02 Tuesday Jun 2015
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I have had the Elderton Shiraz of the same label and I thought it was a great drop so when I saw this Cab I had to try it. It just wasn’t the same caliber unfortunately. Starting off with a floral nose and purple plum paste I was hopeful. Very smooth entry of black berries and blueberry jam. Nice easy acidity with a short finish. Mid palate hints of red currants and very gentle tannins. 87 points from me with a drinking window of 2015-2017. 3 stars and $11. Salut….
19 Tuesday May 2015
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I needed some wine for a friends evening so I stopped into Bevmo to pick some up. I was confronted with their 5Cent sale, buy from a selection of wines at full price and the second bottle is only 5 cents- basically a BOGO offer. This one was appealing from the shelf talker so I thought ‘what the heck’. $10 per bottle for California Cabernet? No brainer.
Bright damson nose with tar and plum on the first sip. Mild tannins and gentle acidity make this very approachable. Cinnamon and spice on the mid palate add a level of complexity and there is a longish finish of tannins and acidity that I only just noticed. 89 points with a window of 2015-2022 make this wine is a lurker. Good value from Bevmo at $20 for 2. At full price this would be a 3 star wine. Salut….
19 Tuesday May 2015
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Mocha and plum nose that entices. Initial taste of dark plum and black cherry with some ganache. Still young with firm tannins and crunchy acidity. Mid palate hints of coffee and chocolate powder. Very dry finish that coats the teeth and gums which tells me this wine is a keeper. I may have poured too soon. It got 94 points from the pro’s but I’m going with 90 for now. 2017-2025 would be a suggested window to let the tannins meld more. It lists at $85, which is rather steep making it a 3 star wine in my books. Salut….
05 Sunday Apr 2015
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I saved this one for last in the Charles Smith repertoire that I picked up in Cali. It was worth the wait. Dark purple in the glass with a nose of cherry, blueberry and a hint of oak. The initial attack consisted of black cherry and plum jam. Nice acidity and slight tannins make for a nice mouthfeel. The mid palate is rather one dimensional, yet the tannins start to grip at this point. The finish is interesting with the tannins still coating the gums along with some mint and violet. Really interesting bottle. 89 points with a drinking window of 2015/2020
PS. After an hour this wine has really mellowed, opened up and that mid palate issue I had is gone. 90 points now. 4 stars at $15. Tasty and worthwhile cellaring a few bottles. Salut….
08 Sunday Feb 2015
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Wowsa, this is a huge, delicious, complex, layered, smooth killer of a wine. I wrote that it was purply purple in the glass, can you picture it? Like really beautiful purple hues dancing in the Riedel. Initial nose of heat but then layered plums, blackberries and a hint of eucalyptus. Long, drawn out introduction of plums, blue fruits and raspberry coulis that are wrapped in gorgeous tannins and a hint of acidity. The mid palate is a seamless extension of the upfront fruit and it glides into a long finish. This is one complete wine that absolutely rocks. The combo of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon has never been my favorite but it works so well in this wine. The skillful way in which they have coaxed all this fruit and finesse while hiding the 16% alcohol is amazing. I served this bottle up with some charred/blackened Ribeyes, which was a perfect pairing. I would love to get more and sit on them for another 10 years or so. Pricy at $65, it is a treat to open one of these for a special occasion. 95 points from me and 5 stars, this one is on my radar. Yet another stellar Mollydooker wine from Mclaren Vale, Australia. Salut….
26 Monday Jan 2015
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I took Moxie and one of my sons to a Brazilian steak house recently. This was the featured wine, priced at $65 instead of the usual $120. In reality it retails for $30 or so dollars. I ordered it and did not regret my choice.
Iodine, black berries and orange peel nose really got me going. I was so engulfed in the nose of this wine that I kept sniffing, trying to coax more…. Blackberry creme pie meets chocolate dust and vanilla bean on the initial palate, exciting. Hefty yet refined tannins are on pointe and the finish is long and dry. The wine was perfectly paired with all the freshly grilled, highly salted, tender morsels of beef, lamb and pork. 92 points from me would equal what the pro’s averaged on this wine. A drinking window of 2015-2022 make it totally worth cellaring for a great accompaniment to steaks and stews. 5 stars from me for this Chilean stunner. Salut….
26 Monday Jan 2015
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$20, 3 stars, 88 points, cabernet sauvignon, Napa, napa cabernet
We were supposed to drink this at a tasting yet ran out of time. I brought it home and opened it last week to put pen to paper. Plums and graphite on the nose made for an interesting start. Black fruits with steely tannins were overshadowed by heat from the 14.6% alcohol. I am hoping this subsides as this wine will be good after 2 more years of cellaring. Blackberry and plums with some cherry cola start you off. Pencil lead and more dark fruits emerge on the mid palate and the gentle tannins finish it off. 88 points with the potential for 89 if the alcohol can meld better with some aging. For $20 you would be hard pressed to get Stags Leap Cab of any quality, making this potentially a 4 star wine. 3 for now though. Salut….
21 Wednesday Jan 2015
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Yes 2003, it’s not a typo. It was brought over by friends for a party, I was not sure how to embrace this wine. At $8 back in the day it was a serviceable red from Chile that got hammered by WS with 77 points, ouch. I decided to open it and prayed for the best. The cork crumbled halfway through the extraction, not a good start. I coaxed the rest out and sorted the debris from the glass after I poured. My initial impression- Cherry and blackberry nose, still fresh (surprisingly). This wine was probably not stored in pristine conditions, yet I was about to discover a vibrancy I was not expecting.
Bright purple in the glass it showed no signs of aging, remarkable. Lovely black cherry and black berry notes with great acidity and some nice tannins still lurking around. Thoroughly enjoyable and quite young with a nice finish. The bottle did show slight sediment, but then again this wine is 11 years old and not built for the long haul. 89 points and drinking till 2017 perhaps? 5 stars for such a valiant effort to age gracefully. Wish I could find more! Salut….
Ps. I accidentally deleted the photo of this yummy Chilean Cabernet. However, I just read the latest Wine Spectator and they featured the same wine, 2013 vintage. Priced at $12 it got 89 points. I may take a punt and stock up on some of dat! Cheers.
08 Thursday Jan 2015
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I opened the Gigglepot from Mollydooker right after we finished the Blue Eyed Boy. It’s interesting to drink both $50 offerings in the same sitting and be able to compare the grape varietals. The Shiraz was to me more finite, focused and pure of fruit. The Cabernet based Gigglepot was more open, easier to drink and perhaps more appealing to the masses. Both are excellent wines and I enjoyed each for their merits. This one was equally dark in the glass, showing off a nose of plums, cherry and mint. I usually associate the minty note with Chilean Cabs and really enjoy it when I come across them. The palate had the same basic flavor profile I got but with some added black fruits. A certain spiciness that I cannot pinpoint was evident as were the fine grained tannins. The wine seemed to go on for ever on the palate and had a long finish. Balanced with nice acidity there is a healthy dose of alcohol that is neatly hidden, drinker beware! Drinking beautifully now, this wine has the structure to go long haul. I would guess a cellaring potential to 2022 at the least. I don’t have much experience with older vintages from this winery except for my Carnival Of Love tastings, where I did get to see a little bit of evolution in 4-5 year old vintages. I would imagine this particular bottle may gain some secondary flavors and complexity as it gets some cellar time. I am giving it 91 points and 4 stars. Salut….
18 Thursday Dec 2014
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$17, 3 stars, 89 points, cabernet sauvignon, Cali cab, paso robles, paso robles cabernet sauvignon
I bought several variations of this winery’s offerings at my local Costco. $17 for a Paso Cabernet, I had to try it! I was a little concerned at first, the cork was very stained almost to the top. My fears were later put to rest. Bright purple color in the glass. Blackberry and iodine nose which was very unique. Interesting mix of raspberry and oregano with black fruits on my first sip. Good acidity gives this wine structure while the tannins are subdued. It finishes with raspberry and cherry cola flavors. Tasty and fun Cabernet that gets 89 points and 3 stars from me. Check them out some time. Salut….
The offending cork, turned out to be okay after all.
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