todd10

Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc 2024, Marlborough, South Island

Pretty much perfect in my opinion. This Sauvignon Blanc was bursting with vibrant citrus flavours, with layers of different citrus fruits adding a surprising amount of complexity. The dryness was spot-on — crisp and refreshing without being overly sharp — while the flavour seemed to pop with every sip.

An outstanding Sauvignon Blanc that delivered everything I love about New Zealand whites. I absolutely loved it and would be hard-pressed to ask for anything more.

Tasted September 2026

Stags' Leap Winery Petite Sirah 2018, Napa Valley

I feel bad giving this at 89 when I see so many great scores. This is a nice tasting wine, but to me it was very typical of a nice red. Good dark, fruit, a little peppery, firm tannins but not too much. It was good. The 89 is because I did not get the complexity that many others did. The wine did not evolve throughout the evening either. I like when I can taste a wine evolve is it breaths.
Still good though.
Tasted June 2023

San Giorgio Ugolforte Brunello Di Montalcino 2016, D.O.C.G.

The first aromas that I got was cherry cola. It also had vanilla and espresso in the background.
Lovely dark fruit flavors. Tannin level was mouth drying, yet it was a good amount. I did not find the tannins overpowering the flavours. This went well with my salami.
Pleasant heat on the finish.
If you are not a fan of heat on the finish, I would suggest decanting, but overall, I feel this was good right out of the bottle.
Tasted September 2022

Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-pape 2015

This wine had one of the best aromas that I have had in a long time. Beautiful scents of cherry and plum were so easy to detect that even my wife that always tells me that all she smells is "alcohol", this is the first time she could smell the cherry. Taste of fruit with a nice balance. I loved the finish. The tasty wine seemed to linger on my tongue for a while. A little heat on the finish, but I enjoy a bit of heat so I am not complaining.

Tasted May 2020

Tornatore Etna Rosso trimarchisa 2016, D.O.C. Etna

This wine had an interesting nose. I was getting aromas of soya sauce and black tea leaves. I enjoy when wine have unusual character like this one.
This wines balance was good and pretty good length too with taste of cherries.
I like the back ground story of these grapes only growing on the slopes of Europe's largest active volcano, Mount Etna.
Tasted August 2022

Culmina Hypothesis 2014, Golden Mile Bench, BC VQA Okanagan Valley

The wine had aromas of tobacco leaf and raspberry. The grippy tannins went well with food, in my case , salami. I would not suggest to drink this wine without food. Over the course of the next two hours, the wine opened a little but not enough to make it worth to decant. The wine was good, but I feel could it could use 2 more years of cellering to bring out more charactor.
Tasted January 2021.

Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc 2020, Marlborough, South Island

This wine good wine, but after reading my review for the 2019 vintage, it is not as good as that one.I did get dill, and tropical fruit on the nose. The taste was fantastic with nice tropical fruit flavours and perfect acidity. I want to give this 92, but I feel 91 is more accurate. As we know, 91 is a great score, so this wine is great, it was so much closer to being even better. Perhaps serving temperature may be the key factor...not too cold.
Taste October 2022

Vineland Estates Cabernet Franc Reserve 2015, VQA Niagara Escarpment

The nose was a little muted for me. I picked up some subtle hints of cherry and oak but that was about it. I was prepared to be disappointed but I was not. This wine had such a wonderful taste. A very balanced wine with tasty dark fruit. What was a nice touch was the finish. I could best describe that finish with a slight taste of leather. I enjoyed that.
Through out the evening, the wine did not open up anymore than when I first opened it so I see no need to decant.

Tasted October 2020

Delta Pinot Noir 2017, Marlborough, South Island

This is not a fruit forward wine. This wine was very earthy, and I enjoyed that for a change. I was getting aromas of dried tobacco. It also had a hint of cola and smoke. Nice length with a pleasant hint of heat on the finish.
Tasted Feb 2022.

Zuccardi Poligonos Malbec 2016, Tupungato Alto, Mendoza

The wine is dark purple. When first opened, it had wonderful aromas of cassis, black pepper and vanilla. Very strong tannin's. It will dry your mouth very fast. At this point, I would have loved to have a steak with it. About an hour later, I found the aromas dissipated a bit but the tannin's smoothed out a bit too. Even though the aromas soften, another aroma started to emerge...dark chocolate. This wine has dark fruit flavors. I would say the sweet spot for this wine is about an hour after opening.

Tasted May 2020