Tag Archives: 92 points

Cat Amongst The Pigeons Shiraz Grenache 2008

16 Saturday Aug 2014

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I bought this one sight unseen from my local dealer who was having a bin-end sale.  It normally retailed for about $16.  I liked it, a lot.  From the Barossa Valley it oozed class and warmth, starting with a full-on nose of Asian Plums, black cherries and blackberries- gorgeous.  Picture a bowl full of dark fruits….

Brooding black berries and eucalyptus with some smoke and tar hit the palate nicely with some polished tannins and slight acidity.  A long finish of chocolate and earth mingle with some plum jam to finish things off.  At 5 years of bottle age it is at peak and will go on for another 3 years I reckon.  For the price I paid I would get more if I could.  92 points and 5 stars in my book for this 57% Shiraz, 43% Grenache blend that hid it’s 14.9% alcohol perfectly.  Plus, it’s a cool name and a great label!  Salut….

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Provenance Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

22 Tuesday Apr 2014

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I am closing in on 500 blog posts and wanted to lead up to the big one with some great wines.  This one happened to be a gift from a mate so I felt obliged to open it up and let it rip with some juicy Sirloins and grilled corn.  For post #497, it seemed the right thing to do and I was not disappointed.

I was amazed at how dark and dense the wine was in my glass, but it made sense when I had the first whiff.  A brooding nose of black fruits combined with the dark inky purple color set the stage for this Rutherford Cabernet.  Napa style fruit of plums, black berries, chocolate shavings and a touch of heat.  Silky tannins and juicy acidity made this an absolute delight to drink.  I initially made a 90 point note, but then added that it had a drinking window of 2014-2025 because the wine really opened up and showed off its mouth coating muscles.  The grip of these fine tannins was amazing and the finish lasted a good 30 seconds.  I upped my score to 92 and did some research.  It sells for about $35.  That is a steal in my book for top quality Napa Cabernet and I need to stock up on this wine.  It rocks a steak and would even sort out a heavy pasta dish or some barbecue.  5 stars from me.  Salut….

provenance cabernet sauvignon

Barboursville Octagon 2009

21 Monday Apr 2014

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Yesterday was my birthday and Easter, so Moxie took us all out to our local Melting Pot for some Fondue.  I had a quick look at the wine list and immediately knew I was ordering this bottle.  I had previously tasted the 2008 Octagon at the vineyard and was impressed, so when I saw a $50 (at retail) bottle selling for only $72 I knew I was getting a great deal at restaurant pricing.

One word.  Stunning.  On the nose was a mixture of plums, cherries, oak and an earthy note.  Dark purple in color.  I was excited to taste this one and was not disappointed.  A classic Bordeaux blend comprising Merlot, Cab Sav, Cab Franc and Petit Verdot.  It tasted just like I imagined it would; cassis, plums, dark cherry, earth and a touch of cedary wood.  Very smooth and integrated tannins made this an amazing wine to savor and the acidity was so well integrated that I made a note ‘sublime acidity’ on my phone.  The wine did not last long as I could not help myself.  It went well with all the dishes of cheese, beef, shrimp with curry sauce and chicken cooked in Coq au Vin broth.

Yes, $50 is spendy for a bottle of wine.  Take into account the situation, the mood and what you are getting for this 92 point wine that I am giving 5 stars to.  I would recommend drinking this wine from 2014-2020, and I reckon it will evolve nicely in that time frame.  It was a magical day of Church, Brunch, afternoon nap followed by a great family dinner and this amazing wine was the crowning touch.  Salut….

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The family plus a friend

The family plus a friend

Relaxing on Easter weekend by the 'pit' before s'mores got the best of them

Relaxing on Easter weekend by the ‘pit’ before s’mores got the best of them

Louis Latour Mersault Perrieres 2007

08 Tuesday Apr 2014

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White Burgundy is a minefield for me.  I know almost nothing about the region, the terroir or the names.  I just know that I like most of the Louis Latour offerings and am confident when I see the telltale badge on their bottles.  I recently picked up two of these, one for mum’s birthday and the other for my cellar.  Saturday night was going to be a treat in our house.  Moxie had previously bought a box of frozen Lobsters from Costco.  We are in the process of emptying our freezers so it seemed like the right combination.  Decadence meet opulence.  We all know the price of the crustacean, the wine was equally eye watering at over $80 per bottle…. You only live once.

For a wine that has only 6 years of bottle age, it has the most beautiful golden color.  The hues were riveting in the glass, I have never seen such a young wine look so elegant and demure.  The consistency was very graceful and almost syrupy.  I was starting to wonder.  It all came out with the first sniff and taste.  Pears, apples, apricots, stones, butterscotch, you name it.  A veritable fruit basket on the olfactory senses that transferred the same powers to the palate.  Great balance of acidity make this a very easy wine to drink, and a perfect companion to the garlic infused butter that I draped all over my Lobster.

I realize that this wine is very pricey, I also remind myself that I am on a mission in my wine tasting life and it is too short to get hung up on dollars.  I need to experience Chardonnay from Burgundy just like I need to sample Barolo from Italy, Cabernet from Napa and Tokaji from Hungary.  The entry is steep, the rewards- amazing.  Having said that, this wine is a bargain for high end Burgundy.

WS gave this one 94 points.  As a relative newb to whites, I scan only muster 92 points and give it 3 stars for its price point.  I feel that you need to try some good Burgundy to appreciate them for what they are and do it with loved ones over a great meal so you can cherish the moment and remember it.  Salut….

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The telltale logo

The telltale logo

Rivetto Serralunga D’alba Barolo 2007

26 Wednesday Feb 2014

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A very young wine that the critics loved.  I popped this one because of the Italian nature of dinner tonight.  I figured I would go to the Barolo for a themed feast of tomato chicken, spaghetti squash and salad with an avocado starter.  It worked a treat…

Violet in the glass and showing a lightness and agility reminiscent of Pinot Noir, it had similar characteristics on the nose.  Cherry bouquet with thyme and some coffee came jumping out of the glass.   I need to remind myself of the first aged Barolo I tasted….  It was in Alaska and my buddy Mr. Leebering brought it for a Christmas dinner back in 2006.  It was a ’97 Ratti that blew me over with it’s seductiveness and complexity.  The amazing part of the adventure was my total lack of knowledge in Barolo territory.  I did not realize Barolo takes on such Pinot flavors and nuances.  I digress….

The wine tasted of tart cherries, cranberry, leather and Muduro.  It is a young wine with sprite tannins and a juicy mouthfeel from the beautiful acidity.  WS and others gave this wine a whopping 94 points.  I can’t see it personally.  I am going with 92 and for $50 it is a 4 star wine on one condition- cellar it for at least 5 more years to allow it to meld into the mature Barolo I feel it is capable of becoming.  Patience will reward on this one.  Serve with meatballs and red sauce for the best results.  Salut….

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Mollydooker Carnival Of Love 2010

13 Thursday Feb 2014

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A picture is worth a thousand words….

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This is the second vintage in my vertical tasting. The 2009 Carnival of Love was excellent, and this one continues the streak, albeit in a slightly different way.  Inky in the glass I got a big dose of blue currants and black tea on the nose after I ran it through the Vinturi.  The initial attack was quite simply deelish.  I had to take this picture so you could imagine what I was tasting.  Midway through I started getting sour cherries and blackberry.  I wrote down on my tasting sheet that I noticed quite a bit of acidity, hence the sour cherry component.  On the back end is where the plum compote, spice box and blueberries really came to life. The tannins are slight to the taste, but ever present.

The main difference between these two vintages is the level of concentration.  The ’09 was very focused, this version is somewhat more open ended with more levels of flavors yet not as complex.  The ’09 weighed in at 16%, this one a more palatable 15.5%.  Both are drinking beautifully now and will continue to do so for many years, yet my preference is the ’09.  This wine  scored slightly higher with the pro’s at an average of 94.5.  I am going with 92 and three stars for this $90 beauty.  I served it with spicy pulled pork, it worked a treat.  Salut….

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Clarendon Hills Astralis 2004

10 Monday Feb 2014

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A huge, monumental, iconic wine that scored massively with the pros and cost me an arm and leg. This weekend marks a huge turn in Moxie’s store and a good reason to celebrate, hence the need to pull out a $300+ bottle of wine from the depths of the cellar. To emphasize- RP 98, WE 98, WS 97, WC 97, AWC 95. Wow….

I have been in Asia for a few days and just returned this morning. Napping the morning away, I was ready for a hearty meal and some good vino. I decided on a Lamb tagine to go with this Aussie Syrah. Yup, Syrah…. They don’t call it a Shiraz, hmmmm.

I opened the bottle at 6:30 and made immediate notes:
The wine is nearly black in the glass and the first whiff was pure alcohol. I let it settle for few minutes and coaxed dark, brooding currants and a touch of the wood in addition to some cherry hints. On the palate I did not catch any of the 14.5% alcohol! Instead I got a complex mixture of black currants, plums, kirsch and oak. The mid palate adds a fine grained tannic streak along with some tobacco and spice nuances. The finish is where the alcohol shows up, unfortunately. The tannins are totally integrated at this point and do not dry out the end game.

It’s now three hours after opening and the wine has not evolved all that much, just softening up a bit on the initial attack. I doubt it will morph much more before I polish it off. The critics reckoned this wine would go until 2030. My impressions are below, and not quite in line.

Firstly, this is not my favorite Syrah nor is it my favorite wine from this producer. I disagree with the high ratings, I don’t think it warrants more than 92 points. For the price, it is a very dear wine and I’m only giving it 2 stars. Don’t get me wrong, this is a good wine- perhaps a great wine according to the pros but for me it’s just average for the price.  I was hoping for more depth, complexity and certainly more flavor.  My quest is to expand my palate and try as many highly rated wines as possible so I will be better able to discern a truly great wine.  This one just wasn’t it, a pity.  Salut….

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Almaviva 2006

19 Sunday Jan 2014

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I have been sitting on this bottle for a while, just waiting for the right moment.  It happened last night with NY Strip, peppercorn sauce and Moxie’s delicious roast Broccoli with Garlic.

The first ‘real’ wine I ever remember having was a Chilean Cabernet, and have subsequently tried most of the top Cabernet’s for the region with the exception of the the Almaviva.  It is the most expensive of the three big names in Chilean Cabernet which include Don Melchor and Montes Alpha M, both of which I love.  This wine is a blend of the classic Bordeaux varietals with Cabernet as the main factor.  It is quite simply- delicious.

The wine show a dark purple hue in the glass and the nose explodes with kir, black berries and cassis.  On the first wave, there is a purity of blue and black fruits with secondary nuances of leather, cassis and tobacco.  The mid palate has a slight imbalance but the wine finishes with grace and length.  The tannins are fully resolved and the wine has entered it’s secondary stage where the fruit is dissipating and being replaced with interesting tertiary flavors.  I got a little eucalyptus on the back end and but no dryness.  The acidity is what was off balance on the mid palate but I could easily overlook that split second for the much more fulfilling finish.  The wine is smooth and very easy to drink and appreciate.

It is the priciest of the three top Chilean Cabs at over $100 per bottle and it scored highly with the pro’s.  I am going with 92 points and 4 stars.  If you get a chance to try this wine, it is well worth the effort as it mixes Chile’s terroir with the winemaking expertise of Concha Y Toro and the Rothschilds.  A great effort indeed.  Salut…

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Chateau De Carles 2009

16 Thursday Jan 2014

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From Fronsac in the eastern part of Bordeaux comes this little charmer.  Blackish blue in the glass and giving up very little on the nose- I knew I was in for a seriously closed wine.  This wine is built to last folks, it is completely in its dumb phase with only a solid core of blueberry fruit able to penetrate the bracing tannins.  Manageable acidity make this a cellaring bottle, of which I have several more.  I am looking forward to the evolution over the next 5 years.  For now, I had to do some research. It got 92 from Suckling.  That is why I am not a pro, I cannot give scores like that when a wine is so young and unapproachable.  I cannot see past the tannins and dryness to delineate the fruit flavors and potential of the wine.  I paid $20 and going by his points this should be a 4 plus star wine- just give it a few years to emerge from its monster shell.   Salut….

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Silver Oak 1996

31 Tuesday Dec 2013

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An iconic wine from Mr. Leebering’s cellar, this was my last wine of 2013.  A hefty $30 corkage was levied at our New Year’s eve dinner, but well worth it.  It was hard to delineate the color of this wine in the dark lit restaurant, but it sure smelled good.  Plums and black fruits were interlaced with an oaky infusion and some leather.  This mature Napa Cabernet was very smooth and displayed great balance of acidity and fading tannins.  The length was impressive and the wine had a surreal earthiness to it. I believe this wine runs in the $75 range and I am going with 92 points.  This is the type of wine that really rewards cellaring and goes great with steaks.  I am going 5 stars on this wine.  Happy New year and Salut….

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