The Vino Underground

337 Cabernet Sauvignon Lodi 2007

2010-11-10T20:14:00.001-05:00

Notes of dark Berry jam and spice on the nose. Very typical for a Cabernet at this price point.

Taste came with same experience. Not a complex Cabernet and very balanced. Perhaps a bit young.

$11 at the NH state stores

85 points.

Eolo Tannat Gran Reserva 2004

2010-11-08T11:32:00.001-05:00

Very interesting experience. Second uraguay tannat we have had.

Grape fruit roll up meets grape nerds meets grape wacky taffy on the nose. But not in the fake candy way. Very attractive nose

Taste was delicious and confusing at the same time. Kind of schizophrenic but in a I want another sip sort of thing. Taste came with a black cherry grape koolaid mix with a bit of backend spice

86 points

Château Momtlum 2009

2010-11-04T14:32:00.001-04:00

The Lebanon NH state store advertised this bottle as a "Bordeaux for tonight "

Very young and a bit thin. But for $9 not at all a bad bargain. Typical nose of oak and sour cherries. Not too much oak though. Very drinkable with a smooth finish. Certainly not a bottle for cellaring. I have had much worse Bordeaux at this price point

85+ points

Schmitt Sohne Reisling 2009

2010-11-02T19:41:00.001-04:00

Tasty. Sweet apples on the nose. A little frizzante out of the bottle. Apples on the nose.

Taste comes with balanced level of sweetness with sour green apples on the pallete. Sustained finish. A no brainer at $10.

87 points

Casillero del Diablo Carmenere 2008

2010-11-02T13:18:00.001-04:00

Our favorite bottle of wine overall based on value and quality.

This is our goto bottle. We have it at least once a week.

The nose is dark and spicy with a hint of red cherries and an obvious punch of sour green peppers.

This wine is the epitome of darkness

The taste is smooth and very drinkable. Noted of black pepper sour green peppers and sour cherries.

We love it.

For $8 a bottle it is our best value play.

Terazzo Prosecco

2010-11-01T19:14:00.001-04:00

Delicious. We are big prosecco fans. This Terazzo comes with great bubbles and tasty apples and pears in the nose.

Taste comes with great forward fruit of green apples and pears with a nice back end acidity to be very food friendly.

90 points

Mac Murray Central Coast Pinot Noir 2008

2010-11-01T10:44:00.002-04:00

Great fruit on the nose right out of the bottle.

Nose came with typical pinot notes of spice.

Taste was very fruit foward with great red Berry notes with a spicy finish. Perhaps still a bit young

$15 at NH state store

89 points

Berringer Knights valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

2010-10-31T10:30:00.001-04:00

horribly disjointed out if the bottle. like a $10 Bordeaux. very thin.

barnyard on the nose.

evolved into a more typical napa Cabernet experience but not worth the $24 price tag.

85 points.

Chateau Cote Montpezat 2000

2010-06-15T14:51:00.003-04:00

I want more. Second favorite bottle of wine of all time. The Nose is tied for first.

My wife and I just celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. I bought this sometime last year to open for the special day. It was so so so good. It was extremely youthful. It was like opening up a 2005 bordeaux, but much, much better.

Bought this at winelibrary.com for under $19 based on Gary's great reviews.

The nose alone was worth the price of admission. Creamy red berries meets a bit of spice and eucalyptus. The nose was simply incredible. It was great right out of the bottle. We decanted for about an hour, and saved the rest for the next day. On the second day, this bottle didn't lose anything. May have even been a bit better, but very similar experience to the first day.

The taste was youthful and still had firm, but not overpowering tannins. Absolutely delicious. Taste came with creamy black cherries, bit of spice and long delicious black cherry finish. Almost like cherry cola, but not as in your face as some wines can be. I want more, but am afraid we will not find more.

Rating: 94+

Souverain Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

2010-06-04T14:34:00.003-04:00

Purchased on sale for $14.99 at the NH stores.

Being that this was a 2004 I thought it would have been more good to go than it was.

The high tannin level made it very disjointed. It had all the pieces to being a quality Cabernet, but they were all over the place like a mismatched puzzle.

Give this bottle some time. I may buy another one, however, at $20 a bottle typically, I am not rushing out to buy it again.

Rating: 85

La Roquete Chateauneuf du Pape 2005

2010-06-02T14:18:00.004-04:00

At less than $30, this was a great bargain. Shared this with family in Virginia.

Great dark cherry meets spice on the nose.

Taste was well structured and very well balanced. This bottle could probably benefit from a couple more years of cellaring, but it was pretty good to go already. This wine is just delicious. Eat with a hardy pork, filet mignon, or just enjoy on it's own. Tannins are firm, but no where near overpowering.

I love southern rhone wines, and with chateauneuf du pape (castle of the pope) dishing out some of their most pricey options, I don't usually get to enjoy them. I got a few as gifts, and love knowing they are in the cellar.

Points: 93

William Hill Napa Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

2010-06-02T14:11:00.004-04:00

I have tasted two of these bottles in the last couple of weeks. The NH stores were having a crazy coupon steal on them. $14.99 a bottle. Typically retails for at least $26/bottle. I wanted to make sure I could put a bottle or two away for a bit.

This bottle did not disappoint. Classic quality and very drinkable napa cabernet for the price-point. An absolute steal at less than 15 bucks.

Nose is creamy blueberry, meets strawberry with a hint of spice. Great nose.

Taste comes with same flavors and holds on for a bit. The mouth feel was silky but meaty all at the same time. Chewy even. Great tannins and could be helped by being put away for at least 2 years.

Points: 92

Newport Vidal Blanc 2007

2010-06-02T14:05:00.005-04:00

Julie and I bought this last June on our 9 year anniversary trip to Newport and Providence Rhode Island. This bottle was a great surprise. Vidal Blanc is a varietal that is typically used for ice wine.

The nose on this wine was floral with a strong melon component. Taste had some nice forward and finishing acidity with a delicious sweetness all the way through.

Have with a nice roasted pork or a great light dessert.

Points: 90

Vintner's Cellar Pierce Manse NonVintage

2010-04-14T15:48:00.003-04:00

We bought this in early December of 2009 at Vintners Cellar in Concord New Hampshire. It is a kind of do it yourself winery that bottles its own blends and wines. They buy the juice from elsewhere (probably Cali) This bottle sold for $14.

I did not like it at all. The woman at the winery said that this was a blend of syrah, grenache and mouvedre. In other words I thought I was getting a southern rhone blend made in New Hampshire. I will try almost any wine once.

The nose had a lot of heat and was very boozy. Way too much alcohol dominating the nose.

When tasting the wine, if you had your eyes shut, you would swear you were tasting a completely different wine you just smelled. The taste of the wine almost fools you into liking it because you already expected the worse after smelling it. Forward taste, mid palette and finish was like drinking liquid grape jelly right from the jar. Because of this weird, not really good enough semi-delicious factor, a lot of people may like it. Having said that, it takes like fake wine. I am not sure if Vitners Cellars is taking their duties as wine makers seriously or if it is just a novelty to be selling made made at a store on a busy street in Concord, NH.

Rating: 60 (my worse ever, and only that high because of the anticipation I had waiting to taste a wine made in New Hampshire)

Chasing Lions 2006 - 91

2010-02-22T16:41:00.004-05:00

A Napa Valley Bordeaux Style Blend. 55% Merlot
25% Cabernet Sauvignon
10% Cabernet Franc
7% Syrah
3% Petit Verdot

For $12.99 this wine is steal. I am going to get another bottle and put it away for at least a year. The tasting notes at the West Lebaon NH State Store said that it was good to go now. I agree that it surprisingly drinkable for a young wine, however, the front end tannins could certainty use some mellowing. Another year or two of waiting would reward you greatly.

This wine is very Bordeaux on approach with forward cedar and black creamy cherries on the nose with a sweet backend of licorice.

The taste came a with a bit of hotness that will mellow out over time. Great black cherry and creamy vanilla taste all transitioning into a very smooth almost cherry cola meets chocolate finish.

Rating: 91

Melini Chianti Classico Reserve 1988 - 90+

2010-02-20T09:28:00.004-05:00

This was a treat. Thus far, during my short, yet varied wine journey, this is the oldest wine that I have ever had the pleasure of tasting.

I my thank my sister and her father-in-law for giving us this opportunity. Her father-in-law has a bunch of wines that have been untouched and sitting in his wine rack for years.

This wine was youthful on approach and still had a lot of life to it. The most I could find is that this bottle would be around $40 today. At 22 years of age, it still had a clear rim and didn't have any flavor profiles that typically come along with an older wine.

This chianti was typical of chianti and of the sangiovese grape that it comprises. I admit, I am not a big fan of sangiovese, however, the experience alone of trying a 22 year old bottle of wine made this worth it.

A bit forward oak, spicy cherries with a finish of black licorice and spice.

Nose was a bit challenging to get a hold of. It did open up quite a bit after a while, however, many of us were tasting and drinking it, so it did not last that long.

Rating: 90+

Simi Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

2010-01-20T10:01:00.001-05:00

A classic quality Sonoma Cabernet.

Simi is a big Sonama producer. This bottle typically retails for $20/bottle but I bought this on sale for $17.

Forward creamy black cherries with a mid richness and finish of cherry cola and spicy creamy cherries that only a California Cabernet in the $16+ range can bring to the table.

Rating:90

Monticello Barbera D'Alba 2008

2010-01-20T10:00:00.001-05:00

I have purchased this bottle for myself and for friends and family a number of times. I have only seen this at the Wine Emporium in Shelton, Ct. For $7.99, this bottle, and the quality it offers at this price point is pretty hard to be beat.

Unfortunately, the last time we were in Shelton, Ct, the bin that held this bottle of wine was empty.

I love Barbera for its rustic, almost unrefined qualities. This is a true peasant wine to go along with any rich Italian meal. I consider this particular wine to be a perfect dinner mate to pizza or a nice cheesy pasta meal. Although, I consider this bottle at its best when paired with food, I love drinking it on its own too.

Nose is forward black cherry and spice. Almost mouvedre on the nose. Taste comes with forward black cherries, an almost spicy plum component and a finish of cherry cola and spice.

Rating: 89

Cape d'Estaing Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

2010-01-20T09:58:00.002-05:00

The best tasting wine I have had in my entire life. Very bordeaux like on approach.

I have purchased two of these bottles. Sells for $29.95 from the winelibrary.com.

Rating: 95

Raddese Vignavecchia Sangiovese 2001

2009-10-27T10:03:00.004-04:00

nice to have something a bit older.

nice sangiovese, with a bit too much oak on the forward taste for me. it subsided though after it had some time to breathe. the wine library has been selling this bottle and this particular vintage for a while now. I admit, I am not a big fan of sangiovese and consider it be lost if not paired with a worth enough food. This would go great with pizza or a nice bowl of past. Caveteli would be great, or enough nice heavy gnocchi.

would pick something else for $20 next time.

87

Alandra Alentejo Portugal Red

2009-10-21T19:32:00.001-04:00

$5 from winelibrary.com. Very cheap. Better than a barefoot, but comes with that same fake grape wacky taffy taste.

I love wine from portugal, but going to have stay away from this one.

Rating: 76

Tittarelli Malbec Bonarda Blend 2005

2009-10-15T19:16:00.002-04:00

Need to have more Bonarda.

This was an interesting, but pleasant experience. We received this our monthly order from the Wine Cellars Monthly Wine club.

Nose: Very in your face and perhaps a bit off putting for some. Comes with an immediate strong spice meets black cherries, meets dark plums all joining with the typical nose of a malbec. The nose was a roller coaster that quite frankly was intriguing and eventually pleasant.

Taste: The nose comes along with the taste joined by some sour cherries and a bitter finish that lacks refinement but is welcomed do to its unique experience.

It's been a while since a wine has seemingly baffled me with at the same time was familiar.

Rating: 88+

Diseno Malbec 2006

2009-10-15T19:14:00.004-04:00

Classic Malbec. Very typical of most average Malbec. $11.99 from Claremont Market Basket.

I would get it again.

Rating: 88

Tilia Malbec 2007

2009-10-15T19:14:00.003-04:00

One of the best Malbecs we have had. A great ambassador for classic malbec.

$9.99 at the Market Basket in Claremont, NH.

Nose: Came with forward plum, nutty black fruit, finishing with sharp spice and black cherries.

Taste: Great forward spicy plum and black cherries with nutty spice finish and a spicy black cherry finish.

Rating: 91

Frontera Carmenere 2008

2009-10-15T19:13:00.003-04:00

If you like Carmenere, buy a case of this.

Bought on winelibrary.com for $4.39/bottle.

This a classic, inexpensive bottle of carmenere that is more drinkable than many $10 random purchases that I make.

dirt and sour green peppers on the nose

same scents mold into the taste with a nice spicy sour green peppers meets dirt in your mouth finish. Of course not as complex as some carmeneres, but for less then $5, you can't go wrong here.

Rating: 87+