Aug 18th 2008
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Vintage: 2005
Purchased: Feb 16th 2007
Price: $11.99
Number on Hand: 1
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Tasting Notes:
If all Bordeaux was like this, I'd drink much more. Looking at this wine, you understand why Bordeaux received the name claret from the British. This is a transparent wine. It's not inky black. It's a dark red, but you can see through it. The nose has more red fruit than black fruit: strawberries, raspberries, and red currant. In the mouth, it's creamy smooth. The fruit is muted at first, but came more apparent the longer it breathed. The red fruit is there, along with some plum. The finish is long with no oaky flavors and nice smooth tannins. I also noticed just a hint of an herbal mint quality.
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Vintage: 2004
Purchased: Apr 13th 2008
Price: $9.00
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Tasting Notes:
This is probably typical for what most people think of when they hear the word Beaujolais. It's a transparent garnet color and very light in the glass. The aromas are primarily red fruit, with just a hint of minerals in the back. On the palate, the red fruit is juicy and silky, with a great acid and a short mineral finish. This is not transcendent, but it's very quaffable. It's also a very interesting wine, and at $9 a steal.
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Jul 30th 2008
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Vintage: 2006
Purchased: Jun 1st 2008
Price: $20.00
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Tasting Notes:
American Sangiovese can be hit or miss. If you are expecting the classic earthy and high acid Chianti, you generally need to look again. This wine is like the others I've tasted, but better in than most. It's a deep purple in color all the way to the rim, but still slightly translucent. The aroma is purple as well. No, I'm not kidding. You do get hints of tobacco, leather, and dried cherries that Sangiovese can be known for; but what I think of most is juicy purple grapes. In the mouth, the grape flavor hits you at first. As the wine opens up though, it fades and the more elegant dried cherry flavors take over. There is a nice acidity, and a slight velvety tannin to this; but it's not the rustic acidity and tannin you'd get from a Chianti.
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Vintage: 2004
Purchased: Aug 9th 2007
Price: $24.00
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Tasting Notes:
Kathrine picked this wine out and I'm not sure why. Even when I originally tasted it I was not a super fan. This is a well made cabernet. The color is spot on and it's very full bodied. The nose is a mixture of blackberry, oak, and a hint of mint. In the mouth though, the fruit flavors just explode. It's a jammy concoction of creme de cassis, black berry, and just a hint of chocolate. There are tannins and acid, but they just heighten the jammieness. This would be your basic fruit bomb. It's a good wine, just not my style.
Comments(1)
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Vintage: 2005
Purchased: Dec 3rd 2007
Price: $14.93
Number on Hand: 1
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Tasting Notes:
I do love me some Loire Cabernet Franc. I love it so much it makes me talk like a redneck. This is an outstanding wine with a QPR off the chart.
The color is fairly dark and inky with aromas that just explode. There is a ton of juicy raspberry, with just a hint of green herb notes and even a little tar. In the mouth, the aromas are duplicated with a perfect acidity and just enough astringency from the tannins to keep everything in check. The finish is long with a bitter dark chocolate note.
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Jul 29th 2008
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Vintage: 2007
Purchased: Jul 19th 2008
Price: $11.99
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Tasting Notes:
This was wine number three for the night, served with a lemon and olive oil cake. This is just a fun wine. It's frizzante, so it sparkles but not a lot. It has a wonderful golden color, darker than you would expect. The aroma is a great mixture of vanilla, honey, and tropical fruits. In the mouth, the dominant flavor is one of pineapple. There is just a hint of vanilla creaminess and honey there as well. The finish is long. Not the most complex wine in the world, and perhaps a touch sweet. But it is a fun wine.
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Vintage: 2005
Purchased: Jul 7th 2007
Price: $16.99
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Tasting Notes:
This was wine number two for the farewell dinner. It was paired with a pate de campagne that I worked into a slider. This was my favorite wine of the night, and a great example of Cru Beaujolais. The nose was very Burgundian. You could honestly slide this into a pinot tasting, and it wouldn't stand out. There is an earthieness that works well with the raspberry and plum aromas and that touch of spice that I love. In the mouth the fruit hits your first with an acid backbone that just holds everything together wonderfully. It's medium bodied and a joy to drink. The tannins are nice and silky, and the finish has a great spice to it.
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Vintage: 2007
Purchased: May 31st 2008
Price: $16.00
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Tasting Notes:
This was wine number one for the Mia and Ryan farewell dinner I prepared. It was pared with playful takes on salad nicose and pasta primavera.
This is a nice fruit forward wine with a good dark pink (with hints of salmon) color. The nose is very lively with fresh red berries and violets.
The wine is all bright red fruit on the palate, with a nice acid backbone and a slight residual sweetness on the finish that balances the floral characteristics nicely.
It may be a little expensive for a rose, but a single vineyard wine made with this much care is a good thing to support.
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Vintage: 2006
Purchased: Jul 19th 2008
Price: $5.99
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Tasting Notes:
This wine is a bright, pale lemon color in the glass. You get aromas of green apple plus a slight herbal smell of fennel and a lot flinty minerality.
The taste is crisp, and refreshing, with absolutely no wood. The herbal notes were just perfect for the squash blossom frittata I was serving.
The finish was not very long and the acidity kind of puttered out leaving a flat almond taste behind. That kept the wine from being outstanding. But really, at $5.99 can you complain?
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Jul 22nd 2008
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Vintage: 2002
Purchased: Jan 22nd 2008
Price: $13.67
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Tasting Notes:
This is an interesting wine. You'd expect this to be your average big fuity cab. You'd be wrong. This wine is earthy and funky. The color is dark and inky, but the nose is filled with forest floor and mushroom aromas. On the palate, there is some fruit, mostly black, but the earthy taste again dominates. The finish is quite long with nice chewy tannins. It could perhaps have used a touch more acid. But this wine has personality out the wazoo, something you don't often find at this price point.
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