Domenico Wines 1/17/09

(Richard and Ginny)

They are located in an industrial area of San Carlos, not far north of La Honda Winery. I've had their wines at at tastings a few times before. The real standout was a previous vintage of Aglianico, was was really really good. Most of what I'd had were French varietals and I'd heard quite a buzz that their best wines were the ones made from Italian grapes. I ended up disappointed, as I expected a couple standout wines.

'05 Chardonnay (Santa Cruz Mountains) $24
Nose - bright warm citrus and soft spice.
Round, tart, tangello, mandarin zest, chalky tannin, hints of peach and fig, soft spice. (87-88 pts)

'05 "La Famiglia Rosso" (California) $30
(82% Sangiovese, 9% Petite Sirah, 9% Merlot)
Nose - bright, light red fruit, maybe some VA, rustic, dark spice, hint of frosting.
Rustic, muddled, black and red plum, dark spice, pasty mouthfeel, tart finish. (86 pts)

'05 "Bella Rouge" (California) $22
(40% Grenache, 37% Mourvedre, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Syrah, 2% Zinfandel, 1% Alicante)
Nose - black plum, touch of heat, brown spice, pfeffernusse.
Forward, smooth, dark fruit, exotic spice, peppery mouthfeel, touch of orange peel. (87-88 pts)

'06 Pinot Noir (Santa Cruz Mountains - Mount Madonna) $35
(Contains 2.5% Barbera & .5% Petite Verdot)
Nose - black cherry soda, oak resin.
Resiny, black cherry, viscous, wood spice. (86 pts)

'05 Nebbiolo (Amador County) $26
(Contains 9% Cabernet Sauvignon & 4% Merlot)
Nose - sweet red fruit, anise, cream.
Spicy, tart, red plum, black cherry, VA. Finishes with woody tannin, orange zest, green tannins and a touch of heat. (83 pts)

'05 Aglianico (Amador County) $30
(Contains 8.3% Petite Sirah)
Nose - hint of VA, spiced plum, touch of heat.
Luscious spiced fruit, gritty tannin, black plum, glycerin. (86 pts)

'05 Pinotage (Amador County) $23
Nose - porty blackberry
Smooth, warm, pure blackberry, glycerin, allspice, delicately sweet and porty, orange zest. (88 pts)

They also tasted 4 custom crush wines, two out of bottle and two barrel samples, from 3 different customers. The bottles were fairly crappy, but the barrel samples (both "Ama") were pretty good. I think it all came down to customer choices.