Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Six Hats Viognier 2010

Six Hats Viognier 2010 (wine review and rating)

Six Hats Viognier 2010

Origin: Western Cape, South Africa
Blend: Viognier (100%)
Alcohol Content: 14.0%
Bottle Closure: Screw Cap
Purchase Date: January 2012
Purchase Price: $9.99 (750ml bottle)

Our review: Greenish gold in color, this wine has aromas of peaches, apricots and tropical fruits (mango, banana). Smooth, almost creamy, on the palate, the fruit flavors are nicely balanced with a moderating acidity, which increases markedly into the finish. A slight mineral character also develops at this point.

Our rating: This is not a sipping wine, but a good, food-friendly one. We enjoyed our bottle with a pasta dish, but we think it versatile enough to pair with just about any poultry or seafood dish, and if purchased again we would lean towards serving it with Southeast Asian cuisines. Regular readers know that we are not fans of overly-oaked wines, but we do understand that oaking can polish some of the rough edges … and that's what we think may have helped here. (The winery website indicates this varietal was made with stainless steel.) We rate it Above Average, but believe with some additional crafting it could have been a really refined wine.

Taste profile from the winemaker: A bold, expressive wine with dried peach flavors and a tropical finish.

Winery website: Citrusdal Wines. This wine is Fair Trade Certified. The bottle image is slightly different from the one we purchased.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Tavernello Vino Bianco D'Italia NV

Tavernello Vino Bianco D'Italia NV (wine review and rating)

Tavernello Vino Bianco D'Italia NV

Origin: Italy
Blend: Unknown
Alcohol Content: 11.5%
Bottle Closure: Screw Cap
Purchase Date: January 2012
Purchase Price: $4.99 (750ml bottle)

Our review: Pale green with gold highlights, this wine has aromas of tree fruit (apples, peaches) with notes of citrus and flowers. The fruit flavors on the palate tend more towards citrus, crisp but a little unbalanced, sour rather than tart, with some lemon zest character developing into the brief finish.

Our rating: We didn't care much for this table wine, the blend of which is unknown to us. (No information about it is available on the company's website.) Inexpensive to be sure, but we've had much better wines at comparable price points. We served our bottle with a vegetarian pizza; food tended to smooth out some of the rough edges, but we simply couldn't get past the sourness that develops — and persists — into the finish, even when consumed with food. We rate it Below Average.

Taste profile from the winemaker: This crisp white wine has fresh floral aromas and is pleasantly fruity on the palate. Try it with roast white meats or simply on its own.

Winery website: Tavernello.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Cristóbal 1492 Verdelho 2010

Cristóbal 1492 Verdelho 2010 (wine review and rating)

Cristóbal 1492 Verdelho 2010

Origin: Mendoza, Argentina
Blend: Verdelho (100%)
Alcohol Content: 13.0%
Bottle Closure: Synthetic Cork
Purchase Date: January 2012
Purchase Price: $8.99 (750ml bottle)

Our review: A medium yellow-gold in color, this wine has a strong tropical fruit aroma (pineapple, banana, mango) with some very slight notes of spice (vanilla). There is a lot of body to the palate, full of flavors similar to the nose, with a somewhat earthy, musky character developing into the finish, which itself is lengthy and tapers off cleanly.

Our rating: This is our first — we think — Verdelho, a Portugese grape, and what an unusual treat it is. Incredibly complex, each sip seems to reveal something new. Having said that, it's not really a sipping wine, and is best served with food. We served ours with roasted chicken, a nice if possibly uninspired choice on our part. But we considered poultry a good match, and believe it would also pair well with most richly-flavored white meats, including pork. Though we found it interesting, we didn't quite enjoy — or maybe we simply didn't appreciate — the rather abrupt transition between tropical and earthy, but still rate it Above Average.

Taste profile from the winemaker: Characterized by its fruity aromas with floral tones and its freshness highlighted by its balanced acidy in the mouth.

Winery website: Don Cristobal 1492 Winery.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Rooiberg Chenin Blanc 2010

Rooiberg Chenin Blanc 2010 (wine review and rating)

Rooiberg Chenin Blanc 2010

Origin: Robertson, South Africa
Blend: Chenin Blanc (100%)
Alcohol Content: 13.0%
Bottle Closure: Screw Cap
Purchase Date: December 2011
Purchase Price: $9.99 (750ml bottle)

Our review: A light lemon yellow in color, this wine has aromas of tropical fruit with notes of spice. The palate flavors tend more towards tree fruit (apple, pear) though some tropical character remains together with cider-like quality. The finish adds some minerality, but is rather flat overall.

Our rating: We chose to serve this wine with lunch (sandwich, soup and salad), which seemed appropriate. It would probably also pair well with a mild whitefish, but it doesn't seem like it would hold its own against a more substantial meal. It has an interesting complexity to it, but in the end we scored it just Average due mostly to its somewhat muddled finish.

Taste profile from the winemaker: A dry white wine that reveals pleasant pineapple and fruit salad flavours, with some delightful citrus notes and charms of dried apples and musk. Well balanced with a quinsy, fresh, zesty finish.

Winery website: Rooiberg Winery.

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