Tasting- "Rosemount Estate Moscato"

Name: Rosemount Estate Moscato
Variety: Muscat
Region: South Eastern
Country: Australia
Year: 2012 (Not 100% though) 
Alcohol: N/A
Vintage Cellar Price: Regularly $12 - Sale $3.95

Review: "Clear, medium-lemon yellow in appearance; lovely citrus and honeysuckle aromas with lemon, honeysuckle, apple, and ripe yellow plum flavours. Serve chilled with angel food cake or fresh fruit and mild cheeses."

My Review: The nose smelled extremely sweet like pure syrup, but upon the taste the flavor profile was extremely mild, fruity, obviously semi sweet because it is in the class with Moscato wines. The body was actually fuller for me than most other moscato's I've tasted in the other past. I liked this wine very much because it wasn't over-ally sweet. I must say if I would have realized how inexpensive this wine was I would have picked up a couple bottles, but instead stuck with a classic favorite by Canyon Road, their Pinot Noir we tasted weeks back.

On this occasion I tasted this wine on its own without food

Tasting - "Garnacha de Fuego Old Vine Grenache"

Name: Garnacha de Fuego Old Vine Grenache
Variety:100% Grenache cuvee
Region: Aragon
Country: Spain
Year: 2013 
Alcohol: N/A
Vintage Cellar Price: Sale $8.95

Review: "The Garnacha de Fuego, a 100% Grenache cuvee, was aged in both stainless steel and neutral French oak. There are 10,000 cases for the United States. This amazing wine boasts a dark ruby/purple color along with a sweet kiss of jammy black cherries intertwined with crushed rock notes that give the wine an undeniable minerality. As it hits the palate, a full-bodied, voluptuous texture takes hold and the flavor profile moves towards blacker fruits (ripe raspberries and black currants) intermixed with camphor and forest floor. This full-bodied, rich, glycerin-filled effort should drink well for 4-5 years, perhaps longer."

My Review: I found very pomegranate, cherry, acidic notes upon the sniff. I found this start was appealing but upon the taste, it all went kinda sour on me. It was very smokey which I found to be too overwhelming for my taste buds as well as the finish was extremely dry. Not the kind of wine I would ever sip on let alone drink a bottle of. I think this wine could have really had a great palate if it would have stayed away from the smokiness and fixed that dry ending.

On this occasion I tasted this wine on its own without food

Tasting - "Librandi Ciro Rosso Classico"

Name: Librandi Ciro Rosso Classico
Variety: Gaglioppo
Region: Ciro
Country: Italy
Year: 2012 (Not 100% though) 
Alcohol: N/A
Vintage Cellar Price: Regularly $14 - Sale $7.95

Review: "Don't let the pale garnet color fool you: this is substantial wine. Aromas of red fruits and spice complement undertones of cranberries, wild berries, and plums. On the palate, ripe tannins and good body make for an incredibly rich, yet easy going red wine. Pair this wine with sausage, spicy curry, hot soppressata, and tandoori chicken."

My Review: " A LOT of cherry notes as well as hints of blackberry on the nose. It had quite a peppery palate in my opinion. I don't mind hints of pepper, but I felt this was a heavy handed version. I feel though this would be a good pairing with a simple beef/potato dish. Nothing over the top about this wine, but it had some interesting notes throughout the tasting. I do disagree that I don't think this wine would pair with even spicier foods because I feel as though that would be a palate overload.

On this occasion I tasted this wine on its own without food

Tasting - "Angove Nine Vines Viognier"

Name: Angove "Nine Vines" Viognier
Variety: Viognier
Region: Riverland
Country: South Australia
Year: 2008 (Not 100% though) 
Alcohol: 14.5%
Vintage Cellar Price: Regularly $15 - Sale $5.95

Review: "Bright light straw in colour with some green hues, this wine has a lush ripe tropical fruit aroma. This is a fuller bodied white which fills the mouth with heady flavours of apricot, peach and citrus. Angove Nine Vines Viognier is perfect for today's relaxed life-style and is the ideal accompaniment to grilled prawns with chilli and garlic and garlic or roast pork."

My Review: Had a very tropical nose/acidic to me, I was hoping to taste quite a bit of fruit on the first taste but it was milder than I first expected. It also had a grassy nose about it, but no grassy palate for me. This alike the Yealands Estate Sauvignon Blanc had a fresh palate, cleansing in a way. It was good all around, not to much heat, not too bold but just a good balance between the fruitier/mellow flavors.

On this occasion I tasted this wine on its own without food

Tasting - "Yealands Estate Sauvignon Blanc Seaview Vineyard"

Name: Yealands Estate Sauvignon Blanc
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Region: Seaview Vineyard
Country: New Zealand
Year: 2013
Alcohol: 13%
Vintage Cellar Price: Regularly - $21 Sale $7.95

Review:
"This aromatic wine shows lifted flavours of blackcurrant with underlying notes of wet stone and thyme. The palate is elegant yet full with sufficient weight and texture, balanced by a flinty minerality. This wine is a fantastic match with foods such as cheese salad, poultry dishes and a wide range of seafood dishes including freshly shucked natural oysters, prawns, green lip mussels and creamy scallops."

My Review: The nose had an extremely aromatic scent, very fresh smelling, almost of raspberries, or something brighter like pineapple, but I do want to stress that my allergies have been bothering me so my nose has been kind of off lately. So keep in mind when taking my review into consideration. The taste had very clean palate as well as that fresh note that I love about a good white wine. It did have a little heat on the end of it from the high content of alcohol which kinda shocked me because I thought the freshness from the beginning would have rounded out throughout the palate but the ending had too much heat for me. All in all I thought this was a great basic wine in my opinion, could be a staple for a lot of people in my eyes.

On this occasion I tasted this wine on its own without food

 

Tasting - "Jam Jar Sweet White"

Name: Jam Jar Sweet White
Variety: Muscat
Region: Western Cape
Country: South Africa
Year: 2011 

Alcohol: 10%
Vintage Cellar Price: Sale $8.95

Review: "100% Muscat. Soft floral hints add depth to the otherwise straightforward ripe peach and nectarine aromas. There's a good balance in the mouth, with a nice acidic lift and slightly lime edge to cut the sweetness on the finish and close with the faintest hint of honeydew melons."

My Review: First I must say that the name of this wine isn't doing it a bit of justice because my first instinct is SWEET like smuckers. . . like I am about to drink the leftovers of jam or something. . .ew terrible thought. Don't get me wrong I love jam but NASTY thought in my opinion like drinking pure syrup. BUT to get to the actual tasting the nose smelled a lot like white peaches, pleasant not over powering. The taste however was overly sweet in my opinion, and I did not catch the acid notes I was hoping would come through to cut that sweetness. It didn't have a crazy flavor profile but sweet is definitely the best adjective to describe this particular Muscat. I would give it to very young wine drinkers that probably started out on Cupcake Moscato like me many moons ago. Not a fan of the overly sweet ones anymore. They just don't add anything but an upset stomach at the end of it.

P.S. The last 5 tastings including this one I was extremely disappointed in. I'm not sure if it was just a bad week for my pallet or what because in all the rest of my tastings in the past I always found one wine I loved and purchased. Not at all the outcome this week :(

On this occasion I tasted this wine on its own without food

Tasting - "Entrada Malbec"

Name: Entrada Malbec
Variety: Malbec
Region: Santa Cruz
Country: Chile
Year: 2011
Alcohol: N/A
Vintage Cellar Price: Sale $5.95

Review: "Firm and structured, this is a solid wine, laced with mineral acidity and tight tannins. It has a juicy, blackberry fruit component cutting through the texture."

My Review: A very smokey nose so I was leery to begin with, and I had the right to be. The wine tasted like a bonfire that was roasting a bunch of berries in my mouth. The most unpleasant and totally unbalance wine in my opinion. The taste of smoke was completely overpowering to just about every flavor except for the smoke was laced with a bunch of fruit like I said before. This wine is nothing that the reviewer described in my opinion and would not want to ever put this in my mouth ever again. Beh.

On this occasion I tasted this wine on its own without food