July Wine Roundup: Top 10 from my Last Tasting
This tasting included 18 wines from California and Italy. We toggled between a selection of Proseccos from Mionetto and a selection of California wines. Here’s the top 10 list:
Italy
Sparkling
Mionette Prosecco Luxury Cartizze – a very nice dry sparkling wine with notes of apple, pear, flowers and baked bread. It had a bit of sweetness to it, but was a nice expression.
Mionette Prosecco Superiore Valdobbiadene Millesimato – this had green apple, tropical fruit and some citrus. Another nice expression of Prosecco with a bit of nuttiness.
Mionette Prosecco Cuvee Luxury Valdobbiadene Superiore — this was elegant and creamy with apple, pear and floral notes. This was my personal favorite of the proseccos.
California
Rose
Cornerstone Cellars Corallina Rose 2013 — for someone who is not typically in love with roses, this was my kind of rose. It had vivid notes of strawberry and raspberry, but avoided what I call the “jolly rancher” syndrome. It had great minerality, dryness and fruit. Another delightful wine.
White
J Pinot Gris 2013 – this is the wine that saved an otherwise crappy birthday due to a work crisis that started my day at 5 a.m. Full of pear, orange blossom and citrus with a great minerality. One glass of this (and my sweet family) made my day much better.
Zenato Lugana di San Benedetto DOC 2012 – stone fruit, citrus, tropical fruit and herbal notes. This was a great summer refresher.
Oberon Sauvignon Blanc 2013 – this was hands down the favorite white wine of the bunch. Full of tropical fruits, citrus, orange blossom and minerality, this was a fantastic expression of Sauvignon Blanc. Yum!
Red
Byron Pinot Noir 2012 – cherry cola, black cherry, cinnamon and mocha with a nice earthiness made this a Pinot Noir that merited a (quick) second sip. I enjoyed the Burgundian style.
Edmeades Mendocino County Zinfandel 2012 – blackberry, black pepper, vanilla, chocolate, cherry and I think I even got graham cracker. I liked the richness of this wine and the different layers I uncovered as I sipped.
July Wine Roundup
Stepping Stone Cabernet Franc 2011 – meaty, green pepper, tobacco, basil, spice and blackberry with a great sense of balance. This wine can be enjoyed with food, without food, with friends… but once you take a sip, you may want to keep it all for yourself. I want to age this bottle and see the magic that happens.
Hi Melanie,
Thanks for posting your tasting notes about our Byron 2012 Santa Maria Pinot Noir. It was lovely to meet you at the Wine Bloggers Conference in July.
Cheers!
Galen
Galen, it was lovely to meet you too and thank you so much for letting me sample your wines.