The Wines of February 2022

Welcome back - another month of interesting wines for you. Hope you enjoy them.

2018 Graffito Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina

Deep violet color that evokes its name. Ethereal rose petal incense and spicy perfume with a bass note of smoky earth and espresso. Juicy and medium-bodied with red currant and black pepper on the palate. Finishes with smooth, lush tannins, ripe acidity and good length.

JS92James Suckling

Attractive purple flowers and blueberries intermingle with cassis on the nose. The palate has a fresh and lithe, juicy feel that carries very fresh, even and long into the soft, approachable finish.

I haven’t had much malbec latelt, but this was a tasty bottle. It had nice fruit upfroint, sufficient acid for food and a pleasant finish. Something to drink now, not later, but overall very nice. I scored it for under $15.

2018 Lechuza Garnacha, Castillo, Spain

Wine industry veterans Baron Ziegler, Noah Dorrance, and Steve Graf are the guiding spirits behind the importing project titled Valkyrie Selections. Lechuza is their custom blending project, made from 90-year-old vines in the Carinena region of Spain. Done entirely in stainless steel, the wine has expressive aromas of black and blue fruit and violets with a peppery nuance; on the palate it is round and soft, with concentrated blueberry and cassis flavors and a touch of bitter chocolate.

This one was different from other Old-vine garnacha since it didn’t see any oak.  Nice red fruits balanced with a touch of acidity – went well with meals. Not much of a finish, but it was a good wine for $10. Cool label, too

2018 Los Frailes Monastrell Garnacha, Valencia, Spain

A 90 point organic wine! The nose shows good intensity and certain elegance a mixture of red berries, some fennel, Mediterranean herbs and spices. The palate is medium-bodied, with very fine tannins, clean, delineated flavors and good freshness.

"The red-blend 2018 Monastrell-Garnacha has Monastrell and Garnacha Tintorera, which explains the dark, almost opaque color, the juicy and full-bodied palate and the good freshness. It's juicy and tasty with an herbal twist in the finish."

This is a deeper wine, between the Monastrell and the dark Alicante Bouchet. Good body, enough backbone to match a meal and a pleasant finish. Well worth the money, organic and all, being under $15.

2018 Bodegas Las Campanas  111 Red Blend, Navarra, Spain

 

Plum and olive aromas are reduced at first but open with airing. This red is full in feel, with intense grab and strength to the palate. Flavors of game, berry and plum finish dark and spicy. Ripeness and fruit are paramount on this Navarran red.  RATING90

This wine is 85% Cabernet and 15% Garnacha – a really nice combination. It is a full feel with cabernet – red and black fruits, and the Grenache adds some spice and herb flavors. Did very well with meals.  Another great buy, being around $15 – 16.

2018 Raul Perez ‘Ultreia’ Saint Jacques, Bierzo Spain

Varieties: Mostly Mencía with Bastardo (Trousseau), Garnacha Tintorera (Alicante Bouschet)

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The truly impressive 2018 Ultreia Saint Jacques transcends its price category. They destemmed more grapes because they fermented it in the oak vats they bought from Vega Sicilia to use in the new winery, where it macerated for two months and then matured in used barrels for nine to 10 months. The secret is to use very good grapes from very good vineyards. The wine is clean, precise and fresh, and the oak is super-subtle, almost unnoticeable. The palate reflects a fluid wine of pleasure, a red of thirst. This is the wine where they have invested more, and 2018 has to be the finest vintage to date. It was bottled in October/November 2019. Rating: 93+

W&S90Wine & Spirits

Fermented in whole bunches in open-top oak vats, this ages in a mix of foudres, barriques and cement. It starts off green, then develops some plummy notes to fill out its silken texture and gamey scents.

This was a very pleasant wine – I wasn’t sure what to expect. It felt heavier than expected with dark red fruits and some herbaceous notes. Nice moderate finish, not really tannic.  Matched meals very well – and who doesn’t like saying “Bastardo”!  Price point is around $20-25.

2018 Chateau Marjosse, Bordeaux, France

Beautiful bright and intense purple color with purple hues. The nose expresses candied, cherry and ripe fruit with grilled and elegant woody notes. The palate, supple and round on the attack, reveals a pretty fruity flesh with good tannins, round and tasty, which persist pleasantly in the finish.

RP92Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2018 Marjosse is made up of 80% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc with a splash of old Malbec. Big old barrels were used for 25% of the crop. Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, it opens with a compelling nose of baking spices, raspberry pie, warm red and black currants, rose hip tea and fragrant earth with a waft of wild sage. Medium-bodied, the palate is filled with fragrant red and black fruit, framed by great freshness and soft, supple tannins, finishing on a floral note.

Really lovely Bordeaux – medium bodied with red fruits and hints of herbs. Moderate finish, a little tannins, but not overpowering. Great balance, good acidity – it matched with food very well.  Great bottle for a price of $25 – worth cellaring some for a couple years.

2019 Sao Miguel Escolha dos Enologos, Alentejano, Portugal

89 pts Robert Parker - Ruby color with violet reflections. Complex aroma of ripe red fruit, white flowers and spices well integrated with notes of vanilla. Palate round, rich and voluminous. Balanced acidity and fine tannins. Long and complex in the after taste.

Mechanical harvest during the night. Total destemming. Cold maceration pre fermentative for 48 hours. Fermentation with controlled temperature (22-28 ° C) in stainless steel vats. post-maceration for 5 to 10 days. malolactic fermentation in stainless steel tanks with French oak staves. Stage for 9 months in French and American oak barrels of 400 L.

Grape Varieties:               Alicante Bouschet,Touriga Franca,Touriga Nacional

Tasting Notes:   Ruby color with violet reflections. Complex aroma of ripe red fruit, white flowers and spices well integrated with notes of vanilla. Palate round, rich and voluminous. Balanced acidity and fine tannins. Long and complex in the after taste.

This wine was pretty heavy on the palate. It had a lasting mouthfeel with dark red fruits and some herbs. A wine that was better with food, almost overpowering on its own. Moderate aftertaste with obvious tannins; could use a year or two of cellaring to open up the wine more.  Priced nice at $20 – 25.

Another month (a short one with some wild weather) has flown by us. Stay well, keep popping those corks and I’ll meet you out behind the grapevines