Clos Du Val Napa Valley 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, $25.49-$39.99, 92 points, is a brilliant densely ruby color with a watery clear rim.
The nose is a reticent lightly sweet red cherry and sweet cooking spice, with just a hint of earth.
With a medium to medium-plus body swirling legs down the glass, potent acids rain-down the palate with equally firm, but approachable tannin.
The flavor is a clean pomegranate, red fruit, and a hint of violets which quickly gets lost in the incredibly long black and white pepper, spicy finish.
With the slightest sense of alcohol (13.5%), this is a beautifully focused and crafted wine, but my appreciation of Clos Du Val Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon had its genesis before today.
ClosDuValNapa "The One And Only One"
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SALMoN RUN Finger Lakes 2011 Riesling,
$10.99-$13.99, 90 points, is a very light lime color with a gray tone.
The aroma is watermelon rind with apple blossom.
A light-plus bodied white wine with excellent acidity, making for that Asian cuisine food friendliness.
Flavors consist of pome, with tart apple dominant, but hints of citrus and minerals make for a crisp-clean white wine that will not disappoint. The finish is a trailing of the palate.
There's not a lot of complexity, but that's not what we're (I'm) looking for here, rather, I'm looking for an off dry to dry white wine with a pleasant flavor to sip or pair with fish, brown fried rice, and a PoPo Platter.
I continue to be impressed with these Finger lakes Rieslings! I think you will be too.
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Whitehall Lane Napa Valley Reserve 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, $62.99-$69.99, 92 points, has the color of black currant to Shiraz purple, near black at the core with a clear rim.
The bouquet is massive with a near perfect blend of trace fragrances including oak, coffee, crushed sweet red raspberry, rose pedal, and sweet cooking spices; I would have no problem with you adding a list to that.
The medium-plus body has good acidity and approachable tannin.
Early palate intense spice nails the beginning of this wine, but a strong floral quality (typical for Whitehall's "big" cabs) dominates. However, the the rites of passage have just begun; you'll find flavors as varied as the nose. I found violets, licorice, chocolate, leather, chalky plum, and white pepper, much of which trailed into the long finish with a touch of heat (14.5%) alcohol). Some of this floral intensity does fade a bit with air, but so does the intensity of the wine.
Obviously some wine tasters like this style of wine, and I can appreciate this noble effort, but I'm not sure, at least for me, that all these flavors hold the Gestalt together.
The bottle design is regal, and the glass enclosure is exquisite.
It is now three days after I did this review and I'm just finishing the wine; I must say that an extended time of breathing has coalesced some conflicting aspects of the Whitehall Lane Napa Valley Reserve 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, and transformed it into a more focused presentation. Note that I've never done this for a wine before, but the transition has changed my opinion from: "not recommended (QPR)" to a NHWM recommend.
Whitehall Lane Winery
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Decoy Napa County 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon, $17.99-
$25.99, 91 points, is a slightly cloudy ruby-red with a purple hue and a broad transparent rim.
With an amazing aroma of clove, cinnamon, cedar, hints of licorice, black pepper, and pinewood, it's the potpourri of wine.
This is a medium bodied red wine with an excellent balance of acidity and tannin.
The flavor is robust and clean; Red and black cherry, black currant and juicy boysenberry, hints of licorice and dried herbs all found their way to the inevitable finish with a bit of trailing spice.
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Cupcake Central Coast 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon, $6.99-$10.99, 86 points, is a medium-bodied dry red wine, though there is a bit of sweet red cherry late palate and on the finish.
The color is a slightly cloudy ruby with a clear outer rim.
The spicy grape aroma dominates and is profuse throughout the tasting experience, but just a hint of rubber was a little unpleasant.
I found good acidity and the tannin is mild, but this is a rough Cabernet, almost sharp.
Overall, for 7 bucks, this is not a bad everyday table wine, but maybe too spicy, and lacking the traditional "mouth-feel" of a Cabernet, maybe unappreciated by some at the table.
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Château d'Escurac 2009 Bordeaux Médoc, $19.54-$22.99, 91 points, is dense ruby in color to opaque at the core and clear at the rim.
The aroma is soft with sweet red cherry and spice with a touch of earth.
The near full body is very acidic and quite tannic, but the flavor overcomes these extremes with a bounty of black and red fruit with gentle floral tones all carried into a long spicy finish that culminates with a touch of heat (14.5% alcohol).
This wine is just a bit edgy, but as I've mentioned before, the flavor is excellent, and actually paired better with our strip steak than did the Chateau Talbot Bordeaux; see, my guest was served two wines blind. He picked the better of the two, but agreed with the perfection of pairing Château d'Escurac 2009 Bourdeaux Médoc with our meal, and just sitting-back with the Talbot. Index-of-reviewed-wines Copyright 2012 Dennis Tsiorbas. All rights reserved, Template provided by Blogger
