Very impressive showing for this bottle. 2015 is a great vintage and this wine seems to be drinking youthfully but generously. Purple with ruby swirls, mostly opaque and bright. The nose has black raspberries and is dusty while slightly earthy.
Another classic Gigondas producer. From the stellar 2016 vintage. Purple/ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright. The nose is great with earthy black cherries and roasted herbs. Great texture. Black cherry fruit, cinnamon and herbs over char and earth. Tight complexity. Nice finish. This is packed tightly and slowly unwinds in the glass. It probably needs another five to seven years to mature and should be good for ten to twelve after that. If drinking soon, decant for a few hours. It drinks great on its own this calls out for something fatty; lamb stew would work well.
Great showing for this wine. In a recent tasting of Gigondas wines, this finished as the groups favorite wine. It was the oldest wine in the tasting suggesting that ten years is a very nice sweet spot for the better wines of Gigondas. Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright. The nose is great with black raspberries, coffee with underlying herbs and earthiness. Medium bodied. Tart black cherries on the palate with underlying minerality. Also spices with a hint of lavender. Light tannins. Nice finish. This is drinking at peak now but should give at least five to seven more years a
A classic Gigondas producer. A blend of 78% Grenache, 14% Syrah, with the rest made up of Cinsault and Mourvèdre. Ruby in color (a bit lighter), mostly clear and bright. Lovely nose with raspberries and bitter cherries. Some herbs come out with air. On the palate, a slight cough syrup quality, but very tasty. The alcohol is a bit noticeable at first but it blows off with some air. Light tannins. Cherry, bitter cherry and raspberries over a bit of alcohol and char. Some herbs and spice mix in as well. Long finish. This should improve over the next few years and drink great for ten
Brézème actually sits between the Northern and Southern Rhone Appellations and is the only Cotes-du-Rhone appellation with its own AOC. This is their white coming from a biodynamically farmed vineyard. The wine is made in a natural way with little sulfur and from vines planted in 2009. Golden in color, clear and bright. The nose is interesting as it shows a persistent vanilla streak. I don't think the wine sees any oak as it aged on its lees in concrete. There is also a white raisin note and slight citrus (tangerine). Medium bodied. On the palate, there is a slight cider/oxidized no
This is made from the Pedro Ximinez or PX grape. It is a sweet dessert wine. Coffee brown in color with some green twinges (think Madeira), opaque and bright. The nose is gorgeous and complex with tootsie roll notes along with raisins, figs and a touch of burnt orange peel. Also a sort of sea air salinity lurks in the background. This is viscous like 10W40 motor oil. On the palate, this is sweet. Notes of coffee, toffee layer with dark chocolate and the light salinity comes thru. Complex and deep but also delicious. A little goes a long way. Very smooth. This should last for a lo
A pleasure to again revisit this wine. It often gets short shrift these days, but for those who haven't tried it, this is a very nice sweet wine that offers pleasure and value. If you get a bottle for the holidays, don't re-gift it. You may be pleasantly surprised. Open it up and try it. It is a blend of Fino, Amontillado and Oloroso, with some Pedro Ximénez. Iced tea in color, clear and bright. The nose has toffee with slight caramel. There is some noticeable alcohol on the nose. Viscous texture and full bodied. On the palate, this is sweet but not cloying. There is a nice acid
Olorosso sherries are an acquired taste. This is dry and different from most wines. For those of us who love this style, this is a good thing as sherries have some of the best quality to price ratio in the wine world. Olorosso sherries are made in an oxidative wine from the start. They are fortified with a neutral spirit (around 17or 18% abv) that kills the yeasts. This one is quite smooth and tasty. Deep amber in color, clear and bright. The nose is oxidized with walnuts and some apricots and orange peel. Full bodied. On the palate, the alcohol is noticeable but not bitter or hot.
Certainly one of the more iconic names in Cabernet and in Napa. And, 2018 was a stellar vintage in Napa. This Cab proves you don't need to spend a ton of money to get a high quality Cab if you buy from good producers and in good vintages. Purple in color with some ruby hues, opaque and bright. The nose has cassis, cedar, spic and chocolate. Full bodied. On the palate, cassis, black raspberries and oak. This is young and the oak will integrate with time. It is ripe but not overdone. The bottle list 14.5% but some promotional information lists 15.1% abv. Firm tannins. Nice finish.
2018 seems to be a very successful year for Sineann. This is the basic Pinot Noir from one of the top producers of single vineyard Oregon Pinots made from the declassified juices from five different vineyards. Deep ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright. The nose is deep with sour cherries, hay and slight black pepper. With air a slight minty note emerges. It has a very nice mouthfeel. The abv is listed at 13.4%. Medium tannins. On the palate, black cherry fruit that is ever so slightly jammy at this point. It is delicious. There is some warmth on the finish. This really needs s
