Sean's Wine Blog

 1)  2)  3) Kendall Jackson Vinter's Reserve, Chardonnay, United States, California, 2019, $10.00 4) Review from Viviano: "Great expression of oak and butter in a chardonnay. good balance, complexity, and finish. Buttery with lots of oak surrounding the apple and pear fruit with a tropical fruit finish." 5) From Wine Folly: One of the world's most popular grapes, chardonnay is made in a wide range of styles from sparkling blanc de blancs to rich, creamy white wines aged in oak. Flavors include yellow apple, starfruit, pineapple, vanilla, and butter. Mostly made in France and USA. 6) I drank this without any food. My mom bought this wine a couple days ago when she came to visit so it had been open a couple days and I couldn't taste it right when she opened it because I had surgery that day, so lets hope 2 day old chardonnay is still good. Smell is apple and pear, very fruity but not berry or citrus. Feel wise it was very smooth and felt good going down. I definitel...

 1)  2)  3) Black Box Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chile, Not sure what region, 2020, $5.00 4) Viviano review: "a little sweet, lots of vanilla and black cherry. noticeable oak. Would be good if it were a bit drier and had more depth" 5) From Wine folly: World's most popular wine is a natural cross between cabernet franc and sauvignon blanc that originated in Bordeaux. Wines are concentrated and age worthy. Rich flavor and high tannin content. Flavors include black cherry, black currant, cedar, baking spices, graphite. 3 main countries are France, Chile, and USA. Pages 88-89 6) I drank this without any food. The smell I get from this wine is black cherry/ cranberry but it is not too strong. Very hard to get a read on the smell. Very light mouth feel, however it was super dry and even burned a little after I swallowed. Taste wise it was all black cherry and not much else. Honestly for being the most popular wine grape in the world I was expecting more. I did not...

 1.  2.  3. Winking Owl, Sauvignon Blanc, United States, California, 2017, $2.99 4. Review from Viviano, This white wine opens nose of citrus and floral. It is dry with light citrus and acidity. flavors of green apple, peach, and citrus 5. From wine folly, A unique tasting white wine with strong herbaceous flavors that are derived from compounds called methoxypyrazines. Flavors include gooseberry, honeydew, grapefruit, white peach, and passion fruit. Made in many different places. pages 165-166 6. I had this wine with no food. The feel in the mouth was very light and dry but not crazy dry. I did not taste a lot of the herbaceous flavors described in the book. I tasted more green apple and citrus flavors. Maybe a little lemon too. I did not enjoy it as much as the other wines I've tasted so far. It said on the bottle to pair this with seafood or light pasta dishes so I will have to try that next time. Overall rating 7.0/10

 1.  2.  3. Hwy 5 Merlot, Merlot, United States, California, 2019, $6.99 4. Review from Viviano: Deep ruby in the glass with non persistent legs. Nose intensity is medium. simple with aromas of black plum, back cherry, and vanilla. dry and light bodied. low tannins. low acidity. medium alcohol. medium flavor intensity. short finish. acceptable due to balance. easy to drink, but lacking length, intensity, and complexity 5. From Wine folly pages 131-132, Merlot is loved for its boisterous black cherry flavors, supple tannins, and smokey or chocolatey finish. Flavors shown are cherry, plum, chocolate, dried herbs, and vanilla. Grown mostly in france but found in lots of places 6. Smells are very cherry and plum heavy with something else I just can't place. Smooth and light on the mouth. A little dry but nothing crazy. Not as sweet as some of the other wines I've reviewed. I can definitely taste the cherry and plum with a slight vanilla flavor as well. I could drink this all ...

 1)  2)  3) Peach Moscato, Muscat, United States, California, Has no year on it, $2.99 4) Couldn't find a review for the peach moscato, but one for bay bridge's regular moscato said "definetly fruity and sweet. Not too complex though. Weak nose, strong palate of apple and pear." 5) From Wine Folly, Muscat Blanc grapes have orange blossom, meyer lemon, mandarin orange, ripe pear, and honeysuckle flavors. They range from dry to sweet and still to sparkling and even fortified 6) I drank this without any food. The first thing I noticed was the sweetness. Just imagine drinking grape soda without the bubbles and that's how sweet this was. You could taste a little hint of peach, but it mostly tasted like the apple and pear flavors described in the regular moscato review. Very fruity and very sweet and I enjoyed drinking it. Overall 8.1/10

 1)  2)  3) Black Shadow, Concord, United States, Kentucky, ? has no date on bottle, $14.99 4) This must be a pretty rare wine because I could not find any reviews of black shadow 5) From Wine Folly book, concord has grape, plum sauce, musky, potting soil, and cumin flavors. Combines well with peanut butter sandwich to make an alcoholic PB&J. Most planted grape in New York 6) I drank this wine by itself with no food. It tasted very grapey kind of like jelly as i expected since the concord grape is used to make grape jelly. It was quite sweet as well. Lots of fruitiness and not a lot else. It went down easy and I enjoyed it but I'm not sure if it's my favorite. Overall rating 7.3/10