todd10

Framingham Sauvignon Blanc 2020, Marlborough

Fantastic aromas of grapefruit and passion fruit. I could swirl and sniff this all night.
Nice acidity level. Great tropical fruit flavors.
Tasted October 2022

Mullineux Kloof Street Chenin Blanc 2021, W.O. Swartland

When I opened this and poured it into my glass, I was getting aromas of butter and Cantaloupe. Within a minute, I lost those aromas and I was getting just a hint of Cantaloupe with lemon. It was interesting how fast that changed so keep a "nose" out for that. This wine was medium to full bodied, with a medium length. Some acidity (but I was expecting more). Taste of apple and pear.
Tasted September 2022

L'ecole No. 41 Semillon 2017, Columbia Valley, Washington

On the nose I was getting beeswax with a hint of chamomile tea. This wine was a nice dry wine with a long tasty finish. Not that I ever tasted citronella, but I image that was the taste that I was getting. A waxy lemon flavor. At first I was giving this wine a 91, but that flavor grew on me. This was my first Semillon, and I am looking forward to the next.
Tasted May 2021

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

Hidden Bench Estate Chardonnay 2017, VQA Beamsville Bench, Niagara Escarpment, Ontario

The is a delicious wine. It has a buttery nose with a hint of citrus. I was expecting a very buttery flavor but it was very subtle. Nice balanced wine with flavors of green apple with a subtle buttery touch. Long finish.
Tasted December 2020

Gabriel Meffre Sainte Catherine Gigondas 2015, Ap

Aromas of plum and cassis came bursting out. A little vanilla in the back ground.
The aromas were not as complex as you may think of my score of 92. The reason for this score was mainly due to taste and balance. I found this wine very well balanced. The tannin's were smooth but not too smooth. Flavors of dark fruit filled my mouth. I even enjoyed the slight heat on the finish.
Through out the evening (2 hours) I did not find that this wine opened up much more then when I first opened it, so I see no reason to decant.

Tasted April 2020

Emiliana Coyam 2019, Los Robles Estate, Colchagua Valley

I held on to this 2019 vintage for 2 years. I was excited to taste how this must have evolved since the last reviews over two years ago. It seems that it did not get anymore complexed. The nose had dark fruit with a hint of dark chocolate. The same dark fruit and dark chocolate with the flavour.
I thought the tannin level was pretty much perfect. Also a long finish.
It did not evolve much throughout the evening, so I see no reason to decant.
Tasted August 2024

J. Dénuzière Crozes Hermitage 2018, Ac

This was a good wine but not as complexed as I was expecting. Notes of black fruit, pepper and a bit of wood. Nice dark fruit flavours. It was interesting to taste how much the tannins have calmed after a year and a half since the last reviews. I found the tannins were at a very nice level.
Throughout the evening, I did not notice any change in this wine, so I see no reason to decant.
Tasted November 2022

Gemtree Uncut Shiraz 2015, Mclaren Vale, South Australia

I was unable to get much on the nose. If anything stood out, it would have been a hint of green pepper. I can say that it had a firm tannin that became softer as it had a chance to breathe. I was tasting some dark fruit and dark chocolate on the finish.

I do recommend that this wine be decanted one hour before drinking.

2015 vintage Tasted April 2019

The Chocolate Block 2019, Wo Swartland, South Africa

This wine was okay but to me nothing too special. I was getting your basic dark fruit aromas. I will say that you should decant or wait a bit before you drink this. When I opened it at first it was very tight with no character. After about 30 minutes it did open up and I did enjoy it more.
Tasted Aug 2024