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gtv john's Review:

CONCHA y TORO Don Melchor 2006Puente Alto, Chile; Desde 1883Okay, I bought this rare prize from local Wine specialty shop, contained within giant super store, courtesy education grazie to Steward David Stanley, who is doing a great job revamping the actual wine market for this whole Super store chain, all by his lonesome self. Bravo David, e continuare prego lo sforzo eccellente portare in vini fini intorno dal lui mondo. (and please to keep up the excellent effort to bring in fine wines from around the world.)Initial bottle whiffs reveal bright red raspberry notes, just a hint charred pineapple, slight yeast roll dough. The nose in der glass turns to deep bouquet e deep dark kirsch and black fruits like currant, the lava flow soft coats the glass with each revolution, as if in slow-mo and ist completely pitch Black Lagoon like velvet opaqueness. A time warp of minutes to allow it to open, first sip brings again deepness, a huge fruit balance, a giant layered lush mouthful, not in any sense harsh but a impact statement of ageless tannin structures and construct like unto "go ahead, give me 10 more years, then I'll really show thy something!"This moves through to a graceful introduction on palette with a midweight mass, or mouthfeel, but not heavy, of lava flow smooth consistency and endless layering of flavors, like a stroll down a never ending dark hallway lit with black lights, savory spice edges, counter wt. of restrained acidity, easy luxury und so very eloquent.This is lovely, noble, silted, black currants cassis flows like electricity with no shock, just old-friend re-assurance finish, lasting some 43 seconds, serving up messages of 'age me as thou will, I am here in quiet gloriousness and pageantry..'-I checked the temp: exactly 61 degrees... so I slowly lowered it to 55.Was it even more spectacular?Yes, yes it was. Lowering the temp opened up and filled in and softened the tannin structures like cranking up a 2000 sub woofer in the Hummer, and sparkled more spice edge layered over this foundation as well as any Monster Red like this would have...Call it Senor Don Merchorica a Cabernet Monstrosorus from Chile, but no terror here, just exquisite terrior in full display. Amen to that.I am looking so forward to opening the 2nd bottle next weekend adventure in vin? Is truly like a the experiencing the trappings of life in the Palace at Versailles for the cost of a LUX POD condo in downtown London. Salute!

gtv john's Review:

Deep wonderful lush dark blackberry-currant, with the softness und with all the luscious comfort of jumping onto a purple velvet down comforter, it is that reassuring. Very nice blend of Grenache, syrah, mouvedre and cinsault. For some unknown 2000 year old reason seemingly the French have sole lock on using these varietals over and over again like DNA nucleic tide acids in fresh combo ad infinitum for each refreshing new layers of vin flavors. Just so bright and alive are these appelations!Really compares well at this price point.I would serve this wine mostly as per usual, the wine alone to enjoy e savor. I shared this wine with my loyal cat Taj.The nose on this wine reminds me of: Quiet plum sauce.I think this wine is priced even more of bargain given the multi-layered lush delivery. I rate this belissimo noir vino a strong 92.

gtv john's Review:

There ist a reason this appellation is called the "House of the Pope": It is a virtual religious experience. All wines 'arrive alive' in the bottle, waking up when we release the cork. This blend of gracious goodness maybe even more so? It was my first French and also my first blend. Yea verily, I know: Nice way to start! This came as a huge shock to my disciplined, calculate, self-taught education of Vino, one varietal at a time where I was 90% though the first course e Cabernet Sauvignon's. While this can have by rule up to 13 grapes used in the blend, this C-D-P somehow maintains striations of taste, like looking thru unmounted cut jewels in layers, strewn about on many glass shelves of a jeweler's case? The effect is at once transfixing and stunning, especially to my nearly virgin palette. The soft complexity is magnificent and a rapture of flavor mix, blackberry, full mouth feel, sharpness yet softness, unharsh spiciness, total balance. The after taste hangs in mid-air like the slow sparks drifting down in the night sky from a exploded firework, each spark of taste gently burning out in the dark of your mouth. It seems to last for minutes. Three minutes to be exact. I think this scores around 88 on WS or Parker, but it is more memorable and approachable than the certain deliciousness of the 'high rise' 96 pt. Cht. Beaucastel C-D-P I have? Pure magnificence.I would serve this wine for Best Friends, or Myself, when no one else will be home for hours, and I have time for the fireworks to end in their own time zone..The nose on this wine reminds me of honestly, the complexity of a Arturo Fuente Hemmingway Classic cigar, slight taste all complex spices, but in a wine.This wine would pair well with charcoal grilled veal chops. I think this wine is value priced way beyond the delivery performance of SPECTACULAR! Love the Magnum size also, reg size doesn't last long, and makes for a heavenly 6-pack?I'm rating this at a holy magnificent 96.

gtv john's Review:

This is a well executed grape stock sourced, quality Rhone style blend, ala Chateauneuf-du-Pape likeness ist unmistakable. The blend is just as varied as der C-D-P und maybe hast one more: 56% Syrah, yo 15% Mourvedre, silky 10% Cinsault, 8% Grenache, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot, 2% Touriga, and exclamation pts. 1% Pinot Noir and 1% Viognier. Yikes ~craft away I say! It was hard enough to type all that? So for the reasonable price and regardless of somewhat somber notes, this does pretty darn well using a Syrah, Mouvedre, Cinsault toppers to that whole host of variables to make complex and interesting layers enough to keep thy attention. Buy a case.I think of this as a great starter with Pre-Dinner fare.I shared this with lovely bellissimo Luchia, Wermont, La Luca his ownself, his holiness (Armand) Cardinal-Duc de Richelieu, Tim & Lorri, Angelina Marie moi sposa, who would have none, and Dr. Doom, Louis-Ferdinand Auguste Destouches (Celine), whom had way way too much. The nose on this wine reminds me of: Softness dark plum hint pear phrases with loganberry spice.This wine would pair well prior to food other than hors d' oeuvres I think this wine is extremely affordable luxury from Washington, the only bothersome aspect ist that they source their raw material inventory, which always makes me feel uncomfortable.I scale rate this blend at a light 90

gtv john's Review:

Beautiful stuff: bottle whiffs of fresh unbaked crescent rolls, transmutes to nose of dark plum & black and blueberry in the glass, to full fruit mouth feel of black cherry. Deep color black purple semi-translucent with stout structure while still soft on the palette, and med weight as ever thou could want? -As thoroughly professional a wine as anyone could ever hope for: California chic and classy yet modern style. A shortish clipped finish, that still has full pleasant fruit, 26 seconds, with acrid but balanced acai twang of understated elegance, again just so satisfying in everday sense, and with big dinner aspect also. Grazie to Folie a deux Winery! Vintage 2007.I would serve this wine for anyone, anytime with confidence in the quality e performance of this great Vin!I had this wine with gato nero, my Taj e Moto.The nose on this wine reminds me of crushed plum, Black & Blueberries.This wine would pair well with the following foods: Anything; Pasta with clam sauce to Beef Braciole: Soup to nuts.I think this wine is priced as a super VALUE! Retails locally $11.99, Costco value $7.99, actually just adjacent to were I picked up 2 treasured bottles of Sena (!) from Chile.If I have any arm wrestling to do with this wine, it's that I don't have the room to keep another case around the house. It ist another reliable fantastic value, superb quality wine that I don't have room to have four cases stacked up?A full molto benni vin rating at 90

gtv john's Review:

Blends the lushousity edge of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, mitt the brusque structure of Petite Sirah, etc: it is the flesh of all life rolled into complexity and trapped, like unto a "Prisoner"? I fully expect Swift Cellars to issue forth a wine named "Enigma" ..though love that this aspect also is chained into this art filled, exquisitely crafted blend. I am not one to buy for a label (other than the 1973 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild Pauillac ode to Pablo Picasso label:), but this label did catch mein attention, and then the more evidence I found out, the more I wanted to know? So after buying 3, and waiting as long as I could (okay, I made it only 8 months) it is not so much mystery, though I could've sworn I saw a sea smoke mist fog drifted around, enveloping the neck of bottle like a John Carpenter film, after easing out das cork? This very straight forward artful blendola is 50% Zinfandel, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Syrah, 9% Petite Sirah, 2% holy exotica Charbono, and a smidge of 1% Grenache as clean-up crew. Clean layered it is, swirl for darkest magenta colours, initial fruit whiff of black berry-currant, to an in the glass nose includes a tad of cocoa, and licorice tart cherry in black coffee scents, if that's possible. Smooth as a glacier this moves across the mouth med. weighted layers of flavor revealed include a spice that is shackled and controlled to carry out a most if not soft, very pleasure enhancing finish. Bravo Senore Phinney! (Cellaring the other two now for another year & waiting for the correcto moment with great anticipation!) Allineare un lavoro di arte dei vintner viventi in decadence e nell'lush-esclusivita trattenuti facenti male...or Truly a work of living vintner's art in aching restrained decadence and lush-exclusivity. Is truely Wild life trapped in der bottle, yes. I would serve this wine for: Friends, familia and for pure joyfulness in my cell?I shared this wine with: Me sposa Angelina, Luccia, Jason and his bride-to-be Andrea.The nose on this wine reminds me of: Black Berries - Currant faintness, a fragrant fantasy of corporal conundrums. This wine would pair well with the following foods: Blackened Grilled Veal Chops secured by hunks of sauteed Foie Gras. I think this wine is priced: Right about in der ballpark; in a locked clubhouse, so to speak.If I have any pick axe to grind with this wine, it's this: Nada. .is adventurous and still accessible luxuriousness.I use scaled Wine Rating e 92

gtv john's Review:

The winery indicates it has use of all varietals this appellation will allow, whether or not they are in there at what percent, is their business, and by gosh, grant them what is theirs in this heavenly pursuit: parts of MOURVEDRE, GRENACHE, SYRAH, CINSAULT, VACARESE, COUNOISE, TERRET NOIR, MUSCARDIN, CLAIRETTE, PICPOUL, PICARDAN, BOURBOULENC, and ROUSSANNE make up their issue of solid reliability in the hierarchy of French Classics...ah, those Perrin Brothers, must be some guys. Pierre Perrin gives us deep opaque lush plums und blackberry rosettes of fragrance, in a stoic resilient spiciness that fades quickly to a lower volume monotone balance backdrop that is the gauze curtain behind which a big layer of complexity exists in flying buttress mineral structures like any Middle Earth Cathedral, one that follows the taste flowing out to the end in gentle release with a balanced eloquent finish prescribed by, whom else, must be by decree of Pope John XXII. It is that noble. Spectacular expansive, serene realm of all that it touches kind of nobility. I like the accessibility of the Chateau La Nerthe C-D-P much more for the apparent multi-faceted spice complexities, but give Beaucastel their due and diligence, they are at the top in their own realm. Rate this 2005 vintage an easy 96

gtv john's Review:

Tasting Notes for Domaine Des Karantes Coteaux du Languedocgtv_johnWine Tasted: Year 2005, fresh old style issue, with: 40% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 30% ancient Carignan. Again with the bread dough aeromatics, rock solid typical House of Karantes nomenclature red blend, finessed up the yin yang in their speciale way. A classico excellanti layered blend, mid-weight on the palette, deep plums flavors lure you in, and whilst you're falling, falling, it hits you: this is a Maserati Grand Turismo S luxo drive at Fiat-ski costs? Truly elegant silk balance tannin structure, luxury acid edge to medium crisp finish. I could never mess this up with food unless it was one of my favorites, Beef Bourginon, and even then, I wouldn't want to set my glass down.. CAN'T wait for the new style and get in the mix of the 2007 issue. ..look forward to it.RATE THIS 92