todd10

Pierre Amadieu Domaine Grand Romane Cuvée Prestige Vieilles Vignes 2017, Ac Gigondas

I was a little disappointed with this wine. I have enjoyed a few nice Gigondas wines the last few months but this one was missing the charactor and balance of what I have come to expect from a Gigondas. Black fruit on the nose and palate. Grippy tannins. Nice finish. I would suggest to decant for 30 minutes.
My opinion is if you plan on opening this, perhaps wait a couple more years for some more charactor to develop.
Tasted June 2020.

Delta Pinot Noir 2017, Marlborough, South Island

This is not a fruit forward wine. This wine was very earthy, and I enjoyed that for a change. I was getting aromas of dried tobacco. It also had a hint of cola and smoke. Nice length with a pleasant hint of heat on the finish.
Tasted Feb 2022.

Megalomaniac To Be Frank Cabernet Franc 2020, V.Q.A. Niagara Peninsula

The wine has aromas of dark fruit. Nice amount of tannins. The acidity of this wine surprised me and I think it would be a great wine with food.
If you are looking for a more complexed wine, I do not think this is it, and for that reason I gave it an 88 instead of the 92 that has been given.
Tasted January 2024.

L'ecole No. 41 Semillon 2017, Columbia Valley, Washington

On the nose I was getting beeswax with a hint of chamomile tea. This wine was a nice dry wine with a long tasty finish. Not that I ever tasted citronella, but I image that was the taste that I was getting. A waxy lemon flavor. At first I was giving this wine a 91, but that flavor grew on me. This was my first Semillon, and I am looking forward to the next.
Tasted May 2021

Il Poggio Taburno Sannio Coda Di Volpe 2018, Dop

This wine had some hints of stone fruit. Medium bodied. A nice acidic and dry taste. A finish that I could best describe as tasting like grape fruit.
Overall, not a bad wine for under $18.
Tasted November 2020

Marques De Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

I was getting a mix of leather and smoke on the nose. When I tasted it I was getting some dark fruit flavors, perhaps plum. It was very well balanced. The finish was about 25 seconds. I found the wine did not evolve too much through out the night so I see little need to decant. Even though I would have liked a little more character in this wine, it was very well balanced, I think 90 is a fair rating.
2016 vintage Tasted March 2019.

2017 Vintage. Earthy and dark fruit aromas. Nice finish. Decanting may bring out more flavors. 2017 is an 89.
Tasted July 2020

Château Clarke 2015, Ac Listrac Médoc

I feel I should have waited a few more years before I tasted this. I did not fine the aromas or flavors as complexed as I was hoping for. In the nose, I was getting black current with a little oak. On the palate very grippy tannins. That surprised me considering the wine is 70% Merlot. Dark fruit flavors.
The tannins did smooth out a little after the bottle was opened for a while so I do recommend to decant for at least 30 minutes, maybe an hour.

Tasted June 2020

Undurraga Terroir Hunter Cabernet Sauvignon 2015, Cauquenes, Maule Valley

Terroir Hunter wines are wines were Underraga looks for new terroir to grow grapes in Chile. I think with this wine, the hunt is over. The nose has a wonderful mix of black current and toffee. Very well balanced wine with smooth tannins. A nice tasty finish. Flavors of dark fruit. The wine was fantastic from the moment that I opened it so I see no reason to decant. As it breathed for a while, the aromas of toffee dissipated to a spicier black pepper aroma.
This $25 dollar wine could easily go head to head with some $75 bottles that I have had recently.
Tasted June 2020

The Lane Vineyard Block 14 Basket Press Shiraz 2016, Adelaide Hills, South Australia

Started off with a nice aroma of black fruit such as black berries. I found the balance of the wine was off. The tannis were smooth but the acidity was a little high. I also found the wine a little hot. I see this was rated a 92 a year ago. I wonder if that was it's peak because a year later I would not say that it is a 92.
Tasted Feb 2020

Jean Max Roger Cuvée Les Caillottes Sancerre 2019, Ac

Aromas of citrus and a hint of jalapeno. I very nice balanced wine. Long tasty finish. The taste of this wine is where is gets an A+. I rarely buy the same wine twice, but I would consider buying more than one bottle of this. One thing to note is not to over chill this or it will lose all of its magic. I say this because my wine chiller ended up coooling this wine too much. I will guess 8C to 10C is the target for this.
Tasted December 2022