5/30/2020 - Genghis Khanh wrote:

Whiffs of apricots & hint of citrus. Lots of swirling reveals touch of honeysuckle. Taste is less fruit, more mineral, saltiness with some acidity & oiliness. There is a bitterness on the linger that is more prominent as the wine warms up closer to room temperature.
Stored in fridge use vinovac & tasted over the week; citrus tastes increases while acidity & bitterness decreases over time. A food wine when first opened but can drink alone by the end of the week. Great wine for $8.99 promo, $13 reg price.

7/3/2017 - Genghis Khanh wrote:

Straw hued. Nose was floral and pears, with subtle plum, nectarines & barely any little citrus. Palated followed but with a bit more body & minerality and less acidity than expected in a pinot grigio. It did pair well with the spicier foods served that night.

6/12/2017 - Genghis Khanh wrote:

Day 1: Dark ruby color. Dark fruit & berries, some spice and a touch of floral at the end. Taste matches the nose but also with a bit of minerality. Smooth, velvety & plush Seems like a blend of new world and old world style. After 2 hours, it is less fruit forward and hints of leather and lead are peeking through while the tannins & acidity became prominent and the body less plush. Long finish.
Day 3: Fruit is less intense than day 1 with the leather & spice notes becoming more prominent; there is also a touch of violets at the end. The tannins have also softened.
Day 5: Everything is more integrated compared to previous days.
There is a bit of bitterness that is noticeable if paired with a veggie dish (greens/cruciferous) but barely detectable if paired with a starch or meat dish.
Used vacuvin & stored in fridge in between days.
Overall a good QPR for <$20. Might get a few more to cellar.

4/10/2017 - Genghis Khanh wrote:

Golden straw colored. Oak, pineapple, vanilla and a touch of grapefruit on the nose. Taste is not as buttery/oaky as the typical California chards (thank goodness). Taste follows the nose but the grapefruit is more prominent at the end. There is a touch of salinity that was unexpected but welcomed. Medium lush body with a touch of oiliness, given the brightness of the acidity. Medium finish. Overall a good balanced California chardonnay, especially for the $15 price at Costco.
PS didn’t think it was a drink alone wine. Needs to be paired with creamy food (the herb risotto would be the least creamy food that it would work well with); cheese/crackers but not a salad that has some cheese sprinkle on it.

1/14/2017 - Genghis Khanh wrote:

Dark opaque purplish color. Extremely jammy & cherry when first opened. After letting it breathe for 30+ minutes, jamminess & cherry receded slowly over 2 hours but still prominent. Some dusty notes shows through along with some cranberry & a touch of unidentifiable spice. Tannins are light and well integrated. Low acidity when first opened & increased to medium-high acidity 1 hour later. Body is med-light. Overall it lacks complexity & depth but is drinkable. Not sure if more time in the bottle would have helped. I would only purchase if again price is <=$10 for everyday drinking or cooking.
Served with spinach ravioli in tomato basil sauce and oven roasted Brussel sprouts. Not good with the Brussel sprouts--it the bitterness of the sprouts, even with the caramelization.
P didn't care for this wine at all.

10/19/2016 - Genghis Khanh wrote:

Day 1
-Garnet color. Nose of red berries, violets, eucalyptus, and touch of mint.
-Taste follows nose in the first 30 minutes after opening with medium body. As it gets more air, eucalyptus & mint becomes stronger, while the berries & violets fade back, for both scent and taste. 1 1/2 hour after opening, it became tart and stemmy, while the body became light-medium.
-Medium finish. More cellar time needed?

10/17/2016 - Genghis Khanh Likes this wine:

Day1
-Pale straw color.
-Restrained when first poured, with floral, grass, and flint notes. But as it warmed up, scents of honeysuckle, lemon zest, peach, grapefruit, apple, and hints of toasted almonds of also emerge.
-Tasted of lemon, grapefruit, a touch of peach and a subtle hint of some unidentifiable spice.
-Body was very light & crisp when first poured but took on a smooth, medium-light body with some saline and a hint of oiliness on the front end as it warmed up, but kept enough acidity to keep it well balanced.
-Integrated, very long finish.
-Wish some of the scents would be present in the palate, but it is a wonderful wine for the price we paid.

Would pair well with subtly spicy (my version of subtly spicy--not P's version) Asian food. Surprisingly held its own with an ahi wasabi poke that had sesame oil and fresh green onions in it and a light VietNamese tomato-chicken egg drop soup.

Day 2
-Scents and tastes are fading quick, whether still chilled from refrigeration or at various temps as it becomes warmer.

7/16/2016 - Genghis Khanh wrote:

Tasted at Kermit Lynch store for their Bastille Day event.

Bright pink-orange salmon color. Bright berry, floral scents with a bit of orange zest/pith and hint of herbs & spice. Taste matches but also has a bit of syrup/sappiness/sweetness that brings out the berry & floral notes. Medium body with enough acidity to balance out the sweet notes and a lingering finish. P actually like this--could pair well with his preference for veggie Indian and Mexican food. This would actually pair well with char sui or Viet Namese bun thit nuong (northern style w/o lemon grass).

10/1/2014 - Genghis Khanh Likes this wine:

-Delicious,! Served at V's house for one of P's business related dinner. V has great taste in wines! Tasted without airing.

-Deep dark red-purple color. Notes of red berries, vanilla, chocolate, pepper, and hints of tobacco/smoke & dusty earth. Tastes follows but with a bit more fruit. Plush body and smooth tannins with a surprisingly dry finish. Too bad I could only drink about 2 oz as it was a work related dinner and the food served was vegetarian Indian. Otherwise, would have loved to tasted after 2 hours of airing. Grilled steak or lamb chops would have been a better pairing. But that's an opinion of an omnivore.

10/6/2016 - Genghis Khanh Likes this wine:

Pale straw color. Notes of citrus, grass, and another fruit I can't identify. Taste follows nose, but there is some faint bitterness at the end. Good balance of acidity/sweetness. Light body. One to 2 hours later and warmer, the herbal notes emerge, body is a bit heavier. There is a bitterness at the end.

VinVac and refrigerated for 2 days. Still can't identify that other fruit. Bitterness at the end is more pronounced (P even mentioned that he noticed it on the first day). Good everyday drinking wine with food. Wouldn't serve alone unless it is very chilled b/c of the bitterness.

8/18/2016 - Genghis Khanh wrote:

* Lots of smoke and cherry notes when opened, taste followed. Soft tannins and medium-thin body. After 1 hour, the smoke and cherry pulled back to reveal fresh herbs (thyme and bit of sage) & slight hint of cedar. Vacuum pumped & stored in fridge.
* 2 days later, poured & let it sit 2 hours @ room temp. More integrated--smoke, cherry notes have pulled back further while pepper notes have come forward with hints of tobacco. Herbs still there but less intense. Tannins have softened further, medium body. Nice med-long linger. Really lovely and enjoyable; too bad we had it with a veggie spinach lasagna instead of one with red meat.

7/3/2016 - Genghis Khanh Does not like this wine:

Brought to A&R Sharma's place for dinner. Overall lacked depth.

Pale golden color. Nose was predominately soap. After 30 mins, the soapiness receded but still very present; hint of wet slate, no fruit or floral whatsoever. Palate was light, mostly mineral with some soapiness and light acidity; lacked any fruit (which was consistent with the nose) and also lacked depth. Slight bitterness on the finish which was further enhanced when paired w/quinoa in which the saponin coating was not washed off. Light body with bare hint of oiliness. Medium finish. Vintage charts for this vintage/region was inconsistent about when to drink, some say it was ready, others say to hold, others said the vintage overall had inconsistent results. Should have held? It was underwhelming and a disappointment for a general bourgogne blanc from this region and this producer. Expected better.

7/20/2016 - Genghis Khanh wrote:

Day 1: Nose of plum with herbs, touch of oak & floral. Tastes had same notes but was still green/stemmy. Smooth & not as tannic given the stemminess. Needed more time in the bottle.
Day 5: Vacuum pump & refrigerated. Nose has more fruit & tastes less stemmy. Flavors are more integrated. Like Day 1, needs more time in the bottle. Should have waited to open. Might have been a good QPR for every day table wine at this price.
Day 14: Didn't get a chance to finish bottle. Last 25% of bottle was frozen to use in cooking.

7/20/2016 - Genghis Khanh Likes this wine:

Day1: Incongruent. Nose of cherry bomb followed by an indistinguishable mish-mash of stemmy herbs (rosemary, thyme, majarom?). Taste didn't quite match nose, was quite tart. Lots of heat. Couldn't decide if we should have drank earlier or waited.
Day 3: Starting to come together. The cherry has pulled back & berry has come forward with a touch of herbs, black pepper, old leather & violets. Taste matches nose, less heat, less tart & long finish with smoother mouth feel.
Day 4: Strong nose of olives & smoke up front, followed by red berries with some rosemary, eucalyptus, black pepper. Taste matches along with berry jam. Some heat has returned . Long finish.
Day5: Well balanced! All the scents from Day 3 & 4 are more in balance. Tastes follow this. Body is soft and smooth. If the mouth feel was a bit more plush, it would be amazing. Nice long finish. Very tasty at this point. Definitely worth it at the price we paid, but not what his wine are priced at now >$50 given how long we had to cellar.
Day 9: Keeps going. Surprisingly the olives, smoke, & fruit in the bouquet is still present. Taste follows. Not as smooth as day 5 but still quite enjoyable. Upped to 91 pts avg across the many days of tasting. Now I wish we bought more bottles at the $30 price pt.