2017 Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon Puente Alto Vineyard

Vintage: 
2017
Score: 
94
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$100.00USD

This is one of the top wines from Chile.  The bottle was decanted prior to tasting.  Garnet in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is nice with cassis, cherry candy, slight bell pepper, cedar and forest floor.  Medium to full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Cassis, cherries, and bell pepper.  Nice finish.  This is lighter in style that say Napa or even Bordeaux, but it is almost seamless.  The green bell pepper may be distracting to some, but it drinks more like a Napa Cab from the 70's or 80's.  It is drinking well now with a decant, but may improve with

2016 Roland Champion Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut, Chouilly Grand Cru, France, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2016
Score: 
93
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$60.00USD

Golden in color with a lot of very small bubbles, clear and bright.  The nose is very nice with chalk, toast, and slight marzipan.  Full bodied.  Good balance.  On the palate, this is crisp with a very, very slight sweetness to it.  Chalk and slight dried citrus notes.  Long finish.  This has plenty of depth.  Drinking well now, this should drink well for seven to ten more years.  It is very food versatile and should go with just about any food.  It went very well with a spicy vegetarian pizza.  

Duckhorn 2018 Howell Mountain Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Vintage: 
2018
Score: 
94
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$105.00USD

I’ve long held the belief that it’s pretty hard to mess up Cabernet Sauvignon from Howell Mountain fruit. The vines there are simply exceptional. So in the very capable hands of Duckhorn, the fruit in this 2018 shines. It’s all Cabernet with 8% Merlot added. There’s a lovely elegance to this wine, a steadiness that combines all the elements, oak, fruit, wood and tannin together. Not one element outperforms the other. The soft fruit includes noticeable black cherry, blackberry, blueberry, mocha, huckleberry and the ever-present but limited vanilla and caramel.

Calera 2021 Pinot Noir

Vintage: 
2021
Score: 
93
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$32.00USD

For 40 years Calera has been producing terrific wines in a rather unlikely place, in the Gavilan Mountains at the dividing line for San Benito and Monterey counties. This 2021 offers black cherry, blackberry, blueberry, huckleberry, pomegranate, with back notes of strawberry and Bing cherry. There is a rustic quality to this Pinot, hints of sage and earthiness. Aged just 10 months in French oak, a scant 10% of those barrels were new, therefore the fruit expresses itself quite clearly. It has solid acidity and tannic structure, making it an incredible value for the price.

2021 Bedrock Wine Co. Sauvignon Blanc, USA, California, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2021
Score: 
92
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$27.00USD

Like most of Beddrock's basic level bottlings this is a tremendous value )in Sauvignon Blanc).  Light golden in color with some green hues.  The nose is nice with lemon and lime notes, melon, and just a hint of tropical fruits.  Medium bodied.  Slightly oily texture.  Great balance.  On the palate, lemon-lime and honey-dew.  Good finish.  Tasty.  This is nice on its own and will work nicely with fish or lighter foods.  A nice wine for Sushi.  Drink over the next seven to ten years.      

2015 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Spätlese, Germany, Mosel, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2015
Score: 
94
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$50.00USD

The last time I tried this (2018) this was shut down.  It was nice to revisit this as it wakes up.  It still could use more cellar time.  Patience will be rewarded.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has some sulfur but much less than Prum wines of twenty years ago.  Aromas of sulfur, smoke, minerals, slight pineapple and lemon.  Medium bodied.  Slightly viscous texture.  Great lively acidity.  On the palate, minerals, lemons and slight pineapple.  This is sweet but the acidity keeps it from being heavy.  Long finish.  This needs a few more years in the cellar at this point

La Crema 2022 Sauvignon Blanc

Vintage: 
2022
Score: 
91
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$25.00USD

You may not know it, but La Crema has been producing wine for over 40 years. This 2022 Sauvignon Blanc is part of that proud heritage. This offers light lemon-lime, quince, honeysuckle, resin, apricot and guava notes. It’s a lighter style wine that makes it inherently better with a diversity of food. The acidity is in check due mainly to the use, predominately, of stainless steel, and just 27% went into neutral oak allowing for a flinty, tactile expression. ORIGIN: Sonoma County.  ALCHOL: 13.5%

2013 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée, France, Rhone, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2013
Score: 
94
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$65.00USD

This is in a lovely place right now.  Deep ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is great with cherries, slight black cherries, violets, spices and just a hint of funk.  Full bodied.  Light tannins.  Great energy and balance.  On the palate, this is complex, layered and delicious.  Cherries and black cherries with some char, spice and earthiness.  Long finish.  This is just about at peak right now and should be at this level for five to eight more years, but this will drink well for another five to ten after that.  Great on its own, this will work 

2019 Emerson Wines Cabernet Sauvignon At Large Amber Knolls Vineyard, USA, California, Lake County, Red Hills, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2019
Score: 
94
Grade: 
A

Another new wine.  There are so many.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with cassis, spice, slight lumber and some red fruits.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, this drinks well.  Still youthful.  Cassis, black cherries and spice.  Nice finish.  This will continue to improve for a while. Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.  A classic steak wine.  

2019 Weingut Willi Bründlmayer Grüner Veltliner 1ÖTW Ried Loiserberg, Austria, Kamptal, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2019
Score: 
92
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$33.00USD

This is very young but really showing some stuffing.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with limes, white pepper, and slight grapefruit.  Medium to full bodied.  Nice, slightly oily texture.  On the palate, this is dry.  Notes of lemons, limes and some black pepper.  Good acidity.  Long finish. This could use five years in the cellar, but it is drinking well now.  Drink over the next five to ten years.  Nice on its own, this would be nice with Veal Chops.  

Pages

Pages