A Swing and a Miss

Posted on January 7, 2007 by Sonadora

A bottle of Adega de Pegoes 2005 Vihno Blanco, purchased at the Curious Grape for $6.99 while seraching for everyday wines. 12% alcohol by volume and had a real cork closure.

The nose of this bottle had a lot of promise. It was very floral and had a huge aroma. It was also very fruity on the nose, with pears, peaches and melons showing through. I also thought I got a whiff of the muscat grape.

What a disappointment in the mouth. There was no delivery on the flavors in the nose. It was simply flat, lacking any real flavor. It tasted like sweet water. Surprising, it got a little better when I ate some chocolate with it, but not enough to make me run out and get another bottle. I will keep looking for my everyday wine, this one was all show and no action.

Filed under: Curious Grape, Everyday Wine, White | 2 Comments »

Juicy and Delicious

Posted on January 7, 2007 by Sonadora

My first note on this bottle of 2004 Old Vine Zinfandel from Alderbrook is “yum.” And really that sums it up. Everything you would expect from a big CA zinfandel. Big mouthfuls of blackberries and cherries, just full of fruit in the mouth. As well as a very smooth bottle of wine in the mouth. There was just a bit of heat on the finish, but not much and not offensive. I didn’t decant this one because I wanted a big red to pair with our leftover pizza and bbq pork (I know, kind of a disgusting combo of food, but it was time to eat the leftovers!). It was a very juicy bottle of wine, and it had a gorgeous inky purple color in the glass.

On the nose there were cherries and blackberries as well as just a bit of oak. I would suggest drinking this bottle now or relatively soon, I think it’s just about perfect now. Although I didn’t decant this one, perhaps you might want to, not for the sake of letting it air, but because it had a lot of sediment in the bottle, all of which ended up in our glasses. This one is 14.5% alcohol by volume, had a real cork closure and ran us around $20 in our club shipment.

Filed under: Alderbrook, Red, Zinfandel | 4 Comments »

Two Days Late and a $ Short

Posted on January 7, 2007 by Sonadora

My little notebook of wine tastings got left in the car when we were out buying wine on Saturday, so I’m a touch late with my Thursday night wine review. Today you get a picture of both the wine and the dinner, mainly because I’m extrememly proud of my pizza making skills, and two, to show my friends and family that I can cook (see, homemade crust and all!).

Normally I would pair a red with our pizza and I had a bottle of zinfandel inthe wine fridge that I had intended to serve with bbq pulled pork I made the other night. However, my heartburn was still raging and for some reason, although I know no alcohol is good for it, I thought perhaps a white might hurt less than a red? No real logic there, but in anycase…

The bottle was a 2005 Domaine Jouclary Sauvignon. Picked it up at Arrowine for $7.99 in our quest for everyday wine. It had a synthetic cork and weighs in 13% alcohol by volume. Melon on the nose, with a slight acidic note. In the mouth there was melon, lemon and a creamy feel. I almost want to say there was just a touch of a butterscotch taste in there. It was interesting for a $7.99 bottle of wine, I’d try it again.

Filed under: Arrowine, Everyday Wine, Sauvignon Blanc, White | 2 Comments »