Dellatorri 2007 Pinot Grigio

The Winery: Dellatorri
The Wine: 2007 Pinot Grigio
The Price: Unfortunately I neglected to note the price. I believe it was $9, but I'm really not certain.

Dellatorri is an Italian winery that is located on the cliffs along the ocean. Other than that, I was unable to find much information about the winery.

The wine is light golden straw in color, with a very slight red tinge to it. It has a light, citrusy smell with a bit of a mineral scent to it, as well.

The wine has a fresh, light, citrus flavor. It also has a very subtle pear/apple flavor. It's not a terribly sweet wine, nor is it dry. It's one of those wines that doesn't commit one way or the other. It's not good and it's not bad. It's not sweet and it's not dry. I'm much more taken by the cobalt bottle than I am by the wine. In fact, now that I think about it, why did they waste such a bold bottle on such a non-committal wine?

Irony 2005 Pinot Noir

The Winery: Irony
The Wine: 2005 Pinot Noir
The Price: On sale for $13.99 at QFC.

I selected this wine based solely on the name. I have a love for irony, so the name of the wine drew me in. Sold under the Irony name, the wine is vinted by Life's Strange Twists Wine Company, which I find to be quite amusing.

The wine is dark red in color, typical of a classic Pinot Noir. It has scents of plums, cherries and berries.

The wine has a slightly thin feel to it. The flavor is also fairly thin. It has a fruity flavor - cherries and raspberries - with a pepper finish. After a couple of sips, flavors of current and coffee start to develop. It is not as rich and velvety as I have come to expect from Pinot Noir. It's not a bad wine by any means. But it just does not knock my socks off. For the price, it's a decent wine. For my money, though, I'd rather cough up another $5 or so and get a nicer Pinot Noir.

Duck Pond Cellars 2006 Pinot Noir

The Winery: Duck Pond Cellars
The Wine: 2006 Pinot Noir
The Price: $19.99 at QFC

Duck Pond Cellars is located in Oregon's Willamette Valley. I've always liked their labels. Each wine has a picture of a duck on it. The Pinot Noir has a picture of a Bufflehead landing in water.

The wine is dark red, but perhaps a little lighter in color than other Pinot Noirs that I have sampled lately.

The Duck Pond Pinot Noir has scents of chocolate, blackberry and plum.
The wine has a fairly fruity flavor, and is less complex and full-bodied than I would expect. It has flavors of raspberries, blackberries and strawberries, with a fairly aggressive pepper finish. The wine is not as silky rich as I have come to expect from Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs. It's fairly thin and under-developed.

While not a bad wine, it's also not a great wine. For $20, there are plenty of other wines I would buy before this one. But if you prefer a fruity Pinot Noir with a peppery finish, this could be the wine for you.

Syncline 2006 Syrah

The Winery: Syncline
The Wine: 2006 Syrah
The Price: $24.99 at Seattle Cellars

This is another wine from Syncline that has the glass stopper. I really like these stoppers a lot. I hope they catch on. They are a great alternative to twist-tops and fake corks. They don't require a corkscrew to open, and they seem kind of classy. Besides that, you can toss them in the recycling bin when you're done. I did a little bit of digging, and found some information on them. They are called Vino-Lok Stoppers, and are made by Alcoa in Germany. The gasket that seals between the bottle and the Vino-Lok Stopper is a product of DuPont called Elvax.

The 2006 Syncline Syrah is a deep, dark red wine. It has scents of blackberry, chocolate and black pepper. The wine has flavors of coffee, blackberry and pepper, with a chocolatey undertone. This wine has a lot of black pepper flavor to it, but it's not harsh. It just makes its presence known. The flavor of the wine is a bit chaotic, but in a good way. There are a lot of flavors going on, and my tongue is on overload trying to discern them. That said, this is a very good wine. It may not be for everyone. Given the complexity of the wine, I would like to see what it tastes like once it has aged for a few years.

Marqués de Cáceres 2001 Reserva Rioja

The Winery: Marqués de Cáceres
The Wine: 2001 Reserva Rioja
The Price: $17.99 at Costco

This review was requested several months ago by my friend and colleague, Tina. She says that this is one of her favorite wines.

Unlike in the United States, wines of Spain are named for the region rather than the varietal. Rioja is in northern Spain. The Rioja wines tend to be stronger and have a higher content of tannins. The Reserva designation signifies the barrel aging time. A wine labeled Crianza will be a younger wine, and a Gran Reserva will have been barrel aged longer.

This wine is a deep, dark red color, and has very well-formed legs. The wine has scents of plum and blackberry. This is a very smooth, velvety wine. The flavor is good, but less fully developed than the smell foretold. The wine has flavors of plum, blackberry and cherry. It is a very good wine, and a great value at the $17.99 that I paid.