todd10

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

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

Urbina Reserva 1998, Doca Rioja

The was my first wine that I had that was over 20 years old. I realized right away that all the almost all the primary fruit flavors are gone. I was getting hints of tobacco and leather. At this point I was happy. As the night progressed, the wine did not get any better. The wine was good at the beginning, I loved the secondary notes of leather, tobacco and oak. But as the night progressed, the already very light tannin's seemed to get even light taking the balance out of wack. I would suggest do not decant this and the faster you can drink this (share with friends) the better.
Tasted Feb 2020

Tournon Shays Flat Vineyard Shiraz 2016, Pyrenees, Victoria

I was expecting mouth drying tannins, but I found them smooth. It was still a good amount to match with food.
As for aromas. I was getting plum and chocolate.
Throughout the evening, I did not notice this wine opening much more than at the beginning of the night so I see no reason to decant except to filter out the sediment. I poured the last glass slowly and that was enough to prevent the sediment from going into my glass.
Tasted Feb 2024.

Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc 2018, Marlborough, South Island

I had the 2017 vintage a couple months ago. The 2017 was better. This was good too though.
The top take away from this wine was the length. I thought the length was well above average.
Aromas of lemon and fresh cut grass.
Taste of green apple and lychee. Very good acidity.
Although the wine was good at around 8C, while it sat in my wine chiller and got cooler, I did enjoy the wine more. It became more crisp and balanced.

Tasted May 2020

Pierre Amadieu Domaine Grand Romane Cuvée Prestige Vieilles Vignes 2017, Ac Gigondas

I was a little disappointed with this wine. I have enjoyed a few nice Gigondas wines the last few months but this one was missing the charactor and balance of what I have come to expect from a Gigondas. Black fruit on the nose and palate. Grippy tannins. Nice finish. I would suggest to decant for 30 minutes.
My opinion is if you plan on opening this, perhaps wait a couple more years for some more charactor to develop.
Tasted June 2020.

Creekside Iconoclast Syrah 2017, St. David's Bench, Niagara On The Lake

This was a nice wine. However, I did not find any secondary or tertiary notes that really stood out, so that is why I gave this an 87. With that said, this wine did have notes of black fruit. It also has nice grippy tannins with some acidity. The finish is tasty as well, with some dark fruit flavors that linger.
This wine did not evolve throughout the evening, so I see no reason to decant.
Tasted February 2022.

Mission Hill Reserve Chardonnay 2019, Okanagan Valley

This was a nice wine but nothing stood out for me that makes it deserve a 90+ review. It does have aromas of tree fruit with a hint of lime zest. Nice length. I once even had a nice buttery flavor on the finish. This wine was very finicky when it came to temperature. I started with 12C but it did not suit this wine. I say around 8 or 9C was the sweet spot. When it got cooler than that, it closed up as expected.
Tasted April2022

Château Clarke 2015, Ac Listrac Médoc

I feel I should have waited a few more years before I tasted this. I did not fine the aromas or flavors as complexed as I was hoping for. In the nose, I was getting black current with a little oak. On the palate very grippy tannins. That surprised me considering the wine is 70% Merlot. Dark fruit flavors.
The tannins did smooth out a little after the bottle was opened for a while so I do recommend to decant for at least 30 minutes, maybe an hour.

Tasted June 2020

Lan Gran Reserva 2012, Doca Rioja

The first aromas that I got was chocolate, This was followed by oak.
What I did enjoy was the flavors. Not that I ever ate a cigar box or leather, but these were the taste that I got. I love these types of flavors that I do not taste in 90% of the wines I drink.
I did not notice much evolution after I opened the wine so I see no reason to decant.
Tasted October 2022