Liquid Sky Vineyards Moon Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, Sonoma County, California

30 Thursday Jul 2026

Posted by in Wine reviews

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,


Deep ruby colored, with high viscosity (15.1% ABV).  The nose has medium (+) intensity aromas of menthol, blackberry, black currant, vanilla, baking spice, tobacco and espresso.  The palate is dry, with medium acidity, a full body, and high tannins.  Medium (+) intensity flavors lead to a medium (+) finish, which is where I notice the heat (unfortunately).  It’s a delicious Sonoma Cabernet that gets high marks, offers decent cellaring capacity yet is drinking nicely now.  I am pairing it with peppercorn steak.  91 points for this $90 offering makes it a treat wine that gets 4 stars from me.  Salut….

Liquid Sky Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Moon Mountain

Ribbon Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023, Ribbon Ridge, Oregon

29 Wednesday Jul 2026

Posted by in Wine reviews

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,


Pale garnet colored, with medium viscosity (13.8% ABV).  The nose has medium intensity aromas of cherry compote, red raspberry, cranberry, sassafras, cola, cedar, and pomegranate.  The palate is dry, with medium (+) acidity, a medium (-) body, and medium tannins that are fine grained.  Medium (+) intensity flavors of red fruit and cola/root beer alongside some cedar notes lead to a medium length finish.  It’s a tasty Pinot Noir that has some cellaring capacity yet would pair beautifully right away with roast Chicken, grilled Salmon, perhaps a Pork chop and some Ratatouille.  90 points from me for this $43 effort makes it a 3 star wine to drink till 2032.  Salut….

Ribbon Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir

Eola Springs Limited Addition red blend 2023, Willamette Valley, Oregon

28 Tuesday Jul 2026

Posted by in Wine reviews

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,


Medium ruby colored, bordering on garnet, with low viscosity (12.2% ABV).  The nose has medium intensity aromas of red and black raspberry, acai berry, mulberry, funky spice, tomato stalk, and a herbal compote.  The palate is dry, with medium (+) acidity, a light body, and medium (-) tannins, all making for a very easy mouthfeel.  Flavor intensity is a touch more than the nose but mimics those interesting fruit notes alongside some savory green hints.  The finish is medium (-) in length but very pleasing.  This light-bodied charmer is a pleasure to drink as an aperitif, and I plan on pairing it with Pork chops.  It needs to stay away from hearty stews, bold steaks or anything gamy.  Overall, a very delightful wine to drink over the short term.  It gets 89 points from me and for the $36 price point, 3 stars.  Not much info out there on this unique blend of Bastardo, Garnacha and Mencia.  Salut….

Eola Springs Limited Addition red blend

 

Gabriel Meffre Tavel Saint-Ferreol Rose 2024, Rhone, France

26 Sunday Jul 2026

Posted by in Wine reviews

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,


Medium salmon colored, with low viscosity (13% ABV).  The nose has medium (-) intensity aromas of strawberry, lemon zest, orange blossom, lanolin, and hint of white cherry.  The palate is dry, with medium (+) acidity and a medium (-) body.  Medium intensity flavors lead to a somewhat short finish.  I was hoping for a bit more out of this $22 offering, akin to the 2022 vintage I recently tasted.  This one gets 87 points and 2 stars from me.  Drink soon.  Salut….

Gabriel Meffre Tavel Saint-Ferreol Rose

Hacienda Urbión Reserva 2015, Rioja, Spain

19 Sunday Jul 2026

Posted by in Wine reviews

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,


Medium-to-deep garnet colored, with medium viscosity (14% ABV).  The nose has medium intensity aromas of steeped red cherry, vanilla, green tobacco leaf, black raspberry, blackberry, baking spice, and menthol.  The palate is dry, with medium acidity, a medium body, and medium (+) tannins that are chalky.  Medium intensity flavors, a slight bitterness and some charcoal add to the mix.  The finish is quite tannic and a touch astringent- yet medium (+) in length.  It’s a decent Tempranillo that gets 89 points from me.  I paid $11 at Costco, on sale from the regular price of $16.  Not bad for a midweek wine that has a bit of age on it.  I think it will drink nicely till 2030.  4 stars.  Salut….

urbion reserva rioja tempranillo

 

Boundary Breaks ‘OLN Ovid Line North’ Medium Dry Riesling 2022, Finger Lakes, New York

10 Friday Jul 2026

Posted by in Wine reviews

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,


Pale lemon colored with a watery sheen (11% ABV).  The nose has medium (+) intensity aromas of petrol, yellow apple, orange blossom, peaches, and pink grapefruit pith. The palate is off-dry, with medium acidity, and a medium (-) body. Medium (+) intensity flavors echo the nose. The finish is medium (+) in length and delicious. 91 points from me for this $17 effort makes it a 5 star wine. Drink till 2035- the acidity will hold this baby together nicely.  Salut….

Boundary Breaks 'OLN Ovid Line North' Medium Dry Riesling

Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle, Rhone, France

04 Saturday Jul 2026

Posted by in Wine reviews

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,


The last wine in the virtual wine tasting series was this stunner.  I picked three different level Rhône wines and our tasting culminated in this legendary Hermitage.  Deep ruby colored with high viscosity (15.5% ABV).  Intense aromas of ripe blackberry pie, smoked brisket, black grape jam (jammy jam as one taster joked), leather, tobacco, etc.  The palate was dry, with medium (-) acidity, a full body, and medium (+) tannins.  Intense flavors and a long finish is all I could write as I sat there and contemplated life, wine, happiness, perfection and richness of flavor and balance.  This is an immense wine, with a structure built to last decades, even the cork was extra long.  An amazing wine that showcases the best of Rhône Syrah.  I gave it a perfect score on our tasting sheet and reckon it’s in the top 3 wines our group has ever drunk- over 175 bottles and counting.  From a technical point of view, this $153 effort gets 95 points at the minimum, maybe higher, earning it a 5 star rating.  I realize it is expensive, but this is such a treat that’s drinking beautifully yet will evolve over time to be even better.  I wish I had a long term cellar so I could stuff a few away.  Salut….

Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle

Paul Avril Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2021, Rhone, France

04 Saturday Jul 2026

Posted by in Wine reviews

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,


Continuing with the Rhône theme at our 44th virtual wine tasting- this Chateauneuf-du-Pape was a hit.  Medium (+) intensity garnet colored with medium (+) viscosity (15% ABV).  The nose had medium (+) intensity aromas of chocolate covered cherries, cherry coke, funk, creme brûlée, black cherry compote, black raspberry, tobacco, hay, barnyard, bacon fat and a slightly vegetal note.  The palate was dry, with medium acidity, a full body, and medium tannins.  We really enjoyed the medium intensity flavors and the medium length finish of this $85 blend of mainly grenache.  It will cellar nicely for a decade or two and scored 92 points technically with 18 points on our tasting sheet garnering 5 stars. Salut….

Paul Avril Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Michel & Stephane Ogier d’Ampuis Plan de Dieu Le Temps est Venu 2020, Cotes du Rhone Villages, France

04 Saturday Jul 2026

Posted by in Wine reviews

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,


The second wine of the 44th tasting was the opener in the Rhône series.  From the broader AOC, Côtes du Rhône came this little number that runs $18 and provided us all with great pleasure.  Medium ruby/garnet colored, and a high viscosity (14.5% ABV).  The nose had medium intensity aromas of stewed strawberry, black cherry, black pepper, funk, compost, sage and garigue.  The palate was dry, with medium (-) acidity, a medium (+) body, and medium tannins.  Medium intensity flavors of black pepper, tobacco, ashtray, black cherry and funk led to a medium length finish.  The tasting group enjoyed this entry-level grenache blend and I gave it 90 points on a technical scale, 14 on our tasting sheet.  For the price- it gets 5 stars.  Drink till 20230.   Salut….

Michel & Stephane Ogier d'Ampuis Plan de Dieu Le Temps est Venu

Marchesi Antinori Castello della Sala ‘Bramito del Cervo’ Chardonnay 2023, Umbria IGT, Italy

04 Saturday Jul 2026

Posted by in Wine reviews

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,


We opened the 44th virtual wine tasting with this delicious Italian Chardonnay.  I like the style- unoaked, no MLF…. purity of fruit driven.  Pale straw colored low viscosity (12.5% ABV), it had medium intensity aromas of peach, green apples, citrus, white flower, stone fruit, and pineapple.  High in acidity, it had a medium (-) body that was refreshing, versus cloying.  The palate had lanolin, stone fruit, citrus, lemon, bitter lime and concluded in a long finish.  We tasted the same wine at room temp and found the aroma to be a bit more intense.  This time around- caramel apple, less citrus driven, lower acidity with a heavier body.  Bigger flavor intensity, less citrus on the palate and hints of butter with a shorter finish.  I scored the wine 90 points on a technical scale and on our tasting sheet- 17 for the chilled and 14 for the room temp.  5 stars from me for the $18 price point.  Drink over the short term.  Salut….

Marchesi Antinori Castello della Sala 'Bramito del Cervo' Chardonnay