Tasting Sainte Victoire Cotes de Provence

Name: Sainte Victoire Cotes de Provence

Variety: Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault

Region: Provence
Country: France

Year: 2011

Price: $8.95

The Vintage Cellar Review: Granache, Syrah, Cinsault.  Bright salmon pink; typical of the fresh but warm Provence style.  Refined and complex on the nose with summer fruit and floral noes.  Dry and crisp, with a delicate flavor and full texture.

My Review: I smell apples and green grape juice (the really processed one that doesn’t smell like regular grapes anymore).  It tastes bitter and there is a slight amount of fruit, again the green grape flavor.  I feel it at the beginning of the taste; it disappears in the middle of my mouth, but reappears when I swallow.  I enjoyed the waves of flavor.  It has a distinct aftertaste like a grape juice that’s bitter like a cranberry juice. 

Tasting Emeri de Bortoli Sparkling Shiraz

Name: Emeri de Bortoli

Variety: Sparkling Shiraz

Region: South Eastern Australia
Country: Australia

Year: Not Listed

Price: $9.95

The Vintage Cellar Review: A relatively light, fresh style of sparkling Shiraz, with berries and hints of chocolate picking up just a touch of sweet vanilla on the finish.   

My Review: The smell of this wine is of a fruit candy, but not fresh fruit.  I am a little surprised at just how bubbly it is, so it’s hard to get over the sparkle and fizz to get to the taste.  It’s like a cherry soda with dry wood but at the same time it’s a little sweet.  I think I have some lingering feelings in my mouth from the other wines because I don’t think that is supposed to be right.  But all in all it’s not and un-enjoyable wine. 

Tasting Montebuena Tempranillo

Name: Montebuena

Variety: Tempranillo

Region: Rioja
Country: Spain

Year: 2010

Price: $8.95

The Vintage Cellar Review: 100% Tempranillo; Ripe cherry and blackcurrant on the nose and in the mouth.  Pliant and seamless in texture, with good heft and back-end energy.  Finishes smooth and sweet, with fine-grained tannin providing shape and grip.  Still on the young side but this wine drinks very well and an hour or so of decanting; its an excellent value for Rioja. 

My Review: It smells of cherry spice and vanilla lotion.  It also smells like it has been polished, like it was a surface with rough edges and someone poured clear polish over it to fill in all the rough bumps.  I’m not sure how that’s a smell, but that’s how it makes me feel.  Maybe that means its full? It tastes very dry and tangy with clear bitterness.  It actually somewhat tastes like vinegar.  I find that I usually enjoy Tempranillo but this one is a little too abrasive for me, but I did like smell. 

Tasting Tres Ojos Garnacha

Name: Tres Ojos

Variety: Garnacha

Region: Calatayud
Country: Spain

Year: 2011

Price: $6.95

The Vintage Cellar Review: The wine has a brick red color with a bouquet of red raspberries, spice and white pepper.  The palate is incredibly concentrated and rich.  The modern styles of Garnacha in Spain are continuously being perceived worldwide as wines of extraordinarily good quality.  This wine is fruity, juicy and shows a great depth, ripe tannins, length but yet with wonderful elegance and lightness.  Enjoy with sausages, roasted meats, aged cheeses etc.

My Review: I definitely smell the spice in this wine, but I can also detect the fruit which seems to be unripe cherries.  It tastes a little dry but not in an overwhelming way.  I get the feeling of black berries and it also tastes a little woody.  I don’t get the qualities we discussed in class that come from wood, I just feel like I licked a piece of wood.   

Tasting Canyon Road Chardonnay

Name: Canyon Road

Variety: Chardonnay

Region: California
Country: U.S.A.

Year: 2011

Price: $6.95

The Vintage Cellar Review: Medium-bodied wine with notes of crisp apple and ripe citrus fruit with a hint of cinnamon spice.  Delicious complement to grilled chicken, lighter pasta dishes or mild cheeses. 

My Review: The smell of this wine is quite strong and really good.  It smells very buttery like a pound cake with apples in it.  The description calls it crisp and citrus; I get the crisp but not the citrus.  It’s very smooth, and maybe I am confusing the cinnamon but I taste vanilla.  It’s really good and has a tiny bit of bitterness.  It’s refreshing but in a warm and calming way.  It’s like a warm apple tart cake.