InVinoVeritas’s blog

This zin tasted like no other zin I've ever had.  Very different, and I'm still trying to put my finger on what exactly it is. 

It had the spicy kick of a zin, and a bit of blueberry on the nose and the alcohol was detectable, but that's about where the likeness of what I know and like about zins ended.  There were leather and licorice notes - had the structure and body of something like a young cab or merlot - with lots of tannins.  Which is fine - it was just not what we expected. :)

It paired well with the Grilled Marinated Beef Tenerloin with Peperonata and roasted garlic we had.  Definitely a pleasant, and unexpected wine, but it wasn't my favortie ever.  One of those I-appreciate-the-complexity-but-not-sure-if-its-for-me sort of things. 

I fogot to post this a while back. 

We have been trying to find our favorite Sauvignon Blanc, and we have found it for the time being:

2005 Dashwood Marlborough Sauv. Blanc.  Lots of passion-fruit and grapefruity goodness, with a bit of lime and lemongrass, light, and juuuust a tad bit of sweetness.  Even better - it's very affordable at $12.99!

We have yet to try our Cloudy Bay or Dog Point, but for an every day (whoops - did I say EVERY DAY?) kind of wine, Dashwood is awesome. 

*The Ridge will be opened in about 2 hours :)  I'll be back.

We recently joined our 1st wine club: Ridge Vineyard's ATP (Advanced Tasting Program).  We joined because we LOVE Ridge wine, and this Club features wines from their tiny little vineyards, and are only available to members.

We received our 1st shipment today - 2 bottles of their 2004 Zinfandel Jimosmare  We are excited to try it tomorrow with some BBQ filet mignon while watching the UCLA game and to celebrate a new job for me.

I shall report back. :)

Found Brander's Sauvignon Blanc at our local wine shop for $10.  Score.  That's some good shit.  (It's $14 at the winery I believe)

I'm pretty sure that I've had too many glasses to do a proper review...but it's good, truuuust me. :P

Trader Joe's started carrying a new Gewurtztraminer, which I usually love.  But this one is nasty.  Avoid at all costs: Santa Ynez Valley Winery Gewurtztraminer ($5.99) - it has no nose, and while the initial taste is sweet and floral, it's so alcoholic - it tastes like rubbing alcohol would.  For a good inexpensive Gewurtz, splurge on the Fetzer for a buck more. :)

Nose: The first thing that hit me was a lot of passionfruit/mango-y-ness.  Maybe a little kiwi.  I have read about a "celery" note in some reviews of Sauv. blancs, and I think I may know what they are talking about here. 

Taste - Lime-y, lemongrass-y, kinda floral.  Still a hint of celery - almost like as if had been dipped in a bloody mary.  HA - I have no Idea if this makes sense at all, but this is what is first coming to mind... ;)

Finish - almost a sweet and sour type of finish without the bite and a bit of saltiness.  Like you sucked off the covering of a sour gummi worm or drank some sweet n sour mix.  But like I said, after rolling it around my tongue, it's very smooth, doesn't make you twinge at all. 

I quite like this wine.

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Compare to:

Wine Spectator: "Bright and tart, with pear and lime flavors at the core, adding mint  and herb to mingle through the jazzy finish. Drink now. 4,000 cases imported. (HS)"  (yes - herb.  I can see that)

Other random sites with postings about this wine siad grass , grapefruit and asparagus.

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Tonight is a red night - my husband is making his mustard and pine-nut encrusted rack of lamb and braised artichokes and garlic.  We haven't picked a wine yet, but it's probably going to be a Zin or Cab.

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I think my next Trader Joe's wine will be a New Zealand unoaked Chardonnay.  I like the chardonnay characteristics, but the super oaky-ness really turns me off when I actually drink it.  Maybe this will be good.

We are drinking the Matua Sauv Blanc as I type, and I want to record my thoughts as I taste because this is a pretty complex wine for $9! (Warning - I still struggle with pinpointing what I taste/smell and I"m trying to work on it, so no laughing at my amateur description :P)

The nose is very tropical - like pineapple with some tartness - some apple, maybe.  I think I smell a little apricot. 

The taste is very tart and crisp, yet smooth, no bite to it. I still have some tropical notes to it, but there is definitely a green bell pepper taste to it. 

The finish is kind of - um, salty and cheesy?  Kinda weird!  Not bad.  Just weird!  I had to laugh because all I can think of is the scene in Sideways where he is tasting and holding his ear and ends with, "....and just a hint of....edam cheese"  Hee.

**Above was at slightly cooler than room temp - when chilled, there are more citrus hints in both the nose and the taste.  Less salty, but still a cheesy aftertaste.  VERY good with food, we had it with cilantro-garlic-marmalade marinated shrimp and avocado-orange salsa.  Delish!

Great wine for the price!  If you are looking for a great wine for under $10, this is a good one.  Very complex, smooth and easy to drink. :)

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Compare to:

Wine Spectator: "Fresh and lively, with a talcum powder edge to the citrus flavors. Drink now. 40,000 cases imported. (HS)" (ummmmm - ok?  Not sure I agree with this)

Matua Winemaker's notes: "A distinctive and aromatic Marlborough sauvignon blanc, delivering bright and lively gooseberry and passionfruit characters with a hint of lime. The palate is well proportioned with refreshing tropical flavours that linger on the seductive finish. " (I guess I was looking for grapefruit, maybe it was lime that was the citrus? And I guess cheesy = seductive :)  And what does a gooseberry taste.smell like, exactly?)

So I don't know what rock we have been living under, but we have never tried any New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, other than a glass of Konrad in Hawaii this past June.  So I bought a few at different price points that were recommended at the local wine shop and we'll start tasting tonight :

• 2005 Cloudy Bay Marlborough Sauv. Blanc ($24)
• 2004 Mount Nelson Marlborough Sauv. Blanc ($13)
• 2005 Matua Valley Marlborough Sauv. Blanc ($9)

I shall report back and compare to a couple of different tasting notes I have found :)

My 1st TJ's Taste test:

2004 La Loggia Barbera D'Alba ($4.99) - What I drank was definitely not what I had expected at all.  It has almost no aroma - maybe a little smoky, but my nose was not impressed.  In terms of taste - it kinda reminded me of a table wine you'd find at one of those italian restaurants that have jugs of wine on the table and you serve yourself.  Kinda watery, a little smoky, kind of a wussy chianti-ish wine that you'll drink if it's there, but you'd never buy.  I say Feh.

Other wines I picked up at Costco for Last night for our BBQ:

2004 Rosenblum Eagle Point Vineyard Zinfandel ($19.99) - Has lots of the berries and jammy-ness of Zinfandel that I love.  We had been buying the 2002 vintage from Costco, but I guess it has run out.  This one does not have the depth that the 2002 has, but it's a really yummy wine nonetheless. 

2003 Ferrari Carano 'Siena' Sonoma County Red Wine (Tuscan style blend of Sangiovese, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon) ($14.59) - This was my favorite of the 2 wines, which surprised me, becuase I just picked it up on a whim becuase I'm a fan of sangiovese/cab blends.  Very berry/fruit forward, and a little bit of sweetness.  I think I'll have to go back to Costco to pick up a few more since the local wine shop near me sells this for $20.  I dig it. 

Someone already had my idea - so I'm going to shadow some of his reviews and see what I think!

http://quaffability.com/?cat=2