Willamette Valley 2010 Riesling

Willamette Valley 2010 Riesling,  $10.19-$14.99, 89 points, is clear with brassy tones, the aroma is sweet apple and a hint of pineapple, both of which join a near-sweet medley of fruit-cocktail flavors finding their way through the fair finish.
The light plus body has plenty of acidity to water you palate and to pair with Asian cuisine.
Wow, for those liking a sweeter Riesling, this was a steal, and the overall flavor is delicious; the Northwest doesn't disappoint!

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Chateau Puech-Haut 2009 Prestige Red Wine

Chateau Puech-Haut 2009 Prestige Red Wine, $19.99, 92 points, was Rosewood grading garnet red in color.
The aroma was a beautiful array of cooking spices and freshly baked bread, with just a touch of sweet red cherry.
This Rhône red wine was more round, more balanced than the last two French wines I reviewed; having near perfect acidity, smooth tannin, good tasting cherry, plum, boysenberry, and hints of tobacco flavors, more lush too, but slightly more expensive (Well worth it), It clearly impressed me.
This genre of French wine is sometimes considered to be the "common-man's" French wine that I had been looking for to recommend to NH wine lovers.
The finish was long with spice, licorice, and a hint of menthol.
The varietals were Grenache and Syrah with 15% alcohol.


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Château De Macard Grand Vin Bordeaux Supérieur 2009 Bordeaux Red Wine

Château De Macard Grand Vin Bordeaux Supérieur 2009 Bordeaux Red Wine, $11.89-$15.99, 88 points, has a crystal clear Bordeaux-red color and a broad clear rim.
The aroma is musty black currant and mulberry.
This Bordeaux is a medium bodied dry red wine with good acidity and firm tannin.
Chateau de Macard 2009 Red Wine is tart, almost green, marked by a slight perfumed flavor, with boysenberry, tart young mulberry, and menthol, all of which is carried onto a fair finish.
The varietal make-up is: 50% Cabernet Franc, 30% Merlot, and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon.

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Riva Di Rocca Prosecco

Riva Di Rocca Prosecco, $15.99 at the Harvest Market in Bedford, 89 points, is very light lemon/lime in color, has a faint pleasantly floral citrus aroma, and pours foamy then subsides quickly.
Riva has fair acidity, is quite dry, and the clean flavor profile, typical of Prosecco frizzante white wines, is nuanced with mild apple. The fair finish tastes of the Prosecco grape.
This bottle had a cap and needed a bottle opener.


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Chateau Hyot 2010 Casteillon Cotes de Bordeaux, French Red Wines? Who? Me?

Okay, everyone knows I'm "afraid" of French Red Wines, the cost most of all, but there's the complexity of the French wine label, the proper aging, the number of producers, and the innumerable life-long experts, and for that I'll defer to David Boyer's Class of 1855. He should be able to satiate those wanting more info than a New Hampshire Hicksville notcher can or will give. However, since I've been reviewing a number of Red Wines, it behooves me to at least taste a few French Red Wines, even though there's not going to be any 1989 first growth Bordeaux wines reviewed, no $1,500 examples to shock and awe my readers. I will guess that there are a number of New Hampshire wine lovers who find French wines as daunting as I do, and if you're up for scratching the surface of this deep and dark cellar with me, I'll review a few of them found in New Hampshire.

Chateau Hyot 2010 Casteillon Cotes de Bordeaux, $16.99-$19.99, 89 points, has a typical Bordeaux color, but with the clarity of ruby, and a broad clear rim.
The reticent aroma is sweet cherry, gentle clove, and just a trace of lavender.
From the very first taste, I loved this wine: tart, spicy, acidic, and ragingly tannic. This is no fruit-bomb, but boysenberry and blackberry won't allow this wine to go without flavor. The finish is fair and spicy.
A very good introduction to French Red Wine, a wine I dare-say will evolve for sometime to come.
Varietals are Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon.


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Bogle Old Vine 2009 Essential Red Wine

Bogle Vineyards Old Vine 2009 Essential Red Wine, $9.99-$13.99, 90 points is a deep and dark Burgundy red in color, with a broad transparent rim.
The aroma is a wonderful blend of cherry, spice (carries over throughout the tasting experience and is magnified on the finish), and freshly turned earth.
Rich smoky dark boysenberries and black cherry are carried along with good acidity and noticeable tannin which gives structure to this nearly full bodied red wine.
With all the expensive red wines available in New Hampshire, many of which are big bargains even at $30.00, most shoppers I talk to are in the below $10.00 market, well, my friends and family, this is your red wine. I've reviewed some below $10.00 red wines that are good at that price, but Bogle Essential Red, so far, is the best of that category.
Having an interesting blend of Old Vine Zinfandel, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Syrah, this red wine has so much more finesses than the trendy Apothic red wine that my friend Judy is gaga over, provided that the Old Vine Zinfandel spice with a hint of tobacco on the  finish, doesn't overwhelm you.


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Ravines Finger Lakes 2010 Dry Riesling

Ravines Finger Lakes 2010 Dry Riesling, $17.99-$19.99, 90 points, is going geographically from the No. West to the No. East, from sweet to dry in style.
Ravines begins with a darker more brassy color than the Columbia Winery Riesling, has a more stony aroma with the slightest hints of sandalwood and citrus.
The texture is lighter, but not unsubstantial, and carries good acidity, better with fish than the sweeter Riesling.
Teasing-out the flavors is a bit more complicated, but the concept of "mineral-ality" is striking, and is followed with the slightest hints of grapefruit and pear which carry onto the fair finish with some ginger spice.
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