#kalimna

I feel like this wine is ever so slightly corked. I know I know I know there are those of you reading this who believe there’s no such thing as slightly corked but, I do. And anyone who has dranken wine with me know I am the FIRST person to call a wine corked. But this wine seems beautiful on all areas but just keeps popping this odd vague nuance in the nose that feels like it’s possibly slightly…

Fresh off the boat, the 2020 Kalimna under cork for the American market and thank dog this one hasn’t gone screwtop. Completely black and impenetrable–no clear rim–only a faint thinning of purple-blue. Fairly funky nose on opening, but time in the decanter massages it down into crisp vegetal and ridiculous black fruit. Smoky tobacco and dark chocolate lay richly on lavish American oak: a clean,…

Penfold’s for your Thoughts

Bought my yearly half-rack of Kalimna the other day and naturally had to pop one for *reasearch*. The most startling thing–besides us umericans getting corks–is the work “Kalimna” has diappeared from the front label for 2019. A decade or so ago, there was another big change, when a ® appeared next to Kalimna and wording on the tech sheet clearly was changed to indicate the wine was no longer…

The rich plummy Syrah-portion of this one is impossible to ignore in the nose. Also the eucalyptus. That’s your BANG-BANG outa the gate. Buried inside are gobs of grainy briar, tobacco and oil-brush smoke. Glass-coating and dense–a bright pink rim for clarity–it exudes not only warm-weather concentration, but plenty of black cherry and blood orange. Went for the big decanter because honestly: the…

#influencer Review: This is how we do it. #fridayfeeling Boomer Review: 92 Real Review: Pitch black garnet, light sediment. Black cherry nose, ripe and full-fruited, baked white sheet-cake iced with smoky briar: a green streak so refreshing in these wines, stopping just shy of eucalyptus. Rosy and spice-ridden, the warm hug of tertiary dustiness like a worn boot, comfortable and inviting. Cola…

Who has a wine they’ve bought fairly religiously for decades? Doesn’t have to be expensive, and not just a brand–a particular bottling they have visited for 10… 20… 30 years? Kalimna is one of those wines for me. Now–even though strong corporate situations have reached the brand and those in the back rows will point out the ® next to the vineyard name (the 1% know exactly what this spells, the 99…