Search results for: 'nero st gros'

94 Points! In 2009, the flagship 2009 Nero d'Avola Vrucara is drop dead gorgeous. Black cherries, tar, licorice and melted rocks meld together in a big, boisterous Nero d'Avola. Here, too, the style is very much forward and full-throttle, especially within the context of Nero d'Avola, but it all works. The 2009 is all about power wedded to expressive inner perfume and sheer depth of fruit. I see a wine of exceptional richness and character in the glass. Tobacco, mint, licorice and juicy dark cherries add complexity on the rich, enveloping finish. - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

From the importer: ‘Argille di Tagghia Via’ 100% Nero d’Avola, and takes its name from the church of the Madonna di Tagliavia, a few hundred yards away. The vineyard is planted between Corleone and San Giuseppe Jato.  Soil is impermeable alkaline clay with some sand, poor in organic matter and limestone. Fairly dark violet-tinged red in the glass.

A berryish, spicy aroma (hint of black pepper); lead pencil; somewhat reminiscent of Syrah. Very concentrated palate and fresh acidity. Finish honestly tastes like blackberry, with a faint hint of coconut, a common Nero d’Avola note. A much better, fresher wine than most Nero d’Avola but still forward and drinkable. Try it with red meats, flavorful pasta dishes.

93+ Points! Dark depths of crushed plums, black cherries, balsam herbs and dark chocolate form a beguiling display as the 2019 Nero d'Avola Vrucara smolders up from the glass. This is pure elegance, silky and textural, yet full of youthful tension, with tart wild berries and zesty citrus colliding under an air of inner rose. The 2019 is structured with sweet tannins and is dramatically extended, showing hints of brown spice, mocha and clove that linger on and on and on. This is a powerful rendition of Vrucara. - Eric Guido, Vinous Media

The Chemin des Moines de Vergy is a surprisingly powerful, concentrated Pinot Noir due to its low yields and its Vosne clones. The wine has all the requisite spice of its more illustrious neighbors down the hill but also carries a wonderful piquancy noting its higher elevation roots. It’s not unlike the hillside Vosne wines which are becoming all the rage now, a finer version of perhaps Petits Monts or Damaudes. The wine becomes more, ahem, Burgundian with air as the spice notes broaden and a touch of underbrush enters the fray, the perfume building and the wine getting silkier.

With 90% of C’Juste composed of Gros Manseng grown on the large veins of white clay in warm-to-hot summer conditions and without added sulfites, we may expect its takeoff to be like the first throttle on the tarmac in a fast but chubby commercial liner; however, it’s more like (what I imagine) being pressed against the seat of screaming fighter jet during takeoff. We, for one, find C’Juste yet another impressive no-sulfites-added white wine that demonstrates what’s possible if done correctly in the cellar. It’s as inviting as it is electric, and once open the bottle tends to empty rather quickly.

Laurent describes C’Juste as, “a rich wine due to the typicity of Gros Manseng. From one year to the next, the Victoria pineapple side (a note not often found in colder and wetter climate Gros Manseng wines) remains the common thread, while the 10% of Ugni Blanc brings freshness and acidity—the lemon side on the finish. It’s for the meal rather than apero hour and can compete with a fine Chardonnay in terms of power and the freshness of a great Chenin Blanc.”

Once in the cellar, the grapes are first left for 24 hours in concrete to cool down, then they’re whole-cluster pressed before being returned to the same medium. At the end of the 10-15-day natural fermentation, the wine is racked off the gross lees into four 8hl Italian terracotta amphoras for 11 months before bottling. There is no sulfite added to this wine at any time, though the exception is the 2020 version. C’Juste is lightly filtered but not fined.

94 Points! This unique blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Malbec, 2% St. Macaire, 1% Merlot, 1% Gros Verdot, 1% Carmenere, and 1% Cabernet Franc is culled together from three Estate vineyards in the Howell Mountain, Mt. Veeder and Oakville AVAs. A riveting, full-bodied red teeming with ripe and satiny textures, opulent red, black, and blue-toned fruits, with graceful, velvety tannins and a host of complex aromas and flavours that begin with black cherry, spiced plum, toasted fennel, maple and toffee, and end with cassis, graphite, mulberry, and espresso beans. A real pleasure palace. - Decanter Magazine

93 Points! Powerful but polished, this full-bodied wine boasts generous dark fruit flavors, attractive oak spices and a good, moderately tannic texture. Nicely concentrated black cherry, dried plum, cedar and star anise nuances. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

94 Points! The 2003 St. Eden comes from an 11-acre rocky knoll on the northern side of the Oakville Crossroad that consists of pure red soils. It is the most evolved and forward of these 2003 Bond wines. Lots of cedar, chocolate, roasted herb, lavender and spice box notes emerge from this complex Pauillac-like effort. Medium to full-bodied and fully mature, it is more evolved than its siblings, revealing sweet tannin as well as a spicy, earthy finish. - Robert Parker, robertparker.com, 2013

Eden Mill from St. Andrews presents: Golf Gin. A botanically rich spirit with a slightly saline base which is made using kombu seaweed sourced in Fife. It also incorporates other ingredients inspired by the those flavors that can be found around coastal golf courses in Scotland, such as Lavender and Pine. -Producer's website

95 Points! It's full-bodied, fairly concentrated, and generous. There’s wonderful freshness, a particularly strong mineral expression. Finishes on a touch of toasty oak. A great vintage of Les Granits. A very granitic expression from an east-facing plot in lieu-dit St-Joseph, near Mauves.- Decanter Magazine

50% Petit Manseng, 50% Gros Manseng, south-facing exposure. 15-year-old vines at a density of 4000 vines/hectare. No chemical products and natural grass cover for every other row. Guyot simple pruning.

From the importer: Made of a blend of Nero d’Avola (Frappato 45%, Nero d’Avola 55%), estate-grown in vineyards near Chiaramonte Gulfi, in the Contradas Ponte, Biviere e Fegotto. The soils are a calcareous mixture of clay and sand, at just under 300 meters (1,000 feet) above sea level. The grapes are picked at moderate ripeness (with care to avoid over-ripeness, in other words, in this hot climate) around mid-October; fermentation is carried out with indigenous yeasts, and maceration with the skins lasts for about 3 weeks. After fermentation the wine is aged on the lees in the tank for a further 2 weeks, then racked and aged in a tank for 18 months. 

Nero d’Avola is the best-known Sicilian red wine grape when bottled on its own, but for my money, this blend is better. The Frappato lightens and lifts the meatiness of the Nero d’Avola, giving it juicier aromas and flavors and making it MORE DELICIOUS. See note above about temperature; stick the bottle in the fridge for 30 minutes for best results. Drink with red meats or more substantial pasta dishes. I bet this will age well, but I doubt I’ll have any left to find out.

97 Points!  A seductive Margaux with an intense nose of black fruit and red plums. Some herb and wood notes, too. It’s full-bodied with pretty, pure-berry flavors with some crushed stones and cement. The texture is silky and fine-grained and the tannins melt into the wine. Precise, flavorful finish with length. Try after 2024. - James Suckling, jamessuckling.com

Eden Mill, located in Guardbridge near the historic town of St Andrews in Scotland, presents their 2024 edition of the Art of St Andrews series—an annual release that pairs craft whisky-making with local artistry. This edition is matured in Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez sherry casks, finished in first-fill Amarone wine casks from Italy’s Veneto region, and bottled at 46.5% ABV.

Tasting Note:
In the glass it shows a rich copper hue. The nose opens with mulled wine aromas, vivid red fruits, and gentle clove spice, followed by hints of cherry bakewell tart and rum-and-raisin ice cream. On the palate red fruits give way to dark fruits such as blackberry compote and fig jam with a whisper of cracked black pepper. The finish lingers, offering glazed cinnamon bun and glacé cherries with sweet-spicy depth.

97 Points! Decadent aromas of mango, pineapple, orange peel and quince rustle over the sublime smoky wood character. Ripe and rounded with a mesmerising salve of acidity and a lengthy mouth-watering finish. Brimming with style and finesse. - Decanter World Wine Awards

Davorin Kuchan has been distilling spirits since his early days as a winemaker and eau-de-vie expert back in Croatia. When he established Old World Spirits here on the San Francisco Peninsula (right outside of Belmont), he brought with him the traditions and expertise of old world production methods and used them to formulate West Coast versions of his original spirits. Using a unique finishing process (including granite and active charcoal sedimentation) and an ultra-slow, subsonic, continuous, multi-stage filtering process, Davorin has created a California version of his old St. Blaise vodka; a tribute to the patron saint of Croatia. Based off his eau-de-vie and grappa filtration methods, the idea is to polish and soften the spirit without striping the inherent character. The vodka is proofed with soft California Sierra spring water. The final product is soft, supple, and slightly creamy in texture with accents of sweet fruit in the background. It's one of the most pure and elegant vodkas we've ever tasted.