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.

Ludvík Maděřič Neuburské 2007

Variety: Neuburger
Country of origin: Czech Republic
Wine appellation: Moravia, Velke pavlovice sub-appellation
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol content: 12.5%
Color: medium yellow
Bouquet: ripe grapes, white flowers and hint of nuts
Taste: medium body, very round, red apple, quite mineral, mirabelle, hint of appricot, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: turkey, pork
Overall score: 81
Price: CZK 150
Stoper: cork
This is nice style of round Neuburger, quite neutral in the nose, very silky and round in the mouth. This is the wine to accompany food.

Chateau de Meaux Cahors 2004

Variety: 95% Malbec, 5% Merlot

Country of origin: France
Wine appellation: Cahors
Vintage: 2004
Alcohol content: 12.5%
Color: deep ruby
Bouquet: intense forest fruits, mainly blackberry accompanied by nice wood
Taste: blackberries, sour cherries, hint of black chocolate, higher tannins and slightly higher acidity
Recommended food pairing: steak
Overall score: 85
Price: CZK 149
Stopper: cork
This wine has much better nose than the taste. In taste it feels slightly younger one would suggest, needs to stay in the cellar.

Paramo de Corcos Crianza 2000 DO

Variety: Tempranillo
Country of origin: Spain
Wine appellation: Ribera del Duero
Vintage: 2000
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Color: medium red, garnet meniscus
Bouquet: intense aged nose, cherries, vanilla, coffee
Taste: medium body, sour cherries, nice round tannins, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: dry fermented salami
Overall score: 86
Price: CZK 220
Stopper: cork
Very nice example of Crianza, intense bouquet of cherries accompanied by slight vanilla and oak flavor.

Michel Torino Coleccion 2004 Malbec

Variety: Malbec
Country of origin: Argentina
Wine appellation: Northeast, sub appellation Salta/Cafayate
Vintage: 2004
Alcohol content: 13.5%
Color: Deep black red with carmine meniscus
Bouquet: Blackberries, ripe black cherries, hint of black chocolate, earthiness
Taste: Medium to full body, very dry, nice tannins, mulberries, black cherries, very big in the mouth, hint of vanilla, surprisingly long finish
Recommended food pairing: dry sausages, steak
Overall score: 84
Price: CZK 190
Stopper: plastic cork
I decanted this wine about three hours before the actual tasting. I remember buying it some when in 2006 and storing it to settle and get rounder. The wine has most likely more male fans. It is bone dry, but very fruity as well with visible mulberry and chocolate and slight note of vanilla. What makes it male drink is the tannins, they are even after 5 years of storing there, but now nicely round, but still visible. I personally like this as I am bored of these fruity wines in supermarkets without any tannins, which are ready to be drunk 1 to 2 years after harvest.

Golden Kaan Chardonnay 2005

Variety: Chardonnay
Country of origin:South Africa
Wine appellation: Western Cape
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol content: 13.53%
Residual sugar: 6.46g/l
Acidity: 5.50g/l
Color: straw yellow
Bouquet: overripe tropical fruit, pineapple, cream, butter, vanilla, hazelnuts
Taste: full body, creamy and buttery style of chardonnay with overripe pineapple accompanied by nice hazelnuts, medium finish
Recommended food pairing: pork loin
Overall score:86
Price: CZK 199
Stopper: cork
This Chardonnay is together with this JC the winner of Chardonnays we tasted over the Christmas holiday. It is very full bodied, nicely aged, round, creamy with overripe tropical fruits not only in the nose, but also in the taste. Comparing to JC it is more full bodied, round, straightforward, JC 2002 is more fruity than this one, which is very creamy. Again this was my last bottle:(
Info from the winery:
in the vineyard
Climate: Mediterranean climate with warm, dry summers and cold, wet winters, of approximately 600 - 800 mm or rain per year.
Soil: Table Mountain sandstone and Malmesbury shale.
in the cellar
Full ripe grapes were crushed and the juice fermented in a combination of second fill French oak barrels and on French oak staves in stainless steel tanks. Lees contact of about 2 months were allowed.