Tag: Wine

Vina Vilano Bodegas, 2013, Ribera del Duero Reserva

On By sandysoloIn Spanish Wine, Storytasting, Wine, wine reviewLeave a comment

I completed my semester of Advanced Spanish Wine last week and am in serious withdrawal. To combat this, I purchased a boat load of Spanish wine from various stores and online retailers. I was already in love with Priorat prior to taking this class but now I have a full on crush on practically every wine region in Spain. If anything, it has given me a greater appreciation for higher acidity. I’m definitely a reserva girl though. Enter this 100% Old Vine Tempranillo from Ribero del Duero.

The minerals in the nose are fantastically interesting and prominent. Then it gets a little earthy and there is a hint of menthol. Like you buried some Vic’s Vapor Rub in some dirt and topped that off with wet stones. Then finally some dark fruit, like blackberry and plumb jam. Then to my surprise and delight at the top of the glass there is a light floral note. I did not see that coming. I could smell this all night.

The dark fruit on the tongue is cut short as the acid strikes, but then they blend together seamlessly. It’s both fresh and dark. And then cocoa covered earth. Like you mixed unsweetened baking cocoa with some dirt and you loved it. It’s cool and mysterious. It’s so not my normal jam but maybe I needed a new tune.

The aging standards of a Reserva have matured the acids right into a sweet spot.

I think I found my summer romance.

Te quiero, Ribera del Duero Reserva.

Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2017, Domaine de la Solitude

On By sandysoloIn French Wine, Wine, wine reviewLeave a comment

Well, the name of this is fitting for these Covid times: Domaine de la Solitude. This basically describes my Covid living situation. In solitude. With wine. 24/7.

This is a typical southern Rhone Blend of the typical GSM- Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre.

The nose is dark and interesting. I can literally get something from each varietal and something different in each sniff. Dark red fruit and candied plums, smoke, game, and something floral at the top of the glass. Dried herbs the second go around. Then chocolate. Then dry earth.

On the tongue is smooth but not in an absent of tannins kind of way, rather in a way that all the aromas meld together harmoniously. It’s a smooth criminal. It’s chocolate and caramel covered cherries. There’s enough acid to keep it from becoming jammy but it’s still very rich. It’s decadent without being dessert-like.

Domaine de la Solitude is the place to be. I’d stay in solitude a little while longer for another bottle.

Salut!

Vallado, Touriga Nacional, 2017, Douro

On By sandysoloIn Douro Valley, Portugal, Wine, wine reviewLeave a comment

Quarantine made me dip into my Portugal stash. I wanted to let it all age a little longer, but Covid made me open it. I needed something special or at least a special memory. So I opened this Valldo Touriga National, thinking that maybe I was tipsy when I tasted it in Portugal and it wasn’t as good as I remember. I was wrong.

For the record, I saw this at the PA state store so I don’t feel bad rubbing it in your nose like I usually do when I write about the wine I brought back that you can only get in Portugal.

It starts with a smokey earth aroma that I love. Like if you set dirt on fire. I’m telling you that smells awesome. It’s better than the dark fruit that comes next. I get some vanilla at the top of the glass. There is something minimally herbaceous but I can’t place it. Maybe dried sage. My allergies are acting up today.

On the tongue it’s some red licorice, Barley ripe blackberries. Leather. Smokey. Medium body. Nicely acidic. Smooth tannins.

Just a good wine from the Douro where I wish I was right now.

2015, Tesoro de Bullas, Monastrell

On By sandysoloIn Wine, wine review1 Comment

I just realized earlier in the year that I like Monastrell. I don’t think I’d had it on its own and not in a Rhone Blend where it appears by its French name of Mouvedre. I had a Monastrell while I was in Switzerland a few months ago. I ordered it because I didn’t love the other wines they had by the glass and that particular wine had an interesting story involving a monastery. See my travel blog, Sandy Solo, if you want to read more about my love for old monasteries.

I haven’t had enough to truly understand what I like about it so I’m intent on drinking more of it until I figure it out. Enter this Monastrell I purchased from Total Wine.

It has the most yummy nose, like butterscotch cherry earth. But it’s the earth part I really like. It’s sort of campfire meets sweet tobacco. It’s not not totally one or the other but a marriage of them both. There is some cocoa too. Maybe I like it because the fruit is buried under these other aromas which I find super interesting. The fresh cherries are there but they are surrounded by a force field of the other aromas.

One sip and I taste the smokiness which I like and ripe cherries. But barely ripe cherries. I wish they were a teeny bit more ripe tasting. Then there is some unsweetened cocoa. I would say this is almost full bodied but not quite. Very medium. Or medium plus as others would say. But I like very medium. More people will understand that. More of my people anyway.

Overall I love the nose on this, and just like the wine. I could smell it all day. I may wear it as perfume tomorrow. While I might not buy this particular wine again, it has only made my intrigue with Monastrell grow.

2017 Sobon Estate, “Rocky Top,” Zinfandel

On By sandysoloIn Wine, wine reviewLeave a comment

I rarely meet a Zin a don’t like. Today was a day for a rarity, I guess.

Earthy prunes and raisins. And I hate raisins. The earthiness presents itself to the nose more like campfire ash which I don’t hate. But the prunes quickly takeover so enjoying the campfire doesn’t last long. I get a little vanilla and baking spices by keeping my nose closer to the rim. But any further the prunes are waiting for me.

All I can taste is the prunes. And this is only slightly higher in acid than “wedding wine” which is very low on acid and tastes almost flat. This isn’t flat but almost is. Almost flat prune juice.

I keep tasting it, thinking my mind is playing tricks on me. But it’s really not and I need to give up and find something else to drink tonight. I read good things about this bottle of $20 wine. It’s not bad, I’m just not a fan. Ok, maybe it’s like 20% not good and 80% not my jam. I threw up prune juice on a long car ride when I was a child. This is digging up that memory…I gotta go.

2015 Tenuta Del Portale, Aglianico del Vulture

On By sandysoloIn Wine, wine reviewLeave a comment

Something newish that I don’t drink often for no particular reason: Anglianico. Again, this was a Total Wine purchase.

On the nose it’s really interesting: at first I loved the nose and the deep earth- like the mud a foot down not on the surface. Salty olives and dark fruit mix it up together. And then I get something more pungent that I don’t particularly love that I can never describe. If I keep my nose closer to the top of the glass, I get the carmel from the barrel. So this kinda smells like a sweet and salty snack.

There is definitely a salinity to the taste which I seem to enjoy. The tabacco covered berries is interesting too. And there is that pungent note right at the end but it tastes less offensive than it smells. And there are definitely some sandy tannins.

I think I may have committed infanticide and opened this a bit early. But I’m not exactly going to age a $14 bottle I got at a wine supermarket. My wine fridge takes reservations mainly from good stuff I bring from a trip or my more pricier purchases and gifts. And it has limited availability at the moment.

Overall I’m not in love but fascinated by the interesting aromas. So while I may not purchase this again, I’m enjoying it now for what it is. Something different.

2016 Cruz Alta Chairman’s Blend, Mendoza

On By sandysoloIn malbec, Wine, wine reviewLeave a comment

I haven’t had a Malbec for quite some time for no particular reason. I have a few bottles in my “cellar” from my trip to Mendoza a few years ago. (my cellar= my wine fridge.) Those bottles are special and maybe I don’t think anything at a store can live up to them so why bother. Maybe that was the underlying reason.

I guess I’m over it because I’ve been having a hankering for Malbec lately. I purchased this “blend” on a stock up trip to Total Wine recently. I use quotes because this is 75% Malbec and by California standards, they could call this a Malbec, call it a day and not tell you it’s 15% “other stuff.”

I do not like Cab Sauv. I don’t like the aromas. They are literally not my jam. But I do like the general structure of a Cab so in small quantities, I like what it does for a blend as long as the pyrazine is overridden by other aromas. If you don’t know, pyrazine gives wine that green pepper /vegetal aroma. I. Kit a fan in red wine. It doesn’t bother me so much in Sauv Blanc, although the more varietals of white I try, I am learning that Sauvy B is not my favorite.

Anyhoo, on to this “blend” of mostly Malbec…I like the nose on this a lot. It’s pretty earthy up front. But definitely fruity. Like you baked a blackberry pie in the dirt. With a little nutmeg and cocoa sprinkled in. Which sounds gross in real life but in wine aroma speak, means yumminess to me. There is a bit of sweet cigar as well but just a teeny bit.

It’s very cocoa berry in the mouth. Like cocoa covered raspberries with a hint of vanilla. It’s veering towards low acidity but not quite low, still very ripe but not quite cooked.

Overall I’m pleased. It’s enjoyable. Extra enjoyable at $14 a bottle. Would drink again.

2018 Martin Codax Albarino

On By sandysoloIn Albarino, Spanish Wine, Wine, wine reviewLeave a comment

Summertime, Summer Wine.

I’m finally writing about something you can get at Total Wine and don’t need a passport and a large suitcase in order to enjoy.

Tropical fruit, grapefruit, a little lime up my nose. The minerals express themselves as wet rocks, but not just after a rain. More like day old wet stone.

In my mouth it’s a lime and grapefruit fest. I had a few sips with my Mexican dinner and it actually went really well with the spice. It had a richness to it with the food. Without it, the lime and grapefruit are tart and the wet stone adds a bit of mineral flavor. I bet if I drank this while eating something salty I’d guzzle it down in a flash.

If you’re really into citrus fruit, you’d like this. It reminds me of a Paloma if it had a wine cousin. It’s not complex or terribly interesting, and pretty high in acid but I’d drink this again on a hot day with some spicy guac. And since I can get it in Delaware at Total Wine, I probably will.

Salut!

2018 Montedas Servas Elscohas Rosé

On By sandysoloIn alentejo, Portugal, Uncategorized, Wine, wine reviewLeave a comment

If you don’t know already, I love Portugal. Love is probably not strong enough. Obsessed is likely more accurate. Covid-19 is ruining my chances of taking a fifth trip there at some point this year. I literally ache I miss it so much. I realize me not travelling is not important in the grand scheme of life right now. But I’m going to allow myslf a pity party this Memorial Day Weekend, during which I will drink this rosé in order to console myself.

I had lunch at Montedas Servas while in Portugal last September while on a vacation whose sole purpose was to visit two wine regions: The Douro Valley and Alentejo. Alentejo surprised me just a bit. I mean I wasn’t shocked that I loved it, but it was more beautiful and authentic than I had ever imagined.

In a nutshell, Alentejo is made up of small medievil villages on hilltops with cork trees, vineyards and vast open beauty in between. I encountered very little tourists, and yet there was so much to see. I hired a private tour guide to arrange two days of vineyard tours. She did not disspoint and you can read about it in my other blog, Sandy Solo.

As I was saying, I had lunch at Montedas Servas, but no tour. But it was some of my favorite wine from the trip. I had this rosé and a red at lunch and I couldnt not leave there without buying a few bottles. The problem was this was near the end of my trip, so my extra suit case for wine was full and I already had additional bottles that were going to have to go home in my regular suitcase.

My tour guide said she would ship me the wine, so I purchased two bottles of the rosé and 4 of the red. The total in true Portugal fashion: 42 Euro. I almost died. I think the rosé was like $5USD a bottle. I still don’t understand how that is even possible.

So to the tasting.. This is definitely cheering me up a bit. Although Im also sad I didnt get more of this delicious rosé.

It has the most delightful nose of fresh strawberries. There is a slight mineralness to it as well. I do get some darker red fruit the deeper I go. There is also something minimally vegetal, like wet, green leaves after a spring shower, but the beautiful summer strawberry is the clear winner here.

On the tongue the strawberry is accompanied by a ittle bit of orange peel. And the mineral notes give it a little bit of freshness. Its a teeny weeny bit more medium bodied and I like it that way.

This is not a refreshing rosé to cool you off on a hot summer day by the pool. It’s an appetizer. Drink it in the shade. If you can get your hands on it. Which you can only do by going to Portgal.

On my next trip, I am making a detour back here to pick up some more, even if I’m up north drinking Vino Verde. This is a solid 4.5/5 as far as rosés go. It gets extra love for the price.

Quarantine Selection from Tobin James: Part 2

On By sandysoloIn Wine, wine reviewLeave a comment

I worked my way through the second half of my quarantine shipment from Tobin James almost as quickly as the first. I’ll need to place another order soon.

2016 Petite Sirah “Midnight Magic”

This Petite Sirah was pretty magical. The nose was like bacon covered in triple berry jam. I couldn’t stop sniffing it. Sticking my nose in deeper, I also picked up blueberry which is an aroma I don’t find a whole lot as I don’t eat enough blueberries. There was also something tangy and sweet, like tomato jam. No, I do not actually mean ketchup. I mean tomato jam. If you’ve never had tomato jam, I suggets you find some. On the tongue this was just like the first part of the nose – jammy bacon and I really enjoyed it. I didnt go much deeper because it had me at bacon jam and I drank it rather quickly. Solid 3.9/5.

2015 James Gang Reserve Zinfandel

I found this so interesting on the nose becasue all I could smell was Cherry Coke. Like a perfectly syruped Cherry Coke fountain soda from 7/11. There was also some campfire in there but I was having too much fun smelling the Cherry Coke to try to go past it. It tasted similarly – it had the ripe cherries and something carmel-y. This was very good. Not as good as my beloved Fat Boy ZInfandel, but very good. Solid 3.9/5.

2016 Rock-N-Roll Syrah

This wasn’t my favorite Syrah. I prefer a really funky Syrah. The more it smells like a dead animal, the better for my palette. I definitely got some meat on the nose here, as I should. It was like a raw grocery store steak, not a dry ages steakhouse cut, but the fruit was overpowered the funkiness. I still drank the whole bottle, and I didnt dislike it. It was just nothing to write home about. I sort of gave up and just drank it. The white flag was probably more due to my quarantine mental state than the wine itself. I had no more to give by the time I got to the Syrah so it was never going to get a fair shot. So I won’t rate this and hope my will to taste returns soon.

Stay safe and healthy fellow wine nerds!