Tag Archives: 89 points

St. Michael-Eppan San Michele Appiano Pinot Grigio Sudtirol – Alto Adige 2018, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy

06 Monday Apr 2020

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Very light shade of yellow/orange in the glass.  The nose offers spiced lemon zest, some green apples and honeysuckle.  The palate is crisp, with gobs of the green apple, some citrus and a modicum of acidity.  The mid palate softens and has a glycerin-like mouthfeel.  The green fruits are alive and well.  The tail end gives me a note of hazelnut- intriguing.  It’s rather a short finish but it is well balanced.  This wine will drink nicely till 2023 and I would pair it with salad Niçoise, herbed chicken breast or even a stir fry.  89 points and 4 stars for this $14 quaffer.  Salut….

Cameron Hughes Lot 678 Pinot Noir 2017, Willamette Valley, Oregon

01 Wednesday Apr 2020

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Absolutely see-through and a very pale shade of red. The nose gives me bing cherry, wild strawberry and clove.  The palate is quite intriguing.  A muted red fruit presence with a touch of cinnamon and mushroom. Raspberries represent on the mid palate alongside rooibos tea and sour cherry.  The acidity slides in nicely, not overdone nor abrupt.  It’s a nice mouthfeel with a touch of heat on the finish.  There is a cedar component as well that I’m enjoying.  Overall it’s a decent Pinot that I’m giving 89 points.  4 stars for this $16 effort.  Salut….

Cameron Hughes Lot 696 Pinot Noir 2017, Chehalem Mountains, Oregon

27 Friday Mar 2020

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Typical for Pinot- this wine is reddish in color and see through. On the nose it’s very fruity, strawberry and cherry.  On the palate is has a sour cherry note as well as cola.  The sourness is refreshing and accentuates the cherry theme.  The mid palate is much the same and the finish gets a crescendo of the sour cherry component.  It’s a bit gritty though, and my teeth are a little tinged.  It’s a nice length that tapers off.  I’m enjoying this wine and would pair it with roast Duck, perhaps a pasta casserole.  I’m going 89 points on this $20 Pinot.  3 stars- drink till 2027.  Salut….

Chateau Pelan Bellevue 2016, Cotes de Bordeaux Francs, France

16 Monday Mar 2020

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I did not make notes on the first night, palate fatigue…On night two- it’s a rich purple and opaque.  On the nose it’s very earthy with notes of tobacco, iodine and blackberry.  On the palate it is very interesting- the uniqueness of the secondary flavors piques my interest.  Black cherries come out along with very concise tannins.  There’s a touch of astringency on the midpalate that I’m willing to overlook- the wine is multilayered enough for me to concentrate on the other facets.  It’s interesting, of decent quality and intriguing.  The finish leaves me with a desire for another mouthful.  89 points 5 stars for this $14 Merlot/Cab/Franc blend.  Drink till 2026.  Salut….

Inniskillin Pinot Noir Niagara Peninsula 2018, Canada

16 Monday Mar 2020

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I drank an Inniskillin Pinot last summer that blew my socks off.  I wanted to find it again on a recent trip to Montreal.  This was the best the shop had.  See through, medium purple.  Strawberry ganache and cherry on the nose.  The palate- I get sour cherry, charcoal and earthiness.  The mid palate is focused, cherry and rhubarb.  On the finish it’s rather short but tannins emerge to round it out.  89 points and a little underwhelming considering the hype I built over the other bottle.  $14 makes it a 3 star effort to drink till 2026.  Salut….

PS. Stock photo as I forgot to take one

Cameron Hughes Lot 622 Riesling 2016, Columbia Valley, Washington

04 Wednesday Mar 2020

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Tonight I’m cooking outside the box, chicken livers in peri-peri sauce and some in a Port wine reduction.  I’m grilling a pork loin as a backup.  So, I needed something white that will take the heat of the spicy sauce, Riesling is the obvious choice.

It’s a light shade of yellow in the glass,  the nose is very fresh with citrus, melon, apple peel.  On the palate it’s quite sweet, round and full bodied.  It’s not as focused and acidic as I was hoping for, it’s more of a salmon or pate on toast kinda wine.   It will work I think, but the style is wrong for the pairing.

The palate offers up yellow pear, banana, melon and a touch of candied apple.  Not a lemon or lime in sight.  The midpalate is really rich, expanding into those flavors whilst the finish is short and sweet- literally.  I’m enjoying this wine all by itself, really tasty and easy to drink.  I’m going 89 points and 4 stars for this $12 bottle.  Salut….

Cameron Hughes Lot 676 White Blend 2016, Santa Barbara, California

02 Monday Mar 2020

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Very golden in the glass, beautiful and rich.  On the nose I get peach stone, yellow apple, melon.  On the palate it’s quite different- I still get peach stone, but the focus is more pineapple, honeydew, lanolin.  The mouthfeel is quite full, a nice level of acidity and some glycerin.  The mid palate shows off stone fruit and a touch of sour apple.  The finish is medium length and continues the theme nicely.  This is a good blend of Roussane, Viognier and Marsanne that I would serve with caeser salad, smoked salmon or grilled chicken.  89 points, $14 and 4 stars.  Salut….

Cameron Hughes Lot 635 Gruner Veltliner 2017, Clarksburg, California

02 Monday Mar 2020

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It’s very pale yellow, but it has a bright hue.  The nose gives me pears, yellow apple and ginger.  The palate is a touch sweet with that yellow apple note being prevalent.  It has a nice mouthfeel and the richness comes through on the mid palate where a warm waxy component adds to the mix.  Bosc pears come alive and the very feint acidity introduces itself.  The finish is short and to the point; pears, apples and done.  It’s a very balanced wine that will drink beautifully with my roasted Beer Can Chicken.  I would pair this all day long with steamed ginger and scallion Salmon.   The touch of sweetness and lack of acidic bite make it easy to quaff by itself.  Drink till 2025.  89 points and for $10- 5 stars and in need of stockpiling!  Salut….

Cameron Hughes Lot 674 2017, Mendocino, California

04 Tuesday Feb 2020

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Rich purple. Opaque.  The nose offers up blackberries, violets, spice box.  On the palate it’s primal- black fruit, cedar shake, very nice, gentle tannins with a touch of acidity.  The midpalate turns into a more fruity wine with a tannic thrust.  The fruits tend toward blackberry, black cherry and a slathering of breakfast tea.  The finish is driven by the Petite Sirah- dark, brooding and enveloped in mouth puckering tannins.  89 points and 4 stars for this $13 steal.  Salut….

Kaesler The Bogan Shiraz 2017, Barossa Valley, Australia

04 Tuesday Feb 2020

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Bright purple in the glass.  The nose is smoky, laden with iodine and laced with blackcurrant jam.  The palate is austere with a minerality starting us off.  It opens up to the rich black fruits, and very lithe tannins.  The wine is tasty once that austere punch fades, it’s a bit off-putting.  The mid palate has nice cedar and black currant notes alongside some well integrated acidity.  The finish is more black fruit that transitions to an oaky, tasty, mineral driven note.  I kinda like it.  I’m going to reserve a point for the austerity that hits at the beginning with a recommendation to cellar this one for a year or two and perhaps decant it.  89 points, which shocks me for this $45 wine.  2 stars unfortunately.  Salut….