Tag Archives: $25

Franc Dusak Still Real Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, Sonoma Valley, California

24 Thursday Feb 2022

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I am cooking a very complex and spice-laden dish for dinner- so no wimpy, thin wines tonight.  This Cabernet has been aged in Whiskey barrels and comes from Cali, so I am looking forward to some hearty and bold flavors to complement my Lamb Tagine which is loaded up with Ras-el-Hanout spice mix, honey, preserved lemons, dried apricots, peas and the ever present onions and garlic.  Side dish is pearled couscous mixed with peppers, garbanzos and red onion- drizzled with a lime/olive oil and honey dressing.

So- the wine itself is inky purple, as in opaque AF.  The nose is gorgeous.  Pronounced aromas of blackberry, black plum, caramel, smoke, vanilla- loads of oak influence there.  The palate is very smooth with what seems to be a touch of sweetness.  I doubt there is residual sugar, must be ripe fruit and perhaps the whiskey barrel influence?  Anyways I get delicious flavors of black berries and currants, plum, smoke, vanilla and the caramel.  The wine has beautifully integrated tannins that caress my gums from the beginning to the end.  Juicy acidity hits on the finish where I now sense the powerful 16.1% ABV.  Be careful out there, that’s quite high.  This full bodied wine is a treat that is going to pair beautifully with my exotic dinner.  I would drink this till 2026, it has some cellaring capacity but don’t let it get too long-it is drinking well now.  91 points for this $ 25 bottle makes it a 5 star effort.  Salut…..

Hermann J. Wiemer Dry Gewurztraminer 2020, Finger Lakes, New York UPDATED

19 Wednesday Jan 2022

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Another Finger Lakes wine to try from our recent trip- this one is a Dry Gewürztraminer which I am pairing with Beer-Can Chicken….  but I am a little concerned.  The cork was funky, looked very wet and there was some schmutz inside the neck.  I ran the first glass through a filter and here goes nothing:

Medium lemon color in the glass.  The nose is somewhat muted, surprising for the varietal but not for this particular bottle.  I do get some citrus, hazelnuts, bread and a hint of the telltale lychee.  The palate is better.  Medium intensity flavors of tangerine, lemon, lychee, rose, geranium and no sign of the bread or nuts.  Light to medium bodied it has gentle acidity and a medium length finish.  I love the varietal, but this bottle might be suffering.  Luckily I have another one nearby.  I’ll give it a try in the near future.  For now this $25 wine gets 86 points and 2 stars.  Hopefully it will improve on the next go.  Salut….

 

UPDATE

I wrote to the the winery to let them know I had an issue and they promptly refunded me the cost of the bottle.  Tonight- I taste the second bottle.

It has evidence of being frozen, with crystalized deposits in the neck.  The appearance is fine otherwise.  The nose shows much better than the previous bottle.  Medium intensity aromas of geranium, lemon, tangerine, rose and lychee that are crisp.  The palate is dry from a residual sugar standpoint but the varietal always has a certain sweetness to it that I love.  Medium (+) intensity flavors of the aforementioned citrus and floral notes, with less emphasis on the lychee.  Shame, as I look forward to that component in Gewürztraminer.  Medium bodied it has great mouthfeel for a wine of low acidity.  The finish is decent in length and concentrates on the flowery flavors versus the citrus.  It is drinking far better than the flawed bottle and gets a respectable 89 points from me making it a 4 star effort.  Bravo for pulling it together!  Salut….

C-Town Cabernet Sauvignon NV, Cleveland, Ohio

24 Friday Dec 2021

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It’s Christmas Eve and the family have arrived from all over.  My little brother brought this Cabernet all the way from Cleveland, where his friend owns this winery.  It is a medium shade of ruby with thin legs showing off the 14.5% ABV.  The nose is of medium intensity and gives me black cherry, black currants, ripe pomegranate, black plum, sassafras, coconut and charred oak- very interesting!  The palate is a touch bitter at first but the astringency gives way to black and red fruits, a touch of oak influence and medium acidity.  It has a medium body and medium (-) finish.  The tannins grip again on the back end and coat my gums with a black tea component.  I think this Non-Vintage red needs a year or two in cellar to flesh out the raw tannins and let the fruit meld a bit better with the structural components.  It has promise and gets 88 points from me.  Without a vintage it would be best to mark a few bottles and lay them down.  At $25 it gets 3 stars from me- we are pairing it with Holiday Crunch (A traditional Pasta dish).  Salut….

Chateau Bellevue 2016, Medoc, France

06 Monday Dec 2021

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This Bordeaux blend of 50% Merlot, 45% Cab Sav and 5% Cab Franc is opaque and garnet in color.  At 5 years of age, that is to be expected.  The nose is starting to develop tertiary notes alongside black plum, blackcurrant, tobacco, earth, barnyard, cassis and bramble.  Oak nuance by way of coffee and smoke are present.  The palate is yummy and developed.  Stewed black plum, blackcurrant, cassis, leather and barnyard.  Very earthy and smoky with well integrated yet persistent tannins and a touch of back end acidity.  The wine is medium bodied and shows a mid length finish.  It dries up on the finish and will go beautifully with my braised Lamb shanks which will have plenty of rich gravy and Yorkshire puddings.  91 points for this $25 effort makes it a 5 star wine to drink till 2026.  It is mature now and will last a few years.  Salut….

Esprit de Pavie 2015, Bordeaux, France

10 Wednesday Nov 2021

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I have been braising Beef Short ribs all day, now it’s time to thicken the sauce and mash the potatoes.  A classic Bordeaux, somewhat young and hopefully a touch tannic will do the trick to marry the richness of the dish and its accoutrements.  This Merlot based blend from the Right Bank is the little brother to the famed Pavie.  It’s meant to be drunk younger and will no doubt have less structure than the iconic namesake.  It shows a deep shade of ruby in the glass with thick legs (14.5% ABV).  On the nose it is quite pronounced with aromas of black cherry, blackberry, black plum and charcoal. Licorice starts to appear after a swirl as does perfumed violet.  The palate is smooth, very smooth.  Super fine-grained tannins, juicy acidity and gobs of black fruit greet me immediately.  The licorice and charcoal nuances wait till the mid palate, letting me enjoy the primal fruit flavors with the caressing structural pieces.  The finish is mid length on this full bodied wine.  What I like is that the tannic grip disappears before the fruit, which is rare.  This is a really nice bottle that will reward further cellaring unless you like a young, brawny wine.  Drink till 2029 with stews or steaks.  91 points for this $25 Frenchie makes it worthy of 5 stars.  Salut….

Famille Perrin Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise 2015, Rhone, France

17 Sunday Oct 2021

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In the final throes of studying for my WSET Level 3 exam comes the single page of text devoted to Fortified Muscats- well I had to try one.  This particular bottle came in 375ml and costs $25.  The wine is medium gold and has watery legs even though it sports a 15% ABV since it’s has been fortified.  It has a pronounced nose, ie I get a whiff when approaching the glass.  The aromas are perfume, rose water, lychee and flowers.  Delicious notes, but rather simple.  The palate is medium (-) sweet and viscous.  Medium (-) acidity and low alcohol gives me a medium weight body.  The palate reveals medium (+) intensity flavors of rose, lychee, orange peel and apricots.  The finish is medium in length and very satisfying.  I really like this style- it’s a touch fresher than a Botrytised wine and the aromatics of the Muscat grape are heavenly.  Overall this wine would be classed as good in the Lexicon and I am awarding it 89 points and 3 stars.  I will probably buy more as Moxie and I really enjoyed it.  Drink with desserts till 2025 as it will age a bit and hopefully pick up some tertiary notes.  Salut….

Matt Parish Tino 2018, Napa Valley, California

13 Wednesday Oct 2021

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The label says it’s a red wine blend.  Let’s see if I can discern the grapes.  First off- it’s deep ruby which rules out Pinot Noir.  Number two- it runs 14.5% ABV even though the legs are quite watery in the glass. The nose is of medium intensity and I get aromas of blackcurrant, black cherry, smoke, licorice, chocolate, black plum, and a grape note.  The palate is dry, with high acidity and high tannins.  The alcohol is evident and the body is medium (+).  The flavors are medium intensity and mirror the nose, although there is a black tea component on the mid palate.  The tannins are searing on the finish which is decent in length.  Overall a tasty wine that I believe will age well for another 5-7 years.  As for the varietals- here goes.  Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and perhaps Merlot would be my guess.  91 points for this rather big red that can be had for $25.  5 stars.  ps. it needs a big, juicy steak.  Salut….

Pedro Rodriguez e Hijos ‘Mil Pesetas’ Pedro Ximenez Sherry NV, Andalucia, Spain

02 Saturday Oct 2021

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Several months ago I purchased every style of Sherry made by the same producer that I could find- in hopes of expanding my knowledge and palate.  I tried the dry ones, the off dry ones and now we get to the sweet one.  Made from the the Pedro Ximenez grape in the Solera system, it promises to be a lush dessert wine.

In the glass it is amber and weeping, it looks very viscous.  On the nose it is exactly what I was hoping for.  Dried sultanas, walnuts, prunes, coffee, dried cherry, chocolate  and stewed apricot.  The palate is very thick, unctuous and sweet.  Delicious flavors of nuts, dried fruit, honey, gentle acidity make for a very velvety and luxuriously rich mouthfeel.  The sweetness is something to behold.  Low acidity is actually key here as it would be a detractor if there were loads of it.  This is lovely stuff that gets 91 points from me and for the $25/500ml price point it gets 5 stars.  A great dessert wine if you like ’em sweet.  Salut….

Masciarelli Marina Cvetic S. Martino Rosso 2016, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Italy

01 Friday Oct 2021

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Tonight I am preparing stuffed shells on a bed of Kale with meatballs on the side- the classic Italian dish that this varietal was made for.  It’s a bit murky in the glass and semi opaque.  The nose is brimming with red fruit, rose, violets, walnut and cedar.  There might be a hint of tea in there as well.  The palate is dry, acidic and carries some medium tannins.  The red currants, red cherry, raspberry and pomegranate notes are all there along with the florals and oak notes.  It’s quite tart on the back end but that’s what I was hoping for.  It’s labelled Reserva, which means nothing officially but it’s a way the producer tries to identify a superior product in this region.  I did a bit of research following my tasting- it’s interesting that three different pros described three different fruit profiles.  One said red fruit, one said blue and the last stated black.  Either way, it got decent scores and I would agree with the 91 pointer.  For $25, it’s a good Friday-with-Pasta wine that gets 5 stars from me.  Drink till 2028.  Salut….

Gen F Cabernet Sauvignon 2016, California

19 Sunday Sep 2021

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Semi opaque in the glass- this Cabernet has lithe legs, an indicator of the lower 13.5% ABV?  On the nose I get quite a few things going on- black cherry, black plum, toasty oak notes, bramble, eucalyptus, and tomato leaf.  It’s quite complex and sweet smelling.  The palate is dry, smooth and very balanced with lithe tannins and medium acidity.  The dark fruit flavors are evident and the mouthfeel is great.  The very judicious oak use is appreciated.  The freshness of the lush fruit carries on to the medium finish that  is very smooth.  I really like the very gentle tannins here as I am not pairing with any food and did not want a tannic, astringent wine.  Definitely a sipping wine that could work with lighter fare- roast chicken, veal scallopini, even fettuccine Alfredo.  I am really enjoying this $25 wine but get black fruit instead of red, per the label.  I guess the flavors have mutated in the 6 years since it was made. 91 points from me and 5 stars.  Drink till 2027.  Salut….