Trediberri Nebbiolo delle Langhe 14 - dried fruit, not
just raisins but also blueberries and maybe even
raspberries. Just beginning to thin out and go light
around the edges. Nice long blueberry finish. I
forget where we got this.

Creation Pinot Noir 16 (Walker Bay South Africa) -
Lilli picked this up on one of her trips. as it
was well recommended by our South African friend
Hermien. It stood the trip out west well. Medium
red, aroma of flowers and a taste of dark cherries
and light raspberries with pepper and some tannin.
As the winery (very good at self promoting) reminds
us, this was awarded 95 points by Decanter Magazine.
I was fairly enthusiastic about it, not perhaps so
much as the magazine, but at least it got Lilli to
revisit Pinot with pleasure.

Santa Fe blush "premium blush table wine" - M's review
March 2006 - fresh and fruity, with a hint of
strawberry, medium sweet. Apricot, honeycomb. Enjoyable,
ideal swigging wine. Carol said fruit punch; the guy
suggested cutting some fruit into it for sangria.
M's review July 2018 - last bottle from the same
batch, having undergone a subsequent fermentation
and fizzing over just a little on opening. Wonderful
aroma of peaches, continuing on with raspberries on
the palate. None of that bitterness that a lot of
these wines have and I vaguely recall it having had
years ago. Moderately sweet but with good acid. Nice
stone-fruity finish and after, lasting maybe 15 seconds.
A youthfully engaging wine: bear in mind that I bought
this bottle 148 months before; if I knew it was going to
age this well, I'd have bought the entire production.

Dita lychee liqueur - pleasantly rich and gooey texture,
authentic flavor long on the palate and with a long finish.
Way, way sweet, though, without enough acid balance.
Alcohol a sneaky 21%.

Argento Malbec 16 - prune nose, plums and almond on
the palate. A little acid overbalancing. Decent but
I thought overpriced.

Suntory The Chita single-grain whisky in a bottling
meant for Europe - somewhat sweet with vanilla and
tropical fruit (mostly banana) scent. Pretty smooth
on the palate. Decent but way overpriced.

Mer Soleil Silver unoaked Chardonnay 14 - I could have
gotten the Trefethen for the same price, but I figured
unoaked would go better with the food we were getting,
I was wrong - this stuff was way too citrusy, way too
acid. I recall having liked the oaked Chardonnay, with
the wood balancing out the sour and had been curious
about this. No longer.

Far From the Tree strawberry basil apple cider -
there few nondairy beverages that I use the term
nauseating for, and this is one of them. The Internet
reviews, though as uncomplimentary as my impression,
seem to be about a different product altogether; they
cite a lack of the named flavorants and diss the
alcohol content, finding it too sweet, I found an
aroma of strawberry pop with pleasant cider on the
palate. I found it alcoholic enough and dry enough;
perhaps this was an aged can of it. A strong finish
of weedy basil, which along with the normal old shoes
made me want to lose my lunch. I toddled downstairs
after finishing my pint and fell asleep for two hours
- it appears that the stuff has at least the 7.5%
alcohol listed on the label. This stuff is made in
Salem, Mass., so I was favorably inclined to it before
actually yasting it. Oh, well, too bad.
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