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.