2004 Abrazo Del Toro Tinto

Medium dark. Nose of red cherry and strawberry. Lots of red cherry forward fruit with spicey overtones, good acid, soft tannins, long fruity finish. This is a light, fruity wine and is a good value. I had the impression this wine had a little residual sugar, but maybe it was just very fruity. I paid $4 at Trader Joe’s. My rating 80.

1989 Chateau Monbrison

Moderately dark, slight brick color around the edges. Open nose with aromas of red cherry and chassis. Big cherry and chassis fruit flavors with hints of chocolate and spices, high acid, soft tannins, long fruity finish. My rating 90.

2000 Cline, Zinfandel, Live Oak Vineyard

Medium dark. Very ripe raspberry nose. Big, very ripe raspberry and strawberry fruit, moderate acid, substantial tannins, and a long finish. This is a big, somewhat overripe Zinfandel, in the style which seems to be trendy, and which I don’t really like. The alcholo is 15.5% My rating is 83.

2001 Valley of the Moon, Zinfandel, Estate old vine

Medium dark. Raspberry aromas on the nose. Forward raspberry and strawberry fruit flavors with a few hints of chocolate, moderate acid, significant amounts of hard tannins, and long fruity finish. A nice Zinfandel that needs a few more years of age to soften it out. Alcohol is 14.5%. My rating is 86. I bought this at the winery months ago and don’t remember what I paid for it.

1990 Ridge, Cabernet Sauvignon, Monte Bello Vineyards

Dark. Open nose with aromas of cherry, eucalyptus, and caramel. Big forward fruit with flavors of cherry, chocalate, eucalyptus, and mint, substantial acid, soft tannins, and a long fruity finish. Complex, fruity, fully mature, but seems to be holding well. My rating 95.

Administrative Note

In case you have not noticed, I added a RSS feed finally. It is near the bottom of the left menu.

I also change to using popup comment windows that require retyping a word to try to cut down on the spam comments I have been deleting.

2002 Ridge, Carignane, Buchignani Range

Very dark. Rather tight nose with raspberries and strawberry aroma. Intense cherry and raspberry fruit flavors with good acid, some hard tannins, and a long fruity finish. This wine is proof that you can make a big, fruity wine with fully ripe fruit flavors and still keep the alcohol below 14%, 13.7% in this case. My rating 88.

2001 Sierra Cantabria, Rioja, Cuvee Especial, Spain

Very dark garnet. Interesting nose with spicy aromas of forest floor and mushrooms. Big cherry, earthy fruits with overtones of tobacco and spices, high acid, substantial hard tannins, and a long fruity finish. This wine has interesting, complex fruit flavors and appears to need some time to soften out the hard tannins. I paid around $18. My rating 89.

2003, Juan Gil, Jumilla, Spain

Very dark garnet. Tight nose, with raspberry aromas. Big raspberry, strawberry fruit flavors, high acid, a good dose of hard tannins, and a long fruity finish. This wine tastes very ripe, perhaps a bit overripe, but it is an intensely fruit wine. Alcohol is 14.8%. It is made from 100% Monastrell. I paid around $12. My rating 86.

2003 Cliff Lede, Petite Sirah, North Coast

Very dark. Nose has aromas of strawberry and raspberry. Intense strawberry and raspberry fruit flavors with hints of chocolate, moderate acid, some hard tannins, long fruity finish. This is a nice fruity Petite Sirah that needs a few years to soften the hard tannins. The alcohol is 15.3%, which seems to show a little bit on the finish. List price is $28. My rating is 88.

2003 Ravenswood, Petite Sirah, Sonoma County

Very dark. Tight nose, with black berry aromas. Big black cherry flavors with a hint of chocalate, moderate acid, substantial hard tannins, and a long fruity finish. This is a big Petite Sirah that needs a few years to soften out. The alcohol is 15.0%, which does not show right now, because it has so much fruit. List price is $15. My rating is 87.

I like the 2002 a little better.