Carmen, Gran Reserva Petite Sirah 2011, Los Quillayes Vineyard, Maipo Valley, Chile
Tasting Note: There is nothing “petit” about this petit syrah; it reigns large.
The wine has an aromatic ripe-with-cherry nose that is uniquely Chilean (a sense you’ll develop the more you taste Chilean wines). It has a deep purple and black color with strong viscous legs that demand notice.[Read more]
Santa Rita, 120 Hero’s Salute Red Blend 2012, Central Valley, Chile
Tasting Note: Some red blends are delicate. This red blend is not – it’s defiant.
Red blends are where winemakers get the freedom to experiment and show off new creations before marketing catches up with the reality of a new discovery.[Read more]
A Diehe, Dornfelder Rotwein Trocken 2013, Deutscher Qualitatswein, Pfalz, Germany
Tasting Note: This Dornfelder is unlike most reds you’ve tried.
It is soft with lightly minerality and is [Read more]
Trivento Malbec Reserve 2013, Mendoza, Argentina
Tasting Note: This malbec pleases on multiple notes.
First, the nose. The fruity nose is a pleasure to take in before sipping. [Read more]
Fat Gaucho, Malbec Reserva 2011, Mendoza, Argentina
Tasting Note: This more malbec you consume, the more you come to experience all the potential subtleties of flavor.
This particular malbec doesn’t disappoint, but it doesn’t impress. [Read more]
Schlink Haus, Red Wine Sweet, Dornfelder 2011, Deutscher Landwein, Rhein, Germany
Tasting Note: Expensive grape juice.
Low alcohol level (8.5%) and intense sweetness paired. This wine is one-dimensional grape flavor with no pretense of complexity (which depending on what you are looking for could be a desired trait). [Read more]
Decero, Malbec 2012, Remolinos Vineyard, Agrelo, Mendoza, Argentina
Tasting Note: Having previously enjoyed a petit verdot from Decero while dining at Azafran in downtown Mendoza, this center stage malbec does not disappoint.
This wine has intense purple color, strawberry taste, strong legs (which I adore), and a chalky aroma that finishes with pleasing acidity on the back of your tongue with red fruit washing away on the tip like a wave receding back into the ocean. [Read more]
Dona Paula, Los Cardos Malbec 2013, Mendoza, Argentina
Tasting Note: Lots of vibrant black fruit in this malbec.
On the attack acidity is felt first on the back of your tongue and the taste subsides to fruit on the tip of your tongue in an unusual back-of-the-mouth to front-of-the-mouth flavor flow. [Read more]
Las Lenas, Malbec 2014, Mendoza, Argentina
Tasting Note: A plum bomb.
Fruity with low acidity typical of hot-climate malbec grape growing regions. Straightforward wine with constant taste. One-dimensional, but vibrant in its dimension.[Read more]
Bodega Elena de Mendoza, Red Blend 2013, Argentina
Tasting Note: A soft expression of grapey malbec typical of the region matches nicely with ruby bonarda which outshines the syrah.[Read more]
