Wine Ratings and Iron Chef

OK its getting near the holiday season and I have been doing some wine tastings and the lot, so I will post em here for you guys...

Another cool thing is I am going to appear as a judge on the new season of Iron Chef America on food network...nobody knows yet so SSSHHHHH!!!!

0-9 points, awful, worse than grape juice, call in the haz mat team.
10-12 points, not bad if its on sale, go for it, but there is much better.
13-16 points, nice wine to have around the house, good flavor.
17-21 points, great wine, awesome flavor and an excellent all around wine
22-25 points, nectar of the gods, if you can find it, buy it at any price.

Smoking Loon, 2003, California $7.99 17.5 of 25

Nice all around flavor and aroma, good fruity taste, short finish, guru Lisa Weeks called it a “happy little wine”

Eberle “up shiraz”, 2002, Paso Robles Ca, $16.00 11 of 25


If you like “bite” go get this wine, none of us liked the bite of this wine, it was dry and left the mouth dry, Novice Julia Chung stated “have you ever chewed a Tylenol?


McManis Family, 2004, Ripon Ca. $9.99 17.5 of 25

I enjoyed this wine and noted it had a wonderful nose, sweet and spicy, with a nice finish. Some of the Gurus rated it in the low 20’s all in all a great wine under 10 bucks.

Cline Syrah, 2003, California $7.99 18.5 of 25

Novice (and harsh critic) Brandi Lazorek stated the Cline was smooth from beginning to end, giving it a 20. Novice Cathy Mao stated “this one (Cline) can carry its own with heavy and smoked meats” giving it a 20 as well. Cline Wines do not disappoint, always making good quality affordable wines, pick one up next time you are looking at wines.


Coppola Syrah, 2003, California , $15.00 18 out of 25

Coppola wines are always a good buy, quality and taste are sure to come in every bottle and the Syrah did not disappoint. A little sweeter than the other Syrahs, which is not a bad thing. The Coppola had a nice body and good color, Guru Lisa Weeks called it “liquid complexity” when referring to its concentrated flavor.

Yellow Tail Shiraz, 2003, Australia, $5.00 20 out of 25

Yellow Tail, what can I say that I have not already said when referring to the stellar wines that Yellow Tail produces for such a low price. The Shiraz “laid the smack down” on the others in this tasting. It was loved by Novices and Guru’s alike, I gave it a 21 and wrote “oh my god” on the rating sheet. It had a lovely spicy huge nose, great body and wonderful finish. This wine is now tied for our highest rated wine ever.

Big Tattoo Syrah, 2003, California, $8.00 14.5 out of 25

I noted this was almost “Zin like” and had a great nose and a good body, but lacked a bit on the finish. Novice Julia Chung didn’t like it and stated it had hints of “Durian”. I thought it was better than it rated, but that’s the reason for having a tasting panel, to get a feeling for what most people like so hence the low score.

Cline “Cool Climate” Syrah, California, $11.00 16.5 out of 25

This offering from Cline had a great body and color, but left a bit to be desired in the finish. The flavor is berry, fruits and earth says Guru Lisa Weeks, I liked the Cline Syrah much better (it scored 18.5 in the same tasting).

People have been asking where I get my wines that are reviewed in this column. I buy my wines at Trader Joes, Albertsons and a few local markets. Some of the wines are shipped from the Vintner and some are wines that people bring to the tastings. If you want to try a specific wine I have reviewed, e mail me and I will tell you where to get it.


The panel of 13 novices and 2 gurus rated Syrah/Shiraz blends. Syrah/Shiraz is a red wine and these are blended Syrah/Shiraz wine and another type of red wine. These blends are very nice, easy to drink and go well with BBQ and cheeses; I decided to explain the ratings to make it easier to understand the 25 point scale.

0-9 points, awful, worse than grape juice, call in the haz mat team.
10-12 points, not bad if its on sale, go for it, but there is much better.
13-16 points, nice wine to have around the house, good flavor.
17-21 points, great wine, awesome flavor and an excellent all around wine
22-25 points, nectar of the gods, if you can find it, buy it at any price.

Langhorn Crossing, Cabernet-Shiraz-Malbec, 2003, South Africa (15.5 of 25) $9.99

This was not a “universal score” I liked this wine and scored it an 18 as did several of other members. It has a nice fruity nose but was a bit shallow in the finish. Some of the members didn’t like it at all and scored it very low. I would say based on the split rating from the panel it’s a personal thing if you like those wines then you will like the blend, I know I did.


Sideshow #4 Puppetmaster, Syrah-Malbec, 2004, Argentina (16 of 25), $6.99

Sideshow has some really neat and inventive blends and this one is no exception and the price is right. I noted that the wine has a “powerfull berry melon nose” and a “big body”. Guru Lisa Weeks called it the “little black dress of wines” and gave it a 23 ( a very high rating).

Trumpeter, Malbec-Syrah, 2004, Argentina (14 of 25), $8.99

Another blend from Argentina including the Malbec, this one was not bad but nothing special. Novice Cathy Mao stated “bland but drinkable”. It had a bit of pepper on the nose and was “ok” at best.

Yellow Tail, Shiraz-Grenache, 2004, Austrailia, (17.5 of 25), $5.99


I have to admit I was pleased when this wine was revealed after the tasting as being from Yellow Tail. I think without a doubt Yellow Tail makes the best, most consistently delicious affordable wine available today. The Shiraz Grenache blend did not disappoint me, it was very sweet in flavor with a black cherry finish, and a hint of chocolate with no harsh tannins. I am sure Yellow Tail is starting to make the Sonoma wine snobs quite nervous. Spend the extra 4 bucks and ditch the “2 buck chuck”, go grab a bottle of yellow tail and enjoy a great wine that’s worth twice the price.




This time the panel of 6 guru’s and 11 novices blind tasted what used to be my favorite white wine, Sauvignon Blanc. Sauv Blanc is a dry white wine with some hint of melon in the flavor. It goes well with fish, herbs and some light oil based pasta sauces and of course, melon. I must say that we are not a “difficult” panel but we did seam to enjoy the sauv blancs the least of any wine tasted so far, so keep that in mind when choosing a white if you don’t have a lot of experience in choosing wines.


Kenwood, 2004, $8.99 (14 out of 25)

Novice Darlene Oliver thought the Kenwood was “sophisticated and smooth”, giving it a 20, Novice Greg Toya gave it an 18 stating a “nice, pleasant kiwi flavor and aroma, with a long finish”. A few people really liked this wine, the price is right and it was a top rated wine out of 11 wines tasted. I rated this the top Sauv Blanc of the tasting, go buy it.


Helederberg, 2004, $ 8.99 (12 out of 25)

Helderberg wines from South Africa make a great Chardonnay (16 out of 25) , but the Sauv Blanc leaves something to be desired. Average at best, it was described as “bitter” and I noticed it really lacked in finish, it was “empty” but my wife Martha loved it and gave it a 21. Novice Julia Chung states “bitter, oh the horror”.

Brancott Vinyards, 2004, $9.99 (14 out of 25)

I liked this and gave it a 17 describing it as “fruity and good”. Guru Jim Kennedy said it had hints of grapefruit and rated this wine his personal highest at 17 as well. It was not a universal love with this wine as several panelists rated it low.


Buena Vista, 2004 $5.99 (no score)

Once again, we have bad luck and get a really skunky bottle of corked Buena Vista, which just goes to show you, if you don’t like a wine, it might not be you, it might be the wine itself that has a problem so send it back.




Charles Shaw, 2001, $1.99 (11 out of 25)

You know I cant have a blind tasting without something to keep the panel on they’re toes so I threw in another bottle of “2 buck chuck”. Guru John Lee stated it had a taste of melon (like it should) but was “no good”. Novice Julia Chung remarked “make it stop” and I just stated “yuck” and spit it out.



This time our ever-growing panel of 18 (7 guru’s, 11 novices) blind tasted one of my favorite red wines, Malbec. Malbec is a nice easy drinking red wine often produced in Chile and Argentina. Malbec does not have a lot of tannin, which can sometimes make for a harsh finish. Next time you try some beef, open of a bottle of Malbec. Our panel was pleased to include Wine Guru, Ian Blackburn, who runs the “learnaboutwine.com” website and holds frequent tastings here in L.A. . If you are just getting into wine as I am or even if you are a “guru” learnaboutwine.com is a great resource so check it out.

Budini, Malbec , 2003, Argentina $9.99 (17.5 out of 25)
The Budini has a nice spicy aroma as noted by several of the panelists. guru and wine professional Ian Blackburn noted that it was “jammy, with toasted orange peal” and he rated this wine a 22, the highest of any Malbec.

La Posta, Malbec, 2004, Argentina $15.00 (17 out of 25)
This wine had a wonderful deep red color and according to guru Lisa Weeks, had th e aroma of dark earth and toasty oak with a candied cherry, creamy chewy finish. I noted some tannin of the finish, but it was a nice wine

Ben Marco, Malbec , 2003, Argentina $15.99 (15 out of 25)
This wine was all over the place with scores ranging from 21 from guru Gene Kato who stated it was “Zin like” to 11 with novice Julia Chung stating it “looks beautiful but tastes unpleasant”. I enjoyed it and noted it didn’t have much aroma but enjoyed the flavor and rated it an 18 (my highest Malbec). To each his own I guess.


Clay Station, Malbec , 2003, Lodi California, $9.99 (12 out of 25)
Where do I start with this one, some panelists rated it a 6 or 7, I noted the aroma of soaked canine and damp earth. Two panelists actually liked it with ratings of 19, I could have sworn the bottle was corked but 4 of the guru’s stated it was not corked. The lone California bottle didn’t stand up at all to the South Americans, blech!!!

Jean River, Malbec, 2003, Argentina $14.00 (no score)
This wine was corked per the guru’s so we did not score it but I noted a mild flavor when I tried it. We seam to have been having bad luck with corked wines lately, so remember when you order wine at a restaurant and it does not smell right, have the staff check it out, if its corked they will replace it!

Graffigna Malbec, 2003, Argentina $14.00 (18 out of 25)
Fruity with spice and a little bit nice was my description of the Graffigna. I enjoyed it a lot and it was my highest rated Malbec. Most tasters on the panel rated the Graffigna highest of the malbecs and positive comments all the way around. Nobody disliked it, the Graffigna is a good solid wine and is a pleasure to drink from nose to finish.