Ondine Chattan Gewurztraminer 2021, Mendocino, California

07 Saturday Jan 2023

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Pale lemon colored this aromatic varietal has a pretty intense nose.  Aromas of pineapple, rose petals, white flowers, marshmallows and orange peel.  The palate is dry with medium acidity and a boatload of flavors.  I get exotic pineapple, orange pith, white flowers, rose water and that marshmallow note, which I have never encountered in wine.  There is a touch of bitterness that I think contributed to the orange pith note that sits on the roof of my mouth.  The acidity is very balanced with the level of fruit ripeness and this 13% ABV wine is medium to full bodied.  It’s certainly delicious and the finish carries for a decent length.  I love this varietal, hence the purchase.  This one would pair beautifully with some Thai food of medium spice or even Indian fare.  It’s rare to think of a wine harmoniously working with spicy foods but this one has the ripeness and acidity to go the distance.  I would drink this sooner rather than later and chill it slightly for maximum enjoyment.  89 points for this $14 effort making it a 4 star wine in my books.  Salut….

Sam Plunkett Forest Hut Vineyard Shiraz 2019, Pyrenees, Australia

06 Friday Jan 2023

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Somewhat hazy (unfiltered?) but a very opaque shade of ruby in the glass with medium legs and slight staining on the walls.  The nose is intense with gorgeous aromas of blueberry, blackcurrant, black cherry, menthol, elderberry, coffee bean and chocolate powder.  The palate is dry with medium (+) acidity and medium (+) tannins.  Really ripe flavors of black cherry, blueberry, blackcurrant and elderberry meld beautifully with the menthol and coffee notes.  Rich and full bodied this is a delicious wine that only rings in at 13.6% ABV, surprising to me.  The tannic structure is excellent, giving a nice and silky dryness to the mouthfeel while fading gently as the fruit continues to roll on to a long finish.  This is an outstanding Shiraz if you like them big and bold, which suits me fine for the Lamb chops I am grilling to pair with.  I would say this one has some cellaring capacity but is drinking beautifully now and will last until 2028.  92 points from me for this $17 wine makes it a hard to beat 5 star effort.  Salut….

Cooper’s Hawk Winery Barbera NV, California

05 Thursday Jan 2023

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Pale ruby colored with some lightening on the edges and medium legs on the wall.  This Barbera is nicely aromatic with black raspberry, bilberry, perfume, mint and vanilla.  The palate is dry but I sense a tiny bit of residual sugar, but under the threshold of making it an off-dry wine.  Medium acidity and lithe tannins lead me to medium intensity flavors of black berries, mint, baking spice and vanilla.  There is a touch of bitterness (not from the tannins), on the mid-palate that sits on the roof of my mouth.  The body is medium (-) and the finish is medium in length.  I picked this $24 effort to go with Duck in Orange sauce, I think it will work well.  This is slightly atypical of the Italian Barberas I have tasted in that the tannins are very mild and the acidity is lower than expected, perhaps from a warmer climate than usual.  It gets 87 points from me and 3 stars.  Drink soon.  Salut….

Klein Constantia Vin de Constance Natural Sweet Wine 2016, Constantia, South Africa

01 Sunday Jan 2023

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Part of our New Year’s Eve lineup, this iconic sweet dessert wine from South Africa is a deep gold color.  The nose blows me away with intense aromas of honey, Soursop (aka Guanabana), mango, apricot, quince and orange marmalade.  The palate is sweet and silky with medium acidity and a full body.  Ripe flavors of apricot, quince, mango candied ginger and soursop are enveloped with honey and white flower notes.  Unctuous without being cloying, this is a delicious yet young wine that slips down so easily.  The finish is long and silky with richness and a hint of almond to go along with the apricots and marmalade.  A stunning wine that runs $63 per 500ml bottle.   It gets north of 97 points from the pro’s.  I would have to agree.  Drinking window…. I love it now but will savor the other bottles I have over a period of time, till 2045 if you are patient.  5 stars for this Muscat of Frontignan varietal.  Stunning.  Salut….

St. Supery Cabernet Sauvignon 2014, Napa Valley, California

31 Saturday Dec 2022

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For an eight year old wine, there is still plenty of opaque purple color, albeit with some garnet showing on the rim of this Napa Cabernet which ws served from a Double Magnum, aka a Jeroboam of wine.  Slow moving legs and a bit of staining on the walls give me clues of what to expect.  The nose has ample primary fruit aromas of black plum, blackberry, cassis, menthol, eucalyptus, black raspberry and cherry cola.  Baked black fruit hints are starting to emerge as this wine starts its evolution.  It’s still youthful with lots of cellaring ahead.  The palate is dry with medium acidity and medium tannins that are super smooth and fine grained.  Very rich black fruit flavors with some oak treatment caress my mouth, the spices and vanilla very faint.  It’s very balanced and smooth with a medium body and medium length finish.  I really like the fact that it is still rather primal yet the structure has really mellowed out and is a seamless play of acidity, balance and alcohol on a medium weight wine.  Delicious and worthy of 93 points from me.  A regular bottle will run you $45 making this a 5 star effort that has rewarded medium-term cellaring and will drink beautifully till 2028.  Salut….

Domaine Bernard Serveau Les Sentiers 2009, Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru, France

23 Friday Dec 2022

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Pale garnet colored, this 13 year old Pinot Noir is starting to show some age.  The nose  is too.  Baked cherry, dried strawberry, caramel, chocolate powder, orange peel, vanilla pod, figs and raisin compote- very layered with primary, secondary and tertiary aromas.  The palate is bone dry with medium (+) acidity and low tannins.  Flavors of dried and stewed red fruit with caramel and cocoa powder dominate.  It’s not as rich or complex as the nose was indicating.  Light bodied it carries through to a short finish that is comprised of tart cherry, cranberry and some caramel.  I was hoping for more from a 1er Cru Burgundy- 88 points with a drink till 2024 window.  It would normally run $50+ and therefore gets 3 stars from me.  We are pairing it with roast Turkey and all the accompaniments.  Salut….

Ixsir Altitudes Blanc 2021, Batroun, Lebanon

20 Tuesday Dec 2022

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Having just visited this winery where I tasted the 2022 from the still unbottled vats I had to bring home a bottle to share with Moxie.  It shows a beautiful medium straw-lemon color in the glass.  The nose has pronounced aromas of lemon, grapefruit, lychee, pineapple, white flower, a hint of vanilla bean and perhaps some bread.  The palate is dry and a touch bitter with grapefruit pith, lemon, rose, lychee, pineapple and a floral note making it quite a complex array of delicious flavors.  Medium acidity and a medium to full body take me to a finish that lasts a good 20 seconds and delves into the citrus and pith world.  It’s very floral and fruity with just the right amount of cut to make it a pleasing aperitif wine that I would pair with chicken and dare I say- spicy foods.  So glad this bottle survived my extensive travels from Beirut to the UK and finally home, well worth the effort.  A blend of Obeideh, Muscat and Viognier it can be found for $18 and gets 90 points from me making it a 5 star effort.  Salut….

Drinking from the vat

 

Prophecy Pinot Noir 2018, California

19 Monday Dec 2022

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I have just returned from Lebanon and the UK, so Moxie decided to cook a meal for me and Beef Bourguignon it is!  She did not venture into the cellar for a bottle of Pinot, opting to remain clear and go directly to the wine shop where she picked up this $11 California offering.  It shows medium opacity and a somewhat dull ruby color with medium looking legs (13.8% ABV).  The nose is interesting for a New World Pinot- there’s quite a bit of earthiness to alongside the cherry, pomegranate and raspberry aromas.  I also get some baking spices and a touch of funky red licorice.  The palate is dry with very lithe tannins and low acidity.  It’s a fruit forward wine that bursts with cherry and strawberry, pomegranate and black raspberry.  The spices are present but very subdued.  Medium bodied with a short finish- quite tasty.  This is a not an age worthy wine, but it rocks as a pop-n-pour and doesn’t break the bank.  It gets 87 points from me and 4 stars.  Very smooth and appealing.  Drink till 2025.  Salut….

Chateau Ksara tour

16 Friday Dec 2022

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My last winery tour in Lebanon was to Ksara where we started out with a delicious lunch.  Having just tasted over 20 wines prior to noon, it was a nice break to feast on Duck and fries.

We walked through their caves and on the beautiful grounds before entering the tasting room where we go to try their delicious wines.  Rosé, Chardonnay, Moscatel, Carignan and their top level cuvee.  All delicious but the chateau wine was truly appreciated on my flight to London.  The 2016 was served with dinner and I was amazed at how delicious it was.  Once again- Lebanese wine with some cellaring blew me away.  There is something to be said about the terroir in Lebanon, it makes stunning, ageworthy wines from native grapes was well as International varieties.  Something to keep an eye out for.  A thoroughly enjoyable afternoon at this winery which ranks number #1 in production in the country.  Salut….

Chateau St. Thomas winery tour

16 Friday Dec 2022

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My cousins own this winery in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon.  I have been a fan of their wines for many years and finally got to meet them and visit the winery- what a most excellent time we had.  Starting with a traditional breakfast we gathered around my cousins and got to know each other.  My first thought was ‘they must be expecting a large group on this murky Saturday because the lady behind the bar was decanting quite a few bottles of wine- little did I know….

Our tour of the cellars started with barrel samples of Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and then a blend.  The 2017 wines were very youthful, tannic and delicious.  Way too early to contemplate drinking.  The 2018 barrel blend was stunning.  Perfumed, it was integrated with smooth tannins.  It will be a beautiful wine in bottle.  Our tasting continued upstairs where we were treated to the samples of their Rosé, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Gamay blend and others.  Then came time for the Chateau wine and my cousin’s Merlot.  Stunning.  Simply amazing wines that we were treated to.  Vintages going back to 2000 were sampled.  The Merlots we drank were impeccable.  I kept thinking to myself that Lebanese wines are amazing- they truly reward patience in the cellar.  My cousin is an excellent winemaker who will not bottle or sell a wine until it is ready.  Economically this is perhaps not the smartest move, but for the love of the wine it is the right thing to do.  Close to half of their production is exported, so if you see a bottle in your local shop or on a list, try it.  Unfortunately the Merlot is only sold at the winery, a shame as it rivals some of the best I have ever tasted.  I will savor the bottles I brought back with fond memories of my best winery experience ever.  Such an awesome day!  Salut….