Wine Reviews You can Use

This French Rosé has a very pale pink hue with aromas that are surprising!  It is full of spicy sweetness and cinnamon red hot candies that reminds me a bit of Gewürztraminer, a touch of savory spice and cherry juice.  Really enticing!           Palate  -- A sharp pleasantness on the palate with a delicious minerally, off-dry red berry succulence that keeps you coming back for another pour.  My wife grabbed it in the close out bin at a local grocery store and paid $6.50 for it. It was a nice snag for sure.  Just paired it with fried calamari and was perfect. I haven't had a rosé in ages as many, may years ago I started noticing a profound improvement in the many cheap rosés out there.  They were plonk but these started showing character, structure, a touch of complexity and place and all around the $8 price point.  Within 5-8 years rose's made a big comeback to where you now have to shop the myriad choices and countries ou...

Purple hue a bit surprising for this 4 yo Cab. with aromas of spicy sweet red berry/cherry with cigar box, and savory spiced dark fruit in the bowl. Palate--  Front palate of Spring daffodils, with mouth drying tannins, on a base of fairly rich dark berries, with a lingering finish of nice blackberry fruit. I reviewed this wine at the end of August which I don't even remember reviewing it that recently.  Fairly consistent review at any rate.  This is a bargain Cab at the $13 price point, is well made, will cellar for another 5-8 years and is drinking well right now so raise a glass. 

Nice crystalline garnet hue with spicy aromas of strawberry and very subtle vanilla pudding.  Palate--Very nice steely, fruit forward bright red fruit with a real spine to carry the delicious fruit on a beam of acid.   Finishes with some residual strawberry/raspberry and smoke?  Castle Rock is always a value when it come to their pinot noir.  This was $8 which is ridiculous and it is REAL wine, not manufactured plonk. It rivals many $20 price point pinots I have had so raise a glass of a perennial favorite.

Real time review) I love the inky dark nearly black hue!  Aromas of elegant dark berries with gentle touches of savory spices, chocolate cherry bonbons but this is just the beginning as it is at wine fridge temp and needs to warm up and breathe.  With air the bouquet is expansive with a lovely blend of fresh berry fruit and candied mocha cherry.  Lovely! First impression--super tart with lip smacking tannins but a lovely foundation that will support the new world fruit bomb without it being fruit bombish--I think.  Again--it needs some time to open.  With a bit of time and warming up, the tartness is mellowing out a bit, the fruit is lovely.  This is a really nice unique expression of Santa Barbara Cabernet blend with 230% Cab Franc. It is delicious and will drink its best in another 2-4 years.  We paid on the $20's for it and it is delightful so raise a glass!

Dull garnet hue with slight bricking at the rims with aromas of dried cherries, licorice, rustic spices  Palate--Super steely front with bright cherry on the front palate with loads of tart pie cherries mid palate, lovely hints of forest floor, and mature fruit with a finish that lingers a bit of dried cherries.  Querceto  has been a perennial favorite as I have tasted numerous vintages of this steady Chianti.  Having been to its "birth place" every time I open a bottle I am taken back to romantically dank cheese cellars, abandoned, ancient Tuscan tombs on an obscure roadside, and touring in a brand new BMW rental car when our crappy little Fiat was not available. (Given to us for the same price!)  A wine really can have a sense of "place" when tasting the terroir of nicely crafted wine. This one takes me back to the Tuscan hillside, mountain top villages, and striped smoke stacks of Siena in the distance. I paid $10 for this absolute steel so raise a glass!

  This Oregon quaff with the hard to pronounce name is a lightly golden hue with a bouquet of aromas full of light lemon merengue, creme brûlée, a veritable spray of tropical fruits, sweet powder and that's all "above the rim!"  In the glass you get a slightly oily (riesling like) with sweet and savory spicing with Chinese five spice to finish it off.  Wowzer this is wonderful. Palate--A nicely balanced acidic structure carries this bone dry Gewurz making it seem like it is a really sweet wine when it is not.   A novice mistake with many white wines is they are shunned for being too sweet when they have no residual sugar! Fruitiness and sweetness are often confused. The tropical fruit presence is a bit subdued but there's plenty to enjoy in this really nice Guh-VERTZ-stra-meen-er!  You should find this for around $15 and it is a really nicely made Gewürz (pronounced GuhVERTZ) so raise a glass! 

Beautiful jellied cranberry hue with aromas of luscious cherry and darker berry fruit with musty (but nice) spices on the edge and the subtlest touch of cocoa. Palate--Very tasty first impression of steely but ripe, dark fruit and velvety tannins.  Nice structure, textured, and easy to drink. I paid $15 for this and I am pretty sure you can find it cheaper. It has been a while since I have bought any Cline Zins. No reason really just so many others to try.  Cline has always produced a value Zin regardless the price point and this is not an exception.  This is the most seductive of many I have had in a while.  It's well made, and will be drinking well into the next 5 years. Right now, it is really nice so raise a glass!

This Paso Robles Cab is a mature opaque garnet hue with pure aromas of cherry berry danish pastry above the rim with hints of vanilla, rose petals, spicy menthol, cigar ash. Palate--This is a pure, cherry berry supple, and robust cabernet that is absolutely, shockingly delicious!  This is Paso Robles?  I am blown away.  The Wine Enthusiast gave this Cab an 86 points out of 100.  I am not sure when they tasted it but this is woefully underscored.  Easily 90 pts. in my book though I don't use a numerical rating.  Not sure how much the reference price is on this not do I remember what I paid for it but I believe it was around $20. It is definitely at its peak but will drink for another 18 months but this is the TIME to enjoy this treat. I will be pairing it with grilled rib eye and I will be in heaven so raise a glass!

Black cherry hue with aromas of black pepper, savory spices, chocolate on the edge, burnt wood. Palate--Loaded with easy drinking fruit, there is a lot to like in this $6 Zin I grabbed at an out of state liquor store. Front palate says, drink more now, with fruit forward, and loads of savory spices, sweet tannins, and a finish of *sweet tasty dark fruit. Lodi doesn't tend to put out complex Zins but of late they sure have been putting out some tasty Zins worth your attention. I paid $6 for this wine ($18 reference price) on a NH State Store "Power buy" and it is quite pleasant especially at the price. If you grill anything on a charcoal grill this will pair greatly with it no matter what it is! If they happen to have more lying around the next time I get down there I will have to grab more. So, raise a glass!  *In this case "sweet" does not mean SWEET as in sugary but as in super fruity...