2006 Di Majo Norante Sangiovese Terre degli Osci IGT

Type: Red
Producer: Di Majo Norante
Variety: Sangiovese
Country: Italy
Region: Molise
Appellation: Terre degli Osci IGT
Price: $9.99



The Little Wooden Guy is disappointed, and that's not really fair to the wine. At $9.99, it delivers a decent bang for the buck. No, he is disappointed because it failed to meet its promise, and herein lies one of the real problems with rating wines. The shelf-hanger said:

Wine Advocate - December 2007 - 89 points - Great Values from Italy

"The 2006 Sangiovese Terre Degli Osci is simply gorgeous. This superbly balanced red offers generous, super-ripe blueberry, spice and sweet toasted oak along with a soft, accessible personality."*

Hey, $9.99 for that? What a bargain! And then, disappointment. On the one hand, it suckered me into buying it. On the other hand, I was disappointed where I should have been thrilled- for $9.99 this wine really delivered. So I guess the question is, do they want a large number of individual sales, or a smaller number of multiple sales and loyal customers?

Night One

The nose opens with big aromas, starting with rubber and dark ripe fruit, blackcurrant and plum, followed by spices, primarily pepper and cardamom.

The palate, too, opens with rubber, followed by black pepper, blackberries, plums, and lots of florals, including violets and roses. Vanilla comes out on the finish. Mouth-feel is very smooth.

Night Two

The nose is much lighter on Night Two, more fruity, opening with cherries and raspberries, plus the cherry pits.

The palate is far simpler on Night Two, as well. Cherries and raspberries, some spice including white pepper, not any significant changes on the mid-palate, and a hint of nutmeg added on the finish.

*I am not a big fan of wine ratings and rarely buy anything based upon shelf-hangers, but as the manager of The 89 Project, if see and "89" under $10, I really have to buy it.

The Boom is in the Bottle

From Walla Walla Wine Cellar Blog and amyrootvik.com


2006 BOOMTOWN “UNOAKED” CHARDONNAY WITH 4% SAUVIGNON BLANC

Ah, Boomtown Chardonnay! We’ve decided to feature this delicious, refreshing, delectable wine on our homepage. Chad and Corey at Dusted Valley have always been great to work with, producing vintage after vintage of kick butt wines. And now there’s a whole new line of Boomtown wines that are so ridiculously priced it feels almost like giving away gold.

Scoring 89 points this Chardonnay is on the threshold. This is such a great place to be, really. You know it's good, but it's affordable. No guilt if you want it NOW instead of leaving it cellared for any period of time. It is well made, structured, and has the acidity to pair wonderfully with food. I love the crisp, citrus and fuji apple experience of this Chardonnay.


For those of you who made our Bling & Wine event, you were able to try the stuff. We sold through our entire stock that night. Now we’ve got more on hand and have placed it in a most prominent position. Front and center. Loud and Proud!

As you can see, Wine & Spirits listed Boomtown as one of the top 100 value brands of 2008, for what it’s worth. We’re not huge into the numbers game here. But we (the Wine Cellar team) agree that this wine is a great buy.

89 points. What would be the tipping point? All I know is that, sales and numbers aside, I love this little surprise. Dusted Valley is relatively widely distributed, so do try it. I'll hope for a Monday afternoon on the back patio, sipping Boomtown Chardonnay, soaking up sunshine and drinking in wonder.

And I'd love to discuss why the Chardonnay scored 89 and the Syrah scored 90. Hmm... interesting. Very very interesting...