Author Archives: caspernick

David Arthur Estate Meritaggio 2015, Napa Valley, USA

20 Wednesday May 2020

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This wine was over-hyped by a retailer that I use so I had to jump in on a case.  Glad I did…

Bright purple- semi opaque.  The nose is sublime…. purple plums, blackberry, a hint of oak.  On the palate it’s very fruity and a touch tannic.  Full on with blackberry reduction, plums and tobacco.  The tannic bite is very gentle and balanced.  The mid palate is a touch more dry, but very manageable.  Oolong tea and spices mingle with the plums and blackberry, delicious.  The finish is fab.  This wine screams Napa sunshine, it lacks the telltale eucalyptus but shines in the plums and black berries.  The tannic structure is impressive- starting out gentle, ending up in a crescendo of tea and charred oak notes.  92 points and 4 stars- $60. Drink till 2027.  Salut….

Daou Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, Paso Robles, USA

20 Wednesday May 2020

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Our wine of the night at the second Virtual wine tasting.  You can’t go wrong with a Cali Cab.  The wine just oozes sunshine, rich fruit, nice oak and balance.  The nose on this wine was all black cherry.  Tons of it.  The initial palate included those dark beauties alongside some plum, blueberry and coconut.  Licorice featured on the mid palate where the tannins really started to grip.  Mouthfeel was very full, rich and nicely balanced with acid, black tea and a touch of plum jam sweetness.  The finish was really nice, long and a touch dry.  This wine was drinking beautifully and was an easy ringer at the end of the night.  92 points from me, drink till 2028.  For $27 it should feature in your cellar, 5 stars.  Salut….

Chateau Greysac 2015, Medoc, France

20 Wednesday May 2020

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The nose on the third wine of our virtual tasting was wild.  Gamy AF, with loads of mushroom, forest floor, bacon fat and some semblance of black fruits.  On the palate it was much more manageable and in line with expectations.  Bramble, blackberry reduction, leather and some really nice tannins all came together on the palate.  The wine smoothed out some on the mid palate and it showed some nice balance between the fruit, the tertiary flavors, tannins and acidity.  The funk wore off but there were trace elements of morel mushrooms, leather and blackberry.  The finish was where this wine finally came on pointe.  Good fruit presentation, some nice touches of those secondary flavors and a decent amount of astringency from the lithe tannins.  Overall I really enjoyed this wine, but the nose was offputting for many on the tasting.  91 points for me.  Drink till 2026, but let it breathe for at least an hour to help dispel the funk.  For $20, it gets 5 stars.  Salut….

E. Guigal Cotes du Rhone 2016, France

20 Wednesday May 2020

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The second wine of our tasting lineup showed bright purple in the glass with nice legs giving caution to the 14.5% alcohol.  I listened to all the inputs from our group and concurred that this wine had loads of pepper, game, plum and garrigue.  The longer the wine sat out, the smoother it got and the terroir really shone.  Mass produced yet very good at 91 points from me.  Drink this blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mouvedre till 2027 with stews, leg of lamb or a hearty pasta.  5 stars for this sub $15 ringer.  Salut….

Schug Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 2018, California, USA

20 Wednesday May 2020

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This was the first wine of my Second Lockdown Virtual Tasting.  It was the only white in the lineup, so it had to be a Chardonnay from California.  I instructed everyone to chill half the bottle and reserve the other half at room temperature.  We were going to do an experiment.

The wine is a nice golden color in the glass.  The nose of the chilled wine had pear, apple and citrus notes.  On the palate it followed the theme with some nice acidity.  The finish was decent in length and showed off that Apple/pear combo nicely.  I had researched whether this wine had undergone Malolactic fermentation but could not find proof from any literature, except to assume it had as the winery mentioned one other Chard in their portfolio that specifically did not go through Malo.  The wine was quite sharp and lacked the telltale butter notes of the secondary fermentation, I’m baffled.

Anyways- we then tried the same wine at room temp.  Huge differences with flavors and mouthfeel.  The experiment worked, the point being that most pros taste whites at room temperature and we needed to see the differences.  Besides the fuller body it included less citrus, more pear and apple, alongside a touch of baking spices.  The wine drank beautifully for me and I gave it 91 points.  I would pair it with summer salad, prawn cocktail or blackened Salmon and drink till 2026.  $20 gets it 5 stars.  Salut….

Cameron Hughes Lot 717 Super Tuscan 2015, Toscana, Italy

19 Tuesday May 2020

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Very rich purple in the glass and semi opaque.  The nose gives off cherry, baking spices, bakers yeast and red currants.  On the palate it is very drinkable, smooth and fruity.  Raspberries, red currants and those spices hit the palate.  As the wine rolls over the mid palate I get a sour rhubarb note that gives the wine some zing.  Very fine grained tannins appear on the finish to leave a rather pleasant mouthfeel.  This light to medium bodied wine calls for white pasta dishes, roast chicken or Prosciutto wrapped Asparagus.  It gets 90 points from me and I would drink till 2024.  For $20, it’s a good deal on Super Tuscan juice.  4 stars.  Salut….

Cameron Hughes Lot 721 ‘Plan de Dieu’ 2018, Cotes Du Rhone, France

14 Thursday May 2020

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A touch murky in the glass with medium dark purple.  Semi opaque.  On the nose I get plum, bramble, white pepper.  The initial palate is very pleasing, if not a touch sweet.  Lush, ripe plums alongside blackberry and violets.  The mid palate has a nice tangy acidic bite alongside very ingrained, lithe tannins.  More purple fruit flavors and a spiciness comprise the profile I get on the back end with a nice, dry finish that is quite long.  This is a very drinkable pop-n-pour wine that gets 89 points from me.  I like it a lot for short term enjoyment.  Drink till 2024.  It’s a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mouvedre.  For $15 it gets 4 stars.  Salut….

J. Davies Cabernet Sauvignon 2014, Diamond Mountain District, USA

14 Thursday May 2020

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The nose is all-singing and dancing Napa Cab.  You can smell the sunshine.  Wow….. Ripe, lush blackberries.  Vanilla, coconut and several other oaky traits are evident without being obnoxious.  On the palate there’s a ton of vanilla alongside black fruits, jammy currants and a dose of the wood.  The mid palate is very smooth, full bodied.  Juicy and jammy with gobs of black fruit, lithe tannins and some deft oak.  The finish is very smooth, loaded with those wood nuances and providing me with a beautiful mouthfeel.  93 points.  For $100 it’s quite pricy, but then again Napa Cabs are not cheap.  5 stars.  Drink till 2027.  Salut….

Chateau Lafaurie-Peyraguey ‘La Chapelle de Lafaurie’ 2016, Sauternes, France

14 Thursday May 2020

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Light gold in the glass.  The nose is lemony with honeyed apricot and some orange marmalade.  The palate is very orange dominated.  Marmalade and green almond are the primary flavors.  Honey and some nuttiness also feature.  There is that bitterness that’s evident in orange marmalade- it appears on the midpalate.  The finish is very seductive, light and sweet.  It’s a candied melon meets honey and citrus reduction.  Did I mention it’s long and makes my mouth pucker?  Albeit young, this wine is delicious and will evolve.  Drink till 2034.  91 points and 5 stars, $35.  Salut….

Cameron Hughes LOT 692 Barbaresco 2007, Italy

12 Tuesday May 2020

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Quite see-through and showing off a reddish/purple hue in the glass.  On the nose I get sour cherry and rhubarb.  On the palate it starts off with that sour cherry, some cola and rooibos tea.  There is a crisp acidity that begins on the front end and carries all the way through.  Lithe tannins greet me on the mid palate where the sour cherry theme continues alongside some raspberry and vanilla notes.  The finish is quite tart but I get a very defined cherry note and some earthiness- leather and creosote.  Overall this is a tasty wine but for $39, it’s a stretch.  I’m going 89 points and 3 stars.  Drink till 2025 with Pasta or hearty appetizers.  Salut….