Weekly Wine Tasting - Chianti

Name - Chianti

Variety - Red Blend

Region - Malizia Italy

Year - 2019

Price - $4.99

Wine Critic Review

This wine opens with lots of ripe red cherry, cranberry, leather, and a little menthol and cedar. Tasting the medium-bodied wine reveals a soft mouthfeel and similar fruit to the nose although it's a bit more tart in the mouth. Well-balanced and with a little earthiness as well, this is simply a good basic Chianti at a great price. It makes a great option for pizza or pasta night on a tight budget.

https://www.reversewinesnob.com/adventure-series-chianti

Wine Folly Notes

I could not find much information because the blends were not listed from this wine. The wine is from the historic area of Chianti. Chianti's normally are a mix of Sangiovese and other popular grapes in the area. There are notes of preserved cherry and other fruits (p.250).

My Review

For a cheap ALDI wine, I quite enjoyed it. Strong notes of berries, especially cherry. I actually did drink this wine with a meal of chicken and pasta, nothing crazy. The food paired decently with the wine and it lowered its acidity a touch

Wine Blog - Castellani

Name - Famiglia Castellania

Variety - Sangiovese

Region - Toscana Italy

Year - 2016

Price - $10.99

Wine Critic Review - From the Tuscany wine region, Famiglia Castellani 2016 is a juicy 100% Sangiovese produced from grapes sourced from the Alta Maremma. Bright and juicy with ripe cherry, mocha, savory spice, and herb flavors on the palate with a lingering tart cherry, red berry finish. Tannins are velvety and this Sangiovese would be very nice to have now with a veal parmesan. - Community Wine Reviews

Wine Folly Notes

Sangiovese has strong notes of cherry, tomato, and balsamic (162). I did not decant as the textbook suggests, nor did I chill to 55 degrees (162). I could taste the high acidity that the textbook mentions. 

My Review

I really enjoyed this wine. I split it with friends and it was very tasty with strong fruity notes. the presence of cherry and strawberry was very present. I assume that the high levels of acidity contributed to this. I would give this wine an 8/10. I did not eat with this meal.

Weekly Wine Tasting - Gnarly Head

 Name - Gnarly Head

Variety - Merlot

Region - Central Coast, California, USA

Year - 2019

Price - $8.99

Wine Critic Review

This widely available bottling impresses on multiple levels, beginning with a ripe and rugged nose of boysenberry, cherry, leather, iodine and smoke. There's compelling texture to the sip, where smoked meat, mocha and coffee flavors sink into the deep, dark fruit.

https://www.winemag.com/buying-guide/gnarly-head-2019-merlot-central-coast/

Wine Folly Notes

Merlot has strong black cherry notes with a smooth chocolaty finish (132). Merlot's from California have strong plum and cherry notes with a finish of chocolate and vanilla (132). It is suggested that you decant for 30 minutes and spend $15 on a bottle. This bottle retails for $15 dollars so I got a steal it seems.

My Review

I really liked this wine. It had strong notes of plum and cherry but it was not the sweetest merlot I've ever had. As is standard with my reviews I did not decant or eat with any food. When I looked up a review, I was surprised as WineEnthusiast had it as its #9 best wines under $15 dollars so it seems like I got a steal with this one!

Weekly Wine Tasting - Pinetti

Name - Pinetti

Variety - Zinfandel

Region - Puglia, Italy

Year - 2020

Price - $4.99

Wine Critic Review

"On the nose lots of green vegetal notes and a little smoke kissing the black cherry. If it weren’t for the stemmy, green notes the nose would be pleasant but they hit you over the head, demanding attention, refusing to be ignored. The palate is thin and flat with little flavor upfront and absolutely no structure"

https://foodandwineaesthetics.com/2016/10/28/budget-wine-pinetti-notte-zinfandel-italy-2014/

Wine Folly Notes

Zinfandel has a fruity undertone of blackberry, strawberry, and peach with a heavy spice undertone with the spices being cinnamon and tobacco (p.189). There is a large tannic undertone. Winefolly suggests to decant for 30 minutes but I don't own a decanter. I did not eat a meal with this wine.

My Review

This was the first zinfandel that I tried. I liked it. I tasted a heavy spice level, with a high level of tannic. I tasted peach, orange, and blackberry.  I would give this wine a 6/10 but for $5 you can't go wrong with this. 

Weekly Wine Tasting - Rex Goliath

Name - Rex Goliath

Variety - Cabernet Sauvignon

Region - California, USA

Year - No Year

Price - $9.99 for 1.5L

Wine Critic Review

"Black Cherry and burnt toast, share aroma space with green bell pepper typical of inexpensive Cabernet Sauvignon. A little earthiness is nice. Not interesting but not awful.

On the palate, it’s juicy upfront but the flavor fades rapidly passing through a cocoa-inflected phase before stumbling to the finish, which tastes like sour cola. Medium body and without trying to be too lush, it has a little sweetness but the acidity is quite high preventing the wine from being cloying,. The tannins are soft"

https://foodandwineaesthetics.com/2016/03/04/rex-goliath-cabernet-sauvignon-chile-nv/

Wine Folly Notes

As a Cabernet Sauvignon from California, the elements of currant and spices were obvious (p.88). I did not decant as I don't own one at this moment so I did not decant as suggested by WineFolly. I did not drink this wine with a meal.

My Review

This wine is a classic cheap wine. It got me drunk which was good. Very sweet and honestly one of the better Cabernet Sauvignon I've had. There was a decent layering of spices and decent tannin levels.