Tasted these wines at the Oakville/Cornwall Rd store...

2001 BARON DE LEY GRAN RESERVA -- Lots of brett on the nose but most of it blows off a half hour or so later. Has a rich purple colour and ripe fruit aromatics, but is bone dry and astringent tasting. Palate is flat and fruit lean, and there's only tertiary flavours on the finish (very earthy). 84 pts? Pass for me.

2010 LE SERRE NUOVE DELL’ORNELLAIA -- Big disappointment. Green nose and palate (tobacco, stems). Is this a $10 red?! Could never place this as a Bolgheri wine. Nothing to suggest a tainted bottle. Not rated/pass.

2008 LA FORMICA AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA -- Very oxidized nose. Sour and very acidic finish. Technical problems? Horrible Amarone. Not rated.

Re the 2010 LE VIEUX DONJON CdP, has anyone tasted it? Overripe fruit and alcohol are always top-of-mind for me with CdP these days.

quote:

Originally posted by Darcy:
Tasted these wines at the Oakville/Cornwall Rd store...

2001 BARON DE LEY GRAN RESERVA -- Lots of brett on the nose but most of it blows off a half hour or so later. Has a rich purple colour and ripe fruit aromatics, but is bone dry and astringent tasting. Palate is flat and fruit lean, and there's only tertiary flavours on the finish (very earthy). 84 pts? Pass for me.

2010 LE SERRE NUOVE DELL’ORNELLAIA -- Big disappointment. Green nose and palate (tobacco, stems). Is this a $10 red?! Could never place this as a Bolgheri wine. Nothing to suggest a tainted bottle. Not rated/pass.

2008 LA FORMICA AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA -- Very oxidized nose. Sour and very acidic finish. Technical problems? Horrible Amarone. Not rated.

Re the 2010 LE VIEUX DONJON CdP, has anyone tasted it? Overripe fruit and alcohol are always top-of-mind for me with CdP these days.

I had the Baron de ley and liked it more than that for sure.....was 89pts at least

Never a huge fan of serre nuove.....

Has anyone tried the '04 ABBONA CERVIANO BAROLO or the '07 GIACOSA BASARIN VIGNA GIANMATÉ BARBARESCO?

TIA!

I completely agree with Darcy on the Baron de Lay. I decided instead to pick up a few bottles of the 2004 CVNE Vina Real from Classics to get my Rioja fix. Has anyone tried this yet?

I also tried the 2010 Vieux Donjon and found it quite enjoyable. I am very sensitive to high alc in wine but didn't find this to be a problem, at least not initially.

The Pocas Colheita 1994 is a terrific bottle of port for $28. Lively, balanced and long.

Re-tasted the 2010 LE SERRE NUOVE DELL’ORNELLAIA yesterday (at QQ). Tasted exactly the same as a bottle I tried in Oakville (my notes from QQ: Red pepper & plant stems on nose & palate. Fruit fades in 10-15 sec, leading to a chalky, tannic, abrasive finish. Poor. Pass). I don't know WTF Galloni was tasting when he gave it 91-93. He's got as much credibility with me as an 80s weatherman in a polyester suit. I've never claimed to be a tasting god, but really, this wine is 8+ points short of what he pegged it at, and a ringer for Ontario Meritage. $20 for this wine is $10 too much.

2007 RENATO RATTI MARCENASCO BAROLO -- Gorgeous nose of talc, musk and dried flowers -- but very oxidative already. The nose changed a whole lot over the 15 minutes I was at the tasting bar; clearly, not a sign of ageability given this is a baby of a wine. Spearmint, cherry sauce on the palate initially. Turns to ripe, stewed fruit on midpalate. Loads of cedar and stewed cherry on the finish. Tannins quite aggressive and will likely outlast the fruit. If you like an oxidized Barolo, then 90 pts, drink now/soon, with likes of tuna sashimi or tartare. Sanderson can keep all the bottles he likes through 2030.

2010 Vieux Donjon CdP -- Nose was precisely of mossy wood and fern (totally off-putting). Equally foul palate - like inhaling a Yankee Candle ("Cranberry Christmas Wreath" if they ever made one). WTF is going on here? Not rated/pass.

2006 CORTE PAVONE BdM -- Big popcorn/roasted nuts nose on top of solvent (linseed oil) aromatics. On palate, sweet fruit up front, but it fades fast. Finish is sour, acrid, chalky and metallic tasting. 84 points, maybe? "I'm definitely not 96 points on that." Pass.

2007 BERONIA RIOJA RESERVA 2007 -- Pleasant and authentic to style. Coconut, sandalwood, red cherry on nose. Replays on palate. Good length. Well balanced. A good Reserva (solid ~88 pts) and worth the $19. I grabbed a couple. And that's all I bought from this release.

The bottle I tried of the Vieux Donjon had to be off. Did anybody else taste it?

Thanks for the notes, Darcy. Your comment on the Le Serre Nuove is funny. "$20 for this wine is $10 too much." Considering the wine retails for $60, it's about $50 too much!

And I told you that you wouldn't like the Corte Pavone. Surprised you didn't get any barnyard on your bottle though.

Tried a bottle of the Beronia at the weekend and thought it was pretty decent also.

quote:

Originally posted by Darcy:
Re-tasted the 2010 LE SERRE NUOVE DELL’ORNELLAIA I don't know WTF Galloni was tasting when he gave it 91-93... this wine is 8+ points short of what he pegged it at, and a ringer for Ontario Meritage.

I would really hate to see this happen.

quote:

Originally posted by Darcy:
He's got as much credibility with me as an 80s weatherman in a polyester suit.

quote:

Originally posted by futronic:
Thanks for the notes, Darcy. Your comment on the Le Serre Nuove is funny. "$20 for this wine is $10 too much." Considering the wine retails for $60, it's about $50 too much!

And I told you that you wouldn't like the Corte Pavone. Surprised you didn't get any barnyard on your bottle though.

Tried a bottle of the Beronia at the weekend and thought it was pretty decent also.

The bottle of Corte Pavone I tasted didn't have any -- or maybe my nose stopped at the hydrocarbons. Definitely not enjoyable, and quite correct, I didn't like it. Beronia is decent. Nice QPR, will probably have it with a pasta/red sauce dish some time.

quote:

Originally posted by AML:

quote:

Originally posted by Darcy:
He's got as much credibility with me as an 80s weatherman in a polyester suit.

As I say to my work colleagues, I'm not an intrinsically funny guy. But I have my moments.

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Canada:

quote:

Originally posted by VinCentric:

quote:

Originally posted by theweb:

quote:

Originally posted by Stevey:
I'll play devil's advocate here. That is cono_sur's blog and as is the nature of blogs, it's a journal of one's opinion shared in public with others who have similar interest. He doesn't profess to be a wine critic like Beppi or Asper.

Back in the 90's when I switched from Finance to IT, I created a website about Toronto that was the equivalent to today's blogs. You make interesting connections but it took time and effort. Rather than just posting his views and opinions on a wine board like WS, cono_sur took the time to research and start a blog to share his passion. This is initiative and is commendable. This is social media. Choose to ignore rather than ridicule if it's not your fancy.

+1
If this were a high school forum we'd all be rounded up and arrested for bullying.

+2

Good point Dave and Ross....
Certainly made me think about it in a different way, thanks for bringing us back.

Thank you all. I really couldn't have said it any better, Stevey.

WEc - The reason I don't read or respond to posts all the time is that I am busy doing other things (day job, tastings, day-to-day stuff, sleep, etc...). It was always my intent be an active participant on WS (there is lots of great info and discussion on here), but lack of time prevents me from doing so. I hope you understand. It's 11:48 pm and I need to sleep. Goodnight!

quote:

Originally posted by cono_sur:
WEc - The reason I don't read or respond to posts all the time is that I am busy doing other things (day job, tastings, day-to-day stuff, sleep, etc...). It was always my intent be an active participant on WS (there is lots of great info and discussion on here), but lack of time prevents me from doing so. I hope you understand. It's 11:48 pm and I need to sleep. Goodnight!

Good for you!