Cherry Creek Cellars Montage 2003

March 19, 2007 — -

Cherry Creek MontageAs I have said before, this is my all-time favorite Michigan wine. I have been on the wine tours in Southeastern Michigan and tasted a lot of local wines and this is, hands down, the best. This Cherry Creek Cellars Montage is a big red with a wonderfully luscious blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Chancellor Noir. This wine has aggressive tannins and legs on the glass. There is a prominent aroma of black cherry on the nose. A long and satisfying finish. This is a wine that (I think) any red-wine lover would love. Tom bought me a case for Christmas and it never disappoints me. Every time I taste it, I fall in love with it.

Tom: This award-winning blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Chancellor Noir is big. It has big tannicity, a big fruit taste (blackberry), and a big alcohol taste. It’s a Corvette for big red drinkers: revving on all cylinders. When we tasted this at the Cherry Creek winery they paired it with chocolate and that was a great match; the big red flavor stood up to the strong chocolate flavor. If you consider yourself a big red drinker, Michigan has made a high-quality wine to test you.

Posted in Blends, Michigan wines, Over $10. 2 Comments »

Feudo Arancio 2004 Nero d’Avola

March 18, 2007 — -

ArancioA floral nose and lovely balance of cherry with blackberry acidity. The nose reminds me of a Malbec but it has hints of Shiraz with a spicy finish. I noticed a definite , but surprising black licorice, along with chocolate-covered cherries, that assserts itself in the finish. This is simply delightful. I can’t imagine it can get better with decanting! This Feudo Arancio Nero D’Avola is delicious right out of the bottle.

Tom: This is a delicious soft red, dry but not tannic like a cabernet. This wine has absolutely no astringent or heavy alcohol taste; instead it’s very smooth. There’s a pleasantly strong fruit taste (but not fruit-bomby). This is an easy-going red wine that is tasty but not a “big red;” it would be great with cheese and fruit and would be an interesting wine for white-wine lovers to try.

Posted in Italian wines, Nero d'Avola, Under $10. Leave a Comment »

Lindemans Bin #50 Shiraz

March 15, 2007 — -

A vibrant dark red color, Lindemans Bin #50 shiraz has a seductive nose of berries, spice and vanilla. The palate is bursting with berries and licorice. This shiraz has soft tannins and a long, richly cherry finish. This is an easy-to-drink fruit forward new world wine that any red-wine lover will enjoy. The softness of the tannins make it an everyday wine for me — for special occasions, I’d prefer something drier with more aggresive tannins.

Tom: This is a delicious wine. In some ways it fits the stereotype of Australian wines: it’s big tasting and fruit forward. But it’s not a caricature. It has an intense (but not overly fruity) taste and a definite spiciness. Since we’ve been drinking cabernets lately, its “softer” shiraz taste is evident, but this is a high-quality wine. If the mood is for a fruit-intense, spicy taste (rather than the drier, more austere taste of a cabernet), this is an excellent, very drinkable choice.

Posted in Australian wines, Shiraz, Under $10. Leave a Comment »

Beau-Rivage Bordeaux

March 13, 2007 — -

This Beau-Rivage Bordeaux is a clear, medium ruby color. Prominent smoked meats, plums and green (bell) peppers on the nose. Nice high level of tannins. This wine grows on me as it breathes. I like it more now than I did 10 minutes ago. This wine has a peppercorn finish. I think this would be a great wine to serve with roast meats.

Tom: This has a rich (although slightly astringent) cabernet bouquet and taste. It’s tannic with nonobvious fruit flavor, perhaps some chocolate flavor. It’s a drinkable everyday cabernet but our recent cabernets are more memorable.

Posted in Bordeaux, French wines, Over $10. Leave a Comment »

Huelken Maipo Valley Reserve 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon

March 12, 2007 — -

Anyone who reads this and buys this wine is in for a treat. Wow! Huelken Maipo Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2001.

A deep, violet-red big red. This has complex mixtures of fragrances — especially plums, berries and black currant mixed with vanilla, tobacco, and coffee. The finish is long and woody.

The tannins are beautiful — long lasting and satisfying — spicy and pleasant aftertaste. The finish is smooth and velvety.

I would hold this Cabernet against any I have tasted so far; what a find! An incredible value! If you are reading this, go now to your favorite wine shop and buy a case!

Tom: This is a delicious cabernet from our A&L Wine Castle. It has a deep fruit taste (perhaps blackberry) and so shows itself as a fruit-forward New World wine, but it is still sufficiently acidic. This is a charming big red and certainly shows the quality of Chilean wines.

Posted in Cabernet Sauvignon, Chilean wines, Under $10. Leave a Comment »

Michel Picard Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

March 11, 2007 — -

This is an incredible value! We found this French Michel Picard wine on sale at our favorite wine shop in Ann Arbor. It is a delicious French version of Cabernet made with 100% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Because of the sunny climate in the south of France, these grapes are allowed to fully ripen. What I love about this wine is its old-world approach – not a fruit forward wine, but a smoky, gutsy, full-bodied big red. The balance of fruit and acidity is very much to my tastes.

Tom: What a find! At a sale price of $5 a bottle, this shows the value of a good local wine store (ours is A&L Wine Castle in Ann Arbor) and the quality of French wine. This wine has a strong, musty Cabernet bouquet and a delicious, dry, rich, tannic, not-particularly-fruity taste. It’s an nonfruit bomb. This is one of the fantasies of red-wine drinkers: that there are inexpensive, high-quality, European cabs just waiting to be found. This wine would be great with cheeses and would work well with any big-tasting food.

Posted in Cabernet Sauvignon, French wines, Under $10. Leave a Comment »

Hess Select Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

March 10, 2007 — -

We are enjoying this Hess Select Cabernet Sauvignon immensely following a wet martini! This will go well with our steak/broccoli stir fry dinner. This wine has an irrestible nose of blackberry and chocolate. Black pepper, coffee grounds, grass and chocolate on the middle palate. This is superb and I will definitely purchase again.

Tom: This is a delicious ‘classic’ cabernet: dry and tannic. It’s interesting because it doesn’t have a big taste of fruit; the taste I pick up is tobacco. This wine was recommended by our local wine store (A&L Wine Castle in Ann Arbor) and it shows what great finds a wine shop can offer.

Posted in Cabernet Sauvignon, California wines, Over $10. Leave a Comment »

Shady Lane 2004 Pinot Noir Leelanau Peninsula

March 9, 2007 — -

This Shady Lane Pinot Noir 2004 from the Leenlanua Peninsula in northern Michigan is lush, soft, and elegant. Aroma of cherries and cranberries and an oaky and earthy finish. This is a delicate wine — almost watery — but the elegant smoky and spicy nose is refreshing. We bought this wine for about $16 on a tour of the Leenlanau Peninsula wineries.

Tom: After drinking mostly cabernets lately, the switch to this pinot noir is definitely different. It’s a lighter, less tannic taste (and the color is lighter as well). There’s a pleasant berry fruit taste but it’s not the deep, rich fruit of the big reds we’ve had lately. It’s nice to see Michigan producing pinot noirs and this is an interesting diversion from our usual.

Posted in Michigan wines, Over $10, Pinot Noir. 2 Comments »

Luna Pampas Merlot – Malbec

March 2, 2007 — -

Luna Pampas Merlot – Malbec — What a lovely wine! This is a full-bodied wine with a strong berries and spice flavor. This blend of malbec and merlot is very fruit forward. There is a bouquet of violets and strawberries and raisins. Ample tannins with a rich finish. Ooh la-la. This is about a $10 exceptional wine. A great Friday-night, celebrate-the-end-of-the-week quaff!

Tom: This is a delicious wine: acidic, big bouquet and taste, rich fruit flavor. This shows the amazing variety of wine: who would ever think, “Let’s have a 70% merlot-30% malbec blend from Argentina”?

Posted in Australian wines, Blends, Malbec, Merlot. Leave a Comment »

Rosemount Shiraz 2004

March 1, 2007 — -

We bought a case of this for every day so we will review this more than once! I am enjoying this tonight very much because I have been traveling on business (with a college athletics team — so, no wine with dinner)! This wine has a taste of licorice. Berry fruit is blended with oak. The palate is richly textured with well defined, ripe blackberry fruit flavours, soft generous tannins and a long, rich finish.

Tom: This Rosemount Shiraz is our house wine at the moment. It’s big on all counts: big on fruit taste, big on spice, big on alcohol taste. Not like the sophisticated cabernets we’ve tried lately, but big and bold and Australian.

Posted in Australian wines, Shiraz, Under $10. 1 Comment »
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