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Tag Archives: $5

Velata Premium Tempranillo 2016, Spain

13 Friday Apr 2018

Posted by caspernick in Wine

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$5, 3 stars, 86 points, spain, tempranillo


In my worldly travels I come across great finds, unique deals and then the ones you have to say hmmm.. This bottle was picked up at the local gas station in Tokyo, for about $5.  I don’t have much faith except it won Best Spanish Producer of 2014 at the Intl Wine Challenge, Vienna.  That was the selling point, plus I trust Tempranillo from Spain far more than other dodgy varietals that were on offer.  Here we go.

I am drinking it out of a water glass, so keep that in mind.  It appears a medium opacity, with nice purple tones.  On the nose- pure Tempranillo with a touch of oak.  Notes of Twizzlers and cherry cola come through.  On the palate it is a basic, decent drop.  Primary flavors roll out with some earthiness.  The lack of much tannic structure can be overlooked since this is an easy wine to drink.  Cherry and cola come to mind and the wine has a decent acidic component.  On the mid palate it gets a little bitter for some reason. The finish is all red fruit driven and I get a certain dryness, not tannic though.  Overall a decent drop for what I was looking for and where I was looking.  86 points and for the price I have to give it 3 stars.  I bought some ham and cheese sandwiches to go along, they hit the spot.  Salut….

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Jean Balmont Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

22 Monday Sep 2014

Posted by caspernick in Wine

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$5, 3 stars, 83 points, cabernet sauvignon, france


It’s been a whirlwind 10 days, starting with a trip to Reno for the annual Air Races followed by a night in Truckee with friends before my flight over to Asia.  I returned home for one night before heading to Florida for a memorial service for one of my best friends.  I am sitting at the airport waiting to go home now and have a few minutes to review the amazing wines that we drank over the course of the last two weeks.  This particular wine was on the United flight to Reno, so it doesn’t really count as airplane wine is about as good as airplane food.

From the newly renamed Pays D’Oc classification of the southwest of France this is a charming little wine that does the job it’s supposed to do.  It started out with no nose- airplane air can do that to a wine, especially if it’s served in a plastic cup.  No worries, I wasn’t expecting one.  Slight flavors yet interesting with a  melange of blue fruits and some crunchy cherry. Tart acidity and mellow subdued tannins show up in the composition of this wine that has a finish of herbs and yellow plum.  I can imagine this wine as a workday country lunch jug wine- very serviceable and getting a respectable 83 points from me.  I believe it can be had for about $5-6 per bottle, I happened to pay the trumped up $7 per 187.5 ml on the plane.  It’s hard for me to justify a 3 star rating for an 83 point wine yet I feel compelled to do so based on it’s quality price ratio.  Salut….

jean balmont cabernet sauvignon

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