todd10

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

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

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

Marques De Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

I was getting a mix of leather and smoke on the nose. When I tasted it I was getting some dark fruit flavors, perhaps plum. It was very well balanced. The finish was about 25 seconds. I found the wine did not evolve too much through out the night so I see little need to decant. Even though I would have liked a little more character in this wine, it was very well balanced, I think 90 is a fair rating.
2016 vintage Tasted March 2019.

2017 Vintage. Earthy and dark fruit aromas. Nice finish. Decanting may bring out more flavors. 2017 is an 89.
Tasted July 2020

Montalto Pennon Hill Chardonnay 2018, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria

Bravo! This was a great wine. Great complexity. Nutty nose with tropical fruit such as lychee. Also got some melon and apple. A little smokiness to it.
Nicely balanced. Good finish. I was very happy
Tasted November 2020

Altanza Gran Reserva 2015, D.O.Ca Rioja

This was a nice wine. Subtle aromas of leather. Nice tasting. It does need to breath for about 30 minutes because it is very tannic right after you open it.

I had this with cheese and salami. I enjoyed it more with that salami.

Nice wine, but I was hoping for a little more character. I did not get the same experience that others reviewed this with.

Tasted Aug 2023

Trimbach Riesling 2019, A.C. Alsace

The first aroma that popped out was candle wax followed by Citrus zest.
This is a dry wine but not a dry your mouth out dry. I found the acidity very soft.
Flavors of citrus and stone.
Tasted January 2023

Il Poggio Taburno Sannio Coda Di Volpe 2018, Dop

This wine had some hints of stone fruit. Medium bodied. A nice acidic and dry taste. A finish that I could best describe as tasting like grape fruit.
Overall, not a bad wine for under $18.
Tasted November 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