Price: $8.47 at Total Wine Style: The “Anna” (Medium body with fairly simple and straight-forward fruit flavors.) Rating: “Ok” Recommendation: “Have a glass or two” Review: A nice moderate nose leads things off with an earthy mix of raspberries and underbrush. Palate reflects the same, but is pretty subtle and dilute. Nothing really changed with time or air. It …
Price: $11.99 at Total Wine Style: The “Tom” (Medium body with some more complex flavors beyond just simple fruits.) Rating: “Good” Recommendation: “Grab a few bottles” Review: A really nice nose on this one, mixing smoky cherry and raspberry aromas with some earthy undertones. In the mouth, this is juicy with crisp red fruit on the front of …
Continue reading Cartlidge & Browne Pinot Noir 2014 – Cement truck drivers make pretty good wine
Price: $8.99 at Total Wine and More Style: The “Anna” (Light to medium body with simple straight-forward flavors.) Rating: “Ok” Recommendation: “Have a glass or two” Review: Our first Pinot Noir of the challenge is a ho-hum offering from the Lodi region of California (due East of San Francisco in the Central Valley.) Although this bottle was smooth and …
Pinot Noir Challenge Overview Ahhhhh... Pinot Noir! The king of Burgundy! The heartbreak grape! The most elegant and treasured varietal, for only the most sophisticated of collectors! Or at least, that is, if you're willing to drop $28,112 on a single bottle of 1990 Romanee-Conti DRC. :-O Really good Pinot Noir is really expensive. And …
Continue reading ‘Total Wine & More’ Pinot Noir Value Challenge Kickoff!
Zinfandel Challenge Results The results are in! At the bottom of this post, you'll find the final rankings and links to the individual wine reviews. Across the board, the Ravenswood Zinfandel offerings did really well. They all showed more power, body, and flavor than average. I'd certainly consider any of their bottles as a safe …
Just for fun, I decided to throw in a bottle that is completely out of our $10 price target and see how it compares to the value Zinfandels we've been drinking all month. I picked the Mike & Molly because it was already sitting in my cellar and, based on the cellar tracker reviews, it seemed …
Continue reading Zinfandel Challenge Bonus Post! Mike and Molly Hendry RW Moore Vineyard 2012
Price: $9.99 at Total Wine Style: The “Tom” (Medium body and power with some interesting tastes beyond basic fruits.) Rating: “Really Good” Recommendation: “Grab a few bottles” Review: The Ravenswood Lodi Zinfandel is a really nice offering that perfectly hits the balance of earthy and fruity for me. When we first opened the bottle, it was quite a bit …
Price: $11.99 at Total Wine Style: The “Tom” (Medium body and power with some interesting tastes beyond basic fruits.) Rating: “Good” Recommendation: “Grab a few bottles” Review: Although subtle, everything about the Ravenswood Napa is nicely balanced and in-check. Many of the Zinfandels around $10 are overly sweet , overly thin, or display unpleasant levels of acidity or alcohol. …
In our last Cellar Build post, we talked about the huge challenge of finding the right door for our passive basement cellar. Read it here. Now that we've got a door, we need a wall to put it in! The most important thing to note is that this wall is constructed of 2x6 lumber, NOT …
Price: $9.49 at Total Wine Style: The “Lady Edith” (Lighter body with some interesting tastes beyond basic fruits.) Rating: “Ok” Recommendation: “Have a glass or two” Review: The McManis offers fair value, but has some minor imperfections even at this price. First, it's definitely got a bit of tingling acidity right in the mid-palate. Great for a Pinot Grigio, …
Price: $11.99 at Total Wine Style: The “Tom” (Medium body and power with some interesting tastes beyond basic fruits.) Rating: “Good” Recommendation: “Grab a few bottles” Review: The Zabaco definitely got on my good side from the get-go. The alluring nose was earthy, fruity, rich, and full of cedar, spice, tar, blackberries, and plums... significantly more complex than the average …
Continue reading Rancho Zabaco Zinfandel Heritage Vines 2014
Price: $9.79 at Total Wine Style: The “Tom” (Medium body and power with some interesting tastes beyond basic fruits.) Rating: “Ok” Recommendation: “Have a glass or two” Review: Meh... average to good for the price. A medium nose carries strong candied red fruit with some baking spices... enjoyable. In the mouth, this is smooth but too sweet on the …
Price: $8.99 at Total Wine Style: The “Tom” (Medium body and power with some interesting tastes beyond basic fruits.) Rating: “Good” Recommendation: “Grab a few bottles” Review: The Oak Grove Zinfandel delivered one of the most interesting flavors I've picked up in a Zinfandel this month... On the back of the palate, I got a very clear impression of …
Price: $9.79 at Total Wine Style: The “Tom” (Medium body and power with some interesting tastes beyond basic fruits.) Rating: “Good” Recommendation: “Grab a few bottles” Review: The Zinfandels continue to preform quite well this month. The Peachy Canyon is no rock star, but it is a good solid offering under $10. The nose is the distinguishing attribute for …
Continue reading Peachy Canyon Incredible Red Zinfandel 2014
If you haven't watched Downton Abbey, you really should. It's worth the time. For me, it ranks up there with The Wire, Lost, and Sopranos. (Well... ok... maybe not "right there", but certainly worth your time.) It's a wonderful character drama following the challenges of British aristocracy, and their servant class, as they adjust to …
Continue reading All my favorite wines are Downton Abbey characters…
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