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 Le Grand Courtage Grande Cuvee Brut Rose (France): A controlled but highly potent red berry explosion. $24 B+
- NV Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve Rose (Champagne): Kind of like a wonderful raspberry and cranberry tart. That was sent from heaven. $80 A-
- 2019 Donnafugata Dolce & Gabbana ‘Isolano’ Etna Bianco (Sicily): Floral, mineral, citric, zesty, and and as tastefully flamboyant inside as its pretty packaging is outside. $56 A-
- 2015 Conte Brandolini d’Adda Vistorta Merlot (Friuli Grave): Merlot hits a balanced middle-ground in juicy, delicious form. $35 B+
- 2015 Coventina Reserve Tempranillo (Rogue Valley): Coffee, oak, oak and oak, plus juicy plums, & tobacco spices for good measure. $45 A-
- 2019 Metz Road Riverview Vineyard Pinot Noir (Monterey): The view from this river is pretty darn fine, and includes a complex vista of rose petal, cranberry, raspberry, & forest floor. $36 A-
- 2019 Cattleya ‘Belly of the Whale’ Pinot Noir (Carneros): Impressively big, largely impressively, pretty bountiful, and bountifully pretty. $85 A
- 2019 Cattleya ‘Call to Adventure’ Chardonnay (Russian River Valley): In a word: exceptional; sporting both power and grace in equal measures. $80 A
- 2017 Goosecross Cellars State Lane Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): Dark and sultry eyes giving you a come-hither stare, then gesturing to some mint on the side. $84 A-
- 2016 Mathew Bruno Cabernet Sauvignon (Rutherford): A black cherry palate bomb – smoke and all – in just about all the best ways possible. $120 A