Tasting - Vintage Cellar on 3-29-12

Name: Obikwa Sauvignon Blanc
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Region: South Africa
Country: South Africa
Year: 2010
Price: $7.95

Winery Review:  OBiKWA Sauvignon Blanc is the ideal summer wine and smacks of crisp tropical fruit with a smattering of gooseberries and fig. If you're planning a night out with mates - don't forget to bring along a bottle of this yummy potion!

My Review:  The aroma of this wine was quite pleasant.  The first scent that came to mind was some sort of fruit, possibly a mango.  The taste was fantastic as well.  You could easily taste the gosseberry, but I also detected possibly some sort of spice.  I didn't have this wine with food.

Name: Oak Vineyard Chardonnay
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Napa & Sonoma, California
Country: USA
Year: 2010
Price: $5.95

Winery Review:  Quite an interesting Chardonnay, in an era when so many are too sweet and extracted. There’s plenty of orange and apricot fruit flavor, but also a brilliant streak of minerality, like a lick of cold steel, and the overall taste is dry. Really easy to like, with lots of complexity to warrant repeated sipping.

My Review:  This wine had a very peculiar aroma.  It was quite citric, but also somewhat earthy. The taste was ok.  It wasn't too sweet but extremely dry.  I could detect orange immediately, and some sort of other fruit that I couldn't quite place.  I didn't have this wine with food.

Name: Tres Ojos Old Vines Garnacha
Variety: Garnacha
Region: Spain
Country: Spain
Year: 2009
Price: $6.95

Winery Review:  Bright ruby color. Primary dark berry aromas are simple but offer very good purity and focus. Juicy blackberry and bitter cherry flavors are youthfully tangy, with good back-end acidity adding snap. The clean, brisk finish leaves behind notes of sweet dark berry preserves and cracked pepper.

My Review:  This aroma of this wine was predominetly that of berries.  However, it also had the scent of pepper and some sort of spice.  Overall, the taste was ok.  It wasn't the best wine I've ever had, but not the worst.  I could detect cherry, and the aftertaste of pepper was present.  I didn't have this wine with food.

Name: Faraway Farms Shiraz
Variety: Shiraz
Region: South Africa
Country: South Africa
Year: 2008
Price: $5.95

Winery Review:  Fresh, modern style, with lots of plum pudding, sweet chocolate, mocha, blackberry and
boysenberry flavors supported by round, sweet tannins and toast.

My Review:  This wine's aroma was all over the place.  I could detect everything form chocolate to berries, to spices.  The taste was quite interesting as well.  IT had almost a coffee like taste, but was somewhat sweet at the same time.  It went down quite smoothly, and didn't have any burn.  I didn't have this wine with food.

Name: Primo Amore Moscato
Variety: Moscato
Region: Italy
Country: Italy
Year: n/a
Price: $8.95

Winery Review:  Straw-yellow with golden reflections and a delicate mousse. Fruity and very inviting, with intense scents of peaches and exotic fruit. Fresh and pleasantly sweet with a taste that reveals its varietal characteristic.

My Review:  The aroma of this wine was almost exactly what I would expect out of a moscato.  The taste was also what I expected.  Sweet, yet somewhat dry.  It had a nice peach flavor, which I enjoyed thoroughly.  I didn't have this wine with food.

Tasting - Vintage Cellar on 3-22-12

Name: Zonin Pinot Grigio
Variety: Pinot Grigio
Region: Italy
Country: Italy
Year: 2009
Price: $5.95

Winery Review:  Pale straw-yellow color with brilliant reflections. Delicately fruity bouquet, with outstanding finesse and marked hints of almond blossom and peaches. Elegant, soft and wellstructured fruit on the palate, with remarkable freshness and a clean, persistent aftertaste.

My Review:  The aroma of this wine was very pleasant.  It had a wonderful smell of flowers, but with a hint of fruit.  The taste was very smooth.  It was not too bitter, but not too sweet.  It had almost no burn, and was very  not too overpowering with fruit flavors, the most distinct being peach.

Name: Estrella Chardonnay
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Napa, California
Country: USA
Year: 2010
Price: $5.95

Winery Review:  Intensely flavored and balanced with layers of vanilla, butter and pear, followed by apple, banana and oak.

My Review:  This wine smelled wonderful right off the bat.  It was filled with almost every scent that comes to mind when thinking of wine.  Fruits to spices, to flowers.  The taste was only subpar in my mind though.  I found it a little too dry for my taste, and there was just too much going on for me to really enjoy it.  Id didn;t have this wine with food.

Name: Sam Elias Carmenere
Variety: Carmenere
Region: Chilie
Country: Chilie
Year: 2010
Price: $5.95

Winery Review:  The grapes for this Carménère are selected from vineyards in the Central Valley. Beautiful red fruit aromas. Supple and round in the mouth, the wine pairs well with full flavored cheeses and lamb

My Review:  This wine had a fantastic aroma.  I could detect berries and almost what reminded me of a red delicious apple.  The taste didn't disappoint either.  This was probably my favorite wine of the day.  It was blended perfectly, each flavor meshing well with the other.  The most prominent taste was that of berry. I didn't have this wine with food.

Name: Col Des Vents Corbieres
Variety: Corbieres
Region: France
Country: France
Year: 2009
Price: $7.95

Winery Review:  50% Carignan, 35% Grenache, 15% Syrah. Brambly berry, cherry and raspberry, spices, black pepper…all are present in this authentic French country wine.

My Review:  The aroma of this wine was all over the place.  I could smell everything from fruits to pepper. The taste was pretty interesting as well.  At first I could taste the berry/cherry flavor, but was left with an almost peppery taste in my mouth.  It was also somewhat smokey.  I didn't have this wine with food.

Name: Peter Mertes Liebfraumilch Rheinhessen Qualitatswein
Variety: Qualitatswein
Region: Germany
Country: Germany
Year: 2009
Price: $5.95

Winery Review:  

Leibfraumilch is a soft, delicate wine of the Rheinhessen an Palatinate districts. The original wine was named after the Leibfraumilch monastery in Worms, where the monks were the first wine growers and produced an unusually pleasing wine. Wines of the Rheinhessen and Palatinate are noted for their aroma, wellbalanced harmony, and fragrance.  Leibfraumilch, as all excellent white wines is best served chilled. We suggest serving with cold entrees, as well as poultry, such as chicken or turkey, or even with a mild Cheddar, mellow and slightly nutty with a medium consistency

My Review:  This wine was smelled like a fresh bouquet of flowers.  It was very pleasant and reminded me of a nice spring day with a little breeze.  The taste was also fantastic.  The flavors all blended together perfected, as if in perfect harmony.  I could detect fruits and spices, and possibly honey.  I didn't have this wine with food.

Tasting - Vintage Cellar on 3-15-12

Name: Simonet Blanc de Blancs
Variety: Brut
Region: France
Country: France
Year: n/a
Price: $7.95

Winery Review: On the nose, there is some bread-yeast and some toast, same on the palate.  Great for an everyday bubbly or for mimosas!

My Review:  This wine was extremely dry.  It had an interesting aroma.  It reminded me of wheat, almost to the point as if I were in Subway near all the fresh bread.  I didn't have this wine with food.

Name: Tierra de Luna Torrontes-Chardonnay
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Torrontes
Country: Argentina
Year: 2009
Price: $7.95

Winery Review: Fresh and crisp, with floral aromas and flavors of quince and pear, this wine is a versatile companion to informal meals, and is excellent as an aperitif.

My Review:  This wine was quite good.  The aroma was filled with fruit and flowers.  I could especially detect the pear and possibly apple.  As for the taste, it was very smooth.  It wasn't too sweet, but not too bitter at the same time.  I didn't have this wine with food, but can imagine that it would pair well.

Name: Oxford Landing Viognier
Variety: Viognier
Region: Australia
Country: Australia 
Year: 2009
Price: $7.95

Winery Review:  88 Points, Wine Spectator - Bright and lively,this white is appealing for its pear, lychee and sweet spice character, which comes together smoothly against a silky texture.

My Review:  The aroma of this wine was filled with fruits and spices.  It was very pleasant and reminded me of a nice spring day.  The taste was delicious.  It was probably my favorite wine of the day.  It started out tasting somewhat sweet, but finished with a nice spice flavor.  I didn't have this wine with food.

Name: Doural Red Tinto
Variety: Tinto
Region: Portugal
Country: Portugal
Year: 2009
Price: $8.95

Winery Review:  This Portuguese tinto(red) blend exhibits a deep red color with violet hues. The nose is vibrant and fruity. The palate offers notes of spice, cherry, and dark berry supported by good structure. Pairs well with red or game meat, cheeses and fish.

My Review:  This wine was very interesting.  The aroma was filled with fruit, which surprised me.  I would have thought to have had more of a spice aroma.  The taste on the other hand was more to what I expected.  It was somewhat smokey, and spices really popped out.  I didn't have this wine with food.

Name: Estrella Merlot
Variety: Merlot
Region: Napa, California
Country: USA 
Year: 2009
Price: $5.95

Winery Review:  This ruby colored Merlot has raspberry jam aromas with a subtle hint of spice. Layers of vanilla, plum and fig are revealed that linger ever so slightly on the palate.

My Review:  This wine's aroma was fantastic.  It was filled with berry, most notably raspberry.  The taste was very smooth.  Not too bitter, but sweet enough to make it really easy to drink.  I didn't have this wine with food, but imagine it would pair well with a light meal.

Tasting - Vintage Cellar on 3-1-12

Name: Muscanti Brut
Variety: Brut
Region: Spain
Country: Spain
Year: n/a
Price: $7.95

Winery Review: Lemon blossoms, green apple, toast and honeydew melon are front and center in this crisp refreshing Spanish Sparkler. Silky supple with lingering flavors, yet a tingle of citric acid on the finish. A combination of traditional cava grapes but this wine is not made in the traditional méthode champenoise (which is required by Spanish law to be called Cava). This is made with the Charmat process so this wine may only be called ‘Spanish sparkling wine’

My Review:  This wine had a very refreshing aroma.  It reminded me of a nice day in the spring.  I could instantly smell lemon and apple.  The taste was quite nice as well.  It was very smooth, and had a nice citric flavor.  I didn't have this wine with food.

Name: Spanish Vines Sauvignon Blanc
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Region: Spain
Country: Spain
Year: 2009
Price: $4.95

Winery Review: 85 Points, Wine Enthusiast - Apple and floral notes and then an almost buttery palate with
baked apple and citrus flavors.

My Review:  The most distinct aroma in this wine was definitely that of apples.  It also reminded me of a nice bouquet of flowers.  The taste was somewhat sweet, but also had a  nice acidic after taste.  I can imagine this wine would go well with some sort of fish.









Name: Torrent Bay Chardonnay
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: New Zealand
Country: New Zealand
Year: 2009
Price: $6.95

Winery Review: Fleshy, melony aromas cuddle some fresh oak. The palate has decent acidity so there’s freshness along with weight, resiny oak flavors, lemon and green apple.

My Review:  The aroma of this wine was filled with melon.  Cantelope being the most obvious to me.  The taste was very refreshing.  It wasn't too bitter, but had a nice little acidic aftertaste.  It was also somewhat earthy in taste, but with a fruity twist.  I didn't have this wine with food.

Name: Lost Vineyards Vinho de Mesa Tinto
Variety: Vinho de Mesa Tinto
Region: Portugal
Country: Portugal
Year: n/a
Price: $3.95

Winery Review: Pours a light garnet color with a nice crisp zest, with aromas of cranberries and orange peel on the nose. Drinks smooth with a briary of mild cherries, wild strawberries and raspberries along
with a note of rhubarb. Pairs particularly well with wild game and heavy fish such as salmon.

My Review:  The aroma of this wine was overwhelming of that of berries and oranges.  The taste was amazing.  It was very smooth, and the berry and orange flavoring really were apparent.  I could see this pairing extremely well with a nice Thanksgiving dinner.





 


Name: Ebano Ribera del Duero Tempranillo
Variety: Tempranillo
Region: Spain
Country: Spain
Year: 2007
Price: $7.95

Winery Review: 87 Points, Robert Parker - The 2007 Ebano 6 is 100% Tempranillo aged 4 months in French oak. Dark ruby red in color, it displays a pleasant bouquet of cedar, spice box, violets, black cherry, and blackberry. Medium- to fullbodied on the palate with savory flavors and plenty of spice, this racy, vibrant Tempranillo has enough structure to drink well over the next 5-6 years and is a very good value

My Review:  Base on my previous tasting, I wasn't expecting to enjoy this wine too much.  I have come to the conclusion that I'm just not a tempranillo kind of person.  Sadly, I was right.  I found the aroma of this wine subpar.  I think it was just too oaky, and the spices just didn't jump out at me.  The taste was way too earthy for my liking.