Wine Reviews

  Name: Faust Location: Napa Valley, California Grape Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon Vintage: 2018 Price: ~$70 Critic Review (James Suckling) "Blackberry, blackcurrant, graphite and tar aromas. Crushed stone, too. Full-bodied, yet firm, fresh and bright with a creamy, crunchy finish. One of the best values in Napa appellation designated reds. Drink or hold." Wine Folly Flavors Cabernet Sauvignon - Black cherry, black currant, cedar, baking spices, graphite. Overall: Dry, full body, medium-high tannins. My Review Man, I loved this wine. This was a wine that was split between my friends and me. It was extremely balanced. Probably the best feature of this wine was how nicely balanced the tannins, acidity, and flavors were. It had a nice fruitiness to it while also maintaining some more leathery/earthy notes. I decanted the wine for a good 45 minutes to try and bring out more of the flavor. Maybe the only downside of this wine was that it felt just slightly muted in taste, but it wa

 Name: Lapis Luna Reserve Cabernet Franc Location: California Grape Variety: Cabernet Franc Vintage: 2020 Price: ~$20 Wine Enthusiast Full of delicious black-fruit flavors and braced by fine-grained tannins, this ripe and full-bodied wine offers layers of black cherries, blueberries and dark chocolate shaded with handsome vanilla, clove and cinnamon notes. Wine Folly Flavors Cabernet Franc - Strawberry, raspberry, bell pepper, crushed gravel, chili pepper Overall: Dry, medium body, medium-high tannins, medium-high acidity. My Review This was the second wine we tasted at vintage cellar. It was not my preferred, but I thought it was cool to try a primarily Cabernet Franc wine. It was definitely different from the more traditional cabernet sauvignon. It tasted a little more minerally and had notes of green bell pepper. It was relatively dry which I liked. Honestly, I thought the label was really cool too. Overall, a solid wine but not necessarily something I would seek out. I also didn

 Name: La Playa Location: Colchagua Valley, Chile Grape Variety: Carmenere Vintage: 2019 Price: ~$10 Wine Enthusiast "This wine's berry and clove aromas include notes of forced oak. The palate is raw and grippy, with tomato, plum, green herb and clove notes. The thin, drying finish is rough with tannin. Michael Schachner" Wine Folly Flavors Carmenere - Raspberry, Bell Pepper, Black Plum, Paprika, Vanilla Overall: Dry, medium body, medium tannins, medium acidity. My Review This was a wine they had at the vintage cellar. I was honestly surprised to find that it was only $10. It had a smell I had never had before. It was a little gamey or spicey. When tasting it, it had a pleasant, earthy taste. It reminded me a lot of the traditional Bordeaux taste which makes sense since it is one of the Bordeaux grape varieties. To me, it didn't seem super dry like I would've expected. It felt a little bit lighter similar to a Merlot. I didn't have the chance to try this with

 Name: Beliveau Destiny Location: Virginia! Grape Variety: Vidal Blanc Vintage: 2020 Price: ~$25 Beliveau Tasting Notes Our signature white wine. Dry and unoaked with citrus notes and kiwi. Wine Folly Flavors Vidal Blanc - White currant, pineapple, honeydew, lychee, honeysuckle Overall: Off-Dry, medium body, low tannins, high acidity. My Review This was a wine offered for free tasting at the Vintage Cellar. This white wine impressed me. I had never had a Vidal Blanc wine before, so I wasn't all too familiar with the flavor profile. This wine was relatively dry with a very distinct crispiness to it. On a warm summer day, I imagine this would be extremely refreshing! Upon tasting it, there were notes of citrus (lemon) and slight fruitiness. I tend to prefer my wines drier and so I found this to be really refreshing and pleasant to drink. I didn't pair this with any food, but I imagine this would go well with an appetizer salad with a vinaigrette dressing. Overall, a very enjoyabl

 Name: Beliveau Warm Glow Location: Virginia! Grape Variety: Chambourcin Vintage: 2020 Price: ~$25 Virginia Wine Notes Semi-sweet with notes of dark chocolate and cherry. Flavor notes (link:  Chambourcin Grape Variety & Wine Profile: Taste & Food Pairings • Winetraveler ) Chambourcin - Black cherry, red fruit, herbaceous notes, black pepper, chocolate Overall: Semi-sweet, medium body, medium tannins, high acidity. My Review I had this wine at the wine tasting at Vintage Cellar. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect given I had never tried Chambourcin before. The first thing I noticed was the sweetness. For a red wine, this was far sweeter than I would have initially expected. It was a pretty light wine that wasn't very tannic. It was very smooth. It tasted a lot of red fruit or berry taste with notes of raspberry. There was also hints of green taste too that could best be described as herbs. I didn't have this chance to pair this with any cheese. I imagine it would

Name: Hess Cabernet Sauvignon Location: Paso Robles, California Grape Variety: 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 10% Malbec Vintage: 2020 Price: ~$25 Hess Review "Concentrated upon entry, this wine delivers luxurious notes of black currant, plum and black cherry. Finely grained tannins provide a round, balanced mouthfeel. The layers of juicy black fruit lead to elements of dark chocolate supported by a subtle vanilla oak spice that adds to the complexity of the wine and shows its finesse on the long, lingering finish." Wine Folly Flavors Cabernet Sauvignon - Black cherry, black currant, cedar, baking spices, graphite. Merlot - Cherry, plum, chocolate, bay leaf, vanilla Malbec - Red Plum, blackberry, vanilla, sweet tobacco, cocoa. Overall: Dry, medium-full body, medium-high tannins. My Review I tried this wine for free at a wine tasting at Vintage Cellar. This wine was the last on the list and I had the highest expectations for since I'm typically a big fan of big body w

 Name: Costa Di Bussia Tenuta Arnulfo Barolo Location: Barolo Grape Variety: Nebbiolo Vintage: 2017 Price: ~$50 Wine Spectator Review "Aromas of black-skinned berries, scorched earth and leather shape the nose. The savory palate offers Marasca cherry, star anise and tobacco alongside firm tannins." Wine Folly Flavors Nebbiolo - Cherry, rose, leather, anise, clay pot. Overall: Bone-dry, medium-full body, high tannins, medium-high acidity. My Review Wow, this wine was extremely tannic. Personally, I love tannic wines, but this took tannic to another level! Certainly, this wine needs to be paired with food and it should probably be aged for some considerable time. Overall, I thought wine was pretty earthy with notes of leather. Interestingly, it was a pretty light-colored wine, similar to what you might expect a pinot noir to look like. However, it is certainly tastes nothing like pinot noir! I paired this with some brie, and it definitely softened some of the tannins. Make sure

 Name: Gran Moraine Yamhill-Carlton Location: Oregon Grape Variety: Pinot Noir Vintage: 2018 Price: ~$40 Wine Spectator Review "Dynamic yet elegant and sleek, with refined cherry, dusky spice and crushed stone accents that take on richness and structure toward medium-grained tannins." Wine Folly Flavors Pinot Noir - Cherry, raspberry, mushroom, clove, hibiscus. Overall: Dry, medium body, low tannins, medium-high acidity. My Review My first taste, right when the bottle was opened was a distinct oak flavor followed by what I could only really describe as citrus or orange peel. The sudden oak was a little off putting and the flavors seemed somewhat muted so I decanted the wine for about 30 minutes. Afterwards, the oakiness seemed to fade some and more of the red fruit came forward. Still, the pinot was significantly more earthy than I would have imagined. I've always associated pinot noir with being extremely fruit-forward so that was a bit of a curveball. Maybe this is more

Name: Crown Point Relevant Cabernet Sauvignon Location: Napa Valley, California Grape Variety: 80% Cabernet Sauvignon,10% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 5% Malbec Vintage: 2019 Price: bought for $27, retails for ~$70 Critic Review (Jeb Dunnuck) "A ripe, fat, opulent, pleasure-bent effort, it has full-bodied aromas and flavors, lots of dark, chocolaty fruit, good balance, and a great finish." Wine Folly Flavors Cabernet Sauvignon (primary) - Black cherry, black currant, cedar, baking spices, graphite. Overall: Dry, full body, medium-high tannins. My Review Immediately, my first reaction to the wine was that it didn't have a ton of flavor and was very tannic. My friends and I decided it would be best to decant the wine to try and bring out more of the flavor. After about an hour, this wine opened up a lot. To me, there was a mix of blackberry, earthy flavors. Even with the very high tannins, I still really enjoyed this wine. With some age, it might mellow out some and be very dri

 Name: Honig Location: Rutherford, Napa Valley, California Grape Variety: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon Vintage: 2013 Price: ~$40 Critic Review (James Suckling) "Lots of blackberry and cherry aromas and flavors with hints of toasted oak. Full body, round and velvety texture. Fresh finish. Drink." Wine Folly Flavors Cabernet Sauvignon - Black cherry, black currant, cedar, baking spices, graphite. Overall: Dry, full body, medium-high tannins. My Review This wine was really good. It's very dry, relatively tannic and very bold. It's got a unique almost dusty taste to it. With some quick research, this seems like a very common trait to wine produced out of Rutherford. They call it "Rutherford dust". Personally, I loved it. Its earthy with hints of leather and vanilla. Overall, I really enjoyed this wine and would love it have it again someday.

Name: Unanime Gran Vino Tinto Country: Argentina, Mascota Vineyards Grape Variety: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Malbec, 15% Cabernet Franc Vintage: 2017 Price: ~$24 Critic Review (James Suckling) "This is a rich, dense red with blackberry and blueberry aromas and flavors. Extremely well-crafted tannins. Hints of vanilla to the ripe fruit at the end. Incredible value...already beautiful to taste." Wine Folly Flavors Cabernet Sauvignon - Black cherry, black currant, cedar, baking spices, graphite. Malbec - Red Plum, blackberry, vanilla, sweet tobacco, cocoa. Cabernet Franc - Strawberry, raspberry, bell pepper, crushed gravel, chili pepper. Overall: Dry, full body, medium-high tannins. My Review I enjoyed this wine a lot. To me, it had a lot of black cherry, black currant notes and a lot of earthy notes as well. It was very dry and pretty tannic as well. It had a full body and would pair well with something like a steak. However, I didn't pair this with any food or cheese. Ov