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Wine Type Vintage Name Variety Locale Date Posted Score Helpful Comments More...
White

2009 Woot Cellars Albino Rhino Monterey

 Albariño more
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2/15/2011 - richardhod wrote: 86 points

I got a t-shirt with this too. Good, popular and sprightly white

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White

2009 Woot Cellars Albino Rhino Monterey

 Albariño more
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2/15/2011 - richardhod wrote: 86 points

Well-made wine, if not that complex. A little too malic for me (tart and green) on the beginning of the palate, but once you can filter that out of yoru tastebuds it has a lot going to it in the flower and fruit department. good acid too.

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Red

2008 Harbour Estates Baco Noir

 Niagara Peninsula more
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11/14/2011 - richardhod wrote: 78 points

Oddly acetic. Some darker fruits. not a full body.
High acidity, 12% alcophol.
I think Ontario's is too cold with a too-short growing season to make red wines.

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Red

2007 C.G. di Arie Barbera Amador County

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11/14/2011 - richardhod wrote: NR

Damn, dropped it! Still, stuck a finger in the spillage and it was rather lovely.

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Red

2007 Scott Harvey Barbera Mountain Selection

 Amador County more
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10/4/2011 - richardhod Does not like this wine: 85 points

Too much port gets in the way of the flavour of this one. 06 was a lot better vintage. Good enough for parties and friends though who are not particularly discerning. It's fun enough to drink.

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Red

2007 Scott Harvey Barbera Mountain Selection

 Amador County more
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2/15/2011 - richardhod wrote: 86 points

Needs a bit more time or air I think. Less forward, fruity and zippy than the amazingly perky 06. Darker, more tannins and meaner! Not sure what to make of it yet b ut it may be very good...

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Red

2006 Scott Harvey Barbera J&S Reserve

 Amador County more
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2/15/2011 - richardhod wrote: 92 points

Fantastic fresh Barbera, with leather notes as it ages. Good acid and flavours, with tannins providing some structure.

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Red

2006 Scott Harvey Barbera J&S Reserve

 Amador County more
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5/3/2010 - richardhod Likes this wine: 91 points

Keep for a couple of more years, it will definitely improve. Looking as if it'll be very good but I can't tell yet. Drink the Mountain Reserve Barbera 06 instead for now, and keep this beast!. Needs good decantig to open and soften up. The Mountain (Red label) 's not as intense as this one but it's amazingly red fruitily effervescent, with round body and good mouthfeel.

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Red

2006 Scott Harvey Barbera Mountain Selection

 Amador County more
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5/4/2010 - richardhod Likes this wine: 91 points

A forward red, fruitily effervescent on the front end, with round body, balanced between the fruit of raspberries, sweet red cherries, strawberries and cranberries and some useful tannins. Good mouthfeel, with strength and roundness in the body while remaining open throughout, and full of these effervescent flavours.

For a medium-bodied wine it's nicely structured and stands up well in complexity over anything else of such effervescence and red-fruitiness. Balance! Both a crowd-pleaser and a structured wine which will stand up to drinking in much more expensive company. Not dark at all, but open and complex round red fruits. Has a good loong zippy red finish too.

Rewards drinking on its own, or if with food, as with any Barbera it loves Pasta and other Italian dishes. Or try it with nice light tapas. will probablly go with that too.

Buy a case. I found it in Eagle Rock for $15.

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Red - Sweet/Dessert

2010 Quady Winery Black Muscat Elysium

 California more
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3/12/2012 - richardhod Likes this wine: 89 points

Pretty nice stuff. Sweet, with some acidic backbone to it. Long finish, and on the palate you can taste the wonderful Muscat aromatics, which circulate, play on the palate and last to the finish. I wish there were just a bit more acidity balanced with the sweetness, but this may just be a personal preference because I like good late harvest Rieslings.
Have with chocolate chip cookies, or dessert. A very sugary and fun indulgence. Not top-tier, but close: it's quite like eating perfectly-ripe sweet Muscat grapes. Wonderful flavours.

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Red

2007 Wellington Cabernet Franc Baron Vineyard

 Sonoma Valley more
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10/3/2011 - richardhod Likes this wine: 88 points

Nice, well-made, but not ecstatic as I usually am about Wellington's winemaking. Good stuff! Balance, works well with food.

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Red

2009 Boutinot Aude Domaine de Naudy

 Cabernet Franc more
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5/3/2011 - richardhod Likes this wine: 87 points

Good lively one, and at light to medium weight but with good young structure will pair well with all but the heaviest meats. A little heavy for punting with in the sunshine, and is best within two or three hours of opening, though is very decent a few hours later that day, in the evening, though it had lost a little of its pizazz and interest.

On offer at about six quid, for drinking now and surprisingly good. Soft, dry cherry and fresh red fruits on the palate with light body, with spice and white pepper notes, backed by round feminine tannins, and no hint of green. nice acid, good structure. Ripe and accessible style but not overly so, and lively. No noticeable oak. Evidently made to drink young, but has good balance and structure. Is ripe and fruity, but ligh, so unlikely to last a long time... so a perfect cheap young drinker. 13.5% abv

Here's what they say: "A single family-run estate fro the Aude region of southern France, inland from Narbonne producing some exceptionally rips Cabernet Franc, a grape variety rarely seen outside its traditional homes of Bordeaux and the Loire. Soft and juicy with interesting flavours of rich plum and strawberry fruit, tinged with sweet red pepper and garrigue spice (what's that?). Drink at room temperature with a good cheeseboard, roasted or grilled red meats and vegetables."

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Red

2007 Kent Rasmussen Cabernet Franc Esoterica

 Mt. Veeder more
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2/10/2013 - richardhod Likes this wine: 93 points

Really good CF, but to me this bottle sings after 48 hours open! Nose of deep red-purple fruits, with some dust. Palate, those deep red fruits come bursting through, sharp redcurrant, cranberries, loganberries, maybe a hint of red cherry. Keen acidity quickly kicks in and adds to the sparkling flavours, staying sharp and alive through a long moutwatering finish with violets and raspberries, with a long aftertaste of the red / dark red fruits. Tannins pretty integrated by now.
Two days ago, an hour after opening, there was a lot more tannin, and stronger flavour, b ut not as subtle or integrated. I recommend cellaring this beauty for 5 years minimum, and maybe 10-20 depending on taste.

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Red

2007 Kent Rasmussen Cabernet Franc Esoterica

 Mt. Veeder more
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11/17/2010 - richardhod Likes this wine: 96 points

this is an amazing wine. Will age for years, if not decades!

Right now:
Vegetal nose: like a field, smells of Spring.
Remarkable front, olives, redcurrants. a little alcohol up the nose. I said little more because I loved it so much. It had so much more going on in the mid-palate than the (07 Rasmussen Napa Cab), very fresh red fruit, complex.. mmmmmmm, and not short, although the cab of course had more weight and back end but without that amazing talkative middle.

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Red

2007 Gundlach Bundschu Cabernet Franc Estate Vineyard

 Sonoma Valley more
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7/22/2010 - richardhod Likes this wine: 91 points

Yum. Like the Cabernet Sauvignon, but with less tannin. Good fruit and veg. Blackberry. little discount at the winery

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Red

2006 Bell Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Claret

 Napa Valley more
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3/12/2011 - richardhod Does not like this wine: 85 points

IT's OK. I didn't mean to drink this, but keep it and see if it would appreciate with age, our of curiousity, but anyway, my subconscious agreed with my assessment that I don't think it has the backbone or structure to age much further well. A bit hot, a bit fruity, a but empty. I think this is down to the warm year, as the basic wine flavours are good and not overripe, and a cooler year may well be rather good indeed!

Still, the 06: maybe good for cooking. Don't throw it away but it won't be your delicious drinking companion like others in the $20+ price range.

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Red

2006 Bell Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Claret

 Napa Valley more
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2/15/2011 - richardhod wrote: 87 points

tasty red and black cherry fruit notes on the palate, with hints of loganberry and boysenberry. Oak. Heat up front too, perhaps frp, alcohol.
Medium-bodied palate, but a little overpowered by heat. A bit "empty" because of this, as the heat takes away the centre of the body. Good acid to balance out the fruit. however. Moderate oak tannins kick in midway through, quite soft and rounded, drying out the palate.
Medium finish, with some acid and fruit, drying out with the tannins.
Worth it if you get a heft discount. I can get better for $20 though.
A good drink, but a little too hot. Possibly more moderate years like 05 or 07 will be better.

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Red

2006 Donati Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

 Paicines more
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4/20/2012 - richardhod Likes this wine: 89 points

Simple but not one-dinemsional dark-fruited, slightly hot, with dusty nose and palate too, some tannin structure. not bad at all Excellent value wine. Would be very fine value from a supermarket for $15-20, and a steal at closeout!

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Red

2007 Concannon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Conservancy

 Livermore Valley more
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9/2/2012 - richardhod Likes this wine: 86 points

Nice Cab but nothing special. Not as European as I remember.

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Red

2007 Concannon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Conservancy

 Livermore Valley more
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2/21/2011 - richardhod wrote: 89 points

Tasted at the winery with Jim, the estate manager. Top bloke.

Smells of cabernet, or claret. As in smells old-world. nicely restrained, with green notes of bll pepper or bean. But not horribly-underriply so. ost going on on the palate, with red fruits. Good tart acid.

A little young, will keep for while, and will be a great accompaniment to a dinner.

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Red

2005 Kunde Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

 Sonoma Valley more
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5/4/2012 - richardhod Likes this wine: 90 points

Must decant for more than an hour. On opening the tannins are still pretty sharp, and it's 7 years ols at this point! Once airated for an hour or two it shows good red and dark red fruits, boysenberry, red cherry, loganberry and so on; it demonstrates big tannins (both oak and grape), but in harmony with the wine, and it has good acidity. I think this may well age further very well to secondary characteristics, so I'm going to keep my remaining bottles for a few more years to let the tannins soften further.

Drink aerated, or keep for another few years to a decade. This could turn out be a really well-made Bordeaux-style Cabernet.

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Red

2007 Gundlach Bundschu Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Vineyard

 Sonoma Valley more
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7/22/2010 - richardhod Likes this wine: 92 points

Smooth. Claretty. Balanced. Great deep fruit. Soft-medium tannins. Blackcurrant / blackberries.Yum! $40

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Red

2005 Kunde Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

 Sonoma Valley more
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9/11/2010 - richardhod wrote: 87 points

Doesn't have huge body and is a bit pruney when first opened. Big sharp acid which should balance it if it had bigger body. Might open up well if given time, or it may just fall apart.

A Curate's egg... Not the finesse of a good sophisticated red, but some nice red fruits here and there.

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Red

2005 Kunde Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

 Sonoma Valley more
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1/19/2011 - richardhod Likes this wine: 89 points

Good red fruits, with raspberry and Boysenberry. nice acid balance. not subtle, but has potential with its acid and red fruits. not the heaviest of reds, but has some big ro9und tannins.

MUST breathe for an hour or three in decanter first. Takes time to open up. Possibly a little dumb at the moment.

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Red

2005 Kunde Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

 Sonoma Valley more
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9/18/2010 - richardhod Does not like this wine: 85 points

Disappointing. I liked this on a hill at the estate last July, but now, much less so!
Has plenty of acid and tannins on the body which is heavy without veing substantial. The body has dark cherry and plums, but is a little sour, without the lightness and punch of say a good cab-based claret.
medium finish, but light. Not hugely mineral, but the acid is good, if sharp.

not eough oomph to the body, adn tnd I'm not sure the fading fruit will give way to proper leather and tobacco aged flavours. Is this just in a dumb phase?

Drinkable, with some layers and balance, but not that interesting.

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  • Tasting notes: 449 notes on 307 wines

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