Colene Clemens Vineyards
Margo Chehalem Mountains Pinot Noir 2021
2021 vintage open November 2023.  Clover and pears on the nose. Light red fruit on the front—but then a brief hint of lychee fruit appears as the wine moves from the tip of the tongue to the mid palate. I don’t particularly like syrupy fruit tastes in my wine, but its flinty high notes quickly to drown out that almost subliminal episode of cloying sweetness. It transition into a finish that yields a soft landing. The tannic structure is not particularly complex, so I don’t expect this wine to evolve much in the bottle. This is one of those  ultra lush Oregon Pinot’s. If  the ascetic Sonoma coast pinots or the more tannic Burgundy Pinot‘s are to your taste then this wine is probably not for you, but I found it to be a pleasant but unchallenging tipple. — 22 days ago
Chateau La Tour du Roch-Milon
Red Bordeaux Blend 2016
2016 open November 2023. Meh. This wine has faded. A hint of tobacco on the nose. Nothing happening on the front. It has a Very faint Tannic structure with a lot of sour end notes.  This one goes down the drain. — a month ago
MandraRossa
Sentiero delle Gerle Etna Rosso Nerello Mascalese
2019 opened November 2023. Cranberries and strawberries on the nose. Light red berries on the front. Tannins are a bit light and they make the wine a bit watery. The volcanic minerality kicks in on the palate and it ends with a nice tart pumicey finish. — 15 days ago
Bonsegna
Baia di Uluzzo Negroamaro
2021 opened October 2023. Raisins in leather on the nose.  The aroma of raisins made me worried that the wine would be very sweet. But although the front has heavy notes of cassis, they’re soft and not overpowering. Medium tannic structure with a hint of citrus high notes. Pleasantly intense finish. — 22 days ago
Law Estate Wines
Aspire Syrah Grenache
2020 opened November 2023. This redeems their uninspired 2016 vintage—which was too sweet for my tastes—although the 2020 may turn into a Manischewitz-style wine in five or six years as the tannins fade.
Black raspberries on the nose with balsamic notes.  bright red fruit on the front of the pallet. It has a thick, almost syrupy tannic structure, but the syrup is offset by the high notes of calcaire from the Adelaida District’s limestone plateau. It has a long mineral finish with a slightly bitter ending at the back of the throat. This pleasantly offsets its syrupy tannins, and it makes the wine much more interesting.
Another commentator described this wine as being warm. Yes! This is a warm, fuzzy, comforting wine that one should sip before a winter fire. What concerns me is that once those intense high notes evaporate (and they’re always the first go!) you will be left with cough syrup.  I don’t think this wine has a long shelf life.  Because of that, I’m going to drink up these bottles of Aspire within the next year or two. — a month ago
Torrin
Lagom Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir
This is a very nice central coast Pinot. I wish Torrin would source more grapes from this vineyard, but I think this is their final year for using that vineyard. I’m sorry I can’t give you more detailed notes, but it took a while for the Delectable experts to put this in the system, and I’ve lost my notes. — 20 days ago
Castello Romitorio
Brunello di Montalcino Sangiovese
Please note: this is a review of the Costello, Romitorio Brunello di Montalcino *Reserva*, vintage 2015. I’m pretty sure this is a different wine than listed in the Delectable app.
2015 opened October 2023. Raw leather and raspberries on the nose. Pomegranate fruit on the front. Medium tannic structure that’s tightly closed with a lot of minerality. Long finish that’s tart but fades into a warm honey feeling on the back of the throat. This is a lovely wine that’s both challenging and satisfying. — 22 days ago
Château Le Coin
Red Bordeaux Blend 2019
2019 opened November 2023. Red cabbage on the nose. A hint of cassis on the front. A medium tannic structure with tart overtones saves this wine from being boring. Long mineral finish. Most of wine’s character appears on the mid-palate and it blossoms at the end. It’s hard for me to give this a high rating, though, because of its weak nose and front end. — a month ago
Chateau Le Pré Du Moine
Red Bordeaux Blend 2016
 2016 opened November 2023. Not a very interesting wine. Pomegranates and briars on the nose. Minimal amount of red fruit on the front. Light tannic structure that’s inoffensive, but it doesn’t add much to the character of the wine. Short finish with a few sparkles of high notes. — a month ago
Wulf Losee
Anise and fresh leather on the nose. Chalky dry tannins on the front of the palate that lack any expression of fruit (!). If you’ve been following my reviews, you may have observed I enjoy minerally taste profiles, so, this doesn’t offend me in the least— but it is very surprising to taste it on the front  of the palate (because I didn’t think I had taste receptors for that sort of thing on the front of the tongue). To be doubly confusing the fruit appears briefly on the mid palate as candied cherries. But before it can become offensively saccharine, the fruit is quickly replaced by burnt umber dry notes—along with a cool minty substrate—that yield a very loooong finish.
I just realized that I sucked down half a bottle while trying to evaluate this wine. I initially gave it a 9.0 rating but I’m going up it to 9.2, because this wine is intriguing and it kept my interest.
— 10 days ago