A few Rhone Rangery things and a few Italians, including a great Vino Nobile.

2005 Robert Hall Rose de Robles (Paso Robles, California) $17
Medium pink, clear. The nose is smoky, with low fruit, but some interesting carob and bitter herb notes. Swirling gets this to wake up a bit into strawberries and cream. The palate is soft, with some minerality and acid in the midpalate, but pale, waxy red fruit that never really becomes sweet or full, but serves as a mitigating factor against lean/herbaceous/smoky notes. This is about halfway to Tempier's Rose - it just needs to decide what it wants to do. 10+ seconds on the finish.

2004 Robert Hall Rhone de Robles (Paso Robles, California) $24
Dark garnet-violet, clear. The nose smells like good Luden's cough drops and clovey/caramelly oak. The palate is soft and juicy, with some lovely very dark cherry notes throughout. This has some weight from oak and good fruit, but it needs time to settle down. 15+ seconds on the finish.

2005 Colterenzio Prail Sauvignon (Alto Adige, Italy) $24
Pale yellow, with a slightly brassy overtone and clear. The nose is musky, like there's a touch of Muscat in there, but it's all about apricotty fruit and a touch of dusty minerals. The palate is soft, with lemony acidity, diesel and apricot fruit. There's very little grassyness to speak of, which is a nice change. Slightly dilute on the 10+ second finish.

2004 Colterenzio St. Daniel Riserva Pinot Noir (Alto Adige, Italy) $27
Garnet and clear. The nose is lovely, with dried strawberry fruit and ethereal foresty floor notes, with some rose hip acidity. The palate is lean, driven and focused - the fruit plays underneath some pretty mineral and dried flower notes. Picks up some sweetness on the 15+ second finish. Nice.

2004 Corte alla Flora Giugiolo (IGT Toscana, Tuscany, Italy) $12
Violet, clear. The nose is musky-citrussy and fleshily green, with violets and soft red fruit aromas beneath. The palate is soft at first, but there's lots of chalky structure in the midpalate. Some fleshy greenness comes back on the 10+ second finish. This seems like the fruit and the structure aren't in harmony right now.

2004 Corte alla Flora Rosso di Montalcino (Tuscany, Italy) $16
Garnet, clear. The nose has a touch of bone meal and dried flowers at first, but then red cherry fruit and some sandalwood comes forward. The palate is grippy up front, with red cherries and acacia honey in the midpalate. A touch dilute on the 10+ second finish.

2001 Corte alla Flora Vino Nobile de Montepulciano (Tuscany, Italy) $25
Garnet and clear, with 1/4" clearing at the rim. The nose is gorgeous - raw honey, a pomander accord of subtle clove spice and oranges, forest floor, autumn leaves and carob, along with some very suave stony red cherry fruit. The palate is complex - a lot of honey and carob on top, with leather, cherry pits, and more leaves. Good acidity provides tension and food-friendlyness to the waxy red cherry fruit. 15+ seconds on the finish.

Thanks,

Zachary