Terrabianca Campaccio Toscana 2005

After a trip to the Santa Monica Farmers Market, we stopped in to a restaurant familiar to us from its fantastic Larchmont Village location.  La Bottega Marino in West Los Angeles also serves great Italian cooking.  If you're worried about authenticity, don't.  Their chef is from Naples.  My spaghetti Bolognese was so good that my wife - of Italian heritage - was tasting it from my plate.  Her meatball sandwich met with her approval and mine.  She took home half of it and I was the beneficiary of it later in the day.

The only complaint I have is that their by-the-glass wine list is a bit skimpy.  As a matter of fact, the Piemonte Barbera I ordered was out of stock.  The waiter offered me a Tuscan blend at the same price - nine dollars - and I gladly accepted. 

Terrabianca Campaccio is a Tuscan blend of 70% Sangiovese and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon.  The winery is in the heart of Italy's Chianti Classico region, and the 12 clones of the two varieties were produced 40% in that region and 60% in Maremma. 

Some soapy looking bubbles around the edge of the glass after pouring dissapated quickly.  The wine has a dark purple color waith an earthy blackberry scent and a trace of pencil lead.  The structure is quite nice.  Its dark, earthy aroma is borne out on the palate, too.  The fruit presents itself strongly in this brooding, full-bodied drink. 

The Terrabianca paired very well with the bolognese, as if it had been made for it.  Oh, I suppose it probably was.  Great food and great wine are enough to make me want a return visit to La Bottega Marino.  Throw in some of that Billie Holiday they were playing during our lunch, and that return visit could be a reality by the time you read this.

Talus Collection Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

I will nearly always part with a few dollars for the opportunity to try a Lodi wine.  I found the Talus Collection Lodi Cab at BevMo's five cent sale.  Two bottles of this nice juice for less than $10 is a pretty good deal, since I like the wine.

The nose consists of dark fruit - blackberries and plums - with licorice and some pencil shavings meeting a trace of barnyard notes.

Very soft tannins are a surprise at the price point. It's really smooth, even just after opening and pouring. A little more grip might be nice for heavy beef, but I think Talus would do nicely paired with pasta or pork.  The mild approach certainly served well for sipping.  Graphite rides herd over the juicy fruit.  Blackberrries and plums are the palate, too, with herbal notes throughout the four-day span of the bottle.

Appellation:  California > San Joaquin Valley > Lodi
Vintage:  2008
Alcohol Level:  13% abv
Price:  $9
Acquisition disclaimer:   Purchased by the author at a store sale

"They Got This Recession On" Wines, Part 4

Fess Parker Frontier Red Lot 91 is the latest in a series of non-vintage wines from Fess Parker's respected Santa Barbara County winery.  Their website lists the wine at $12, but it sells at some places for $10, and I got a bottle from Los Angeles Wine Company for $8.

The wine is a blend of six Rhone varietals, and it really drinks like an actual Rhone Valley wine rather than a California facsimile.  The nose features blackberry and spices in a very dark setting.  An herbal quality seems to come through a layer of smoke.  On the palate, Frontier Red has a dark edge as well, with plenty of smoky fruit and a licorice component adding to the dark flavors.  I picked up a bit of graphite, too.  Frontier Red drank better each of the three nights it was open.

It's got a medium-mouthfeel, which is rather surprising considering the grapes involved.  I thought of it at first as "thin," but later I felt that might be a bit harsh, since the taste is so good.  I do prefer a bigger feel on my palate, though.  I would recommend giving it some time to settle down, either sitting in the glass or by decanting.

My wife used some of it in a spaghetti sauce she made, and the result was fabulous.  Naturally, the wine paired extremely well with that sauce.

Winemaker:  Fess Parker
Varietal:  56% Syrah, 20% Grenache, 13% Carignane, 5% Sangiovese, 5% Cinsault & 1% Mourvedre 
Appelation:  California > Santa Barbara County
Vineyard:  Camp Four Vineyard (Santa Ynez Valley); Starlane Vineyard (Santa Barbara County); Rodney's Vineyard (Santa Ynez Valley)
Vintage:  NV
Alcohol Level:  15.5%
Price:  $8 (list $12)
Acquisition disclaimer:  I paid for this wine, on sale.

Menage a Trois 2007

I love autumn.  I live in Southern California, so that's not exactly the same sentiment you get when someone from, say, Vermont claims to like autumn.  They get a real autumn in Vermont, complete with changing colors and the onset of cold weather.  Here in Southern California we get fire season.


I actually like the low humidity a lot - as long as it doesn't mean raging brush fires - and when that first cool snap finally comes, I wish there were some brightly colored fallen leaves to run through.  The closest we get to that is a palm frond or two blown down in the gusty winds.  As I write this it's a chilly 57 degrees outside!  (Pause for laughter from everywhere else.)


One way I can celebrate autumn - even without the foliage - is with a nice red wine.  I'm so drawn to whites and roses all summer that my shift into reds serves as my foliage change.  You'll be seeing a lot more reds in this space in the coming months.  If they all taste as good as this one, I'll consider Autumn 2009 a success.


Despite the French monicker, Menage a Trois is a California blend of Zinfandel, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.  The wine pours up a very deep red.  It has quite a fragrant nose, due partially to the grapes and partially to the French and American oak used in the barrels.  The dark fruit comes across strong and rich as I sniff it, and there's a trace of smokiness.  They say the Zin is for jamminess, the Merlot is for mellow and the Cabernet is for backbone.  That's pretty much the way it comes across on the palate.  Fruit is huge - blackberries mostly - and there is some smoke flavor along with a trace of pencil lead.  A spicy, peppery taste also comes forth.  It's a little bit rough at first, but let it sit a half hour or so and it should be nice and mellow.  It's priced quite well, $10 at Cost Plus World Market.  At 13.5% abv, the alcohol doesn't knock you over like some Zins do these days.


Winemaker:  Folie A Deux Winery

Varietal:  Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon

Appelation:  California > Napa Valley

Vintage:  2007

Alcohol Level:  13.5%

Price:  $10

Acquisition disclaimer:  This wine was purchased by the author; $10