Moulin de Chauvigne Savennieres Vintage: 2007 Purchased: Aug 30th 2007 Price: $20.00 Purchase Location: McCarthy and Schiering - (http://www.mccarthyandschiering.com/) Categories: Chenin Blanc - France - Loire Valley - White

Tasting Notes:

This is a great example of dry chenin blanc. It's got good tropical and apple fruit notes, a hint of smokiness, tons of minerals, and crisp acidity. I wish I had more.


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La Chablisienne "Fourchaume Les Vaulorent" 1er Cru Vintage: 2001 Purchased: Aug 1st 2007 Price: $18.99 Purchase Location: Garagiste - (http://www.garagistewine.com/) Categories: Burgundy - Chardonnay - France - White

Tasting Notes:

Kathrine made a risotto, and I thought the crisp acidity of a Chablis would be able to cut through the creaminess of the dish. This wine was a very golden color in the glass. The nose was not fruity at all and very much different from your run of the mill chardonnay. There was pear and apple on the nose, and a touch of lemon zest; but the main component was a wet rockiness. In the mouth the acids were vibrant and worked great with the food. The apple and lemon were still there, and the minerality shone through well. If there is a flaw with this wine it would be that the acid and muted fruit seemed to be slightly out of balance when drinking the wine without food.


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Barth Rene Gewurztraminer Vintage: 2005 Purchased: Sep 28th 2008 Price: $16.99 Purchase Location: Metropolitan Market - (http://www.metropolitan-market.com/) Categories: Alsace - France - Gewurztraminer - White

Tasting Notes:

Choucroute Garni and gewurztraminer is a match made in heaven. This is a great gewurz. It's a deep dark golden color that looks thick and mead like in the glass. The nose is powerful with honey, lychee, quince, and pear mingling with rose petal and cookie spices. In the mouth this is a thick and heavy wine. It is sweet, but with enough acidity to handle it. I could drink this wine everyday.


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Sagelands Riesling Vintage: 2006 Purchased: Jun 9th 2007 Price: $14.00 Purchase Location: Sagelands Vineyards - (http://www.sagelandsvineyard.com/) Categories: Riesling - Washington - White

Tasting Notes:

As I drink more and more riesling from around the world I find my palate becoming more and more discriminating. What I once drank and quite liked, I know see as slightly flawed. This isn't a bad wine. I quite liked it the first time I had it. It's pleasantly off dry. This time however, I just couldn't coax out enough acidity to make me happy. It could be that the bottle was just too old, the 2007's should be around now. But rather than take a chance, I'll focus my riesling dollars elsewhere.


Also Tasted On:
Aug 31st 2007


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Klein aux Vieux Remparts Riesling Burgeben Vintage: 1996 Purchased: Jul 5th 2007 Price: $18.93 Number on Hand: 1 Purchase Location: Garagiste - (http://www.garagistewine.com/) Categories: Alsace - France - Riesling - White

Tasting Notes:

This is an outstanding wine at the price I paid. Decade old riesling from a single vineyard for under $20? Are you kidding me?

This wine was a fairly deep golden. Not the light straw that you get from a young riesling. The nose was powerful and outstanding. Tons of petroleum, citrus, flowers, and a touch of honey. In the mouth this was a steely mineral laced wine. The fruit was muted at first but the acid and minerals were off the charts, but not in an out of balanced way. As it opened up more, the fruit flavors (apple and stone fruit) became slightly more prevalent. There was also an interesting spicy note on the finish.

I'm glad I have another bottle of this. I'd be very interested to try it again with a bit of a decant.


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Steppe Cellars Gewurztraminer Vintage: 2006 Purchased: May 3rd 2008 Price: $16.00 Purchase Location: Steppe Cellars - (http://www.steppecellars.com/) Categories: Gewurztraminer - Washington - White

Tasting Notes:

This is my favorite domestic gewurztraminer. Which is saying quite a bit, because gewurz is probably my favorite white wine. This wine is off dry and opulent with the lychee and rose petal perfume just punching you in the face. But what makes this wine great is the acidity that it retains. Gewurz can get very flabby and just fall completely flat. This keeps a great acidity that brightens things up and just makes you smack your lips.


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Mozares Rueda Verdejo Vintage: 2006 Purchased: Jul 19th 2008 Price: $5.99 Purchase Location: Esquin - (http://www.esquin.com/) Categories: Spain - White

Tasting Notes:

This wine is a bright, pale lemon color in the glass. You get aromas of green apple plus a slight herbal smell of fennel and a lot flinty minerality.

The taste is crisp, and refreshing, with absolutely no wood. The herbal notes were just perfect for the squash blossom frittata I was serving.

The finish was not very long and the acidity kind of puttered out leaving a flat almond taste behind. That kept the wine from being outstanding. But really, at $5.99 can you complain?


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Cascina del Santuario Moscato d'Asti Vintage: 2007 Purchased: Jul 19th 2008 Price: $11.99 Purchase Location: Esquin - (http://www.esquin.com/) Categories: Italy - Sparkling - White

Tasting Notes:

This was wine number three for the night, served with a lemon and olive oil cake. This is just a fun wine. It's frizzante, so it sparkles but not a lot. It has a wonderful golden color, darker than you would expect. The aroma is a great mixture of vanilla, honey, and tropical fruits. In the mouth, the dominant flavor is one of pineapple. There is just a hint of vanilla creaminess and honey there as well. The finish is long. Not the most complex wine in the world, and perhaps a touch sweet. But it is a fun wine.


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Harbringer Chardonnay Vintage: 2006 Purchased: Sep 1st 2007 Price: $21.00 Purchase Location: Harbinger Winery - (http://www.harbingerwinery.com/) Categories: Chardonnay - Washington - White

Tasting Notes:

This was a wine I really loved when I had it at the winery. That is unusual for me since domestic chardonnay is probably my least favorite wine. After tasting this though, maybe I need to give more of it a try.

When the bottle was opened and poured it was a nice golden straw color and had a nice weight. The nose though was overpowered by alcohol. This was odd as it wasn't what I would call a super high alcohol wine. After about an hour of being opened the alcohol smell completely blew off. If I had it to do again, I'd definitely decant. the remaining nose was a very pleasant apple and pear dominated aroma, with just a touch of citrus and vanilla. I didn't get any of the tropical fruit scents that so often crop up in domestic chardonnay. On the palate the weight was perfect with well mingled acids and the apple flavor. There was just a hint of lime before it built to the finish that was just slightly oaky-spicey. There was also a surprising yeastieness on the finish. The oak flavor was just prevalent enough to be good without being overpowering.


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Klein aux Vieux Remparts Pinot Gris Burgeben Vintage: 2005 Purchased: Aug 6th 2007 Price: $16.93 Purchase Location: Garagiste - (http://www.garagistewine.com/) Categories: Alsace - France - Pinot Gris/Grigio - White

Tasting Notes:

Wow, this was a surprising bottle. I was expecting a thicker darker pinot gris like I have seen from some Alsatian bottles in the past. This was a very light straw color, almost completely colorless. The nose was very pronounced though not overly floral. Pear and apple dominated, but there was a strong mineral streak there as well. In the mouth this wine was very light with a crazy electric acid streak. I've never tasted a pinot gris with a backbone like this. The pear and apple were there, but muted and mingling with a lime zest and slatey presence. The finish was quite long with just a hint of allspice. I'm torn on this wine. I liked it, but it wasn't what I expected when I opened it. I wish I had another bottle to ponder further.


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