I finally opened the 2019 Bell Springs Montepulciano that I received in one of my Texas Wine Club shipments, before they went defunct.
At first, I thought I left it too long, but it just needed to air out a little. The cork was extremely tight, so this wine did not breathe.
It was light but had a meaty mouth feel – meaning I wanted to chew it instead of just drink it. Not a bad thing – just not something I’ve experienced before with a Texas wine.
It was dry and spicy, kinda peppery and a bit tannic for me (dried out my tongue). It lingers on the tongue with an odd flavor, but again, not a bad thing.
It paired really well with the pasta with a mushroom red sauce. The sauce smoothed out the rough edges of the wine and made it really drinkable.
Final Thoughts
This is a solid Tuesday night wine. It’s got a great dark color, and the flavor lingered a little after the pasta, but not as roughly without. I’d personally not just sit down and drink this one – I’d need something with it. The Whitman’s sampler (a gift) was a perfect match with the wine. It even paired pretty well with the maple cream – although much better with the strawberry cream one. Overall, a great wine since I was a bit disappointed when I realized the bottle was empty.
