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Tim Lemke

Tim is the founder and chief reviewer at Cheap Wine Ratings since 2007.

Domaine Bousquet Cabernet Sauvignon

Inflation. Everyone is talking about inflation. It’s true, many things have gotten more expensive over the past couple of years. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t still deals to be found. Case in point: This Cabernet Sauvignon, made from organic grapes, which has a suggested retail price of a mere $13. Ten years ago, before […]

Review: Garzón Reserva Tannat

I’ve been writing about value wines since 2007 and one reliable trick I’ve used over the years for finding wines of exceptional value is to look for wines from under the radar regions. It comes down to simple supply and demand. If you buy wines from the most well-known wine regions, you’re probably going to […]

Review: Gaia Malbec Nouveau

I was intrigued when I first saw the name of this wine, Malbec Nouveau. The “Nouveau” part of the name, I assume, is an homage to Beaujolais Nouveau — which is a French wine released each fall as a first release of wine from that vintage. Nouveau translates to mean “new” in English. In the […]

Review: Domaine Bousquet, Méthode Traditionnelle Brut

I am a big fan of sparkling wine, bubbly, bubbles… whatever you prefer to call it. Just don’t call it Champagne unless it comes from the Champagne region of France. Good bubbly is being produced in wine regions around the world. To me, sparkling wine is one of the most food friendly types of wine […]

Review: Morandé, Vitis Unica Carménère

I’ve recently been doing a short series on Carménère, highlighting the new styles winemakers are producing from this once thought to be lost grape. It was once one of the grapes used to produce Bordeaux until 1867, when a pest called phylloxera destroyed most of the vineyards in Europe and completely decimated Carménère vineyards there. […]

Review: In Situ Reserva Carménère

Last week I published a post about Luma Chequén Gran Reserva Carménère and highlighted the new approach many producers in Chile are taking with Carménère. In a nutshell, producers are embracing the pyrazine qualities of Carménère to showcase the true essence of this grape. So as not to repeat myself, you can read that previous […]

Luma Chequén Gran Reserva Carménère

Let me begin by saying, “I was wrong about Carménère.” This is not the first time I’ve had to admit being wrong and it won’t be the last. But fortunately, I’m willing to own up to it when I’m wrong and change my thinking… which, in my humble opinion, is more important than being right […]

Review: Virgen, Organic Red Blend

It’s interesting to think about the idea of organic products when you look at it through the history of time. 100 years ago, most things that you could buy in a supermarket would be considered organic, by current standards, but they weren’t marketed that way because it wasn’t something people thought about at the time. […]

Review: Domaine Bousquet Sparkling Rosé

It’s been several weeks since I’ve posted any wine reviews, because life happened. I recently had shoulder surgery, which left me with one working arm. While I could have typed up a review, it would have been slow and frustrating to type with one hand. So, I took a little break to recover. Now, I […]

Masciarelli, Colline Teatine Rosato

Rosé can be made from any red wine grape. It’s produced by pressing the grapes and fermenting the juice without the grape skins. Red wine, on the other hand, is fermented with the skins of the grapes along with the juice, and the deep red color comes from the skins. Although rosé can be produced […]