Wine, wine, wine, wine and more wine

Trying to catch up from all the wine we enjoyed on our recent 3 week Florida trip/Caribbean cruise. Here is a report on a wide range of stuff we had during the cruise; some of it stuff we bought and took on the ship ourselves, and a lot of it was enjoyed during our several trips at the wine bar.

Prices listed are estimates and are converted to CAD unless otherwise indicated.

Starting with the first Chardonnay I've ever had from Argentina:

Navarro Correas 2014 Privado Chardonnay ($24.00)

Light, fruity aromas of citrus and wheat. White flowers and apples on the palate. Very high acidity. 86.








Arboleda 2013 Carmenere ($17.95)

Herbal and dusty aromas, also some plum and black fruit. Balanced acidity, would pair well with big meat dishes. Smooth and supple. 87.








And my first every wine from Uruguay. I didn't know they made wine in Uruguay.

Don Pascual Juanico 2013 Tannat ($14.85)

Aromas of black currant. Palate features some bitter cherry, black currant and a touch of spice. I hope Uruguay makes better wine than this. 83.








All of those wines were tasted in wine flights; now let's get to some actual bottles that we tried:

Spellbound 2013 Petite Sirah ($50 USD at wine bar)

Intense black colour. Fresh, fruity and jammy nose. Cassis, blueberry and blackberry on the palate. Rich mouthfeel. This is from the Michael Mondavi family of wine. Nice. 89.






Michael Mondavi 2011 M Cabernet Sauvignon ($200USD at wine bar)

Interesting nose reminiscent of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Flavors of raspberry, tobacco, blueberry and sweet oak. Tannins are firm and sharp, suggesting this would really improve with some more bottle aging. It's perfect good but if I'm spending $200 on a bottle of wine to drink now, I can find better. 90.






CVNE 2008 Gran Reserva Rioja ($84 USD from wine bar)

Aromas of licorice, earth, raspberry and spice. This is a wine with serious character and complexity. Black fruits, tobacco, forest floor and a touch of pepper on the palate. Finishes long and smooth. A superb effort. 93.


This is one of the wines we picked up at Costco. Critics have called the 2010 vintage from Brunello di Montalcino "the vintage of the century". Let's see.

Banfi 2010 Brunello di Montalcino ($60 USD at Costco)

Light dusty aromas with notes of cherry cola. Flavors of dark cherry, tobacco and cola. Rich and full mouthfeel.

This was decanted for about an hour. Very smooth and paired well with Chicken Parmigiana and Prime Rib. Only time will tell how good this will be with more time to age. It doesn't need to get much better. 95-???




The Hogue Cellars 2013 Columbia Valley Gewurztraminer ($40 USD at wine bar) 

Lychee, honeysuckle and pear on the nose. Lemon lime, papaya and spice on the palate. This has an incredible nose but papaya is the dominate flavor and that's not generally my favorite. 87.







Lots more updates to come but I think this at least gets the cruise portion of the vacation done.....at last. Feels like the cruise was 3 years ago!