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.
