Tag Archives: 90 points

Domaine la Guintrandy Louise d’Agoult 20, Beaumes de Venise, France

13 Saturday Dec 2025

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Medium ruby colored with medium viscosity (14.5% ABV).  Medium intensity aromas of black plum, black raspberry, cracked pepper, bacon, green herbs, licorice, and açaí berry.  The palate is dry with medium acidity, a full body and medium tannins.  Medium (+) intensity flavors, with black pepper being the most noticeable.  The tannins sneak up on the mid palate.  The finish has a slight green note and is medium in length.  Decent cellaring capacity unless you like a fresh wine with a slightly tannic mouthfeel.  A blend of Grenache and Syrah from the Southern Rhone that gets 90 points from me.  At $15 it’s a 5 star wine to drink till 2030.  Salut….

Domaine la Guintrandy Louise d'Agoult Beaumes de Venise

Yamhill Valley Vineyards Estate Reserve Pinot Noir 2017, McMinnville, Oregon

18 Tuesday Nov 2025

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Pale garnet colored, with medium viscosity (13.5% ABV).  The nose has medium intensity aromas of red cherry, strawberry coulis, straw, red currant, cherry cola, and a hint of plumcot. It’s New World in nature, lacking any funk, but not candied.  The palate is dry, with medium (+) acidity, a medium (-) body, and medium (-) tannins that are fine grained.  The red fruit dominates the medium (+) intensity flavor profile with some earthy dry vegetal notes and a touch of cola.  The finish is medium in length and refreshingly tart.  This is a very tasty wine, albeit somewhat one dimensional, but it’s going to go well with baked Salmon.  It gets 90 points from me and for the $60 price point- 3 stars.  Drink till 2028.  Salut….

Yamhill Valley Vineyards Estate Pinot Noir

Aresti ‘Trisquel’ Gran Reserva Carmenere 2021, Curico Valley, Chile

10 Monday Nov 2025

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Deep ruby colored with slight staining, and a high viscosity (13.5% ABV).  The nose has medium (-) intensity aromas of green pepper, black plum, blackberry, wet rock, charred oak, black coffee, dark chocolate, and black cherry.  The palate is dry, with medium acidity, a medium body, and medium tannins.  Medium (+) intensity flavors of black plum, black cherry, charred oak, dark chocolate, well steeped tea, and coffee lead to an interesting finish.  I stated that this was a dry wine, yet there’s a sweetness as it rolls onto the mid palate and then the back end.  I doubt there is any RS, but perhaps some very ripe fruit contributing to the taste.  It’s a medium length ending that I am enjoying.  I paid $9, on sale from $13 at Costco.  It’s a solid 90 pointer and gets 5 stars for it’s really good QPR.  Drink till 2030.  Salut….

Aresti 'Trisquel' Gran Reserva Carmenere

King Family Vineyards Cabernet Franc 2023, Monticello, Virginia

09 Sunday Nov 2025

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Medium ruby colored with slight staining, and high viscosity (12.5% ABV).  The nose has medium intensity aromas of licorice, green pepper, blackberry, cassis, acai berry, fresh green herbs, a hint of oak, chocolate powder, and vanilla.  The palate is dry, with medium acidity, a medium body, and medium tannins.  Medium intensity flavors of acai berry, anise, green pepper, herbs, and some blackberry.  The finish is medium (-) in length and turns a touch tart- refreshing.  It’s a nice bottle that we picked up at the winery, which is a must-visit if in the area.  It runs $30 ex-chateau and gets 90 points from me, making it a 4 star effort to drink over the next five years.  Salut….

King Family Vineyards Cabernet Franc

Precision Wine Co. Cabernet Sauvignon Method 2022, California

30 Thursday Oct 2025

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Deep ruby colored with medium staining, and a high viscosity (14.5% ABV).  The nose has medium (-) intensity aromas of blackberry, black plum, charcoal, oak, dark chocolate, anise, orange peel, blueberry, and acai berry. The palate is dry, with medium acidity, a full body, and medium tannins.  The flavors are more pronounced and offer black/blue fruit along with some oak influence.  You can tell the grapes were very ripe at harvest, there’s a California sweetness to the wine and not from residual sugar (I don’t think).  The finish is medium in length and the whole package fades gently, making me reach for another sip.  It’s really tasty and won’t break the bank.  This is my second tasting of this wine and I am surprised at how it showed last year versus now.  It’s morphed and I get different attributes, plus I did not care for it back then as much as I like it now.  It runs about $25 but I got a steal on this bottle at Costco for a tenner.  It gets 90 points from me and ranks 5 stars.  Drink till 2030, Salut…..

Precision Wine Co. Cabernet Sauvignon

Massaya Classic – Le Colombier Rouge 2021, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon

16 Tuesday Sep 2025

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Medium ruby colored, with slight staining and high viscosity (14.5% ABV).  The nose has medium (+) intensity aromas of black raspberry, cedar, blackberry coulis, menthol,  coffee bean, dark chocolate, wild herb, and ripe fig.  The palate is dry, with medium acidity, a medium (+) body, and medium (+) tannins that are pretty grippy.  The flavors hone in on black fruit with iodine, menthol and oaky wood notes.  It’s a young bottle, which is typical for Lebanese wines- they have great longevity.  The finish is pretty dry and tannin driven for the first part.  The fruit notes end medium in length, leaving me with a slightly bitter after taste.  It’s yummy, but young.  It’s a blend of 35% Grenache Noir, 35% Consult, and 30% Tempranillo.  I would give it a potential 90 points, it cost me $19 and gets 4 stars.  Drink till 2035.  Salut….

Massaya Le Colombier Rouge

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

09 Monday Jun 2025

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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

Fram Cinsault 2021, Citrusdal Mountain, South Africa

14 Wednesday May 2025

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Pale ruby colored, with medium viscosity (13.5% ABV).  The nose has medium (-) intensity aromas of cranberry, rhubarb, red cherry, vanilla, coffee, singed alder, and a slightly green herb note.  The palate is dry with medium (+) acidity, a medium (-) body, and medium (-) tannins.  Medium (+) intensity flavors of rhubarb, cranberry, red cherry, and charred wood.  The finish is medium in length, slightly tart and very delicious.  This wine started off with a muted nose, attacked with really enjoyable red fruit and has a delightful structure that is very appealing.  This varietal is normally blended or used in rosé production.  Seeing it as a stand alone was a no-brainer.   Really yummy and worthy of 90 points.  I would drink it till 2028 with lighter meat dishes, the delicacy of this wine does not need a big fatty Ribeye.  For $17 a bottle, you gotta grab a few.  5 stars.  Salut….

Fram Cinsault

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

27 Sunday Apr 2025

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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

Devocion Cabernet Franc 2020, Mendoza, Argentina

23 Wednesday Apr 2025

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Deep garnet colored, with high viscosity (14.5% ABV).  The nose has medium (+) intensity aromas of green pepper, charcoal, black plum, blackberry, cassis, tomato leaf, funky mushroom, and acai berry.  The palate is dry with medium acidity, a medium (+) body, and medium (+) tannins that are a touch gritty even after a few years of age.  Medium intensity flavors of blackberry, black currant, black plum, green pepper, tomato stalk, and a smoky oak note but no sign of the funk.  The finish is nice and dry with the tannins still gripping whilst black fruit notes linger mid length.  It’s a nice drop and only runs $20.  I am more upbeat than others and will go with 90 points for this organically made wine, making it a 4 star effort to drink till 2029.  Salut….

Devocion Cabernet Franc