Six Hats Viognier 2010

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.

Tavernello Vino Bianco D'Italia NV

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.

Cristóbal 1492 Verdelho 2010

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.

Rooiberg Chenin Blanc 2010

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.

Biltmore Reserve Viognier 2010

Biltmore Reserve Viognier 2010

Origin: North Carolina
Blend: Viognier (100%)
Alcohol Content: 13.0%
Bottle Closure: Natural Cork
Receipt Date: November 2011
Suggested Retail Price: $18.99 (750ml bottle)

Our review: A pale straw in color with gold highlights, this wine has aromas of tropical fruit, a hint of citrus and very slight spice notes. On the palate the fruit flavors are moderated by a mild acidity, and seem softened a bit. The finish is of moderate length, but doesn't add anything new to the wine's profile.

Our rating: This is a wine versatile enough to pair with a variety of foods. We tend to like Viogniers with roast pork, and indeed that is what we served with this bottle, but we can see it paired with most any poultry dish or shellfish, especially those that are accompanied by sauces. There are a couple of aspects to the wine that intrigued us, one being that even though — according to the marketing literature we received with the sample — no oak was used in creating it, there was a certain softness that suggested it had. The other is that we typically associate Viogniers with some spiciness — again because they usually seem to see some oak — but here it's more of a background, enhancing sensation than anything else. Both of these were nice, unexpected touches. We enjoyed this elegant wine, and rate it Above Average, nearly Excellent.

Taste profile from the winemaker: Color: Light straw. Nose: Kiwi, honeysuckle, strawberry and white pepper. Taste: Hints of honey, strawberry, and key lime; good mouth feel with a lingering acidity.

Winery website: Biltmore Wines.

This bottle of wine was received as a sample for review. No promise was given or implied that it would be the subject of an endorsement or review, either positive or negative.

Raimat Viña 24 Albariño 2009

Raimat Viña 24 Albariño 2009

Origin: Costers del Segre, Spain
Blend: Albariño (100%)
Alcohol Content: 11.5%
Bottle Closure: Natural Cork
Purchase Date: November 2011
Purchase Price: $9.99 (750ml bottle)

Our review: A bright lemon yellow in color with hints of gold, this wine has aromas of tropical fruit and flowers and notes of spice. The palate is quite citrusy and pleasingly tart, with a significant mineral character introduced into the moderately long finish.

Our rating: There is a lot of complexity to this wine, one of its strongest points. Though we had never tasted it before, we chose it as one of several to serve with appetizers at an informal gathering of friends and neighbors. (We like to serve varietals that others may not be familiar with.) It was probably our most popular wine, though we thought it merely Average. Our relatively high initial impression diminished a bit when the refreshing citrus flavor seemed to develop a more rind-like (or zest-like) character into the second and third glass. Still, our guests seemed to enjoy it quite a bit so there is that.

Taste profile from the winemaker: Colour: Pale yellow with greenish hues. Nose: Intense aromas of citrus, dried flowers and spices with an additional hint of sweet vanilla and dried fruit. Mouthfeel: Pleasant initial impression, that brings out the full complexity of aromas present on the nose. Agreeable on the mid-palate due to its well-rounded nature. The aftertaste is persistent with a citrussy finish.

Winery website: Raimat. The world of wines..

Fire Road Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Fire Road 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: A pale greenish-gold in color, this wine has aromas of gooseberry and lemongrass with very pleasing notes of tropical fruit. A hint of sweetness can be tasted initially on the palate, but it is followed almost immediately by a nicely balanced citrus tartness that also has considerable herbal character. The finish adds some minerality, but is otherwise not remarkable.

Our rating: This is a very nice example of this varietal from New Zealand. We typically enjoy our Sauvignon Blancs with seafood, but instead chose to serve this wine with a vegetarian meal. Seafood is probably the best pairing, but it seems versatile enough to go well with most dishes. And though it has absolutely no bearing on what's instead, we very much liked the striking label on the dark bottle. Overall, we rate this wine Above Average.

Taste profile from the winemaker: A lifted nose showing aromas of gooseberry, passionfruit, kiwi and underlying herbal notes. A light-bodied dry, crisp wine with typical Marlborough flavors of gooseberry, stone fruit and nettles with a mouthwatering acidity, leading to a long lingering finish. An ideal wine with fresh seafood or white meat. (From the distributor's website.)

Winery website: None found.