Tag Archives: 91 points

Oyster Bay Chardonnay 2023, Marlborough, New Zealand

14 Tuesday Jan 2025

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Pale lemon colored with a watery sheen (13% ABV).  The nose has medium (+) intensity aromas of seaweed, lemon zest, flint, tangerine, pomelo, white blossom, pineapple, and passion fruit.  Quite the fruit cocktail imho.  The palate is dry with medium acidity and a medium body.  Medium intensity flavors of lemon zest, pomelo, white blossom, and pineapple with that briny seaweed note adding a touch of interesting segue.  It’s not your normal Napa Chard, nor is it a Chablis- something of an outlier from the two classics.  It is weighty but still refreshing, crisp yet stoic.  The finish is medium (+) in length and concentrates on the citrus notes.  A really delicious wine that has not had all the ‘treatments’ of MLF, new oak, battonage etc.  91 points from me for this $11 steal makes it a 5 star bottle to buy cases of.  This will pair nicely with grilled salmon, roast chicken, fresh salad, and calamari.  Drink till 2026.  Salut….

Oyster Bay Chardonnay

Ashley Herzberg Petite Sirah 2022, Russian River Valley, California

13 Monday Jan 2025

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Inky purple colored with moderate staining, and a high viscosity (14.7% ABV).  The nose has medium intensity aromas of ripe blackberry, black plum, a medicinal note (from oak?), acai berry, grape bubble gum, slate, and faint espresso notes.  The palate is dry with medium (+) acidity, a full body, and high tannins that are somewhat chalky.  Ripe flavors of blueberry, blackberry, and acai berry coupled with that medicinal note, some black tea and an espresso note.  The finish leans heavily on the tannins, they are very grippy but allow the fruit to show off for a medium length ending.  I like this $22 bottle and give it 91 points which makes it a 5 star effort to drink till 2030.  I would pair it with hearty beef dishes and stews.  Salut….

Ashley Herzberg Russian River Petite Sirah

Scott Peterson ROX of the Andes Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, Mendoza, Argentina

09 Thursday Jan 2025

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Deep ruby colored with light staining, and a medium viscosity (14.3% ABV).  The nose has medium intensity aromas of black cherry, blackberry, black plum, mint, acai berry, violet, and charred, smoky oak.  The palate is dry with medium acidity, a medium (+) body, and medium (+) tannins that are integrating nicely.  Medium intensity flavors of blackberry, acai, black plum, black cherry with black tea and smoke that lead to a medium length finish.  Yummy stuff that has some aging capacity and structure to hold up to a juicy steak.  I would drink this 91 point wine till 2030.  For $16, it gets 5 stars.  Salut….

Scott Peterson ROX of the Andes Argentina Cabernet Sauvignon

Amalaya Torrontes-Riesling 2021, Salta, Argentina

05 Sunday Jan 2025

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We kicked off the 38th virtual wine tasting with this Torrontes/Riesling blend (85/15%), served initially chilled then at room temperature.  Pale yellow colored with medium viscosity (13% ABV), it gave the tasters medium (+) intensity aromas of honeysuckle, lemon, nectarine, peach, pear, lychee, and rose water.  On the palate it is dry with medium (+) acidity thanks to the Riesling, with a light body.  The flavors were similar to the nose with the addition of vanilla- the finish was long.  We then tasted the room temperature version which gave us more pear, some petrol, a hint of ginger, and perhaps vanilla thread.  The acidity was a bit subdued but the body felt heavier with tangerine, pear, honeysuckle, and a citrus driven finish that went on for ages.  I scored it 15 and 14 on our tasting sheet but this $12 bottle gets 91 points on technical merit making it a 5 star wine.  Drink till 2029.  Salut….

Amalaya Torrontes-Riesling

Barboursville Vineyards Octagon 2017, Monticello, Virginia

15 Sunday Dec 2024

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Deep ruby colored with slight staining and a high viscosity (13.5% ABV).  The nose has medium intensity aromas of pencil lead, blackberry, cassis, menthol, orange peel, bramble berry, black plum, and coffee.  The palate is dry with medium acidity, a medium (+) body, and medium (+) tannins that build on the mid palate.  Medium intensity flavors of blackberry, plum, cassis, bramble berry, coffee, menthol, and graphite.  The finish is very dry and long.  The tannins really grip here along with some juicy acidity.  It’s a delicious wine that is evolving nicely but I think the 2016 might be better (I gave it 93 points).  This one gets 91 points from me and at $95 it gets 3 stars.  I’m pairing with Sunday roast for the treat.  A classic Right Bank blend of Merlot, Cab Franc and Petit Verdot.  Salut….

barboursville octagon

Domaine Clavel Régulus 2023, Côtes du Rhône, France

07 Saturday Dec 2024

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Medium garnet colored with high viscosity (14% ABV).  The nose has medium intensity aromas of red raspberry, red plum, smoke, game, tomato stalk, red licorice, pomegranate, and blackberry.  The palate is dry with medium (+) acidity, a medium  body, and medium tannins.  Medium (+) intensity flavors of dark raspberry, plum, blackberry, pomegranate, with some less intense red licorice, smoke, game and green from the stalk.  The finish is quite short but well received- it’s certainly fruity and has some nice juiciness thanks to the acidity.  This is a very delicious wine that drinks nicely now and could perhaps evolve till 2028.  It gets 91 points from me and at $14- a 5 star winner.  A blend of Grenache 60%, Syrah 30% and Marselan 10%.  Salut….

Domaine Clavel Régulus cotes du rhone

La Reserve De L’enclave Cotes du Rhone Villages 2022, Southern Rhone, France

21 Thursday Nov 2024

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Medium ruby colored with medium viscosity (14% ABV).  The nose has medium intensity aromas of red and black raspberry, steeped black cherry, rhubarb, tobacco leaf, blueberry, wildflower, black pepper and granite.  The palate is dry (very), with medium (+) acidity, a medium body, and medium tannins.  Flavors of dark red fruit- cherry and raspberry, with some green notes of fresh tobacco leaf, wildflower, pepper (both green and black), as well as some granite.  The fruit/tannins are quite sharp and produce a distinct dryness on the mid palate.  The finish is a bit mouthwatering and of medium length.  The astringent nature of this wine is akin to over steeped black tea- but it’s quite pleasant.  A blend of 65% Grenache and 35% Syrah- I don’t get the gaminess associated with the latter, but it does offer up the candied red fruit I dislike.  Overall this $18 is very tasty and will cellar nicely till 2030.  91 points from me and 5 stars.  Grilled meats are the ticket here.  Salut….

La Reserve De L'enclave Cotes du Rhone Villages

Eccentric Malbec Bourbon Barrel 2022, Mendoza, Argentina

07 Thursday Nov 2024

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Deep purple colored with slight staining and a medium viscosity (13.5% ABV).  The nose has medium (+) intensity aromas of ripe black plum, black cherry, cassis, vanilla, acai berry and cedar plank.  The palate is dry with medium (-) acidity, medium body, and medium tannins that caress.  Flavor intensity is medium and has the plum, cherry, vanilla and acai I got on the nose.  It’s more oak driven than the nose with smoke and coffee also present.  The finish is surprisingly long and mouthwatering.  The acidity must have just caught up to the party!  It’s a soft wine, like I would expect from this varietal but the Bourbon barrel aging gives it a bit of oak drive and the vanilla is on point.  I don’t like over-oaked wines, this one is en pointe.  I’m really enjoying this 91 point that ran me $11- for sure a 5 star effort to enjoy in the near term.  Salut….

Eccentric Malbec Bourbon Barrel

Fanal Madeira Rainwater Old Reserve 10 year NV, Madeira, Portugal

06 Wednesday Nov 2024

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Pale amber with purple and copper hues and high viscosity (18% ABV).  The nose has intense aromas of walnuts, caramel, raisins, prune, desiccated lemon peel, dried flowers and railroad tie shavings.  The palate is medium sweet with a full body and medium (+) acidity.  An intriguing set of flavors layer themselves on the tip of my tongue- a melange of dried nuts, dessicated fruit, dried lemon pith and that unique shaved railroad tie note.  The finish is long but the wine is a touch thinner than other styles of Madeira so it runs lean and slightly tart from the acidity.  Unique stuff with history as to how it is made and why this style evolved.  My boss brought it from Madeira.   Price-wise I believe it was in the $30 range.  Getting 91 points from me makes it a 5 star effort to search out if you want to try something different.  Drink for the next 50 years!  Salut.

Fanal Madeira Rainwater

Catena Zapata ‘Catena Appellation San Carlos’ Cabernet Franc 2021, Mendoza, Argentina

04 Monday Nov 2024

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Medium to deep ruby colored with slight staining and high viscosity (13.5% ABV).  The nose has medium intensity aromas of red plum, ripe raspberry, vanilla, baking spice, capsicum, acai berry, cracked black pepper and mint.  The palate is dry with medium acidity and medium tannins atop a medium to full body.  The flavors are medium in intensity and mirror the nose.  It’s quite a silky wine with the tannin/acid balance and nice ripe fruit that is enveloped in deft oak.  The finish is medium in length and very smooth.  I like it and for $22 it gets 5 stars for its 91 point rating.  I would drink till 2027 with lighter meat dishes, nothing too fatty.  Salut….

Catena Zapata San Carlos Cabernet Franc