Wine Reviews For The Average Wine lover: 2026

Thursday, May 14, 2026

2021 Vineyard Block Estate 847 Reserve - Chardonnay

Do you guys ever really check out the wine as it sits in your glass or do you treat it like a soda, just pour it and drink it? I myself love checking out my wine in the glass because every once and a while there is beauty. Sometimes the wine itself can not even be to my liking yet the appearance of it in the glass is just awesome. Yes, of course when looks & taste combine it does help lead that wine to a higher score and therefore more enjoyment as well. I have to admit, for me, it is rare for a white wine to really have me say something about it's appearance but when it does happen, it is amazing. I actually can't recall the last time a white wine really struck me visually but I have hope that today's wine will do just that so let's take a look at it and do a tasting.as well while I am at it.

Today I will be checking out the 2021 Vineyard Block Estate 847, Reserve - Chardonnay. I bought today's review wine at a local chain liquor store named ABC Fine Wine & Spirits and I paid $17.99 for it. The bottle is cork sealed and the grapes for the wine come from the Santa Barbara County AVA. As a last

note,the alcohol percentage comes in ag 14.5%.

On the nose here I am picking up notes of a slight bit of lemon melange and really, that is all. I will however give the wine a bit to warm slightly and come back to see if the nose will develop at all. So...coming back to the wine an hour later there is unfortunately nothing different to talk about. This is a very simple wine on the nose.

As far as the palate is concerned, I am getting that lemon Melange here as well and right now at least, it isn't bad at all. Hopefully as the wine warms a bit this note will be able to maintain itself right where it is as I have found in the past that this note can ruin a wine very quickly at times. Acidity here is on the high side throughout the wines presentation and begins from the minute the wine hits the palate and continues onto the finish which is rather long. This acidity does however cause the wine to be just ever so slightly out of balance. I was looking for some fruit to stand up to it but unfortunately there is nothing to quite match it or tone it down/cover for it the bit that is needed. Don't get me wrong here guys, the acidity is not crazy out of whack but that tiny bit is noticed, at least by me anyway. Green apple is here for sure and it jumps on that lemon melange note. Adding to these two notes is the typical and certainly troublesome oak/vanilla combo note that American Chards are known for. So...how is that note here? Well, let''s talk. I do not typically enjoy this note...hard stop. Keeping it real here guys as always, that note is here, big time and I continue to not like it as it is over the top here. I am not sure why American Chardonnay producers like to deluge their wine with oak/vanilla rather than structured fruit or minerality.

If your soil can't grow the Chardonnay varietal than don't grow it, it's okay, there are other grapes to grow. Moving on now, white apricot is here as well and it is integrated nicely. This apricot tries its best to make its presence known and does a decent job at it. Guys, I have to stop drinking this wine, it is just bad. Let's get to the conclusion paragraph and put this review out of its misery.

Look, a lot of people drink a wine with food and determine if the wine meshes with that particular food. I drink a wine and only the wine, I am not interested in how a particular wine interacts with food, I care about the quality of the wine. I want to find out how the wine represents its varietal and nothing more. I guess you could say that I have a very simplistic look at wine reviewing. This wine is typical repackaged bulk wine and nothing more. For $17.99 I could do much better. and so could you. In the end this wine is a dime a dozen. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I am giving this wine 87 points. I do not recommend you buy it for any reason.

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Friday, February 6, 2026

2021 Artesa, Sauvignon Blanc

I had a weird day today as I had to do something I don't normally do which is go to the laundromat. It seems that one of my kids decided she should (or could) put very wet bedding into the dryer. Well, that didn't go over to well and she burned out either the heating fuse or, the entire heating element, I don't know which one. Whatever she burned out, the dryer doesn't get hot anymore and in order to fix it, I would have to remove the entire front panel, take off the belt... remove the drum and, Look guys, I can change an air filter and replace a headlight but beyond that, you don't want me working on much else. Not only that but the heating element cost $285 and I would then have to put the dryer back together...properly. Honestly it would be better and pay off in the long run if I just bought a whole new dryer along with an extended warranty to cover it for five years. Oh well, I guess this is why I went back to work :) oh yeah, I work as well in order to buy decent wine to review and speaking of wine, I just so happen to have one to review so let's get to it.

Today I have the pleasure of taking a re-look (re-review) of the 2021 Artesa, Sauvignon Blanc. I reviewed this wine previously and I obviously loved it as I have (or had) two bottles in my white cellar which means the wine scored at least 94 points.The wine costs me a mere $12 but sells elsewhere for $26. The grapes for this wine come from the Napa Valley and the alcohol percentage of the wine comes in at 13.5%. The bottle is screw cap sealed and the wine is 100% Sauvignon Blanc and was fermented in Stainless Steel for its entire time as well.

Label wise, things unfortunately could be better. I am not digging the label and honestly I don't remember exactly why I ended up buying the wine but I can tell you that it was not because the label caught my eye, that's for sure. The label really does nothing for me. Color wise, the label kind of blends in with the wine and in my opinion, it should stand out a bit rather than just blend in. I think there should be some type of contrast between the wine and the label, something to catch my eye.

Now for the palate. Right out of the gate I will let you know that I remember and I understand why I had two bottles of this wine in one of my cellars. I guess I am getting ahead of myself here though so allow me to back up a bit. We are all use to tasting Sauvignon Blanc as the last few years the New Zealand, Marlborough expression of the varietal has just inundated the American wine market. I too have fallen victim to this inundation as well and honestly I am not sorry. After smelling this wine in the glass there are things that I recall about this wine and one of those things is that this particular wine is a different expression of the Sauvignon Blanc varietal as it comes across a bit differently. This wine comes across as very dry, there is not much sweetness or even perceived sweetness on the palate. What a blessing this is as I am so sick and tired of white wines that are loaded with bright fruit and a big time note of what at least comes across at least as sweetness. Let's get to tasting this wine.

So anyway, after tasting the wine now, Yes, there is just a bit of fruit sweetness that comes across but you also have to keep in mind that I am very sensitive to sweetness or the perception of sweetness in my wines so you might not detect this slight sweetness. This should tell you just how nice or how little that bit of sweetness really is here. Lemongrass is of course here but it is well controlled and comes across as a note that is not looking to dominate or go crazy. This is a big part in how this wine stands out from a Marlborough example. Fruit is here for sure in the form of Green apple and intermixed with a wonderfully fresh note of nectarine. What really sets this wine off as well is just how the acidity is absolutely perfectly on point and expresses itself throughout the wine. A note of pineapple is here as well and it is very well integrated as well so you don't take a sip of the wine and get hit with a heavy pineapple not. This note is wonderfully integrated into the wine.

Taking a big sip into my mouth now and allowing it to swirl throughout my palate, this wine guys is just amazing and in my opinion there is nothing offensive about it. I am going to go out on a limb right now and say that I originally gave this wine 95 points but if you hold on, I will check my previous review and let you know. Continuing to taste this wine revealed a note of Jasmine blossom here on the palate and unlike a lot of other wines, it is super nice and without bringing in a lot of sweetness either. What is really awesome here is that there is an underlying crispness to the wine. I am not speaking of a crispness that will turn this into a super dry wine but rather a crispness that lets you know that his is a well thought out and well made wine. Speaking of dryness, there is a dryness note to the wine in general as well as a driness feel to the wine as well. There are a few notes here that elevate this wine to the score that I am going to be rating it and this dryness note is one of them. As a last note, Lemon Verbena is here as well and it shines nicely. The wine has a very unique sense of itself here in reference to putting on display a show of cleanness and purity and I enjoyed every bit of it..

Overall there has to be a balance in a wine and that is one of the areas that this winemaker excels at. Whomever the winemaker is here they did a very nice job in the creation of this wine, Even for $26 this wine is well worth the price. Looking back at my previous rating of this wine I saw that I had given it 94 points but here, in the end, on The Desert Wine Guy rating scale, I am giving this wine 95 points.