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November 2003 Collector´s Club
1997 Tenuta Ponte Taurasi
Here´s something I´ve been wanting to introduce to the club for some
time. I fell in love with the Aglianico grape (from which this wine is made)
quite a few years ago through the wines of Aglianico del Vulture, and have been
looking for a good one ever since. The Aglianico grape is one of Italy´s
three "noble" grapes (the others being Nebbiolo and Sangiovese), and grows
best in the higher-altitude volcanic soil so readily found in the southern provinces.
This wine will work well with rich foods, and will even match with turkey -
something of a theme this month! It´s $19.75, and in somewhat short
supply.
2000 Patrick M. Paul Vineyards Columbia Valley Merlot
We´ve introduced a lot of Walla Walla wines into this club, mostly from new,
up-and-coming wineries. It´s a pleasant change to introduce one of the
earliest wineries in that region. These wines usually were only available off
their mailing list, and they´d run in excess of $40.00 - and sell out.
Times change. The winery is still doing well, but a recent experiment with a
distributor didn´t pan out to either the winery´s or the
distributor´s wishes. So we get the wine at a discount. Darn.
It´s $19.75, and there´s not much left at that price.
2002 Bergevin Lane Calico Red
This is the second blended red from these folks that we´ve put into the club,
with good reason. They´re consistently making fine wine at an affordable
price - in this case, $15.00. There´s a good supply just now.
I´d really recommend letting it breath (or decanting) to let this aromatic
wine have a chance to show itself at its best.
2002 Gerard Morin Sancerre
I have a feeling you´ll be seeing a lot of this Loire Valley vintage in the
club. Sancerre, Pouilly-Fume, and Vouvray all had fine years. This 100%
Sauvignon Blanc (as are all Sancerre blancs) is well suited to, guess what - turkey!
It´ll also go well with shellfish and cheeses. There´s a good
supply at $17.00.
2001 Pervini Archidamo Primitivo di Manduria
Another southern Italian wine, this one from Puglia on the Adriatic coast. The
grape, Primitivo, is genetically the same as California´s Zinfandel, both
having descended from a Croatian grape some time back. It´s a lively
wine, well-suited for a holiday party and, at $12.00, isn´t a budget-breaker.
There´s plenty around.
2003 Marquis Philips Holly´s Blend
Here´s a nice, dry white wine for your holiday fare. It´s $11.00,
and there´s plenty around. And yes, it has a screwcap. No chance of
getting a corked wine with this one!
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