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telal01's Review:

I had the 2007 Ciccone Pinot Noir from Michigan. It was much better than I expected. It is light colored and light to medium bodied. Its flavors are in balance. It has fruit and floral aromas and on the palate it is fruit forward showing cherries, raspberries, and cranberries. I prefer this wine over most California value priced Pinot Noirs

telal01's Review:

An excellent wine from a challenging Oregon vintage. Fortunately, due to Cardwell Hill's specific location within Oregon, they were mostly unaffected by the late season rains. The grapes also benefited from hang time that extended into October. This vintage is a bit more subtle and has more finesse than the 2006. It is still on the fuller side of pinot noir and shows cherries, stawberries, raspberries, blackberries, some dark jam, and just enough spice and oak to make one feel happy. I can't wait until the reserve comes out. Dan Chapel told me, at a wine tasting in Minneapolis, that the 2007 Pinot Noir Reserve is his best effort yet

telal01's Review:

Another winner from Cardwell Hill. The 2007 doesn't pack as much of a fruit punch as the 2006, but make no mistake, this is full bodied Pinot Noir. This would pair well with salmon but I prefer it with a nice ribeye steak. Just opening the bottle fills the air with scents with dark berries and Oregon Wine Country air. On the palate there are bright cherries, dark blackberries, craisins, with subtle hints of coffee, tobacco, and toast. This wine truly exhibits terroir as it makes one imagine he is in the middle of a vineyard in the Willamette Valley

telal01's Review:

The 2006 Madona Estate Pinot Noir is excellent. It is soft velvety, well-balanced, smooth and has a lot of flavors. It starts off with sweet fruit and candy scents then when tasted it has soft cherry, raspberries and candied fruit. There are also some vanilla and subtle toastiness in the background

telal01's Review:

This is one of the best cabernets I've ever tasted. It is velvety smooth with all its flavors in perfect balance. More sublte and refined than most California Cabernets. It has dark cherries along with red fruits, add to that hints of vanilla, cola, and cedar. This was amazing with the beef kebobs I made last weekend

telal01's Review:

This is not a typical Australian Shiraz. This driks more like a good Rhone or a Chateuaneuf. Medium-full bodied with aromas of berries and pie spice. It the mouth it shows mutiple layers of flavors with fine tannins. It is perfectly balanced and has a very pleasant and long finish. Flavors of berries and apricot are intermingled with with nuances of licorice, ntumeg, vanilla, and a touch of earth

telal01's Review:

This is a very nice syrah. One the nose you will find bluberries, coffee, and wild flowers. In the mouth it is full bodied and smooth. There are a lot of flavors here. Ripe cherries, blackberry jam, mocha, cola, vanilla, and some oak

telal01's Review:

This is better than Two Buck Chuck for sure. On the nose you will find children's cough syrup intermingled with E-85 and kerosene. On the palate it is bursting with grape Kool Aid, concord grape juice, alcohol fumes, grape bubble gum, and hints of diesel

telal01's Review:

This one is a real tooth stainer. Overated in my opinion. It lacks finese. A bit harsh and tannic. One could say that it will develop with age but this bottle has a screw cap. The wine bursts with dark fruit flavors and has a finish that lingers, yet it is one dimentional, overly tannic, and closed