Gonzalez Byass Leonor Palo Cortado Sherry 12 Anos NV, Andalucia, Spain

22 Wednesday Nov 2023

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Pale amber/gold colored with high viscosity (20% ABV).  The color is specatucualr btw, hard to describe.  The nose has medium (+) intensity aromas of warm nuts, yeasty dough, preserved lemon, dried plum, brine, Christmas cake and dried orange peel.  The palate is slightly off-dry but the acidity is high and the body is full.  Dried fruit, warm nuts, yeasty notes and a citrus twist are all present.  The high alcohol hits the back of my throat a touch but blows off rather quickly.  The finish is medium to long and concentrates on the desiccated fruit and salty yeast notes I got on the opening.  This aperitif begs for some olives, charcuterie and warmed almonds.  It’s delicious and gets 92 points from me.  At $17 for 375ml, it gets 5 stars.  Salut….

Precision Wine Co. Cabernet Sauvignon 2020, Napa Valley, California

21 Tuesday Nov 2023

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Deep purple colored with staining on the walls and a high viscosity (14.5% ABV).   The nose has medium (+) intensity aromas of candied cherry, ripe black raspberry, baking spices, vanilla, dill, açaí berry, blackberry and coconut shavings.  The palate is dry with medium acidity and medium tannins that are lush and silky.  Coupled with a full body, this wine has a luxurious mouthfeel.  The fruit turns to black but the oak influence is present with baking spice, vanilla, coconut and dill all present for me.  The candied cherry I got on the nose (which I hate) has departed, replaced with black luxardo-like cherries and blackberry compote.  It’s a delicious wine with a long finish, better on the palate than the nose for sure.  I like it and think it’s worthy of 91 points.  It sells for $25, but my local Costco had it for $10 off making it a screamingly good deal.  Napa Cabernet of this level for $15!  It could go nicely with Filet of beef or a batch of Moussaka.  5 stars.  Drink till 2028.  Salut….

Winzer Krems ‘Kremser Goldberg’ Kellermeister Privat Gruner Veltliner 2020, Kremstal DAC, Austria

21 Tuesday Nov 2023

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Pale lemon with medium viscosity (13% ABV).  The nose has medium intensity aromas of lemon pith, white pepper, white blossom, lanolin, peach, nectarine and red pear.  The palate is dry with a slight spritz, high acidity and a medium (-) body.  Flavors of citrus peel, white pepper, fresh white blossom and some stone fruit take on a slight phenolic bitterness on the mid palate.  The finish is medium in length and crisp with tart citrus and some crunchy peach.  I like this $20 Gruner, it’s fresh and lively and would pair nicely with spicy Asian dishes, grilled Mackerel or even Ceviche.  89 points and 4 stars from me, drink till 2026.  Salut….

Chateau Haut-Bages Liberal 2017, Pauillac, France

20 Monday Nov 2023

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Medium ruby colored with high viscosity and slight staining on the walls- (13.5% ABV).  The nose of this Cabernet blend has medium (+) intensity aromas of cassis, tobacco, leather, cocoa, coffee, blackberry coulis, lavender, vanilla bean and violets.  The palate is dry with medium acidity and medium (+) tannins that are chalky.  Medium to full bodied, this wine has flavors of slightly underripe blackberry, tomato stalk, cocoa, coffee, leather, vanilla and some cassis.  The finish is medium in length and slightly tart.  It has telltale Pauillac notes that I love but is a touch underripe.  I am glad I have a few bottles in the cellar so I can watch the evolution, I think it has some more cellaring capacity and should get better.  Serving it tonight with Sunday Roast.  90 points, $60 and 4 stars.  Salut….

Torres Coronas Tempranillo 2016, Catalunya, Spain

19 Sunday Nov 2023

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Medium ruby colored with medium viscosity legs in the glass (13.5% ABV).  The nose has medium (+) intensity aromas of blackberry, dusty bramble, oaky spice, vanilla, leather, dill and desiccated plum.  The palate is dry with medium acidity and medium tannins that are fully melded into this medium bodied wine.   I get flavors of blackberry, bramble, a dusty component, leather and well integrated oak nuance.  This is a very smooth wine with a lovely mouthfeel that lasts for a short to medium finish.  It’s at peak now and will go nicely with lighter meat dishes as the flavors are not as pronounced as the nose.  I paid $12 as it was a bin-end, available for $15 online.  It gets 88 points from me and 4 stars.  Drink now.  Salut….

Kanonkop Estate Pinotage 2020, Stellenbosch, South Africa

18 Saturday Nov 2023

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Closing out the 33rd virtual wine tasting was this Pinotage from South Africa.  Deep ruby colored it showed high viscosity (14% ABV) and a slight staining on the walls.  Coffee aromas dominated the initial sniff followed by soy sauce, leather, sesame seed (?), black currant, black cherry, orange peel and blackberry.  Medium (+) acidity and medium tannins with a full body made for a lovely mouthfeel.  Flavors mimicked the nose with the addition of a ripe bramble note.  The wine finished medium-long and garnered 17 points on my sheet.  Technically speaking , this $48 effort gets 92 points from me, and 4 stars.  Drink till 2033 with roast game.  Salut….

Chateau du Petit Thouars Chinon Rouge L’Epee 2018, Loire, France

18 Saturday Nov 2023

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Our second red wine of the 33rd tasting was this stunning Cabernet Franc.  Deep ruby colored with a medium viscosity (14.5% ABV) and slight staining of the walls.  Right off the bat I smelled green peppers followed by chocolate, funk, cranberry, cigar, tobacco, leather, charcoal and a perfumed scent.  On the palate it has medium (+) acidity coupled with medium (+) tannins and a full body.  Flavor-wise it gave us chocolate covered cherry, cranberry and some tertiary notes that we got on the nose.  It has developed rapidly, shedding fruit for age influenced aromas and flavors- which I love.  The finish was long, which added points to this already delicious wine.  It turned out to be the wine of the night for most of us.  19/20 on the score sheet and a technical rating of 93 made this $21 bottle a 5 star winner.  I might order more!  Drink till 2028.  Salut….

Giant Steps Pinot Noir 2021, Yarra Valley, Australia

18 Saturday Nov 2023

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Next up at the 33rd virtual tasting was this lovely Pinot.  I drank this a few months ago at a birthday dinner and loved it, hence the re-taste for our group.  It’s a pale garnet color with medium viscosity (13.5% ABV).  Medium (+) intensity aromas of strawberry kick things off followed by barnyard funk, cranberry, strawberry, strawberry shortcake and ‘cardboard box filled with cherries’ from one of the tasters.  On the palate it is dry with medium (+) acidity and medium (-) tannins.  A Medium (-) body carries the delicious cherry, strawberry, baking spice and pomegranate flavors through to a medium length finish.  I enjoyed tasting this wine again, perhaps not as much as the first time but gave it 15 points on our sheet and a 92 rating.  For $43 it gets 4 stars from me.  Drink with lighter meat dishes till 2030.  Yummy stuff.  Salut….

Ixsir Grande Reserve White 2019, Batroun, Lebanon

18 Saturday Nov 2023

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We tasted this Viognier based blend last night at the 33rd Virtual Wine Tasting event.  As per usual it was scored at room temp as well as chilled.  We normally see a preference for room temp whites but this bottle was the opposite.

Pale lemon with high viscosity (14.6% ABV).  Medium (-) aromas of minerality, honeysuckle, peach, pear and nectarine.  The palate was dry with medium (+) acidity and a full body.  Stone fruit dominant there were also flavors of honeysuckle and that rocky minerality.  A medium (-) length finish detracted some points for an overall rating of 10 for me on our scoring sheet.

Served chilled- the wine really took on its own with more noticeable peach, a touch of lemon and that honeysuckle.  On the palate is was slightly less acidic but fuller bodied, opposite of what I was imagining would happen.  The palate mirrored the nose with the addition of a pithy bitterness towards the mid palate.  The finish seemed to linger longer and the wine scored higher, 12 on the sheet.  Overall this is a 91 point wine for me and at $24, it gets 4 stars.  Grilled salmon or a Cornish hen would pair nicely.  Drink till 2030. Salut….

Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau 2023, Beaujolais, France

16 Thursday Nov 2023

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It’s the third Thursday in November- time to crack the Nouveau Beaujolais which went on sale at 12:01 am.  It’s an interesting story in marketing and winemaking, look it up.  The premise is to get a wine to market quickly that is juicy and fruity without much structure, aging capacity or complexity.  It’s supposed to be a fun wine.  This one will hopefully replicate last year’s success. Pale to medium purple colored with low viscosity (13% ABV).  The nose of this Gamay shows off textbook aromas of grape, bubblegum, cherry, lilac, purple licorice, sweet black plum, açaí berry and banana.  This profile is due to the carbonic maceration technique used to rapidly vint this wine.  The palate is dry with medium acidity and low tannins.  Light-bodied, this beauty gives me grape bubblegum, cherry, banana, açaí berry and black plum along with a trace of wood shavings.  The finish is zesty with the acidity lingering longer than the short-medium term of the fruit.  It’s worth every cent of its $15 price and get 89 points from me, respectable for what it is.  Run out and get a bottle, drinking window is till the end of the month.  5 Stars!  Salut….