The Gourmez

Ipsus Passito di Pantelleria Dessert Wine Marsala, Italy This dessert wine is made with Muscat grapes, which are often used to produce sweet wines and fortified wines. Its color is light amber with rose tinges, and its nose is nectarine with subtle floral qualities including that rose again. It tastes wonderful. Certainly sweet, as expected [...]

St. Somewhere Petit Verdot 2010 Paso Robles, CA I was recently introduced to the petit verdot varietal at the Virginia wine tasting I attended at the Angus Barn in June. I was impressed with its versatility in those VA blends, but mostly, I enjoyed finding a petit varietal that wasn’t too tart for my palate. [...]

Martine Galhoune Moulin 2010 Pinot Noir France Nectarine. The nose of this wine is full of nectarine. It’s thin-bodied, fun to drink, and a welcome shift from the overly dry wines I’ve had lately. I’d call this one medium dry. It has vanilla, spice, nectarine, chocolate, and cherry all balanced well together. The MGM 2010 [...]

Placido Chianti 2008 Tuscany, Italy This chianti tastes pungent, and not in a good way. Unripened blackberries, nectarines, apples, mild chocolate, and herbs—dried thyme, mostly—are the notes I taste. Those don’t make for a great combination. I’m not spitting it out, but it’s not really worth drinking, either.