Wine Reviews
Wine Tasting and Reviews From Around the World
Wine Tasting
2004 Clay Station Viognier
Winery: Clay Station
Brand/Type: Viognier
Vintage: 2004
Country: USA
Region: Lodi, California
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Closure: Synthetic
Appearance: Pale honey
Aroma/Bouquet: Rotting fruit, amonia
This is a heavy, syrupy attempt at a Viognier. It initially tastes of ripe melon and honeysuckle, and then is overwhelmed by a harsh acidity and sweet finish.
Clay Station, a subsidiary of Delicato, claims to make wines that are more difficult to master than others are. Word of advice to Clay Station; keep trying, you have yet to succeed with this wine.
Viogniers are a very nice wine. Don’t let this one be your first impression otherwise you’ll miss many fine wines. Avoid this one and you won’t be sorry.
Wine Tasting
2006 Tierra del Fuego
Winery: Jacques & Francois Lurton
Brand/Type: Mendoza white
Vintage: 2006
Country: Argentina
Region: Mendoza
Alcohol content: 12.5%
Closure: Screw cap
Appearance: Pale gold
Aroma/Bouquet: Citrus and fruit.
This is a great everyday wine. Low priced but don’t let that fool you. This is a blend of Chenin, Torrontes, and Tokay Fermunt grapes that turns out to be a great tasting wine as well as a bargain.
It is dry with a crisp, spicy finish. It’s great with summer salads, fish or chicken. Buy a case and drink it while young (you and the wine!).
Wine Tasting
2005 Il Valore Orvieto Classico
Winery: Il Valore
Brand/Type: Orvieto Classico
Vintage: 2005
Country: Italy
Region: Umbria
Alcohol content: 12%
Closure: Natural Cork
Appearance: Pale amber
Aroma/Bouquet: Herbal/spicy
This is a blend of Trebbiano toscano, Verdello, Grechetto, and Malvasia grapes from the Umbria region of Italy.
Dry with a crisp and clean taste. Not significant in mineral or acidity but not lacking either. Pairs well with seafood or summer salads. Very drinkable but not one that you would serve guests; family yes, guests, probably not. Consider this to be a very affordable and decent table white.
Wine Tasting
2004 Kettmeir Pinot Grigio
Winery: Kettmeir
Brand/Type: Pinot Grigio
Vintage: 2004
Country: Italy
Region: Trentino-Alto Adige
Alcohol content: 11.5%
Closure: Natural Cork
Appearance: Straw
Aroma/Bouquet: Woodsy, faint scent of pine, green apple
The Andersons General Store is such a wonderful place to shop for wine. They have an extensive selection of wines that could keep you busy searching for hours on end. One of my favorite things is trolling their close-out aisles. I’ve found some really cheap wines that have been priced accordingly as well some true gems that for one reason or another have been priced to move. The Andersons definitely has variety!
This 2004 Kettmeir Pinot Grigio is quiet a gem. Priced very nicely, this wine also tastes much better than you might suspect based on price alone.
It is a dry, light bodied Pinot Grigio that would be a wonderful summer wine. It has a good fruity taste without even coming close to being sweet. It has a good sharp acidity that lingers through the finish.
Kettmeir is located in Northern Italy in the Trentino-Alto Adige region it is nestled in the Dolomites where the autumn night temperatures can give the maturing grapes their best characteristics for flavor and aroma. This is ideal for white wines and it shows in this offering. By all means search out Kettmeier if you are looking for a great tasting wine at a reasonable price.
Wine Tasting
2000 Heidi Schröck Muscat
Winery: Heidi Schröck
Brand/Type: Muscat
Vintage: 2000
Country: Austria
Region: Burgenland
Alcohol content: 13%
Closure: Natural Cork
Appearance: Pale straw, almost clear
Aroma/Bouquet: Floral
Forget what you think you know about Muscat. Most will associate this grape with sweet aperitifs; not so in this case. Heidi Schröck delivers a dry, yes dry, Muscat. It is very aromatic with a strong floral aroma.
This is a complex wine that wanders nicely across palate, dry and velvety, good acidity with a wonderful mineral element with a strong crisp finish. This is definitely not syrupy or sweet.
This is well respected winery worth searching for at your local wine seller. Searching out aged vintages from her may not be easy but it is definitely rewarding!
Wine Tasting
Angels Tears White
Winery: Angel Tears
Brand/Type: 50% Muscat d’Alexandrie, 50% Chenin Blanc
Vintage: N/A
Country: South Africa
Region: Western Cape
Alcohol content: 13.5
Closure: Syntetic Cork
Appearance: Pale yellow
Aroma/Bouquet: Floral, faint hint of lemon.
Crisp, clean, good acidity, initial bit of sweetness (very light) sharp finish, full of peach and honeysuckle. It is labeled as semi-sweet but should be off-dry.
While the bottle and label looks like many heavily marketed wines these days, this actually does deliver a good value and taste. As one might expect from a Muscat, it does indeed have some sweetness; however the acidity and blending of the Chenin Blanc keeps the sweetness in check.
Wine Tasting
2005 Hugues Beaulieu Picpoul De Pinet Coteaux du Languedoc
Winery: Hugues Beaulieu
Brand/Type: Picpoul de Pinet
Vintage: 2005
Country: France
Region: Coteaux du Languedoc,
Alcohol content: 12.5%
Closure: Natural cork
Appearance: Pale yellow
Aroma/Bouquet: Grapefruit, Floral
Made from a rather obscure grape, the Picpoul, it makes an excellent alternative to Chardonnays; dry to off dry, very crisp with lemon, lime, and a touch of melon, with a strong mineral finish and pronounced acidity.
This is a very reasonably priced French wine that should satisfy most anyone who prefers dry to off dry wines. The combination of dryness, mineral, and acidity would likely have sweet wine fans looking elsewhere.
This is a very nice wine that is very under priced and shouldn’t be missed!
Wine Tasting:
2003 Claar Cellars Late Harvest Riesling
Winery: Claar Cellars
Brand/Type: Late Harvest Riesling
Vintage: 2003
Country: USA
Region: Columbia Valley, Washington
Alcohol content: 12%
Closure: Synthetic cork
Appearance: Golden straw
Aroma/Bouquet: Pears, cotton candy
As you might expect, being a late harvest, this is a sweet Riesling. What you wouldn’t expect is 12% alcohol content nor the complexity that this wine has.
It has a strong but short lived acidity that is overtaken at the finish by sweetness. In between you are treated to a distinct presence of (in order) orange, tangerine and pear flavors. They cascade upon each other well and there’s a hint of mineral as well.
It has an 8.9% residual sugar and is indeed sweet. Appropriate as a desert wine or aperitif.
Wine Tasting:
2005 Barton & Guestier Vouvray
Winery: Barton & Guestier
Brand/Type: Vouvray
Vintage: 2005
Country: France
Region: Loire Valley,Touraine
Alcohol content: 11.5%
Closure: Natural cork
Appearance: Pale straw
Aroma/Bouquet: Floral
This is very nice wine for accompanying a meal (poultry is ideal) or drinking alone.
It has a nice aroma that compliments the wines peach and pear flavors. It is crisp and light on the tongue, dry to off dry, well balanced acidity with a fruity but clean finish.
Barton & Guestier is a very old French winery. Dating back to 1725, Barton & Guestier plenty of experience in the French wine industry. They’ve also won many awards for their wines too. This is a well rounded wine and worthy of your attention. It’s also a very good bargain in French wine.
Wine Tasting:
2005 Ironstone Riesling
Winery: Ironstone Vineyards
Brand/Type: Riesling
Vintage: 2005
Country: Germany/California
Region: Pfalz
Alcohol content: 11%
Closure: Screw cap
Appearance: Pale straw
Aroma/Bouquet: Rubbing alcohol and Pine-sol
Tastes very tart at first then leaves a bitter lemony aftertaste. No real flavors other than lemon. Nothing that to remind you of a Riesling what so ever. This tastes more like solvent than wine.
The Ironstone Vineyards website doesn’t list this wine at all. I have to assume it is because they are ashamed to have ever put their label on such crap, their site doesn’t list any Rieslings what so ever. So what gives? Was this some cheap excuse to import some rotgut and throw your label on it, make a quick buck, and charge a far more that reasonable amount for something that should have been turned into compost?
Ironstone owes everyone who ever was assaulted by this crap a refund and an apology.
Improve the web with Nofollow Reciprocity.