Tim's Wine Blog

Front View of the Wine Label Back View of the Wine Label Myself and the Wine Label For this tasting report I drank Rondel Brut Cava. Grapes included in this wine are Macabeo, Xarello, and Paradella. This wine is from the Cava region of Spain. This wine does not have a specific vintage year and costs $9.50. Total Wine reviewed this wine as "More fruity than dry, this ""extreme brut"" is filled with soft peach and nut flavors, their fragrance lifted by floral tones of white lilies. Briny and fresh, the flavors last. Fantastic with shrimp tempura." From page 1567 in the Wine Folly textbook, Cava generally have flavors of quince, lime, yellow apple, chamomile, and almond cream. My personal review of this wine is rather negative. I have had champagne a few times before and this cava did not live up to the experience I have had with champagne. I know cava is not supposed to be exactly like champagne, but I found the dryness of this wine to be not to my liking. I...

Front View of the Wine Label Back View of the Wine Label The Fellas and Myself with the Bottle of Wine For this tasting report, I drank Quevedo 10 Year Old Tawny Port. The grape varieties in this wine include Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Tinta, Barroca, Tinta Roriz, and many more. This wine comes from the Porto region of Portugal and is a mix of multiple vintage years. A bottle costs 19 dollars. This wine was reviewed by Roger Voss and received a rating of 88, Voss also described it as "Deep, almost black in color, it has a few flecks of gold to show the wood aging. Aged in big barrels, it has kept considerable fruitiness and fragrant acidity. It's sweet at the end." From the Wine Folly textbook on page 684, ports generally have flavors of black plum, dried cherry, chocolate, and raisin. Personally, I was a fan of this wine. It was a little strong in flavor, but that was expected considering its higher alcohol content. I wouldn't want to drink this wine quickly, ...

  Front view of the wine label Back view of the wine label Myself and the wine bottle The name of this wine is Free Reign Pinot Grigio made with Pinot Grigio grapes. It is a 2020 vintage from California, USA, and costs seven dollars at Kroger. Kroger says of this wine "Free Reign Pinot Grigio is more than a bottle of wine – it’s a conversation starter, a crowd-pleaser, a statement. This Pinot Grigio has notes of ripe tree and stone fruit layered with hints of lemon and lime. Bursting with apple aromas and refreshing fruit characteristics with a crisp and clean finish." Some characteristics of Pinot Grigio can be found on page 1349 of the Wine Folly text and are green apple, unripe peach, thyme, lime zest, and quince. My review of this wine is fairly positive. I drank the wine without any food. I enjoyed this wine more than the Malbec I reviewed earlier. I found it easier to pick up the notes and flavors like peach and lime. The body of this wine was not very full which I wasn...

  Front view of the wine label Back view of the wine label Myself and the fellas (I am in the middle) This wine is named Sin Fronteras Lodi Malbec 2020. The grape variety in this wine is Malbec and its country of origin is the US specifically California. The vintage year of this wine is 2020 and it cost fifteen dollars on nakedwines.com. The only review I was able to find was on the website we purchased the bottle from. Nakedwines.com says of this wine "Hello, horsepower. These rich reds are gunning with rich, ravishing and refined flavors... and practically bursting with sumptuous charm!". From page 520 of the Wine Folly text, Malbecs have notes of red plum, blackberry, vanilla, sweet tobacco, and cocoa. My review of this wine is not very favorable as I really didn't enjoy it that much. I thought it was very sour and I struggled to detect the notes and flavors I was expecting. However, I did really enjoy the body and mouthfeel. It was very strong and heavy in my mouth wh...