BOLD RED... Apothic Red 2011

When I first opened the bottle and poured a glass the oak was overpowering on the nose. 

It has quite a bit of complexity on the nose, with aromas of nutmeg, vanilla, black cherry, blackberry and dark chocolate.  The palate is brimming with ripe fruit flavors like black cherry, plum and a hint of strawberry toward the finish.  A touch of vanilla also comes in on the finish.  The mouth feel is fantastic, with tannins that are just enough to give a slight velvety texture to the wine and the acid is just enough to balance the sweetness of the fruit.

Although it appeared unbalanced at first, a bit of decanting was all it needed to shine.  This is a very nice BOLD  blend that won’t disappoint you.

CellarTracker began almost accidentally, said Mr. LeVine, a wine collector and creator of the website.

On Wine, by Lettie Teague from The Wall Street Journal

The CellarTracker website boasts a database of 2.8 million tasting notes, plus offering a voyeuristic view of others' wine cellars. Lettie Teague explores the site and its community:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444180004578016153216195888.html?mod=djemonwine_t   "WHAT IF THERE were a way to keep track of your wine cellar and the wines that you're drinking — and the wines that your friends are drinking as well? And what if you could browse through the contents of their cellars and even read their tasting notes — in addition to tasting notes written by the pros?

"Those are just a few of the features of CellarTracker, an eight-year-old website, cellar-software system and chat forum that has become one of the most popular Internet sites for wine collectors and casual drinkers alike. According to CellarTracker founder Eric LeVine, about half a million people visit the website each month—rising to about three-quarters of a million in the winter months.

"CellarTracker began almost accidentally, said Mr. LeVine, a wine collector and former Microsoft employee who retired from the company in 2004 at age 34. A couple of years earlier, Mr. LeVine had decided to create a software system to keep track of his wine cellar. His early design was "pretty rudimentary," by his own admission, but when he showed it to a few collector friends, they wanted to use it as well. (Most were using a laborious spreadsheet program or a cellar book written by hand.) Mr. LeVine didn't have outsize expectations about his system; he hoped for a few hundred fellow note-takers at most. "I personally couldn't imagine a smaller niche category," he said."

Kathy's Wine Blog and Lindeman's Bin 99 Pinot Noir 2011

I am posting in the Spring of 2012, having tasted the Lindeman's Bin 99 Pinot Noir 2011 at a local Texas Political Fund Raiser... it is a consistant Pinot Noir and I can buy it at the local grocery store for less than $5. The Australian Dollar is DOWN so this wine hits our shore at a great price. Try it! But open it early for a dinner party: Open one bottle for each two guests, before they arrive....

This year - 2012 - I am going to promote other wine Blogs for each wine that I taste this year.
For Lindeman's Bin 99 Pinot Noir... I am offering Wine! by Kathy for you to read.



Wine!
I wouldn't cry over spilled milk but I would quite possibly shed a tear if I spilled my wine -



This is...
...my online journal chronicling the wines I've tried, which serves a dual purpose. First, to avoid being condemned to repeat the past, and second, to aid me in my search for my own personal Holy Grail (which would, of course, be filled with The Perfect Wine). I prefer reds, but I will try anything once! And then make fun of it here.

http://kathyisawino.blogspot.com/2009/09/lindemans-bin-99-pinot-noir-2008.html


Thursday, September 3, 2009
Lindemans Bin 99 Pinot Noir 2008 Australia

I was pleased to find that my local Party Factory carries Lindemans. I had enjoyed their Chardonnay that Carole gave me, and I was tempted to buy the same again but at this point am more interested in tasting what I haven't tried before, so I got their Pinot Noir instead.

This is a very pleasant wine, slightly sweet with a spicy finish. The bottle describes it as "juicy raspberry flavours with a soft finish" and the Lindemans web site says it has "sweet strawberry and spice flavours." I'm really not very good at distinguishing the flavors of specific fruits in a wine, but when I smell this wine I would lean more towards calling it a tart raspberry than a sweet strawberry, mixed in with almost a tea scent. You know, what it really smells like to me is Raspberry Zinger tea! And no, in case you were wondering, I am not in the habit of spiking my tea. But maybe I should be. It would certainly make for more interesting mornings.

Extra note: My second glass seemed to smell more like coffee or chocolate. (Not more like coffee or chocolate than like wine, but more like coffee or chocolate than like Raspberry Zinger tea). Not that this is a bad thing. There are certainly worse odors.




PS: Kathy likes Reds like I do, and she has reviewed Pinots in my budget range this year.
http://kathyisawino.blogspot.com/2011/06/battle-of-pinot-noirs.html

Kathy is a Wino: Wine! :Battle of the Pinot Noirs!

It's about time I posted on my wine blog again!
I've had a trio of bottles waiting on me to do a tasting flight.
It's been so long since I bought them that I somehow started thinking they were Rieslings, but NO--they're all Pinot noir! How could I have made them wait so long?
Of these three bottles, we're covering three different years and three different countries.
READ MORE HERE