2006 Ravenswood Petit Sirah

Last week I received my copy of Esquin's monthly newsletter, and I highlighted several tempting bargains. After work tonight, Jenny and I drove down and picked up a case from my selections.

This bottle is a bit of a dud. It has a toasty scent, and a strange initial flavor that Jenny describes as "stale." On the upside, once you get past the initial wave, I get a concentrated, almost syrupy cherry flavor, and a whiff of vanilla as if it were aged in oak (I've googled a bit and can neither confirm nor refute this suspicion).

I can't recall the price, though it was under $10. I wouldn't buy it again.

Tenuta Ponte - 2007 Coda Di Volpe

This wine is all over the place. I've seen it in restaurants, grocery stores, and at McCarthy and Schiering (though not for a while). Coda Di Volpe is an obscure varietal (the Wine Lover's Companion is silent) of ancient origins commonly grown in Campania. This bottle hails from Irpina, just a few miles from Napoli.

The wine has good body, with full fruit flavor and honey that reminds me of good Viogner, if somewhat less intense. It runs about $12, and is a reasonable buy at that price, but not a steal.

2004 Lan Rioja

A great bargain at $11 from McCarthy and Schiering. Totally delicious with a gentle perfumey vanilla scent from oak aging. I wrote about this wine in the pre-blog days, but I haven't seen it for a while. I'm going to order a case before it disappears again.

Verdier and Logel - 2006 Cotes du Forez

This stuff is crazy. It's got an intensely herbal nose, and a smoky flavor. The scent combined with the somewhat dusty tannins made me think it was Cabernet Franc, but it's 100% Gamay. I have another bottle by the same maker; I plan to drink it in the next couple days, and I'll report my fingings here.

Cotes du Forez is apparently a little known French appelation. None of my books mention it, but the French wikipedia has an article. If only I could read French.

$13 from McCarthy and Schiering. I liked it, it's worth buying just for the experience.