Posts Tagged ‘estate’
Monday, April 13th, 2009
89/B
Tasted by Mike Supple - 02 Apr 2009
Pale lime green core with a clear rim. Sweet honeysuckle aromas are backed by lemon and lime with ripe honeydew melon and a touch of petrol. Passion fruit on the front palate is quickly joined by juicy lime with notes of honeysuckle. Good acid and body with just a faint hint of sweetness on the back end.
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Tags: 2007, california, dry, estate, honeydew, honeysuckle, lemon, lime, lime green, melon, Napa, north coast, oak knoll district, passion fruit, petrol, Riesling, trefethen, White wine
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Sunday, February 1st, 2009
78 / F
Tasted by Mike Supple - 15 Dec 2008
Dark purple core with a ruby rim. Nose of seaweed and rice (something like a California sushi roll) with a darker touch of blueberry and raspberry. The seaweed and kelp comes through strong on the front palate too, followed by blackberry, some earth and a little oak. If seaweed is your thing this may be worth a try, but I find this rather off putting.
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Tags: 2003, blackberry, blueberry, cabernet, california, earth, estate, kelp, malibu, oak, purplr, raspberry, red, red wine, rice, ruby, sauvignon, seaweed, semler, sushi, wine
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Saturday, January 31st, 2009
89 / B+
Tasted by Mike Supple - 24 Sep 2008
Dark ruby (almost black) core with a brighter ruby rim. Lots of leather, earth and charred oak aromas over sweet cherry and cassis, with a hint of soy sauce. Smooth, easy entry onto the palate. Medium body and well balanced acidity. Ripe red cherry and blackberry fruits are backed by flavors of coffee, vanilla and a touch of earth. Cherries and fresh cream linger on the finish. Very fine grained tannins make this pleasant to drink now, but will also allow the wine to age for another 3 - 5 years.
This is a great value for Cabernet Sauvignon coming from Sonoma - and it has fortunately stayed largely out of the spotlight of the major critics…until now. Cab of this quality can easily run you up $40 or more, so finding this wine at half that price is a steal. There is plenty of body and fruit to satisfy all you monster Cab fans, yet the wine remains balanced and elegant enough to go very well with a meal. Just enough oak in the winemaking adds great complexity of flavors (coffee, soy sauce) that complement the fruit in the wine. This is a great bottle to pull if you are meeting your date’s parents for the first time. Everyone respects a good Cab, and this one clearly fits the bill.
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Tags: 2005, blackberry, cabernet, california, cassis, char, cherry, Coast, coffee, cream, earth, estate, kunde, leather, North, oak, red, red wine, ruby, sauce, sauvignon, sonoma, soy, sweet, vanilla, wine
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Tuesday, January 27th, 2009
92 / A-
Tasted by Mike Supple - 17 Nov 2008
Medium ruby core with a touch of garnet to the rim. Complex, heady aromas. Light floral notes quickly yield to spicy fresh anise, earth and white truffles all surrounding a dark core of wild blackberry and strawberry. Very fruity on the front palate followed quickly by darker earth and truffle flavors. Creamy vanilla over black cherry in the mid palate leads to a long, lingering cream and spice finish underscored by dark scorched earth. Balanced and delicious.
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Tags: 2007, anise, black, blackberry, california, cherry, Coast, cream, eareth, earth, estate, floral, garnet, marimar, noir, North, pinot, red, red wine, scorched, smith, sonoma, spice, strawberry, truffle, vanilla, Vineyard, w.h.smith, white, wild, wine
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Monday, January 26th, 2009
90 / A-
Tasted by Mike Supple - 17 Mar 2008
Medium gold color with a bright rim. Rich aromas of yellow pear with a sweet beeswax and honey note around vanilla and lemon. Very round, mellow and approachable on the palate. Great balance of fruit and acidity. Lush pears and golden delicious apples with a hint of honeycomb. Long, lingering finish. 13% Alcohol By Volume
This grape is most famous in Bordeaux, and great examples of it are amazing, but also very expensive. This particular one from Australia has great balance and is much more affordable. It’s drinking well now, and I’d drink it by 2010.
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Tags: 2002, acid, apple, approachable, Australia, Barossa, beeswax, bright, Colonial, delicious, dry, estate, fruit, gold, honey, honeycomb, l'Expatrie, lemon, lush, medium, mellow, pear, rich, round, Semillon, South, sweet, valley, vanilla, white, White wine, yellow
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Thursday, January 22nd, 2009
87 / B-
Tasted by Mike Supple - 09 Jul 2008
Medium purple and ruby in the core with a purple rim. Sweet candied blackberry aromas backed by black cherry, plum, spicy cedar, tar and a hint of mint. Enters the palate with a nice round, elegant feel. Good blackberry and plum fruit with a touch of earth. The back end gets a bit harsh with a fair amount of heat showing through.
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Tags: 2005, barbara, blackberry, california, candy, cedar, Central, cherry, Coast, earth, estate, hills, melville, mint, plum, red wine, rita, santa, spicy, Syrah, tar, USA, Verna's
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Wednesday, January 21st, 2009
90 / A+
Tasted by Mike Supple - 18 Sep 2008
Inky purple core with a bright fuchsia rim. Rich aromas of caramel, wet stone, crush pink peppermint candy, blackberry, plum chocolate and spicy oak. Very juicy in the mouth with a lot of good acidity supporting the rich fruits. Cherry and blackberry are supported by darker streaks of baker’s chocolate and roasted coffee beans. The flavors linger for a while on the finish with notes of sweet blueberries and dark chocolate.
Finding a wine with this complexity and balance at around $10 is rare, and this one hits the ball out of the park. This is a wine that any red wine drinker would like. It combines the power and fruit of a bold Cabernet with the acid of a Chianti and the elegance of a good Pinot Noir. Great by itself or with a variety of foods from cheeses to pastas to grilled veggies, chicken, sausage or steak. You can pop the cork and drink it right now, but it should hold up and show well for another 2 - 3 years no problem.
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Tags: 2007, Argentina, blackberry, blueberry, candy, caramel, cherry, chocolate, coffee, Cuyo, Dona, estate, fuchsia, Lujan, Malbec, Mendoza, oak, Paula, peppermint, plum, red, red wine, spicy, stone
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Wednesday, January 21st, 2009
93 / A+
Tasted by Mike Supple - 09 Jul 2008
Medium yellow gold core with a lighter rim. Very fruity with floral aromas. Honeydew, mango and dried white peach are accented by raw honeycomb and wet stones. The wine is very round and full bodied on the palate, but has nice acidity keeping it vibrant. There is a lot of great minerality under rich mandarin and mango flavors, and a long lingering finish.
Viognier (pronounced VEE-own-YAY) is the perfect white for somebody who is sick of Chardonnay. Viognier has the same body and weight of a Chard, but completely different aromas and flavors. This is a very impressive California Viognier, as many other efforts are often over ripe and alcoholic. The Melville is full, ripe and rich, and it covers the alcohol very well. Finding a Viognier outside of France with this much minerality is a rare treat, and at this price, I simply think you cannot beat the 2007 Melville.
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Tags: 2007, barbara, california, Central, Coast, estate, floral, fruity, hills, honeycomb, honeydew, manadrin, mango, melville, mineral, peach, rita, santa, stone, verna, viogner, viognier, white, White wine
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