St. Clair vs. Suckling - K&L Takes the Suckling Wine Challenge Round 2: Italy

K&L Wine Challenge Round 2: Italy!

St. Clair vs. Suckling: K&L Takes the Suckling Retail Challenge

Challenge #2: Italy

When noted wine critic James Suckling challenged K&L to his retail challenge, our Italian buyer Greg St. Clair was on the first flight to LA to meet him at our Hollywood store to take him up on it.

In this edition of the Wine Challenge, Greg chose three wines from Italy for James to taste blind. All three must meet the price requirement of being $30 or less.

What wines did Greg choose? How did they show? Click the picture above to watch the video from Challenge #2 and find out what wines succeeded and how they scored. 

(We've also posted a cheat sheet of the results with links learn more about each wine below.)

K&L Challenge #2: Italy - Suckling's Scores and Reviews

Click the links to learn more about these wines currently in stock at K&L:

Wine #1

91 pts   2008 Cantine Ascheri Barolo ($29.99)  A wine with really lovely fruit and a citrus and berry character. Full body, with firm tannins and a juicy finish. Long and delicious. So pretty, balanced. Drink now. So right now.

Wine #2

93 pts   2010 Anna Maria Abbona "Maioli" Dolcetto di Dogliani ($20.99) This is crazy with a subtle berry and juicy character. Full and very balanced with fine tannins and complex flavors. Turns firm and gorgeous.

Wine #3

93 pts   2010 Riecine Chianti Classico ($23.99) A wine with fresh fruit and chocolate, berry and juicy character. Lovely undertones of sliced orange. Long. Intense.

Links to Past Challenge Videos

K&L v. Suckling Challenge #1

Stay tuned for more Suckling Wine Challenge videos and related posts on Uncorked...

K&L Italian buyer Greg St. Clair and James Suckling in the K&L Hollywood store.

Auction Spotlight: 2001 Conterno Fantino "Sori Ginestra" Barolo

2001 Conterno Fantino "Sori Ginestra" Barolo. These are the actual bottles, not stock photos.It's hard to imagine that Barolo, like much of Italy, didn't have a particularly stellar reputation 30 years ago. But that all changed in 1987 when the Wine Spectator put the 1982 bottle of this wine, Conterno Fantino's "Sori Ginestra" Barolo on the cover of their esteemed magazine. The 1982 was the first vintage produced by Claudio Conterno and Guido Fantino, and the wine came from what's become an acclaimed southfacing vineyard site in Monforte, Sori Ginestra, notable for its sand and clay-like marl soils with lots of silt that are perectly suited to the delicate Nebbiolo grape. The pair of bottles in this acution lot are in excellent condition, sourced from a Bay Area collector who kept them properly stored in a temperature-controlled cellar since purchase.

These bottles come from the 2001 vintage, which the Wine Spectator describes as having produced, "Aromatic, structured and firm reds with racy character." The wine is, also according to the Wine Spectator, the "Greatest wine ever from here and the wine of the vintage." This 99-point wine was $99 upon release and sells for upwards of $150 a bottle these days.  It also received a 95-point review from Antonio Galloni at Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. Still a youngin'--this wine has more than a generation or two of life left. 

Place your bid on this 2-bottle lot of 2001 Conterno Fantino "Sori Ginestra" Barolo...

This auction ends March 13, 2011 at 5 p.m.