Saturday, December 30, 2017

Cumulative List of Wines Posted, Circa 2017



Running list of wines posted here, in what is basically a re-post of the Table Of Contents for this blog, now current through 2017. I don’t typically provide a lot of commentary in this end of the year post, but I did a somewhat uneven job posting for this blog overall this year, partly because I was running out of wines and didn’t want to have a huge gap before the end of the year. That problem has been erased, at least for now, and the HSC wine train is more or less back in full swing, though I’m still perilously close enough to the end that the posting schedule still won’t be much more regular than monthly. Of note, this is the 4th year I’ve been doing this, which is somewhat startling to me.

As usual, there is no weighting here, so this is chronological order only.

01) Martini & Rossi Asti
02) Navarro Correas Colección Privada [Malbec]
03) Concannon Crimson & Clover [Blend]
04) Fat Bastard Chardonnay
05) Penfold Koonunga Hill Shiraz-Cabernet
06) Bouchard Chardonnay
07) Colosi Sicilia Rosso [Nero d'Avola]
08) Terredora DiPaolo Aglianico
09) Marqués de Cáceres Crianza Rioja [Blend]
10) A By Acacia Pinot Noir
11) Dark Horse Big Red Blend
12) Columbia Crest Grand Estate Merlot
13) Apothic Red [Blend]
14) Penfold Koonunga Hill Shiraz
15) Sean Minor Pinot Noir Carneros
16) Castello Del Poggio Moscato
17) Atrea Old Soul Red [Blend]
18) Meiomi Pinot Noir
19) Montebuena Rioja [Tempranillo]
20) Sean Minor Cabernet Sauvignon
21) Peralillo Arenal Carmenere
22) Zantho St. Laurent
23) Clean Slate Riesling
24) Gloria Reynolds Tinto Real [Blend]
25) Prunotto Fiulot Barbera D’Asti
26) Menage A Trois [Blend]
27) Fantini Farnese Montepulciano D'Abruzzo
28) Rosenblum Vintner’s Cuvée XXXVI [Zinfandel]
29) Sean Minor Sauvignon Blanc
30) Michael David Sixth Sense Syrah
31) Borja Borsao Tinto Seleccion [Garnacha]
32) 19 Crimes [Blend]
33) Fat Bastard Cabernet Sauvignon
34) Tait Ball-Buster [Blend]
35) Bouchard Pinot Noir
36) Francis Ford Coppola Claret [Blend]
37) Chaucer's Mead
38) Bogle Essential Red [Blend]
39) Terra-Bossa Shiraz
40) Juan Gil 12 Meses [Monastrell]
41) Terra del Nero d'Avola
42) Waterbrook Melange Red 
43) E. Guigal Côtes du Rhône Rouge [Blend]
44) Château Damase Bordeaux Supérieur [Merlot]
45) Château Tour d'Auron Bordeaux Supérieur [Blend]
46) Delas Côtes du Rhône Saint-Esprit [Blend]
47) Carnivor Cabernet Sauvignon
48) Chateau Giscours Petite Sirene [Blend]
49) Château Recougne Bordeaux Supérieur [Blend]
50) Menage A Trois Midnight [Blend]
51) Toasted Head Untamed Red [Blend]
52) Alexander Valley Sin Zin [Zinfandel]
53) Cupcake Black Forest [Blend]
54) Big Red Monster [Blend]
55) Menage A Trois Silk [Blend]
56) Ergo Rioja [Blend]
57) Pizzella Malbec 

Friday, December 1, 2017

Issue LVII: Pizzella Malbec Edition

Pizzella Malbec




Ahhh, after some time, quite some time, literally years after inception of the mighty HSC, Argentina has finally made its way of a 2nd entry into the picture and on the list. Now, lest you decide to accuse me of favoritism – and are you? I can’t say the charge wouldn’t be warranted at least somewhat – in the beginning, this was a mountain of wine, if a liquid could form a mountain, so let’s say a veritable flowing river of deep and heady red to begin to get the names that form this grand and glorious list. It was a delicious and fun undertaking and admittedly, I had high hopes for Argentina, after the glorious Navarro Correas, but none of the other wines panned out well enough. 

As to this one, it may sound dumb, but this is the kind of wine that one can sink one’s teeth into and I don’t mean it has meat overtones, but rather it is a full-bodied and rich drink. I caught several hints of flavors, from dark berry to a slight bit of leather to hints of dark chocolate and even a bit of floweriness. In fact, I strongly suspect this may take a few bottles (oh, the horror!) to really get a grasp on things, so possibly this may wind up being the first entry into the HSC I then have to go back and revise. The balance and harmony here are immense yet it still retains a nice degree of refinement and dare I say it (dare, dare!), more than a splash of elegance here.

As for now, it is relatively new to the shelves, so far too new for SPA and I haven’t experienced enough of its wealth of charm to get a full grasp, so not quite a Standard, but a Mixed…albeit a very strong mixed at that. Argentina definitely made its 2nd entry onto the list felt with a blast here.