I think I waited a year too long to open this but it was still surprisingly good. Since I have never heard of the grape before...I did not even know this was a white wine until I opened it. It's from Switzerland. Who knew Alpine regions grow grapes? Okay, wine enthusiasts know that. I'm new at this.
Thinking about it, I would have thought this would be a light wine: thinking cooler mountains, higher elevations - again, without looking up specifics.
It was a deep yellow in the glass with no change in color at the edges. It smelled of pineapple and alcohol. Oh it was so good. It went down so easily and lightly.
An amazing thought: Switzerland which would not have known about pineapples without help from imports grows a grape which gives them some of that same great taste (but without the excessive juicy sweetness of an actual pineapple)
On the second day it was no longer pineapple: it was pink grapefruit. I like pink grapefruit. It's regular grapefruit I don't much like.
An odd waxy, weirdly floral (yukky geranium?) nose.
The taste wasn't much different. It was that waxy oddness. Maybe even some of that yucky geranium. Some citrus was trying to overcome the odd tastes.
With aeration: the oddness decreased but never fully went away. Some apricot came through, which helped.
If you love the stench of a fresh barnyard...and I mean horse apple fresh...then this is the one for you. The stench does not go away with time.
I did not try this with an aerator. Maybe that would have helped the smell. It probably would have hurt the taste. The color was past red heading into brick. It probably won't last much longer.
The taste doesn't need any help. If you can get past the smell, the taste is smooth, light berry, evenly slightly creamy yet food friendly.
The taste was the same into the second day...as was the smell. As I said, the nose did not dissipate or change into anything more pleasant.
Muscadet de Serve et Maine sur lie.
First sip is EEEEEEYOOOOOWWWWWW sharp. That's what happens when you just can't wait a little bit for it to open up and calm down.
A short time later: very light citrus on the nose. Taste was smoother, maybe some light peachy type taste with just a touch of citrus, nice citrus but not grapefruity citrus. Not exactly peachy but sort of peachy. There was a hint of effervescence with every sip which dissipated almost before you knew it was there if you weren't looking for it. I was looking for it. I was curious about the 'Sur Lie.' Yup, there's tiny bubbles at opening sip. Short finish.
It was lovely. A lovely summer wine.
I couldn't take any more white wines. I didn't even wait to chill this one. The first glass was at 58 degree cellar temp. It was barely okay reminding me of cheaper mass produced supermarket wines, if okay is defined as "okay for the price." It was a smooth cab but a thin cab. Few discernable tannins in that it did not give any hint of raspiness or mouth drying when sipped.
I did not notice the rich cherry taste which the label promised. There was some blackberry. Smoky oak? Not in the cellar temp pour. The following evening was different.
It took me 2 more days to finish this bottle. The bottle was in the bar frig with a stopper in it. It kept really well. Chilled, it tasted very buttery and now I could pick up some ripe cherry. I much prefer this chilled. I will have to remember to do that if I get any future bottles of this.
Fantastic patio pounder. Great wine for the hottest days!
This is another case inwhich I don't much like Chenin Blancs or Viogniers but I love them together in this combination. My nose was picking up floral notes but the taste was more citrus but not annoying, sharp citrus. It was pleasant, refreshing citrus with some other elements that softened the citrus.
The was a tremendous $ value at under $9, for a refreshing wine which went well with a number of foods, again, general picnic, light dinner or summer type foods. Or just by itself on the back deck. I did not discern any degradation in quality or change in taste over a few days.
50% Pinot Grigio, 50% Sauvingnon Blanc.
I am not a fan of most Pinot Grigios or Sauvingon Blancs. I am not a fan of grapefruit juice, alcoholic or not, not to mention the stink of cat pee on the nose which describes most Sauvingon Blancs from New Zealand in my experience. This was from Veneto so I felt a little safer in this choice.
The Due Uve was nicely aromatic (apricot?), not too tart, not too sweet, and very refreshing. Light color. The second day was as good as the first. Works against an array of summer picnic type foods.
Yes! A rose (can't find my accents) . A pink wine. A neither here nor there wine. There is a wine shop owner who won't passively accept my anti Rosee gestures (crossed fingers, garlic, rotating 3 times tossing salt over my shoulder). She knows why I dislike rose. Neither of us are shy about our opinions and views. She has been on the money with all of her recommendations for the past few years. She said I would like this one.
Notice the bottle. It is empty. No, I did not pour it down the sink.
The first night it was reminiscent of what I don't like about roses: neither here nor there. It was okay. It went well with the salad I ate that evening: more romaine, vidalia, gherkin and blue cheese dressing.
The second night it was deeper, richer and fuller tasting. It was still pink but it drank more like a light red only chewier. I really liked it the second night. If I were ever having this again, I would start drinking it from the second night onward.
You heard me: 1999. I had 3 bottles from a move a long time ago. I drank 1 a couple of years ago it wasn't bad. It was fuller, richer tasting than I thought it would be.
I wasn't so lucky this year.
My first clue that I was too late was the orange wine inside the glass. It wasn't just a deep gold. It was ORANGE. I should have taken a picture of the glass of wine. No worries. I have that one other bottle. I may save that for a demo. I will take that picture. I have never seen orange wine.
It had a vinegary tartness in the nose and yes, on the tongue. I did take a sip just to test, which I promptly spit out. Definitely gone. Gone! This is one reason I am using this summer to clear out the accumulated white wines from who knows when and where. That and the consistent heat.
It's red. It's Bordeaux. I couldn't take anymore whites at the time. I knew this was on the rich, robust side but I needed something different from what I was drinking through this summer. I did not even chill it.
It tasted like it should have been more expensive than it was. It had plummy richness. It hit the spot. I have to remember to get some more.
I don't usually acquire too many of any 1 kind anymore because there are too many wonderful new tastes and types of wines coming around the corner but there are just some that act as not so old favorites; the known entities. This is one of them.
