Is this considered a good one??

[willp58]

In a wine store, we're faced with hundreds of different bottles of wine from all over the world.
After studying several, I decided on a bottle of A-MANO (Primivito-Pulgia 2001) from Italy..
I've decided that so far, of all the wines I've tried - this is the best one.
Please give me your honest expert opinions...Is this really considered a good wine?
The first thing I noticed was a somewhat "nutty" odor that demanded several testings.
There was a decided fruity flavor that my uneducated palate couldn't identify.
There was no lingering aftertaste at all..
There was no "sense" of alcohol..(altho this is 14%/volume)

For years I've been a big fan of the low alcohol jug wines. Lately tho I've been a little bored with them and have been experimenting.
This one is so good, I want to send a bottle to my friends!

[Innkeeper]

Based on sales, it is a very popular wine. Have not tried it myself, but you might want to check out this thread: http://wines.com/ubb2/Forum13/HTML/000462.html

[willp58]

Innkeeper,

I checked the other thread on this and I guess the experts are rating this wine as "not too good"..

Someday I would sincerely LOVE to try a wine that was considered "good" by the experts..

[Innkeeper]

Those were just the opinions of other people like you. We don't have many experts around here. Speaking strickly as an observer, with no experience with the wine, it seems that it was a great value at one time, but has fallen off in recent vintages possibly due to increased production. You might use the search function to get other opinions. There has been a lot of positive talk around here over the years.

[Drew]

It's still a pretty good wine but has just slightly fallen off compared to past efforts. Bottom line is if you like it, then it's good.

Drew

[hotwine]

I liked the '99 enough to buy a case, but only bought two bottles of the '00, which I thought had declined slightly. Have not tried the '01, but agree with Drew, if you like it, it's good.

It's getting harder to find good $10 imports these days, due to the strength of the euro. However..... it seems that some distributors have not yet raised prices to compensate for the weak dollar, since they contracted for imports at the earlier exchange rates. So if you want stuff from Europe, buy now to avoid price increases of ~40% or so in the near future.

[Thomas]

Hotwine, the prices in NY for European wines have already rocketed.

willp, A-Mano is considered a stable and fairly good value. So if you like it, then you like it.

There are many other Primitivi on the market--the top of them usually are Primitivo di Manduria, a place where the grape seems to thrive well.

[willp58]

I guess I was a little dissapointed this wasn't considered "all that" good..
I go the the liquer store and see hundreds of bottles of wine from all over the world.

It's near impossible for a novice to select one that's a "little better" than the one I had last week..

It seems like 75% of all wines in the store are either Cabernet or Merlot..So when I spotted this "gem" I thought I had a winner..

ALso bought a bottle of NYS wine that had strawberries added..Now that one wasn't too good.

Thanks for the comebacks on this..it keeps me hunting for the "great" one..That I might find covered with dust..hiding behind the Rose'...~big grin~

[wondersofwine]

Willp58,
Do you have a wine shop in your area--where wine is the only beverage sold--not whiskey and vodka, etc.? The sales staff might be able to help you if they are more familiar with the wines. One Italian blended wine I really like that is not TOO expensive is Ciacci Picolomini Ateo--a blend of Sangiovese grapes (about 60-70%) with 30-40% Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. It has been highly rated (the 1999 vintage rated 92 points on a 100-pt. scale) by Wine Advocate, but I am going by my own attraction to the wine, because I liked it before I knew about the rating points. Ateo sells for a range of $20 to $29 but possibly you could talk the shop manager into opening a bottle for tasting before you purchase (maybe on a busy Saturday where the tasting might encourage other customers to buy the wine as well). It may or may not be to your taste. Or you might try a Beaujolais Cru. Fleurie is one that is fruity and fragrant and usually fairly approachable at two or three years. Look for 2001 vintage. This should also be reasonably priced (many of the Beaujolais Cru wines--ten particularly highly regarded communes or towns within the Beaujolais region--sell for under $20). The Beaujolais Cru are generally considered to be good, sound wines if not great or earth-shaking.

[This message has been edited by wondersofwine (edited 03-23-2004).]

[willp58]

WW,
Unfortunately, we don't have a wine store here, just liquer stores.
I will definitely look unto the wines you suggested.
Thanks!

[wondersofwine]

Your welcome and let us know how the search goes.