Masi Campofiorin Veneto Appassimento 2015

Masi Campofiorin Veneto Appassimento 2015 (SKU 155051, $22.99 tax included)

This was given to me as a present today and my wife happened to cook some pork chop, therefore I opened it for dinner right the way. I was met with a fruity aroma and my tasting panel thought the nose was pleasant. I drank it right out of the bottle and the body was medium to full. There was cherry on the front of the tongue and more dark fruits in the mid-palate. The finish was medium long. It paired very well with the pork chop. I have tasted previous vintage of this wine and the 2015 vintage was definitely better than 2014. There was no Wine Spectator rating and past vintages were never rated more than 88 points. However it is a very good dinner wine which would go well with most food. It is on sale at the LDB stores until October 27, 2018 and there is ample stock in the system.

Chateau Jouanin Cotes de Castillon 2015

Chateau Jouanin Cotes de Castillon 2015 (SKU 130430, $40.25 tax included)

This was one of the least expensive red wines from the recent 2015 Bordeaux release at the LDB. By whatever tradition and custom, the Bordeaux wines are usually released three years after the vintage was harvested and the LDB usually releases them near the end of September or early October. There was a bit of a lineup on Saturday September 29, 2018 but there was some leftover from the initial release. This was one of the ones still available in the liquor stores. One reason may be it was not rated by any of the major wine rating outfits. I tasted the 2009 vintage before and found it to be an easy drinking wine that did not cost an arm and a leg. Cotes de Castillon is one of the wine producing region on the right bank of the Gironde River. As such the predominant grape is Merlot. I tasted it with some roasted pork hog and it was a good match. The nose was fruity. It drank well right out of the bottle and the palate was sweet fruit like plum. The finish was medium and it went well with the pork. In general the consumers are gouged by the LDB for the Bordeaux wines in the past few years as it kept increasing the prices as long as someone would buy them. This wine cost about $20 five years ago and now $40. The other 2015 Bordeaux wines are priced so high that it is difficult to find many "good values" anymore. 2015 is quite a good vintage for the Bordeaux, especially for the right bank. So this is one of the ones I would recommend for early enjoyment. There is plenty of stock in the LDB system.