Château Beauchêne
Grande Réserve Côtes du Rhône White Rhone Blend 2020
A new style for me.
Nose: meaty, savory, saline…almost some onions. Bagels. Onion bagels??! Mexican food?!? Wow, the Mexican food images really sticks, now I keep smelling tacos…
Taste: heavy, peachy, grapey, sweet onions and herbs, white flowers, honeysuckle, vanilla…almond, apricot. Long finish. I don’t drink a lot of white wine, so my experience (and vocabulary) are both limited here…and I can’t decide if I love it or hate it- it is funky compared to what I am used to…but very complex, and clearly well made stuff. I’ll go 90! — 12 days ago
Kysela Pere et Fils
HB Les Costiéres de Pomerols Picpoul De Pinet Picpoul Blanc 2020
Nose: lemon, egg (agvolemono???!), some kind of grain, passionfruit, a note of sugar. Hm!
Taste: I can’t get the avgolemono comparison out of my head! Ripe lemon, nice minerality, medium weight. A little green pepper on the finish - turns a little bitter. Can’t remember what I paid for this, but it couldn’t have been too much - and I like it fine! 88. — 21 days ago
Château Lagrange
Saint-Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2019
Dark, beautiful color. Decanted for an hour and forty five minutes or so.
Nose: Pencil shavings/graphite, cassis, orange peel, coffee, earth, raisin, milk chocolate, dried flowers, oak, dried herbs, dark berries. Oh boy!
Taste: the milk chocolate and cocoa really come through - along with a lot of herbs Mulberry (think a blackberry with a much more mineral taste.). Medium weight. Silky, elegant. Very, very good. You can tell it’s young (some vegetal tannins on the finish), but still a treat. Of the three excellent, high-er-end-ish (for me) red wines that I’ve had recently, I think this is the one I would be most likely to come back to. 94-95.
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY! — 17 days ago
Château Serilhan
St. Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend 2019
Nose: dark berries, warm spices, varnish, some plant I can’t identify, plum. Some tobacco?
Taste: tasty, but not as good or as interesting as the professional reviews claimed. Seems one dimensional to me - regular inexpensive bordeaux. Medium weight, a little bitter - a little vegetal, even - perhaps it needs more air or age. Was hoping for more, given the price ($22?) and praise. Won’t bother again. 89. — 22 days ago
Reserva de la Tierra
Satis Dei Exclusive Art Collection Syrah Garnacha 2018
Nose: sour - almost like a lactic sour beer - tart red fruits (raspberry), alcohol. Bubblegum? No earth, minerals, or savory notes whatever. Ehhhhh.
Taste: tastes better than it smells. Not great, anonymous. Straight fruit and a slight metallic aftertaste. Maybe the bottle is bad - I won’t rate it - but I won’t buy it again, either. — 15 days ago
De Chanceny
Brut Excellence Tête de Cuvée Vouvray Chenin Blanc
Nose: lemon, mousse, sweet orange, candied cherry, a tiny hint of floral vanilla. Smells very inviting!
Taste: mousse, vanilla, lemon meringue (?), mild nuttiness, smooth and silky texture. Distinct cherry on the finish. Marvelous. Great value, better than most champagne I’ve tried. 92. — 17 days ago
John Bratincevic
Nose: coffee, varnish, toffee, vanilla. Hm.
Taste: blueberry, big and soft and fruity, a little bitter coffee tannin on the finish. It’s good - though not worth the price. 88-89. — 2 days ago