I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes in a “mini-review” format.
They are meant to be quirky, fun, and (mostly) easily-digestible reviews of (mostly) currently available wines (click here for the skinny on how to read them), so you can get right to the point and decide if they’re for you (or not). Cheers!
- NV Albert Bichot Cremant de Bourgogne Brut Rose (France): Very, very, very good stuff. Also bright stuff, stuffed with roses and red berries. $25 B+
- 2020 Silk & Spice Red Blend (Portugal): Aptly named, as it’s both silky and spicy. It’s also pretty damned tasty. $15 B
- 2021 Cellar Vall Llach Embruix (Priorat): Big and rich, of course, with violets and plums, but brimming with excellent mineral flinty-ness. $30 A-
- 2017 Navaherreros Garnacha de Bernabeleva (Madrid): Showing just a bit of development in its toasted walnut, spicy plums, & dried violets, but it’s still nice and perky (and tangy!) on the palate. $29 B+
- 2022 Ca’ d’Gal Sant’Ilario (Moscato d’Asti): Brave all of the apostrophes for this grapey, buoyant, and beautifully floral sipper, with a hint of earth among its sweet kisses. $NA B+
- 2022 McGrail Vineyards Family Chardonnay (Livermore Valley): Rich with ripe pineapple, peach, melon, creme brulee, vanilla, honeysuckle… Like a good DJ, the pleasing hits just keep on comin’. $32 A-
- 2020 McGrail Vineyards Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (Livermore Valley): Powerful, viscous, juicy, sexy, forward, and excellently created. $49 A-
- 2021 McGrail Vineyards Malbec (Livermore Valley): Nice dark fruit, a TON of spice (including sweet oak), and walking the line between polite and unabashed. $44 A-
- 2021 McGrail Vineyards ‘Colton’s Cabernet’ Cabernet Sauvignon (Livermore Valley): Basil, mint, baking spices, black cherry, blackberry, vanilla, funk, along with nice balance and good freshness… A stunner. $49 A-
- MV McGrail Vineyards ‘Timeless Lot 789’ Cabernet Sauvignon (Livermore Valley): In this case, the whole is greater and tangier than the sum of its parts, in a rare case of an American multi-vintage blend living up to its promise. $49 A-