Joseph Filippi Winery & Vineyards
NV Alicante Bouschet Port(Cucamonga Valley)
Alicante Bouschet is one of three grapes in the world known to have dark skin as well as dark flesh. Often used as a blending grape for its colorful contribution (most red wines have gotten this way through contact or maceration with the color pigments found in the grape skins), this Teinturier is the only one of the trio that is actually vinifera. To get this grape Henri Bouschet crossed a cutting of his father’s Petit Bouschet with Grenache. In Spain it is widely planted and known as Garnacha Tintorera. The grape is high yielding and thrives in warm climates, but its redeeming quality is still typically its color.
Joseph Filippi’s port version, however, brings the grape to new and highly aromatic heights. Bright, saturated ruby to garnet with amber highlights and unctuous in the glass, this fortified wine immediately engages the nose with aromas of fresh baked pastries, chocolate shop, chocolate truffles, mocha, black currant, cherry, Sambuca, pine resin, and molasses. Intense, round and rich, this decadent dessert wine has flavors of forest berry jam, mocha, vanilla, chocolate, and some woodsy notes. The finish is very long.
Reviewed July 24, 2007 by Catherine Fallis.
Other reviewed wines from Joseph Filippi Winery & Vineyards
Joseph Filippi Winery & Vineyards 2004 Merlot Artist Series Reserve (Paso Robles)Catherine Fallis 8/1/2007 |
Joseph Filippi Winery & Vineyards 2005 Pride of Cucamonga Cinq Vignobles (Cucamonga Valley)Catherine Fallis 1/8/2007 |
Joseph Filippi Winery & Vineyards 2005 Pride of Cucamonga Grenache Noir, Estate (Cucamonga Valley)Catherine Fallis 1/8/2007 |
Joseph Filippi Winery & Vineyards 2005 Pride of Cucamonga Syrah, Hofer Ranch (Cucamonga Valley)Catherine Fallis 10/20/2006 |
Joseph Filippi Winery & Vineyards 2003 Zinfandel Artist Series Reserve (Cucamonga Valley)Catherine Fallis 10/20/2006 |
The Wine
Winery: Joseph Filippi Winery & Vineyards |
The ReviewerFounder and President of Planet Grape LLC, a company committed to bringing the joy of wine, food, and good living into the lives of everyday people, Catherine is creator of the “grape goddess guides to good living,” a series of books, television presentations, seminars, and e-learning programs. The fifth woman in the world to become a Master Sommelier, grape goddess Catherine Fallis is still very much down-to-earth. |