From the Cellar

Pinot Plus (New Zealand / California / Australia)

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Category: Uncorked Tonight

(December 22, 2018) ... It's a night of a couple of Pinots in Michigan over the holidays, plus we added a few other treats into the mix ... Starting with a Seaside 2016 Pinot Noir (New Zealand) - It's a simple, easy drinking Pinot with juicy notes of red currant, which was very much in contrast with the William Wright 2016 Pinot Noir (California) which was a very approachable black currant, earthy, spiced plum, but mainly a fruit forward core ... I found this to be a well structured California Pinot with lots of great flavour, it was a funny little wine I picked up at Aldi's in Michigan.

We then opened a bottle of Lazy Bones 2015 Cabernet Franc (California) ... There is a sweet note to the fruit, but that's California, plenty of blackberry, black tea, black currant, white pepper, and black raspberry. Not what I'm used to in my Franc, but certainly a style that will be loved by others.

Finally this one I pulled from my cellar and brought along: Stalking Horse 2008 Shiraz (Australia) a bruising 15% alcohol, but a well-aged Aussie Shiraz that wasn't just full-on fruit: licorice, black cherry, kirsch, spiced x-mas cake and rich plum, plus hints of red cocoa and bittersweet chocolate, all with an herbal and vanilla finish.

Lockwood 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon (California)

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Category: Uncorked Tonight

(January 15, 2019) ... Having visited Monterey in the past I know they pride themselves on being a "cool climate" region within California's warm climate, and this wine shows that in this "cool" part of the state you can still grow and age some nice Cabernet. This is a nice piece of winemaking here and it really surprised me at how well it held on: dried dark fruit but with great acid punch that really helps show the wine off in a good light, while still managing to keep it fresh - there's even hints of anise and new leather swimming around in here; the only thing that really gives away its age is the amount of sediment it threw in the bottom of the last glass.