What a delicious wine. Golden in color. The nose has honey, quince and slight apricot. On the palate, this is viscous. Sweet but not overtly. Good acidity. Honey and slightly bitter apricot notes make it easy to drink a second glass. Long finish. Easily has a couple of decades left. Just delicious.
Always nice to try this flagship wine of Chile. Purple/ruby in color. The nose has cassis, roasted herbs, and slight roasted meat. On the palate, this is black cherries with underlying graphite. The wine had been decanted for a few hours and needed every bit of it. Medium tannins at that point. It is deep and powerful but nicely balanced. Long finish. Went great with roasted eggplant and other veggies. There may still be some upside but even if not, this is terrific now and should be at this level for at least another decade.
A collaboration between Gérard Bertrand, and Jon and Jesse Bon Jovi. HW Wine Company is essentially a company that commissioned this wine to be made in France to celebrate the good life. Light salmon pink in color. The nose is all about watermelon and strawberries. It has a nice texture. Nice acidity. This wine is really all about summer fruit. Not a lot of depth or complexity but tasty and easy drinking. While it is probably made as a summer sipper it went well with a summery watermelon salad. Fun wine.
Silvery green in color. Very nice nose with chalk, minerals, tarragon and slight lemon notes. Decidedly more mineral driven than fruit. On the palate, the lemon comes out a bit more along with a bit of peach. Plenty of minerals as well. A very nice oily texture. Great balance and acidity. Long finish. This is a energetic and persistent wine that is lean and goes great with food. It has depth and complexity as well and probably be drinking just fine in ten years, but the energy will be gone, so it is best enjoyed in the next few.
Apparently, this bottling was done for the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Championship. This was not in the locker room, but part of the same bottling that was. Go Cavs! Orange pink in color. There is a nice mousse with a lot of tiny bubbles. On the nose there are a lot of cherries and oranges. Very strong and interesting. On the palate this is sweet. Oranges. The finish is oddly enough almost dry. This wine's sweetness proved a bit divisive, but was quite enjoyable for me. It has a nice depth and the acidity works with sweetness and this is very food friendly.
This is really drinking well right now. Purple in color. The nose has black raspberries, underlying graphite and slight black pepper. On the palate, there is nice black raspberry fruit. Good texture. Plenty of depth. Still drinking on the young side of maturity. Medium tannins. Good acidity. Worked well with food. Not a monster wine but plenty of fruit and delicious. Still some development to go and possible upside.
Purple in color, ruby at the rim. The nose is dusty with slight aquarium notes. Also some cherries and black cherries. On the palate, there is a lot of heat and it seems disjointed. Tart cherries but brown sugar. Alcohol on the finish. Again, this appears to be a poorly stored bottled, but how to know for sure or where the issue is. Drinkable for sure, but doesn't work with food at this point. Hopefully, this bottle was not representative.
Ruby/purple in color. Cloudy. The nose is sweaty socks. Perhaps some macerated cherries. On the palate, this is very soft. Very sour cherries with some dank earthiness. It is a style of Pinot that I like but this seems either mishandled or way past prime at this young age. Not sure if this bottle was representative It reminds me of some of the unclean Burgundies that were more prevalent 25 years ago. That is not to say undrinkable or even bad, as this wine is certainly offering some nice and interesting notes, but more to say, what this might have been (or a pristine bottle is).
Light golden in color. The nose is mild with pears and melons. On the palate, there is a slight diesel note but also some slight fruit. It has a round texture, but lacks much acidity or intensity. It is enjoyable, but leaves one wanting for a bit more. Some of that is the varietal but still. $19 retail. A very solid wine. Drink now this may have been better a year ago.
Light green gold in color. The nose has minerals and limes. On the palate, a wet rock quality. Good acidity. Oily texture. Very food friendly for lighter/medium weight foods. Nice finish. This retails for around $17 and is a very nice value. While it might drink well for a few years though, the freshness will probably disappear by next summer, so I would drink soon. This would be great for fall clambakes!
