Tag Archives: $100

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Soda Canyon Ranch Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2015, Napa Valley, California

04 Monday Jan 2021

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I love my neighbors Arty and Keef…. you see, they have a nice collection of Napa Cabs in their cellar and I get the chance to taste alongside quite often. When this text arrived, I made sure to head over tout suite.

Wow- black beauty.  Opaque AF and showing long legs in the glass.  The nose is magnificent.  A dusty take on blackberry jam, cassis, toasty oak and a hint of eucalyptus.  On the palate this wine is super focused with very defined blueberries, blackberries alongside some Lapsang Souchong tea notes.  Very integrated tannins and really lithe acidity help bring out the California sunshine in this wine- it’s definitely fruit forward and open for business.  Delicious- 93 points and 5 stars for this $100 stunner. Drink till 2025 with Filet or other less fatty meals. Salut….

Clarendon Hills Piggott Range Syrah 2010, McLaren Vale, Australia

18 Thursday Jun 2020

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I love this winery, they make very Old World style Syrah in Australia that is very rich, extracted but not jammy.  This one happens to be a younger version of the 2006 Syrah.

It’s very inky and opaque in the glass.  The nose is brooding, and the 14.5% alcohol is evident.  Black plums, dark fruit melange and spicy oak are all present.  With a good deal more swirling I get violets, Boysenberry and a charred note.  On the palate it is very juicy right off the bat.  Figs, blackberry and espresso hit my palate alongside some slightly green tannins and a nice acidic cut.  The mid palate is quite focused on that tartness alongside a blueberry meets plum note.  Tannins take a step back while the acidity plays lead.  The finish is long, mouthwatering and modestly dry.  Black fruits dominate the back end with some Mocha, licorice and that burnt wood note.  I think I preferred the 2006, but this is a very tasty wine that I feel is acid dominated and slightly off balance.  Drink till 2026.  For $100, it’s quite pricy which gets 92 points and 4 stars from me.  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….

Domaine des Monts Luisants ‘Les Monts Luisants’ 2009, Morey-Saint-Denis Premier Cru, France

26 Sunday Apr 2020

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A bright shade of red and see through.  The nose rings of pomegranate, sweet cherry and clove.  The palate is very smooth and soft- the fruit is vibrant and the acidity is very gentle. It’s all primary flavors for now, loads of red fruit and some backend tannins.  The midpalate is tart, with more pomegranate and some rhubarb.  The finish is very sleek and easy going- more lingering flavors from the midpalate and a nice spike in the very fine-grained tannins.  This wine is young and has many years to go.  I’m thinking it will be very nice as a mature Burgundy.  91 points for this very lithe Pinot Noir.  Drink till 2033, but cellar if you like some secondary flavors.  At over $100 it’s a pricy addition to the cellar, but then again- Burgundy is never cheap.  3 stars.  Salut….

Maison Michel Picard Le Clos Micot 2005, Pommard Premier Cru, France

12 Sunday Apr 2020

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I’m afraid for this wine, the cork was very dry when I put the screw in and the sides were wet when I started to pull it out.  I only got halfway before the cork broke.  Luckily I have other tools to retrieve the broken half.  In the glass it looks okay, dark red, with no signs of bricking and barely any legs on the glass.  The nose is gorgeous, earthy, full of tertiary flavors- forest floor, mushrooms, bacon and a whiff of rich cherry compote.  The palate is sublime, smooth and a mix of fruit, acidity, those tertiary flavors and a warm mouthfeel.  The cherry component is backed up by rooibos tea, some nutmeg and leather.  This wine has aged nicely and thank goodness the cork held out.  The finish is long with a nice streak of acidity that delineates the fruity red berries from the secondary evolution that I get.  Nice ingrained tannins are holding it together but I feel it is peaking so drink till 2027 .  I am serving it with Baked Ham and mashed potatoes for Easter dinner.  93 points for this $100 Burgundian Pinot Noir.  4 stars.  Salut….

Beringer Marston Vineyard Napa Valley 1997

03 Wednesday Feb 2016

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Yes, you read the vintage correctly.  I will explain- it was my friend’s bottle and we were celebrating his birthday, in Napa Valley.  His is name is…. Doctor J.  He is just finishing up his PHD in some abstract field of Finance to do with mortgages and some other crap I can’t understand.  He has locked himself in for the past 10 months and only had a few drinks since then.  He needed a nice afternoon out and a big steak.  We headed up to the valley in the early afternoon and arrived at Cosentino winery in time for our 4 pm member’s private tasting.  It was just the two of us and several stunning reserve wines, paired with slivers of cheese.  We finished up in the main tasting room with some of the more regular offerings.  I have written about this winery before.  If you get to Napa, they are a must visit.  Super nice people, unpretentious settings and good wine priced right.  I digress…

We went to dinner after our tasting where we had the Beringer decanted.  At 19 years of age I was shocked.  Below are my tableside notes after numerous other tastings that afternoon.

Youthful and tannic with fruits that still pop. A nose of plum compote, blackberry torte.
Fresh and lively after 19 years in bottle. Amazing bottle. 93 points easily.
Cassis, plum and leather come out on the initial attack. Mid palate shows a slight hollowness but this is overcome by a longish finish that exhibits crushed stone, black stone fruit and a dryness that begs for a juicy steak.  The tannins are still evident as is the fruit and acidity.  This wine has plenty of cellaring potential yet but is delicious right now.  I think you can still find it online for $100.  4 stars all day long, bordering on 5 stars. Salut….

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Almaviva 2006

19 Sunday Jan 2014

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I have been sitting on this bottle for a while, just waiting for the right moment.  It happened last night with NY Strip, peppercorn sauce and Moxie’s delicious roast Broccoli with Garlic.

The first ‘real’ wine I ever remember having was a Chilean Cabernet, and have subsequently tried most of the top Cabernet’s for the region with the exception of the the Almaviva.  It is the most expensive of the three big names in Chilean Cabernet which include Don Melchor and Montes Alpha M, both of which I love.  This wine is a blend of the classic Bordeaux varietals with Cabernet as the main factor.  It is quite simply- delicious.

The wine show a dark purple hue in the glass and the nose explodes with kir, black berries and cassis.  On the first wave, there is a purity of blue and black fruits with secondary nuances of leather, cassis and tobacco.  The mid palate has a slight imbalance but the wine finishes with grace and length.  The tannins are fully resolved and the wine has entered it’s secondary stage where the fruit is dissipating and being replaced with interesting tertiary flavors.  I got a little eucalyptus on the back end and but no dryness.  The acidity is what was off balance on the mid palate but I could easily overlook that split second for the much more fulfilling finish.  The wine is smooth and very easy to drink and appreciate.

It is the priciest of the three top Chilean Cabs at over $100 per bottle and it scored highly with the pro’s.  I am going with 92 points and 4 stars.  If you get a chance to try this wine, it is well worth the effort as it mixes Chile’s terroir with the winemaking expertise of Concha Y Toro and the Rothschilds.  A great effort indeed.  Salut…

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Gorys Crespiello 2008

10 Sunday Nov 2013

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This wine got huge accolades from WA and was originally $100.  I got it for far less and was intrigued by the varietal.  Made from old-vine Vidadillo from Spain I was not sure what to expect.  It was dark purple in the glass and had a subdued nose of plums and tar.  I Picked up some Grenache like notes on the palate amidst the thick tannins. The wine was relatively young yet somewhat complex.  Swirling it in the glass again it started to open up after I poured it through the Vinturi.  The black fruits and tar came through more clearly and the acidity was decent.  The pro’s gave it 93 points, I must be missing something here as I would only venture 89 and for the price- 3 stars.  It was an interesting opportunity to try something different but I don’t think I would repeat.  Salut….

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