MacRostie 2021 Nightwing Chardonnay

Vintage: 
2021
Score: 
95
Grade: 
A+
Current Price: 
$52.00USD

MacRostie has long preferred high elevation vineyards where the vines are totally exposed. In this case, Nightwing vineyard sits at 1,200 feet, open to long sunny days and cool ocean breezes. This Chardonnay is in the vein of classic California Chardonnays - a wine that straddles all the elements of excellent fruit, malo-lactic, oak aging, stainless steel fermentation, and proper acidity. All these things come together seamlessly, which allows this to be an ideal expression of how good Chardonnay can be.

2021 Crooked Tree Vineyard Island Blossom White Sweet Traminette, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2021
Score: 
82
Grade: 
B-

The Traminette grape is a hybrid grape with ties to Gewurztraminer.  Pale golden with some green hues, clear and bright.  The nose has some lemon-lime notes.  Light bodied.  On the palate, this is sweet.  Some acidity to help cut it.  Moderate finish.  This is easy drinking and nice to sit outside on a warm late summer afternoon.  It would work well with fried foods.  Drink now.  

2021 Crooked Tree Vineyard Whitecaps Dry Tramintette, USA, Lake Erie, Kellys Island, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2021
Score: 
86
Grade: 
B

The Traminette is a hybrid grape with some resemblance (by design) to Gewurztraminer.  Very pale gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose is clean with slight lemon-lime.  Light to medium bodied.  12% abv.  On the palate, this is refreshing.  Easy drinking.  Light lemon-lime notes.  Good finish.  Nice balance.  A nice afternoon at the winery kind of wine.  Drink now.  This is very food friendly with lighter foods.  It would go well with fried chicken.  

2022 Crooked Tree Vineyard Wind Chime semi-dry Chardonnay, USA, Kelly's Island Ohio, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2022
Score: 
85
Grade: 
B
Current Price: 
$28.00USD

The label lists this as 12% abv.  Silvery/green/gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose is clean with some lemony notes.  Light bodied.  On the palate, the label calls this  semi-dry but there isn't really a lot of sweetness going on.  It is refreshing with some lemon-lime qualities.  Easy to drink.  This is food friendly and would work well with fried foods or popcorn.  A fun wine for sitting outside at a winery listening to live music.  Drink now.  

2022 Crooked Tree Vineyard Cabernet Franc, USA, Ohio, Kelly's Island, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2022
Score: 
87
Grade: 
B+

Kelly's Island is part of a group of islands in the south western section of Lake Erie just off the Ohio coast.  Back in the mid-1800's this was one of the leading wine areas of the country.  Now it is kind of a summer resort escape area.  It is always difficult to make reds in Ohio due to late and early frosts and lots of thunderstorms and hail and very hot temperatures.  Yields were apparently way down in 2022, but luckily a friend lives right next to the winery and was able to snag a bottle for us.  This wine seems to be somewhere between a very serious rosé and a lighter red wine.  11.5

Quivera 2019 Black Boar Zinfandel

Vintage: 
2019
Score: 
92
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$55.00USD

Though Zinfandel is California’s signature grape, much of what is made is simplistic, jammy and average. Good thing the folks at Quivera have always taken Zin seriously. Comprised of all Zin with 15% Petite Sirah, the Black Boar offers complex flavors of black cherry, blackberry, plum, bay leaf, current marmalade, with light green tea notes, rhubarb, smoked vanilla and subtle charred campfire. The overtness of the fruit is kept in check with moderate tannins and a smart oak program, which included French, American and Hungarian oak, for a total of just 18 months in barrel.

Brandlin Estate 2021 Sauvignon Blanc

Vintage: 
2021
Score: 
92
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$45.00USD

Located on Mount Veeder, Brandlin is the sister winery of Cuvaison. In the very capable hands of winemaker Steve Rogstad, his 2021 offers classic notes of light kiwi, lemon-lime zest, gooseberry, light resin, tart green apple and a whisper of butterscotch. This expresses what people want in Sauvignon Blanc – something light, crisp, and fresh. But Brandlin adds a bit of texture to the wine due to fermenting in large French oak barrels, then aging 11 months in oak (just half the barrels were new) to add a noticeable viscosity.

Carpineto 2020 Dogajolo Red

Vintage: 
2020
Score: 
90
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$14.99USD

The idea of a Super Tuscan wine has been around for decades, but they tend to be a higher price point. So in 1993 Carpineto launch they value version, Dogajolo. This wine offers good tannic structure and acidity. This leads to notes of blackberry, black cherry, light blueberry with soft strawberry, pomegranate and huckleberry. These fruits are muted though, not overt and jammy - the fruit is balanced with the oak, acids and tannins so the wine is ideal for food.

Duckhorn 2020 Three Palms Merlot

Vintage: 
2020
Score: 
94
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$125.00USD

Though this has become an iconic wine, the beauty of this wine and many others is vintage variation, which produces subtle changes, depending on weather patterns and how the fruit is grown. This is Duckhorn’s most dense and deeply rich Merlot of the past few years, and in fact this is a Merlot dominant iteration (98% Merlot, 2% Malbec). More dark and brooding than previous vintages this one has a beautiful depth to it - deep and rich, blackberry pie, Huckleberry compote, blueberry jam, and light strawberry.

2020 Alessandro di Camporeale Monreale Catarratto Sicilia Vigna Di Mandranova, Italy, Sicily, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2020
Score: 
92
Grade: 
A-

This is a white wine made from Catarratto Extra Lucido grapes in Sicily.  Silvery/gold in color with slight green swirls, clear and bright.  The nose has lots of salinity, some smoke, lemon rind and slight granny smith apple notes.  Full bodied.  Very well balanced.  Slightly viscous texture.  On the palate, limes, slight grapefruits, loads of minerality and slight underlying char.  Long finish.  This is very interesting as well as delicious.  This is nice on its own but better with food.  It would be classic with trout or other fish dishes.  Drink over the next five to eight years.  

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