The Torre and the Hare...

[Enophile]

Continued a week of nice wines with a couple of things yesterday:

1995 Allegrini, Valpolicella, Palazzo della Torre - Dark, jammy berries and plums in the nose, with black pepper, earth, leather, and spice notes. Sweet, jammy blackberry and plum fruit in the mouth, spice, pepper, earthy, leather, and some light smoky flavors. Excellent balance, with very good acidity. I've said before that past vintages of this wine come across like a cross between a Dry Creek Valley Zin and a
good Chianti, and it's the same way here. Excellent QPR at $15, but can I keep my hands off it?? Possibly even better than the excellent '93. Approx...91-92.

1994 Rabbit Ridge, Zinfandel, San Lorenzo Reserve - A gift from Bucko the first time we met after he returned to the mainland. Big, ripe blackberry and raspberry fruit in the nose, with a good wallop of creamy oak, some pepper and other spices. Very nice blackberry and raspberry fruit in the mouth,
creamy oak, cocoa and vanilla, with spice and pepper flavors. Even with the high oak level, this wine shows lots of very nice fruit. I'd have liked a little more restrained use of wood, but it's still a very nice wine. Approx...87-88, maybe going to 90-91 for those of you that really like NFO.

[Woodman]

This is very odd. ENO and I both liked this wine, and both nominated the same white for white wine of the year. Gadzooks!