Tag Archives: $60

Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage La Petite Chapelle – La Maison Bleue 2019, Rhone, France

17 Sunday Jul 2022

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Closing out the 28th virtual tasting session was this stunning Syrah from the Northern Rhone.  Opaque- deep purple in color it revealed a rich nose of game, licorice, iodine, anise, blood/iron, boysenberry, very dark fruit compote with a medicinal note as well as an image of really black blackberries.  The palate was smooth.  Dry with low acidity and fine-grained medium (+) tannins that led to  flavors of meat, cinnamon, caramel, blackberry coulis, iodine, charred oak and iron.  This full bodied wine finished with a medium length burst of delicious, complex flavors.  It tied at 19 points on our scale as my WOTN and garners 94 points.  For $60 this stunner is a 5 star treat wine to be drunk till 2039.  I would pair it with grilled Hangar steak slathered in a Roquefort sauce.  Salut….

Hubert Meyer Riesling Winzenberg 2018, Alsace Grand Cru, France

20 Monday Jun 2022

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The thing that annoys me about Riesling is that most labels don’t tell you if it’s going to be dry, off-dry or sweet.  Deductive reasoning tells me this bottle is going to be dry due to it’s 13.5% ABV.  A very pretty medium lemon color in the glass with pronounced aromas of lemon zest, grapefruit pith, petrol, geranium and ripe pear.  It tastes dry as expected with very high acidity and a delicious cut of lemon/grapefruit.  The ripe pear note is more a green pear note on the palate but I do get florals and petrol.  I can sense the alcohol if I breath out through my nose, which is unusual for me as my threshold is pretty high to sense the burn.  I would say this wine is medium bodied and it has a juicy, tart finish that is medium in length.  It begs for Asian dishes or a grilled seafood platter.  I like it but think it will develop over time.  Right now it is really zesty with just a few primary flavors.  It should flesh out and develop with time as it has great structure for cellaring.  92 points from me for this $60 bottle makes it a 4 star effort.  Salut….

Albert Morot Beaune Bressandes 2019, Beaune Premier Cru, France

13 Friday May 2022

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Every so often I get thrown a curveball.  This Burgundian Pinot Noir was tasted blind at my WSET class.  I barely passed the assessment.  This 92 point wine was not at all what I tasted- bottle variation?  Storage issues?  Did the invigilator know this was a $60 Premiere Cru and made his mind up with that knowledge?  Who knows.  My notes are pretty consistent with the majority of the class.  This wine is medium ruby colored with medium (-) intensity aromas of red currant, raspberry, red cherry, pomegranate and red plum.  I called it simple.  On the palate it is dry with medium acidity, medium (-) tannins, medium body and high alcohol.  I got medium (-) intensity flavors of the above descriptors and found the wine to have a short finish.  I marked it as being of acceptable quality with a drink now recommendation.  In my world this is barely an 85 pointer and for the cash- 1 star.  It was a real disappointment to find out it had such pedigree yet did not deliver.  I almost want to buy a bottle and have another industry pro blind taste it to confirm my suspicions- but why waste $60?  Major pass.  Salut…

Bodegas Valduero Gran Reserva 2001, Ribera del Duero, Spain

08 Sunday May 2022

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It’s been nine years since I last tasted the 2001 Valduero, which I opened by accident.  Today’s bottle is intentional- Mothers Day Sunday roast.  It is deep garnet colored with definite signs of aging.  The nose smells divine- leather, earth, blackberry jam, cassis, mint, coffee bean, vanilla, baked blueberry and a medicinal note.  The palate is dry with medium (+) acidity and melded tannins which caress my gums.  This 100% Tempranillo is full bodied and I get flavors of stewed/cooked black and blue fruits, earth, leather, oak influence (coffee, vanilla and the medicinal note) and a tart black cherry note on the long finish.  The tannins start to grip on the back end and cover my teeth and gums with a ‘hairy’ feeling.  This 21 year old wine is still showing youth in structure and some fruit, amazing.  It will go beautifully with our dinner and could potentially cellar some more with a drinking window out to 2027.  I paid $60 back in the day for this 95 point wine which I would award 5 stars to.  Salut….

Cakebread Cellars Apple Barn Vineyard Pinot Noir 2019, Anderson Valley, California

05 Thursday May 2022

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From one of the coolest California AVA’s comes this Pinot Noir that is medium ruby in the glass with thick watery legs.  The nose is medium intensity with aromas of steeped strawberry, red plum, orange peel, baking spices, black raspberry and rosewater.  The palate is dry with high acidity, medium, well ingrained tannins, a medium body and lovely flavors of dark red fruit, oak influence by way of orange peel and baking spices and some freshness from the rose component.  The wine is very silky, balanced and slippery with a medium length finish.  I like this wine, even though it’s not my style of Pinot.  91 points for this $60 beauty makes it a 5 star effort that I am pairing with beer-can Chicken and sautéed spinach.  Drink till 2030.  Salut….

Klein Constantia ‘Anwilka’ 2015, Stellenbosch, South Africa

20 Sunday Mar 2022

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This blend, based on Syrah, was brooding in the glass.  Deep ruby, opaque AF and sporting a 14% ABV.  Our Virtual Wine Tasting group found it to be funky with pepper, smoked meat, blackcurrant jam, prune, black licorice, Sambucca and an earthy component.  On the palate we agreed that this was a very tannic wine- still too young with aerating/decanting a must.  Medium (-) acidity, medium (+) body and a medium length finish.  Flavors of Maraschino and Luxardo cherries were evident, as was Espresso, Lapsang Souchong tea, pepper and blackcurrants.  This was not a crowd favorite but I did mention to the group that it’s a very complex wine that needs more time to open up and allow the fruit to shine through the tannic veil.  I will re-taste over the next few days.  From me this is blockbuster gets 19/20 VWTC points and technically speaking- 92 pts.  At $60 one might me hesitant to pop-n-pour but some extra cellaring will make this wine shine.  5 stars with a drinking window of 2024-2030.  It needs a juicy Ribeye or Prime Rib with horseradish.  Salut….

Lachini Vineyards ‘Family Estate’ Pinot Noir 2013, Willamette Valley, Oregon

29 Wednesday Dec 2021

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This Pinot Noir is see-through with a nice shade of ruby red and a watery shimmer on the glass sides (13.4% ABV).  The nose is stunning- pronounced aromas of red cherry, pomegranate, cranberry, cinnamon, cloves, cherry cola and vanilla.  The palate is smooth and lightly tart with very well integrated, lithe tannins.  Light bodied, this wine shows off the red fruit flavors beautifully.  The oak influence (cinnamon, cloves and vanilla) are slight, but delicious.  At 8 years of bottle age, it is still young and shows no tertian flavors yet.  The structure here will allow for further cellaring and should develop nicely.  The finish is long and tart from sour cherry notes and super fine grained tannins that caress my gums.  This is a delicious bottle that ran $60 in the day that gets 92 points from me and 4 stars.  Drink till 2028 with lighter fare.  Salut….

Boeckel Riesling Wibelsberg 2016, Alsace Grand Cru, France

23 Saturday Oct 2021

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Deep lemon color, bordering on gold this dry Riesling has got 5 years of bottle age and I’m looking forward to some tertiary notes.  On the nose I get ripe, tropical fruit- passion fruit, pineapple and honeysuckle.  Tertiary notes of orange marmalade and orange peel, honey and the aging hints of ginger and toast.  Th palate is delicious.  As mentioned, it is a dry wine that has no residual sugar, as is made obvious by the 13% ABV which gives this wine some nice body.  Good acidity is held in check by the weight of the fruit and I taste all the above plus chamomile tea.  Oh my, this is a scrumptious wine that is only just starting its journey.  I was hoping for that telltale petrol note, but alas , this wine is still young for a Grand Cru Riesling.  That note will probably take another 5 years to appear.  The finish is long and honeyed.  This is good stuff that will drink nicely till 2036.  I’m pairing it with shrimp and salad.  94 points from me for this $60 wine makes it a 5 star wine, glad I bought a few.  Salut….

Ramey Woolsey Road Vineyard Chardonnay 2018, Russian River Valley, California

13 Wednesday Oct 2021

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I attended a practice blind tasting last night for the WSET Level 3 exam.  One of the wines we drank was this Chardonnay.  It was obvious from the first whiff that this was a Cali doozy.  I wrote that the wine was a medium shade of lemon and had a medium (+) intensity nose of……. toast, butter, bread, acacia, melon and banana, I found it youthful.  Read those descriptors again.  There is no mention of citrus or stone.  The palate was much the same in flavors with medium (+) acidity, high alcohol, medium (+) body and was obviously dry in nature.  This is a developing wine with plenty of potential to age.  I thought it was good to outstanding and would think it gets 92 points.  At $60 a pop, this highly rated (94-95 by the pros) wine gets 5 stars.

My initial reaction to smelling this wine was that it had been worked over pretty hard.  When I say that, I mean it went through Malolactic Conversion/Fermentation and I even thought it had been treated Sur Lie.  I was right.  The winery notes mention both processes and explain why it was sooo buttery, with heavy doses of bread, toast etc.  It’s not my style of wine, but I took the half bottle home to revisit it.  Paired with a rice and chicken dish it did okay, but the overpowering tertiary notes are really not up my alley.  If you like a rich, full-on Napa/Sonoma Chardonnay with gobs of upfront tertiary notes, go for it.  At least try it once.  Drink till 2030.  Salut….

Vega Sicilia ‘Pintia’ 2015, Toro, Spain

11 Sunday Jul 2021

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This was the last bottle of our 19th Virtual Wine Tasting. Intense purple in the glass- this wine had a rustic nose with earth, barnyard, dill, dried herbs, blackberry, cedar and dark fruit jam. On the palate the group got toasted marshmallow, jam, Angostura Bitters (?), blackberry, black cherry, cedar and dusty earth. My initial reaction was that this wine was yummy and very smooth. It is very balanced and the tannins are so fine grained it gives a beautiful mouthfeel. Richness and complexity galore make this an excellent wine that gets 94 points from me. At $60 it’s a pricy one for sure, but worth every drop. 5 stars. Drink till 2030 with grilled lamb, shish kebabs or pasta. Stunning Tempranillo and one of the best we have had in our tasting group IMHO. Salut….