Tag Archives: $25

P+S Prats & Symington Post Scriptum de Chryseia 2016, Douro, Portugal

04 Monday Mar 2019

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This is the second wine of Chryseia, it is a beautiful dark purple in the glass.  The nose gives off rose petals, perfume, black currant and cedar slate.  On the palate it is big- loads of Ribena, oregano, red licorice and a hint of wood.  The mid palate is seamless with the introduction of some very lithe tannins.  The mouthfeel is generous and warm in this wine.  It is relatively easy drinking with the mild tannins, barely perceptible acidity and warm fruit. The finish is all black currant, decent in length and not overly dry.  92 points and 5 stars for this $25 effort.  Delicious.  Drink this blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Roriz till 2030.  Salut….

Bodegas Bioenos Pulchrum Crespiello 2012, Cariñena, Spain

01 Friday Mar 2019

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Dark purple and showing some legs in the glass.  The nose is vibrant with black currants, licorice and oak.  On the palate this is delicious folks.  Ribena, blackberry jam and toasty oak hit me all at once.  There is a cherry stream that appears on the midpalate alongside vanilla bean.  Tannins are in check, melded and balanced with the acidity.  The finish is warm, almost alcoholic but at 14% I must be imagining things.  There is a charred oak note in the finish that is perfect for the dark berry fruit notes.  This wine is drinking beautifully and will do so till 2025.  I wish I had some Osso Bucco laying around , or even shepherds pie.  Look for this rare varietal-  Crespiello, it is an interesting one for sure.  92 points and 5 stars for its $25 price tag.  Salut….

Cellar Vall Llach Embruix 2015, Priorat DOCa, Spain

20 Wednesday Feb 2019

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Moxie and I met up with an old high-school friend at a Tapas bar in Massachusetts.  This wine was recommended by our waiter so we dove in.  I did not write too many notes so bear with me:

Nose of smoky plum.  Lithe and fruity with some complexity but not overpowering.  Dark fruits galore and lithe tannins make it an easy drinker with 5-10 years of cellaring potential.  We obviously ate it with Tapas, which was a great pairing.  Strangely enough, the pros vary between 88 and 92 points.  I would go with 89 personally.  $25 makes it a 3 star wine for me. Blend of 30% Garnatxa, 27% Merlot, 20% Samso, 18% Syrah, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.  Salut….

Clos St. Thomas ‘Chateau St. Thomas’ Rouge 2009, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon

08 Saturday Dec 2018

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Dinner at my cousin’s house.  He offered me a crack at his cellar- who am I to refuse a gracious host!  Inky purple in the glass- opaque.  On the nose I get sweet blackberry, new oak, black olives.  The initial taste is intriguing.  Tannic at the outset, it gives off black fruit flavors, garrigue, lavender, black tea and a ton of mouth coating tannins.  This is a brooding wine- powerful, dry, fruity and built for the long haul.  It transitions to the back end with flavors of iodine, that black olive note and definitely more blackberries.  Good acidity holds the tannins in check, which are in full force as the wine’s long finish fades away.  This wine begs for decanting, aerating or a monster juicy Ribeye.  Drink till 2030 at the least.  92 points and 5 stars from me for this $25 wine.  If you can find it, buy by the case and cellar.  The aging capacity of this cuvee is amazing.  See my posts on the 2000 St. Thomas, the 2005, the 2006 and the mighty 2008.  Salut….

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The Vineyards at Hershey Merlot NV, Hershey PA

22 Monday Oct 2018

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My old college buddy Japes took me to this winery for a tasting.  I enjoyed the Merlot the most out of their offerings in red and brought home this $25 non-vintage bottle.  It is slightly cloudy in the glass, with nice shades of lighter purple.  On the nose- damson, sea salt, iodine and blueberry pie.  The palate is very smooth with flavors of blueberry, plum ganache and cedar shake.  The tannins grip slightly more than I remember and are a welcome addition to the mid palate.  The wine transitions to the back end in a seamless manner, the flavors are consistent throughout.  The acidity is very nicely balanced with the structure and gives this wine a 3-5 year drinking window.  Since there are no vintages, it’s anyones guess when this bottle was made.  The label quotes Cherry as the initial flavor, I somewhat disagree, could be bottle or vintage variation.  Anyway, it is tasty and the vineyard is a neat place to visit, especially if they have an event going on.  It gets 88 points and 3 stars from me.   Salut….

Amalthea Cellars Clone II Cabernet Sauvignon 2015, Outer Coastal Plain NJ, USA

18 Thursday Oct 2018

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A gift from my cousin (we’ll call him Sharma).  Dark purple, very opaque.  The nose is intriguing.  Plums, charcoal, crushed rock, a certain minerality.  The palate is delicious with a toasty oak note opening it up, followed by grilled plum, black olive, bacon and delightful tannins.  The flavors carry through to the end where the astringency of the tannins hit.  There is a nice mouthfeel throughout and the acidity is very well balanced.  The greenness of the back end gives me a check.  I’ll get over it, I’m sure.  Overall a delicious New Jersey Cabernet worthy of 91 points which gets 4 stars from me for the $25 price tag.  It’s getting a pairing of Strip steaks with Balsamic reduction.  Drink till 2021.  Salut….

Koyle Royale Carmenere 2014, Colchagua Valley, Chile

01 Sunday Jul 2018

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Recently added to the local shop- I’m excited to try this Carmenere from Koyle.  I love their Syrah and Cabernet.  It’s nearly black in the glass and very opaque.  The nose gives off nice warm blueberry pie, oregano and violet notes.  It has a very extracted quality.  On the palate it is a touch austere with plums, blueberry and acidity that has a nice bite.  The midpalate is more juicy, the blue fruits turning red.  The acidity is countered on the back end with some greenish tannins.  As you might tell this wine is a bit disjointed, slightly green and probably needing some food.  I’m going 87 points and 2 stars for this $25 effort.  Drink now if you have any.  Salut….

Boekenhoutskloof The Chocolate Block 2015, Franschhoek Valley, South Africa

30 Monday Apr 2018

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See-through purple.  Nose is enticing with ripe blueberry, cocoa powder, mint and a touch of oak.  The palate is very interesting with plum ganache, blueberry pie, cacao and super fine grained tannins.  The mouthfeel is delightful, with some pinpoint acidity.  The mid palate is ripe and rich, layered with espresso bean, vanilla and more oak.  The finish is long, dry with tannins and mouthwatering with blueberry.  91 points and 5 stars for this $25 blend of Syrah (71%), Grenache Noir (15%), Cabernet Sauvignon (8%), Cinsault (5%) and Viognier (1%).  It was a gift, but I will be buying more.  Delicious stuff for immediate drinking or cellaring till 2023.  Salut….

Fonseca Late Bottle Vintage Unfiltered Port 2009, Porto, Portugal

27 Tuesday Mar 2018

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Nearly black, it exudes power.  Rich plum puree with some oaky toast and blackcurrant jam greet me on the nose.  The palate is very smooth, with more dark berry fruits and toast.  It exudes more blueberry/blackberry compote that I am really liking.  The mid palate shows off some dry tannins that reach back to the molars and give me a delightful dryness. There is a smoky component which slides in and out that I am really enjoying.  It is very faint, but there.  The sweetness of the wine is offset by its balancing acidity, the dryness is left in check.  Overall, this wine is really good and I would pair it with Manchego, some dried apricots and almonds.  Or you can just drink it by itself, delicious.  91 points and for $25 it gets 4 stars from me.  Salut….

Mollydooker Two Left Feet Shiraz – Cabernet – Merlot 2012, McLaren Vale, Australia

09 Friday Mar 2018

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I have written about the Mollydooker Two Left Feet 2012 vintage before.  I sat on this bottle for an eternity and since we are moving house, it’s time to drink up.  I have not read my old review so as not to taint this one.

I must say, all Mollydooker red wines appear dark and very purply in the glass.  This one is no exception.  Extraction is the key to their success methinks.  It has a nose of plums, sarsaparilla, fig.  I already performed the Mollydooker Shake in case you were wondering.  The palate gives up super smooth flavors of blue fruits.  Blueberry, plum, currant jam, that root beer thing again and some super ingrained tannins.  Like, so smooth and barely detectable.  The astringency hits on the finish, but the wine drinks beautifully with nice, if somewhat restrained acidity.  The mouthfeel on this wine is sublime, extracted, rich and smooth.  The finish shows a faint trace of the well hidden, monstrous 16% alcohol.  Beware…

I am pairing it with pan seared Flat-Iron steak that I coated with Santa Maria rub, plus some sautéed mushrooms, a tomato salad and edamame to boot.  91 points from me for this $25 offering.  5 stars for this blend of 69% Shiraz, 16% Cabernet, 15% Merlot.  Salut….