Willakenzie 2006 Pinot Noir Pierre Léon

The Winery: Willakenzie
The Wine: 2006 Pinot Noir Pierre Léon
The Price: Retails for $38 (I had it in a restaurant, so I paid above retail)

This is unusual for me.  I am reviewing a wine that I had at a restaurant.  I have never done this before.  I am on vacation in Maui, and had dinner at Mama's Fish House.  If you ever get to Maui, I highly recommend you make a point of having dinner there.  This is a destination dining spot, so reservations are highly recommended.

The wine was served immediately upon opening, and was not decanted prior to tasting.  The wine bottle was stopped with a natural cork.

The wine is bright red in color and has aromas of cherry, cassis and blackberry.

This is a lighter Pinot Noir than I usually like.  But this one is very well developed and is bursting with great fruit flavors.  It has flavors of plum, cherry and blackberry.  The wine was good when first opened, but after 30 minutes, the flavors really came alive!  It is a very fabulous wine.  If you can get your hands on a bottle, it is definitely worth trying!

Cantina Zaccagnini 2007 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

The Winery:  Cantina Zaccagnini
The Wine:  2007 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
The Price:  $11.49 at Costco

Cantina Zaccagnini is an Italian winery.  The grapes are from Catignano in the Varano district, which is located in southern Italy.  The wine is made from 100% Montepulciano d'Abruzzo grapes.

The wine bottle was stopped with a natural cork and decanted an hour before tasting.

The wine is dark ruby in color and has aromas of leather, plum, blackberry, oregano and just a hint of chocolate.

The wine has flavors of plum, cherry, leather, tobacco and green tea.

This is a pretty good wine.  It's flavors are interesting and well developed.  But I'm having difficulty with it because it's really not like any wine I've tasted before.  The flavors are good, but the wine tastes unfamiliar.  It tastes like wine, but it doesn't taste like any wine I've ever tasted before.  It's definitely worth picking up a bottle to experience something different.