Category Archives: JG Review

John Galea Wine Reviews

VIU MANENT RESERVA CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2007

Posted on April 21, 2010 by John Galea

I tasted this one at the Churchhill wine cellars annual portfolio tasting event. The wine is dark in color, with a definitely varietal cab on the nose. There is a hint of smoke and wood on the nose as well. … Continue reading →

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MITOLO JESTER SHIRAZ 2008

Posted on April 17, 2010 by John Galea

Our guests Jim and Katherine brought this wine over for dinner and it made a brief appearance in our glasses 🙂 The wine is dark in color with a mild nose to it. On the mid pallet the wine is … Continue reading →

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ROBERTSON WINERY SAUVIGNON BLANC

Posted on April 13, 2010 by John Galea

Last night I attended the Church Hill cellars annual portfolio tasting. The event carried a lot of reasonable wines. I enjoyed a number of them. I will be blogging about a number of them over the coming weeks. A number … Continue reading →

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Smoking Loon 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon

Posted on April 11, 2010 by John Galea

I was at my sister’s 50th birthday party last night (Happy Birthday Sis!) and one of the guests brought this one by. It is mild on the nose, deep in color. On the mid pallet are some lovely deep and … Continue reading →

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SEBASTIANI CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2006

Posted on February 22, 2010 by John Galea

This one came on my radar as one of the 90 under 20 release. My local product consultant Adil raved about it so I gave it a try. The wine needs some breathing and is a bit on the young … Continue reading →

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DELAS FRÈRES LES LAUNES CROZES-HERMITAGE 2007

Posted on February 15, 2010 by John Galea

This wine presented me with some challenges for how to write it up. The initial thought was to put yuk and leave it at that. Then the thought crossed my mind, that perhaps, that might not be helpful. So I … Continue reading →

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GHOST PINES WINEMAKER’S BLEND CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2006

Posted on February 14, 2010 by John Galea

I love cabs. They are one of my favs and California make some of my favs. This one is dark in color with some lovely dark fruits coming through. On the mid pallet are some flavors to match the nose. … Continue reading →

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ALAMOS MALBEC 2008

Posted on February 6, 2010 by John Galea

I’ve had this one for a number of years and it is consistently good. The wine is dark in color mild on the nose with some oak and some dark berry smells. On the mid pallet are some well balanced … Continue reading →

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Santa Julia Reserva Chardonnay 2008

Posted on February 4, 2010 by John Galea

A while back I did a write up on a number of Chilean Sauv Blancs that I tasted at the Chilean wine event. At the event I tasted a number of Chards but did not find too many I enjoyed. … Continue reading →

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GEMTREE VINEYARDS TADPOLE SHIRAZ 2008

Posted on February 3, 2010 by John Galea

Sometimes you need to go off the reservation and choose a wine from some rater you’ve never heard of before. That was my though when I grabbed this one. What the heck. The wine is deep in color with a … Continue reading →

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GIORDANO VESPERO 2005

Posted on February 2, 2010 by John Galea

Ratings are a subjective thing. There are raters that I find I align with very well, and raters whose tastes are very different than mine. The key is finding the difference. Gord Stimmel and I taste VERY differently. That’s just … Continue reading →

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2008 Cypress Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc

Posted on January 28, 2010 by John Galea

We had this wine at Politica last night. Pale in color, varietal on the nose there are some well under control bouquets of lemon and grass but quite subtle. On the mid pallet the tastes match the bouquet this is … Continue reading →

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CHÂTEAU SAINT-NICOLAS 2006

Posted on January 26, 2010 by John Galea

This wine caught my attention as a Bordeaux under $20 with a good write up. The prices on Bordeaux’s are really continuing to creep up there. The wine is quite dark in color with a note of oak and black … Continue reading →

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The Stop Food and Wine event and Thirteenth St Wines

Posted on January 22, 2010 by John Galea

We went to a food and wine charity event last night at The Stop. The event was coordinated by Danielle with funds being used to run their projects. Thirteenth St wines were served during the event with Peter from 13th … Continue reading →

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J.LOHR ESTATES 2007 CHARDONNAY (Riverstone)

Posted on January 17, 2010 by John Galea

I’ve blogged about this one before. I really enjoy it. Here we have the 2007 release and yet again J Lohr is right on the mark. This wine is somewhere between pale and deep yellow in color. The wine is … Continue reading →

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Saam Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon

Posted on January 16, 2010 by John Galea

This wine is quite dark in color mild on the nose with some varietal flavors. On the mid pallet are some varietal cab flavors with a hint of sweetness. A milder cab. On the finish the wine displays some tannins, … Continue reading →

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2008 Mansion House Bay Sauvignon Blanc

Posted on January 4, 2010 by John Galea

This wine is quite pale in color, mild on the nose with a hint of grassy, lemon. On the mid pallet are some lovely lemon/grassy tastes to go along with the bouquet. This is a smack on vaietal New Zealand … Continue reading →

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Don Jacobo 2005 Crianza Rioja

Posted on January 2, 2010 by John Galea

This wine is a blend of 65% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha and 5% Mazuelo and Graciano according to their web site. The wine is inky dark in color with a lovely nose of dark fruits. On the mid pallet are some … Continue reading →

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YELLOW TAIL MERLOT

Posted on December 30, 2009 by John Galea

Critter wines are all the rage, put some silly animal on the label and some folks will buy it. This one is medium dark in color very fruity on the nose. Lots of sweet almost Merlot like smells coming off … Continue reading →

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Trimbach Riesling Alsace 2007

Posted on December 29, 2009 by John Galea

Another wine from the Wine Spectator top 100 of 2009 it came in at #55 and they gave it a 91 for $18US. The wine is quite pale in color, mild on the nose with some varietal Riesling bouquet. On … Continue reading →

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Yalumba Viognier Eden Valley 2008

Posted on December 28, 2009 by John Galea

This is another wine from Wine Spectator’s top 100 of 2009 and it came in at #39 and they gave it a 92 for $19US. The wine is quite pale in color mild on the nose with some varietal Viognier … Continue reading →

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Brancott Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2008

Posted on December 25, 2009 by John Galea

This wine is #28 on the Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2008 (well the Reserve is). We don’t get the reserve so I thought I would give it a try. Wine Spectator gave the reserve a 92 at $18US. The … Continue reading →

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BAREFOOT CELLARS PINOT GRIGIO

Posted on December 24, 2009 by John Galea

If your looking for that wine that will not offend (or delight) anyone a Pinot Grigio might be right up your alley. This particular one is pale in color mild on the nose. On the mid pallet are some pineapple … Continue reading →

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Loosen Bros Riesling QbA Mosel-Saar-Ruwer Dr. L 2008

Posted on December 21, 2009 by John Galea

This one came to my attention as #62 on the Wine Spectator top 100 wines of 2009. They gave it a 90 for $12US. It is fairly available so I grabbed one. The wine is quite pale in color. On … Continue reading →

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Peter Lehmann Shiraz Barossa 2006

Posted on December 20, 2009 by John Galea

This one came to my attention as #54 of the top 100 Wines of 2009 from Wine Spectator. They gave it a 91 for $16US. The wine is quite dark in color, very fragrant with lots of cassis and cherries … Continue reading →

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