The Wines of September 2022

Another month has flown by. Here are the wines I enjoyed this month

2019 Badia a Cultusboni RS Chianti Classico, Italy

Savory and enjoyable, this pretty red offers aromas of woodland berries, tilled earth and leather. On the tangy, easygoing palate, lithe tannins and fresh acidity accompany juicy Morello cherry, black plum and star anise. Drink through 2023

The 2019 Chianti Classico RS Cultusboni is deep, fleshy and super-expressive. Tobacco, cedar and dried autumn leaves give the 2019 lovely aromatic presence. Deceptive in its mid-weight feel, the 2019 is beautifully layered and resonant from start to finish. It is another impressive wine in this range from Badia a Coltibuono. The 2019 is positively stellar and one of the best wines I have tasted here in some time.

This is a highly rated Chianti Classico with good reason. Deep in flavor with nice acidty to make a great food wine. Priced around $15 (on sale) this is a great bottle to bring out for a variety of food.

2017 Tarima Hill Monastrell Old vines Alicante, Spain

Cherry color with a hint of intense ruby. In the nose mature fruit, raspberries, blueberries, spices, hints of balsamic and notes of flowers. Tasty in the mouth, balanced and full-bodied. Long finish.

90           Decanter

A beautiful bruiser with ripe black fruit, leather and spice notes, a lot of wine for the money. Full bodied with fruit to match the brawny structure.

Got this on close out at $13, this is a heady rich wine.  Well worth the price, it needs food to balance the heavy fruit flavors and touch of tannins. I really enjoy this grape.

2015 No Curfew Cabernet Sauvignon California

A powerhouse cabernet that is savory and fruit-focused. Approachable, youthful, yet integrated flavors of black cherry, plumb and blueberries work very well with this cabernet.

Another close out – at $6, this is a good “school-night” wine. Nothing outstanding but fairly well made, balanced, with few tannins. Good with your average spaghetti or pizza or meatloaf night dinner.

2021 Carol Shelton Rendezvous Rose, Mendocino, CA

A red-ruby color, fresh red-fruit flavors and a sense of bursting ripeness combine with a crisp sensation for great charm and drinkability in this medium-bodied wine. Made from organically grown Zinfandel and Carignan.  RATING89

Cold maceration for two days on skins to winemakers discretion, then 50% of juice was drained (bled off), cold settled and cold fermented

CELLAR STORAGE/AGING:  100% stainless steel

When a rose looks almost like a pinot noir, you know you have a special wine. Good body and fruit flavors, this goes with a lot of foods. Priced in the $20 range, well worth trying and surprising your friends.

2020 Pasqua ‘Desire Lush and Zin’ Primitivo, Puglia, Italy

On the nose the wine brings a mixture of overripe and dried black fruits in the foreground, followed by a very nuanced, spicy-oaky background and a subtle earthy layer in between the two. On the palate the wine delivers exuberant acidity, ripe tannins and an overwhelming touch of alcoholic warmth showing through on the mouthfeel, which leads to a quite seedy-crisp aftertaste. All in all, this is a fruit-forward, rich and extracted primitivo wine, that is made in a clear cut, new world style.

A fresh style of primitive, this wine is showing really well. Bright fruits with enough body to be a good food wine. Worried about Cali wines from 2020, try this one. Generally under $20.

2020 Ridge Dusi Ranch Zinfandel, Paso Robles, CA

In 1967 Ridge first bought Zinfandel from this vineyard, then farmed by Benito Dusi. Today, his nephew, Mike Dusi, continues to tend the old, dry-farmed vines. Picked at ideal ripeness, the 2020 is exceptionally well balanced in fruit, tannin, and acid. It is enjoyable as a young wine for its exuberant fruit and will continue to evolve over seven to eight years.

WW93Wilfred Wong of Wine.com

COMMENTARY: The 2020 Ridge Paso Robles Zinfandel is bright and lively. TASTING NOTES: This wine excels with aromas and flavors of bright strawberries and raspberries. Try it with grilled hanger steak.

As usual, Ridge excels with this grape. Good fruit with balance, some body to manage food, a nice bottle to enjoy with friends. Only about $35, at the lower end for this producer. BTW, this is all zinfandel, not the usual field blend. If you can't find 2020, try the 2021.

2019 Bedrock Wine ‘Pagani Ranch Heritage’ Red, Sonoma Valley, CA

 96 Points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous: "The 2019 Heritage Wine Pagani Ranch shows why this site is very obviously a California version of a grand cru. No matter the vintage, the personality of the vineyard comes through with tremendous eloquence. Bright red berry fruit, blood orange, rose petal, mint and cinnamon build in a creamy, stunningly beautiful wine that satisfies all the senses. Most observers place Pagani Ranch among the top three or four sites in Sonoma Valley, but it might very well be higher than that. The 2019 is stunning, that’s all there is to it. As always, the field blend is Zinfandel based, with bits of interplanted Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet, Grand Noir, Lenoir and Petit Bouschet." 01/21

An exceptional and hardy field blend. Bright fruit with undertones of spice, this is really a knock-out bottle of Zin. Could use a year or two of cellaring to loosen the edges. Tremendous and around $40 – enjoy it with a slab of steak.

Another month - hope all is well. Remember, keep popping those corks and I'll meet you out behind the grapevines.