Edward Rasiulis

Villa Mt. Eden Grand Reserve Bien Nacido Chardonnay 2007, Santa Maria Valley

Deep gold in colour with high intensity on the nose.

Positives: A powerful nose showing creme brûlée, buttered popcorn, peaches & cream corn and medium toasted oak. The taste is more refined showing lemon, apple crumble pie, creme brûlée, mango, pineapple, butter popcorn, peaches & cream corn with a medium tossed oak. Full body, good acidity, long finish & the alcohol is well integrated.

Negatives: The powerful nose is a little too much that it detracts from the enjoyment of drinking the wine. Pity.

Interesting Point: Use the large Chard glass.

Drink now on its own or pair it with lobster & drawn butter.

Tasted: 10 Feb 12

Score: 8.5/10, Value: 8.5+/10, Total: 17.5/20

Out of 5 stars, I rated this wine: 3.5

Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Arcadia Chardonnay 2007, Napa Valley

Light gold in colour with medium intensity nose.

Positives: Lemon zest, green apple, celery, kiwi & limestone. Medium body with good acidity & medium+ length.

Negatives: There is nothing wrong with this chard, but I just expected more at this price.

Drink now in its own or pair it with rotisserie chicken.

Tasted: 19 Feb 12

Score: 8.5/10, Value: 7/10, Total: 15.5/20

Out of 5 stars, I rated this wine: 3.5

Grant Burge The Holy Trinity Grenache/Shriaz/Mourvèdre 2007, Barossa Valley, South Australia

Medium+ ruby to garnet with a purple tinge and a medium+ intensity on the nose.

Positives: Cedar, dried blueberry & raspberry, slate, peppers (red, black & white), plums, leather & moss. Medium to full body with medium to medium minus tannins, good acidity, medium+ length & the alcohol is well integrated.

Negatives: The 14.5% alcohol. Tastes more like a wine $10 cheaper.

Interesting Point: Check out my comparison to Turkey Flat Butcher's Block SGM.

Drink now on its own or pair it with BBQ baby back ribs.

Tasted: 27 Jan 12

Score: 9/10, Value: 8/10, Total: 17/20

Out of 5 stars, I rated this wine: 3.5

Mas Des Restanques Gigondas 2009, Ac

Description: Medium+ ruby in colour with medium+ intensity on the nose.

Positives: Nice red fruits on the nose & taste with some sandalwood & Macintosh apples.

Negatives: A little austere right now with noticeable heat from the high alcohol. I found it a little watery.

Interesting Notes: Has elegant potential so lay it down for another 5 years. Interesting modern label to try to appease the nouveau wine drinker. Too bad I’m somewhat of a traditionalist.

Tasted: 26 Sept 11.

Score: 8.5/10, Value: 8/10, Total: 16.5/20.

Out of 5 stars, I rated this wine: 3

De Toren Z 2008, Wo Stellenbosch

Dark ruby in colour with high intensity in the nose.

Positives: There is a lot going on with this wine both on the nose & taste. They are: cedar, plums, raisins, herbaceous notes, carnation on the nose, bramble fruit, dark chocolate, candy apple, vanilla bean, turmeric, leather , pencil shavings, black olives & hickory. This wine is full body with good acidity, medium+ tannins & a long finish.

Negatives: A lot of heat coming from the high alcohol, and a little to herbaceous on the taste.

Interesting Thing: The wine's nose is a lot sweeter than the taste, which is a little austere.

Drink now or cellar for another 5 years. Drink on its own as a meal or pair it with grilled T-bone steak.

Tasted: 30 Nov 11

Score: 9+/10, Value: 8.5/10, Score: 18/20

Out of 5 stars, I rated this wine: 4

Château Tour Saint André 2010, Ac Lalande De Pomerol

Deep ruby in colour with a medium intense nose.

For those that like classic Right Bank Bordeaux this one will not disappoint at this price.

Positives: This wine features mild oak, cherry cola, red currants, mulberry, anise, dry herbs & leather. Medium+ body, dusty tannins with good acidity & a fairly long length.

Negatives: A little more heat than expected from the 14% alcohol.

Drink now or over the next 3 years on its own or pair it with prime rib.

Interesting Point: Decant for an hour

Tasted: 31 January 2014

Score: 8.5+/10, Value: 8.5+/10 Total: 17.5/20

Out of 5 stars, I rated this wine: 3.5+

Tawse Sketches Of Niagara Chardonnay 2009, VQA Niagara Peninsula

Medium straw in colour and medium intense nose.

Always nice to have a good quality Ontario Chardonnay that’s under $20.

Positives: This is a delicate Chard which has several layers featuring light oak, lemon, grapefruit, peat, green apple, wood smoke, limestone and hints of caramel. Medium body, with good acidity and a long length.

Negatives: A little sour on the finish.

Drink now or over the next 2 years on its own or pair it with seared scallops wrapped in bacon served on a bed of wilted spinach with candy tomatoes (my wife’s great recipe).

Tasted: 19 April 13

Best Buy

Score: 8.5+/10, Value: 9+/10 Total: 18/20

Out of 5 stars, I rated this wine: 4

Post House Penny Black 2008, Wo Stellenbosch

Dark ruby in colour with medium+ intensity on the nose.

Positives: Cedar, mesquite, blackberry, cassis, dark chocolate, leather, pencil shavings, turmeric, plum, black & red peppers on the nose. Medium+ tannins, good acidity, long length & full body. Surprisingly the high alcohol is well integrated.

Negatives: A little austere.

Interesting Point: Use a Shiraz style glassware as I found other glassware accentuated the austerity. After an hour the wine had more Cab notes.

Tasted: 7 Dec 11

Score: 8.5+/10, Value: 9/10, Total: 18/20

Out of 5 stars, I rated this wine: 4

Château De Chantegrive 2009, Ac Graves

Dark ruby to garnet in colour with a medium+ intense nose.

Classic Graves wine that you pay a little more, but it’s worth it.

Positives: This complex wine features cedar, blackcurrants, anise, cassis, dark cherry, graphite, sage, thyme, tobacco leaf, cocoa, espresso and leather. Full body with medium+ tannins, good acidity & a long length.

Negatives: Some heat from the 13.5% alcohol

Drink now or in the next 5 years on its own or pair it with dry aged steak.

Tasted: 27 April 2014

Score: 9+/10, Value: 8.5+/10, Total: 18.5/20

Out of 5 stars, I rated this wine: 4+

Treana Marsanne/Viognier 2009, Central Coast

Description: Deep gold in colour with a medium to medium+ intense nose.

Positives: This is the closest to a Condrieu without being one that I have tasted to date, and I love Condrieu, so it goes without saying why I made this my favourite wine of the tasting event. The wine is oily and smooth as silk, featuring light oak, Ylang Ylang, pineapple, macadamia nuts, lemon, East Indian mangos, peaches and white pepper.

Negatives: None

Interesting Point: This is so good that I could easily drink two bottles in a night. In Vintages now and I’m slowly buying up the stock.

Drink now or over the next 5 years on its own or pair it with seared Chilean sea bass with roasted root vegetables.

Top Pick

Score: 9.5/10, Value: 9.5/10, Total: 19/20

Out of 5 stars, I rated this wine: 4.5+