Well....

Thought I would do a little QPR tasting tonight, and as always I end up being more "let down" than "let up"! QPR's are a tough thing to find IMO....

2/3 were very disappointing, but one of them, via suggestions from this Forum, was FANTASTIC!!! One of my favorite local wine stores here in No. Cal. "Weimax", has a great selection, but it never fails that when I take their recommendation on a wine I'm majorly disappointed. I guess we have totally different ideas of what good wine is all about, and although it has hurt my pocketbook from time to time....to each his/her own!

Here goes:

Hop Kiln '00 Marty Griffin's Big Red ($7.99) - one of their recommendations......84 pts. IMHO.

Masi Campofiorin Rosso del Veronese ($9.99) - another one of their suggestions.....80 pts. IMHO.

'00 Falesco Umbria Merlot ($15) - AWESOME wine!! Very deep dark rich colors and flavors. Wonderfully integrated tannins, and almost port like in flavor. Chocolaty, smooth, rich, dark blackberry......THIS is what I LOVE about wine!!! I would Highly recommend this wine...especially for the price. Definitely more refined and eloquent than the Vittiano Umbria and worth the few extra bucks. (Not that it blows away the Vittiano. It too is fantastic!) I'd give it 92-93 pts.!!!!! Great wine!

-DRAB

Agree with you on the Falesco.
It throws a bit of sediment, so maybe they are not doing a lot of filtering.
The leftover tastes a lot smoother the next day.
I have stocked up on this one to use in large family reunions.

Hey Gusbo!

I'm anxious for the wine crawl when you come to visit. I've been in touch with Tlily, and it looks like we may be shooting for Monday now. I'm going to be tied up with plans on Sat. Thought I could get out of them, but nope! We can confirm with him in the next couple of days, but he emailed me today and said that Monday might be bettern now for him as well. Keep in touch, and looking forward to meeting you!

-Dr. Drab

Great!
Monday is just fine, like I said I'll just hop on.
BTW have you tried any of the higher end Falesco's.
If the Merlot is any indication I would sure like to try some of the others.
Salud!!!

Hey Gusbo....

Totally agree.......After having the Merlot the other night, I would love to try the Montiano! What a phenomenal QPR winery! Still waiting for confirmation from Tlily for Mon. But, I'm pretty sure it's a go. See you then!!!

-DRAB

DRAB,

If you can find the '96 Campofiorin, give it a shot. It's a little more robust than the '97, and is a better overall wine. I'd give it an 86) (keep in mind that I gave the '97 an 83). Stay away from the '98 though ... it was a little light.

If you see the Montiano, definitely try it. It is one of my favorite Italian reds in the mid $30s range. Salud!!!

IW

Falesco wines are mystery wines for me. I like them but it always bothered me WS and WA rate them so differently. For example, Vitiano 2000 is reated 84 by WS and 91 by WA, and 1999, 79 by WS and 90 by WA. Merlot 2000, 85 by WS and 90 by WA. Why so different? To WS, it is only good to very good at the very best. To WA, outstanding all the way! I am with WA on these guys, even though I think it is little bit overrated by WA.

What is your thoughts?

I thought I would bump this up. Just bought a bottle of the '00 Falesco Merlot Umbria. ($14.99). Does this wine drink well on its own, or does it need food?

IW

Lots of fruit, but acidity is quite high. I prefer it with food, inc. pastas with tomato-based sauces.

BTW, '97 Campofiorin back label states it can be cellared for 10 yrs. Maybe, but not with any hope of improvement. I think this wine is just slightly past its peak now; will finish last couple of bottles in next few weeks and will try to remember to post update here.

i'm rebumping, mainly for the 00 falesco umbria merlot. this was my vino of choice for two nites this week. snatched for $14, for that cabbage, it's a sweet QPR. i think RP is a bit high with 90 points, but WS is similarly low at 85.

rtist: the acidity has calmed a bit, albeit still present. what a beautiful colour, certainly not your typical CA merlot. brighter bigger red, with similar bigger nose, hinting at berry, with chocolate arriving second. this calmed in the glass a bit after some aeration, and was drinkable on its own. i preferred actually to the other merlot i drank, the 98 st. francis. i'm buying more if i can find it.

I agree completely on the 2000 Falesco Merlot Umbria. Fanntastic wine tat is incredibly well balanced with lots of nice very clean fruit. I've had several of my 7-10 or so bottles and will not hesitate to buy more if available (A place called World Market here in Virginia - affiliated with Cost Plus I think [for those of you in Cali who may be familiar]) often has trhis wine on sale for $12-13 bottle - an absolute steal! Its one of those wines that I often buy and give out as a gift or a tip or such - coincidentally just gave a bottle to a guy putting in a new furnace in my house yesterday...

To me the Montiano is just a bigger and bolder version. Darker, more body (a bit), more power. and definatly somewhat more tannic (not unpleasently so)...a wine more suited for aging. I have several 99s and 2000s but alas couldn't hold off on my (few) 97s and 9s that I once had....

In general I feel that Parker's ratings have been in the ballpark for these wines (for the last several vintages) - a tad high perhaps - but much closer then Spectator...

The Falesco Merlot is so much better than the 99 Souverain at the same price point. I realize that it is two different WS critics. Suckling likes more red fruit & acidity than dark fruit & oak. But the Falesco does NOT have the green, unripe flavors of the Souverain. I'm not thrilled with Vitiano & agree with DRAB to spend a few dollars more. With all the crappy Merlots out there, I think it is one of the great values.

Another vote for the 2000 Falesco Merlot Umbria.

Fantastic stuff for the price (found it for $12.99). My new "go to" house red....think I'll have some tonight!

I've had this a couple of times -- one bottle was better than the other. But the better bottle was fantastic!

Forgot to add...the wine guy at the store where I bought this says the 2001 is even better...and they seem to have plenty of the 2000 on the shelves.

(sorry for the double post)

do you guys find the falesco merlot to be pretty consistent year to year? i've only had the 2000, and based on that, i'm hoping to restock my merlots with this. ronmc2, i agree, the souverain leaves a bit to be desired. i'll be certain to look for the 2001 as well, hopefully i can find some more 2000 and do a side by side.

Frankie - I would say so - but I have not had the 2001 yet. I recently (last week) opened a '99 Pine Ridge Carnerous Merlot right after drinking a 2000 Falesco Merlot. The Pine Ridge was darker, a little richer, more body and certainly more tannic wine (though not at all overwhelming) - and it required a bit more time in caraf to open up...but I preferred the Falesco - for its balance, good fruit (not hidden by Oak/tannins). Actually both were very nice IMO...but one must consider that at $12-13 the Falsco is almsot half the price....