Posts Tagged ‘honeycomb’
Sunday, February 1st, 2009
91 / A-
Tasted by Mike Supple - 13 May 2008
Purple core with a ruby and violet rim. Blueberries leap from the glass, surrounded by wet earth and charcoal with bright crushed flower petals and fresh pencil shavings. Soft and sweet entry on the palate. Honeycomb flavors melt around blueberry and cinnamon spice. Full bodied with a lot of alcohol, but great balance and a long finish.
A blend of 60% Garnacha and 40% Tempranillo. A fantastic, dense blend. Starting to show well now, and will continue to do so for another decade.
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Tags: 2005, alcohol, blueberry, Bodegas, charcoal, cinnamon, comb, crush, earth, flower, fresh, Garnacha, grenache, honey, honeycomb, palacios, pencil, petal, propriedad, purple, red, red wine, remondo, Rioja, ruby, shaving, spain, Tempranillo, Tinto, violet, wet, wine
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Sunday, February 1st, 2009
90 / B-
Tasted by Mike Supple 22 Jan 2008
Dark ruby core with a garnet edge. Sweet raw honeycomb aromas are backed by black cherry and white truffle. Bold acidity once would expect from a nebbiolo on the front of the palate, just screaming for some food. Leather and earth notes surround black and red cherries from the front palate through the finish.
This is a very strong example of this grape. It can be incredibly tricky to grow and make, and many of the ones coming from Italy are bad and overpriced. The best examples are truly stunning, but so is the price tag. That being said, this one is a little bit pricey for what it is, but well worth it if you can find it on sale. This is one of those wines that pairs well with a lot of foods, particularly those with a lot of acid (think tomatoes) or cream and butter. It also has a good hefty bottle that will impress people before you even pour the wine. Sealed with wax, which I find annoying for opening, but looks nice.
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Tags: 2001, Ambullneo, barbara, Bien, black, california, cherry, earth, garnet, honey, honeycomb, leather, Maria, Nacido, nebbiolo, Nonno, raw, red, red wine, ruby, santa, sweet, truffle, valley, white, wine, Zito
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Sunday, February 1st, 2009
89 / A
Tasted by Mike Supple - 01 May 2008
Medium lemon yellow core with a pale rim. Light and delicate yet very floral with perfumed aromas of candied apricots, white peach, lemon, honeydew melon and a hint of wet stone. Creamy yet not too heavy on the palate. Sweet oak leads to honeycomb, cantaloupe, honeydew and white fig flavors. Fairly low acid, with some nice lingering oak on the finish. This is easy drinking at its finest!
Fear of Chardonnay is uncalled for, particularly when you grab a glass of this little stunner. The region of Horse Heaven Hills has been attracting a lot of attention recently, and one sip of this will show you why: outstanding quality, not too much money. Washington still isn’t getting the recognition it deserves, which is great for consumers looking for the most bang for the buck. This wine takes a more modern approach to Chardonnay with nice crisp fruit flavors and just a hint of cream and spice. Sure to please all white wine drinkers, this is perfect before and with dinner.
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Tags: 2006, apricot, candy, cantaloupe, chardonnay, Columbia, cream, crest, fig, floral, heaven, hills, honey, honeycomb, honeydew, horse, lemon, melon, oak, peach, perfume, stone, sweet, white, White wine, wine, yellow
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Tuesday, January 27th, 2009
89 / B+
Tasted by Mike Supple - 12 Nov 2008
Medium lemon gold color with a clear rim. Fresh tropical aromas of mango and pineapple over a darker mineral streak of wet flint and lingering yellow apple. Fresh entry to the palate with nice crisp acidity the whole way through. A solid core of minerals are surrounded by yellow apple with a lingering touch of raw honeycomb on the finish.
Finding value from Burgundy can be a challenge, but this wine fits the bill. Lots of great fruit flavors with the acid and minerality that makes Chardonnay from Burgundy so unique.
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Tags: 2005, apple, Burgundy, chardonnay, Domaine, flint, france, gold, honey, honeycomb, laboure, lemon, mango, maximum, mineral, pineapple, raw, roi, tropical, white, White wine, wine, yellow
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Tuesday, January 27th, 2009
90 / B+
Tasted by Mike Supple - 20 Nov 2008
Dark purple and ruby core with a lighter, bright rim. Rich aromas of plum, black cherry and raspberry with wild, raw honeycomb accents. Very fruit forward with plum and raspberry dominating the flavors. Full bodied with very nice acid keeps it from getting too heavy. The finish lingers with lighter touches of violets and vanilla spice.
The intense flavors are a result of the grapes growing on 125 year old vines. Older vines produce smaller berries with more concentrated juice.
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Tags: 2005, black, california, Cellars, cherry, church, Coast, honeycomb, North, old, peter, peters, plum, purple, raspberry, raw, red, red wine, Rosenblum, ruby, saint, sonoma, spice, vanilla, vine, Vineyard, violet, wild, wine, Zinfandel
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Tuesday, January 27th, 2009
90 / B+
Tasted by Mike Supple - 12 Nov 2008
Big golden yellow core with a lighter rim. Rich toasty aromas full of honey, white flowers and ripe yellow pear. Toasty on the front palate with a lot of small, mouth-filling mousse. Light melon and apple notes up front lead to dark honeycomb on the back with long lingering toast and wet stone.
If you aren’t familiar with Franciacorta, it is the region which produces many of Italy’s best sparkling wines. They tend to blend with the traditional three Champagne grapes, sometimes throwing in a splash of Pinot Gris or Pinot Bianco. This one is 60% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir and 20% Pinot Bianco.
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Tags: apple, bosco, bubble, ca, del, flower, franciacorta, gold, honey, honeycomb, italy, lombardy, melon, mousse, pear, sparkling, stone, toast, white, wine, yellow
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Monday, January 26th, 2009
90 / A
Tasted by Mike Supple - 22 May 2008
Pale lemon yellow core with a clear rim. Tons of tiny bubbles fill the glass and stick around for quite a while. Rich aromas of yellow pear, lemon, slate, yeast, toasted brioche and a touch of raw honeycomb. Very crisp in the mouth with small yet aggressive bubbles. Citrus flavors of white grapefruit and Meyer lemon lead to ripe yellow pear and deeper notes of honeycomb and toasted baguette. Creamy and full of soft bubbles with the faintest hint of raspberries on the lingering finish.
Champagne Deutz as been producing one of the most elegant and finessed non-vintage Champagnes on the market for decades. Complex, rich and full without getting overbearing. Absolutely delicious and one of the better values to be found in Champagne.
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Tags: baguette, brioche, bubble, champagne, comb, cream, deutz, france, grapefruit, honey, honeycomb, lemon, meyer, non, pear, raspberry, slate, soft, sparkling, sparkling wine, toast, vintage, white, wine, yeast, yellow
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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
88 / B+
Tasted by Mike Supple - 05 Oct 2008
Pale salmon in color, with tons of little bubbles foaming everywhere. (Even the foam in the champagne glass is pink.) Fruity aromas of lemon, candied apple and ruby grapefruit are surrounded by baking spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla) with a toasty graham cracker and honeycomb note. The bubbles are creamy and mouthfilling. Ruby grapefruit flavors are followed by lemon zest with a touch of honeyed toast and a faint hint of black cherries. Dry with good acid, but a somewhat short finish.
Finding good quality rosé Champagne is getting more and more expensive, but this is drinking really well right now and does over deliver for $50. Not overly complex, but great aromas and fantastic mouthfeel (bubbles, acidity). To say the package is ugly would be an understatement, so throw it in a bucket of ice and ignore the label. It’s beautiful in the glass, and once it’s poured, nobody’s going to be looking for the bottle…
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Tags: apple, black, candy, champagne, cherry, cinnamon, coeur, comte, cracker, cuvee, france, graham, grapefruit, honey, honeycomb, lemon, noiron, nutmeg, reims, rose, ruby, salmon, sparkling, spice, toast, vanilla
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Wednesday, January 21st, 2009
94 - 96 / NA
Tasted by Mike Supple - 01 Apr 2006
Medium copper/gold color with visible swirls of concentrated sugar. Rich, honeyed nose with a touch of vanilla oak and botrytis over sweet tropical fruits. Fresh yet very deep, concentrated and expansive on the palate. Brilliant flavors of wild honeycomb, and hints of mango. Finishes very refreshingly due to the balance of fruit and sugar to acid.
This wine is not yet released from the winery, thus it has no price or value grade.
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Tags: 2005, bordeaux, botrytis, chateau, dessert, dessert wine, france, honey, honeycomb, mango, oak, Sauternes, Suduiraut, sugar, sweet, tropical, vanilla, white
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