Oct 21st 2008
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Vintage: 2005
Purchased: Sep 28th 2008
Price: $16.99
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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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Feb 17th 2008
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Vintage: 2006
Purchased: Jan 12th 2008
Price: $5.99
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Tasting Notes:
I didn't really drink this, I just used the whole bottle for cooking.
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Jan 7th 2008
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Vintage: NV
Purchased: Apr 26th 2006
Price: $12.99
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Tasting Notes:
I had originally planed to open this on New Years eve, and had already purchased a replacement sparkler to go into the cellar. Of course, our hosts had plenty of wine ready, and we never popped the cork on this. I decided to pair it with a chicken pot pie a few days later. Maybe not a classic pairing, but one that went well.
The color is a deep golden, with just a touch of copper in the middle. It has a very foamy head at first pour and then settles down to a fine stream of very small bubbles. The smell is dominated by green apples, with just a touch of pizza crust yeastiness. In the mouth, there is a very creamy feel with the tastes of green apple and a touch of lemon zest. The finish was short with just a touch of vanilla and bitter almond.
This is a fairly complex wine at this price point. I wish it was a little more yeasty however.
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Jul 8th 2007
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Vintage: 2005
Purchased: Mar 24th 2007
Price: $15.99
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Tasting Notes:
It's been hot in Seattle lately, so for our Friday night dinner we settled on having a salad nicoise. What wine to go with a Southern French dish than a Southern Rhone rose?
This wine had a very powerful nose of ripe red berries and violets. In the glass it was a much darker pink color than you usually see from a rose. On first taste the fruitiness of the berries exploded into my mouth. It was so fruity it almost seemed sweet and was a good foil to the floral components I also got. It finished dry, with a bit of pepper flavor in the back of the throat.
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Jun 17th 2007
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Vintage: 2006
Purchased: May 30th 2007
Price: $9.99
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Tasting Notes:
Kathrine opened this up midweek to drink while I was out playing poker, she didn't care for it that much so I helped her polish it off.
It's a good pink color in the glass with a nose of strawberries and watermelon. The aroma is quite mouthwatering. In the mouth, you get the same fruit flavors; but there is an added floral complexity. I tasted it as lavender, but the tasting notes suggest rose water or violets. I didn't care for this aspect of the wine. Then the alcohol hits you. I thought that was what threw it all out of balance.
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May 19th 2007
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Vintage: NV
Purchased: May 14th 2007
Price: $6.49
Categories: White |
Tasting Notes:
Kathrine picked this up on a whim wall we were at
Metropolitan Market. I'd never tried the variety before and was surprised by both its color and the fact that it was slightly carbonated.
It was a pale green in the glass and just slightly effervescent. Similar to a naturally carbonated sparkling water, or a cask beer. The nose was almost no existent. In the mouth I didn't pick up a lot of flavor. It was off-dry, just a hint of sugar. There was lemon and lime but not much else, and a sort of 'greenness' that was not totally pleasant. If I had to compare it's taste to something I would say it tasted like a
dry soda.
I don't think I'll buy this again. Not bad for under $7, but not great either. It did make me want to try other vinho verde wines though. Those reviews will be forth coming.
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Apr 30th 2007
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Vintage: NV
Purchased: Jan 2nd 2007
Price: $6.99
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Tasting Notes:
Opened this for a simple Friday dinner of cheese, cured meats and fruit. This is my go to sparkling wine. You can always find it for less than $7 and it's often on sale for $5.99.
It's a green-gold color in the glass with a fairly impressive bead. There are a few larger bubbles in there, but it is mostly very small and uniform. On the nose I smell green apple and fresh baked bread. Not overly complex, but it is appealing. On the palate this wine is dry and crisp. In the beginning the tastes of green apple and lemon dominate. I didn't get a lot of other fruit tastes, but I wouldn't be surprised if they are there. As the tastes continue you get a really good yeastiness that I miss from most cheap sparklers. It's like a very good pizza crust. I also got just a touch of vanilla on the finish.
This is a great sparkler to keep around. It's cheap enough to use for cocktails. It's also good enough to drink on it's own. Plus, you don't have to feel like you are celebrating when you open it.
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Mar 31st 2007
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Vintage: 2003
Purchased: Jan 20th 2007
Price: $12.99
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Tasting Notes:
This is a pretty good wine. Lots of berries and leather on the nose.
The tastes are of ripe rasberries and cherries. Some acid, some tannins, and not a very long finish. For the price I paid, I don't think it was worth it. Especially with all the budget wines you can get from Spain these days.
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Mar 19th 2007
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Vintage: 2004
Purchased: Jan 20th 2007
Price: $10.99
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Tasting Notes:
I opened this up to go with a steak for a mid week dinner. I generally love the grenache based wines of the Southern Rhone, so I was excited to try this one. It is a blend of 60% grenache, 20% syrah, 20% mourvedre
This was a deep cranberry red color. On the nose I got ripe red berries and burnt sugar. The first taste is all fruit: strawberry, raspberry, and boysenberry. Very jammy, almost like a California zin, until the spice hits. A strong black pepper tastes fills your mouth. Then you get to the finish. What I would call rustic tannins that are very tart and dry and stay lingering for a long time.
At this price, this wine is a steal!
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Mar 13th 2007
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Vintage: 2005
Purchased: Jan 2nd 2007
Price: $6.99
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Tasting Notes:
As you can probably tell from my other tasting notes, I'm a huge fan of the white wines of Alsace. The only down side is that to get a bottle of their most famous varieties, you need to spend about $15 a bottle. To some this may be an everyday wine price. To me, that starts to become special occasion wine. Or at least Sunday dinner wine. I'm not really a fan of most domestic rieslings. They are usually fruity and sweet, but without the acidity to back it up.
Then there is this wine. When you can find it, it's an absolute steal as it is usually priced at about $5.99.
The nose is very fruity with apples and pears. On the palate I get green apple, pear, lemon, and orange. Its got a great acidity and an excellent finish.
I served it with a ham steak and gratin dauphinois. It could stand up to the ham, and the acid cut right through the rich cream sauce of the potatoes. It was simply excellent.
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