Santa Julia Cabernet Sauvignon 2011

With my daughter's baptism around the corner I headed to the local Costco to pick up a few values for the family.  I had seen this one before, all over the box is printed, "88 Points".  Evidently this was  a favorite with the Wine Enthusiast editors and has been rated #47 in their top 100.  At a price point of appx. $5.50, I figured, what the heck, at that price, you don't have to like it!  Well we opened it up as everyone was mingling on Saturday afternoon and I think it was a hit.  Very fruity on the nose, sweet, almost jammy, it smells great.  Upon tasting, you are rewarded with a slightly sweet, fruity cab that really delights as an everyday wine.  A great crowd pleaser or introductory wine.  Taste 4, Value 5.

Santa Julia wines

Perrin Cotes du Rhone Reserve 2011 (white)

I had read good things about the Perrin reserve wines so when I saw this at Binny's for $7.99 I had to try it.  We popped this one on a hot summer day to drink with Jaeger Schnitzle and were rewarded with a cool, crisp semi-dry wine that really hit the spot.  A wonderful summer sipper that drinks well by itself, but complemented the pork nicely as well.  Very enjoyable we will have this again.  A good wine for the price. Taste 4, value 4 .

Vineyardbrands.com

Schlink Haus Riesling Nahe 2011

With my mom in town to help with the baby and Sunny being able to drink again, our consumption has increased, so get ready for some more reviews.  We picked up this bottle at Binny's for 7.99 on a whim and wow, what a treat.  Sweet, yet crisp and tart with hints of green apple this was like no other riesling I've tasted.  I didn't get to try it with food, but enjoyed a couple glasses after work and found it very refreshing.
Taste 5, value 5.  Enjoy.

www.schlinkhaus.com

Columbia Creat Grand Estates Amitage '08

Welcome back fellow wine lovers I return from my sabbatical after approximately 9 months of forced sobriety for my wine partner.  I'll return to reviewing with a wine that I've had twice in the past few months. We were blessed with a visit from my parents during Easter and a visit by Sunny's folks for the first week and a half of my second daughter's life.  During both visits we picked up a bottle of Amitage from the Wine Discount Center in Naperville.  I th;ink the price was $8, it might have been $9; either way, what a great wine.  Fruity, complex and delicious we adored it both times.  Sunny's father couldn't get enough and probably would have cracked another bottle if we had two.  I rate this a  4 for taste and 5 for value, an absolute recommend.

Wine Spectator rated this wine 89 pts.  This is a blend of 64% Merlot, 19% Syrah, 7% Cabernet Franc, 5.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 4.5% Malbec

Pacific Rim 2010 Sweet Riesling

So I was at Costco looking for a white to go with coconut crusted chicken and I happened upon this sweet riesling for $6.99, and thought that it might be a good pairing with the sweetness of the coconut.  I'm normally not a sweet wine type and like more mid range rieslings, but for this particular dish, I went with it.

With an alcohol content of only 8.5% this is definitely a sweet wine and it did pair perfectly with the chicken.  The nose is very fruity and the taste is simply delightful, much more to this than I would expect from a sweet wine.  I think Sunny was on her second glass by the time we sat down, which is something because she is normally a slower drinker.  This wine is very good for what it is, don't expect your typical riesling, but know that you are getting into something like a moscato...only I've never had moscato this good.  For taste I'll give it a 4 and for value a 5.  This is a recommend, but plan on pairing it with a sweeter meal, fruit, or even a fruity dessert.  If you think you don't like wine, try this and discover you do!

rieslingrules.com

2007 Le Clos Millesime

So we are at Binny's Liquor Depot on Sunday picking up some beer for our Labour Day excursion to my parents' lake home, when I saw a bottle of Le Clos Millesime marked down from $7.99 to $5.99 so I though, huh, French wine for 6 bucks, can't go wrong with that. Wrong. 

This liquid (it hardly qualifies as a beverage) is a blend of fermented grape juices of the following varieties: Merlot 45%, Cab Sauv 15%, Carignan 20%, and Grenache 20%.  And fermented grape juice it was, although very pleasing to the nose, it was disturbing to the palate.  Barely drinkable I found it to be void of any complexity or flavour.  Sour and Sharp are the only two suitable adjectives that come to mind to describe this swill.  Taste 1 (only because I'm not using 0), Value 1 (again no 0).  Do not buy this wine, take your six buck and get yourself a bottle of Columbia Crest Two Vines.

2006 Inheritance Petite Sirah

I first had this wine in April or May this year, I had my dad pick it up on the Cellars odd bin sale.  I believe it was marked down from 13.99 to 7.77 or so.  Sunny and I tried it and we were blown away, it was one of the best petite syrahs we had ever tasted, so I called my dad to see if they had more and told him to pick me up 6 more bottles, which he did.  The second bottle was a bust and I was hoping it was just a bad bottle.  From what I can tell now, it was.

We opened up our 3rd bottle last night and paired it with a simple romaine salad and pasta with meat sauce.  It could not have been better.  Everything I enjoyed from the first bottle was back.  This is a very complex wine, fruity and sweet yet finishes a touch dry.  Flavor 5, value 5.  If you can find it buy it.

inheritancevineyards.com