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My Tasting Notes from "Venus La Universal"

(5,000+ notes on 4,818 wines)

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White
Lovely nose of citrus, pineapple and we'll judged Oak. Fine acidity on finish. A lovely burgundy with a lot of life left.
White - Sparkling
Slightly reticent at first, but with air revealed a string bergamot nose, soap (in a nice way). Remarkably fresh for a wine that is 40 years old. Creamy finish.
Red
PnP, this was amazing straight out. Massive nose of Olives and blueberries. Same on palate. Smooth tannins and long finish. My first ever Gonon and I can see what all if the fuss is about. Amazing.
Red
5/26/2024 - KJD45$ wrote:
94 points
Dusty nose of mulberry raspberry licorice…
Serious tongue of cherry spice with a grippy tannin licorice finish…
Red
2019 Arkenstone Estate Howell Mountain Red Bordeaux Blend (view label images)
5/27/2024 - AGELVIS Likes this wine:
95 points
Two hour decant. Deep dark intense magenta color. Blackberry, boysenberry, graphite, lemon shortbread cookie, thyme, and subtle Nestle Crunch bar. Very smooth, dry palate, with vibrant back of the palate acidity. Firm tannins on the longish finish.

Kept improving over 45 minutes of drinking. This is youthful and will certainly keep improving over the next few years. It can certainly handle a 4-hour decant if drinking this year. My wife would have given this a 96.
Red
5/28/2024 - mclanew Likes this wine:
94 points
Popped and poured. This doesn’t need much decanting. Drink really well right now. Black currant, cigar box, tobacco and lead pencil. Medium to full bodied with limited tannin this is remarkably fresh for the vintage and really doesn’t show the heat of the vintage.
Red
5/28/2024 - mclanew Likes this wine:
91 points
Popped and poured. Very cool red berry nose. The wine is simply delicious with red cherry, raspberry, and a little earth coming through. Medium bodied with excellent acidity. Quite simple and elegant.
Red
2018 Istine Chianti Classico Vigna Cavarchione Chianti Classico DOCG Sangiovese Blend, Sangiovese (view label images)
5/28/2024 - Joshvoulters Likes this wine:
93 points
Opens with the steely, balsamic, herbal, saturated sour cherry nose you only find in Important Sangiovese. Drunk over three days, this showed significant evolution in the glass, even if it maintains its essential character throughout. With air a creaky dusty wood note emerges and waves of floral violet. The balsamic cherry is really where it's at though, both on the nose and the palate - it's very compelling. Concentrated dark cherry, luxurious but tangy with a tomato stalk freshness on the palate, carrying a good weight of fine, smooth tannin. Lots of sharp juicy acidity and a long finish. A very very good wine - now bottled as a Gran Selezione, which seems fair enough. Pleased to have another bottle which I'll endeavour to forget about for 8-10 years.
White
5/28/2024 - mclanew Likes this wine:
94 points
Popped and poured. Attractive nose of white flowers, orchard fruits, subtle marine influence. The palate is medium to full bodied, concentrated, with almost a Côte d’Or feel to it rather than Chablis. Yet this still maintain excellent balance and grace. Still youthful with many years ahead
Red
5/28/2024 - colinscellar Likes this wine:
90 points
Mint and red fruits on the nose, a real iron ore character here that I associate with Heathcote so it's showing its terroir. That said I'm not personally loving it.
Red
5/28/2024 - benjiz Likes this wine:
95 points
Medium ruby garnet. Intense rose petals, plum blossom, blackcurrant, white pepper, cinnamon, earth. Body 7/10 Acidity 8/10 Tannins 7/10 Alcohol ~14% Intensity 7/10 Length 15s. Very fine tannins and surprisingly primary considering its age. A very noble Syrah that is almost Burgundian.
Red
2019 Riise Wine JOVIAN Paso Robles Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo (view label images)
5/28/2024 - #1Winelover Likes this wine:
95 points
Brought to a pig roast and this was the WOTN for all of the red wine drinkers. I wasn't sure if this would be ready and/or if I would like it but it was really good!

Riise is a new venture from Juan Mercado who was the original founder and co-owner of Realm Cellars. Juan's new project is in Paso Robles and his initial offering consists of 3 interesting blends. Mostly Tempranillo with a little petit sirah and graciano (which nobody ever heard of). Very strong smells, dark rich and brooding.

My friends and I kept coming back for more.
Red
5/28/2024 - brooklynguy wrote:
I’ve had several bottles now, and I think I understand the wine better. It’s not as good as I once thought it was. Decanted for two hours, the nose is super clean and very pretty showing sweet blackberry fruit and a hint of leafiness that adds just a bit of complexity. It’s a suave and elegant nose and it reminded me in its fineness of a good Pomerol. The palate comes across, as I’ve found now with previous bottles, as lacking in material, nuance, and joy. It’s a stern wine on the palate, with a finish that one drinker thought was tannic, but that I thought was a graphite-like mineral hardness. When a wine is closed or shut down I can sense the underlying material but cannot access it. I can’t sense the material here and would be skeptical about devoting space in the “cellar,” but have only one more bottle so makes it easy - will set it and forget it for a decade and let’s see. Funny because I loved this wine the first time I had it…
Red
5/28/2024 - colinscellar Likes this wine:
92 points
Last bottle and finished on a high note. Classic Clare nose and palate of choc mint, dark fruit and some vanilla. Soft in the mouth with powdery tannins, acid holding up well though so I think this could have gone longer.
Red
5/28/2024 - SimonHo wrote:
86 points
Ruby red.not much on the nose. Medium body. Red plums. Shorter on after taste
Red
5/27/2024 - pjhr Likes this wine:
94 points
As delicious as the last bottle!
Red
5/27/2024 - DFBW Likes this wine:
90 points
Decent wine that was pretty delicious straight out of the gate but slightly deteriorated over the evening with the last glass tasting a little over then hill for my taste. Initially glasses were deep, rich and smooth - good black fruit. Not sure there will be any improvement from here although not falling off a cliff. For me, I'll bring up the other two in the next year.
Red
5/28/2024 - JimAlt Likes this wine:
90 points
Nice deep berry . Great with NY strip
Red
5/28/2024 - deverett wrote:
95 points
This was excellent and has aged a treat. Still has some wonderful vibrancy, exquisite length and balance. Medium bodied, spicy red berries, undergrowth and dried herbs, the tannins are an absolute highlight. This could get better as it softens a little more but it was wonderful now.
Red
5/28/2024 - EhrlichDY wrote:
Pop and pour. 2000's are just fantastic right now. Loads of ripe plum fruit but also showing secondary notes of earth and pine. Seamless and absolutely delicious right now.
White - Sparkling
5/28/2024 - Bakan Likes this wine:
76 points
거칠고 큰 기포와 상큼힌 향
데일리로 마시기에 적당함
끝에 남는 쓴 맛이 살짝 오바되는 느낌이 있다
Red
5/28/2024 - Bakan wrote:
74 points
처음엔 묵은 갈색 맛이 많이 나지만
시간이 지나며 꽃잎향과 과실향이 나면서 조금 좋아짐
어쩔 수 없이 묵혀 나온 템프라니요의 매력은
그다지 느끼기 힘들지만 대체로 무난한 맛
Red
5/27/2024 - JensAgo Likes this wine:
95 points
The Jaguar of Cornas for this week’s #LundiCornas (#19), Domaine du Tunnel’s exquisite Vin Noir (v20, 13.5% ABV), upped as compared to 2018, reflecting a solemn vintage & winemaking artistry. Dark red w purple reflections, semi-translucent in appearance. Broad, ripe nose w mixed basket of red & black fruit - cherries, raspberries, brambles, cassis, fine smoke & tar, balsamic herbs, tad of iron. Utterly elegant m-bodied palate, superb concentration of fruit, chiseled yet lean structure, closing juicy, pure & spicy!
Red
2014 Château Lilian Ladouys St. Estèphe Red Bordeaux Blend (view label images)
Drank from half bottle. Passed it's prime
Red
5/27/2024 - Mountster27 Likes this wine:
91 points
Very interesting after all these years. Lighter brick coloring. Lots of development and still with some red fruit balance along with spice, raisin richness, and many other things I don’t remember how to describe. I certainly would be buying more Ledge and keeping for 5-10 years. These vines were just really coming into their own in 14 I think. Compared to Ledge wines from more established vineyards it didn’t hold up quite as long. Makes me believe newer vintages would be even better.
That said, Ledge doesn’t ship to South Carolina any more either.
Makes me sad. We were with them from nearly the beginning.
Red
5/28/2024 - richard.presser Likes this wine:
88 points
Clean, soft round, sweet Pinot. Balanced.
Ditto palate. Drinkable now. No need for cellaring. Quite an achievement. A smarter wine than first glance might suggest. It’s tough to hit this goal. Bullseye. Drink now - 2025.
White
5/28/2024 - Geoff7777 wrote:
A fabulous cork has provided a high fill bottle, cork only 10% soaked. Despite its great performance it has added excessive cork wood to this otherwise fabulous HV Semillon. What a great wine! If only it was under Stelvin. The structure remains, no oxidation, small hints of honey and toast but the fruit has receded. Good bottles remain one of my top 5 ever HV Semillon, but they could be quite rare from here. 17.75 today but a nostalgic 19.
Red
5/28/2024 - Jeremy Holmes wrote:
Whilst still very young, this is drinking beautifully. A highly perfumed and complex nose of violets, black cherry, licorice, orange oil and bitter chocolate. It is dense and sappy, velvety of texture and builds through the palate. There's excellent mineral detail and it is expansive. Length is superb.
1 person found this helpful Comment
Red
2018 Château Noaillac Médoc Red Bordeaux Blend (view label images)
5/28/2024 - MicklethePickle Likes this wine:
90 points
Popped and poured. Quite tasty, especially for such a small price. This has real Bordeaux character. You could go along ways wrong buying other wines for this price. Briar, baking spice, mineral, just a touch of bell pepper. Nice dry finish. 5-12-15-8: 90/100.
Red
5/27/2024 - Klaus386 Likes this wine:
94 points
Can drink now but suitable for further aging.
Dark fruit, spice, chewy (high) tannins, med+ finish.
Paired well with ribeyes
Red
5/28/2024 - Echinosum wrote:
Kept the last one another year, but I think I would have preferred to finish it off last year. Nothing wrong with it, but it has less of the strawberry and cherry, and more evolved pinot flavours, and I preferred it as it was. Learning a lesson.
Red
5/28/2024 - LWWine wrote:
Drank 2 b at Hollywood wood fire grill dinner
Perfect complement
Red
5/28/2024 - Radders12345 Likes this wine:
93 points
The new wunderkind of Montalcino.
Very jolly sweet red cherry and pomegranate. A touch of Tuscan herbs on top ups the complexity.
Good density yet freshness on the palate with nice purity of fruit and a deft touch of oak sweetness. On day 2 the complexity really ups a notch and a lovely orange peel, dusty terracotta and more fresh cherry comes to the fore and the intensity on the palate ramps up.

Certainly some good juice and wine-making and this is clearly shooting for the “Super Rosso” category on a debut effort (and few other Rosso’s are at or above this price point - Slavioni, Biondi Santi, Stella di Campalto).
This is a sterling effort from a new producer and I’ll be curious to try the actual Brunello when it comes.
Red
7/2/2023 - CCris6537 Likes this wine:
90 points
Deep ruby, with aromas of cherry, black plum, and spice. Strong aromas of mint, cedar, graphite, and smoke. Medium plus acidity, powdery tannins, complex and concentrated. It has good flavor, salty taste and long aftertaste.
White
4/27/2024 - forceberry wrote:
91 points
A blend of Antão Vaz and Arinto. Fully destemmed. Fermented and aged for 12 months in stainless steel tanks and French oak barrels. 13% alcohol, 1,3 g/l residual sugar, 5,7 g/l acidity and pH 3,26.

Youthful yellow-green color. The nose feels concentrated yet still somewhat understated with aromas of fresh golden apples, some creamy oak tones, a little bit of savory wood spice, light banana tones and a hint of sweet nectarine. The wine feels crisp, very intense and surprisingly bitter on the palate with a rather full body and quite focused flavors of extracted bitterness, some pithy lemon tones, a little bit of creamy oak, light apricot tones, a hint of savory wood and a touch of nuttiness. The brisk acidity lends great sense of structure and electric energy to the wine, but also seems to emphasize the bitter notes on the midpalate. The finish is long, crisp and acid-driven with an intense aftertaste of lemony citrus fruits and sharp Granny Smith apple tones, some notes of creamy oak, a little bit of apple peel bitterness, light woody nuances, a hint of stony minerality and a touch of almost unripe peach.

I expected the wine to be a huge, oaky blockbuster white, but it turned out to be a surprisingly crisp, lean and nervous wine that is dominated by somewhat extracted phenolic bitterness. The overall feel is very high-strung and somewhat unbalanced, but that's mostly due to the young age of the wine. With this much intensity, structure and acidity, I have no doubts this wine will continue to evolve and improve effortlessly for years. However, it doesn't feel that enjoyable at the moment. This is stuff you want to sit on for quite a while. A promising wine and an impressive effort for a white Alentejano - but I'm still not sure if the wine is really worth the 69,95€.
White - Sparkling
5/28/2024 - p.schw. Likes this wine:
93 points
What a great find in Mailly - right between Épernay and Reims - the Champagne shows a nice fruitiness and is nicely balanced with a good acidity in the mix. For me the great find of my last trip to the Champagne region.
Red
3/29/2024 - Puteljen! Likes this wine:
92 points
Just starting to open up with classic notes of cherry, roses and rosehip. Need a few years yet. Score is for now.
Red
5/28/2024 - jmoon Likes this wine:
92 points
Good crunchy red fruits, a little coiled and unresponsive. Enjoyable but not great. Will wait a few years for the others.
Red
2005 Château Canon-la-Gaffelière St. Émilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend (view label images)
3/29/2024 - Puteljen! Likes this wine:
93 points
Classic in a generous style. Opulent fruit with cassis, boysenberry, blueberry and dark cherry. Good structure and fresh acidity keep it balanced. Good depth and detail. Very long. Great wine.
Red
2016 Château Belair-Monange St. Émilion Grand Cru Red Bordeaux Blend (view label images)
5/28/2024 - jmoon Likes this wine:
93 points
Lovely and better after an hour or so. Great with a steak. Still quite coiled, good potential. Past the juicy open window of the last two years and in transition now.
Rosé
2021 La Vis Italy Pinot Grigio, Pinot Gris (view label images)
7/13/2023 - CCris6537 wrote:
82 points
Pale copper, aromas of grapefruit, lemon, sour cherry, crisp acidity.
Red
5/27/2024 - Burgundy Al wrote:
93 points
Decanted for a hour before serving. Refined black berries with impeccable balance, faintly spiced, faintly meaty. Just enough tanni in the near background for perfect balance and harmony.
Red
5/27/2024 - Pinot_Geek Likes this wine:
92 points
Grippy tannins and med acids balancing black fruits. 13.5% Alc.
By night 2 (on Coravin), this settled down to a balanced and more mellow and delicious Chambolle.
Nice, and plenty of years in the tank. Seems like Sentiers = stiffer backbone = needs more time than other parts of Chambolle to integrate
Red
7/17/2023 - CCris6537 wrote:
85 points
Deep purple, aromas of red cherry, black cherry, violet, mint, and a touch of minerality. Soft and sweet mouthfeel, medium plus tannins and acidity with a slightly alcoholic finish.
White - Fortified
5/28/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:
84 points
Looks like a 2007 bottling so not really a 25 year old wine but a rather simple, tired madeira, lacking in concentration and acidity.
Red
5/28/2024 - rwpalmer wrote:
85 points
Delightful ripe, light, easy drinking pinot.
Red
5/28/2024 - Laing Ct wrote:
64 points
Typical Barossa wine. Light fruity Shiraz. Much like a Pinot noir. Summer afternoon with cheese and fruit paste.
Not worth $54.99. Maybe $20-$25
Red
5/28/2024 - Laing Ct wrote:
64 points
At $54.99 would only pay $20. Typical Barossa wine.
Red
7/20/2023 - CCris6537 Likes this wine:
89 points
Deep ruby, with complex aromas of red cherry, hawthorn, strawberry jam, mint, cream, chocolate. Full body with medium acidity and tannins, elegant mouthfeel, good balance and complexity.
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