2007 Marchesi di Barolo Barolo

Marchesi di Barolo has a long and rich history, including being the first estate in Italy to produce a red wine in a dry style. They are located in the small town named Barolo in the Piedmont region.

They are a large producer producing both Nebbiolo based Barolo and Barbaresco wines, together with some Barbera, Dolcetto, Roero, Arneis, Moscato etc. based wines (all typical grapes in Piedmont). The grapes are gathered from their more than 100 hectares of vineyards.

Personally I don't rank Marckesi di Barolo as one of the top producers in Piedmont, but they do make stellar wines.

Tasting note on the 2007 Marchesi di Barolo Barolo

The wine has a meaty nose with some underlying tar. Meaty body, with red fruit, floral notes and some underlying tar. The finnish lets loose some great sour cherries, acidity and the tar gets more concentrated. You get some 2007 ripe fruit, which is typical for the vintage, but it's balanced. 89 points

This is not a Barolo you need to cellar for decades. It showed well right out of the bottle and has soft tannins. It has the characteristics that i look for in a Barolo, but just in a basic way. To me, this is a good standard Barolo. Not mind blowing, but very enjoyable.

2009 Gonon Saint Joseph

Saint Joseph is a wine appellation within the Northern Rhone region of France. In terms of area covered by vines, the Saint Joseph appellation is the second largest appellation in Northern Rhone, Crozes-Hermitage being the largest. Saint Joseph primarily produce red wine based on the syrah grape, but according to the AOC laws there can be up to 10% white wine grapes in the blend (Roussanne and Marsanne).

Tasting note on the 2009 Gonon Saint Joseph

The colour is dark red, almost blue/purple  on the edges. The nose is a bit aromatically challenged.

The fruit is lean. The wine has a very nice acidity. Blueberries, black currants and sour cherries. There is also some of the typical Syrah pepper notes. Jammy fruit, but the fruit is still lean and fresh, thus keeping a nice balance.

Sour cherries on the finnish with a decent amount of tannins that are firm, but approachable. Some dirt and herbs there as well. Good length. 91 points

This is very good Syrah juice. It's primary, but it's deliciuos.

2001 Lopez de Heredia Rioja Vina Tondonia Reserva

Lopez de Heredia is one of the legendary producers from Rioja in Spain. They are known for their traditional Rioja wine making style. The winery has a total of 170 hectares of vineyards in Rioja, divided into 4 different vineyars; Tondonia, Cubillo, Bosconia and Gravonia. The largest and also the most famous is the Tondonia vineyard, The vineyard is 70 hectares.

The 2001 Vina Tondonia is from a legendary vintage in Rioja. After 2000, this is by far the best vintage. In my opinion the next best is the 2004. The 2001 wine consists of a blend of 75% Tempranillo, 15% Garnacho, 10% Graciano and Mazuelo.The alcohol level on this wine is 13%.

Tasting note on the 2001 Lopez de Heredia Rioja Vina Tondonia Reserva

The nose offers strawberries, vanilla and spices. The palate follows up the nose. Strawberries, vanilla, spices. The finnish offers some additional sour cherries. The palate is meaty and juicy. 89 points

This is a good wine, but I was underwhelmed. It disappointed me a bit. It was very pleasent, but bored me a bit, thus the short tasting note. It's hard to explain, but the best way is probably that there wasn't any wow factor there.

2009 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett

Joh. Jos. Prüm is one of the stars of the Mosel region in Germany. The estate was split up in 1920 when the S.A. Prüm winery was established. Today the winery holds 14 acres of vineyards in Mosel. The vineyards in their portfoloi are; Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Graacher Himmelreich, Bernkasteler Lay, Bernkasteler Badstube and Zeltinger Sonnenuhr. Depending on the vintage, the winery produces between 10,000 and 13,000 cases of wine each year. All wines are 100% Riesling based.

I find German Rieslings facinating. The kabinett wines from J.J. Prüm are ment to be on the lower end of the quality range, but this is a wine from probably the best vineyard in all of Mosel. It is also a wine from one of the best producers in Mosel. You can get all this, from a good vintage, for only $25. I find it amazing.

Tasting note on the 2009 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett

A very fruity palate on this wine. Their is just peaches for days on the palate, mixed in with some white flowers. (I do not know that well what white flowers taste like but it has a floral taste and it feels more white than red, if that makes any sense) There is also some petrol notes on the palate, but not over the top. The wine is very  focused and has good transitions all the way through.

It does not have the 2010 type of acidity, but that is fine. It has acidity enough to balance things out and it is nicely integrated. I should also comment that the wine is a bit spritzy, and that works quite well for this wine. 91 points

This is a perfect "summer on the porch" kind of wine. If you, as me, prefer the petrol notes to be subtle I would recommend drinking it within the first 2-3 hours after opening the bottle. After that the petrol notes took over too much for my palate.