning Spanish in Argentinian wine mecca, Mendoza. All this and both 2008 harvests, working in New Zealand in the first half of the year and helping out with the crush in Napa later in the year.
Alex recently arrived back in London after 18 months on the road, read more about his epic journey at winetraveller.net

The bush fires still raging through the south of Australia are the worst in the country's history, and some of the fiercest have been in the state of Victoria where winemakers are in the middle of their busiest season.

The Yarra valley is one of Australia’s finest wine regions, especially well known for it’s sparkling wines and Pinot Noir. I was there at the start of last summer before things had dried out too much, a good time to meet up with winemakers before things got too busy, and my heart goes out to those guys during these troubled times. Australia has been in a state of drought for several years now, so there is a constant risk of fires running out of control during the Summer months. So with the summer drawing to a close down under, and the grapes becoming ready for harvest, the surrounding bush is as dry as it gets year round.

There have been over 200 fatalities, making this the second worst natural disaster in Australia's history and more than 2,000 homes have been lost in the Victorian fires since the start of February. So as well as the loss of grapes, some winemakers have been under extra pressure during their most hectic period, fearing for the safety of their friends, family and homes.

The fires have damaged and destroyed vineyards and wineries in the region, with even the historic Yering Station, Yarra's oldest winery, coming close to disaster. Narrowly escaping destruction, surrounded on all sides by fire, and the water tank empty the staff resorted to using buckets of water to keep the flames at bay. By the next morning it resembled an "Oasis in the middle of a charred landscape."

Another winery I visited last year was the relatively new ‘Giant Steps’ who source grapes from several vineyard sites around the valley

"Our single vineyards sustained some minor damage, but that did not stop us from picking some great fruit at Murrummong. Although we will have smaller crops, we are working quickly to bring in some terrific fruit. Sadly, some of our more northerly growers suffered severe damage and will not be picking. Their families are ok and our heartfelt support goes out to them."
Steve Flamsteed, Winemaker.

While only a handful of vineyards themselves have been scorched by the fires, the smoke blown over the ripe fruit clings to the grapes, making them, in some instances, so tainted with smoke that they were unsuitable for turning into wine.

The heatwave this summer will make it a difficult year for winemakers right across Southern Australia, so expect the 2009 vintage to produce some big bold wines which reflect the early ripening of the grapes. Until then though, I encourage you to go out and support the winemakers of Yarra by seeking out their wines in your local 'bottle-o' (that's wine store to you) and I have a couple of recommendations to encourage you further...

'Innocent Bystander' Pinot Noir 2007
(made at the Giant Steps Winery)

This is a lighter style, with a freshness making it very appealing, light berry fruit, raspberries and cranberries, finishing with a mineral earthiness. It also offers great value (around US$20) A nice unfussy Pinot that would be well suited to a picnic.

Yarrabank Cuvée 2003
(made at Yering Station)

A real classic fresh Champenoise style with dry toast and a zing of lemon citrus, perhaps a little rounder on the finish than most champagnes, but if I tasted it again blind, I doubt I’d be able to tell it wasn’t from Champagne.
and I just nearly fell off my chair when I saw what it goes for - around US$20 - a bargain!