June 4, 2006

Italian Reds Rock

Sure, we should have reviewed Italian wines by region or by type, but I don't know shite about Italian wine so we kept it macro. This way we were all able to try a half dozen Italian wines without getting too granular....a little chianti, a little sangiovese, a little cabernet franc (Yes, cabernet franc!) I am happy to report that a red I picked, a relatively expensive sangiovese, was the favorite with four of our eight tasters!

Wahhooooo! I finally win something. Disclaimer: My bottle cost $21, tipping the $20 and under cheapfunwines limit by a buck. I figured that since I bought the wine in a chi chi neighborhood of San Francisco (Laurel Heights) it was probably marked up by more than a few bucks and I'd be able to find it online for, like, $15.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find this wine listed online anywhere, so tracking its average price was difficult. Anyway, I should identify the wine: a 2002 Lambardi Rosso Di Montalcino from Montalcino, Italy. It's 100 percent sangiovese. Most of our tasters found this wine easy to drink. It smelled lovely..... like dark currants and tasted of earthy spice. I love the Lambardi website's English translation of this wine: "it is generous and harmonious." So this is a good-natured wine that's not looking for a fight. Funny, cry, happy!!!

Our uber taster Marlo found this wine fruity and earthy while the PIT (partner in tasting) said this wine "smelled classy," which is more description than he usually offers. Erica described this wine as a complex mouth of fruit with a spicy finish. Jonathan found it SMOOOOOOOOOTH. We are grateful. It was his favorite of six wines we tried. I will review the rest of them tomorrow (or Tuesday).

Next time, I promise that any bottle of wine I like that costs over $20 will be reviewed on Swanky Wine Friday....a new feature we're introducing at Cheapfunwines, which will focus on wines that are a bit more pricey, but worth it.

We give this wine a solid 3 stars.(scale of 1-4) It's a notch above your everyday table wine, with some complexity that sets it apart.

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