Saturday, October 29, 2011

Tradewinds Pineapple Wine NV

California (wine review and rating)

Tradewinds Pineapple Wine NV

Origin: California
Blend: Pineapple
Alcohol Content: 11.5%
Bottle Closure: Screw Cap
Purchase Date: September 2011
Purchase Price: $8.99 (750ml bottle)

Our review: This gold-colored wine has a fragrance of — not surprisingly — tropical fruit and flowers, and though pineapple can be discerned, it is not the dominant aroma. Rather sweet on the palate, and in particular at first, a moderating acidity develops to lessen the sweetness, though this would never be considered a "dry" wine by any means. A hint of spice, possibly orange zest, is also present. There isn't much of a finish.

Our rating: We were pleased with this simply crafted wine. It is not cloyingly sweet, which we confess we feared, and paired quite nicely with our Sunday brunch dishes. We also think it might work well with some East Asian cuisines. It's not a wine we'd serve very often, but it does add a festive, tropical sense to a meal. It seems priced a little high for what it is, but overall, we'd rate it Above Average.

Taste profile from the winemaker: This bright luscious off-dry wine blooms with the rich heady flavor of the queen of tropical fruits. Vivid aromas of plumeria and orange blossoms are layered with delicate hints of vanilla and exotic spices. The crisp lively texture finishes long and clean with the taste of fresh pineapples.

Winery website: Tradewinds Tropical Wines.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

La Petits Sarments Sauvignon Blanc 2010

France (wine review and rating)

La Petits Sarments Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Origin: France
Blend: Sauvignon Blanc (100%)
Alcohol Content: 12.5%
Bottle Closure: Screw Cap
Purchase Date: September 2011
Purchase Price: $9.99 (750ml bottle)

Our review: A pale lemon yellow in color, this wine has aromas of citrus and lemongrass with slight herbal or vegetal notes. Crisp and light on the palate, the fruit flavors are very citrusy but not overly tart or acidic. A hint of minerality appears into the finish, which is of moderate length.

Our rating: We guessed right and decided to serve this wine as an aperitif that extended later into finger food-type appetizers. (It was too nice of a day to fix a proper meal!) The wine is light and versatile enough to pair with a wide variety of foods, and is probably best enjoyed as we did, or with a crisp green salad with tomatoes. We very much enjoyed this wine, and rate it on the very high side of Above Average.

No taste profile from the winemaker found.

Winery website: None found.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Cren dell' Ape Piemonte Cortese 2010

Piedmonte, Italy (wine review and rating)

Cren dell' Ape Piemonte Cortese 2010

Origin: Piedmonte, Italy
Blend: Cortese (100%)
Alcohol Content: 12.0%
Bottle Closure: Natural Cork
Purchase Date: September 2011
Purchase Price: $8.99 (750ml bottle)

Our review: A light gold with green highlights, this floral wine has aromas of tree fruit (apple, pear) with a slight note of honey. The fruit flavors on the palate are more spicy than not, cider- and perry-like, with considerable mineral character. Though the finish is lengthy, it doesn't add anything new or different from the palate.

Our rating: Maybe it's because it is October, this wine reminds us of autumn. The flavors are definitely reminiscent of fall fruit and spices. There's a hint of citrus now and then, but it's definitely a background characteristic. This is an interesting wine, one that paired well with our grilled chicken and broccoli over pasta tossed with a bit of olive oil, though we think it might pair somewhat better with seafood than with poultry. This is not a popular varietal here — this is only our third bottle since we began our published reviews in 2007 — and we have little to go by for comparison; regardless, we rather enjoyed it and rate it Above Average.

Taste profile from the winemaker: None

Winery website: None found.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Castle Rock Sauvignon Blanc 2008

Mendocino County, California (wine review and rating)

Castle Rock Sauvignon Blanc 2008

Origin: Mendocino County, California
Blend: Sauvignon Blanc (100%)
Alcohol Content: 13.0%
Bottle Closure: Natural Cork
Purchase Date: September 2011
Purchase Price: $8.99 (750ml bottle)

Our review: Pale straw in color with gold and green highlights, this wine has aromas of ruby grapefruit and tropical fruit with faint herbal, maybe grassy notes. The palate is fairly soft, with flavors of citrus fruit accompanied by some minerality. The finish adds some lemon zest character and is slightly astringent.

Our rating: This wine seems to lack refinement, an odd mix of styles typically associated with other regions, even other varietals. We're guessing that it was cellared for some time in oak, which would account for its softness, and if so, it also seems to have left it rather unbalanced. Maybe murky is a better description. Consuming with food seems to improve it slightly, and it's entirely possible that it is simply too old; we generally don't purchase vintages more than two years old, but somehow this slipped by us. Overall we weren't impressed and rate it Below Average.

No taste profile from the winemaker for this vintage found.

Winery website: Castle Rock Winery. The bottle image of this wine differs slightly from the one we reviewed.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Star Tree Nouveau Blanc 2010

Northern Cape, South Africa (wine review and rating)

Star Tree Nouveau Blanc 2010

Origin: Northern Cape, South Africa
Blend: "A variety of white grape cultivars"
Alcohol Content: 9.5%
Bottle Closure: Screw Cap
Purchase Date: September 2011
Purchase Price: $9.99 (750ml bottle)

Our review: Pale straw-gold in color, this wine has aromas of tropical fruit and honey, with notes of orange blossom. Quite sweet on the palate — but not overly so — the flavors are reminiscent of fresh cut pineapple, melon, even plum, with a hint of orange zest. The finish is surprisingly brisk and clean.

Our rating: Everything about this wine says "brunch" to us … as opposed to, say, "dessert". The label says it is a "natural sweet white wine", and by that we're assuming that the marketing folks are trying to imply that it doesn't have the cloying sweetness of some dessert wines (or Northwest Pacific Rieslings). And it doesn't. There's not much refinement to this wine, and we'd never serve it at or after dinner, but we think it perfectly appropriate — especially given its low alcohol content — for a midday breakfast/lunch buffet. We rate it about Average overall.

No taste profile from the winemaker found.

Winery website: Orange River Cellars.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Mendoza Station Torrontes "Seleccion Especial" 2010

Mendoza, Argentina (wine review and rating)

Mendoza Station Torrontes "Seleccion Especial" 2010

Origin: Mendoza, Argentina
Blend: Torrontés (100%)
Alcohol Content: 13.5%
Bottle Closure: Screw Cap
Purchase Date: May 2011
Purchase Price: $8.99 (750ml bottle)

Our review: Greenish-gold in color, this wine has aromas of citrus (tangerine comes to mind here) and flowers. The fruit flavor on the palate has a tart orange, maybe orange rind, character to it, but is nicely balanced. The finish, however, is slightly unbalanced, a bit astringent and incongruous.

Our rating: "Mendoza Station" is a relatively new label of inexpensive wines. The "Seleccion Especial" variant is, we suppose, intended to be a higher quality wine. But we have to say, we don't see it here. We tend to think of this varietal as being a somewhat "soft" ABC wine, but there's nothing but edges in this example. We served our bottle with an appetizer platter, and to be fair, it paired well enough with pretty much everything there. We rate it Average, but we think the "regular" version of this wine is just as good. Last year we also rated the standard 2009 vintage Average … but — and it's a big "but" — that was for a 1.5L bottle, which is priced the same as this 750ml bottle.

Taste profile from the winemaker: None

Winery website: None found.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

BrisAndes Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Casablanca Valley, Chile (wine review and rating)

BrisAndes Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Origin: Casablanca Valley, Chile
Blend: Sauvignon Blanc (100%)
Alcohol Content: 13.0%
Bottle Closure: Synthetic Cork
Purchase Date: August 2011
Purchase Price: $9.99 (750ml bottle)

Our review: A very pale greenish-gold in color, this wine has aromas of citrus, gooseberry and lemongrass. The citrus flavors are tart on the palate, almost exceedingly so, and aren't balanced until well into the very lengthy finish, at which time some minerality is introduced.

Our rating: We didn't care much for this wine, which seemed to lack focus. True, it has all the characteristics of this varietal and is created largely in what we consider to be a typical Chilean style, but it seemed all over the map. Not the best way to describe a wine, we know, but that's our overall impression. We served our bottle with chicken and vegetable wraps, not a bad pairing, considering. Simple is probably better here in terms of matching foods. We rate it, however, just Below Average.

Taste profile from the winemaker: The color is clear with nice green reflections, the nose exhibiting traditional and "savage" aromas of Sauvignon Blanc: boxwood and exotic fruit (pineapple and lime). On the palate fresh, very juicy with good persistence and expression as well as balance. (From the label.)

Winery website: None found.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Conquista de Argentina Torrontés 2009

Mendoza, Argentina (wine review and rating)

Conquista de Argentina Torrontés 2009

Origin: Mendoza, Argentina
Blend: Torrontés (100%)
Alcohol Content: 13.0%
Bottle Closure: Synthetic Cork
Purchase Date: May 2011
Purchase Price: $5.99 (750ml bottle)

Our review: Straw-gold in color, this wine has aromas of tropical fruit with notes of honey and spice. Somewhat smoky on the palate, the flavors tend toward tree fruit (apple, pear) and their cider and perry derivatives. The finish is lengthy, and extends the characters exhibited on the palate.

Our rating: This is a rather complex wine that tastes more expensive than it is. We enjoyed our bottle with grilled tuna and vegetables, a nice if not altogether inspired pairing. We think the wine needs a more flavorful, more substantial dish to bring out its full character. The smokiness may appeal to some consumers, but it's something we tend to shy away from in our ABC wines. We rate it Average overall, but definitely worth a try at this price point. (We had forgotten we had reviewed the 2008 vintage until we were preparing this post. The reviews are surprisingly similar, though we scored the previous year's vintage Above Average. In a kind of ironic twist, we recommended that you not pair it with seafood last year, yet that's exactly the meal we chose to serve our bottle with this year.)

Taste profile from the winemaker: Aromas of apricots, honey and spices followed by a refreshing palate of tropical fruit and melon.

Winery website: None found.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Gabbiano Pinot Grigio 2010

delle Venezie, Italy (wine review and rating)

Gabbiano Pinot Grigio 2010

Origin: delle Venezie, Italy
Blend: Pinot Grigio (100%)
Alcohol Content: 12.5%
Bottle Closure: Screw Cap
Purchase Date: September 2011
Purchase Price: $8.99 (750ml bottle)

Our review: Medium straw in color with tints of gold, this wine has aromas of tree fruit (peach, apple) with notes of flowers and spice. The initial tree fruit flavors are almost immediately accompanied by a strong, but not overwhelming, spicy character, a little acidic at first but quickly balanced. The moderately long finish adds in a hint of almond.

Our rating: This wine has several layers to it, but they're not entirely harmonious. Not a sipping wine, but one that does pair well with a pasta dish, which is how we enjoyed our bottle. We generally prefer our Pinot Grigios to be crisp and refreshing — think summertime wine — but this one is a little too aggressive for us. It's not a bad wine by any means, just a spin on this varietal that didn't excite us. We previously rated the 2007 vintage Average, and we rate this one similarly … though we suspect that consumers who like a bit of unexpected complexity to their wines will appreciate this one more than we did.

Taste profile from the winemaker: None

Winery website: Castello di Gabbiano. This wine is not mentioned on the winery website.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Allan Scott Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Marlborough, New Zealand (wine review and rating)

Allan Scott Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Origin: Marlborough, New Zealand
Blend: Sauvignon Blanc (100%)
Alcohol Content: 13.5%
Bottle Closure: Screw Cap
Purchase Date: September 2011
Purchase Price: $9.99 (750ml bottle)

Our review: Straw in color with gold highlights, this wine has aromas of citrus and lemongrass with just a hint of boxwood. Quite smooth on the palate, the tartness of the citrus is well balanced with tropical fruit-like flavors. The finish continues the profile from the palate, though is somewhat muted.

Our rating: We enjoyed the complexity exhibited by this wine. True, it has all the characteristics that are typical of this varietal from New Zealand, but there is a lot of subtlety here as well. We served our bottle with a meal of pan-seared tuna and asparagus, a very nice pairing, though we think it versatile enough to go with most any seafood dish. We previously rated the 2008 vintage Above Average, but this year's effort is superior to that. We rate it Excellent.

Taste profile from the winemaker: None

Winery website: Allan Scott Family Winemakers. Having already moved on to 2011, the website does not mention the 2010 vintage of this wine.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Recaş "Castle Rock" Riesling 2010

Romania (wine review and rating)

Recaş "Castle Rock" Riesling 2010

Origin: Romania
Blend: Riesling (100%)
Alcohol Content: 12.5%
Bottle Closure: Screw Cap
Purchase Date: May 2011
Purchase Price: $5.99 (750ml bottle)

Our review: Straw in color with silver highlights, this wine has aromas of tropical fruit (pineapple) and citrus (orange) with notes of orange blossom. The fruit flavors are initially slightly sweet on the palate, but are quickly accompanied by a moderating acidity. The finish has very little character and is rather short.

Our rating: This is an interesting take on this varietal, far more dry than sweet … and to be fair, the "sweet" is ever so brief. The fruit flavors are a little thin and watery — and seem more citrusy in the second glass than the first — a charateristic more noticeable when the wine is consumed alone as opposed to served with food. Toward that end, we enjoyed our bottle with grilled chicken breasts sliced over pasta, which had been tossed in a bit of herbs and olive oil, a nice pairing. It's not an altogether memorable wine, but it is by no means a forgettable one either. When all is said and done, we rate it about Average.

Taste profile from the winemaker: None

Winery website: Cremele Recaş. The bottle image of this wine differs slightly from the one we reviewed.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...