Sevilen Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Country of origin:  Turkey
Wine appellation: Izmir/Menderes
Vintage: 2004
Alcohol content: 13.0%
Color: bricky red, most likely unfiltered
Bouquet canned sour cherries, red currant
Taste: medium body, very dry, sour cherries, nice tannins, slight earthiness, slightly higher acidity, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: pork ribs
Overall score: 80
Price: EUR 12
Stopper: cork
I remember importing the wine from Turkey about 4 years ago. This is rather tannic wine with small particles in it, so I guess the wine was not filtered. The wine is nice with red currant flavor and hint of earthiness. What is preventing it from earning higher scores is the acidity which to me it is rather high for red wine.
I attach temporary pic from the web for another variety. Cab Sauv has exacty same bottle just with Cab Sauv on it. I will replace it when I take the pic.

Mavín Müller Thurgau 2008 Neskorý zber

Variety: Müller Thurgau
Country of origin: Slovakia
Wine appellation: South Slovakia Dvory nad Žitavou village
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol content: 12.0%
Color: very pale, see through, slight hint of yellow
Bouquet: not very expressive, hint of grapes and white peach
Taste: light body, fresh lighter taste of white(early ripened)apples accompanied by nice acidity, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: ideal for summer drinking with salads
Overall score: 80
Price: CZK 229
Stopper: plastic cork

This wine was a bit disappointment for me. It has six medals on it. Although I usually take the medals very sceptically in this case i was interested whether it is really so good. It costs quite a lot for what the wine tastes like. In the nose it is not as aromatic I would expect for Muller Thurgau to be. In the taste it is rather straightforward with hint of apple followed by lively acidity, however it misses the body and it is rather flat.

Concha y Toro Sunrise Merlot 2003

Variety: Merlot

Country of origin: Chile
Wine appellation: Central Valley
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Residual sugar: n/a
Acidity: n/a
Color:  deep garnet
Bouquet: cherry marmalade, dried plums, hint of chocolate
Taste: medium body, very round and soft in the mouth with canned sour cherries, black currant and plum jam, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: pork, lamb, veal
Overall score: 84
Price: CZK 149
Stopper: cork
This wine is round with ripe fruit and more marmalade character. In the nose you can find also chocolate tones and nice soft tannins are expecting you in the taste. Very well aged and integrated. 90% of the wine was aged in stainless steel tanks for four months and 10% in three years old medium toast French oak barrels for four months.

Terredora Falanghina 2007 IGT

Variety: Falanghina
Country of origin: Italy
Wine appellation: Campania
Vintage: 2007  
Alcohol content: 13.0%
Color: medium yellow
Bouquet:  apple, pineapple,, white flowers, lemon
Taste: medium body, rich aroma of fruits mainly green apple and pineapple, very nice minerality combined with lively acidity   
Recommended food pairing: chicken, pasta, vegetable dishes
Overall score: 84
Price: CZK 199 in promotion 
Stopper: cork
This is fresh medium bodied wine with zesty acidity and floral aroma and fruity taste. It is rather different than 2002 vintage we have tasted in autumn last year here. This one is more fresh and lively, 2002 vintage was more mineral and round and given the higher acidity it upheld it in the aging.

Jacob's Creek Chardonnay 2003

Variety: 100% Chardonnay
Country of origin: Australia
Wine appellation: South Eastern Australia  
Vintage: 2003
Alcohol content: 12.5%
Color: deep golden
Bouquet: overripe tropical fruit, mango, vanilla, hazelnut
Taste: medium body, caramel, toast, grilled pineapple, slight acidity, vanilla, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: grilled pork
Overall score: 84
Price: CZK 199
Stopper: cork
We have been tasting Jacob's Creek chardonnays several times (see other December and January entries). This 2003 vintage is again from my cellar and I was interested in the difference between this one and the 2002 we tasted here. 2003 vintage is more toasty, you can feel more caramel and burnt tones. However, it is not dull, it is more toasty than vanilla style of chardonnay, accompanied with the overipe tropical fruits. Given its age the acidity remains nice.

Habánské sklepy Rulandské šedé 2005 pozdní sběr

Variety: Pinot Gris
Country of origin: Czech Republic
Wine appellation: Moravia, Velkopavlovicka region sub-appellation, Čejkovice village, Helezný díl vineyard
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol content: 12.0%
Color: golden yellow
Bouquet: honey, dried oranges, dried apples, hint of bottleness
Taste: light to medium body, canned mirabele, lively acidity accompanied by slight residual sugar, which gives the wine complexity and roundness, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: season's cheese
Overall score: 85
Price: CZK 180
Stopper: cork
Somehow, we have been very lucky recently with all the Habanske sklepy bottles we opened. This pinot gris comes from the absolutely stunning 2005 year, and it already shows nice bottle tones. Deep golden color but still very fruity on the nose and very nice round taste. This wine is more food-style wine, it would easily go not only to cheese but also to pork.

Babor Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Variety: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc
Country of origin: Chile
Wine appellation: Valle del Maipo
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Color: deep garnet
Bouquet: very expressive, ripe black currant, plums, chocolate, at the end hint of licorice
Taste: medium body, black currant jam, ripe cherries, chocolate, medium juicy finish
Recommended food pairing: steak, chocolate based desserts
Overall score: 85
Price: CZK 185
Stopper: cork
This is VERY nice example of CabSav. Ripe berry character with the dominant black currant accompanied by chocolate tones. It is a pleasure to drink this wine, it is properly aged and although not very sophisticated it is very drinkable :). I got it as a present about 2 years ago.

Las Moras Viognier 2007

Variety: Viognier
Country of origin: Argentina
Wine appellation: San JUan
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol content: 14.0%
Color: straw yellow
Bouquet: flowers, orange, pineapple
Taste: full body, round and tangy, ripe tropical fruits, apricot, peach, hint of honey and vanilla (does not say anything about aging in oak), medium finish
Recommended food pairing: chicken or pork with a cream sauce
Overall score:85
Price: CZK 160
Stopper: plastc cork
The wine is very nice, typical food wine for its complexity. It actually smells and taste more like 3 to 4 years aged wine rather the 2007 vintage, which it is. I suspect that maybe caused by the plastic cork, which was used for sealing and based on my experience they leek more oxygen than real cork stoppers. In this case it actually helped the wine. I will try to get 2008 vintage, which is now in Cellarius (the shop I got this wine one from) to compare. This one has overripe fruits, honey, hint of vanilla, and big body, alcohol is well integrated and does not stand out.

J.Dobeš Milotice Aurielius 2007 výběr z hroznů

Variety: Aurelius (Rhine Risling x Neuburger)
Country of origin: Czech Republic
Wine appellation: Moravia, Slovacko sub-appellation, Milotice village
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol content: ??
Color: straw yellow
Bouquet: overripe fruit, pineapple, mango, banana
Taste: full body, orange marmalade, dry pineapple, generally dry fruits, very high extract, slight residual sugar, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: Parmigianno Reggiano with orange marmalade,  Gorgonzola,
Overall score: 86
Price: CZK ?? (gift)
Stopper: cork

This was very nice complex style of white. Although semi dry it was going towards the style of straw wine in a nose and also the complexity was present in the taste. Most likely the grapes had botritis cinerea. The bottle was a present from my mother from 2008 Christmas. I remember drinking it then and it got much more complex now 1 year after. It has quite high body and although the alcohol is not stated I would guess between 13.5%, which is fully supported by very high extract so it does not stand out.

Beamonte Navarra Crianza 2004 DO

Variety: Tempranillo x Garnacha x Cabernet Sauvignon

Country of origin: Spain
Wine appellation: Navarra
Vintage: 2004
Alcohol content: 12.5%
Color: medium red with watery meniscus
Bouquet: cherries, vanilla
Taste lighter medium body, cherries, vanilla, nice soft and round with nice integration of oak and fruit, hint of sweet wood
Recommended food pairing: veal, rabbit
Overall score: 84
Price: CZK 120
Stopper: cork
This is the type of Crianza I always like to go for. For the price it offers very decent and complex wine with nice oak integration. It aged 12 months in American oak barrels.

Catapereiro Vinho Tinto 2004

Variety: Castelão x Alicante Bouschet x Trincadeira
Country of origin: Portugal
Wine appellation: Ribatejo
Vintage: 2004
Alcohol content: 13,5%
Color: deep red
Bouquet: cherries, hint of oak
Taste: light to medium body, very dry, quite high tannins, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: cheese, pasta
Overall score: 82
Price: EUR 6
Stopper: cork
Rather men style of wine with less fruitiness that seems like that most likely matured in big barrels.

Vinselekt Michlovský Rulandské šedé 2007 kabinet

Variety:Pinot Gris
Country of origin: Czech Republic
Wine appellation: Moravia, Mikulov sub-appellation, Nový Přerov village, Na štrekách village
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol content: 12,5%
Color: medium yellow
Bouquet: citruses, specifically orange, grapefruit
Taste: medium body, zesty, lemon tones, lively acidity, white grape fruit, green apple, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: fish
Overall score: 84
Price: CZK 129
Stopper: cork
Very citrusy style of pinot grigio. In wine trophy independent degustation it got 86 points and defeated big brands like Alsasian Hugel or Castello Banfi. I personally think it's a nice refreshing style of Pinot Grigio.

Tanzberg Rýnský Ryzlink 2003 pozdní sběr

Variety: Riesling
Country of origin: Czech Republic
Wine appellation: Moravia, Mikulov sub-appellation, Perna village, Turold vineyard
Vintage: 2003
Alcohol content: 13.61%
Color: straw to golden yellow
Bouquet: round, nicely aged, mineral, petroleum tones
Taste: full body, very mineral, dry lemon peel, bottleness, nice cidity
Recommended food pairing: pork cutlet
Overall score: 85
Price: CZK 229
Stopper; cork
This is very Old world style of Rhine Riesling, very mineral typical for Mikulov area (lime stone and chalk type of soil), nicely aged, already showing petroleum tones whilst keeping acidity at very nice level. Quite complex drinking accompanying pork cutlets with potatoes au gratin.

Stanislav Mádl Rulandské Šedé 2006 pozdní sběr

Variety: Pinot Gris

Country of origin: Czech Republic
Wine appellation: Moravia, Velke Pavlovice sub appellation
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol content: 12.5%
Color: straw yellow
Bouquet: fruity, oranges, hint of pineapple, round
Taste: medium body, nice bread, overripe fruit, hint of botritis cinerea, nice acidity and sweet spices
Recommended food pairing: cheesecake
Overall score: 84
Price: CZK 120
Stopper: cork
This Pinot Gris is very nice. It has extremely overripe tones towards style of wines with higher ripeness of the grapes when harvested. Definitely resembles Old world styles than New world ones.

Vinum Moravicum Sauvignon Hibernal 2007

Variety: Sauvignon Blanc x Hibernal (Seibel 7053 x Rhine Riesling)
Country of origin: Czech Republic
Wine appellation: Moravia, Velke Pavlovice sub-appellation
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol content: 13.0%
Residual sugar: 9.1g/l
Acidity: 5.4g/l
Color: very light yellow, quite oily when stiired
Bouquet: expressive, elderberry flowers, white flowers generally, peach
Taste: medium body, full mouth feel, peach, citrus tones, nice acidity combined with slight residual sugar
Recommended food pairing: salads, mozzarella with tomatoes
Overall score: 84
Price: CZK 140
Stopper: plastic cork
This is interesting combination of different varieties. It combines aroma of Sauvignon Blanc with the acidity and body of Rhine Riesling and slight residual sugar makes it very nice although quite complex drinking. I would just recommend to drink it colder than recommended 11°C. We drank it at 10°C and it was not so refreshing like chilling it to 8°C, which was right temperature considering also slight residual sugar. I actually finished almost myself out of 3 of us (two were ladies, which scored it slightly lower than me}.

Syrah La Forge Estate 2007 Unfiltered

Variety: Syrah
Country of origin: France
Wine appellation: Languedoc
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Color: dark purple red
Bouquet: expressive, forest fruits mainly blueberries and blackberries, spices, hint of black chocolate
Taste: medium body, full mouth feel, vivacious dark fruit, blackberries with blueberries at the initial palate, mid palate brings some chocolate, and very slight vanilla, medium finish
Recommended food pairing:
Overall score: 85
Price: CZK 179
Stopper: cork
Everything I wrote here when tasted Merlot from the same producer holds. This Syrah is 2 years younger than the Merlot and it is noticeable, but I estimate it has higher potential. I would guess between 3 and 5 years. Very very solid wine and definitely with excellent price/value ratio. I will for sure get a case of this wine and store it for at least 3 years.

Long Neck Shiraz 2007

Variety: Shiraz
Country of origin: South Africa
Wine appellation: Western cape  
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Residual sugar: n/a
Acidity: n/a
Color: ruby red with violet meniscus
Bouquet: blackberries, sour cherries, pepper
Taste: medium body, very fruity, same characteristics as in the nose are repeated in the taste, ripe berries, mainly black berries with black sour cherries, slightly rough, unbalanced tannins and higher acidity
Recommended food pairing: BBQ
Overall score: 78
Price: CZK 99 (promo)
Stopper: screw cap
I got it for CZK 100 and if I compare it to Chardonnay from the same producer tasted here about 30 minutes ago the Chardonnay is far better. This is quite young, robust, but unsettled style of Shiraz. I do not know if 1 to 2 years of aging would help it to settle down. Considering the fact that 2008 is released now and that average time from purchase to drink is about 3 hours then I pity the consumers of these young and cheaper reds produced in the New world.

Viu Manent Carmenere 2003

Variety: Carmenere
Country of origin: Chile
Wine appellation: Colchagua valley
Vintage: 2003
Alcohol content: 13.7%
Residual sugar: 4.4g/l
Acidity: 5.8g/l
Color: black garnet
Bouquet: marmalade from forest fruits, plums, cherries
Taste: medium body, sweet spices, plum jam, figs, very round and almost without any tannins
Recommended food pairing: chocolate based desserts
Overall score: 82
Price: CZK 149 
Stopper: cork
This wine was probably supposed to be opened 2 years ago. It was already going down and it had no tannins to hold it up. In taste there was present mainly forest fruit marmalade, plums  and sweet spices like cinnamon with slight hint of Indian chutneys. 15% of the wine was aged in used oak barrels.

Long Neck Chardonnay 2008

Variety: Chardonnay
Country of origin: South Africa
Wine appellation: Western cape  
Vintage: 2008  
Alcohol content: 14.0%
Color: light yellow
Bouquet: green melon, peach, white flowers
Taste: medium body, green melon, peach, hint of vanilla, new world fruitier style with hint of oak, surprisingly the alcohol does not stand out
Recommended food pairing: summer drink to accompany fruit salads
Overall score: 82
Price: CZK 99
Stopper: screw cap
This is very good value wine. For this price it is very nice summer style of Chardonnay, it is very lightly oaked and quite flowery and fruity. Nicely chilled in hot summer day it must be ideal for picnics just to wash down some food and refresh your palate. Side effect (some may welcome) is the fact that untrained drinkers will quickly get drunk due to alcohol content, which is very well masked:)

Wombat Hill Cabernet Merlot 2002

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot
Country of origin: Australia
Wine appellation: South Eastern Australia
Vintage: 2002
Alcohol content: 14.0%
Color: garnet red
Bouquet: canned cherries, plums, hint of smoke and vanilla
Taste: medium body, soft, round, plums, cherries, in the end slight tannins, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: pasta, veal
Overall score: 82
Price: CZK 200 
Stopper: cork
Very silky Bordeaux blend. Nothing big and complex, rather very soft gentle and smooth wine.