- Name: Jip Jip Rocks
- Variety: 55% Shiraz and 45% Cabernet Sauvignon
- Region: Padthaway
- Country: Australia
- Year: 2013
- Price: Regular Price $19 Sale Price $8.95
- Robert Parker Review: This red wine is a well above average effort
with lots of flavor as well as Australia's so easily obtainable, lush fruit.
The 2013 Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon (55% and 45% respectively) exhibits a dark
ruby/purple hue along with a layered, peppery, berry fruit-scented nose
revealing licorice and meaty notes. From a much lighter vintage, it is a
supple, easygoing red to enjoy now and over the next several years.
- My review: On the nose this wine did not have many aromas. The only detectable ones were blackberry, pepper and red currants. There were no strong fruity aromas or floral aromas at all. The wine was a very big red that was very dry. It was also very smooth like syrup and ended with a slight burn on the finish. The overall taste was of blackberries, binge cherries, pepper and broccoli. The wine was very enjoyable and would go great with some red meat and potatoes.
- Food Pairing: I had no food with this wine.
- Name: Cavit Alta Luna
- Variety: Pinot Noir
- Region: Vigneti delle Dolomiti
- Country: Italy
- Year: 2011
- Price: Regular Price $20 Sale Price $9.95
- Vintage Cellar Review: On the nose cherry, plum
and berry aromas mingle with notes of spice and tobacco. On the palate soft,
supple tannins and refreshing acidity are beautifully balanced by ripe cherry
fruit flavors on the finish which is dry, harmonious and elegant.
- My review: This wine is a strange murky brown color that looks like oxidative blood. On the nose this wine smells like bloody peppery alcohol. On the palate tastes watery and is high in tannins. The wine is very dry and just thin like water. There are fruit flavors of blackberry and currant but they are all very faint. There is a bad after burn on the finish. Overall this wine is very watery and burning and would not taste of anything good.
- Food Pairing: I had no food with this wine.
- Name: El Cortijillo
- Variety: Vendejo
- Region: La Monacha
- Country: Spain
- Year: 2014
- Price: Regular Price $5.95
- Beverage Testing Institute Review:
"Golden straw color.
Bright, attractive, tropical aromas of creme brulee and fruit tart with a
silky, bright, dry-yet-fruity light-to-medium body and a smooth, intriguing,
snappy lime and apple finish with crunchy, fruit tannins and light oak. A super
smooth and pure white sipper."
- My review: On this nose this wine has a fruity and floral aroma that is not overpowering. On the palate the wine has a dry citrus lemony taste. It is a airy wine and not too thick. There are also floral notes of dandelions on the taste. The wine was okay but nothing that I would drink again.
- Food Pairing: I had no food with this wine.
- Name: Trattoria Busa Alla Torre
- Variety: Pinot Grigio
- Region: Veneto
- Country: Italy
- Year: 2014
- Price: Regular Price $7.95
- Vintage Cellar Review: A
Venetian favorite! It is crisp and dry,
rich and spicy with hints of peach and honey…perfect with salads, pasta,
chicken and fish! Musaragno is an
organic wine estate near Venice, Italy.
- My review: On this nose this wine has a very weird smell combination. There are fruity aromas but they are masked by a very strong musky urine odor. There is also a hint of citrus smell that makes this wine repugnant to the nose. On the palate the wine was much worse than the smell. It is a very sour and puckering wine that has a strong fishy taste. The wine is very watery and not thick and has a strange meaty taste as well. Overall the wine tastes like a cup of urine and is revolting. The bottle must have gone bad as I cannot believe that anyone would make this.
- Food Pairing: I had no food with this wine.
- Name: Fetzer
- Variety: Gewurztraminer
- Region: California
- Country: United States of America
- Year: 2014
- Price: Regular Price $12 Sale Price: $8.95
- 87- Wine Enthusiast Review:
A rainy minerality on the
nose of this sweet wine manages to cut through the sugared oranges, honeysuckle
and ripe, tropical white fleshed fruit, from peach to cherimoya. The palate is
full of honeyed apples, white peach and pineapple, but the decent acidity and
chalky element stops it short of treacly.
- My review: On the nose this wine is loaded with fruit aromas. There are smells of peaches, apricots and nectarines. There are also citrus notes and tropical fruit notes like mango. In addition, there is a slight floral aroma that makes the overall smell not too fruity. On the palate this wine has a slight carbonation and it is definitely fruity. The overall taste is smooth and these are a few citrus flavors of lemon and lime that try to balance the sweetness. However, this wine is packed with sugar and it is very sweet almost like a moscato making it a definite desert wine.
- Food Pairing: I had no food with this wine.
- Name: Maipe
- Variety: Malbec
- Region: Mendoza
- Country: Argentina
- Year: 2015
- Price: Regular Price $12 Sale Price: $6.95
- Robert Parker Wine Advocate Review: "The 2015 Maipe Malbec is another 100% Malbec,
with a deep purple color and a style similar to the Lexicon, with chocolaty,
blackcurrant and blackberry fruit, as well as touches of licorice and earth. It
is delicious, soft and round."
- My review: At first glance this wine is a very deep and dark red color that is almost blackish. On the nose there is a strong peppery smell along with notes of blackberries and raspberries. This wine also has a spring watery smell to it which muted the other aromas and made it harder to identify the more subtle ones. On the palate the wine was not watery at all instead it was very thick like cough syrup in consistency. There were no real identifiable fruit flavors or any other taste characteristics. The wine was instead more of a sense of touch than a sense of taste. The wine was very dry but very smooth since it had that thick feeling. There was also some heat on the finish making it feel more and more like I was drinking cough syrup.
- Food Pairing: I had no food with this wine.
- Name: Manoir du Carra
- Variety: Gamay
- Region: Beaujolais
- Country: France
- Year: 2014
- Price: Regular Price $12 Sale Price: $4.95
- Vintage Cellar Review: A pretty, floral wine, with
a rose petal note underscoring the rich pomegranate and sweet plum flavors. The
fresh acidity is balanced, and a light spice note lingers on the finish.
- My review: On the nose this wine smells like a typical red wine. There are peppery notes, blackberry, currant, raspberry and cherry. There is also a weird smell that I could only describe as spring water which muted the other aromas detected. On the palate the wine was very dry and loaded with tannins as well. There was a slight after burn on the finish that made it hard to taste more sips. The only real detectable flavors were pepper mixed with alcohol. Despite the nice fruity bouquet on the nose the wine had no real fruit flavors on the palate making it hard to drink. I do not think that you could have a food that would help this wine it would most likely ruin the food.
- Food Pairing: I had no food with this wine.
