2016 Héritages

First impression: chokeberry juice fortified with alcohol. Even after aerator. Was sad, first 2016 Côtes du Rhône which is bad. Then, as dinner progressed, taste improved. After half hour, it was pretty good wine. Appeared subtle leather and tobacco notes.
This wine is not ready for drinking. Needs at least another year in the bottle.
It could be great with rabbit dinner, but for the first impression.

2018 Portillo Malbec Rosé

Looks like if red wines are good, rose would be good, too. Although Australians can't make decent rose.
This one is very good. Unmistakable taste and smell of Argentinian Malbec, a bit spicy, a bit citrus. Was great with pan seared grouper.

Cielo rosé blush Pinot Grigio

Cheap rosé from supermarket on Aruba. Very good. Flowers and a bit of spice in the nose, tastes spicy and citrucy.
Was very good with octopus.

2016 Calvert

Very nice sparkling wine from Bordeaux. Not Champagne, but made the same way. Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Zestier than Champagne Rosé wines. A little bit spicy, buttery. But in the bottom, unmistakable Bordeaux Rosé taste.
Was very good with a crabcake.

2017 Fabre en Provence

Very good Rosé from Provence. Nose of a heated summer meadow with honey overtones. Pure honey in taste.

Was very good with seafood paella.

2017 Le Dome du Grand Bois

This company has something to surprise you every year. New crop, new taste. Nose of black pepper a bit of old leather and a mix of berries. Chokeberry, sour cherry and spices in taste. Very well balanced, although a bit young.
I hope 2017 years is good in France. This is the first proof.
Enjoyed it with veal minute steaks.

2011 Bricco del Kurt

Great wine. It's Monferrato. Strong nose and taste of sour cherry. 14.5% alcohol, but very subtle effect.
Was very good with handbells mushroom and veal steaks dinner.

2018 Joseph Drouhin Beaujolais villages nouveaux Premieur

Classy Beaujolais. Nose of a wild rose, hint of a wild rose and caramel in taste. Subtle and classy.
Was good with veal steak dinner.

2016 Grand Cuvee

Nice and unusual Côtes du Rhône. Lots of tannins, no sugar at all, a hint of a bitter note. Good, but not what is expected from Rhone wines.
Was great with veal liver dinner.

2017 Réserve des Bertrands Elégance

Very good Rose.light blush. Nose of summer meadow on a hot day. Tons of honey and a bit of citrus in the taste.
Perfect match for baked fish.

2016 Masseria li Veli Primonero

Nice pizza wine. Now sure it's good for any meat, but went pritty good with chicken BBQ pizza. Medium bodied, nice taste, with significant sugar. Not too sweet, but sweet.

2017 Freeda

Very nice Italian Rosé. In blind testing, I'd say it's something from Provence. Nice nose of summer meadow with a bit of honey, citrus, a bit of honey in taste.
Was very good with fish potato pie.

2015 Rivarey

Very good Rioja. Rich, with complex taste of mixed berries and nose of flowers, which is surprising for Rioja.
Was very good with lam sheppard's pie.

2016 Chapelle St Arnoux

Very good Côtes-du-Rhône. Complex rich taste, chokeberry, citrus, leather. Almost no sugar.
Was very good with grilled steak.

2016 Delas Saint-Esprit

Good year. Not sure it's as good as 2014, need to go through couple more bottles to be sure, but good. All bells and whistles: chokeberry, leather, just a touch of tobacco. Aerator improves wine a lot, so it has a lot of capacity to mature.
Was great with grilled veal burgers.

2017 Le Réveur

Wonderful Rosé. Nose of honey, taste of honey and citrus. Very well balanced. One of the best Rosé wined I've ever tried (and I tasted a lot).
Was great with grilled shrimp and fruit salad.

2016 Haut-Sorillon

Classic Bordeaux. Strong nose and taste of black currant. Meidum-bodied, no sugar, perfection.
Was perfect with salmon grilled on a cedar plank.

2017 Luzón Collección Rosado

Very good Rosé. A touch of citrus, a touch of honey, good overall taste. Was great with octopus.

2017 Faustino VII Rose

Nice Rosé. Caramel and a little citrus in the taste.
Was good with seafood pizza

2016 Haut Perouguet

Liked this producer. Remeber 2005, 2007, 2009, great 2010, 2011, 2014. All were pretty good, with distinct taste, a little bit more body than usual Bordeaux. And now this. Don't know how to describe it. Probably the right word would be "harsh". First thing in the nose and in the taste: alcohol. Second thing, alcohol too. Aerator doesn't help much.
Maybe it needs to rest several years before drinking. But with a screw cap instead of a cork, I don't think this wine will mature properly.
Won't buy again.

2017 Landonnet Rosé

Nice Rosé. I like Provence Rosé, but sometimes you want something different. It's more subtle, nose of a summer meadow. Complex taste, a little honey, a little citrus.
Was great with grilled shrimp.

2016 Le Dôme du Grand Bois

They changed label. Didn't recognize it. But it's still good Côtes du Rhône. Dry, no sugar. Complex taste. Little bit of smoke, leather, chokeberry, all you'd expect.
Was great with grilled veal burgers.

2017 Moulin de Gassac

Very good Rosé from Langue d'Oc. Crisp and dry. Summer grass and citrus notes in the nose, strong citrus and summer meadow in the taste.
Went perfectly with gfilled cod.

2017 Passivento rosso

Good. Powerful Sicilian wine, with taste and nose of mixed berries. A little bit of sugar doesn't interfere with taste.
Was good with rabbit nuggets.

2017 Passivento rosato

First time tried Rose from Sicily. Good. Mix of berries and flowers in the nose, berries in the taste. Was good with fruit and chocolate dessert.

2016 la Chásse Rosé

Good Rose. Little bit lighter than expected. With strong citrus note  and a bit of flower. Good with fruit and chocolate dessert.

Abavas

Sweet Latvian black currant wine. Nice, not too sweet. Very good with dessert.

2016 Léon Perdigal

Nice Cite du Rhine. A little bit lighter than usual Rhine wines, but with all classic notes: chokeberry, leather, tobacco. Was great with beef liver friend with apples.

2017 Passivento Rosé

Very nice Rose wine. Never tried Rose from Sicily before. Strong, powerful, with some citrus, flower and mineral notes. Went perfectly with fruit and chocolate desert.

2016 Château Gromel Bel Au

Wonderful Bordeaux! Nose and taste of mixed red berries. Especially good after aerator, which, instead of softening taste, makes it brighter.

Was very good with trout grilled on a cedar plank.

2015 Sophie & Michelle Belleruche

I love Belleruche. Expected a lot from this wine, probably made by children (need to find out). Huge disappointment. Wine is harsh, nose is unrefined and cheap, taste is harsh and cheap too. Aerator doesn't improve taste one bit. Will not buy again. Maybe later, some other year.

2017 Le Pive Gris (Rosé)

Very interesting Rosé. Quite unusual mix of grapes, very distinct taste. Summer meadow in the nose, flowers, grass in the taste, a little bit of honey in the aftertaste.

D'Orsay

Nice and unusual Provence Rosé. Nose of summer meadow. Taste is nice, grass tones with a little bit of honey in aftertaste.

2017 Wither Hills Pinot Noir Rosé

I like distinct taste of New Zealand Cabernet Sauvignon. Was surprised that New Zealand Rose, Pinot Noir at that, would have similar note. Good wine overall.

2015 Santa Ema Cabernet Sauvignon

I like Cabernet from Chile. This one is one of the best I tried. Good medium bodied wine, rich, almost no sugar, mix of berries in taste and nose.

2017 Typic

Nice Povence Rosé with all bells and whistles. Honey, hot summer grass, citrus. Was a very good complement to grilled fish in a crepé with sea scallops, shrimp, muscles and calamaris in a sweet wine sauce.

2016 Buti Nages

Nice Nimes wine. grassy, citrucy. Was very good with grilled shrimp.

2014 Santa Rita Secret Reserve

I love Chilean reds. This one is exceptional. Interesting blend, mostly Cabernet and Merlo, but addition of Syrah, Petit Verdot and Carmenere makes it unique. It's full-bodied, powerful, very complex taste. Some say it has cloves and violets in the nose, I am not sure. But definitely there is taste of wild berries, a touch of cocoa.
Was great with smokes salmon pizza.

2016 Dune Gris de Gris

Nise Rosé. Spicy. Some honey in the background. Very good with broiled shrimp

2015 Les Rastellains

I loved 2014. But that was a great year for Rhône wines. 2015 isn't that good. But this wine is good. Not as intense and rich as 2014, but quite decent. Same notes in taste and nose, but subdued: chokeberry, just a hint of raspberry, old leather.
Was quite good with broiled veal.

2014 Gérard Bertrand Languedoc

This is another example of great wine from Gérard Bertrand. Smells and tastes like Rhône wines. Full bodied, powerful, with nice complex taste and nose.

2016 Monte del Frá Bardolino

Wonderful wine from Italy. Wine Enthusiast gave it 92 points and I completely agree. Very complex nose and taste. Mix of berries in taste, hard to separate, you just want to enjoy it.

2015 BLau Montsant

Not from Austria, although at the blind tasting you'd never say so. But Austrian wines are pretty expensive in US, and this one tastes like one. Because it made (in part) from Mosel grapes.

2015 Alinos

Nice wine from Sardinia. Very spicy, hard to describe mix of spices, both in the nose and taste. Strong taste of raspberry with a hint of strawberry.
Was good with smoked salmon pizza.

2013 The Stump

Usually I suspicious of wines with bright and fancy labels. Saw it several times in different shops, didn't want to buy. A week ago at Surdik's it was on tasting table. Tried it. Liked it.
Surprising wine. Usually Australian wines are bold and in your face. Aussie wines containing shiraz have very distinctive taste and nose. This one is different. In a blind tasting I would say it's Côtes du Rhône. Well, not exactly, but that's the closest I can place it. Yes, the mix is exactly what you would expect from Rhône wines, but there is no that Aussie shiraz bold note.
Very complex nose and taste. Black currant, leather, smoke, caramelle. And something else I can't place. Some sugar, but not much. Perfect overall. Considering price, just great!
Was a great compliment to shepherd's pie dinner.

2014 Chateau Hyot

Third bottle from Costco box. Decent Bordeaux, althought I'd expect better from 2014.

2012 Château Marsau

Last bottle from the Costco box. And by far the best one. Which was surprising, because it's not Bordeaus, it's Côtes de Bordeaux (different appelation). And 2012 was not the best in the South of France, good wines from some producers, not so good from others.
But this one is pretty good. Nose and taste of good Bordeaux: black currant, a little bit of leather. If I see it somewhere, would buy it.
Went pretty good with chicken BBQ pizza.

Brin de Rosé

Strange wine. No producer, no year, no appelation. Some reviews claim that it made of grenash and cinsault. But I don't care about such small things when taste is great. And it is. Real Rosé from Provence, with nose and taste of light honey. One of the best Rosé wines I tasted.
Was very good with sole stuffed with crab meat.

2015 Francs Magnvs

A little bit lighter than 2014, but still pretty good Bordeaux. Black currant, a hint of citrus.
Was good with smoked salmon pizza, should be good with any red meat or some fish, like tuna, mahi mahi, swordfish, marlin, salmon.

2014 Château de Riberon

Every year Costco sells a set of four Bourdeaux bottles in a box. Usually pretty good wine, and something you usually never see in US. This is the first bottle from 2018 box.
Disappointing. I expect from Bordeaux nose and taste of black currant, raspberry, some tannins in taste. Nothing here. Just taste of generic red wine and strong aftertaste of brandy. Well, if I want brandy I would drink one.
Would not buy this wine again.

2014 Château Haut Sociondo

This is a second bottle from this year Costco box. Nice Bordeaux. No sugar at all, some tannins, a lot of black currant in nose, some in taste. A little bit harsh aftertaste, but disappears with time in a glass.
Went pretty good with chicken BBQ pizza.

2014 Château Gayon

Good Bordeaux. Strong, zesty. Nose and taste of sour cherry, black currant, smoke. Went great with smoked pork chops. Would be pretty good for BBQ.

2014 Château Bellevue Peycharneau

Wonderful Bordeaux. Complex nose of good Bordeaux. Taste of a berry just squeezed in your mouth. But not some normal berry. It's a kind of a hybrid of sour cherry, black currant and chokeberry. Almost no sugar.
Was pretty good with smoked trout pizza.