Tag Archives: 91 points

Bodega El Esteco Blend de Extremos Torrontes 2025, Calchaqui Valley, Argentina

31 Tuesday Mar 2026

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Pale lemon colored, with a watery sheen (13.5% ABV).  The nose has medium (+) intensity aromas of lychee, rose water, lemon and lime pith, guava, gooseberry, orange blossom, and a stony note.  The palate is dry, with medium (+) acidity, and a medium (+) body.  Medium (+) intensity flavors echo the nose and finish medium in length.  Delicious, refreshing, yet serious.  I love this variety and really enjoy a good bottle of it.  91 points from me for this $16 effort makes it a 5 star wine.  I’m pairing it with chicken and rice, but you could throw pretty much any fish dish at it for a great match.  Drink till 2030.  Salut….

Bodega El Esteco Blend de Extremos Torrontes

Rosa dell’Olmo 2021, Barolo DOCG Piedmont, Italy

30 Tuesday Dec 2025

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Pale ruby-red colored, with high viscosity (14% ABV).  The nose has medium intensity aromas of black cherry, rose petal, pomegranate, smoke, a hint of licorice, and leather.  The palate is dry, with medium (+) acidity, a medium (+) body, and high tannins that are still young and gritty.  Medium (+) intensity flavors embody the fruit but really highlight the old oak aging.  The tannins grip for days yet allow for a decently long finish with fruit and secondary notes present.  The cherry and leather dominate.  It’s a young wine for sure, with loads of cellaring capacity yet it could be drunk soon if decanted/aerated.  I think it is worthy of 91 points and available for $30 which makes it a 5 star effort in my books.  Drink from 2028-2035.  Salut….

Rosa dell'Olmo Barolo

Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2024, Marlborough, New Zealand

28 Sunday Dec 2025

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Pale lemon colored, with a watery sheen (13% ABV).  The nose has medium (+) intensity aromas of lemon verbena, cut grass, jalapeño, white blossom, papaya, grapefruit, and lime zest.  The palate is dry, with high acidity and a medium (-) body.  Medium (+) intensity flavors that mirror the nose are sharpened up by the cutting acidity.  The finish is medium (+) in length.  What a shockingly good value wine that is so consistent and tasty.  I paid $10 for this 91 point effort which makes it a 5 star bottle to buy en mass.  Drink till 2028 (would be interesting to see how it matures and what cellaring capacity it may have).  I’m pairing it with seared scallops and garlic linguine.  Salut….

Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc

Chateau Musar Blanc 2013, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon

25 Thursday Dec 2025

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Pale gold in color with a watery sheen (11.5% ABV).  The nose has medium (+) intensity aromas of Quince, Meyer lemon, lanolin, green almond, grapefruit pith, white blossom, and a zesty minerality.  The palate is dry, with medium (+) acidity, and a medium (-) body.  Medium intensity flavors mimic the nose, but especially the pith- giving a touch of bitterness.  On the mid palate I get the Quince, followed by a medium (+) length finish that’s got a refreshing dose of acidity.  This is a 12 year young wine that probably needs another decade before it starts to flesh out and develop tertiary notes.  I picked it for Christmas dinner of Lobster tails and baked potatoes- a good pairing.  I like this blend of Merwah and Obeideh from my native Lebanon.  It gets 91 points and for $55- it’s a 4 star effort.  Salut….

Chateau Musar Blanc

Domaine du Grand Montmirail Gigondas ‘Vieilles Vignes’ 2020, Rhone, France

28 Friday Nov 2025

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Deep ruby colored that is slightly cloudy, with high viscosity (15% ABV). Medium intensity aromas of black and red raspberry, licorice, green herbs.  The palate has medium acidity, a full body, and medium tannins.  Medium (+) intensity flavors of charcoal, ripe raspberry, licorice, lavender, stone and iron.  The long finish makes this a delicious wine which is a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre, hence the deep color. 91 points from me for this $30 effort makes it a 5 star wine to drink till 2030.  Salut….

Domaine du Grand Montmirail Gigondas 'Vieilles Vignes'

Nyetimber Classic Cuvee Sparkling NV, Sussex, England

28 Friday Nov 2025

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Pale lemon colored with gold highlights and large bubbles (12% ABV).  The nose has subtle hints of yellow apple, brioche, lemon pith, green almond, lanolin and then some bruised red apple. The palate is dry, with medium (+) acidity, a nice mousse, and light bodied. Refreshing and zesty with some brioche notes and yellow apple. The lemon notes are very faint, it’s more driven towards the apple flavor. The finish is medium (-) in length. It gets better with air, and I revised my score from 89 to 91 points.  Albeit non-vintage, I have sat on this bottle for over two years and think it has rewarded me nicely.  Bought at the London Duty Free, it runs about $55 now, making it a 4 star wine.  A blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier.  Salut….

Nyetimber Classic Cuvee Sparkling

Chateau Musar ‘Musar Jeune’ Red 2021, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon

22 Saturday Nov 2025

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Deep ruby colored with an inky core, and high viscosity (13% ABV).  The nose has medium (+) intensity aromas of ripe blackberry, game, bacon, garigue, a medicinal note, brambleberry, black currant, and acai berry.  The palate is dry, with medium acidity, a medium body, and medium (+) tannins that are fresh and grippy.  Medium (+) intensity flavors mimic the nose, except that medicinal note, which was quite pronounced when smelling the glass.  It’s a young wine, yet it delivers solid fruit flavors and shows off nice structure.  The finish is a little shorter than I had hoped but the tannins tickle my gums for quite a while.  It’s totally different than an aged bottle of the Grand Vin, but it’s very enjoyable and will pair nicely with my pasta and meatballs.  It’s a blend of Cinsault (35%), Syrah (35%), and Cab Sav (15%).  I’m a fan, going with 91 points for this $22 wine makes it a 5 star effort to drink till 2035.  Salut….

Chateau Musar 'Musar Jeune' Red

Purcari ‘Freedom’ Blend 2022, IGP Stefan Voda, Moldova

20 Monday Oct 2025

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Deep purple colored, with moderate staining, and a high viscosity (14% ABV).  The nose has medium (-) intensity aromas of blueberries, acai berry, a medicinal note, coffee, blackberry, black plum, dried leather, and pine wood.  The palate is dry, with medium (+) acidity, a medium body, and medium (+) tannins that are starting to meld.  Flavor intensity is medium and mirrors the nose.  The finish is medium in length and the tannins turn powdery fine and lithe.  It’s a delicious blend of 65% Saperavi (a teinturier grape), 20% Rara Neagra and 15% Bastardo.  I chose it to pair with grilled Ribeye Cap steaks, it’s gonna be perfect.  At $20, this 91 pointer gets 5 stars.  Drink till 2030.  Salut….

Purcari 'Freedom' Blend

Paolo Scavino Sorriso Langhe Bianco 2023, Piedmont, Italy

23 Tuesday Sep 2025

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Medium lemon colored with gold accents, and a watery sheen (13.5% ABV).  The nose has medium (+) intensity aromas of lanolin, lemon pith, lime, tangerine, white grapefruit, peach, green herbs, and wet rock.  The palate is dry, with a medium (+) body and medium acidity.  The fullness of the wine detracts initially from the flavors- of which I get grapefruit, melon, peach, lemon zest, and bouquet garni.  The finish is medium (+) in length and the acidity starts to grip at that point, the fruit lingering ever so.  Delicious and pairing beautifully with roast Cod and Brussel Sprouts.  91 points for this $18 bottle makes it a 5 star effort.  A delicious un-oaked Chardonnay/SavBlanc/Viognier blend that has not gone through MLF.  Drink till 2030.  Salut….

Paolo Scavino Sorriso Langhe Bianco

Shumi Winery ‘Iberiuli’ Mukuzani 2022, Georgian Republic

15 Monday Sep 2025

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Deep ruby colored, with moderate staining, and medium viscosity (13% ABV).  The nose has medium intensity aromas of red and black plum, vanilla bean, blackberry, acai berry, a medicinal note, and dried green herbs.  The palate is dry, with medium acidity, a medium body, and medium (+) tannins that are chalky.  The flavors are of medium intensity but get sidelined by the really seductive tannins.  Black fruit, oak influence by way of vanilla and a medicinal note, coupled with some dried herbs.  The finish is pretty decent in length and adds a bit of charred oak to the mix.  The Saperavi variety is one of two main teinturier grapes that are produced- the flesh is not clear, but pink colored which makes the wine very dark when fermented on the skins.  I paid $18 for this delicious wine that will be paired with Oxtail stew.  It gets 91 points from me and therefore- 5 stars!  Drink till 2030.  Salut….

Shumi Winery 'Iberiuli' Mukuzani