Thursday, October 31, 2013

Fishcage Shiraz Viognier 2006

Variety: 93% Shiraz, 7% Viognier
Country of origin: Australia
Wine appellation: South Eastern Australia
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol content: 14.0%
Color: medium ruby red
Bouquet: quite aromatic, cherries, blackberries, hint of spice
Taste: medium body, blackberries accompanied by ripe sour cherries, quite straightforward, lower tannins, higher fruit with slightly higher acidity, good spice, medium to longer finish
Recommended food pairing: steak
Overall score: 4+7+11+6+6=84
Price: CZK 190
Stopper: screw cap
Better Shiraz than the organic tasted while ago;-). Reasonable value price ratio.

Casa Defra Il Leone e la Luna Cabernet Sauvignon e Cabernet Franc 2002 IGT

3rd bottle of this wine tasted. Tasting notes and scoring is the same as one month ago.

Moonlight Organics Shiraz 2008

Variety: Shiraz
Country of origin: South Africa
Wine appellation: Western Cape
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Color: medium garnet red
Bouquet: quite fruity, raspberries, hint of pepper, feels light and fruity
Taste: medium body, similar to nose there are raspberries follower by sour cherries, light tannins, good acidity and spiciness,  medium finish
Recommended food pairing: steak
Overall score: 3+7+10+5.5+5.5=81
Price: CZK 199
Stopper: screw cap
Easy drinking Shiraz. At least you can feel good to subsidize good thing due to fair trade concept (if you believe in it).

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Emiliana Elemnetal Chardonnay Reserva 2010

Variety: Chardonnay
Country of origin: Chile
Wine appellation: Cassablanca Valley
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol content: 14.0%
Color: medium yellow
Bouquet: green melon, pineapple, hazelnut, hint of vanilla
Taste: medium body, rounder style, pineapple, green melon, vanilla, medium to longer finish
Recommended food pairing: pork
Overall score: 4+8+12+6+6=86
Price: CZK 159
Stopper: screw cap
Wine from organic vineyard delivers very good value/ price ratio. Nice combination of fruit and oak.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Tierra y Hombre Pinot Noir 2012

For tasting notes and scoring please refer to my tasting more than 3 weeks ago.

Berberana Number One Tempranillo 2005

Variety: Tempranillo
Country of origin: Spain
Wine appellation: Castilla la Mancha
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Color: medium ruby red with bricky meniscus
Bouquet: not very expressive, hont of sour cherries
Taste: medium body, cherries, sour cherries, very good acidity, still nice mouth drying tannins, medium to longer finish
Recommended food pairing: fuet
Overall score: 4+6+11+6+5=82
Price: CZK 150
Stopper: cork
Good basic tempranillo.

Berberana Number One Shiraz - Tempranillo 2005

Variety: Shiraz, Tempranillo
Country of origin: Spain
Wine appellation: Castilla la Mancha
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Color: medium ruby red with bricky meniscus
Bouquet: sour cherries, blackberries, spices, jam
Taste: medium body, black cherries, blackberries, smoother than the straight tempranillo tasted at the same time, also slightly lower acidity, hint of coffee, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: fuet
Overall score: 4+7+11+6+5=83
Price: CZK 150
Stopper: cork
Reasonable wine to accompany my pork.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Chateau Grand-Portail Bordeaux 2010

Absolutely perfect value price Bordeaux, fruity style but very nice, notes and scoring is the same as three weeks ago.

Grant Burge Hillcot Merlot 2005

Variety: Merlot
Country of origin: Australia
Wine appellation: Barossa
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol content: 14.5%
Color: dark bricky red
Bouquet: expressive, coffee, canned cherries, smoke, spices
Taste: medium body, canned cherries, spices, coffee, slight earthiness, good tannins, longer finish
Recommended food pairing: smoked sausages
Overall score: 4+7.5+11.5+7+7=87
Price: CZK 250
Stopper: screw top
On the nose it is very different from the previous Aussie Merlot tasted at the same time, this feels more Bordeuax style with coffee and spices, similar profile is in the taste where you can notice perfect bottle maturity.

Howcroft Estate Merlot 2006

Variety: Merlot
Country of origin: Australia
Wine appellation: Limestone Coast
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol content: 13.0%
Color: medium garnet red with brocky meniscus
Bouquet: cherries marmalade, cranberries, hint of milk chocolate
Taste: medium body, similar to taste canned cherries and hint of sour cherries, good acidity, lighter tannins, touch of vanilla, at the end slight bitterness, medium to longer slightly warm (alcoholic) finish
Recommended food pairing:
Overall score: 3+7+11+6+6=83
Price: czk 210
Stopper: screw top
Reasonable Merlot from Tesco Finest range from Australia.

Saint Gilles Les Albizias Grande Réserve Les Vieilles Vignes 2006 AOC

Variety: Grenache, Syrah, Carignan
Country of origin: France
Wine appellation: Languedoc-Roussillon
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol content: 13.0%
Color: medium garnet red
Bouquet: hint of sour cherries, black chocolate and spices, alcohol sloghtly standing out
Taste: medium body, sour cherries, slightly higher acidity, light spiciness, medium (slightly harsher) tannins, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: casserole
Overall score: 3+7+10+5+5=80
Price: CZK 150
Stopper: cork
Basic Languedoc quaffer. Drinkable, but uninspiring.

Stanislav Mádl Tramín červený 2006 pozdní sběr

Tasting notes and scoring is the same as two weeks ago.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Weingut Walek Gruner Veltliner 2005 Spatlase

Variety: Gruner Veltliner
Country of origin: Austria
Wine appellation: Niederosterreich
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol content: 12.5%
Color: straw yellow
Bouquet: expressive, honey, stewed pear, spiciness, herbs
Taste: medium body, very round and gentle, oily, almost no acidity and although classified as dry it feels like sweeter style, spicy, honey, almonds, and herbs infusion, medium to longer nicely lingering finish
Recommended food pairing: pecorino
Overall score: 4+8+12+6+6=86
Price: CZK 180 in 2009
Stopper: single piece cork
Very bottle aged and honey like style GruVe. Definitely this needs to go with very aromatic cheese due to honey and herb style. For comparison check my notes from December 2012.

Chateau Lednice Veltlínské Zelené 2011 pozdní sběr

Variety: Gruner Veltliner
Country of origin:
 Czech Republic
Wine appellation: 
Moravia, Velké Pavlovice sub-appellation, Žabčice village, Horní díly vineyard
Vintage2011
Alcohol content12.0%
Color: medium yellow
Bouquet: very expressive, biscuits, hint of bread and spices, very complex
Taste: medium body, full mouth, bready, spicy,  dry lemon crust, almonds, layered, medium to longer finish
Recommended food pairingpork, I would not be afraid to accompany Schnitzel and even pork knee
Overall score:4+8+13+6+7= 88
Price: CZK 199
Stopper: cork
I may be biased but I really love that wine, the nose is very complex so as is the taste, to be fair I would have difficulties to guess the variety as it is not typical style of GruVe due to Sur Lie vinification, but I very much like that. Feels very adult and structured, like a serious wine to accompany food, rather than the tenage zesty styles from Austria.

Vinařství Pavlov Muller Thurgau 2006 pozdní sběr

Variety: 100% Muller Thurgau
Country of origin: Czech Republic
Wine appellation: Moravia, Mikulov sub-appellation, Dolní věstonice village, U Kapilčky vineyard
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol content: 12.5%
Color: medium yellow
Bouquet: dry lemon crust, grapes,
Taste: medium body, dry lemon crust, good acidity and minerality,slightly more neutral profile medium to slightly finish
Recommended food pairing: oysters
Overall score: 4+7+11+5.5+5.5=83
Price: CZK 199
Stopper: single piece cork
Very neutral profile wine, which makes it good food wine. For comparison please refer to my December 2012 tasting of the same wine, but 2005 vintage.

Vinselekt Michlovský Chardonnay 2011 pozdní sběr

Variety: Chardonnay 
Country of origin: Czech Republic
Wine appellation: Moravia, Mikulov sub appellation, Nový Přerov village, Na štrekách vineyard
Vintage: 2011
Alcohol content: 13.0%
Color: light yellow
Bouquet: fresh and zesty, white flowers, lime, minerality
Taste: medium body, excellent crispy acidity, lime, pineapple, white grapefruit, ripe and fresh(not overripe) pineapple, minerality, medium to longer finish
Recommended food pairing: fruit salad, turkey
Overall score: 3+8+13+6+7=87
Price: CZK 139
Stopper: cork
Excellent value price wine, one of the best tasted this year. As always Michlovsky hardly has bad wines. This is textbook example of unoaked Chardonnay.

Henri Lavigne Vin Mousseux BRUT

VarietyClairette, Sauvignon blanc, Ugni blanc
Country of origin: France
Wine appellation: Languedoc-Roussillion
Vintage: NV, bought in 2010
Alcohol content: 10.5%
Color: medium yellow
Bouquet: biscuit, citrusy style, pleasant acidity and light sparkling
Taste: light to medium body, predominantly fruitier style with citrus fruit playing the major role whilst being accompanied by by nice bottle aged tones, medium to longer finish
Recommended food pairing: fish
Overall score: 83
Price: CZK 200
Stopper: cork
Good value/price Cremant with proper aged tones from cellaring.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Leaping Horse Vineyards Shiraz 2008

Variety: Shiraz
Country of origin: USA
Wine appellation: California
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Color: medium ruby red
Bouquet: black pepper, blackberries, black sour cherries, raspberries, book example of Shiraz with fruitier spin
Taste: medium body, black sour cherries, blackberries, pepper, spices with pink grapefruit at the end, medium tannins, medium to longer finish
Recommended food pairing: steak
Overall score: 4+7+11+6+6+50=84
Price: CZK 200
Stopper: plastic cork
I would not guess California on blind tasting, it does not have this typical sweet chocolaty tannins and rather it shows huge fruit with spiciness resembling more south of France. It does not feel at all that it has 5 years in bottle.