Bodegas Roda Reserva 2006 color: medium + intensity/opaque with garnet miniscus nose: med+ cherry tobacco, brandied cherries, earth, fresh ground cinammon, palate: med+ intensity, dry, acid is med+ and juicy, tannin med and very well balanced, finish med+ Style note: Immediately impressive 2006 right out of the bottle – no need for decanting though [...]

  2008 Macari Cabernet Franc (USA, New York, Long Island, North Fork) color: purple medium + intensity, tears fast to form and fall nose: med + intensity, spice, purple flowers, ripe boysenberries, black tea, dried raspberry leaf, palate: dry, acid med+ tannin medium + … a (vibrating) quality, light on the tongue like a Georges [...]

Quattro Canti Stefania Lena Tasting Notes for February 28 2010 2007 Xavier Flouret Quattro Canti color: intense near opaque purple nose: med+, brown sugar, very ripe heavy purple fruit palate: dry, acid med tannin med+ (balanced still) body med + alc 14.5 estimate, finish is med+ Style: Very ripe grapes with balanced acidity to the [...]

Fynbos Louis Roos Winemaker with glasses Tielman Roos Viticulturist Mooiplaas Tasting Notes for February 21 2010 2010 Xavier Flouret Chenin Blanc (South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch)   Color: light straw nose: med+ very mineral palate: dry, acid med tannin med- (grape) body med alc est 13.5 finish med+  Style:Very rich with minerals on the nose and [...]

  2007 Xavier Flouret Cabernet-Merlot Amani (South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch Nose: ned+ intensity, jammy ripe fruit palate: dry, acid med+ tannin med= and very juicy, body med alc med+ finish med+ Style note: Very ripe and juicy Bordeaux blend with rich, succulent tannins lifted by med+ acidity. Powerful sense of terroir and great fit [...]

  Tasting Notes week of February 7, 2011 2008 Mazzocco Zinfandel Stone Ranch Alexander Valley color: purple, med intensity nose: med+ intensity, chocolate syrup, fino sherry, brown sugar, dry, acid med + trannin med + body med alc est 14.5 finish med + Style note: rich and concentrated Alexander Valley Zin with ripe concentrated blue [...]

2009 Martín Códax Albariño Rías Baixas (Spain, Galicia, Rías Baixas) Color: medium straw nose: med+ intensity, a certain briny nature, soft scent of ripe fruit such as peach and apricot, a sense of minerality palate: med+ intensity, dry, acid mes med+ tannin low body med alc est 12.5 finish med+ Style note: Briny minerality and [...]

  2009 Franciscan Oakville Estate Sauvignon Blanc color: pale straw – near water white nose: med intensity, grapefruit, white flowers, palate: dry, acid is med+ tannin zero body med alc est 13 finish med+ Flavors include white grapefruit, white flowers, a very light and delicate and floral approach Style note: With its light spritz of [...]

These wines would pair very well with lobster … 2007 Dierberg Chardonnay (USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley) color: straw, med intensity nose: med intensity, very sweet butter, some golden apple palate: dry, acid is med+ tannin is low (oak?) body is med alc is est 13.5 finish is med+ Style note: Racy acidity [...]

2005 De Lorimier Mosaic (USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley)  color: Opaque, purple, scintillating aroma: med+ intensity, very balanced and elegant nose of smooth black fruit, vanilla and sweet violet suggests oak treatment palate: dry, acid med tannin med body med alc 13.5 finish med + Style note: Extremely well balanced and delicious bordeaux blend [...]

. … so I am in Canada to celebrate the Icewine festival. It is a picture perfect snowy day and my host is Inniskillin winery, who has one of the most quality wines in the region. Today the winery, located in Niagra-on-the-Lake, is covered in fresh snow. I am standing on the current site called [...]

  … so tonight I tried the 2006 Sangiovese and Malbec from de Lorimier. The varietals had nothing in common save that they are produced by the same California winery in the Alexander Valley, so other than this, there was no real "comparison." I thought they were both excellent examples of the California take on [...]

  Very exited to receive a case of de Lorimier’s new offerings … and really thrilled to see that among the goodies are two Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 from different vineyards. one is from Dry Creek Valley, Warm Springs Ranch, and the other is from the Alexander Valley, Crazy Creek Ranch. So without reading the notes [...]

This week I’ve tasted some excellent wines!     2006 Wilson Cabernet Sauvignon (USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley)   color – purple, medium intensity, med trans nose: med+ intensity, spice, black berry, black currant, oak palate: dry acid med tannin med+ (full, rich) body med+ alc est 15 finish med+ On the palate: complexity, [...]

… okay, so maybe it’s a bit unfair to compare a 2008 and 2007 Bourgogne from two different regions. Yet when a favorite wine store clerk suggested I try the Domaine Michel Gros 2007 (around $30, but splurge, it’s the holidays) and 2008 Domaine Rollin (mid-twenties?)I was game Both were very good, yet perhaps the [...]

  Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Pinot Noir 2009 With its velvet texture, nose of well sorted fresh grapes, and fresh flavors, this is a well balanced New World Pinot that can match many foods, especially salmon, pork, rare duck. Mazzocco Sonoma Petite Syrah Aguilera 2007 Very sleek and elegant wine that would pair well with a [...]

  Have you ever wondered about the Mencia grape? The first time I experienced it was at the Cervantes Institute in Manhattan, where wine program creator Helio San Miguel presented a checkerboard of wines made from the Mencia grape to try. Very interesting … A Do-It-Yourself and simpler approach is to ask your friendly wine [...]

  So a friend and I were at Barney’s today (a fashionable department store in NYC, with a bustling restaurant) and one look at the wine list presented an attractive opportunity to casually compare a Chianti Classico with Rosso di Montalchino. Why compare? As a student in a wine-related educational program, there’s the very real [...]

    One of the hallmarks of a good sommelier is the ability to match customers with the right wine, as well as match wine to the correct dish. Only a floor sommelier can tell you which is easier, yet one of the things I like best about Aldo Sohm, head sommelier at Le Bernardin [...]

This is a very nice option for an elegant lunch in St. Maxim, as the area is a very active market place and the usual crowded outdoor cafes abound. The Convent Royal is very quiet, and qutie formal. The food is very good. The menu as I recall is three-course, and the wines a good [...]