Wine Tasting #6 - 3/26/15

Let me just preface these tasting notes by saying that my palate was WAY thrown off yesterday.  I ate an apple on my way to the tasting, and I came down with some sort of cold/flu thing immediately upon returning home.  My taste buds were feeling super limited, but here's what I got out of it.

Wine #1
Name: Villa Jolanda
Variety: Brut
Region: n/a
Country: Italy
Year: n/a
Price: $8,95
Shop/wine critic/winery 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.
My review: Nice yellow/pale green color.  Sweet on the nose like cotton candy and strawberries.  High acidity, but a pleasing bite that I could drink all day.  I felt like the alcohol broke through a little bit on the finish.

Wine #2
Name: Alvarez de Toledo
Variety: Godello
Region: Bierzo
Country: Spain
Year: 2013
Price: $7.95
Shop/wine critic/winery review: Clean pale yellow color.  nose fruity, persistent and elegant aromas.  Good backbone on the palate.
My review: This one smelled like cat pee and pineapple.  It had a clear yellow color.  Less acidity, but also less mouth-feel.  Hints of melon rind, lemon, celery, and apple.

Wine #3
Name: Oracle
Variety: Pinotage
Region: n/a
Country: South Africa
Year: 2014
Price: $7.95
Shop/wine critic/winery review: An unusual style of Pinotage with complex aromas of black pepper, smoke, tomato, and dark fruit.  The palate is packed with ripe mixed berry flavors, making this unoaked red wine a real crowd-pleaser.
My review:  This wine smelled like butter to me, which is awkward because apparently it's unoaked.  It also smelled like tomato sauce.  It tasted like tomato again, with big tannins and a lingering finish.

Wine #4
Name: Monte Degli Angeli
Variety: Sangiovese
Region: Puglia
Country: Italy
Year: 2013
Price: $7.95
Shop/wine critic/winery review: The aromas are rich and dark, with lots of black cherry and a hint of balsamic.  In the mouth the wine is round and energetic, with cherry and black raspberry fruit complemented by hints of damp earth.  If you like Sangiovese-based wines like Chianti or our best-selling Colsanto from Umbria, you'll love this!  The wine is ripe, fresh, and fruit-driven with a wonderful dash of earthy complexity at the end.  Buy it by the case and drink with pizza, grilled poultry, and pasta.
My review:  This had a beautiful garnet color, and smelled like spicy fruit with raspberries galore.  It tasted like cloves with some fruit in there and had big tannins.

Wine #5
Name: Bolla 1.5L
Variety: Moscato
Region: Pavia
Country: Italy
Year: n/a
Price: $9.95
Shop/wine critic/winery review: Loaded with juicy exotic fruit, mature apricot, yellow peach and tangering flavors, this sweet and delightful wine is perfect for Sunday bunch of picnics.
My review:  As I mentioned before, my palate was doing some weird stuff.  This one really smelled like a rubber eraser on the end of a pencil with hints of herbs.  It tasted like honey and juicy yellow fruit, with more rubber lingering on the aftertaste.

Wine Tasting #5 - 3/19/15

Wine #1
Name: Cortenova
Variety: Pinot Grigio
Region: Veneto
Country: Italy
Year: 2013
Price: $6.95
Shop/wine critic/winery 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.
My review:  Super clear wine, smells like an unripe pear with honey and strawberries.  It tasted overwhelmingly like apple and lemon.  Lingering acidity and tongue pucker, hint of watermelon rind taste.  Mid-dry.  Vinegary start, smooth finish.


Wine #2
Name: Mars and Venus
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Central Valley
Country: Chile
Year: not given
Price: $5.95
Shop/wine critic/winery review: A very nice value Chardonnay that comfortably over-delivers vs. its modest price tag.  No oak here, just bushels of clean, crisp, Chardonnay apple and stone fruit with
a hint of caramelized pineapple.  Juicy and clean, this is a mid-weight white that's just perfect for parties of weeknight sipping.
My review: This wine was a little more yellow than the Cortenova pinot prigio with what looked like a higher viscosity.  It smelled like cat pee, overripe tangelo orange, and kiwi.  Upon taste, it really made the tip of my tongue pucker and tasted like lemon.  Slightly minty finish, not a long lingering wine.

Wine #3:
Name: Bodegas Atalaya
Variety: Laya (blended red)
Region: Almansa
Country: Spain
Year: 2013
Price: $8.95
Shop/wine critic/winery review: 88 points - Stephen Tanzer.  A blend of 70% Garnacha Tintorera, aka Alicante Bouschet, and 30% Monastrell; fermented in stainless steel, followed by four months in French oak.  Bright purple.  Cissis, blueberry, pungent herbs and mocha on the nose.  Smooth and open-knit on the palate, displaying fresh cherry and dark berry qualities and a hint of black pepper.  Finishes with gripping tannins and good length, leaving a subtle floral note behind.
My review: Ruby red/purple wine.  Smelled like a baby daffodil/hibiscus aka slightly sweet floral with bits of melon and raspberry.  Medium tannins with a biting acidity on the finish.  I tasted cloves and spice with hints of lingering blackberry.  I felt like this wine needed to either be rapid-aged or be paired with cheese to be more drinkable.

Wine #4:
Name: Paul Laureano
Variety: Tinto Classico
Region: Alentejano
Country: Portugal
Year: 2013
Price: $8.95
Shop/wine critic/winery review: Paulo Laureano's Classico is a blend of the native Portuguese varietals Trincadeira (40%), Aragonez (40%) and Alfrocheiro (20%).  This is a full bodied red that reveals all that the terroir of Portugal has to offer.  Light cigar tobacco and soft leather present beautifully on the nose.  Dark, black fruits fill the mouth, but the wine flows smoothly over the palate, with a good bit of spice on the finish.  Pair with spicy, cured meats and hard cheeses.
My review: This wine was brownish-red and I felt like I already knew what it would taste like from the color alone.  It smelled like tomato and bacon with a little bit of vanilla coming through.  It tasted like the way an old tobacco barn smells, like you could exhale smoke from drinking it.  Spicy feel, light tannins.  Sensed some kind of mouth-filling fruit, but couldn't identify it.

Wine #5:
Name: Villa Pozzi
Variety: Moscato
Region: Sicily
Country: Italy
Year: not given
Price: $8.95
Shop/wine critic/winery review: Loaded with juicy exotic fruit, mature apricot, yellow peach and tangerine flavors, this sweet and delightful wine is perfect for Sunday brunch or picnics.
My review: Pale yellow sparkling wine rather than green.  Smelled like a mix of honeysuckle, jasmine, orange zest, overripe pineapple, overall delightful, if overly sweet, nose!  Tasted like one of those sugar-coated peach rings -- LOTS of sugar.  I also picked up hints of lime at the finish.

Wine & Cheese Pairing #2

I was planning on attending the regular Thursday wine tasting today, but Blacksburg did it's usual surprise snow thing again and the Vintage Cellar closed at 4:00.  Instead of just abandoning the wine quest all together, I got my friends Oliver and Maggie and my awesome, down-for-anything boyfriend Will to have a wine and cheese party!  We headed next door to Kroger and stocked up on wine.  I took advantage of Rex Goliath's insanely well-priced deal and purchased a Free Range Red and a Pinot Grigio.  Maggie bought a Llama Malbec, and we also picked up wedges of gouda, jarlsburg, and manchego cheese.

Wine #1 - Rex Goliath Pinot Grigio
We started with whites and worked to full bodied reds like I now know you're supposed to.  This pinot grig was VERY light in color with a pale greenish/yellow tint.  It smelled absolutely delightful with honey, honeycrisp apple, grapefruit and a hint of butterscotch.  Unfortunately, it did not taste as great as it smelled.
Alone - it tasted like apple juice with a citrus finish.  The overwhelming flavors were apple and honey.  Note that I didn't chill this wine.  If I had, I don't think it would have tasted like anything at all.
Gouda - The gouda cut whatever acidity this wine had to begin with (read:not much at all) and made it taste like straight up apple juice.
Jarlsburg -  This was an okay pair, and rather than changing the flavor, it did something strange to the texture turning the Jarlsburg into what I imagine is the consistency of ear wax.
Manchego - The manchega stripped the sweetness out of the wine and made it taste like you were chewing on the end of a good old Ticonderoga number 2 pencil.

Wine #2 - Rex Goliath Free Range Red
This was a deep plum colored wine that smelled leathery, spicy, black cherry, oaky and earthy.
Alone - It tasted like spice, like you took a big bite of the skin of a Christmas ham and got a clove in there, too.  This wine had NO acidity at all, and you felt tannins on the back part of the roof of your mouth.
Gouda - Yum!  This combo was so drinkable at first sip.  The cheese became more buttery and pungent, and the tannins were gone from the wine so it effectively tasted like grape juice.  I tried this combo later on, though, and the combo made the wine taste TOO sugary.
Jarlsburg - The Jarls and the Red mix totally cancelled each other out in a confusing combo that left you wondering what exactly was in your mouth.
Manchego - Oh yum!  This combo takes the mild cheese and adds more dimension to bring out the advertised jamminess of the wine.  This was a close tie with the gouda for best pair.

Wine #3 - Llama Malbec - According to Maggie, this wine had a 93 rating when she picked it up from Kroger.  It had a pretty dark amethyst/garnet color and smelled like cassis, strawberries, and tomatoes.  It definitely smelled like a spicy old vine Malbec.
Alone - This wine had more tannins and acidity but the same amount of alcohol as the previous wine.  It tasted like it had half of a prune, metal, and a tiny bit like bile on the finish (but in a good way somehow).
Gouda - The fruit comes out to play with this combination.  I caught hints of blueberry and what couldn't be mango but sure did taste like it.  This relatively thick wine was turned to the consistency of grape juice.
Jarlsburg - Ew, this tasted bad with Jarls.  We have got to find a wine that this cheese will play nicely with, because this really doesn't work.  It seemed like they brought out the worst in each other with waxy swissy cheese and thin flavorless acidy wine.  My disgust could stem from the fact that I really don't like swiss cheese, so take this as my own opinion.
Manchego - This combo let the Manchego become buttery and stronger in flavor.  It stripped the thickness out of the wine and didn't leave it with much flavor.

This wine and cheese pairing experiment wasn't quite as successful as the first experiment.  I learned that there is, in fact, a reason why the Rex's were so inexpensive.  They really weren't balanced or developed wines to begin with, so with cheese, they almost lost all their flavor.  Til next time!