2009 Le Paradou Viognier ($8.92)
From: Rhone, France
Grapes: Viognier
On the Nose: Tropical fruit, Floral notes.
On the palate: Lots of fruit, Apricots, peaches, apples, and a hint of honey. Good depth and long finish.
My rating: 5

2004 Chateau Feret-lambert
From: Bordeaux, France
Grapes: Merlot
Color: deep dark purple
On the nose: Subtle black raspberries, cherries, licorice, and cedar.
On the palate: Dark fruit, good mid palate weight, silky body and sweet tannins.

Comments: A wine I have always liked with lamb. I served it with a Lamb stew this time. It went very nicely, if maybe a bit refined for it. I like it because it is soft and silky and doesn't overpower food.
My rating 7

2009 Dr. Paul Bergweiler Nobile House Reisling ($8.99)
From: Mosel Saar Ruwer, Germany
Grapes: Reisling
Color: light wheat
On the nose: Dust, peaches and fresh apricots.
On the palate: Floral, peaches and cream, apricot, and a hint of light colored honey on the end. Good weight and a Long sweet finish.

One of my favorite wines to serve with spicy Asian food.

My rating: 7

2005 Pasodoble ($ 9 - 10 range, ?)
From: Argentina
Grapes: 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Malbec, and 33% Syrah.
Color: dark purple.
On the nose: Reduction of plums and figs.
On the palate: Black currants, Blackberries, blueberries, and cedar. There also is a brussel sprout taste in there. It has silky tannins and medium weight, but a bit of an alcohol bite on the back end.

Comments: I found a case of this in the cellar recently. I remember when I first ran across it several years ago I was very impressed with it. Big nose and flavor. It came off as a little hot on the end tonight, which usually means the alcohol is a bit high. I think it would go well with barbecue or a lamb stew. My wife found it too hot and the tannins too bitter.
My rating: 5

2007 Monte Antico Toscano ($9.99)
From: Pisa, Italy
Grapes: 85% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot
Color: fairly dark with garnet edges.
On the nose: Dark fruit, and leather.
On the palate: Medium weight with sour cherries and vanilla on the finish. There are some soft tannins and an overall sense of juiciness.

Comments: This is much more ready to drink than the 06 was. I am a big Sangiovese fan and that is the primary taste here with some of the leather and dark fruit you often get from Bordeaux reds, but also with Sangiovese or Cabernet based wines. This will go very well with any steak, charcuterie, Italian meat sauce, or cheese tray.
My rating 6

2008 Firriato Etna Rosso ($14.88)
From: Sicily, Italy
Grapes: Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio.
On the nose: Forest moss, dark red fruit, and stewed plums.
On the palate: Dark red fruit, good mid palate weight, some oregano and other spices including mint and a hint of cinnamon, floral notes. Almost silky and the impression of a sweetness although not from residual sugar. There is a serious luscious factor to this. Long finish.

Comments: This would go great with cheeses, any red meats, or by itself.
I wish I had bought more.
My rating: 8

Thanks for the rating scale. I love it and will begin using it. Several people have been after me since I started this to add a rating scale.

So this is basically a 1 to 11 scale that allows for good distinctions between wines, although I do hope to have 13 point wine someday. Unlike the 100 point scale all the numbers here have a useful rating level. Price will not be a factor in this scale. Until now I have not posted wines that I would have rated below a 4 on this scale. I will now.

I will be interested in how folks like the scale. The thing I hear about most is that I don't post enough. I will try and improve that.

Ratings scale

Most wine reviews use some form of rating scale that are useful, but I feel are either too broad (0-100) or too narrow (1-5).

How many times do you hear about a 33 point wine reviewed by Wine Spectator? Based on what I found on a quick Google search (here's a pretty good summary - http://www.winelegend.com/wine-rating-wine-spectator.asp), their ranking system is actually based on a 50-100 system and more practically 80-100.

At the same time, if you have a 1-5 point system, it's pretty tough to figure out the real range in such a confined spectrum. I have this problem with my NetFlix account. At this point, I've reviewed so many movies, I've forgotten my criteria between 3 stars and 4 stars. I've given up and only started ranking the "I love It" - 5 stars and "Hated It" - 1 star (still confused how that gets a star).

So, if I may suggest a system for your blog, I think many users may find it helpful. Personally, I'd go with something annoying like 3-17.5 out of spite, but that's about as useless as other scales.

Although we could debate a whole range of options, how about 1-13? I won't give a description of each level, but I'll cover each end of the spectrum:

1- A shame that this doesn't have a higher alcohol content because then, at least, it could be used as fuel or disinfectant.
2- Designed for mixing "punch" in the Greek system at college or if you've ever wanted an excuse to stick your head in an ice bath tomorrow to make the pain go away.

9 - A fantastic wine to really enjoy when treating yourself, your family, or close friends
10 - A superb wine that would be a great choice at a dinner or to impress guests.
11 - This is an unbelievably good wine. One of the best I've tasted.
12 - Buy everything you can find. Call up local/national stores and buy their inventory. This is one to horde.
13 - Highly recommended that you never drink this wine because it will be the last one you enjoy. Once tested, this will completely change the way you look at wine and to go to anything less will be a disappointment.

Just a thought. Thanks for the reviews.

On a side note, the New York Times had an interesting article (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/13/business/yourmoney/13rate.html) about the issue of wine ratings.

2008 Coltibuono Chianti Classico
From: Chianti, Italy
Grapes: Sangiovese
On the nose: Sour cherries, flowers, spices, leather, dirt and dried plums.
On the palate: Medium weight with wild cherries, flowers, forest floor, tobacco, some red currants, and a floral note. Good acidity.
Picked this up on the recommendation of a friend to bring to an Italian theme dinner with several people who visited Italy recently.
Tried it first at home to make sure it was a good choice. It was, but I recommend decanting for a bit to calm the tail end tannins.

2007 allegrini palazzo della Torre
Grapes: 70% Corvina and 25% Rondinella, 5% Sangiovese
From: Veneto, Italy
On the nose: Black currants, dark berries, dates, and chocolate.
On the palate: Chocolate, coffee, dark fruit, leather and licorice. Good weight and a bit rustic.