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Tag Archives: 3 stars

Ravines Wine Cellars Sauvignon Blanc 2022, Finger Lakes, New York

25 Thursday Sep 2025

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$17, 3 stars, 88 points, finger lakes, New York, Sauvignon blanc


Pale straw colored with lowish viscosity (12.5% ABV).  The nose has medium (-) intensity aromas of cut grass, lemon/lime soda, passion fruit, papaya, and cut green herbs.  The palate is dry, with high acidity, and a medium (-) body.  The flavors are medium in intensity and mirror the nose ending with a medium length finish.  There’s nothing too exciting going on, it’s a subtle approach to Sauvignon Blanc.  I am pairing it with Lobster Scampi, I think the acidity will go nicely with the buttery garlic.  88 points from me for this $17 effort makes it a 3 star wine to enjoy in the short term.  Salut….

Ravines Wine Cellars Sauvignon Blanc

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ZD Wines Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2016, Napa Valley, California

21 Sunday Sep 2025

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$257, 3 stars, 92 points, cabernet sauvignon, california, napa cabernet, napa valley


I’m a little concerned about this bottle, the cork is showing signs of seepage, but here goes.  Deep ruby colored, slight staining, and high viscosity (14.5% ABV).  The nose has medium (+) intensity aromas of blackberry coulis, vanilla, baking spice, black plum reduction, a hint of eucalyptus, toasted oak, cedar lined cigar box, acai berry, a trace of toasted coconut, and a touch of cassis.  There’s obvious ripeness in this Napa Cabernet- the sun was definitely shining!  The palate is dry, with medium (+) acidity, a full body, and medium (+) tannins- but there’s also a definitive sourness to the wine.  Is it seepage from the cork?  The fruit is slightly muted, but still showing ripeness and structure.  The tannins smooth out nicely and the finish is long with dark fruit dominating, yet there’s something slightly out of balance.  For such a rich and ripe wine, the tartness is quite obvious.  I wonder if the bottle is flawed?  Tertiary development is forthcoming as the primary fruit is still the driving force, I would imagine a long lived wine if stored correctly and a cork that was intact.  I can only go 92 points on this award winning wine which runs $257 ex-chateau.  3 stars- pairing with grilled tri-tip.  Salut….

ZD Wines Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

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Il Borgo Collinare Nero d’Avola 2023, Sicily, Italy

06 Wednesday Aug 2025

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$8, 3 stars, 85 points, Italy, nero d'avola, sicily


Medium ruby colored, with a hint of staining, and a medium viscosity (13.5% ABV).  The nose has medium intensity aromas of red currant, blood orange, white cherry, cinnamon-driven spice box, a hint of licorice, and pomegranate.  I can almost smell the acidity.  The palate is dry, with high acidity, a medium body, and medium (-) tannins that are hitting on the upper cheeks.  Medium intensity flavors of red fruit, some spicebox and a hint of blood orange peel.  The finish is a zesty affair with the acidity firing on all cylinders.  It finishes a medium (-) length without much fanfare.  It’s a basic, everyday bottle that runs $8 and gets 85 points from me.  Drink sooner rather than later, this 3 star effort is made from organic grapes.  Salut….

il borgo collinare nero d'avola

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Domaine Durieu Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Reserve Lucile Avril 2020, Rhone, France

09 Monday Jun 2025

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$45, 3 stars, 90 points, Chateauneuf-du-pape, france, grenache, mourvedre, southern rhone, syrah, VWTC


The closer at the 40th virtual wine tasting was this CDP.  Medium ruby colored with a high viscosity (15.5% ABV).  The group found medium intensity aromas of black cherry, bramble berry, funk, blackberry, leather, green leaf and a benzene note.  On the palate it was dry, with medium (-) acidity, a full body, and medium tannins.  Flavorwise- it was syrupy with black raspberry, bramble berry, overstepped black tea and black cherry.  Slightly astringent, it finished long.  It was not my favorite by a long shot and only garnered 15 points out of a possible 20 on our tasting sheet but technically speaking- this $45 effort got 90 points making it a 3 star wine.  It has some cellaring capacity even though it’s currently open for business. My buddy gave it a perfect score but then again he was pretty cheery by the close and loves Southern Rhone wines in general.  A blend of 80% grenache, 10% syrah and 10% mourvedre.  Salut….

Domaine Durieu Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Reserve Lucile Avril

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Yohan Lardy Fleurie Le Vivier 2023, Beaujolais, France

09 Monday Jun 2025

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$23, 3 stars, 89 points, beaujolais, france, gamay, VWTC


I wanted our virtual tasting group to try a cru Beaujolais, unfortunately this one wasn’t it…. Medium ruby bordering on garnet with a low viscosity (12.5% ABV).  The nose had medium intensity aromas of purple grapes, pepper and plum.  It was quite boring.  The palate had medium (-) acidity, a medium (-) body, and medium (-) tannins.  Flavors of green pepper, grape, fresh peppercorns, and some plum gave way to a decently long finish that lifted the low score of this one-dimensional wine.  I scored it a mere 12 points on our tasting scale and awarded it 89 points on technical merit.  I paid $23 for this 3 star effort.  Drink till 2028. Salut….

Yohan Lardy Fleurie Le Vivier

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Vazisubani Estate 3 Qvevri 2023, Kakheti, Georgian Republic

16 Friday May 2025

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$20, 3 stars, 88 points, georgia, kakheti, Kisi, Mstvane, rkatsiteli


Pale to medium amber colored with medium viscosity (13% ABV).  The nose has medium (-) intensity aromas of apricot, spun honey, white blossom, green almond, grapefruit, tangerine, and melon.  The palate is dry, with medium acidity, a medium body, and medium (+) tannins (yes, orange wine has tannins!).  Medium intensity flavors of bitter apricots, honey, white blossom, grapefruit pith, tangerine skin and astringent green almond.  This wine is quite bitter, by design.  The fragrance of the honey, apricot and white blossom transcends into a pith driven tannic wine that is now giving me over-steeped white tea notes.  The finish is medium in length with the acidity finally overstepping the tannic grip.  An interesting blend of Rkatsiteli, Mstvane, and Kisi that has been fermented on the skins to dryness.  It gets 88 points from me and at $20, 3 stars.  Drink till 2028.  I am going to pair it with Vietnamese rolls and spicy dipping sauces.  Salut….

Vazisubani Estate 3 Qvevri

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Real Companhia Velha Quinta das Carvalhas 20 Year Old Tawny Port, Portugal

27 Sunday Apr 2025

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$55, 3 stars, 90 points, dessert wine, port, portugal, Touriga Nacional


Pale strawberry colored with slight staining, and high viscosity (20% ABV).  The nose has medium (+) intensity aromas of chocolate covered raisins, Brazil nuts, blueberry compote, stewed black cherry, old railroad ties, and crushed/dried flower petals.  The palate is semi-sweet with medium (+) acidity, a full body and medium (-) tannins that are fully integrated.  Medium (+) intensity flavors echo the nose but there is a definitive streak of alcohol that burns on the way down.  There’s also a mid palate bitterness and some old wood influence.  The finish is quite long, but unfortunately quite hot as well.  Alcohol does not normally bother me, but this one is incessant.  At $55, it’s not your everyday dessert wine.  It’s a decent drop but I can only go 90 points, making it a 3 star wine.  Pair it with something sweet or cheesy.  Salut…..

Quinta Das Carvalhas 20-Year-Old Tawny Port

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Domaine la Soumade Rasteau 2019, Rhone, France

06 Sunday Apr 2025

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$17, 3 stars, 89 points, france, grenache, mourvedre, Rasteau, rhone, syrah


Deep purple colored with copper highlights, slight staining, and a high viscosity (15% ABV).  The nose has medium intensity aromas of red and black raspberry, black cherry, violets, game, blackberry, black licorice, and saline.  The palate is dry with medium acidity, medium (+) body, and medium (+) tannins that are youthful and frontal.  The intensity of the palate is slightly less than the nose but echoes the varied red and black fruit, spice nuance and gamy note.  It’s a touch astringent, the tannins feel a bit green and persistent.  The alcohol is noticeable, not only on the nose, but on the mid palate and finish.  It eventually blows off.  The finish is medium (+) in length and concentrates on the black raspberry and game notes. I picked this wine to pair with rack of lamb, I think it will work out nicely, the tannins should resolve with the fat of the dish.  89 points from me for this Southern Rhone blend of Grenache (70%), Syrah (20%), and Mourvèdre (10%).  At $17, it gets 3 stars from me.  Drink till 2030.  Salut….

Domaine la Soumade Rasteau

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Camigliano Brunello di Montalcino 2019, Tuscany, Italy

24 Monday Mar 2025

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$40, 3 stars, 90 points, Italy, sangiovese, tuscany, VWTC


The third wine of our virtual wine-tasting was this Sangiovese Grosso that was a little one-dimensional.  It started off with the color- pale garnet, with medium viscosity (14.5% ABV).  The nose gave us medium intensity aromas of anise, sage, musty leather, red cherry and orange peel.  The palate was dry with medium (+) acidity, medium (+) body, and medium (+) tannins.  Green leaf, slightly unripe red cherry, leather, barnyard, and pencil lead all took us to a medium length finish.  I was a bit underwhelemed by this $40 offering, giving it 15 points on our scoring sheet and 90 technical points, thus making it a 3 star effort.  It may be in a dumb phase as it did open up on night 2.  We paired it with leftover pepper steak and mashed potatoes.  I would cellar a bottle or two for a few years and drink by 2030.  Salut….


Camigliano Brunello di Montalcino

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Perroud ‘Amethyste’ Brouilly 2018, Beaujolais, France

21 Friday Mar 2025

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$20, 3 stars, 88 points, beaujolais, brouilly, france, gamay


Medium ruby tending to garnet colored, with medium viscosity (13% ABV).  The nose has medium intensity aromas of violets, spring flowers, grape, acai berry, boysenberry,  red raspberry, and some baking spice.  The palate is dry with medium (+) acidity, a medium body, and medium (-) tannins.  The flavors start off a little tart but they build into decently ripe fruit- red raspberry, acai berry, boysenberry and grape.  The florals I got on the nose are feint, as is the spice.  The whole package melds into a rather short, watery finish that leaves a touch of bitterness and tartness on the back end.  It’s an interesting wine as it keeps drawing me in for another sip.  Not one to argue- I oblige and find myself liking this wine even more by the sip even though it doesn’t merit a high technical score.  88 would be fair and for $20 it gets 3 stars.  I’m baking a  half duck to pair with this Gamay based wine.  Drink till 2027.  Salut….

Les Freres Perroud Amethyste Brouilly

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