Meadowcroft Wines The Panorama 2017 Napa Valley, California

Dark ruby in color with a pretty reddish rim.

Fruity nose with blueberries, black cherries, oak, vanilla, coffee, licorice, spices, chocolates, pencil lead, light herbs and black pepper.

Medium plus in body with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with plums, black currants, cherries, oak, chocolates, vanilla, spices, tobacco, herbs, earth, light vegetables, pencil lead and peppercorn.

Medium plus in length on the finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.

This is a delicious Bordeaux blend from Napa Valley. Still young, but already tasty. Nicely balanced and spicy, with a soft mouthfeel.

Good right out of the bottle and better after 2 hours of airtime, when tannins come in. Would be nice to check it out again in 5 years.

A nice food wine, and good by itself as a sipping wine as well. Very enjoyable and easy to drink. Elegant and fruit forward.

I paired it with dried meats and Brie cheese.

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit verdot, Merlot and Malbec. Aged in French oak barrels (30% new) for over 2 years.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$65.

Kukeri Wines Stags Leap District Proprietary Red Blend 2018 Napa Valley, California

It’s time for a nice Cabernet for my #FridayCabernetfix.

Dark ruby in color with a reddish rim.

Strong nose of blackberries, black currants, cooked plums, cedar, earth, vanilla, licorice, espresso, pencil lead, black pepper, spices, herbs and light vegetables.

Full-bodied, big and smooth, with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with blackberries, black currants, black plums, oak, licorice, spices, coffee, cola, pencil lead, light peppercorn, vegetables, vanilla, earth and beef jerky.

Medium plus on the finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cherries.

This young Bordeaux blend from Stags Leap is spicy and interesting, and already drinking very nicely. Fruit forward and nicely balanced.

Showing nice complexity with a great mouthfeel. Tasty and rich, soft and warm.

Needs 2 hours to open up properly, so be patient.

Showing great potential to be a great 95+ point wine, and will age nicely in the next 15 years. A good quality wine that would be nice to revisit in 5 to 10 years.

I paired it with a Charcuterie board of meats and cheeses. Will pair nicely with BBQ Meats.

A blend of 52% Cabernet Franc, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Malbec, 3% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot. A small production of only 290 cases. Aged in French and American oak barrels for 18 months.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$65.

Foyt Family Wines Meritage No 72 2016 Sonoma County, California

Time to add some Merlot to our life, on this #MerlotThursday. This Meritage blend will have to do.

This is a very tasty red blend from Sonoma County. Nicely balanced, spicy and tangy with a nice mouthfeel and nice complexity.

Showing black fruits with cedar, vanilla, leather, spices, earth, chocolates, tobacco, peppercorn, graphite and dark coffee.

Medium plus in body with medium acidity and long legs.

Tangy finish with fine grained tannins and tangy raspberries.

Good by itself or with food. I let it open up in a decanter for 3 hours.

Should age nicely in the next 5 years.

Paired very nicely with the Camembert cheese.

A blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 6% Malbec and 3% Petit Verdot.

14.2% alcohol by volume.

91 points.

$38.

Calla Lily Estate Audax Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2015, California

We have a new president! Time for a Celebratory wine 🍷

Dark ruby in color with a wide reddish rim.

Fruity nose with cedar, blackberries, vanilla, licorice, black plums, black currants, raisins, figs, chocolates, cola, earth, coffee, spices, violets and black pepper.

Full bodied, elegant and smooth, with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry and fruity on the palate with blackberries, black currants, plums, cooked cherries, cedar, vanilla, spices, espresso, cola, dark chocolates, peppercorn, tobacco and light herbs.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cherries.

This is a delicious Bordeaux blend from Napa Valley. Showing nice complexity with a great mouthfeel.

Easy drinking and elegant. Nicely balanced, fruit forward and spicy.

Good right out of the bottle and better with some air time (90 minutes).

This 5 year old is still young, and will age nicely in the next 10 years.
Nice to see a Napa Cabernet that is not too high in alcohol.

Good by itself or with food. A great sipping wine by the porch, but will be great with a piece of steak too.

A blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Malbec. Aged for 27 months in French Oak barrels (50% new). A very small production of only 1,600 bottles.

14.1% alcohol by alcohol.

93 points

$120.

Grand Napa Vineyards Master Red 2018 Napa Valley, California

Dark ruby in color with a reddish rim.

Earthy on the nose with blueberries, currants, black cherries, earth, oak, spices, vegetables, bell pepper, dark chocolates, pencil lead and black pepper.

Full bodied and soft with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with black currants, cherries, sweet raspberries, barnyard, tobacco, spices, oak, earth, vegetables, herbs, chocolates, tobacco leaf and peppercorn.

Medium on the finish with soft tannins and tangy spices.

This is a very young red blend from Napa Valley. Earthy and spicy, and drinks more like an old world Cabernet Sauvignon based Bordeaux.

Showing a soft and elegant mouthfeel, with nice complexity. Stinky right out of the bottle. A very interesting wine with good potential.

Needs 3 to 5 years to come to itself, so be patient, as it will age nicely in the next 10 years.

I gave it 3 hours to open up, and paired it with meats and cheeses. Paired very nicely with the brie cheese and will be great with BBQ Meats.

A blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Malbec and 20% Merlot. A limited production of 775 cases.

14.6% alcohol by volume.

90 points.

$90.

L’Ecole No 41 Columbia Valley Merlot 2017, Washington State

It’s time for some Merlot on this #MerlotThursday. Here’s a nice one from Columbia Valley.

Dark ruby in color with a nice reddish rim.

Light nose of blueberries, black plums, cedar, light vanilla, earth, chocolates, pencil lead and black pepper.

Full bodied with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with blackberries, black currants, plums, cooked cherries, cedar, vanilla, spices, chocolates, tobacco, coke, light vegetables and peppercorn.

Medium plus on the finish with round tannins and tangy raspberries.

This is a very tasty Merlot based Bordeaux blend from Washington State. Showing mild complexity with a nice mouthfeel.

Good by itself and with food. Nicely balanced and tangy.

Still young, but already enjoyable. Would be Interesting to see how this evolves in the next couple of years.

I’ve had the 2012 vintage a couple of years ago and I like this vintage better.

Wine Enthusiasts 92 points.

Needed 90 minutes in the decanter to open up properly, so give it time.

I paired it with a charcuterie board of meats and cheeses. Really nice with the extra fatty Brie cheese.

A blend of 81% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot. Aged for 18 months in Oak barrels (30% new).

14.5% alcohol by volume.

91 points.

$24.

Obra Prima Maximus Malbec 2014 Mendoza, Argentina

This is a very tasty six-year-old Malbec from Mendoza. Nicely balanced with a nice mouthfeel.

Showing black fruits with vegetables, light vanilla, spices, black olives, earth, bitter herbs, barnyard, wood, tobacco, dark coffee and black pepper.

Medium plus in body with medium acidity and soft tannins.

I had it before, and this time I had it right out of the bottle, and it was really nice.

Good by itself or with food. I paired it with a cheese plate.

A blend of 80% Malbec, 10% Syrah and 10% Cabernet Franc.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

89 points.

Carmel Winery Admon Vineyard Malbec 2016, Israel

Dark Inky in color with a short purplish rim.

Strong nose of plums, blackcurrants, blackberries, earth, wood, vanilla, smoke, peppercorn, spices, tobacco, dark chocolates, espresso, light herbs and pencil lead.

Full bodied with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with black plums, black cherries, black currants, oak, vanilla, licorice, spices, chocolates, earth, tobacco, herbs, bitter vegetables and peppercorn.

Medium finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cherries.

This is a very nice Malbec from Israel. This Single Vineyard is spicy with a tangy finish.

This Single Vineyard is nicely balanced and fruit forward, with mild complexity and a nice mouthfeel.

I gave it 3 hours to open up, but it is drinkable right out of the bottle (I usually give Malbecs 3 hours of airtime, Probably a personal preference, though). Showing an aromatic nose, once it opens up, so give it time.

I’ve had the 2014 not too long ago, and it was much better, so it would be worth your while to wait with this for a couple of years.

Good by itself as a sipping wine. I paired it with cheeses and crackers.

100% Malbec grapes are grown in the upper Galilee region at 2,200 feet of elevation. Aged for 15 months in French Oak barrels. Kosher and non Mevushal.

15.5% alcohol by volume.

90 points.

$30.

Newton Vineyard Unfiltered Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, California

To support the wineries that are the victims of the Glass fires, here is a delicious one from Newton Vineyard.

Dark ruby in color with a short purple rim.

Great nose of blueberries, cooked cherries, cedar, leather, earth, vanilla, licorice, spices, chocolates, coke, tobacco, light alcohol, mocha and black pepper.

Full bodied with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with blackberries, cooked cherries, dried figs, raisins, vanilla, cedar, licorice, mocha, coke and peppercorn.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cherries.

This 10 year old Cabernet Sauvignon is drinking wonderfully, right out of the bottle. Very tasty and enjoyable by itself.

Very complex with a great mouthfeel. Rich and smooth. Awesome nose, that I kept smelling on for a long time.

This would have been even better if we had a couple of hours to open it up properly, but it was gone so quickly.

Robert Parker 94 points.

Delicious now and will continue to drink nicely in the next 5 years.

Good by itself or with food. I paired it with beef kebabs.

A blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Syrah, 7% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec.

14.5% alcohol by volume.

95 points.

$55 (current vintage).

Netofa Winery Tel Qasser Roussanne 2017, Israel

Golden in color.

Spicy nose with ripen yellow apples, spices, light vanilla, wood, bitter herbs, vegetables, apricots, peppercorn, citrus and lemons.

Full bodied with medium acidity.

Dry on the palate with apples, over ripened citrus fruits, lemons, light butter, herbs, limes, spices and black pepper.

Tangy finish with black pepper and limes.

This 3 year old Roussanne from Israel is delicious now. Showing nice complexity with a great buttery mouthfeel.

I had it a year ago, and it is drinking nicer now. Would be nice to see how this evolves in the next year or two. Nicer when it opens up (30 minutes). A good quality wine.

Good by itself or with food. I paired it with grape leaves, crackers, cheeses and olives.

100% Roussanne grapes from the Galilee were aged for 10 months in French oak barrels. Kosher.

13.5% alcohol by volume.

90 points.

$32.