Name: Emeri de Bortoli
Variety: Sparkling Shiraz
Region: Southeastern
Country: Australia
Year: NV
Price: $9.95
Winery Review: A relatively light, fresh style of sparkling Shiraz, with berries and hints of chocolate picking up just a touch of sweet vanilla on the finish. - Vintage
Cellar 3/28/2013
My Review: Very interesting combination of the warm, syrupy, cranberry fruitiness of a Shiraz with a sparking edge. The best part about this wine was the carbonation, it was extremely stimulating on the tongue. I'm not sure how I felt about the combination in this wine, it felt like something much-needed was missing to round it off.
Food: I did not try this wine with food.
Name: Tres Ojos
Variety: Garnacha
Region: Calatayud
Country: Spain
Year: 2011
Price: $6.95
Winery Review: This wine has a brick red color with a bouquet of red raspberries, spice and white pepper. The palate is incredibly concentrated and rich. The modern styles of Garnacha in Spain are continuously being perceived worldwide as wines of extraordinarily good quality. This wine is fruity, juicy and shows a great depth, ripe tannins, length but yet with wonderful elegance and lightness. Enjoy with sausages, roasted meats, aged cheese etc. - Vintage
Cellar 3/28/2013
My Review: Tres Ojos is warm and light with a spicy edge. Flavors of redberries are easily detectable, yet this wine has a bitter finish on the back of the throat. I was not a big fan of this wine.
Food: I did not try this wine with food.
Name: Montebuena
Variety: Tempranillo
Region: Rioja
Country: Spain
Year: 2010
Price: $8.95
Winery Review: Ripe cherry and blackcurrant on the nose and in the mouth. Pilant and seamless in texture, with good heft and back-end energy. Finishes smooth and sweet, with fine-grained tannins providing shape and grip. Still on the young side but this wine drinks very well with an hour or so of decanting. It's an excellent value for Rioja. - Vintage
Cellar 3/28/2013
My Review: Wow, not sure how to start critiquing this wine. On the nose Montebuena is fabulous. It is syrupy and warm with flavors of blackcurrant and berries. However, to the tongue this tempranillo is extremely bitter and with a long aftertaste. I was not a fan of this wine, and struggled to get the bitterness out of my mouth.
Food: I did not try this wine with food.
Name: Sainte Victoire Cotes de Provence
Variety: Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault
Region: Provence
Country: France
Year: 2011
Price: $8.95
Winery Review: Bright salmon, pink; typical of the fresh but warm Provence style. Refined and complex on the nose, with summer fruit and floral notes. Dry and crisp, with a delicate flavor and full texture. - Vintage
Cellar 3/28/2013
My Review: Sainte Victoire's peach color is representative of its fresh, warm, floral qualities. Though not very sweet in taste, it is warm and syrupy on the nose. This wine also has a strange bight to it that is hard to describe; it almost tastes carbonated. Not a huge fan of this wine, but it is tolerable.
Food: I did not try this wine with food.
Name: Canon Road
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: California
Country: United States
Year: 2011
Price: $6.95
Winery Review: Medium-bodied wine with notes of crisp apple and ripe citrus fruit with a hint of cinnamon spice. Delicious complement to grilled chicken, lighter pasta dishes or mild cheeses. - Vintage
Cellar 3/28/2013
My Review: Descent Chardonnay with a yellow color. Though there wasn't much dynamic to this wine, it was light and sweet with a spicy finish. I liked this wine and found it's apple and citrus components refreshing, something I easily drink on a summer day.
Food: I did not try this wine with food.
Name: Potluck
Variety: Sweet Malbec
Region: Mendoza
Country: Argentina
Year: 2010
Price: $7.95
Winery Review: Deep red brilliant with violet hints. Complex, fruity and predominant red fruits. Easy to drink, round with persistent sweetness, very well balanced with sweet tannins. - Vintage Cellar 3/21/2013
My Review: Not a big fan of this wine, it lacked a back bone. Ruby in color, this sweet malbec contains flavors and aromas of cranberry, apple, and cherry. Though it had a nice spice to it, it was overly sweet. This is something I got sick of drinking, and wished it had more pucker.
Food: I did not try this wine with food.
Name: Domaine de Grange de Payan
Variety: Grenache
Region: Cotes du Rhone
Country: France
Year: 2011
Price: $8.95
Winery Review: Intensely spicy and precise, with lively red berry flavors and a hint of black pepper. The Grenache, which makes up the majority of the wine, is deeper and more powerful, offering cherry and black raspberry qualities lifted by zesty minerality. - Vintage Cellar 3/21/2013
My Review: I really enjoyed drinking this wine. Purple in color, Domaine was sweet while retaining mouth clenching flavor. Strong on the nose and tongue with flavors of mixed berries, this wine offered spicy and a mouth puckering bitterness that added dimension to the wine.
Food: I did not try this wine with food.
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