14 Saturday May 2016
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Very light yellow with a citrus infused nose of lemons and slate. Fresh and zesty on the palate with lemon, green apple and flint. Very focused and clean. Moxie thought it was too tart but I am enjoying it’s minerality. The wine needs raw clams, steamed shrimp or some Alfredo. 90 points and for $17 it’s a 4 star wine to buy for the summer. Salut….
27 Saturday Feb 2016
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Pale gold color with long legs in the glass and a nose of apples, pears and honey. The first impression is of a somewhat flabby wine, mouth filling and full of charm. The mid palate comes alive with quince, gooseberries and a touch of vanilla. The acidity is restrained and the wine has a decent finish. Very Cali-styled wine that got 91 points from the pros. I’m just not that into the level of Malolactic fermentation and the weight of the oak used. Some might love this style. I am going with 90 points and for $38 retail it gets 3 stars. I think it needs some fresh fish, perhaps oysters Rockefeller. Salut…..
18 Saturday Apr 2015
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A friend gave us some of his brother’s homemade wine which I believe comes from Virginia. This wine won a gold in Indianapolis. Since it was a gift and comes without any labelling it is hard to tell much more about it. No pricing either.
Dark yellow, reminiscent of aged Riesling it has a nose of sweet apple, quince and sea air. Initial attack of pear and yellow apples with good mid palate acidity and a decent finish . I don’t sense much oak use and no malolactic fermentation. This is a cutting Chardonnay with a nutty ending. I’m drinking it with some green and black olives, a dab of hummus and some green onions. A good pairing but it begs for oysters or clams on the half though. 88 points. Salut….
08 Wednesday Apr 2015
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On my recent trip to Napa I ended up the Cosentino winery where Moxie and I visited two years ago. Funny thing is she had a broken foot on that trip and I had one on this. I digress. I ended up tasting everything I could get my hands onto and ordering a case of wine to be shipped home- I also joined their mailing list, a first for me.
I was thinking of my parents when I ordered a few bottles of the Chard, which is made from Lodi fruit. They like it crisp, not buttery and certainly not sweet. This one filled all the requirements. Medium gold in color with a nose of fresh citrus, green apples and quince. The first impression is of a medium weight wine with pear, apple and lemon. Not overly worked- this wine has a slight hint of malolactic fermentation and a deft use of oak. Very crafty. Generous mouthfeel and a touch of acidity make it easy to drink. My member pricing was $16. I’m going with 88 points and 4 stars. Time to order more methinks, summer is coming and one needs a constant supply of chilled whites to pop at a moments notice! It will go awesomely with some grilled shrimp, perhaps salmon mousse and cucumbers on melba toast- you get the drift. Salut….
11 Tuesday Nov 2014
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For the past two weekends I have been tinkering on the Big Green Egg, trying to perfect a Turkey so I am ready for Thanksgiving. The first effort was not very good, the recipe was too involved and the timing was not right plus I had to leave the grill alone for most of the afternoon to see my son’s football game. I tried to cook it ‘low and slow’ but it ended up being dry. This past weekend I tried it again, using the standard 325 degree heat, very little wood chunks, and a simple bouquet of herbs shoved up it’s heiny. It worked.
I planned on drinking the Mazilly Pommard with the bird and I opened this Cali Chard up for my folks and Moxie, who prefer white wine. I got in a glass or two myself and was glad I did, this wine is good. Light yellow in color was to be expected, so I delved right into the nose. Lemon zest, melon and yellow apples greeted me right off the bat. Zesty with a hint of steel were on my notes for an initial impression. I then got green apples and melons. A smooth transition to a delightful mid palate left me thinking it was not quite buttery but silky in texture. The wine had a long finish and I gave it 91 points. I paid around $24 at Costco for it and will give it 4 stars. It paired beautifully with the bird. It would also ring with some seafood, perhaps a creamy pasta. Tasty stuff. Salut….
08 Saturday Nov 2014
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$28, 3 stars, 90 points, burgundy, chardonnay, pouilly-fuise
This French appellation has always appealed to me for it’s softer flavors and more rounded mouthfeel. I enjoy steely Chardonnays, mineral edged ones, buttery versions and even over-oaked Cali offerings, yet Pouilly-Fuise is consistently the one style that both Moxie and I enjoy the most. The pale golden color was a good introduction. Pears, apples and green melon on the nose gave an inkling of what lay ahead. A smooth entry with tart yellow apples, citrus, flint, butterscotch and a touch of clove were really confusing my overloaded palate. I wasn’t expecting such a myriad of flavors! A long finish with balance made me really like this wine, 90 points. Turkey, oysters and salmon would pair perfectly with it. $28 and 4 stars for this Burgundian beauty. Salut….
27 Friday Jun 2014
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I just returned home from my whirlwind Asian tour to find Moxie fixing up some BBQ chicken and veggies. I decided to try this well known California Chardonnay that I have been saving. Straw yellow in the glass it had a buttery nose of apple and lemon zest. More citrus and cloves on the initial with a marked acidity lurking in the background. Quince on the back end with a long finish which I found quite interesting. The wine appears to have undergone Malolactic fermentation with an oak influence, but it is not overdone. Balanced and bright without the flabbiness usually associated with this style of Cali chardonnay. I picked it up for $18 and give it 89 points. It went well with the Barbecue sauce by the way. I would pair it with seafood all day, it would kill a dozen oysters with ease. The wine sits at 13.5% alcohol, so be careful if you plan on sipping it poolside. A good effort from this well respected winery making it worthy of 4 Stars. Salut….
27 Friday Jun 2014
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Last week I had the opportunity to nip down to Bali for two nights. I seized the day and jumped on a southbound jet. The lunch menu on my flight screamed ‘white wine’ for starters and a red for the main course. I managed to take notes on my phone and the purser was kind enough to hold the bottle still so I could snap a pick. This Burgundy white is 100% Chardonnay and aged in stainless vats.
The wine had a pale yellow complexion and started off with a fruity aroma, apples and pears being quite dominant. Not overly acidic, it was fresh and zesty with pear and green apples opening the show with a touch of nectarine on the mid palate. The stone fruits really came through on the back end and the wine showed good minerality. Many times I find some of these wines to be over-oaked, not so in this case. This wine should be drunk young and went really well with my seafood appetizer and salad. I gave it 87 points and a quick search on the internet says you can find it for about $12, a bargain. 4 stars for the price! Salut….
18 Friday Apr 2014
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I forgot to take a picture of the bottle, but I did capture the moment. We put together some cheese, apple, nuts and chocolate sticks to start out the tasting. The wine was poured and I noticed it was a very crisp looking pale yellow. It had a nose of apples and gooseberry which translated well onto the palate. In addition, I tasted citrus notes and green melon on the mid palate. Good clean acidity and a sharp mouthfeel made this a delightful wine for an afternoon tasting. Others have noted the use of oak and vanilla flavors, I did not. I would pair it with baked salmon, perhaps grilled chicken and most definitely oysters on the half shell. This Argentinian winery has always over-delivered for me and the pricing is excellent. When in doubt at the wine shop I always look for the telltale golden capsule of their Reserve line and am never disappointed. I paid $19 for it and am going with 90 points and 4 stars. Salut….
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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