GINI Wine Tasting

AC: Had these two wine on consecutive nights last long weekend. I am officially spoiled with these great wine I’ve been having these couple months… I had the 04 Lascombes first and when I tasted it at the time, it just confuses me as to what makes a good vintage for these great estates! [...]

VW: Not much on the nose, maybe just a little blackberry after lots of swirl. Strong black tea palate with some unidentifiable dark fruits. Quite balanced with some bitter chocolately tannins at the end. 90 (June, 2009)

AC: Despite having some good old-world element, this wine isn’t what I expected. Quite simple, I find this wine lack fruit to support… even bitter at times. This exact vintage is rated 92 by Antonio from Wine Advocate… maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention… 89
VW: I like it a little more than AC. Sweet sensation [...]

VW: A strange nose of fennel, some olives and spiciness, also quite alcoholic. Not much fruits on nose nor palate. Color is lighter ruby. Medium bodied with good acidity. This Campomaggio doesn’t have much character and disappointing given the good review from Wine Spectator. Maybe I got a bad bottle? 85 (May, 2009)

VW: Bouquet of berries with a sour component, little tobacco. Creamy palate of dark fruits. Quite deep albeit one dimensional. Balanced with medium finish. Some extra time in the cellar can probably add complexity. But I won’t hesitate to enjoy it tonight. Nicely make. 91 (April, 2009)

VW: Gromis barolo is owned by Gaja but much more affordable than their top black and white labels. Sweet dark cherry and flowers jumping from the glass. Quite tight with mouth coating tannis initially but well resolved after an hour of decant. The palate is well balanced, medium to full of sweet fruits. The inner mouth [...]

VW: Recommended by someone on the 2003 version, so when the 2004 is released I decided to give it a try. Supposingly the best in last few years, this showed lots of plummy fruit. Floral perfume, very tasty yet truely Italian and show that beautiful Tuscan sun. I can see many people would appreciate the [...]

AC: Don’t know if it’s because I haven’t had a nice red for about 2 months, this terrific wine comes at a good price and in a good time. It is leathery and oaky in the palate, much like most of good old reds. Well balanced. It lacks the tannin a young wine usually has [...]

AC: Don’t exactly remember how this old world style wine tasted, but just checked the price on it and it wasn’t cheap! (Thanks Vincent) First couple of mouthful I can almost tasted the age of this wine, I always think old wine tastes quite flat in the beginning and only improve after a few taste [...]

VW: A traditionally styled chianti which went pretty well with the lamb. Medium bodied with red fruits dominating the nose and taste. Bright acidity gave perfect lift for the fat in the meat. It hides the heat of 2003 well without any jamminess. 90 (May 2005)
AC: Classic example of how good a Chianti can [...]

AC: The 2001 Scanvino was so good that after a bit more than a year, when we see this 03 available at LCBO, we immediately bought it and tasted it the same night. Opened with a fruity nose, this full bodied wine didn’t lack any fruit in the mid-palate. Concentrated, this new world-like wine certainly [...]

AC: I guess ever since I’ve tried that Paolo Scavino at Paese I’ve started to think Barolo might just be second to Bordeaux as far as old world quality wine goes… well, we’ve tried a couple of Barolo since then and doesn’t seem to bring back the memory of the Paolo, including this Mauro Molino… [...]

AC: I took a peek at celllartracker to see how this wine is rated before I drank this one and found out this wine is rated quite highly by others! The nose opened with lots of fruits which actually is the main theme of this wine. You will find lots of fruits from start to [...]

VW: Cabernet sangiovese blend from Tuscany. On open, this has focused black fruits and cedar. Together with the silky palate, this was similar to a nice bordeaux. Good things stop here and the wine went downhill from there on. It became rather open knit after sitting in glass. The palate also seemed a little diluted, probably [...]

VW: Dark ruby with brownish tint. Explosive floral aromas literally jump out of the decanter 10 feet away when it is being decanted. A mix of flowers especially roses on top of some sweet fruits. Silky palate is in total balance and wrap up in a memorably long finish. It just tasted so young with [...]

GINI 12 (June 1, 2007) wine# 3 – AC: I think I have forgotten about this wine already… From reading over my notes the only thing that triggered my memory was its short finish. Would this not appear tonight with the other strong competitors, this is definitely still a very drinkable food wine. 89
VW: Showed [...]

GINI 12 (June 1, 2007) wine# 4 – AC: This medium bobied wine has a soft tanin. Closing off with a reasonably long finish. It is a tiny bit overly sweet as this is something I’ve noticed in both this one and the previous La Court who are both produced by Michele Chiarlo. I [...]

GINI 11 (June 1, 2007) wine# 2 – AC: These italians appeared in GINI#12 all seem to have a pretty fruity nose even in my small wine glasses. This one I can even get a hint of vanilla in it. This sweeter wine is well balanced with a reasonable amount of acidity with quite a [...]

GINI 12 (June 1, 2007) wine# 1 – AC: One of the richer, more concentrated Chianti I’ve tried. It has quite a fruity nose with a hint of herbs. With such a delicious wine the finish lasted relatively short. Nevertheless a very well structured wine. BRAVO! 92
VW: Deep nose of ripe fruits, flowers and some leather. [...]

About 20+% off from LCBO which made this become a sub-35 barolo from a well known producer. Some truffle, impression of tea. Moderately tannic but it was rather acidic. Nice oak finish. This traditionally styled barolo needs more fruit to stand up to all the acidity. It would have worked better with a fatty cut [...]