Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Marks and Spencer Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Limari Valley

Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Country of origin: Chile
Wine appellation: Limari Valley
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Color: pale watery eventhought it is 2008 vintage
Bouquet: nice grassy with lime, needles and amazing minerality on the nose
Taste: medium to full body, lime, grassy, with slightly higher crisp citric acidity and white currant, the same as in the nose dominant minerality is present with good hard and bone dry structure,  medium to longer finish
Recommended food pairing: fish
Overall score: 88
Price: 269
Stopper: screw top
Stunning SB, Actually I was very surprisd on its freshness, minerality and color considering the vintage, I scored it even higher than one year ago tasted here.

Undurraga Aliwen Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Variety: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Country of origin: Chille
Wine appellation: 70% Curico Valley, 30% Leyda Valley
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Color: pale yellow
Bouquet: quite expressive, black currant leaves, gooseberry, tropical fruit
Taste: medium body, gooseberry, lime, good acidity, at the end white grapefruit medium finish
Recommended food pairing: fish, salad
Overall score: 86
Price: CZK 159
Stopper: cork
very good SB. It is interesting to compare it to tasting one year ago here, where you can find the pic of the label.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Znovín Znojmo Terroir Lacerta Viridis Sauvignon 2010 pozdní sběr

Variety: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Country of origin: Czech Republic
Wine appellation: Moravia, Znojmo sub-appellation, Šatov village, Na vinici vineyard
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol content: 11.0%
Residual sugar: 5.9g/l
Acidity: 6.7g/l
Color: pale yellow
Bouquet:  gooseberry, peach
Taste: light to medium body, white currant, good acidity with light residual sugar, makes it nicely drinkable, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: fish
Overall score: 86
Price: CZK 150
Stopper: cork
Very good example of SB from difficult 2010 vintage , which was characteristic by high acidity, here the acidity is noicely complemented by very small residual sugar making it nicely balanced.
 

Friday, May 25, 2012

Cantina di Montalcino Sangiovese Poggio del Sasso 2005 IGT

Variety: 100% Sangiovese
Country of origin: Italy
Wine appellation: Tuscany
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol content: 13.0%
Color: medium garnet red with bricky meniscus
Bouquet: very expressive, lots of dried fruits,  you can smell tannins (if u know what I mean)
Taste: medium body, very good structure in the mouth, canned fruit playing preludium with intermezzo being directed by canned sour cherries and black currant to rest on good tannins foundation,which is drying nicely your mouth, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: on its own, or good dried spanish salami
Overall score: 84
Price: CZK 199
Stopper: screw cap
I found this wine in m cellar and the only thing I can add is wits very very good! The wine developed so nicely that I regret not buying more than two bottles. The nose is so complex of dried fruits and tannins that you cannot find easily in new world wine. I checked my web and found the same wine , but 2006 vintage tasted in 2009 here with very different description, more on fruitier side, maybe sangiovese needs aging and also 2005 vintage could have been very different from 2006 tasted in 2009.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Víno Mikulov Sommelier Club Tramín Červený 2006 výběr z hroznů

Variety: Gewurtztraminer
Country of origin: Czech Republic
Wine appellation: Moravia, Mikulov sub appellation, Pavlov village, Stará hora Vineyard
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Color: medium yellow
Bouquet: honey, rose petal, hint of overripe mango and kiwi
Taste: medium body, round full mouth feel, touch of lichi with spices in the mid palate and medium sweet tones, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: Blue cheese
Overall score: 85
Price: CZK 180
Stopper: plastic cork
Completely different experience when compared to Baloun tasted before that. This wine has stunning bouquet and very nice round fleshy mouth feel making it ideal food wine for either Asian dishes or Roquefor.



Vinextra 99

Opened at the Grobovka party on 1st May 2012. Interestingly I compared the notes from March 2010 tasted here and it got more complex and herby, which is typicall for Mikulov appellation. Nice drinking wine.

Baloun Pálava 2008 pozdní sběr

Variety: Pálava

Country of origin: Czech Republic
Wine appellation: Moravia, Velké Pavlovice sub appellation, Velké Pavlovice village, Nadzahrady vineyard
Vintage: 2008 lote 14/08
Alcohol content: 11.5%
Color: medium yellow
Bouquet: orange marmelade, flowers, touch of honey
Taste: light to medium body,citrus fruits, mainly grapefruit, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: Asian dishes
Overall score: 81
Price: CZK 240
Stopper: plastic cork
This is just very basic and regular Palava. Somehow I have verry bad experiance with Baloun wines. All of them have medals and none of them meets the high expectations.

Bremerton Verdelho 2007

We tasted the same wine about one month ago here, where you can find the tasting notes. It is pleasant drinking wine with good structure between the acidity, fruit and bottle age.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Feudo Rosso Nero d' Avola Sicilia 2008 IGT

Country of origin: Italy
Wine appellation: Sicily
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol content: 13.0%
Color: medium ruby red
Bouquet: black sour cherries, forest fruit
Taste: medium body, very fruity wine, black sour cherries at the mid palate with slight acidity at the end of the taste, blackberries and plums, good tannins, surprisingly longer finish
Recommended food pairing: duck liver pate
Overall score: 83
Price: CZK 99 on special
Stopper:plastic cork
I was really interested in this wine considering the good price and was positively surprised. It is very fruity in the nose, but in the mouth it has combination of fruit with good pleasant tannins and surprisingly longer finish. I realized I was drinking it very fast as it somehow washed down very pleasantly, which for me is very good sign for this style of wine

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Langhe Bianco di Serra dei Fiori Il Fiore 2005

Variety: Chardonnay, Riesling
Country of origin: Italy
Wine appellation: Piemonte
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol content: 12.5%
Color: medium yellow
Bouquet: mineral, bread tones, almost going towards dry plums
Taste: medium body, clean crisp and very drinkable, round, seems like it was aged in big (not barrique) barrels that adds more complexity to it, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: pork scnitzel
Overall score: 85
Price CZK 350
Extremly good drinkable and properly aged white wine. Unusual combination of Chardonnay and Riesling makes it very interesting and definitelly good companien with good meal.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Stapleton & Springer Roučí 2007


Variety: 50% Pinot noir, 25% Saint Laurent, 25% Modrý portugal
Country of origin: Czech Republic
Wine appellation: Moravia, Velké Pavlovice sub-appellation, Boretice village, Čtvrtě and Trkmanská vineyard
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol content: 12.5%
Color: light garnet garnet with bricky meniscus
Bouquet: expressive, wild forest strawberries, rowanberries, vanilla and good bottle age tones
Taste: medium body,similar to taste the prim plays wild strawbwrries with red currant and pleasant acidity, which keeps it to medium to longer finish
Recommended food pairing: pork loin
Overall score: 87
Price: CZK 480
Stopper: cork
Comparing to 2006 vintage tasted at the same time this is different league. It is much more expressive in the nose and feels more fresh with higher acidity, whereas the 2006 vintage feels more ripe and slightly flabby. I am not sure about 2006 potential that is claimed on the web to be 10+years, but 2007 would for sure last till 2017. We accompnied it by veal schnizel and food and wine orgasm was almost done:


Stapleton & Springer Roučí 2006

Variety: 50% Pinot noir, 40% Saint Laurent, 10% Modrý portugal
Country of origin: Czech Republic
Wine appellation: Moravia, Velké Pavlovice sub-appellation, Boretice village, Čtvrtě and Trkmanská vineyard
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Color: light garnet garnet with bricky meniscus
Bouquet: very subtle, strawberry jam, plums, dry figs, touch of vanilla and coffee,
Taste: medium to full body, canned sour cherries, in the mid palate there is visible garnet apple, good mouth feel, touch of vanilla and coffee, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: game food
Overall score: 83
Price: CZK 360
Stopper: cork
2006 was hot year so I was interested in the development of the wine. To tell you the truth the wine is very nice, but somehow I expected more. So I decided to open the white label (flag ship) of the same blend but 2007 vintage, which is definitely different (and better ) animal.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Ironstone Obsession Symphony 2008

Variety: Symphoni (Muscat of Alexandria x Pinot Gris)
Country of origin:USA
Wine appellation: California
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Color: medium yellow
Bouquet: expressive, ripe grapes, muscat flower, orange, apricot
Taste: medium body, orange marmelade, dry apricot, white raisins, citrus, good acidity, medium and clean (not bitter) finish
Recommended food pairing: Assian food
Overall score: 84
Price: CZK 190
Stopper: Screw cap
I ve had the variety for the first time, the wine is really interesting as it has nose and part of the taste of Muscat, but it is fresher in the mounth and zesty, most likely from Pinot Gris.

Mussel Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2009

For tasting notes please refer to February tasting here.