Light golden in color, clear and bright. The nose is all about minerality with a touch of peach, lemon and char. Medium bodied. Good acidity. On the palate, this is focused (piercing minerality) with good acidity. Long finish. This begs for food; maybe some Hummus and Pita, or some oysters. Drink over the next few years.
Purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose has black raspberries, black pepper, slight roasted herbs and spice. Medium bodied. On the palate, black raspberries, char and slight dark chocolate notes. Nice finish. This is drinking well now and should for the next eight to twelve years. Nice on its own, this will work well with Indian dishes, too.
It is always a pleasure to drink Kracher, especially an older one. The lower the number, generally, the less sweet they are. Iced tea in color, clear and bright. The nose is lively with molasses, hazelnuts, but also apricots and salinity. Full bodied. Viscous. On the palate, this sweet but not crazy sweet. Good balance. Delicious. Easy to drink. Flavors of hazel nuts, Salinity and slight dried figs. Long finish. This will work with less sweet cakes, maybe something nutty. Drink over the next ten years or so.
Great showing for this bottle. It is in a perfect place right now. Deep ruby in color, mostly clear and bright. The nose is nice with cherries, sandalwood, slight perfumed note and some earthiness. Medium to full bodied. On the palate, lots of fresh cherries, slight dried cherries and just a bit of black cherries. Some earthy funk as it opens. Long finish. This is drinking great and close to or at peak. Drink over the next ten years. Great on its own, but better with food. A great wine with Salmon I should think.
One of the best California Pinot Noir's I have had. Middle of the road in style for Cal Pinot. Deep ruby in color with some purple hues. Mostly clear and bright. The nose has cherries, black cherries, spice, some smoke and slight earthiness. Medium to full bodied. Light tannins. On the palate, lots of delicious cherry and black cherry fruit. Deep and tight layers that unwind in the glass. Great balance. Long finish. This was pop and pour and it kept opening and evolving all night. Drink over the next ten to twenty years. Great on its own, this worked well with pasta with mushro
In France and Portugal, you’ll find Alicante Bouschet. But few other countries make it. So to find a stand-alone bottling from the Symington family (best know for their Ports), my interest was piqued. Soft tannins and mild acidity give way to blackberry, blueberry, ripe black cherry, a hint of huckleberry jam, and back notes of sage, wildflower and rose water. Unique unto itself, this is definitely a wine worth seeking out, if for no other reason than you won’t find this grape bottled very often.
A very nice ten year Tawny Port. Ten years is the average age of the wine which is a blend of 50% Touriga Nacional, 25% Touriga Franca, and 25% Tinta Barroca. Iced tea in color, clear and bright. The nose is great with a nutty quality along with slight chocolate and a bit of Crème brûlée. Full bodied. Viscous. On the palate, this is sweet, not cloying with some alcohol showing (20% abv). It is complex and deep. Long finish. This is nice on its own and will work well with a less sweet dessert. Something nutty would be ideal, but even a Pecan Roll would work. So would a Snickers ba
This is the big, modern style of Spanish wine. It is a blend of 70% Monastrell and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. Purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose is intense with black cherries, black raspberries, blueberries along with char and spices. Full bodied. Firm tannins. Juicy, velvety texture. On the palate, this is delicious. Black cherries and cassis notes with spice and underlying char. Enough acidity to handle the fruit. Long finish. Of course, this is young and will develop and mellow a bit as the tannins and fruit integrate, but this is not a shy wine not will it be in twent
This was the second time tasting this wine this month. Lucky me! It is classic old style Rioja impeccably produced. Truly a great value in traditional Rioja. The wine is fermented in 144 year old oak vats before being stored for five years in used American oak barrels and five more in bottles. It is a blend of Tempranillo (80%), Garnacho (15%), Mazuelo (Carignan) and Graciano (5%) from estate vineyards. Ruby in color with some purple swirls and maybe just a hint of orange. The nose is great with cherries, spice, cedar, dust and slight herbal note. Full bodied. Light tannins.
This is a crisp white wine from northwest Spain. It is made from 100% Albarino grapes. It sees 35% Large used oak barrels and the rest stainless steel. Pale yellow gold in color, clear and bright. The nose has lemon/lime but also a slight papaya note with lots of minerality. A touch of salinity on the nose. Medium bodied. On the palate, crisp acidity with a lovely texture. Limes with a slight herbal note (chervil?) and mineral undertones. Long finish. This is a seriously great value in whites. While I do like the California Albarino's, its hard to justify paying for them when Spa
