2003 Captain's Walk Sangiovese

Captain's Walk is a winery in Green Bay, Wisconsin that we rather enjoyed, not only for the wine, but also for the friendliest staff I've encountered at any establishment anywhere.

Cinnamon and cherry on the nose.

Mostly cherry and strawberry with a barnyard quality. Loads of black pepper with vanilla, cinnamon, and clove. Very nice balance, smooth, easy drinking, and fairly low on tannin.

Green spice - oregano and such - comes through on the finish.

Nineteen bucks is nothing to sneeze at so I do have some reservations with what you get - however, I think there is enough going on, not only in the wine, but simply the fact that it's from Green Bay, Wisconsin that I give a recommendation. I would say if you see this at retail and you're within a few hours of Green Bay, skip it and make a trip over the winery and try a bunch of what they have to offer.

Wine: 7
Value: Sure

2004 Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona Rosso di Montalcino

This bottle was fifteen bones – marked down on clearance. Hey – why not?

The nose? Strawberries lingering on the edge of spoiled and cedar chips stuffed into sweat socks.

Loads of dark chocolate, reasonably strong tannins, a solid amount of acid – well balanced all around really. A lot of herbaceous qualities here – loads of dried and fresh spices – dried oregano and fresh basil come through as to some interesting nutmeg and clove notes – something you'd sprinkle on top of a pumpkin latte of some sort. In terms of fruit, this is interesting – at first pour: sweet, tart cherry; after 30 minutes: nothing; after 60 minutes: nothing; after 90 minutes: nothing; after 120: distinct black cherry. Wine can be a funny thing.

A lingering fuzzy clove and tobacco fueled finish lasts for quite a while.

Day two brings a fairly simpler offering. Almost no nose – though there is some strawberry fruit leather coming through. The palate is has the distinct funky Italian quality I like – dried spices, some tart cherries – so tart it's almost ultra dark cranberry. The finish is all earth, spice, and funk – loads of earth and tobacco.

Wine: 7.5
QPR: 7

2005 Di Majo Norante Sangiovesse

No idea about this wine – I was poking around the wine fridge looking for a red and grabbed this one. Not sure where I bought it, why, or for how much. I looked it up online and it seems to sell for about $8, so we'll say that.

The first thing that hit me on the nose is hardwood, an interesting smell – woody but not really oak. There's a bit of dirt and cinnamon, and dare I say cabbage? Suggestions of green either way, and no necessarily in a bad way.

Not much in terms of tannin, and not over the top acidic - dirty, black fruit – plum mostly, and a bit of spice and earth.

Cinnamon and oak on the finish.

For under $10, this one is fine. I'm not crazy about it, but for the price there are few flaws and there's some nice complexity there to make it worth checking out. I'm glad I don't do stars because this one I'd be torn on.

2003 Pepi Sangiovesse

We didn't feel like cooking, so we opted to go for pizza for dinner. I browsed the aisle looking for something interesting and this Sangiovesse caught my eye. Well Pepi drink with pizza as well as Pepsi does?

This one is darker than I'd expect from a Sangiovesse.

Raspberries and strawberries on the nose.

Cherries, raspberries, earth, and spice on the palate. Tannins are mild and smooth making this an easy drinking wine though I do find it to be heavier than a typical Chianti.

2003 Chariot Sangiovese

This is one of our favorites. A nice, light, easy going red wine that is perfect with anytime of Italian food you can think of....we're drinking it with pizza.

Sangiovese is the grape varietal you find in Chiantis, so this, of course, is very similar to a Chianti. There's a lot of bad Chianti out there unfortunately, and at this price point, you're better off buying this than most Italian imports...in fact, at this price point, you're better off buying this than most other wines period.

At $12 a bottle, this is a groin grabbingly good deal...that's right, it's that good. I've had $25 bottles not come anywhere near this. Maroon in color, it's a relatively light red. Taste and nose on this one definitely strike you with cherries. We also smell a bit of cola, and mix that with the cherries--you got it, Cherry Coke. The tannin give it a nice backbone so you know you're drinking a red, but they're extremely smooth. It's light enough that you can drink it with almost anything, but it's got enough going on that I can't think of much food that this wouldn't pair well with.

This wine defines well balanced...not sweet, not dry, not too acidic, but acidic enough to make your mouth water, not too tannic, but tannic enough to give it a bite. Isn't that the sign of a great wine?

In fact, as I drink my current glass, I can't help but wonder why I only have one bottle on the old wine rack. When you consider most places give a discount when you buy by the case, I foresee picking up a case of this sooner rather than later.