Darting Durkheimer Michelsberg Riesling 2005

Variety: Riesling
Country of origin: Germany
Wine appellation: Pfalz
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol content: 12.5%
Color: straw yellow
Bouquet: round, nicely aged, mineral, petroleum tones
Taste: medium body, very mineral, excellent tangy and round on the palate, a bit of apricot and slightly higher residual sugar, bottleness, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: on its own:) or sophisticated elaboration of fish
Overall score: 85
Price: CZK 249 in 2007
Stopper: screw cap
Very nice example of properly aged Riesling, even under screw cap. It has everything it needs, visible minerality, properly aged petroleum tones and combination of fruit and minerality in taste. It is funny as on the back label the recommendation is to drink it within 1 year of purchase and actually the wine grew to its perfection today:)

M&S Old Man Creek Shiraz 2009

Variety: Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon
Country of origin: Australia
Wine appellation: South Eastern Australia
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol content: 13.0%
Residual sugar: n/a
Acidity: n/a
Color: medium ruby red with lighter violet meniscus
Bouquet: very fruity, blackberries with black currant,  tones of nice spiciness after black pepper
Taste: medium body, very fruity, dominant blackberries accompanied by ripe sour cherries, very straightforward, low tannins, good balance of alcohol, slightly higher acidity, touch of spice, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: definitely BBQ outside with friends
Overall score: 80
Price: CZK 149
Stopper: screw cap
BBQ style of Shiraz, produced by Jim Brayne for Marks and Spencer.

Vinařství Pavlov Sauvignon 2003 Výběr z hroznů

2nd bottle of this wine tasted. Tasting notes are the same as in December 2010.

Highcliff Cabernet Merlot 2002

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon x Merlot
Country of origin: Australia
Wine appelation: South Eastern Australia
Vintage: 2002
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Color: lighter garnet red with terracotta meniscus
Bouquet: nice and smooth with dominant plums and vanilla
Taste: very smooth, nicely roud, medium body, nicely lingering on a palate, strawberry marmelade, canned cherries with black currant softened by plums, hint of vanilla and oak, which are nicely integrated in the taste and not standing out, mellow tannins and medium finish
Recommended food pairing: sophisticated elaboration of pork
Overall score:  85
Price: CZK 170
Stopper: cork
I was going through the cellar and I felt like something properly aged and not young. Recently I opened all these old wines and were positively surprised:). I remembered that more than one year ago I tasted this wine, but 2001 vintage so I was curious to check this one and  I must say it was a good choice:) For the pic please refer to previous vintage here.   

Vina Albali Gran Reserva 1999

Continuing in drinking our good red reserva cellar we opened Vina Albali we drank week ago here. Even this time the description really holds, it is amazing of how much fruit there is considering its age accompanied by nice tannins and wood.

Vina Jaraba Crianza 2003 DO

Variety: 80% Tempranillo x 10% Cabernet Sauvignon x 10% Merlot
Country of origin: Spain
Wine appellation: La Mancha
Vintage: 2003
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Color: dark garnet
Bouquet: dominant black cherries with plums followed by black currant jam with gentle touch of vanilla and chocolate
Taste: medium bodied, similar to nose overripe black cherries are repeated in the taste, ir reminds me canned black sour cherries my mom used to make with a touch of alcohol and when kids we really like it, mid palate brings black chocolate and vanilla, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: spanish jamon
Overall score: 85
Price: CZK 180
Stopper: cork
Amazing wine, after we finished the remaining parts of this stunning Cab Sauv and Syrah posted on the blog yesterday we were thinking which wine to open as the bar was set quite high. So I found this Stunning Crianza I remembered we had more than one year ago. See the previous tasting from November 2010 here and November 2009.

Bodegas Olcaviana 1564 Syrah 2004

Variety: Syrah
Country of origin: Spain
Wine appellation: Castilla La Mancha
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol content: 14.0%
Color: dark black garnet red
Bouquet: very very nice, canned blackberries with amazing carob tones and hint of coffee, spices
Taste: medium to full body, full mouth feel, canned blackberries at the initial palate, mid palate brings some chocolate and again carob and very slight vanilla, medium to longer finish
Recommended food pairing:just on its own
Overall score: 87
Price: CZK 320
Stopper: cork
Yummy, yummy, I really like this Syrah. It is very different from Cotes du Rhone or Australia and excellent complex nose with layered smells of fruits, canned fruit characteristics given its proper aging and this excellent carob tones. I could not name them for about 30 minutes and then I remembered I have this Gulepp tal Harrub (carob syrup) from Malta and there we went! I is very nice and although the alcohol is @14% it does not stand out like in the Izraely Cab Sauv tasted 30 minutes ago here.

Gamla Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Country of origin: Israel
Wine appellation: Galilee
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol content: 14.0%
Sugar: 3,50 g/l
Acidity: 6,40 g/l
Color: dark blackish red with garnet meniscus
Bouquet: ripe black currant, black cherries, even blackberries, black chocolate, spices, toasty tones
Taste: medium to full body, overripe black cherries, black currant, very chocolaty, medium and round tannins, alcohol slightly burning at the end, longer finish
Recommended food pairing: beef, generally roasts
Overall score: 86
Price: EUR 15
Stopper: cork
The 2006 Gamla Cabernet Sauvignon was blended with small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Merlot, all coming from vineyards located in the cooler northern Golan Heights. After vinification, the wine was aged 12 months in french barrels. It reminds me a lot Cabernets from Napa, nice black chocolate paired with overripe black fruits.It just needs a bit more chilling due to alcohol. I drank it at 17°C.

Chateau Valtice Rulandské modré 2006 pozdní sběr

Variety: Pinot Noir
Country of origin: Czech Republic
Wine appellation: Moravia, MIkulov sub-apellation, Valtice village, Za humny vineyard
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol content: 12.0%
Color: light garnet red with terracotta meniscus
Bouquet: cherries, forest strawberries
Taste: medium body, wild sour cherries, pleasant acidity, velvety smooth, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: hare
Overall score: 4+6+10+5+5=80
Price: CZK 199
Stopper: cork
Average Pinot Noir, proper color, decent nose and OK taste, but no thrill.

Michel Torino Coleccion Sauvignon Blanc 2005

Variety: Sauvignon Blanc

Country of origin: Argentina
Wine appellation: Northeast, sub appellation Salta/Cafayate
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Color: straw yellow

Bouquet: gooseberries
Taste: Medium body, gooseberry combined with white currant, given its age still visible lime acidity, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: salad
Overall score: 81
Price: CZK 199
Stopper:  cork

It is very interesting to see the development of this wine in the bottle. I remember buying it about 4 years ago and I was not sure when picking it up from the wine fridge. The bodega is situated in the foothills of the Andes in the Cafayate region around Salta in Northwest Argentina in one of the most scenic regions of this country.  The vineyards are planted at 1,700 metres making them the highest commercial sites in the world.  Cool climate plays a key part with great variations between night and day time temperatures, slowing down the ripening cycle making it very fresh even after 5 years on bottle. The amazing is the acidity, which is for the age very high and also single piece of cork helped to preserve it.

Terra Viva Pinot Grigio IGT 2007 organically grown grapes

Variety: 100% Pinot Gris
Country of origin: Italy
Wine appellation: Veneto
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol content: 12,0%
Color: pale yellow
Bouquet: green apple underpinned by lemon
Taste: medium body, very good balance, round, acidity in balance with the fruit, apple and citrus are the dominant characteristics with touch of grapefruit at the end, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: fish, salad with chicken
Overall score: 82
Price CZK179
Stopper: screw top
Refreshing, but not dull and simple Pinot Grigio. Definitely wort a go. I remember buying it about two years ago and it develop in both nose and taste, it went to less refreshing and more to round type of PG.

Trapiche Oak Cask Pinot Noir 2007

Variety: Pinot Noir

Country of origin: Argentina
Wine appellation: Mendoza
Vintage: 2007

Alcohol content: 13.5%
Color: medium red with watery meniscus

Bouquet: slightly higher alcohol, cherries, plums
Taste: medium body, notable, but not unpleasant tannins, cherries, touch of vanilla from oak barrel, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: pork loin
Overall score: 81

Price: CZK 189

Stopper: cork

Pinot with higher tannins one would expect and less fruity it would suit the variety. It does not meet my expectations from Trapiche.Maybe PN is just not right grape for the location.

Vinařství Waldberg Rulandské modré 2009 pozdní sběr

Variety: Pinot Noir

Country of origin: Czech Republic

Wine appellation: Moravia, Znojmo sub-apellation, Dyjákovičky village, Šác Vineyard

Vintage: 2009
Alcohol content: 13.0%
Color: medium ruby red
Bouquet: quite expressive, forest fruit, blackberries
Taste: medium body, black cherries, sour cherries, very fruity, pleasant acidity medium finish
Recommended food pairing: pate
Overall score: 84
Price: CZK 160
Stopper: cork
Last sample and by touch it ended on a second place. It has for PN not typical quite dark color and very fruity almost to forest fruit bouquet. I believe it is just because of its young age and female audience quite liked this wine. I will try to get a couple of bottles and will age it for a year or two to see how it develops.

MiToMa Grand Collection Rulandské modré 2006 výběr z hroznů

Variety: Pinot Noir

Country of origin: Czech Republic

Wine appellation: Moravia, Velke Pavlovice sub-apellation, Vrbice village, Roviny Vineyard

Vintage: 2006
Alcohol content: 13.0%
Color: very pale garnet with watery meniscus
Bouquet: canned strawberries
Taste: medium body, velvety smooth and silky, strawberries, nicely round medium finish
Recommended food pairing: pork loin with plum sauce
Overall score: 85
Price: CZK 190 in 2006
Stopper: cork
Third and the best sample. It was also the winner of the tasting. Very pale color, nicely layer bouquet and smooth taste. this is what properly aged pinot should like.

Elesko In Vino Rulandské modré 2008 výber z hrozna

Variety: Pinot Noir

Country of origin: Slovakia
Wine appellation: Dolanský, village Vištúk, vineyard Zoya
Vintage: 2008

Alcohol content: 12.0%
Color: light ruby red
Bouquet: quite closed, one hour later starts to open up and shows a bit of cherries, but less expressive than the previous wine
Taste: medium body, a bit more gentle and sophisticated then the previous wine, cherries are dominant, medium finish
Recommended food pairing:  salad with goat cheese
Overall score: 83

Price: EUR 12

Stopper: cork
This was the third sample and the same producer, vintage, village, vineyard, but just different sugar level in the grapes when harvested. Surprisingly in the nose it was a bit chocked and needed at least an hour to show up. After that it was quite pleasant fruity Pinot.

Elesko In Vino Rulandské modré 2008 neskorý sber

Variety: Pinot Noir

Country of origin: Slovakia
Wine appellation: Dolanský, village Vištúk, vineyard Zoya
Vintage: 2008

Alcohol content: 12.0%
Color: light ruby red
Bouquet: pleasant sour cherries
Taste: light to medium body, quite notable acidity, sour cherries, at the end pink grapefruit, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: tuna steak
Overall score: 82

Price: EUR 11

Stopper: cork
This was the second sample and very different from the first one, proper lighter color with nice cherries in the nose followed by mainly sour cherries in the taste, the only problem I had with this wine was the acidity, which was quite high and slightly harsher I would expect.  I would recommend to leave it in the cellar for at least 2 years to round up.

Trivento Tribu Pinot Noir 2005

Variety: Pinot Noir

Country of origin: Argentina
Wine appellation: Mendoza
Vintage: 2005 

Alcohol content: 13.5%
Color: dark garnet red with the bricky meniscus
Bouquet: canned strawberries, coffee
Taste: medium body, strawberry preserve, accompanied by tones of chocolate and touch of coffee, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: pork
Overall score: 80

Price: CZK 180

Stopper: cork

This was the first sample of Pinot Noir we tasted on our varietal tasting. It has untypical very dark color and more of preserve than fresh cherries type of flavor. Comparing it to the same wine tasted about one year ago here, it is already going down. It was v ery different from the other samples in the tasting.

Vina Albali Gran Reserva 1999

Variety: Tempranillo
Country of origin: Spain
Wine appellation: Valdepenas
Vintage: 1999
Alcohol content: 13.0%
Color: deep dark red with garnet meniscus
Bouquet: very nice, combination of sour cherries with nice spiciness and wood tones
Taste: medium body, nice sour cherries with visible acidity, accompanied by nice matured wood tones and  spices,  nice tannins present in the mouth, longer finish
Recommended food pairing: fuet
Overall score: 85
Price: gift
Stopper: cork
It is interesting to compare this 1999 vintage to 1998 vintage I tasted about two weeks ago here. This vintage is much more fruity than 1998 although I would not expect that much of a difference. It has dominant black sour cherries character both in nose and taste accompanied by nice wood tones. Similar to 1998 , which I consider to be more of finesse wine, they both have longer finish. Being Gran Reserva it was vinified for at least 2 years in American oak barrels. 

Vinařství Černý Tramín červený 2007 výběr z bobulí

Variety: Gewurtztraminer

Country of origin: Czech Republic
Wine appellation: Moravia, Mikulov sub appellation, Valtice village, Pod Rajsnou vineyard
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol content: 16.0%

Color: golden yellow

Bouquet: very intense, concentrated rose petal, honey, spices

Taste: full body, round full mouth feel, concentrated, pineapple chutney, very good minerality, honey, nice residual sugar, which is perfectly integrated into very high extract and alcohol, which ro my surprise is not standing out, nice long lingering finish
Recommended food pairing: Blue cheese
Overall score: 5+9+13+7+7=91
Price: CZK 180 in 2009

Stopper: cork

Fantastic Gewurtztraminer, best in my tasting experience so far. It is very concentrated both in the nose and mouth where the residual sugar is perfectly balanced by the extract and minerality, which is amazing:-) 

Marks & Spencer Corbieres 2008

Variety: Carignan, Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre
Country of origin: France
Wine appellation: Languedoc, Corbieres
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Color: dark ruby red
Bouquet: predominantly fruity nose with some spiciness
Taste: medium body, dominant sour cherries underpinned by blackberries, some power on the palate, very drinkable, savory medium  finish
Recommended food pairing: casserole
Overall score: 84
Price: CZK 149
Stopper: cork
Very drinkable similar to Cotes du Rhone style of big fruity wine.

Chateau Assena Car Assen Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Country of Origin: Bulgaria
Wine appellation: Plovdiv
Vintage: 2003
Alcohol content: 13.0%
Color: medium garnet red
Bouquet: wide and ample with dominant black currant jam accompanied by canned cherries and underpinned by hint of coffee and aged tones
Taste: medium body, very dry, black currant, cherries, strong tannins, but not unpleasant, touch of coffee, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: dry salami
Overall score: 82
Price: CZK 120
Stopper: cork
Vinification: Wine is made according to special technology at low temperature. Grapes are picked in their technologic ripeness with sugar content above 21% and are transported to the wine making devices in containers. Wine is made in rotovinimatics with infusion of grape mark at low temperature - 12-14 °C. During fermentation, for which a special strain of yeast is used, a strict enological control is implemented.
Maturing: This wine matures in barrique type oak butts 225 l
I remember I had this wine about 3 year ago and I could not remember the taste so when I saw it in the shop I got the last bottle there curious to check. It is definitely "old" world style of wine with less fruit and more tannic structure, which makes it interesting.

Limbeck Chardonnay 1995 beerenauslese

Variety: Chardonnay
Country of Origin: Austria
Wine appellation: Burgenland, Neusiedlersee
Vintage: 1995
Alcohol content: 13.0%
Color: dark gold towards amber
Bouquet: very expressive, dry tropical fruit, banana, honey
Taste: medium body, very concentrated and  round, canned pineapple and peach, honey , but balanced with nice acidity as well, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: desert, blue cheese
Overall score: 86
Price: CZK 250 in 2006
Stopper: cork
This is finally the notes from the end of Xmas dinner. I had it on the draft and finally today I took the pic of the bottle. The wine was stunning. It was very interesting to check how can sweet botrytis cinerea style of wine develop over 15 years and definitely it was worth the time left in the cellar.

Kovacs Ryzlink vlašský 2005 pozdní sběr

I opened the second bottle of this Welsh Riesling from Kovacs and the tasting notes are almost identical as the first one tasted here 2 months ago.

Stonehead Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Country of origin: Chile
Wine appellation: Central Valley
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Color: medium ruby red
Bouquet: sour cherries, a bit of sulfite
Taste: light to medium body, similar to nose dominant characteristics are sour cherries with slightly stronger tannins and grapefruit at the end of the palate, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: summer barbecue
Overall score: 77
Price: CZK 70
Stopper: Plastic cork
"Supermarket" style of wine. Uninspiring Merlot. Cannot imagine it being younger, it must have been undrinkable.

La Consulta Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Country of origin: Argentina
Wine appellation: Uco Valley
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Color: dark red with lighter meniscus
Bouquet: blackcurrant marmalade, cherries, plums
Taste: medium body, canned black currant, sour cherries, slightly higher tannins, touch of mocca, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: 
Overall score: 80
Price: CZK 80
Stopper: plastic cork
This Cab Sauv is better than the Malbec tasted here. It offers very good value/price ratio. Not complicated, but reasonable for drinking.

Chateau Valtice Neuburské 2003 pozdní sběr

Variety: 100% Neuburger (Red VeltlinerxSylvaner)
Country of origin: Czech Republic  
Wine appellation: Moravia, Mikulv sub-appellation, Dolní Dunajovice village, Pod Slunným vrchem vineyard
Vintage: 2003
Alcohol content: 12.5%
Color: medium yellow 
Bouquet: ripe apples 
Taste: medium body, red ripe apple, grapes, lively acidity in balance with bottle tones, very drinkable, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: turkey
Overall score: 84
Price: CZK 170 (in 2006)
Stopper: cork
This was the last of the four bottle we drank this year. Somehow I delayed the notes to this last one. I was amazed by the freshness of the wine given the age, we finished it in 30 minutes, somehow you want to continue drinking it.