2017 Saxum James Berry Vineyard, USA, California, Paso Robles, Willow Creek, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2017
Score: 
98
Grade: 
A+
Current Price: 
$180.00USD

This is a blend of 43% Grenache, 29% Mourvedre, 18% Syrah, and 10% Counoise from Paso Robles.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, black cherries, minerals, char, slight spice and a bit or candied raspberries.  Full bodied.  Great balance.  Lots of energy.  On the palate, this is delicious.  No sign of the 15.8%abv.  Loads of black cherries, black raspberries with a slight char and plenty of minerality.  Long finish.  This is young but drinking well now.  It will get better though.  Drink over the next twenty years.  Great on its own, it nee

2003 Château Léoville Barton, France, Bordeaux, St. Julien, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2003
Score: 
97
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$165.00USD

This was from the crazy hot, 2003 vintage. Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, tobacco, slight leather, damp earth and spice.  Full bodied.  Good balance.  On the palate, this is ripe but certainly not over ripe.  No prunes or raisins.  A really amazing Bordeaux that is just getting to maturity.  Loads of cassis with some spice and a bit of Bordeaux funk.  Long finish.  This should continue to drink well for another ten to fifteen years.  Nice on its own, but better with food.  This went well with roasted root vegetables and rice.  

2021 North Coast Wine Club Pinot Noir, USA, Ohio, Grand River, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2021
Score: 
87
Grade: 
B
Current Price: 
$24.00USD

This is made from grapes grown near the Lake Erie shore in northeastern Ohio.  It is cooler climate in style.  Of course, Pinot Noir is difficult to make anywhere, and this one is not only varietally correct, it is good.  Ruby in color with a few daker swirls, clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, rhubarb, slight herbal note, and a bit of spice.  Medium bodied.

2020 North Coast Wine Club Super Tuscan, American Red Blend, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2020
Score: 
91
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$26.00USD

This is a blend of primarily Sangiovese with Cabernet Sauvignon and a bit of Merlot.  It seemed a step or two up from the varietally labelled Sangiovese.  Purple in color with some garnet hues, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cherries, spice, black cherries, slight chocolate and slight forest floor.  Full bodied.  On the palate, there is some varietal complexity and depth.  Light tannins.  Flavors of cherries, black cherries and spice.  Some acidity.  Nice finish.  This drinks easy but has some depth, too.  It is nice on its own and would be a nice wine with a steak.  Drink over the

2020 North Coast Wine Club Sangiovese, USA, California, Amador County, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2020
Score: 
87
Grade: 
B
Current Price: 
$30.00USD

This is made with California grapes, shipped cold to Ohio for production.  It is one of the mysteries of wine as to why some many winemakers in California, struggle to produce Sangiovese, while in Tuscany (including Chianti), there are so many good ones and even a few great ones.  This is a nice wine but does not resemble the Chianti's in Italy.  But, that's ok.  Purple in color with some ruby swirls, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has dust and black cherries (so far, so good).  Medium bodied.  On the palate, the acidity does not come thru, but there is plenty of cherry fruit along wit

2019 North Coast Wine Club Syrah, USA, Washington, Yakima Valley, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2019
Score: 
88
Grade: 
B+
Current Price: 
$25.00USD

This is made from Syrah grown in Washington state, shipped cold to northeast Ohio where it is vinified.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries, slight black raspberries, cloves, spice, slight burnt rubber (not a bad thing), and some chocolate.  Medium to full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this is cooler climate in style.  Boysenberries, char and slight chocolate.  Good acidity.  Moderate finish.  This is nice on its own but really begging for food.  It would work very well with Turkish food (for the adventurous).  Drink over the

2019 North Coast Wine Club Appassimento, USA, Ohio, Grand River, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2019
Score: 
91
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$31.00USD

It northeast Ohio, it can be difficult to grow Cabernet Sauvignon and get it ripe.  The spring often limits when budbreak occurs, and cold autumns don't often allow sufficient hang time.  In an experiment to deal with this, the North Coast Wine Club, utilized the Appassimento method from northeast Italy, in an attempt to get a bit more volume and alcohol.  This means the grapes are allowed to partially air-dry out which reduces volume while raising the sugar levels.  it is the way Amarone is made, but in this case, instead of Italian grapes, this wine is made in that method but using Bordea

2021 North Coast Wine Club Carménère, American, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2021
Score: 
90
Grade: 
A-
Current Price: 
$26.00USD

These grapes for this wine come from California, shipped cold to northeast Ohio where they are made into wine.  Garnet in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries, slight rhubarb, slight herbal notes and a bit of coffee grounds.  Medium to full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, this has nice red fruits (cherries, pomegranate) along with a peppery note.  Good balance.  Nice finish.  This drinks well on its own and would be a nice wine with pasta or pizza.  Drink over the next three to five years.  

2019 North Coast Wine Club Riesling, Washington, Yakima Valley, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2019
Score: 
88
Grade: 
B+
Current Price: 
$17.00USD

The grapes are grown in Washington and shipped (34F) to northeast Ohio where the wines are made.  12% abv. Light golden in color.  The nose is interesting with nice minerality along with a slight chamomile note and peaches.  Medium bodied.  Dry.  On the palate, the minerality comes thru along with a bit of lemon peel.  Nice finish.  This is drinking well now on its own and should be quite food friendly.  A nice match would be Thai food.  Drink over the next five to eight years.  

2010 Torrin The Banshee, USA, California, Paso Robles, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2010
Score: 
96
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$100.00USD

This is a blend of 60% Syrah, 30% Grenache and 10% Mourvedre.  Torrin wines are bruisers, but at age 13, this one is just starting to calm down a bit.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, black cherries, black pepper, roasted meat and leather.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Loads of black raspberries and some plums with underlying char and a nice minerality.  Long finish.  This should drink well for another ten to fifteen years.  It is nice on its own and would work well with a beef stew.  

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