Category Archives: Wine reviews

Thorn Clarke ‘Shotfire’ Shiraz 2010

05 Sunday May 2013

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I have had this label many vintages ago and it rings well for good value and taste.  Not overly done, it is also far from restrained.  Offering up black pepper, blackcurrants and some oaky smokiness.  It is rounded in the mouth and the tannins are very smooth.  For $15 you are getting an excellent party wine that will impress yet not break the bank.  I imagine another 5 years is tops for cellaring and it might benefit from a few of those.  I reckon 3 stars and 88 points for this Barossa offering.

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Veuve Clicquot NV

05 Sunday May 2013

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I normally put the picture after my notes, but in this case I figured it was worth a thousand words.  Who does not recognize this wine?  It is widely available, decently priced and always a consistent performer.  NV means it is of no particular vintage and signifies two points.  The wines were not of a quality for the Champagne house to ‘declare’ a vintage, and 2: The wine is consistent with the house style of previous years.

On the nose, bright apple mixed with some interesting yeast notes.  On the palate, very smooth bubbles open up a spicy citrus laden apple pie thingy.  It’s hard to explain, but a very interesting mix of flavors.  This is by far the best bottle of VC I have had.  Its acidity was well defined and the balance of the key components was excellent.  When you buy a real ‘Champagne”, it’s going to cost.  At around $45 per bottle, this is a 4 star wine that I would give 91 points to.  A crowd pleaser for most occasions.

I was going to Sabre the bottle, but ran out of time.  Here’s how I did it in the past- a neat party trick.

Allain Graillot Crozes Hermitage 2005

05 Sunday May 2013

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Syrah is synonymous with Hermitage and Crozes-Hermitage.  This is  land where the French have perfected fine Syrah for hundreds of years.  Made in a traditional style, respecting the grape, the soil and the palate.  These wines are about complexity and balance, leaving the extraction and over-the-topness to New World producers who refer to it as Shiraz.  This wine has started to evolve and is now taking on what I yearn for in aged wines- funk.

Purple in color, the nose had a definite pepper note mixed with some blue fruit and dirt.  Sounds funny, I know, but when a wine matures and picks up barnyard, earth or other non-fruity attributes, it excites me.  This wine came through with earth meets blackberry on the palate.  Very smooth tannins are almost imperceptable and the acidity was in check.  For an 8 year old wine, it has certainly evolved, yet I fear it will only last a few more years.  It is at peak right now and would accompany a Filet perfectly.  A gift from a friend that in my opinion should be a 91 pointer and worthy of 4 stars.  I decanted the bottle and let it open for about an hour as it had some sediment and I figured it would benefit from ‘opening up’.

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Decanting, my way

04 Saturday May 2013

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I was recently asked how and why I decant.  The how is easy and with my daughter’s help I managed to record it for you.  I use a Riedel decanter, a tall candle and a steady hand to decant my wines.  The Why is the subject of many debates in the wine world.  I do it when I suspect the wine, due to age, has a lot of sediment.  I also use it as a way to artificially age a wine so it shows better with an hour or two of ‘breathing’.  Some wines also have a funky aroma when first opened and need to be decanted to help them shake the nasty.  Words of caution, some older wines will be fine if drunk right after decanting, while others will lose their whole personality rather quickly.  It is a fine balance.  I will add a comment to any wine I taste that has been decanted in the future so you can see my patterns.  Meantime, try it out for yourself…..

Orin Swift ‘The Prisoner’ 2010

30 Tuesday Apr 2013

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I hate it when the host waits for us to get half-in-the-bag before pulling out a really good (read expensive) bottle.  Well, that’s what happened, yet again.  The facts:  I did not buy this so I had to look it up, $40 ish.  Pro points- 90.  Blend: 51% Zinfandel, 19%Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Syrah, 12% Petite Sirah and some Charbono and Grenache to finish it off.

My take, initially….. in-your-face-Cali-Cab, fruit forward, New World bomb.  I instinctively thought Napa Cab overdone, but now realize it was the ripe Zinfandel that was leading me astray.  Dark purple in the glass, a huge blueberry nose leads into a blackberry and fruit compote palate.  This is not my style of wine, way over-extracted and too much fruit.  It was miraculously balanced and slightly tannic.  Miraculous in the sense that you have to work really hard to mess with very ripe fruit, extract the last ounce out of it and still maintain acidity balance and control the alcohol (It weighs in at a whopping 15.2%, yet it is well cloaked- beware).  The tannins are much more subdued than I had expected of such a young wine, perhaps the Zinfandel is the culprit again.

The wine has a long finish that translated back into a certain blueberry note that I enjoyed.  Overall though, a 3 pointer for me.  I would have guessed at 90 points and agree with WS.  For $40 there are others out there I’m afraid.  If you like highly extracted (I don’t mean complex or heavy) wines that are really fruity, this might fit right up your alley.  For me, I prefer a little finesse and slightly lower alcohol.

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Domaine Lalande Pinot Noir 2009

28 Sunday Apr 2013

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A Frenchy that acts all New World….  Very nice and easy drinking, yet so totally un-burgundian in flavor profile.  I would hazard a guess that some Syrah has been added here as the wine is really much darker, heavier and less Pinot like than what I expected.  Very nice flavors of strawberry and blackberry, yet no cherry (unlike most Pinots).  Certainly no earthiness to this wine and the fruit forwardness shows a new style of winemaking.  Balanced, yet lacking any tannic structure, this wine is an easy drinker that won’t break the bank.  We drank it per-dinner and then with some burgers, it played well.  I would give this one 86 points technically and 4 stars for being decent at a good price.

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Scheid ‘Odd Lot Red’ 2010

28 Sunday Apr 2013

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A bottle that was brought by a friend and served with some steak and chicken.  It took no time to sniff out the two basic ingredients here, Syrah and Merlot.  Without trying to be rude, my host asked what I thought of this wine…..  “Make-up”.  I can’t describe it any better, there was a certain fakeness to this wine that really did not agree with me.  On the other hand, it is an easy drinker that is a sure crowd-pleaser for what it is.  However, at $20 plus per bottle, a major pass in my books.  I really did not care for the almost candy-like flavor of the cherry and strawberry fruit.  The tannins were very slight, but the wine was indeed balanced.  I hate being a wine downer, but this one was just not for me.  Technically speaking, I would imagine it is an 86 point wine, but for the price- 2 stars.

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It’s my birthday

21 Sunday Apr 2013

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Well, it was and we celebrated a bit early because I was traveling.  Moxie indulged me with some Filet Mignons and I dutifully obliged with one of my last 1996 Lynch Bages.

I bought a case of this wine at a Parisian wine shop circa 1998 soon after its release.  I have been slipping a bottle out of the cellar every Christmas for a few years and decided to treat myself to one this week.  I can honestly say that this was one of the finest bottles of wine I have ever had.  There is little else a bottle of wine can do for me that this one didn’t.  Stored in the dark cave, it has matured and is starting to hit its peak at 16 years of age.  On the nose pure Paulliac cassis and blueberry.  On the first wave of palate covering richness there was blackberry, cassis and tobacco, followed by leather and cedarbox.  Not a hint of imbalance and absolutely gorgeous tannins caressed my mouth.  I forgot to time the finish, but it seemed to last forever.  The depth of concentration was so amazing that I just kept sipping, almost not wanting to spoil the tasting with food.  I could have sat there all night savoring every drop, but alas the steaks had to be grilled.  I pray that I still have more in the cellar and will vow to drink the next one in one year’s time.

A show stopping 95 pointer that I must give 5 stars to.  I just looked at pricing- currently running at about $150 per bottle, I think I paid $45 back in the day.  Stupendous wine that has truly rewarded my patience and cellaring.  I am grateful to the have been able to enjoy such magnificence.  Good night.

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Chateau Bel-Air 2004

21 Sunday Apr 2013

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I bought two magnums of this St. Emilion several years ago to test a theory on storing magnums versus regular sized bottles.  I just needed to prove to myself that a magnum ages slower.  Damn straight.  This bottle is still young and exhibits plenty of youth with its rather obtrusive tannins.  Not overly complex or heralded, it is nonetheless a Bordeaux.  Bright cherries on the nose translated into cranberry and leather on the palate.  A decent finish and balance were evident as were the tannins.  I don’t think I paid very much for these magnums and am pleasantly surprised.  I will hold the other one for another 3-4 years and re-visit.  I might mention that I drank from this bottle over three nights, with the second night being the smoothest.  The third night showed too much oxidation and the first night it needed air.

I just did a quick price search, the ’09 can be had for $20.  Bang for the buck, 4 stars.  Quality-wise I reckon this wine would have to be 88 points.

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Château Cheval Brun 2009

14 Sunday Apr 2013

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By the time we got to this wine, it was late and our ‘palates’ were suffering ‘fatigue’.  Let me re-phrase… we were plain old drunk by this point, or we would have realized that we had brought the best bottle out last.  The number one rule of wine drinking (versus tasting) is to start with the best and finish with the rotgut because everyone is usually hammered and can’t taste much.

Oh well, I do remember that this was a really good bottle, yet again from the much heralded 2009 Bordeaux vintage.  Beautiful purple color in the glass and a very defined blueberry note on the nose translated into a gorgeous palate of oak, cassis and plums.  A certain earthiness lent itself well to this wine and should be interesting to watch it evolve.  I wish I had been in a better position to really taste this wine, because I reckon it would have more depth than I was able to record.  For the price, a 4 star wine that I estimate deserves 90 points.  Definitely stick some in the cellar and start drinking in 2-3 years.  Delicious.

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