2006 Casa Silva Gran Reserva Petit Verdot

Inky black with purple tinge. Intriguing mix of veggies, soil, and blackberry, cassis and floral notes. Initially, loads of celery and radish. More floral and dark fruit notes come out on day 2. Graphite and eucalyptus. Nice nose: elegant and restrained. Also, refined and focused in the mouth. Velvet tannin structure with great concentration, round and balanced supporting acidity. Finishes a bit short but has lingering notes of smoked juniper berry and creosote. Decant this for it unfold. Delicious.

$23

A-

2006 M. Cosentino Tannat Lodi

Inky black. This wine is tight and slow to open. Very tarry initially. Later rosemary and peppermint. Cherry liqueur and strawberry licorice fruit. Weirdly enough, eggnog? Think cream and nutmeg. Again, tight on palate, but seamless. Broad, muscular, mouth coating, teeth staining, chewy tannin upfront and in the middle, but tapers off to a soft finish. A brute with a sensitive edge.

$18

C+

2005 Luna Sangiovese Napa Valley

Day 2. Deep ruby. Complex and elegant. I love the secondary stuff going on. Straw bale, charcoal ash and cedar mulch. Savory low toned porcini mushroom and oyster. Cardamom spice accented by a subtle floral and perfumed note. Mountain blueberry fruit comes late as well as boysenberry. Velvety and plush tannin with quite glycerous and round, but structured and concentrated. Juicy acidity. Finishes with dark chocolate mocha. This really blossomed after a day of decanting in bottle. 75% Sangiovese, 20% Merlot, 5% Petite Sirah

$25

A-

2005 Quinta de Ventozelo Douro Reserva

Deep red. Perfumed and floral nose with hints of violets. Blueberry cobbler fruit is delicious, and not over the top. Tilled earth and a thread of herbaceaousness round it out. Nice balance on the palate. Firm tannin becomes more pronounced with air, and are quite elegant. It's not heavy in any sense. Nice stuff and it's drinking well now. 60% Touriga Nacional, 20% Touriga Franca, 20% Tinta Roriz.

$20

A-

2006 Clos La Coutale Cahors

Deep garnet red. Lively and exuberant nose. Black cherries and smoked plums. Cinnamon spice, clove and orange zest. Cranberry jam. Wood smoke and dried autumn leaves. Round, lively acidity and a heavy dose of anise infused dark chocolate on palate. Medium in body with soft, silky tannin. More smoke and sweet fruit on the medium finish. A really fun wine calling out for stew. 80% Malbec & 20% Merlot.

$16

B+

2005 Domaine du Moulie Madiran

Light ruby red. Decanted this for three hours and wow did it open up! I love to find charming table wines like this now and then to be reminded what wine used to taste like. It's quite herbaceous on the nose - grass, nettles, bell pepper, basil. Restrained strawberry and crushed dried rose scents - reminds me of Barolo. Acid driven, tart and medium minus palate. Tannins are firm but fine, forming sheets of satin and an appetizing astringency calling out for an earthy, warm autumn dish.

B+

$12

2003 Pirramimma McLaren Vale Petit Verdot

Deep garnet red. Super spicy. Cedar spice box and menthol/eucalyptus. Blood orange fruit and homemade cranberry sauce. Caramely oak. Rustic tannin combined with high acid rips up my mouth upfront. The weight stays up front and then quickly drops off. Interesting to see what PV can do Down Under going solo.

$22

B

2006 Rutherglen Estates "The Reunion" Mourvedre Shiraz Grenache Rutherglen

Ruby red. Fresh nose. First peppered, raw meat. Dried herbs, slight menthol and vanilla. Medium on palate with silky, round tannin. Cherry fruit and fresh acidity. This wine has some nice finesse, and isn't your typical Aussie MSG, more in tune with Cotes du Rhone. I'm betting it will open up even more with air (Stelvin). A good bottle for the money.

$18

B-

2005 Jose Maria da Fonseca Domingos Touriga Nacional & Syrah

Deep red. Thick fruit nose. Grape Big League Chew and small wild mountain blueberries, boysenberries - almost syrup like. Dried balsa wood and damp earth. Low in acidity and brambly on the palate with muscular furry tannin, but lacks concentration. Finishes with a sweet cassis liqueur note. 50% Touriga Nacional, 50% Syrah

$23

B-

2007 Olivares Altos de la Hoya Finca de Santa Ana Monastrell Jumilla

Bright deep ruby red. Red and black cherries, strawberry shortcake, and ladyfinger cookie. Dark chocolate shavings and some tree moss. Bright. There is a nice balance to this wine. Snappy acidity, round soft tannin, but still has substance. Juicy red fruit with smoky and earthy tobacco on finish. Lovin' the green moss character here. It's not built for aging and should be best drunk within the next couple of years. Great value.

B

$13

2007 Rosenblum Petite Sirah Heritage Clones

Opaque inky black. Opens with leather, sweaty saddle, and peppery spice. Reminiscent of Southern France in it's animal-y and tarry character. Fresh rosemary sprig and juniper berry. Vanilla cream and supple tannins are a mouthful. Delicious and hedonistic, with a smoky finish. Definitely over the top.

$18

B+

2004 Herdade Do Peso Aragones Alentejo

Deep ruby red. Beautiful nose centered around smoked plum fruit and earthy forest brush. Dill among other herbs and beef jerky. Perfumed with floral note and hints of vanilla spice. Juicy and full with firm, muscular tannins. Opened this at the right time, The '04 is ready to be had. A delicious bottle of Aragones, aka Tempranillo.

$30

A-

2007 Antonio Sanguineti Vincero Toscana Bianco

Medium yellow. Fragrant nose with floral notes and star fruit and orange cream-sicle. Subtle sweet complexities of almond paste, vanilla bean and pumpkin pie spice, and banana split, but it's not coming from oak. Medium and soft on the palate with juicy and tangy acidity and mandarin orange. Minerally finish with a waxy-like marzipan aftertaste. A nice quaffer. 50% Vermentino, 30% Malvasia, 20% Chardonnay.

$12

B

2007 Ridge Three Valleys Sonoma County

Ruby red. Subtle, but complex. Strawberry liquorice and sour cherry fruit. Pine, woodsmoke, nutmeg spice and vanilla complexities. Also and appealing herby quality adds freshness. Fennel seed candy and sweet leather creeps in. Medium with taut structure - great balance. This will seem light compared to other CA Zin, but it stays real and it wouldn't be right to drink this without food. Really worked with Broccoli & Tofu Sesame Noodles. 76% Zinfandel, 8% Petite Sirah, 7% Syrah, 6% Grenache, 3% Carignane.

$22

B+

2007 Altovinum Evodia Old Vines Garnacha Calatayud

Ruby red. Straight away - roast beef, pumpkin, rubbed sage and fresh cracked black pepper. Savory. Also some Blue Spruce pine needle. Slow to offer any fruit character. Cranberry eventually breaks through. Medium minus on the palate, gritty tannin rolls around aimlessly. There's really no focus here and overall lacks body. It's a decent table wine, good value, and the cool label has to count for something, right? Seriously, I'd buy this again and again (and have) against anything else in its price range. It's got character.

C+/B-

$10

2006 Numanthia Termes Toro

Vibrant deep red. Opens with salty prosciutto and balsa wood. Simmered-down blackberries and black cherries. Fresh spearmint and tree stump and later - rose and cinnamon stick. Voluptuous mouth feel that you could chew on forever. Packed, fine, chewy tannin. Delicious stuff, firm with no hard edges and quite glycerous. Powerful. This should become even more complex with bottle time. Shows no sign of 15% alcohol - it's buried in the rich fruit extract. An interesting spicy chili pepper note comes late. Smoky/charcoal finish lasts for minutes.

$30

A

2008 Terredora Dipaolo Falanghina Irpinia

Stone fruit and citrus nose. Peaches, mandarin orange, and lemon. Loaded with lemons on the palate. The palate is bone dry, medium+ and bright with some tannic grip, creating a chewy texture. Lively, clean finish with some effervescence. In some ways, this wine is reminiscent of a dry Washington Riesling. This was a great match for Curried Eggplant, Chickpeas, and Spinach with Garlic Naan.

$15

B+

2006 Argiolas Costera Isola Dei Nuraghi IGT Cannonau

Medium bright ruby red. This wine opens with savory notes of bbq ribs, Canadian bacon, and jerky. Complexities keep arising as its breathes. Forest scents of rotted-out cedar combine with whifs of perfume. Schnickerdoodle cookies and vanilla with deep cassis fruit and fresh plums. Smokey notes continue with myrhh incense. Streamlined and medium. Firm sheets of satin almost sneak by at first. With time (in the glass and in the mouth), structure becomes more pronounced with an appealing dry tannic astringincy. Fine tannin. Spice on the finish with cinnamon stick and dark chocolate. Buy this beauty by the case and age it for up to 5 years. Cannonau, aka Grenache, is grown on the island of Sardinia, Italy.

A-

$15

2006 Mastroberardino Aglianico Campania IGT

Light ruby with hints of orange. Red currants on nose with secondary notes of cooked down red fruit. Menthol cigarette, tobacco and vanilla. Velvet on the palate, taut acidity. A real country table wine with a lot of charm. Light to medium weight, but the tannin comes with intensity and coats entire palate. Hardly a blockbuster - it's refreshing to know wines like this are still being made. 12.5% alc.

$20

B+

2006 Meandro Do Vale Meao Douro

Deep ruby red. Pretty closed down at first and takes a while to open up. Even on day 2, very shy nose, some lavender and cinnamon stick, perfumed. There is a reduced rubbery character holding back the dark fruit. Black rocks. Firm, dense, and chunky tannin. Young - but shows good aging potential. Bittersweet chocolate and black tea finish. This needs a few more years in bottle. 40% Touriga Nacional, 30% Tinta Roriz (aka Tempranillo), 20% Touriga Franca, 5% Tinta Barroca, and 5% Tinta Amarela.

$30

B+