Tasting - Emeri de Bortoli Sparkling Shiraz

Name: Emeri de Bortoli Sparkling Shiraz

Variety: Shiraz

Region: South Eastern Australia

Country: Australia

Year: NV

Price: $9.95

Shop Review: A relatively light, fresh style of sparkling Shiraz, with berries and hints of chocolate picking up just a touch of sweet vanilla on the finish.

My Review: I don't think I've ever had a sparkling Shiraz before.  I really liked this wine.  Even though there is no hints to this in the provided review, I felt the wine smelt like citrus, but maybe that was the C02.  The berry flavor was present, though I felt the sparkling aspect took away from the wine's taste.

With Food? No

Tasting - Tres Ojos Garnacha

Name: Tres Ojos Garnacha

Variety: Grenache

Region: Calatayud

Country: Spain

Year: 2011

Price: $6.95

Shop Review: This wine has a brick red color with a bouquet of red raspberries, spice, and white pepper.  The palate is incredibly concentrated and rich.  The modern styles of Garnacha in Spain are continuously being perceived worldwide as wines of extraordinarily good quality.  This wine is fruity, juicy, and shows great depth, ripe tannins, length, but yet with wonderful elegance and lightness.  Enjoy with sausages, roasted meats, aged cheeses, etc.

My Review: On the nose, this wine came off as spicy.  A bit buttery in the mouth, you could definitely pick out the raspberries.  This wine had a bitter aftertaste.

With Food? No

Tasting - Montebuena

Name: Montebuena

Variety: Tempranillo

Region: Rioja

Country: Spain

Year: 2010

Price: $8.95

Shop Review: Ripe cherry and black currant on the nose and in the mouth.  Pliant and seamless in texture with good heft and back end energy.  Finishes smooth and sweet with fine grained tannins providing shape and grip.  Still on the young side, but this wine drinks very will with an hour or so of decanting; it's an excellent value for Rioja.

My Review: On the nose, this wine smells like a stick of butter.  The aftertaste of this wine is spicy and dry.  The currants come through in the mouth.  Perhaps this wine would have been better had we followed the decanting recommendation.

With Food? No

Tasting - Sainte Victoire Cotes de Provence

Name: Sainte Victoire Cotes de Provence

Variety: Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault

Region: Provence

Country: France

Year: 2011

Price: $8.95

Shop Review: Bright salmon pink; typical of the fresh but warm Provence style.  Refined and complex on the nose, with summer and floral notes.  Dry and crisp, with a delicate flavor and full texture.

My Review: While this wine is classified as a rose, it looks extremely much more white than other rose wines; there was no pink tint really at all.  On the nose, the wine smelt like a mixture of grass and feet.  It had a sugary sweet taste with a floral overtone.

With food? No

Tasting - Canyon Road Chardonnay

Name: Canyon Road Chardonnay

Variety: Chardonnay

Region: California

Country: United States of America

Year: 2011

Price: $6.95

Shop Review: Medium-bodied wine with notes of crisp apple and ripe citrus fruit with a hint of cinnamon spice.  Delicious complement to grilled chicken, lighter pasta dishes or mild cheeses.

My Review: I actually had bought this wine a few weeks ago after a tasting due to its low price.  I really liked this wine, and you can definitely get the apple notes on the nose.  The wine tasted slightly oaked, as there was a slight buttery flavor, and there were hints of pear as well.

With Food?: No

Tasting - Potluck Sweet Malbec

Name: Potluck Sweet Malbec

Variety: Malbec

Region: Mendoza

Country: Argentina

Year: 2010

Price: $7.95

Shop Review: Deep red brilliant with violet hints. Complex, fruity, and predominant red fruits. Easy to drink, round with persistent sweetness, very well balanced with sweet tannins.

My Review: I really enjoyed this wine.  There was a buttery taste in this wine along with the sweet flavor.  You could definitely taste the berries, especially a cherry taste, that helped add to the sweet flavor of the wine.

With Food? No

Tasting - Domaine de Grange de Payan

Name: Domaine de Grange de Payan

Variety: Grenache (mostly)

Region: Côtes du Rhône

Country: France

Year: 2011

Price: $8.95

Shop Review: Intensely spicy and precise, with lively red berry flavors and a hint of black pepper. The Grenache, which makes up the majority of the wine, is deeper and more powerful, offering cherry and black raspberry qualities lifted by zesty minerality.

My Review: I didn't know wine could be this spicy!  Even on the nose, you could pick up the spices in this wine.  There was a very complex taste to this wine, with a very peppery overtone.  The aftertaste of this wine was very bitter and tart.

With Food? No

Tasting - Tinto Figaro

Name: Tinto Figaro

Variety: Garnacha

Region: Calatayud

Country: Spain

Year: 2009

Price: $6.95

Winery Review: Figaro is 100% Garnacha, made from a selection of the best grapes grown in the oldest vineyards. While not truly an "oaked wine", a short stay in oak barrels provides a nice spicy flavor boost. Bright violet. Dark berry and cherry aromas show a jammy aspect. Supple and gently sweet, with good lift to its black raspberry and boysenberry flavors. Smooth and broad on the finish, leaving behind a hint of spiciness. Extremely easy to drink and an excellent value.

My Review: Hello oaked flavor!  You could definitely taste the buttery, oak-y flavor from the first sip of this wine.  There was also a hing of raspberry.  This wine was dry.

With Food? No

Tasting - Maipe Malbec Rose

Name: Maipe Malbec Rose

Variety: Malbec

Region: Mendoza

Country: Argentina

Year: 2011

Price: $7.95

Winery Review: Intense pink color with violet hints. Fresh red fruit bouquet, strawberry and cherry flavors, balanced acidity, dry and lingering finish. Excellent with tuna or green salad, pasta, spicy Asian dishes.

My Review: This wine was different than other rose wines I have tried in the past.  There was an acidic flavor, even in the nose, of berries.  The taste was sweet up front, but left a bitter aftertaste, again keeping an acidic taste in your mouth.

With Food? No

Tasting - Cortenova Pinot Grigio

Name: Cortenova Pinot Grigio

Variety: Pinot Grigio

Region: Veneto

Country: Italy

Year: 2012

Price: $7.95

Shop Review: Brilliant straw color with emerald reflections. Fresh and floral bouquet with a hint of pears, apricots and bananas. Fresh and inviting with bright fruit and an easy drinking style with a pleasing hint of almonds in the aftertaste.  Pairs well with seafood dishes, risottos with scampi, spaghetti with clams, sole in white wine Perfect also as an aperitif.

My Review: At first sniff, this wine reminded me a lot of champagne, with a hint of a pear scent.  The wine seemed a bit buttery, perhaps meaning there was oaking at some point?  There also seemed to be a slight acidity, perhaps an apple type flavor.

With Food? No

Tasting - Monte Aman

Name: Monte Aman

Variety: Tempranillo

Region: Arlanza

Country: Spain

Year: 2009

Price: $5.95

Shop Review: Inky ruby. Ripe cherry and plum on the nose. Smooth and fleshy, with deep dark fruit flavors complicated by bitter chocolate and anise. A spicy quality adds lift and focus to the weighty fruit. Offers an appealing mix of power and energy and drinks very well right now.

My Review: This wine tasted very acidic to me.  I haven't been a fan of the Tempranillo wines so far, and stand by this feeling with this wine as well.  There was an oak flavor to the wine, and the plum fruit flavor stood out with the grapes.

With Food?: No

Tasting - Cortenova Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

 

Name: Cortenova Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

Variety: Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

Region: Abruzzo

Country: Italy

Year: 2010

Price: $6.95

Shop Review: Deep ruby red color with violet highlights and a pleasant and fruity bouquet. Full bodied, soft tannins and good acidity. Excellent with pasta dishes and red meats.

My Review: This was a very full, red wine.  Surprisingly, this wine had a sweet taste, and a floral hint in the nose.  The wine tasted buttery, making it a smooth red wine.

With Food?: No

Tasting - Maipe Chardonnay

Name: Maipe Chardonnay

Variety: 85% Chardonnay, 15% Viognier

Region: Mendoza

Country: Argentina

Year: 2012

Price: $7.95

Winery Review: Brilliant yellow golden color with green hints.  The wine is crisp and filled with white peach, pear, green apples flavors, toasty vanilla.  Elegant and lucious wine, well balanced.  Crisp and long finish.  Pairs well with creamy soups, pork, veal, vegetables.

My Review: Finally, I feel like I can find the flavors in the wines.  I could definitely taste the oak in this wine.  On the nose, the wine had cheese and apple overtones.  There was a crisp and light flavor of the apples in the wine, and the pear really stood out.

With Food?: No

Tasting - Villa d'Orvieto

Name: Villa d'Orvieto

Variety: Grechetto, Procanico, Malvasia

Region: Orvieto

Country: Italy

Year: 2011

Price: $6.95

Shop Review: Fresh and crisp, it has a beautiful, floral bouquet.  It is wonderful with appetizers, fish, chicken, and salads.

My Review: Maybe it's because of my time working at Victoria's Secret, but I definitely got a musky smell on the nose.  This white wine was sweet, with an acidic, bitter taste over it.  You could definitely tell the floral notes.

WIth Food?: No