This 10 year old tawny port is pretty, offering more than just madeirized raisin character, but also touches of orange, grapefruit, and a bit of black tea character. Bing cherries come along on the very long finish. It’s still young and offers a bit of woody astringency on the finish too, but overall this is an effective and easy-drinking young tawny.
A- / $34 / grahams-port.com
Posted in Port & Sherry, Rated A-, Reviews, Wine
Our sixth rendition of the Drinkhacker cheat sheet is now out. Just print, cut along the dotted lines, fold it up (into thirds), and stow it away in your wallet or purse. Next time a wine list stumps you, whip this discreet guide out so you don’t end up with a junky bottle from an off year.
As always, here’s how to use the cheat sheet: Only the last two digits of a year are included to save space, and the list only rarely reaches back into the pre-WWII era, so assume anything you see starting with a zero to be from this century.
All years listed here are considered good to great vintages, but those in green with underlining are the cream of the crop, “classic” years that you should consider the very best on the market. (Why green and underlined? So you can tell the difference whether you use a color or black & white printer.)
Check back next October for the next revision of the cheat sheet!
Cheers!
Drinkhacker.com wine cheat sheet download options:
drinkhacker-vintage-chart [DOC]
drinkhacker-vintage-chart [PDF]
Update: Now available in even fancier version [PDF]!
Posted in Wine
AC/DC isn’t the only band on the block that can put its name on a label. Up next, an entire line of rockin’ vino, inspired by some of the biggest acts of the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. Winemaker Mark Beaman brings us five new wines, largely from Mendocino, with labels from The Police, The Rolling Stones, The Grateful Dead, and Pink Floyd. All four are reds, and there’s a Woodstock Chardonnay to round out the crowd.
How do they taste? Well, to be honest, it feels a bit like more money has been spent on licensing names and artwork than on grapes and winemaking. But for the classic rock lover in the house, well, odds are these wines will never opened, right?
I (perhaps ridiculously) tasted two of the members of the lineup. Thoughts follow.
2008 The Police “Synchronicity” Red Wine Blend Mendocino – As the name indicates, this is a blend of red grapes from Mendocino. Otherwise the details of the bottling are a mystery. Inky and dense, it’s like drinking watery/melted boysenberry jam, spiked with alcohol. Nuance? Not here. This is a punchy wine that will make you the “King of Pain” after one sip. D
2009 Rolling Stones “Forty Licks” Merlot Mendocino County – A passable but not delicious Merlot. Surprisingly tart, with some raspberry and brewed tea flavors, but a lot of more raw, simple alcohol notes. This mellows out with time in the glass, but it ain’t “Brown Sugar.” C
$50 per three-pack / winesthatrock.com
Courvoisier is at the forefront of the taking Cognac into new markets, with brandy-and-wine blends like Courvoisier Rose. Now the company is back at it with Courvoisier Gold, a blend of Cognac and Moscato wine.
This actually sounds like a great idea — the brisk orange of the Moscato enhancing the citrus notes in the Cognac. In theory, anyway.
Alas, the theory didn’t really pan out this time. The nose of Gold is mild and innocuous, and the body brings out the constituent components of the concoction. Unfortunately, those components just don’t work together. The Moscato wine is understated and doesn’t offer much flavor, just a vague sense of something fruity that approaches apple juice, straight out of the juice box. This is spiked with a touch of Cognac — at just 18% alcohol, there’s really not much brandy in the mix — but it’s not enough to do much to the wine. A hint of vanilla is really all you get — and it turns out to be not very complementary to the Moscato in the end.
If you do try this product, be sure to have it chilled (as the company recommends). Served at room temperature, it’s tepid and raw. Chilled or with ice, at least you can have your apple juice the way God intended.
36 proof.
D+ / $25 / courvoisier.com
For those about to drink, we salute you.
AC/DC may be best known for its crowd-pleasing heavy metal riffs, but the aging rockers now have another claim to fame: Their own wine brand. Big in their Australian homeland, these wines are now coming to the U.S. Bottles are branded with an on-stage photo of the band and an appropriately rockin’ name: Back in Black Shiraz, Highway to Hell Cabernet Sauvignon, Thunderstruck Chardonnay, and Hells Bells Sauvignon Blanc.
We tasted two of the latest releases. Thoughts follow.
2011 AC/DC Hell’s Bells Sauvignon Blanc New Zealand – Strong grapefruit character up front, which fades as the wine warms up, revealing a rather simple, not overly-tropical New Zealand (not Australian) Sauvignon Blanc. Ultimately turns toward a mildly acidic, easy-sipping white. Hellish? Not hardly. B+
2011 AC/DC Back in Black Shiraz Australia - The fruit bomb you’re expecting, an overwhelmingly sweet base with sour cherry overtones. Pure, cheap, brash, Aussie Shiraz. I’d have called it “Big Balls” instead. D
each $18 / vinport.com
After seeing the praises heaped upon Olson Ogden’s most recent vintages, I finally pestered proprietor John Ogden into getting a look at them firsthand. In fact, he invited us over for dinner and a tasting, where we walked through all six of the winery’s current releases, all 2009 releases save for the lone white wine.
There’s not a dud among them, starting with the well-aged but super-fruity 2008 Olson Ogden Marsanne Margaret’s Mandate (named after, and presumably mandated by, John’s wife). Two Pinots and a blended red, Milla’s Blend, named after John’s daughter (consisting of Syrah, Counoise, Pinot Noir, and Roussanne), followed. Then came the winery’s signature bottlings, two Syrahs.
The matched pairs of Pinot and Syrah both showed how the same grape can express itself so differently depending on the growing region and winemaking style. Olson Ogden is typically hands-off with its wines, and here the Manchester Ridge Pinot showed so much power compared to the more delicate and restrained Alder Springs Pinot, even though both came from Mendocino. Similar story in Syrah, though here the Unti Dry Creek Valley bottling was classic and lightly smoky, with the Alder Springs showing more bright fruit up front.
Here are some more detailed thoughts on my favorite wines of the night. Give these a try!
2009 Olson Ogden Pinot Noir Manchester Ridge – A bold, classic style Pinot, with big black cherry notes, chocolate, and touches of olives. The finish wanders toward semi-sweet territory, with more berry flavors — blueberry and strawberry, especially. A / $55
2009 Olson Ogden Syrah Alder Springs - Gorgeous nose of blackberries and a touch of smoke, with deep leather and tobacco notes. Big body, with a long finish. Lovely balance between berry notes and deep, savory elements. A / $65
It’s rare to find such an affordable Cab from a reputable area. Mossback (a slang term for a farmer) makes a variety of wines, including this Cabernet sourced entirely from the Chalk Hill AVA, in and around Sonoma’s Russian River Valley. The blend is 77% Chalk Hill Cabernet Sauvignon and 23% Chalk Hill Merlot.
The wine exhibits straightforward plum character, with black currant, and touches of leather and tobacco. Bright on the finish, it’s young but drinking just fine today. Overall a simple but a perfect pick at this price.
B+ / $25 / crewwines.com
An all-over-Cali blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, and Zinfandel (the varietals are scrambled on the label — get it?), this new budget vino from the Purple Wine Co. empire is an easy drinker with the jammy, overripe character that should be all-too familiar to the on-sale wine drinker. Heavy maraschino cherry, plum jam, and strawberry notes, with a semi-sweet finish. Reasonably palatable, despite the dessert-like composition.
B- / $18 / crypticwines.com
According to White Mule Farms, the company behind the oddball Spodee, this, er, drinkable was a Depression-era concoction of wine mixed with herbs, spices, and moonshine. Sort of a ghetto version of Port, perhaps, from the sound of it.
Spodee today seems to be perhaps a simpler product: Wine fortified with white whiskey, with chocolate flavoring in lieu of the herbs and spices. Don’t worry about getting too trashed on Spodee. At 18% alcohol — barely 1 or 2% more boozy than most Zinfandels these days — it can’t have much moonshine in it. The bottle itself says the liquid inside is “Grape wine with natural chocolate flavor,” no mention of a moonshine kicker. The packaging is indeed an old-fashioned milk bottle.
How’s it taste? Straight up, exactly like you’d expect: Strong (cheap) wine, significantly sweetened with chocolate syrup. You can probably recreate this at home without too much trouble with some plonk and a bottle of Hershey’s. Any nuance in the wine is lost in the candy character, and the resulting concoction isn’t drinkable for much more than novelty’s sake.
Spodee’s signature cocktail is “Spodee & Sody” — Spodee and Coke, half and half — which is a bit like drinking a Chocolate Coke. Here, though, the wine component gets in the way of the fun, putting a raisiny character into the drink and leaving it equally tough to get down. As my brother put it when served a glass, “Nope, that just doesn’t get any better.”
D / $9 per 500ml bottle / spodeewine.com
Knights Valley (no apostrophe!) is part of the far north of Sonoma County in California. Not historically known for Cabernet Sauvignon, Knights Bridge nonetheless grows a super-premium Cab here. This 2008 is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and spends 28 months in French oak.
A very rich (14.5% alcohol) wine, this Cab offers heavy fruit character, deep cassis notes, some cherry, and lots of underlying secondary notes. A touch of leather, cedar box, and a crystal clear vanilla note on the finish. Give this young wine a half hour or so of air before drinking — to let some of the sweeter, fruity notes mellow out, exposing the more sultry backbone underneath.
A / $115 / knightsbridgewinery.com
Justin is a classic Paso Robles winemaker, and this Cabernet is the winery’s entry-level bottling.
It’s a simple wine with a surplus of fruit, big jammy notes just overwhelming with strawberry character. Let it open up and there’s a bit of tobacco and cedar wood There’s a lack of balance here, driven by the wine’s simple structure. And at this price that’s perhaps not so bad, though I think it’s best positioned as a red wine poolside sipper instead of the typical, burly Cab you might think of pairing with a steak.
B / $25 / justinwine.com
We’ve covered the Languedoc — the area in the south of France that borders the Mediterranean — before. Recently we had a chance to sample a variety of wines from the region, known both for its affordability and the eclectic nature of the grapes grown and wines made there. Enjoy this semi-random walk through the wines of the south of France.
NV Domaine J. Laurens Cremant de Limoux Brut - This Cremant de Limoux offers fresh apple and distinct pear character, with a good balance and nice acidity. None of that earthy yeastiness of the sparkling wine from that other part of France. But seriously: Simple and refreshing, with just a touch of baking spice on the finish to keep things interesting. 60% Chardonnay, 30% Chenin Blanc, 5% Mauzac, and 5% Pinot Noir. A- / $14
2009 Antech Emotion Cremant de Limoux Brut Rose - A blend of the same 4 grapes as the Laurens, but in a rose style. A lot more yeast and fizz in this one. A bit of woody funk on the nose, with a few green pepper notes. Under all that, moderate fruit and some floral character that saves the day. B- / $15
2011 Les Vignerons de Fontes Prieure Saint-Hippolyte Languedoc Rose – Surprisingly bright red in color, this blend of 70% Syrah and 30% Grenache is all candied fruit on the nose. Big strawberry character on the palate, with a touch of earthy, dusty funk to finish. Quite sweet and easy-drinking, but showing its varietal character. B / $11
2010 Chateau de la Negly “La Brise Marine” Coteaux du Languedoc La Clave – Ultra-golden color, lots of fruit — apple and lemon — with moderate, flowery aromatics. Simple and refreshing, but with a touch of medicinality on the back end. A blend of Bourboulenc (!), Roussanne, and Marsanne. B / $15
2009 Domaine Rimbert “Le Mas au Schiste” Saint-Chinian – A Carignan, Syrah, and Grenache blend. Light body, but full of fruit character, cherry mainly, with some mint and tropical overtones. Really easy-drinking, a great example of what the Languedoc can be. A- / $20
2009 Domaine Gres Saint Paul “Antonin” Coteaux du Languedoc – 80% Syrah with 10% each of Mourvedre and Grenache. Intensely earthy, with aromas of raw meat and coal dust. The body’s about the same. D- / $17
We’ve covered this land of Don Quixote before, a vast region in central Spain that stretches from Toledo to Albacete where 46 grape varieties are grown and a staggering variety of wine styles are produced. A recent roadshow brought what seems to be the vast majority of them to San Francisco, where I was delighted to discover a nice little white wine grape — Airen (vastly planted in this region but not often exported and being ripped out so more red wine grapes can be grown) — which I’d describe as a creamier take on Sauvignon Blanc, although one with numerous different styles in which it is made.
Thoughts on all wines tasted follow.
2007 Vincola de Castilla Senorio de Guadianeja Crianza / A- / nice body, lightly sweet
2005 Vincola de Castilla Senorio de Guadianeja Reserva / B+ / big more earth
2010 Altolandon White / B / anise notes
2010 Vina Cerron Remordimiento White / B / dramatically different, pineapple with a long finish
2011 Vina Cerron Todo Sobre Mi White / A- / very clean and crisp
2009 Bodegas Piqueras Castilla de Almansa Crianza / A / easygoing and light
2008 Bodegas Piqueras Castilla de Almansa Reserva / A- / grander, more burly
2007 Bodegas Piqueras Castilla de Almansa Seleccion / A / more acid and structure
2010 Bodegas Piqueras Valcanto Monastrell / B+ / lightly sweet, raspberry notes
2011 Bodegas Villavid White Verdejo/Macabeo / B+ / light, lemongrass notes, slight toughness
2011 La Tercia Vemanueva Airen Organic / B / buttery chardonnay character
2011 Bodega Los Aljibes Vina Aljibes Blanco / B+ / flavorful, chardonnay is evident
2008 Bodega Los Aljibes Cabernet Franc / B / lots of greenness, tight
2008 Bodega Los Aljibes Petit Verdot / B+ / rich and silky, big finish
2007 Bodega Los Aljibes Selectus / A- / Bordeauxish blend, nice balance, complex
2011 Vincola de Tomelloso Alsur Collection Macabeo / B+ / very grassy
2011 Bodegas Alcardet Somellier White / B / blend of 3 grapes, lightly bitter
2009 Finca la Estacada Syrah-Merlot / B+ / good syrah character, light finish
2009 Aurumred Cabernet Sauvignon / A / 70% Cab, 30% Merlot; lush and well balanced… it better be, it costs $500
2011 Centro Espanolas Allozo Blanco Verdejo / B / minerals, steely
2011 Centro Espanolas Fuente del Ritmo Blanco Airen / A / butterscotch character, bigger body
2009 Bodegas del Saz Vidal del Saz Tempranillo Crianza / B+ / cherry notes
2010 Virgen de las Nieves Artesones White Macabeo / B+ / fruity, green apples and figs
2011 Castillo de Consuegra Aire de Fiesta Airen / A- / grassy, loads of tropical notes
2011 Baco, Bodegas a Sociadas Domino de Baco Airen / A- / brisk, tasty
This new brand is attempting to muscle its way into the mass-market wine space (Yellow Tail, Cupcake, Barefoot, you know the ones), choosing to head to the ever-popular “desserts” branding strategy for its identity. Jellybean wines come from just about everywhere. We reviewed two of the company’s offerings, with predictable results.
2011 Jellybean Berry Smooth Red Wine Blend – A Spanish red blend. Deep blueberry notes, as candied as they get. Impossibly sweet and, I guess, smooth in a way, but more in the way that Kool-Aid is smooth. Incredibly simple. D+
2010 Jellybean Candy-Apple Red Cabernet Sauvignon California – Another wine that lives up to its name, with flavors reminiscent of a cinnamon red hot (and no apple to speak of). Marginally better, but cloyingly sweet. C-
each $13 / jellybeanwines.com
A recent trip to Portland afforded an overnight to the Willamette Valley, where Oregon’s best wines are made. On this trip I made advance plans to visit the best of the best, Oregon’s blue chip wineries in a long day of driving up and down the valley. This trip took us up and down the Chehalem Mountains, along dirt roads, and even into a Fred Meyer superstore. Thoughts on a variety of wines — with a focus on Pinot Noir — follow.
2011 Chehalem 3 Vineyard Pinot Gris / $19 / A- / quite sweet, fresh Viongier notes
2009 Chehalem Ian’s Reserve Chardonnay / $36 / B+ / tropical touches, cinnamon notes
2009 Chehalem Corral Creek Vineyards Pinot Noir / $48 / B- / then, some tannin
2007 Chehalem Stoller Vineyards Pinot Noir / $48 / B+ / medium cherry fruit, mild nose
2008 Chehalem Ridgecrest Vineyards Pinot Noir / $48 / A- / rumbling, raisin notes, cherry big, but still very young
2006 Chehalem Reserve Pinot Noir / $85 / A / chocolate and leather nose, rich, port-like with raisin notes
2010 Chehalem SEXT Riesling / $24 / B /
2010 Chehalem Corral Creek Riesling / $24 / A- / pumped up
2010 Chehalem Dry Riesling Reserve / $24 / A- / aromatic, lots of spice
2011 Bergstrom Rose / $19 / B / simple, very light rose
2010 Bergstrom Old Stones Chardonnay / $30 / B+ / aged in 3-4% new oak, mostly neutral oak; good bouquet, refreshing
2010 Bergstrom Cumberland Reserve Pinot Noir / $42 / B+ / a touch unripe, some extracted flavors
2010 Bergstrom Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir / $50 / A / almost perfect, with a touch of earth on the finish, gorgeous cherry notes; give it 1 more year
2010 Bergstrom de Lancellotti Vineyard Pinot Noir / $65 / A- / more funky, a little big but lush and pretty
2010 Bergstrom Bergstrom Vineyard Pinot Noir / $80 / A / good balance of fruit and acid
2011 Colene Clemens Rose of Pinot Noir / $20 / B+ / peachy, fresh
2009 Colene Clemens Reserve Pinot Noir / $42 / B+ / classic pinot, chocolate notes with high alcohol
2009 Colene Clemens Victoria Pinot Noir / $58 / A- / very rich, deep purple; massive in SoCal style
2011 Adelsheim Auxerrois / $22 / B+ / Chablis style white, orange flavor, tart
2010 Adelsheim Caitlin’s Reserve Chardonnay / $45 / B / lots of acid, minimally oaked
2009 Adelsheim Elizabeth’s Reserve Pinot Noir / $55 / A- / light body, cocoa finish
2009 Adelsheim Boulder Bluff Pinot Noir / $68 / A- / high-elevation fruit, beautiful nose, cherry notes, showing well, expect future vintages to settle down a bit
2009 Adelsheim Temperance Hill Pinot Noir / $68 / A / low-elevation fruit; lush with big fruit, black cherries
2009 Adelsheim Bryan Creek Pinot Noir / $75 / A- / highest-elevation fruit of the bunch; good cherry fruit with great character
2010 The Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Blanc Estate / $17 / B- / mild, a bit tight, overly mineral
2010 The Eyrie Vineyards Chardonnay Estate / $27 / A- / tropical notes, lovely
2009 The Eyrie Vineyards Blackcap Reserve Chardonnay / $60 / B+ / meaty, slight fizz, big earth
2009 The Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Noir Estate / $35 / A- / good, lively cherry fruit
2009 The Eyrie Vineyards Blackcap Pinot Noir / $45 / B+ / dusky, earthy, brambly; restrained behind a big body
2009 The Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Noir Reserve Original Vines / $60 / B / a touch watery, thinner with mild fruit
2009 Et Fille Pinot Noir Kalita Vineyard / $38 / A / lovely cherry, cocoa-dusted, heady spices when you breathe deep, a real knockout
2009 Et Fille Pinot Noir Willamette Valley / $24 / A- / menthol notes
2009 Laura Volkman St. James Pinot Noir / $25 / B / very tart, candylike touches
2009 Crowley Entre Nous / $32 / A- / aged up to 2 years in oak; more menthol here, huge attack with a long smooth finish
Made by old-school Sonoma winemaker Richard Arrowood, Amapola Creek’s Monte Rosso Zin comes from 118-year old vines, where the yield is just 3/4 ton to 1 ton per acre (which is tiny). Just 540 cases of this wine were made, a blend of 91.2% Zinfandel and 8.8% Petite Sirah.
The wine is a standout for Zin, ultra-high in alcohol (16.1%), of course, but rich with all kinds of flavors. After a nose that recalls dry earth and black pepper, cocoa-inflected blackberry and blueberry start you off on the palate, with lightly and well-balanced, spicy notes on the finish. Zin can often be mouth-coating to the point of gumminess, but even at this alcohol level, it comes across is clean and refreshing.
A- / $36 / amapolacreek.com
Recently released: Two new Gruners from our friends at Laurenz V. Thoughts follow.
2011 Laurenz V. Singing Gruner Veltliner – Bigger body than I was expecting, but underneath that, lots of traditional/typical Gruner character: Big apples, pineapple, touches of melon, and plenty of acidity to leave your mouth clean and fresh after each sip. A- / $16
2010 Laurenz V. Charming Gruner Veltliner – A stronger tropical character on the nose, with a rich body to back it up. Easily mistaken for a Sauvignon Blanc, but with more aromatics and a longer finish. Similar to Singing but with extra depth. A-/ $30
We’ve written about TastingRoom.com several times before. Recently the company sent us one of its mixed samplers, designed (as the name may imply) to be consumed with food. Which I did. Thoughts on each follow. (All bottles are sub-$20 retail.)
2011 Lake Chalice Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc - Extremely tropical. Lots of acid to back up that fruitiness. Refreshing, but powerful — a bit much for most food, in my opinion. B+
2008 Urraca Mendoza Chardonnay - Pear-heavy, but not too fruity. More buttery than the tasting notes let on, but with grassy notes on the finish. B+
2009 Lucas & Lewellen Santa Barbara County Chenin Blanc - Very aromatic, some tropical notes, but overloaded with perfume and rose petal character. Interesting but the least enchanting of the whites. B-
2010 Il Cuore “The Heart” Mendocino County Barbera - Very extracted, ultra fruity, and not at all like Italian Barbera. More like a Zin or an Aussie Shiraz. C-
2009 Stickybeak California Syrah- Big, bright fruit. Powerful, but balanced with a big enough body to support it. Nice cherry notes, touches of wood and smoke. A-
2009 Penley Estate “Condor” Coonawarra Red Blend - Smoky, with massive cherry notes that, unfortunately, are reminiscent of cough syrup. B-
$30 for six 1.7-oz. mini bottles
Frequently confused in Chile with Merlot due to its strikingly similar appearance on the vine, Carmenere is actually a classic wine of Bordeaux — where it was once the sixth grape used for this most classic of wines. (Carmenere is still permitted in blends there, but no one, to my knowledge, actually uses it.)
Today you’ll find Carmenere in Italy and, more likely, Chile, where it’s been grown for 150 years. One of those growers is Vina Casa Silva, a newish (1997) label from an oldish (1912) winemaking family in Chile’s Colchagua Valley. We tasted three of Casa Silva’s Carmenere wines. All wines are 100% Carmenere. Thoughts follow.
2010 Casa Silva Carmenere Reserva – Amazingly drinkable, a sort of cross between Merlot and Syrah, with a light cherry nose, touched with leather, and a muted — not too fruity — body that speaks again of leather, tobacco leaf, and black pepper. Surprisingly great balance here, it pairs well with all kinds of food (kind of like, well, Merlot). Ridiculous value. A- / $12
2009 Casa Silva Carmenere Los Lingues Gran Reserva – From a single estate, this Carmenere offers more fruit and more earth, creating a burly yet also jammy wine that comes across as a bit unbalanced. B / $21
2005 Casa Silva Carmenere Microterroir - From a small plot within Los Lingues comes this wine, one of 6000 bottles produced. Much similarity with the above bottling, an even more intense wine with added tobacco and coffee character in it and a long, juicy finish. Still, the cheap one resonates with me the most. B+ / $48
First, a note on Montepulciano, which is both a region (where Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is mode) and a grape. Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is made from (mostly) Sangiovese.
Second, a bit of geography. Abruzzo is a region in central Italy, east of Rome. Le Marche is right next door, directly north of Abruzzo. The wines from these regions are nice: Softer than the more intense and tannic Sangiovese wines that predominate from the regions west of here. We tried two; one a 100% Montepulciano wine, one a blend.
2009 Fratelli Barba Pregio Del Colle Morino Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC – 100% Montepulciano from Abruzzo (of course). This is a soft wine, deliciously fruity and loaded with cherry notes. Lots of fruit, simple body, clean finish. Summery and light. A- / $12
2008 Saladini Pilastri Rosso Piceno DOC – This La Marche wine, a blend of 50% Montepulciano and 50% Aglianico, is sold in the U.S. with four different labels. Regardless of the picture on the front, this is a bolder, jammier experience than the Barba, lush with blueberries and strawberries, plus touches of chocolate and green tea. A- / $18
