2021 Chateau Ste Michelle, Sauvignon Blanc - Horse Haven Hills

 

   Guys, I have to ask you a question. Is it weird that since I retired from my job of many years that I want to go back to the field I left? I have been retired almost five years now and I miss what I use to do. Just so you know, I am in the best shape of my life now and I am fully prepared to get back into my chosen career. Most people would think I am crazy and say, dude,you mean you are retired and you want to go back to work, especially to that line of work? A lot of people would think that I am perhaps unhappy at home when actually nothing could be further from the truth as I am very happy and love Mrs. Desert Wine Girl and our kids very much, I just feel that I have more to give in my career and in my field of work that could actually change lives. As I think we all know, in this day and age there are so many people who need their lives changed. Guys, simply put, retirement gets boring and I don't like being bored, I need (want) my mind and body busy. Yes, there are things that I do that keep me occupied but after a while I am caught up on everything and I need more, I need a sense of purpose aside from being a husband and father. Aside from this, I hate to say it again but ...I have more to do in my field of work, more lives to effect in a positive way. I actually recently applied for a job here in "Freedom" Florida and was hired so I will see just how much more I really have to give :) Let's now talk wine guys because if the wine is good, that will complete my day

   Today I will be taking a look at the 2021 Chateau Ste Michelle, Sauvignon Blanc. I paid an incredible $7.99 for this wine guys as I had a $1 off coupon and to top it all off, the wine was buy one, get one free as well. The wine comes in at 13% alcohol and its grapes come the Horse Heaven Hills AVA of Washington State. 

   Okay, now let's take a look at the label. I have always appreciated the wineries label for this series of its wines. I think the label always presents the wines inside the bottle in a very classic type way. From the prominence of the wineries name to the fonts chosen for the name, the label is very well done. The use of the gold color is done in a very nice way and the fact that gold is limited in its use really elevates the appearance of the label in general.

   Bringing the glass to my nose now, I get nice notes of light melon equally interweaved with light apricot and a vibrant and tropical smelling Anjou Pear as well.

   As far as the taste of this Washington State, Sauvignon Blanc goes, the wine starts off with a classic note of lemongrass but not in the classic New Zealand Style of presentation. Now, this can be either a good thing or a bad thing, it all depends on what you either enjoy or are in the mood for. If you want the varietal with less lemongrass but still do appreciate the note and want a nicely sufficient amount of it, this is your wine for sure. If however, you are in the mood for the typical forward and not shy lemon grass note from New Zealand, this might not be your wine...today.

That lemongrass note here in this wine is what I would say is moderately presented but is also very effective in getting its point across. You also will not be able to miss the fact that while the lemongrass is not quite as forward as a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, you are still definitely tasting a Sauvignon Blanc. While this lemongrass does dominate the wine a just bit, it does so almost with a perceived hint of a gentle side to it as well. Intermixed very nicely with that note is a bit of a melon that is a good amount below the previous note but that is fine because it only wants to come across just as it is which is enjoyable, very well offered up, slightly tropical and above all, fresh tasting. Acidity wise, this is a mid-palate note here and is perfectly placed. While this acidity is edging towards the high side, it isn't overboard at all and positively also helps in steering the wine in a great way. Green Pear is here as well and while it does offer up a small bit of sweetness, the other notes quickly take control of the fruit and hold things deep in check for sure. There is an herbal/greenness type element to the wine guys and to me, it really assists in sells this wine. While this note may be weird for the varietal, it actually really works wonderfully here in the wine as it integrates really well, I wish you could taste it. Kiwi is just another wonderful note that the wine is pushing forward and guys, I like it, I am enjoying it. As a last note, I have to tell you that there is a bracing element to this wine and this bracing element really sets this wine off. So guys, there you have my review and it is now time to head to the conclusion paragraph where I will put it all together for you and also, give you the Desert Wine Guy rating of this wine.

   So here we are, wrapping up this wine review. I want to begin by letting you know that if I had to find an issue with the wine it would be that it should have presented up just a hair bit more of a tropical fruitiness. I am not saying that I like an over the top, tropical, fruit bomb because I don not but there could have been just a bit more tropicalness then what is presented. In the end, I really enjoyed this wine however that bit of lacking of fruit tropicalness is going to prohibit the wine from getting that 94 rating needed for the cellar. In the end, on The Desert Wine Guy rating scale, I am giving this wine 93 points. I really did enjoy this wine and even for the regular price of $9, it is a steal and for $4 that steal becomes an international heist :)

                                                                                                The Desert Wine Guy

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The Desert Wine Guy - 2022 Villa Maria, Sauvignon Blanc

 

2022 Villa Maria, Sauvignon Blanc

   Is it okay to be influenced by reviewers/influencers? I guess you can answer this question two different ways depending on just how you look at it. On one hand, if a wine reviewer tells you they either loved or hated a particular wine and you simply jump on the bandwagon of loving it or hating it simply because that reviewer has a lot of followers and you feel that you surely can't be different or have your own palate then yes, that can certainly be an issue. If on the other hand, you look at this question from the angle of actually being inspired by that wine reviewer to do your own investigation into either that particular wine or varietal, that would be a good thing. I myself get inspired at times by some of the wine related YouTube channels that I watch because they at times either inspire me to try a particular varietal that I may have never even heard of before or, they inspire me to try a wine from an area that I have never tried before. Inspiration can come in many different forms and while inspiration can be healthy and actually expand our thinking or in this case, our palate, it can also at times educate us as well. There are times when outside influences can be a bad thing such as when we simply cling on to other peoples feelings or unsupported beliefs, it can also work for the best at times when we learn to think for ourselves and justify our opinions. I hope when you guys read this blog or watch my wine YouTube channel, (https://www.youtube.com/@TheDesertWineGuy/featured) you take what I have said into account but realize that in the end, you have your own palate to please, your own thoughts and in the end, your own decisions to make. I guess what I am saying is, in reference to wine, if you learn something about wine from any wine reviewers comments then you have educated yourself and made yourself more wine knowledgeable which is always good. Now, it is review time :)

  

Sauvignon Blanc Grapes On The Vine

   So, the other day I was on an awesome YouTube wine channel (https://www.youtube.com/@WineMastery/videos) that I follow and they were doing a review on the 2022 Villa Maria, Sauvignon Blanc, and I thought to myself, "Oh, I reviewed that wine". When I went to see if my rating on the wine was the same as theirs, I discovered that I had actually not reviewed the wine. That is so crazy because I see this wine around everywhere and I couldn't believe that I haven't reviewed it yet. Well, there was only one way to remedy this issue, I went out and bought a bottle. Today we will be taking a look at that wine and what I thought of it. I bought the wine at my local grocery store for $11.99 and it comes in at a very reasonable 12.5% alcohol. The bottle is sealed with ...a screw cap unfortunately and the grapes for the wine come the Marlborough (Awatere and Wairau Valleys) region of New Zealand.

    Let's take a look at the label on the wine bottle now. Yep, this is a New Zealand wine for sure. I don't know what it is but these Sauvignon Blanc from that country but they always seem to present the wines in the same type of way, they always scream "New Zealand" to me for some reason. Don't get me wrong guys as this is a good thing, I think the labels are pretty nice and convey the wines very nicely. Aside from that, I love how they seem to interpret the varietal. With this particular wines label, I love the fonts chosen and the way the words are layed out. Aside from the main label, pay special attention to the foil on the neck of the bottle as I really think it truly makes use of the area nicely. 

   Now, lets check out the nose of this New Zealand, Sauvignon Blanc. Okay so I am getting a note of fresh and lively note of lemon and perhaps just a tad bit of grapefruit as well. I really wish I could tell you that I am getting more here on the nose but unfortunately, I can't as that lemon and grapefruit is all I picked up.

   Now for the palate characterization of the wine. The first thing I picked up here is that there is a slight yet noticeable zing, a carbonation to the wine. You should know that this is a note that I have never been a fan of in a still wine for many reasons with the most important being that it simply throws my palate off big time. The next reason is that I have never seen a need for it, it does nothing good for a wine, it benefits it in no way in my humble opinion. Moving on now, as is normal with this expression of wine from this area, there is a big note of lemon grass and it is as usual, on the forward side. The mixing of both the carbonation and the lemon grass is in my opinion, just simply "okay" as I really don't think the two go well in combination at all. The typical grapefruit note is here as well and it is nicely done and presented in a good way. Passion Fruit comes up next and it is forward, fresh tasting and juicy. Acidity I thought could have been just a bit higher here in my opinion but in general, it is decent and does its job fairly well.

Villa-Maria, Winery

Guys, before I go on I have to address one thing. I think that there can at times be a confusion between a wines acidity and the note of lemon grass for some and I certainly can understand that confusion. At times as in this wine, this confusion can be remedied by taking a sip and sitting back for a second in order to really process what you are tasting. Having said that, this is a wine that to an extent, you really do have to taste, sit back and decipher, or process as it does need a bit of thought put into it at times. I do like the fact that this is a noticeably dry wine as not only do I not enjoy drinking my daily allowance of sugar in a glass of wine, I also think a quality wine should offer up more then simply sweetness and tropical fruit. The dryness here is very evident even at the wines alcohol percentage. Surprisingly, there seems to be a very slight flatness to the wine around the mid-palate which as you can imagine, I find to be weird to say the least. This flatness note isn't huge or anything but I did pick it up and for me, it of course did have a negative effect on the wine and what I will rate it. The wine also possesses a saline note to it which comes into play almost at once on the opening and is offered up even more towards the mid-palate. There is an initial bit of a sweetness to the wine however the other notes provide a nice cut (or cover) to that note and hold it in check very nicely. Green apple is a mid-palate note as well and it shines through nicely with a nice fresh green apple bit of sharpness to it. You can really almost taste the heat these vineyards experienced here in the wine, the bright Summer days the grapes enjoyed, it really shows in the taste of the wine. Well guys, that is my thoughts on this wine, I have to say, I am not a big lover of it. I will see you in the next paragraph where I will put this all together and give you my Desert Wine Guy rating on it.

 

Sauvignon Blanc - Flavor Profile

   So, here we are, at the conclusion of another wine review.. From what I have read concerning the winery, the 2021 vintage put this wine on the map and all I have to say to that is that I hope that vintage tasted better then this vintage did. While I am not saying this was a bad wine, there are better New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs this wine has to go up against that don't cost to much more money such as Whitehaven wines. While Whitehaven is around $17.99, I think it far outclasses this wine, gives a much better perspective on what the varietal can taste like when done well and is worth the extra $6. As a matter of fact, there area actually a lot of New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs which outclass this wine such as the Kim Crawford which sells for around $15 as well as the Oyster Bay which sells for $11. Both of these wines outclass this wine big time and the few dollars more they might cost is well worth the money. As far as this particular wine is concerned, I am giving it 87 points as I was really not impressed with it, that carbonation did a number on it. Is this a pool wine? Yeah, for sure but you don't, or shouldn't in my opinion rate a wine based upon what food you think it may go with or what environment it might go best in. You rate a wine on what the wine tastes like and how does it hold up to its varietal standards.

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2019 Côtes du Rhône Esprit Barville Blanc

 

 

   Today I decided to kill my cellphone battery, I mean to zero. Yeah, I know, you're probably saying, so what? Well, ya see, let me explain For the past two months it has been too hot to sit out back on my laptop and review a wine so I figured that today would be the same and I could do without my cell phone for a few hours, I would survive :) Yeah....unfortunately God had a sense of humor today and it ended up being just beautiful outside and so guess where I am right now? Yep, you guessed right, I am happily out back on my laptop. Take a guess though as well as to who has to charge not only a wireless speaker in order to hear some much needed music but his dead cellphone and a laptop as well? You got it, this guy. You should see my rather small table here as it is filled up with electronics and wires. My laptop which is used to being on the table by itself is like, "dude, what is going on" ? This same table is also saying, "what is with the Sun" as well? Guys, it's all good though as it is just amazing outside today. By the way, I learned a lesson a while ago that I will share with you now. All liquids have their own dedicated table and all electronics have their own dedicated table...please don't ask. So there ya have it, this review is set up and now, after a long, hard day in the garden I finally get a chance to chill out and review a wine so let's get into that review right now.

   Today I will be taking a look at the 2019 Côtes du Rhône Esprit Barville Blanc. I bought this wine at my local mom & pop wine shop here in central "Freedom" Florida and I paid $13.99 for it. The wine comes in at 13.5% alcohol and the bottle is unfortunately screw cap sealed. As far as the making of the wine goes, according to the winery, it sat on the lees with regular stirring in stainless steel vats for 6 months.

   Looking at the label now, it is a French label and I will not make any apologies, for telling you that I have no idea what the heck anything on it even says. I am American and I stick to my countries language. Having said this, please don't misunderstand me as I have nothing against anyone who learns other languages it's just that I am happy with and have a hard enough time with proper English :) Okay, back to the label now. I love it. For me, there is nothing like a French wine label to show off a bottle of wine and this label is no exception. The fonts chosen on these labels and their size really set a wine bottle off in a way that is inexpiable. These labels (as is the case here) almost always seem to have that smaller label just above the main label and again, I love it.

   As for this French wines bouquet characteristics, I am picking up notes of apricot, white flowers and a tropical dew as well as a melon of some sort. I get the impression of a possible slight viscosity showing up on the palate though which I hope is not the case but we will see about that right now.

   Alright French white wine fans, let's discuss palate on this wine now. Starting off here, this is a dry wine with an initial bit of an alcohol burn offered up front as well. The good news here is that that burn disappears almost immediately after the wine is opened so there should be no concerns there.

A light note of yellow peach comes into play but it is presented in the same way everything else is here which is rather momentarily. Very quickly, along comes a sort of unripe apricot but this unripe apricot is good, it is flavorful, just not sweet which is perfectly fine by me. Throughout the wines palate presentation, there is a dryness aspect as I already mentioned earlier and this dryness aspect is sort of like a "carrier wave" (hello radio fans) that all of the other notes seem to ride on and, it is nice. There is a noticeable spice to the wine as well and that comes into play on the finish however this is okay as it is very well placed and non offensive. This spice overall does succeed in assisting in the wines ability to express what it needs to. This spice is also very effective in adding a slight amount of complexity to the wine however, that is the extent of the complexity unfortunately. A lemon note comes into play here as well and the typical twang a lemon would normally offer up is thankfully reserved for the very end of the finish and even there, it isn't crazy or over the top, it is just lightly on the brighter side and works well with the wine in general. The wine also possesses just the smallest amount of sweetness but very quickly (like very quickly) it moves forward away from that and lets you know, it is indeed a dry wine. The wine does offer up a stone note but it is more of an underlying note and is kind of light on the palate overall. A pineapple note is here as well and it is a bit more forward then the other notes without creating a white wine that is dominated by the fruit. A really nice note of white flowers is expressed throughout the palate presentation and that is really nice as it sustains itself throughout the entire wine as well. Asian Pear is here as well and this is a note that you won't be able to miss because it feels as if some of the sweetness the wine offers up, comes from here. Another note (a combo note) that adds just a bit of sweetness consists of a nectarine/honeydew combo. This sweetness is nothing that ruins the wine nor does it even come close but it will be noticed so I did need to mention it.

In case you were wondering, the possible viscosity that I thought might appear here on the palate did not appear and I am thankful for that. Despite all of this, the wine struck me as being rather limited on the palate. As I already said, the wine does not have any complexity and to sum it up in two words, it's simple. This is not French white that you will think to deep or too much about nor do I think that it is meant to be. Well guys, there you have it, another wine review completed and I will see you in the next paragraph to give you my final feelings on it.

   In the end, the wine was certainly worth the price but don't expect there to be too much to it. There was fresh fruit and some liveliness but it just seemed.....limited.....lacking in some areas. For the pool, you will find it works out very nicely and I do believe guests will be pleased. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I am giving the wine 87 points. While the wine was not offensive in anyway, I just wish it would have been more fine tuned and offered up a lot more then what it did.

 

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Agriculturist, Non-Vintage, White Wine Blend

 

   

  Are you guys big into the whole "organic" thing? Are you willing to spend more money on fruits & vegetables that were (supposedly) grown without the use of artificial chemicals or pesticides? For me, I am sort of into the whole buying organic fruits and vegetables thing provided they are not overly expensive. What I have never bought though is an organic wine, that is until yesterday, and which just so happens to also be our review wine today. How did I come across today's review wine, well ya see, there I was at my local wine shop and I wanted something different. To be honest, I was growing kind of tired of the typical Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay expressions that I have been reviewing...at least for a day or so that is :) and I wanted something different, something unique. So I'm in the store and I went to the white wine section and in that section was a subsection that said something like "other whites". Well, I thought, let's see what they have. I ended up finding a wine that I was really intrigued by because of the way it was made, it was organic.

Before I move on and get into the wine itself though, I think that you have to think about something, and I can be completely wrong here but my thoughts are that unless you are going to go totally organic, or at least mostly, why bother spending the extra money in the first place? Sure, I guess every bit of clean food helps but how much does it really help and is it at that point really worth the extra money? Let me know your thoughts on this guys, I'm curious. Right now though it is time to check out today's wine, I will see you in the next section.  

   Today I am going to check out the organic and non-vintage, Agriculturist, white wine blend. I paid $11.99 for this wine and the alcohol percentage comes in at 13.5%. The bottle is cork sealed and its grapes simply come from California. The wine is actually part of the Frey Vineyards lineup but on their website (https://www.freywine.com/product/Organic-Agriculturist-Blanc--NV?pageID=8F038AC8-E133-D06E-4E9A-4700ACD8700A&sortBy=DisplayOrder&maxRows=10&) they, unfortunately, don't have very much to say about it.

   Now as far as the label goes, it is super busy. Take a look at the label for yourself folks, do you guys find it to be crazy as well? I guess you can take your pick as to whether or not to use the words crazy or busy in describing the label but to me, it is just screaming to get the attention I think it rightfully deserves. To me, the label looks like an advertisement for a carnival of some kind. I am not normally really into crazy labels such as this but in this case, being that the wine is an inexpensive, non-vintage, white blend, I really did get into it and think it is super nice.

   Appearance-wise in my glass now, the wine initially comes across as a lightish gold and that gold shows for a lot of the wine although it appears to eventually move into being clear in color as the sits open for a bit which I find rather weird.

   As for the nose now, I am getting a slightly subdued peach as well as a slightly subdued nectarine as well. Finishing the bouquet off is a bit of a fresh honey note as well.

   It is palate time now guys and I would like to start off here by first telling you what I am expecting from this white wine blend. I am expecting a semi-sweet, tropically fruity, white wine. Normally this is not my preferred style of wine but with the weather outside right now here in "Freedom" Florida being rather humid and warm, I will be very happy with that if I can indeed get it. Starting off here, the first thing that I noticed was that there is a carbonation to the wine and this kind of immediately threw my palate off a bit. What I found truly bothersome though is that the wine also has almost a slight seltzer taste to it which I found to be really off-putting and as you can imagine, is a note that should not be offered up in any wine. Now, there is fruit to the wine in the form of the same apricot and peach that I got on the nose but unfortunately, the fruit comes across as being rather unripe and doesn't do anything to uplift the wine up instead merely allowing it to continue on with what ended up being a downhill kind of slide. I am also getting a honey note here that I picked up on the nose and it is not honeysuckle, but what comes across as a bit of pure and fresh honey and while it is nice, it can't change anything here in the wine as it is simply, in general, coming across as just.... "off". My palate is just not mixing with this wine well at all folks and I need to let you know very quickly that I am beginning to feel that this wine might be headed towards being a disaster overall.

Now acidity is fairly moderate here and would normally be considered by me to be very enjoyable as you can tell it wants to do its job but sadly, there are way too many negative things going on in the wine to allow that to happen. As I said earlier, while there is a fruity note to the wine which is coming from that peach and apricot, that fruity aspect is ultimately destroyed rather fast as the wine quickly opens and becomes....a wine that is just extremely disjointed and erratic in its presentation. Topping all of this off and putting the nail in the final coffin is a bitter note that the wine just seems to love to exude and it is bad guys, this note really is the topping off to what I consider to be a badly made white wine. With all of this being said, I am going to cut this review short, as in ending it right now, and let you know I will see you in the conclusion paragraph.

   Now that we are here, I want to let you know that I don't think this wine is something the winery has put any serious thought into. Non-vintage, has no tech sheet, and a simple and generic "California" as far as where the grapes are grown....yeah....too bad, I truly expected more from it. On The Desert Wine Guy, I am giving this wine 84 points and I do not suggest you buy it for any occasion.

                                                                                                The Desert Wine Guy

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The Desert Wine Guy - 2017 Barrel Burner, Chardonnay

 

 

    I don't like people who talk about a topic as if they are knowledgeable about that topic but in the end, they actually know nothing about it. Today I was bored and did a quick search on YouTube concerning the company Naked Wines. I clicked on the first video I saw which took me to a guy's page where he proceeded to tell us all that he wasn't much of a drinker. This guy was unboxing six wines that he got from the company, Naked Wines and immediately proceeded to tell us all how he overpaid for the wines because they were cheap (think bad) wines. Now keep in mind that admittedly he hadn't even tasted any of the wines yet but he was already judging them. As folks who read this blog I ask you, how would you feel if I told you upfront that I wasn't going to actually taste a particular wine but was going to rate it very well? Yeah, that is what this guy is doing. Now before I go on, I need to let you know that I don't care if you ever buy anything from Naked Wines as I have no skin in the game but what I do care about is someone who goes out of his or her way to purposefully mislead people in any area. To me, it's like this guy does have something against the company like he does have some skin in the game. He then proceeded to talk about the winemakers who he felt without any supporting evidence were "new to winemaking" and that was the wines you were buying. One of those winemakers who is "new to winemaking" (not) is Dave Harvey. Now again, I don't know Mr. Harvey but just a little bit of research showed that he actually has 25 years of experience making wines and has worked for some prestigious wineries. I guess I shouldn't let this stuff bother me but unfortunately, it just does. In the end here, I can only suggest that people "stay in their own lane" if you know what I mean. Now, I feel so much better guys having said all this I think I will do a review on the failings of the human heart....nah, just kidding. Let's get into today's wine review :)

   Today I will be revisiting (taking a re-look) at the 2017 Barrel Burner, Chardonnay. I reviewed this wine before but haven't posted that review and I don't recall what I rated it at the time. At the end of this re-look, I will check that review and see how the scores compare. The bottled is cork sealed and cost me $13.99 and was bought from Naked Wines. The wine is a blend of three different grape varietals which are 89% Chardonnay, 9% Roussanne, 2% Marsanne. The wine was aged for 6 months on 25% medium plus toasted new French Oak. Alcohol-wise, the wine comes in at what I consider to be a rather high percentage of 14.4%. The winemakers are Nicholas & Marshall Miller and the grapes for this wine come from the Paso Robles Highlands District in California.

   Checking out the label here, I really like it. I just love the burnt parchment paper look to it. The label even almost feels like a parchment paper, it's cool. The look of the paper being chard really gives life to the fonts used and their placement on the label really helps in setting it off. 

   Let's go ahead now and check out the bouquet of this white wine. Overall, I am getting notes of very ripe nectarine as well as some oak and white flowers. While I do enjoy the nose of the wine, at the same time I hope the palate isn't overly dominated by these notes in a super tropical way.

   As far as the palate characteristics of the wine are concerned, here is what I am getting. The wine starts off not too well as I am getting a noticeable alcohol burn in my chest. While there is a possibility of that burn disappearing after the wine opens a bit, at this time that is not something I can testify to. Moving on now, I can testify to the fact that the wine is buttery....did I say buttery, yeah guys, buttery :( Now before I go on, let me tell you that I do not care for Chardonnays that lean towards the buttery side, like at all. This particular wine doesn't just lean however, it falls.....flat. Lush and overly tropical green pear is a pretty big player here guys and while it is certainly fresh and juicy, it is just sweet and just isn't fitting in with that butteriness very well at all. There is definitely a "lushness" to the wine as the Naked Wines website says, however....(dramatic pause for effect)....that lushness helps to create a wine that is.....picked up as being heavy on the palate, almost with a viscosity of sorts. Add this to that sweetness and you have a bad mix. Okay guys, vanilla. I get that this is a Chardonnay that sat in oak and I get that vanilla is a note that is to be expected from a white wine sitting in oak but to this extent? Really? I think it is way overdone. Acidity-wise, there is nice acidity here, and in a good wine that had some other things working for it, it would work out well but here, yeah, it doesn't help the wine out any. Okay, guys, I am done with this wine, I don't want to (can't) continue on as the wine is just not good. I will see you in the conclusion paragraph.

   Alright, Chardonnay lovers, I am sorry the ending of this review was so abrupt but...well.....does the word "gross" mean anything? I guess perhaps I am simply not getting the point of this wine. The wine is not a clean, crisp, minerality-driven, Chardonnay. That is the Chardonnay expression I am more partial to for sure. If this is your preference as well then you can flat-out forget about buying this wine as it is oceans apart from that style of Chardonnay. I get that there are so many Chardonnays today that have the same characteristics as this particular wine but this wine takes that to the max. I have to just come out and say (again) that I am not a lover of this wine at all, I don't like it. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale, I am giving this wine 85 points which it just so happens to be the original rating I gave this wine a few months ago.

 

P.S - By the way, that alcohol burn never did leave the wine and it persisted for the entire review which in total was about an hour as I never like to rush to judgment about any wine.  

 

                                                                                                The Desert Wine Guy

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2018 Chateau Ste. Michelle, Merlot - Columbia Valley

 

2018 Chateau Ste. Michelle, Merlot - Columbia Valley

   

   When I first began reading wine magazines and reviewing wines, I never saw those wines I would review in any of those magazines. True most of the wines I reviewed were small label, inexpensive wines but some of them were also very good and stood out above the rest of the pack no matter how small and inexpensive they were. Why I asked, would wine magazines skip over these wines? I never got the answer to that question although I have my suspicions. Thankfully today, that is changing as these big wine magazines have decided to allow small label, inexpensive wins to finally not only grace their pages, but also rate pretty well. This delay is one of the reasons why I have major doubts concerning the legitimacy of these wine magazines reviews as far as being on the "up & up" so to speak. Another reason is that a few years ago, Mrs. Desert Wine Girl and I actually had a fancy wine dinner with a well known winemaker from the Napa Valley and while the girls (my wife & his handler) went to the bathroom, him and I had a chance to really talk and one thing we talked about was Wine Spectator magazine. This winemakers opinion of that magazine was shall we say, less then flattering.

Beautiful Chateau Ste. Michelle

Overall in my opinion, what it all boils down to is that when money (advertising and relationships) is involved no matter how much, there is nothing and no one above reproach, this by the way applies to the medical industry as well but I will leave that thought there. Yes folks, with the average wine today selling for a little over $13 and people being less willing or able to afford high priced wine which the majority of the time is no better, I guess the snooty wine "pros" have woken up and realized they still need money for their empire to exist so in comes you and I, the average wine lover. So with this being said, today I will be reviewing a wine that is priced perfectly for us lowly, average wine lovers :)

   Today I will be reviewing the 2018 Chateau Ste. Michelle, Merlot - Columbia Valley. I have seen this wine on clearance the last few times I went to my local grocery store and decided today to take a chance, it needed to finally be adopted, taken home, as it looked rather lonely just sitting on the shelf. The wine was priced at $9.56 which was reduced from the normal $12.95 the store usually sells it for. The wine comes in at 13.5% alcohol and the bottle is cork (real) sealed. As for the makeup of the wine, it is my understanding that there is an unknown bit of Syrah added to the Merlot.

   Taking a look at the label now, it is a typical Chateau Ste. Michelle label. While it is true that I have never been what you would call "crazy" about the wineries basic label, I have always felt that it did a decent job of conveying a sense of semi-seriousness to that particular lineup of offerings. I also really like the back label and the way it starts off with the script/font that the words "Chateau Ste. Michelle" are written in. I also like how they put some general information of the sugar content there as well which is not common. 

    Moving on now to the nose characterization of the wine, I am immediately picking up a spiced mocha that starts the nose off here and I have to say that it is very nice as it provides almost a sense of warmth to the bouquet. The nose also offers up a possibly dangerous perceived sense of perhaps a slight richness being present in the wine and also hints at a possible bit of depth to the wine as well.

Merlot Grapes Hanging On The Vine

 Topping off the nose is a peppery note here and by the way it all comes across, I hope it translates over nicely to the palate presentation, let's find out.  

   As I move to the palate now I want to tell you that earlier in the day, before I bought the wine, I read a few reviews on it and they showed the wine to be a very nicely made Merlot, people were impressed. Whether I feel the same way or not, remains to be seen so let's go ahead and taste the wine now and find out. Okay, so having taken my first sip of the wine now, I have to very early on in this review tell you that the wine is in reality.....oh darn, I almost did it again, I almost gave away the ending and I simply can't do that so let me back up a bit. Luckily that spiced mocha note that I got on the nose transfers right over to here and it is.....well....incredibly to say the least. Everything I assumed I would (or could) get here from the nose is delivered up on the palate just as expected. The perceived bit of a slight richness shows up here as well just as I guessed it would on the nose. Both the notes of that spiced mocha and that bit of richness  amazingly really work well together and actually elevate one another. Together this combo note ends up being a sort of roadmap that the wine continues forward on. There is a juiciness to the wine that is right up there and yet doesn't try to fight those first few notes which is good as it works out so super well for the wine (and you) in its totality. There is a bit of a smoke note to the wine as well but just a bit. This smoke note really adds to the wine overall and the fact that it is on the light side is a good thing. I am also picking up a sweet and juicy cherry note here as well however that "sweet" is ultra well controlled by the rest of the wine, only allowing enough of it to come forward as needed. A hint of darkness is expressed here also and it comes across as almost a note more interested in effecting the mid-palate then anything else but its well placed nonetheless. Effectively, that bit of darkness works its magic, not looking to overpower any other note and being very comfortable right where and how it is. There is a woodsy, peppery spice to the wine also which is awesome....like....awesome. This woodsy, peppery spice appears to be another note that finds its joy in working alongside the other notes and not trying to have the wine deviate from the path it is already walking. The slightest hint of raspberry is here also and once again guys, it loves being right where it is which is intermixed with everything else. If this weren't enough guys, how about a bit of dark chocolate? Yeah, guys, it's here and it's (again) good. I am not talking about a dark chocolate that wants to take control, no way this dark chocolate is content on coming in on the mid-palate and seems focused on being present just enough to have you notice it is there without needing to be front stage.

Chateau Ste. Michelle Tasting Room

Acidity to the wine is slightly bracing but nothing that will have you sitting back in your chair. This acidity is showing that there is certainly a good possibility that the wine has some aging potential. Another factor and one which can reflect the wines ability to age as well is that of tannins. In this wine, tannins are ever so slightly more then on the dusty side but show no signs of being ready to weaken. I would like to say that I have indeed told you all about this wine but every time I take a short break and come back, there is more to talk about. How about a sense of leather in this $13 Merlot, would that surprise you because yes, it is here and yes, it is good ? Folks, everything about this wine surprises me so I guess this particular note being present shouldn't. Continuing on, there is a bright black cherry present here and it plays so nicely with the rest of the wine guys. This black cherry really livens up the palate and only compounds the fact that this Merlot is performing well above its pay grade. Closing this review out (finally) is the fact that the wine does offer up a bit of jamminess however, this is the rare instance that jamminess does not ruin a wine. To me, in my opinion, one of the worst things a red wine can present is jamminess so keep that in mind when you read my thoughts on it. The jamminess present here plays right into the hands of everything the wine is trying to present, every hope it had since its inception of being a very serious wine. In short, this is a serious wine. Guys, I actually could go on but I do believe that I have said enough. I will see you in the next paragraph.

Barrels In The Chateau Ste. Michell Tasting Room

   

   If you are looking for a Merlot for the backyard or to sip at the pool, this is not that Merlot. If you are looking for a duplication of Cupcake or Barefoot, again, this is not that wine. If however, you are looking to impress your wine educated friends or guests, pour this wine into their glass without them seeing the bottle and your party will be the one to go to in the future. I guess the gamble I took of purchasing a wine on clearance was worth it, the wine is a winner. Yes, there is a bit of jamminess to the wine but in the end it just works. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I am giving this wine a cellar worthy rating of 94 points. As I said earlier, the wine can age for another 7-8 years as it has the right amount of both acidity and tannins to stand up nicely for at least that long.

 

                                                                                                The Desert Wine Guy

 

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2020 Benjamin Denault, Picpoul De Pinet

 

      I wonder how many wine reviewers actually go back in private and re-taste a wine they already reviewed. If they do take a second look, I wonder if that second look has them rating that wine the same score as the first tasting did. I for one am not ashamed to admit that I occasionally do a second look of wines I have already reviewed. As always, I am going to keep it real and tell you that 99% of these second looks end up coming in at the original rating and at no time has a wine gone from being what I consider to be cellar worthy to not being cellar worthy or a bad wine to a good wine. I really enjoy doing those second look reviews as it is a challenge to see just how consistent my palate is. The only think I take from the older review is the actual specific (tech sheet) information on the wine that I already researched. Well guys, Today I will be doing a second look of a wine I reviewed a few months ago because I am really curious to see if the original tasting score still holds up.

   Let's begin by talking about the grape varietal I am reviewing which is named Picpoul De Pinet (Piquepoul Blanc) which means "stings the lip" in English. It turns out that there are many varieties of Picpoul grapes aside from the white version, including the Piquepoul Noir variety which is black or red in color. The grape is also of the Vitis Viniferia species as are almost all grapes used for wine. The grape originated in Rome actually in 125 BC outside the Roman colony of Narbo (Narbonne) however it has made a new and successful home in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. In France the varietal is mostly used as a blending grape however there is some experimenting going on in the Wilcox AVA of Arizona and California (Sonoma) as well as Texas in the Texas Hill Country AVA & the Texas High Plains AVA as well. 

   Today I am reviewing the 2020 Benjamin Denault, Picpoul De Pinet. This wine cost me $11.99 and its alcohol percentage comes in at 13%. The bottle is cork (real) sealed and the grapes for the wine come from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. As for residual sugar, the winemaker Benjamin Denault informed me that there is none which is awesome.

   Let's begin as I usually do and that is by talking about the label first. This is the first thing that catches the consumers eye after all so to me, next to the wines palate presentation, this is the most important thing concerning a wine. I really like this label guys.

To me the label screams a small chateau somewhere in some small foreign country and in some small town that few tourists ever go to. I have visions in my mind of sheep roaming the streets or goats being herded from pasture to pasture. With the grape originating in France, the label works nicely.

   Let's talk about the nose of this wine now? Bringing the glass to my nose the wine offers up notes of oak, a bit of butteriness, white flowers and pear. The nose is showing off a wine that appears to be tropical but hopefully it won't be an overly fruity, sweet, sugar bomb.

   Okay, now for the palate characteristics of the wine. A well controlled dual/combo note of oak & butteriness is present on the wines opening and while that combo note is a forward one, before you go saying that you aren't going to buy the wine because of this, please hear me out. Straight off I will tell you that I do not like an oakey/buttery Chardonnay or white wine in general and I promise you, this is not that wine. There are other notes here which control that combo note successfully and in a way, even supersedes it very successfully. There is a simply wonderful dryness to the wine guys and I would even go so far as to say that to me, that dryness here is the key to what makes the wine great. Did I say great? Oh yeah, I guess I did. A melon note is here as well, an ultra ripe honeydew melon note intermixes with everything else here and...... WOW! Ripe green apple is really making its presence known and this apple is juicy and fresh for sure and it really does show itself here. Bosch Pear is an underlying note here yet it manages to make its presence known as well and it is well placed and yummy. Guys, before I go on I have to tell you that this is not a sweet wine however there is a bit of fresh and ripe fruit sweetness present. The sweetness most definitely does not dominate the wine but it is something that is needed in order to make this wine what it is. Another note here is of honeysuckle, fresh, outdoor, honeysuckle that you smell as you walk past the plant outside and only imagine you can taste.

As for acidity, it is moderate and interacts incredibly well with the dryness aspect of the wine. The acidity itself comes on really fast but quickly fades leaving that mentioned dryness to go by itself which turns out to be just perfect. A saline note is here as well but it meshes incredibly well with everything in general. Lastly, there is a flinty note here as well guys and it is a note which really helps in elevating this wine for sure. Well there you have it guys, my review of a very impressive and ultra enjoyable wine. I will go on ahead now and wrap this review, see you in the next paragraph.

   Okay, the moment of truth, what are my final feelings on the wine? Let's begin with my rating of the wine. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I am giving this wine 95 points, I loved it. I will tell you this though, keep the wine very cold because as it warms, the sweetness increases and that is never a good thing, at least in my book anyway. Guys, I am going to go right now and check out my past review draft of this wine and see what I rated this wine, I will be right back. Okay, I am back and in that review I rated this wine at.....95 points. Oh yeah, party dance, getting down, totally.......righteous.....ahhh....yeah...okay. As of now, the 2022 vintage of this wine is available and if it is anything like this wine, it is going to be amazing. I highly recommend that you go out and buy three bottles of this wine just as I am going to do because I know you will love the heck out of it.

                                                                                               The Desert Wine Guy

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2021 Chateau Ste Michelle, Dry Riesling

   Guys, have you ever gotten on a particular wine varietal kick? I mean like all of a sudden you are drinking four Sauvignon Blancs in a row or four Rieslings in a row and your cool with it because you suddenly have a crazy attachment to that particular varietal. Well if you've ever been there and done that, you know where I am right now. I guess as long as we are comfortable with the wine we are drinking, who can tell us we are wrong....right? Wine is about enjoyment so why not drink what you enjoy and in my case, and at this particular time, I have been liking Riesling. Now many of you might find this weird because as I am writing this review, it is the end of December and Central Florida is experiencing some of the coldest temperatures at night that they have experienced in many years at 23 degrees. Oh well, I also wear white after Labor Day so I guess I am a rebel :) Speaking of Riesling, that is what I just so happen to be reviewing today so let's check this wine out.
   Okay guys, today I am going to be taking a look at the 2021 Chateau Ste Michelle, Dry Riesling. I paid $9.99 for this wine and I bought it at my local grocery store. The bottle is cork sealed and, with a real cork as well. The wine comes in at 13% alcohol and its grapes are 100% Riesling and come from the Columbia Valley in Washington State.

   Okay, it is time to take a look at the label on the bottle. For those of you who follow this blog, you already know that I think the label on a wine bottle is very important because it is the first thing that catches the consumers eye on a shelf. Do you want a serious Riesling or do you want a Riesling that is meant for playtime at the pool? I have always liked the label that Chateau Ste Michell puts on their wines as I feel it offers up a sense of a semi seriousness or at least the thought of a well thought out wine being inside the bottle. I really like the size & font of the winery name and the way it provides an offset to the other fonts used. While the wine is available everywhere including some gas stations, it still presents the appearance at least of holding its own and setting itself apart from a lot of other very common wines thanks to the label.
   As I check out the nose of the wine I am getting some light stone fruit in the form of a Yellow Peach here. Following this up is an almost hidden bit of honeysuckle. I am also getting the slightest bit of white flowers as well and it is right in line with that Yellow peach and  honeysuckle as far as presentation goes. Overall, the nose is fairly on the tropical side but is overall rather light. Just going by the nose now, I would guess this wine is probably not an over the top, tropical one on the palate but I will soon see if I am right..
   Now onto the palate presentation aspect of the wine. First up I am getting the belief after tasting just a couple of sips that the wine is true to its name, it is dry. Now, when I say dry, I am not talking over the top, screaming dry. Yes, there is a nicely regulated amount of tropical fruit presented here that provides sufficient fruit sweetness and energy in order to keep your mouth from puckering up or thinking you have stuffed a dry rag into it. There is also a bit of a zippyiness to the wine, an ever so slightest bit of a carbonation to it. I have to keep it real guys, whenever I taste that note in a wine it kind of throws me off. Here in this wine it was no exception and it really did just that for the first two sips however very quickly it became a note that I found rather enjoyable.

The wine offed up some nice lemon, almost with a Nestea type taste in a slight way which I thought was offered up in a way that took any possible twang away but added a slight softness and slight brilliance as well in it's place. A background Yellow Peach note is present as well and I like where it is placed and the palate feel it presents. I also like the fact that I can enjoy the tropicalness here without thinking I am reviewing some badly made white wine that relies on sugar or sweetness to get its likes. Minerality is definitely present although not overwhelming by any means. There is a note of almost like...tannins to the wine guys and although weird as it is a white wine, I am actually enjoying it. This feeling of tannin's certainly isn't crazy but the fact that it is a white wine really makes it rather unique. There is a honeysuckle note to the wine but it is well controlled by the acidity of the wine which is also very nice. This acidity is what I would consider to be at a medium presentation and is certainly sufficient to be doing what it does best which is keeping the wine a very lively and dry one indeed. Okay guys, there you have it, this review is done so I will see you in the next paragraph where I will wrap this all up.

   Folks, I enjoyed the wine. See you later, goodbye. I'm just kidding, lets talk about how I feel concerning this wine. The first thing is, as a reminder, this wine cost me $10 but even if the wine was more expensive, I would still what I am about to say. The wine was very enjoyable and I thought, well made. To me, this is a multi use wine meaning it will impress at a dinner party as well as at the pool. In short, this is a wine you can break out anytime and impress your guests. Overall, the wine is medium as far as tropicalness goes but is really geared more towards being a dry and minerality driven Riesling. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I am giving this wine 92 points. I do recommend you buy the wine as there is nothing offensive about it at all, it is very well made and, the true definition of a crowd pleaser. 

                                                                                               The Desert Wine Guy

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2021 F. Stephen Millier, Viognier

 

   What's up everyone? As I write today's wine review it is a Sunday and the beginning of January, 2023. I hope you all got a chance to relax today and do whatever it is you wanted or needed to do. Here in "Freedom" Florida it is 75 beautiful degrees and while a lot of the country is digging out from snow or wrapping themselves up in jackets or blankets, I began to break out the garden stuff as in a couple of days I will be planting (still indoors) some seeds for this years tomatoes and vegetables. I really get excited this time of year because it means the beginning of me being in the garden and that is always relaxing. Today I even trimmed up my banana plant that is believe it or not, still growing a bunch of bananas from last year and which I do hope to eat eventually. Today, I am also in the mood to celebrate the coming Spring/Summer seasons by reviewing a wine varietal that is made for the Sun, I will see you in the next paragraph and you will find out which varietal I chose. 

   Today guys, I will be taking a look at the 2021 F.Stephen Millier, Viognier. I bought this wine from the on line wine club, Naked Wines which by the way, I have belonged to for about four years now. I paid $12.99 for this wine and the bottle is cork (real) sealed. The wine comes in at 14% alcohol and its grapes come from a single vineyard in Calaveras County which is located in the High Sierra of California. 

   Let's move on now and talk about the label on the bottle.

Viognier Taste Profile

 Most wine reviewers for whatever reason, don't understand the importance of the wine label. I have always contended that the label being the first thing the consumer sees, is vitally important to selling a wine. Are you looking for a serious wine? If so, is does the label come across as serious? Are you looking for a Summer pool wine? Is the label bright and filled with color? I hope you see where I am coming from here. As far as this particular label goes, I am not a lover of it at all. To me, the label is dark and conveys the winter months rather then what it should be celebrating which is the Spring/Summertime. Pushing that aside, I just am not a lover of the fonts used either.

   Okay, now let's move onto the nose of this wine. As I bring the wine to my nose I am getting a nice bit of a honeydew melon as well as light baked apple.

   As for the palate presentation of the wine, the first thing I get is oak. I unfortunetly find the the oak to be a good bit overdone and I find it also to be a note that also unfortunately dominates the wine. There is melon note to the wine which is very nice though but try as it might, it really can't over power that oak. A baked apple note is present here as well but it really seems to latch on to that oak in a way and...yeah...it's just not my favorite. I am getting some nectarine but by its nature, it seems to just play into the oak/baked apple thing and try as it might, it can't pull itself away. Acidity is high which is nice and is one of the positive notes to the wine. Okay so....I am sitting out back by my pool in some beautiful weather, sipping on this wine.

Viognier Grapes on the Vine

I want you to know this so you get my mindset. Keeping this in mind and knowing what I am tasting, I have to ask, are ya smelling what the rock is cooking as an old wrestler would say? Now go ahead and add a bit of a butteriness note to the wine and for me, that is more than enough to shut this review down. This butteriness just pushes the knife even deeper into the heart of the wine and really finishes it off. So there you have it guys, this review while rather short, is done and I will see you in the next paragraph to wrap it all up.

   Alright so the wine is bad. I can't say it any more blunt, I do not recommend you buy it. Oak and baked apple just dominate the wine and that is not good in my book. I have three quarters of a bottle left and it is going down the drain. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale, I am giving the wine 84 points and getting my money back from Naked Wines.

 

                                                                        The Desert Wine Guy

 

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