Floral, full in the mouth, nice acid (could have had a bit more). The only Rhone white I know we’ve both has was the Hog and that was horrible. This is not. Buy it. If you hate it, I’ll take the bottles off your hands.
As a winemaker I rely more on pH than TA. In the old days we had to rely on TA because pH meters were not that reliable. I find the pH correlates more with what I’m tasting in the wine.
I got the CE corkscrew in bone from a previous wine.woot sale. It’s become my go-to corkscrew; more often than not, my Rabbit stays in the cabinet and I reach for this corkscrew.
Pros: Excellent size and weight. Fits the hand well, and the added weight compared to most waiter’s style corkscrews makes for an easier, smoother motion. The jointed lever makes for a fast, easy pull. Looks great.
Cons: The worm is huge - that is, the metal in the spiral is thicker than any I’ve ever used. It can really chew up an old or crumbling cork. The thick worm can also be difficult to get started in the cork. And the hinge on the lever became very loose for me almost from day one. It doesn’t stay closed against the handle, but swings around freely. Doesn’t affect performance, but is an aesthetic drawback for me.
Funny, I rather liked the Donato. Not amazing QPR, but a nice $9 wine. I’m not a big fan of heavy tannins, and I didn’t detect them in the proportions your notes reflect, nor did it seem particularly oaky to me. I would say no more than “medium” tannins, and, despite the Primitivo being the greater part of the blend, my impression is more toward the Sangio end of things, lighter and more acidic. More minerals than oak. Have been enjoying it with pizza and other red-sauce Italian meals. May be in for another case to split, before the deal ends.
I had a similar brand cork from woot on a sale a long time ago. I noticed the same issues with the looseness. I work in a wine bar/steakhouse for a living and open about 10 bottles a shift and my go-to is actually the push hinge.
While this is not the specific one I use, it’s the style: