Late yesterday afternoon we once again found ourselves, wine glasses in hand, at Susan’s for a tasting of wines from Fiasco Distributors, including several from Laurel Glen. Patrick Campbell’s daughter was there with the Fiasco rep to discuss her wines. We started in Spain, just like the past couple day of the TdF, with a very nice crisp, fruity Señorio de Cruces Albariño. Next was an Inama Soave Classico, also crisp, with a different fruit profile. Then we had the first of the Laurel Glen Argentine wines, a Terra Buena Chardonnay, bright fruit, with little or no oak, much better than I anticipated. Moving on to the reds, we had a good Avignonesi Rosso di Montepulciano - nice red & dark cherry fruit, with still a bit of tannin. This was followed by a Terra Rossa Malbec (also from Laurel Glen’s Argentine property), a light but pleasant, fruity wine. Then we finished with two old vine Lodi wines from Laurel Glen - ‘Reds’ from very old vine Zinfandel, Carignane, & Petite Sirah and ‘ZaZin’ from over a hundred-year old zinfandel vines. Both wines were very rich dark fruit, without being overripe; with reasonable acidity for balance. ‘Reds’ had a little more complexity and a slightly longer finish, while ‘ZaZin’ was more bright berry fruit.
It was an enjoyable tasting, enhanced by the winery representative, who was very articulate about her wines.