Joseph's Wine Blog

Name:  De Negoce Lot 160 Red Blend Variety:  Red Blend (55%  Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Malbec, 12% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 8% Syrah) Region:  Columbia Valley, Washington Country:  USA Year:  2018   Price:  $40     Winery Review:  Tasting the wine you get red fruits, cherry, black currant. Slightly syrupy (though doubt any RS, definitely a dry wine), with chocolate and spice. Medium finish. This is a very good QPR, though at a higher price point the wine is disjointed, like a field blend of a bunch of leftovers. This is age-able, in fact, it feels a little young to drink now, but definitely a great weeknight pizza wine.   Wine Folly: Pg 184, the description for the Washington red wines were fruity with sweet-tart acidity, which I really picked up on. The acidity of the red was very memorable, its the key facet I remember. My Review: I got to enjoy this wine at the wedding reception for one of my closest friends, so I didn't take any notes on the flavors I got, and I didn't

    Name:  Apothic Red Winemakers Blend Variety:  Zinfandel, Syrah, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon Region:  California Country:  USA Year:  2020 Price:  $11 Winery Review:  There’s a new red wine that’s becoming a bit of a hit. But the wine writing fraternity are up in arms. It’s Apothic red, from California, and leading UK critic Tim Atkin has described it as ‘undrinkable’. The problem? It’s sweet. It has 16.4 grams per litre of residual sugar. It certainly isn’t the first red wine to be sweetened up like this: over the last decade, residual sugar levels have been creeping up, and producers have found that regular punters quite like reds that are marketed as dry, but which taste a little sweet. . Wine Folly: pg. 292-294 Talks about the wines in this blend, and the Syrah helps with the berries, as well as the Zinfandel, which has the raspberry hints that I'm picking up on. I think that is were a lot of the flavors I was picking up on. I did use a proper sized glass this time, but I

Name:  Josh Reserve North Coast  Cabernet Sauvignon Variety:  100%  Cabernet Sauvignon Region:  North Coast AVA, California Country:  USA Year:  2019 Price:  $22 Winery Review:  This big, structured wine will need an equally big, meaty dish to pair with, since it wraps very firm tannins around delicious spices and black fruits. A good sense of layering and concentration helps it stand out from the pack. Wine Folly: pg. 265 Cab Sav in general recommends and oversized glass at room temp. I didn't use the oversized glass but it was served at room temperature. It talks about lots of dark berry flavors, plus pepper and cocoa. I definitely picked up on the dark fruits and pepper flavors, but I didn't get any of the chocolate. It also mentioned the tannins, which I definitely picked up on.                          My Review: I really enjoyed this wine! My enjoyment was definitely enhanced by the lack of good wines I've                                  had over the past few weeks,