20 Thursday Jun 2019
Pale purple and seethrough in the glass. The nose is black kirsch and charcoal. On the palate it has a definitive woodsy note that opens up the initial palate. Black berries appear alongside rooibos tea, but it’s a little thin. On the midpalate I get some juicy acidity alongside some dark fruits. The finish has some tannic bite, albeit slightly green. Overall I’m quite disappointed in this vintage. 84 points and 1 star for this $15 wine, a major pass I’m afraid. Salut….
18 Thursday Oct 2018
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Light to medium density in the glass. A lighter shade of purple that offers up plum, star anise and a stony minerality on the nose. On the palate, it is somewhat sour and lacking in upfront fruit. I have to coax some dark fruits, mainly plum out of the midpalate. There is a herbaceous component that disjoints the wine coupled with volatile tannins. The lack of fruit bothers me somewhat. The overpowering dryness is quite dominant making this wine not very pleasant nor technically very good. 83 points- a pass of 1 star, save the $15. Salut….
22 Thursday Jun 2017
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Dark but opaque purple. Nose has flavors of raspberry, oak and nutmeg. On the palate, somewhat tannic and dry on the initial taste with red berries and an astringency that is somewhat overpowering. The tannins continue the dryness onto the mid palate where I get some black cherry notes, but just barely. The finish is one dimensional. For me this wine is unbalanced and lacking fruit. It could be in a dumb phase. Right now I’m thinking 85 points and for the $18 I paid it is a pass and 1 star. It’s a shame as I really enjoyed the 2014 Mission Cabernet Merlot blend which I gave 89 points to. Salut…
30 Tuesday May 2017
Posted in Wine
I really look forward to Portuguese wines. I normally find them to be full of flavor, with good structure and interesting profiles. This one was on sale for $14 and relied heavily on past vintage points awarded. It starts off very promising with a rich deep purple in the glass. Nose of bramble, blackberry and earth. The palate is initially a little light for me. Black cherry, more blackberry but that’s about it. The mid palate is one dimensional, offering a dusty blackberry note and not much else. The finish is slightly dry with some tannins finally appearing. This wine is too thin for me, not extracted enough and lacks any long term cellaring. I don’t think it is a repeat purchase. 83 points and 1 star from me. Salut….
01 Friday May 2015
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If you read my first tasting note on this Beaune Premiere Cru you will recall that I hated it, giving it 80 points and 1 star. I have a few more in the cellar and pulled one out for a comparative tasting after two more years of cellaring. Not much has changed, unfortunately. I did some research and I must say I am confused. It scored 91 points on average by peers on cellar tracker. Vivino peeps gave it a good write up yet I can’t get my head around the muted nose of rhubarb and cherry pie which is too tart still with little fruit depth. Red currants and cinnamon finally showed up. I was kinder this time with 85 points, but that is generous. A major 1 star pass for the money. Salut….
20 Monday Oct 2014
Posted in Wine
This wine rounded out our trio of Sunday Cabs-with-Football. I recognized the label right away when my friend poured us a taste. I wrote my notes based on this bottle and just now looked up the previous vintage that I tasted. Yup, I hated the Magistrate 2011 just as much as I disliked this offering. Sorry, but candied plums and oak again make me realize that there are far too many nasty wines out there that are merely juice with oak chips and tannin powder. This one in particular had a slightly lighter body with purple fruits and wild flowers with slight tannins and a hint of acidity. 83 points and 1 star. Major pass, yet again for this $13 bottle. Salut….
20 Sunday Oct 2013
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$40, 1 star, 84 points, burgundy, gevrey-chambertin, pinot noir
Gevrey-Chambertin is supposed to be a structured and bold Pinot Noir from the Burgundy region. This is my second try at this bottle. The first was in 2011, I hated it and decided to cellar the rest for potential improvement. Nothing here folks. A major dud from this producer who used ‘old vines’. Sour cherries and pencil lead. Some strange funk going on, but not the kind that I like. Very sharp acid and some ingrained tannins but no real finish. The lead component took me a while to pinpoint. It really is unpleasant. This was not a cheap wine, and can be found now for $40. WS gave it 90 points. I reckon it is an 84 pointer and a major pass. 1 star and moving on. #dissappointed. Salut….
15 Sunday Sep 2013
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I am going to do something completely different today. I am re-tasting the Apothic Red which I despised back in May of last year. One of the primary reasons for this tasting is to calibrate my palate. Right after I tasted this wine, hated it and wrote about, the Big Man himself proclaimed it to be his ‘wine of the day’. Imagine what a schmuck I felt. Anyway, that was last year and it was the 2010 vintage. I have the 2011 vintage and am ready to try it again. This time, I am going to write about it as I am drinking it. Here we go……
Dark purple in the glass, there appears to be some effervescence. (That is not a good thing by the way.)
On the nose, that Zinfandel smell of candy again. Not liking….
My first impression is…. …. … Candy. Again with the sickly sweet, overdone sugar water. This is a wine that will be loved by newb’s. It is sweet, lacks structure, has no tannins and is off balance with the acidity. I cannot recommend this wine, to anyone. A blend of Zinfandel, Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon that lacks any fruit characteristics.
Dear Mr P. I disagree with your thoughts about this wine. It is junk and should not be on shelves. The end. Your thoughts?
For $14, there are millions of other wines that are delicious. 1 star and 80 points (I’m being generous).
27 Tuesday Aug 2013
Posted in Wine
I recently tasted the Chilcas Cabernet, which scored well on my quality/price criteria. Moving on to the Carmenere varietal I was hoping for similar performance, but alas I was let down.
The varietal is one of the original six Noble Bordeaux grapes and is related to the Cabernet family. I have never had a French Carmenere, only Spanish and more predominantly- Chile. I find it to be very spicy, with strong hints of green pepper (capsicum) and lacking hefty tannins. This particular bottling hit me with a very ‘tinny’ taste profile which was almost medicinal on the initial attack. The spice and red currants hit on the mid-palate, but are somewhat overshadowed by the metallic taste. I really did not enjoy the profile, but it did mellow out after about an hour. This is a major wave-off, spend your cash on their other wines. 82 points and 1 star.
31 Wednesday Jul 2013
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I have had this wine in previous vintages and bought it on reputation…. Mistake.
I was bewildered by it’s pale red color, it appeared watered down. On the nose, strawberries and cherry got me excited, only to be let down by the thinness of this wine. It really was not what I had hoped for. It provided some enjoyment as we fired up the grill on a hot and humid evening, but I could not imagine it standing up to the grilled meats we were about to devour. Luckily we had a Shiraz waiting in the wings…. 83 points and 1 star.
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