Wine Reviews You can Use

Garnet hue with purple shadows and aromas of sweet and savory spice,  very nice bouquet of subtle grapefruit, ripe sweet cherries, dark berry jam and more tantalizing spice. Palate--First impression is a fruit bomb with a very minerally foundation, nice texture with loads of more fruit including red grapefruit.  Finishes with a lasting fruit burst at the end which lingers. Another $9 Aussie wine aged 30 days in rum barrels which candidly I don't think does anything for it. I'm not sure 230 days enough time to really accomplish anything.  I would guess this may be a blend of  Shiraz and/or petite Sirah and perhaps some Cabernet but who knows.  (I just looked it up and it is Shiraz, Cabernet and  Grenache hence the "cherries" I picked up.) At $9, it drinks easily and tastes pretty good so raise a glass!

Rich purple hue with aromas of Milk chocolate bon-bons with bight fruity center of red berries, a bit tightly wound with nice sweetish spice on the edges, and chocolate covered cherries. Palate--Rich, full flavored bright red berry fruit and bright cherry with a hint of raspberry. Fleeting finish but easy drinking and delightful for the price. 19 Crimes tends to make value wines which all just go down so easy.  this is my first Pinot Noir from them and it lives up to my expectations even exceeding them.  For $9 a bottle they are always reliable and safe and go down so easy so raise  a glass!

Bricking opaque garnet with aromas of cocoa daffodils and spring flowers, latent, aged cherry, and earthiness Palate--Cherry goodness on the front palate, with rustic, forest floor and more sweet cherry under that. Finishes with crushed daffodil petals that lingers. Querceto has great memories for me as we visited Tuscany several years ago and had this fine wine in its  birth place.  I have consumed numerous iterations of it over the years and I like it the best right about at this age for this vintage.  I will be pairing it with company and homemade lasagna. I paid $12 for this at a great sale at an out of state liquor store but normally runs around $30! I assure you will raise a glass!

Aged garnet hue with slight bricking at the rim.  Aromas of milk chocolate, cigar ash, dark berries. Palate--Jammy first impression with lip smacking acidity and gorgeous silky tannins and berry fruit galore. Finishes with some finesse and more nice latent dark plum and tart raspberry fruit. At the $10 price point this is a lovely surprise.  This 9 year old Malbec is drinking deliciously when it should have been well gone by now.  Grilled T-bone is on the grill and this will be prefect so raise a glass!

An aged hue with significant bricking.  Aromas on opening were offensive.  There is a musty sub aroma which does not bode well for the wine.  Underneath the funk, there is some lovely fruit, a touch of cocoa, and some aged berries. Palate--Well then--I was expecting to be spitting this out but I am pleasantly surprised in that the palate presentation is actually "OK." It is a blend of Zinfandel which I love, Syrah, which I love, Cabernet Sauvignon which I love, and Petite Sirah which I love.  I am not crazy about most of these more-than-three grape blends but when done right (Beaulieu's Tapestry for eg.) They can be lovely. From the opening horrid nose to what it delivers are worlds apart.  So don't always react to the opening couple minutes (unless it's wet newspaper/mildew/or musty) as it sometimes airs out.  I see a reference price of $20 on line and a weak score from the Wine Enthusiast of 84 pts.  That seems harsh even at this state of the game.  Lesso

Bricking hue with aromas of spicy baked blackberry pie, and blueberry, with a touch of menthol and savory spices at the rim. Palate--Sturdy structured Cab with loads of mature dark berry fruit. It has an "OK" finish and it does linger for a good while! This isn't a complex Cab but the fact that it is as delicious as it is at 10 years old is a surprise and a treat! This sold for probably around $10 at its release so it is an outlier that it is still drinking so well.  Definitely at it's ultimate time but will hold for I would guess 2 years anyway. It is a testament of the quality of even inexpensive Chilean Cabernets which are among some of my favorites. It is doubtful that you will find this wine this old but if you do you want to snag it and enjoy.  Raise a glass!

Aged raspberry hue with slight bricking at the rim.Very nice Pinot bouquet with aromas of red grapefruit, tart raspberry, with zesty spices. Palate--Absolutely delicious Pinot Noir with a zippy structure of bright acidity, robust flavors of tart raspberry which are gloriously and surprisingly fresh for a Calif. sourced varietal. I was hoping this would still be drinkable as it was given to me along with some other "old" wines most of which were shot.  This is not just drinkable but wonderful, so raise a glass. 

Crystalline gold with aromas of slight maple, vanilla, gentle tropical fruit all more subtle than I would have guessed. Palate--Razor sharp acidity with a first impression of somewhat austere presentation. Citrus beam right out of the gate, lime, maybe a twinge of granny smith apples, with a subdued sense of tropical fruit salad.  Finishes with a lingering subtlety. This is surprising in a ho hum way.  Russian River is one of my fave AVA's and I expected a lot more from this Sonoma Chard.  Perhaps 5 years of age is too much but I wouldn't think so.  Perhaps it is why this normally $30 Chard was $15?  For $15 it is fine, for $30 I would have been disappointed. At $15, raise a glass.