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By The Glass
Chuck Furuya
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A summer full of wines
HERE ARE some wines that have really stood out in the many wine tastings I've attended this summer.
2004 La Mozza Morellino di Scansano "I Perazzi" ($17): What a fantastic discovery! Pure sangiovese from Italy's Tuscan coast with its lighter soils and cooler growing conditions, this wine has such an enticing perfume -- earthy, exotically spiced, dried cherries, with a lot of elegance and prettiness. A joint venture of restaurateur Joe Bastianich and chef Mario Batali, this Italian red is geared up for pairing with Mediterranean foods, such as roasted vegetable pasta, roast chicken, pizza, even pork chops.
2004 Palmina Dolcetto "Santa Barbara" ($20): This is an absolutely stunning, incredibly delicious Italian look-alike that will make you wish you'd bought more bottles. This wine is plump and juicy, with a cornucopia of ripe red and black fruit, intriguingly spiced and addictively gulp-able. You would be hard-pressed to find something this delicious at this price.
2004 Melville Pinot Noir "Estate" ($27): When I tasted this wine in the barrel, I knew people would fall in love with its lush, sultry, delicious fruit and seductive texture. Sadly, I'm sure the 2004 will run out shortly, so get some while you can.
2003 Domaine du Poujol ($14): This winery is in southern France, near Montpellier, where the terrain includes some promising, well-exposed stony slopes. The winery is owned by an Englishman, who worked at several California wineries, and his American wife. Don't expect anything Californian, however. This blend of merlot, cinsault and carignane graphs is very Mediterranean in style -- full of ripe red fruit with lavender, violets, sage and roasted rosemary nuances.
THESE TWO great value wines should reach the shelves of fine-wine stores by mid-month:
2004 Four Vines Naked Chardonnay "Santa Barbara" ($14) and "Old Vines" Zinfandel ($14): This Paso Robles winery was recommended by Paso Robles restaurateur/ winemaker Cris Cherry (Villa Creek). The 2004 chardonnay is produced from four Santa Barbara vineyards -- two hillsides and two hilltops. The wine displays a lot of tropical fruits, pure and clean, with a mouth-watering crispness ideal for warm-weather sipping.
But the focus of Four Vines is Old Vine Zinfandel. The fruit is passionately sourced from every nook and cranny, from Amador to Paso Robles. The wines have a rustic, hearty, robust edge, though each is still very well-balanced and surprisingly well-textured. This winery has a slew of single-vineyard bottlings, each labeled under a proprietary nickname. But the best value is this one, simply labeled "Old Vines."
Chuck Furuya is a master sommelier and a partner in the Sansei restaurants.
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