- Name: Rosemount Estate Moscato 2012
- Variety: Moscato
- Region: South Australia
- Country: Australia
- Year: 2012
- Price: $12, sale $3.95
- My Review: Another week, another moscato. On the nose, this wine provided some citrus and apple aromas, with a hint of lemon. On the palate, this wine had a very apple-y flavor, with some lemon on the backend. This wine was sweet, crisp, and well balanced. As far as previously tasted moscatos go, this one would probably be on the higher end for me, as I enjoyed the flavors it provided. Also, as with most moscato wines, it was just downright tasty.
- Name: Garnacha de Fuego Old Vine Grenache 2011
- Variety: Old Vine Grenache
- Region: Aragon
- Country: Spain
- Year: 2011
- Price: $8.95
- My Review: Wow! This grenache really knocked it out of the park for me, despite me not being a huge fan of grenache (yet). On the nose, this gave me some raspberry and dark red fruit aromas, which were pleasing. On the palate, this wine was hugely tannic and light bodied. This wine provided me with a raspberry taste which meshed nice with the other qualities of this wine. This wine had a very spicy finish, which I liked! I am a huge fan of this wine, and at the price I definitely will be picking up a few bottles.
- Name: Librandi Ciro Rosso Classico
- Variety: Gaglioppo
- Region: Ciro
- Country: Italy
- Year: ?
- Price: $14, sale: $7.95
- My Review: Going into this tasting, I was altogether unfamiliar with the gaglioppo grape variety, but I found this to be pretty nice for the price. On the nose, I gathered some red fruit and berry aromas. On the palate, this wine was dry, moderately tannic, mildly full bodied and good! I sensed an overwhelming cranberry flavor to this wine, which was a first for me, but really good! For the price, this seems to be a solid red wine.
- Name: Angove Viognier 2009
- Variety: Viognier
- Region: South Australia
- Country: Australia
- Year: 2009
- Price: $15, sale: $5.95
- My Review: This Australian viognier was very atypical in some regards, but altogether unremarkable in my opinion. On the nose, this wine provided citrus and tropical fruit aromas which were nice. On the palate though, this wine was dry, very light, not at all noticeably acidic (which killed it for me), and fruity. Drinking this wine reminded me somewhat of drinking flavored water, like Vitamin Water, which I dislike. The fruity flavors that I sensed, like citrus and peach were nice, but I could not get past the other flaws of this wine.
- Name: Yealands Estate Sauvignon Blanc Seaview Vineyard 2008
- Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
- Region: Awatare Valley, Marlborough
- Country: New Zealand
- Year: 2008
- Price: $21 Sale: $7.95
- My Review: I am a big fan of the sauvignon blanc variety (see my Honig winery visit), but surprisingly this is the first New Zealand Sauvignon blanc that I have tasted. This wine had some intense flavors on both the nose and the palate which I really enjoyed. On the nose, this wine provided a fruity citrus aroma, with some spices and mineral components that I noticed only slightly. On the palate, this wine provided a very orange/citrus taste. This wine had fantastic balance, as it was both acidic and fairly dry, which I enjoy in a white wine. This was a really nice wine!
- Name: Heinz Eifel Shine Riesling 2012
- Variety: Riesling
- Region: Mosel
- Country: Germany
- Year: 2012
- Price: $9.95
- My Review: This German Riesling was a pretty nice wine. On the nose, this wine provided some floral, apple and other fruit aromas. On the palate this wine was light, semi-sweet, very tart, and well balanced. I thought that this was one of the better German Rieslings that I have tasted thus far (I've only tasted a handful), as it was not too sweet, but provided the good complexity that I hoped it would. This is a white wine that I would like to try with some food. Overall, an enjoyable wine!
- Name: Atlas Cumbres Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
- Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
- Region: Mendoza
- Country: Argentina
- Year: 2010
- Price: $15, sale $6.95
- My Review: This was my favorite wine from this week's tasting, and has furthered piqued my interest in Argentinian red wines. On the nose, this wine had some floral and berry aromas that I detected. On the palate, this moderately bodied wine had moderate tannins, a small zesty spice on the backend, and blackberry and pepper flavors. This was an impressive (at least to my palate) Argentina Cabernet, and I would definitely revisit it.
- Name: Georges DuBoeuf Beaujolais Nouveau 2013
- Variety: Beaujolais Nouveau
- Region: Beaujolais
- Country: France
- Year: 2013
- Price: $14.00, $3.95 sale
- My Review: I enjoyed tasting this wine, though I felt that it perhaps could have used a bit more aging. On the nose, this wine provided some raspberry and red fruit aromas. On the palate, this light dry red wine had a mildly tannic body, with some floral and raspberry flavors. This wine provided an enjoyable taste, and for the sale price that this wine is listed at would definitely warrant a purchase.
- Name: Bricco dei Tati Rose
- Variety: Barbera
- Region: Piedmont
- Country: Italy
- Year: ?
- Price: $7.95
- My Review: This rose wine was interesting, but not wildly impressive. On the nose, this wine provided some floral and red berry aromas. On the palate, this wine had a very strawberry taste. This wine was well balanced and semi-dry. This wine possessed far more white wine characteristics than red wine characteristics, but I did find it to be a solid wine. However, this type of wine doesn't really match my tastes, so I would probably pass on it in the future.
- Name: Frascati Volpetti
- Variety: Malvasia, Trebbiano, Greco blend
- Region: Lazio
- Country: Italy
- Year: ?
- Price: $7.95
- My Review: This was a very interesting wine, and one that was quite unlike any others that I have tasted. On the nose, this wine had very floral and fruity aromas, with some distinctly sweet flavors. On the palate, this wine was very dry, citrus-y, and very tart. This wine tasted very sour, and reminded me of drinking watered-down lemon juice, which I enjoyed but was taken aback by. Overall, this wine really intrigued me, and I would not mind tasting some more wines with the strange mouth-feel that this one provided.
- Name: Toso Moscato
- Variety: Moscato
- Region: ?
- Country: Italy
- Year: ?
- Price: $9.95
- My Review: Another week of tastings, another fairly typical moscato. On the nose, this wine provided floral and citrus aromas. On the palate, this sparkling moscato was sweet, fruity, and almost candy-like. This would make a tasty dessert wine, and tasted better than some of the moscato wines that I have previously tasted, but I am not crazy about sweet wines in general, so this wine did not excite me all that much.
- Name: El Sierro Tempranillo/Cabernet 2011
- Variety: Tempranillo Cabernet Sauvignon blend
- Region: Almeria
- Country: Spain
- Year: 2011
- Price: $7.95
- My Review: On the nose, this wine provided some floral, blackberry and spice aromas, as well as other dark fruit aromas. On the palate, this wine was very tannic, tart, spicy and dry. This wine tasted very much like other Cabernet Sauvignons that I have tasted in the past, but I was not crazy about this particular wine. This Spanish tempranillo/cab blend just seemed to lack complexity to me. Overall, this wine wasn't bad by any means, but it just didn't wow me like I had hoped it might.
- Name: Omo Ze Bel Merlot
- Variety: Merlot
- Region: Sicily
- Country: Italy
- Year: ?
- Price: $6.95
- My Review: This Sicilian Merlot was a pleasure to taste! On the nose, this wine provided some floral and cherry aromas. On the palate, this wine was very dry, well balanced and moderately tannic. This was my favorite wine from this tasting, and it is the first Sicilian wine that I have tasted. Overall, this moderately bodied wine provided much of what I look for in a wine, and was my favorite from this tasting.
- Name: Atlas Cumbres Torrontes 2010
- Variety: Torrontes
- Region: Mendoza
- Country: Argentina
- Year: 2010
- Price: $5.95
- My Review: This Argentinian white wine was a surprisingly enjoyable wine. On the nose, this wine provided some very floral aromas as well as some tropical fruit aromas. On the palate this wine was dry, tart and acidic with good balance. I enjoyed this torrontes quite a bit, and for the very low price I could see myself revisiting this wine to try with some food!
- Name: Avery Quinn Chardonnay 2011
- Variety: Chardonnay
- Region: Napa Valley
- Country: California
- Year: 2011
- Price: $6.95
- My Review:
I found this wine to be a fairly standard Chardonnay. On the nose, this wine provided apple and other fruity aromas, as well as some vanilla aroma. On the palate, this wine was citrus-y, creamy and clearly oaked. This wine was also tart and semisweet, providing a nice balance. Overall, this was a decent chardonnay, but I was not very impressed with this wine because I am not terribly fond of California Chardonnays. I would probably pass on this wine in the future.
- Name: Bellafina Pink Moscato
- Variety: Moscato
- Region: Veneto
- Country: Italy
- Year: ?
- Price: $9.95
- My Review: This was the first rose wine that I have tasted, and it proved to be a typical sparkling moscato, nothing particularly special. On the nose, this wine in typical moscato fashion provided very fruity aromas. On the palate, again this wine tasted very much of what I would expect when tasting almost any moscato, fruity, sweet, low alcohol, and almost reminiscent of candy. I could not really detect and noticeable differences that the rose color of this wine provided, to be honest. I'm not a huge fan of sweet dessert wines (with some exceptions, like the Honig Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc that blew me away), so this wine was one that I would probably pass on in the future.
- Name: Weinert Carascal 2008
- Variety: 40% Malbec, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot
- Region: Mendoza
- Country: Argentina
- Year: 2008
- Price: $13.95
- My Review: This was an interesting blended red, which proved to be fairly solid. On the nose, I detected some floral and blackberry aromas that stood out. On the palate, this was a moderately tannic, mouth-drying wine. Blackberry flavors came through, but I felt that this wine was not terrific. This wine seemed slightly flawed, and a tad bit bland. This was an interesting wine nonetheless, and perhaps with some more aging it would be a more enjoyable wine.
- Name: Santa Julia Malbec 2012 (Sustainable)
- Variety: Malbec
- Region: Mendoza
- Country: Argentina
- Year: 2012
- Price: $8.95
- My Review: This was a nice introduction to the Malbec variety for me, and this was my favorite red wine from this tasting event. On the nose, this wine provided dark red fruit and blackberry aromas. On the palate, this wine had a moderately tannic body, with a slightly tart finish. The flavor that came through the most for me from this wine was blackberry, which I enjoyed. This was a very solid red wine for a very reasonable price, hailing from a winery that employs sustainable growing practices on top of that! Overall, this wine seems to be a great value red.
- Name: Gougenheim Torrontes 2012
- Variety: Torrontes
- Region: Mendoza
- Country: Argentina
- Year: 2012
- Price: $9.95
- My Review: I enjoyed tasting this white wine quite a bit, and stood out to me among the other whites at this tasting. On the nose, this wine gave off some tropical fruit vibes, as well as fruity citrus aromas like orange and lemon and distinct floral components. On the palate, this wine was crisp and well balanced. I tasted a very lemon-y flavor in this wine, which I liked quite a bit, as well as some other fruity flavors on the finish. Overall, I was really impressed by this Argentinian white wine, and this may be one that warrants a revisit.
- Name: Santa Julia Pinot Grigio 2013
- Variety: Pinot Grigio
- Region: Mendoza
- Country: Argentina
- Year: 2013
- Price: $8.95
- My Review: This marks my first tasting of the Pinot Grigio grape variety, and basing my thoughts on this wine alone, I can say that I wasn't blown away. This was by all means a solid white wine, but it lacked any driving factors that made it really stand out to me. On the nose, this wine gave some very orange, fruity aromas. On the palate, this wine was well balanced and citrus-y, which reminded me of many other white wines that I have tasted. Overall, for the price, it seems like a solid wine for a good value.
