VLOG TASTING - Rheingau Wines

Yoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyo!  I'm back from Germany and decided to do a vlog wine review doubleheader of wines I tasted there!  Here is the scoop about 2 Rheingau wines.  The Rheingau is the prestigious region for Riesling along the Rhein in Germany.  There is one other major prestigious Riesling area along another river called the Mosel.

 

 

The wine list!

The 2 wines were the 2014 Ruedesheimer Drachenstein Riesling, and the 2015 Ruedesheimer Burgweg Spaetburgunder (I THINK, It could've been the dornfelder it was a little confusing what the lady was pouring).  In the videos I was slightly confused which ones they were exactly from memory so don't pay attention to the fact that I talk about different wines.  The above should be correct.

Below is a little bit of first-hand experience about what the area looked like around Ruedesheim:

And now I will just post the videos and let you make a judgment on the wines yourself.  I think there is something about trying the wine in the place it comes from that makes you not want to critically review, but rather just enjoy it.

(Videos too big for here so here is the public post link!)the link

WINE WEDNESDAY - Simpler Wines Too Uncanny Chardonnay

Yoyoyoyoyoyoyo. WINE WEDNESDAY is the day so of course I gotta at least think about releasing a wine review.  Luckily for you I have done just that!
The background for today is the same as last week: I was asked to review a mainstay cheapo wine familiar to Trader Joe's clientele: Cocobon.  While I found myself in Trader Joe's I decided to see what else caught my eye.

Today's review is a canned wine: Simpler Wines Too Uncanny Chardonnay.  Some of the review might make more sense if you read the Cocobon review first (the next review if you scroll down).

BACKGROUND

 

Winery:     Simpler Wines
Grapes:    Chardonnay
Region:     ? (probs multiple)
Country:    Australia
Vintage:     ?
Price:         $3 (375mL - demi-equivalent)
Aging:        ?

It is very tempting to think that you can knock back a couple of these simply because they are in cans.  This is incorrect.  Stop thinking this right now.  One can is 2-3 alcoholic drinks.  You are drinking half of a bottle of wine.

But it's just Chardonnay, Austin.  It's a frilly wine like Moscato.  Honestly I think I can handle myself.

This is also incorrect.  Stop thinking this right now.  Chardonnay is probably the most alcoholic white wine there is.  The grape can take on a ton of sugar to ferment.  I have been on record that Chardonnay is basically a red wine masquerading itself as a white wine.  This is not my own thought but an explanation that I've heard from people who know much more about wine than I do.

Anyways the takeaway here is that I ate something and used 1/4 of the can in the sauce for dinner and was STILL feeling a little too good near the end of the can.  It caught me off-guard and it probably will do the same to you.  K, forewarned.

See. 12.9% alc. That's basically light-medium red wine territory.

Now, again we have a general designation of "Australia" similar to what I described in the Cocobon review.  For nicer wine from Australia you would always find a region like South Australia or Adelaide or McLaren Vale.  "Australia" means they took fruit from at least 2 different major regions.  They probably just grew their bulk grapes on cheap land all around or bought leftover fruit from bulk vineyards in the country.  There is another possibility that maybe because it's in a can, the powers in charge of wine quality won't allow them to put the region on the can.

So...there's no year on this wine just like Cocobon.  I'm starting to notice a trend.

Yup, I am starting to think this tactic is because they save fruit from the year previous to mix with the most recent harvest to keep some level of consistency in the taste from year to year.  Besides cheap wine-makers, this "non-vintage" (sometimes notated N.V.) is generally only employed by fortified wine-makers (Sherry, Port) and Champagne/Sparkling wine-makers; and for much different purposes rooted in tradition.

I could also talk about how cans are an inferior method of storing wine because of their lack of breathability (thus the prevalence of real corks in great wine bottling)...however I think I'm just dragging on at this point, perhaps another time.  Here's the review:

THE TASTING

Food pairing attempt: pork chops with simple Dijon mustard-wine reduction (wine from the can).

In the spirit of Simpler Wines I didn't use a glass and drank straight from the can.  I am pleased to note that despite the lack of a wine glass (designed for accenting the smell of wine), this wine still had a lot to sniff.

Here are my short-hand notes like last time:

-Has a bouquet even just from cracking the can
-Floral and melon smells
-Flavors: white peach? Pear? Somewhat tropical, honeysuckle, some sort of flowers (but I don't know flower aromas too well)
-Doesn't change or do anything to the pork too much, maybe not a good pairing. Something light needed maybe, Worcestershire sauce or mustard may be overpowering
-Overall very solid clean style Chardonnay

This was a clean and slightly tropical style Chardonnay, very characteristic of Australia/New Zealand Chardonnay.  I was actually shocked at how much of an aroma this wine had; especially considering I chilled it pretty cold, it was served in a can, and it's cheap.  The aroma that I was getting was very floral with hints of some melon style fruit (maybe cantaloupe).  The taste kept the same floral activity but I noticed more-so a peach or pear rather than a melon.  It was crisp and refreshing, pretty dry but you didn't notice because of the flavor profile.  Didn't really notice any acidity.  Pairing it with food was a bit of a failure.  It was just too light to fluff its feathers along-side mustard and Worcestershire sauce.  That being said I am impressed with it as a sipping wine. 

Conclusion: Exceeded expectations. Solid light-profile Chardonnay in any regard.  Would drink again.  Obvious use would be cookouts and beach-going...in a cooler.

Rating: 7.47935 / 10
Value: 4 / 5

WINE WEDNESDAY - Cocobon, and Future Trader Joe's Lineup

Yoyoyoyoyoyoyo.  I am back with a not-so-new idea: review cheap wines.  This is what the people want and so I will do it.  Everyone is looking for low end value...a very worthwhile pursuit.  I am here to offer some insight into this omnipresent endeavor.

The background for today is this: I was asked to review a mainstay cheapo wine familiar to Trader Joe's clientele: Cocobon. 7 Bucks.  While I found myself in Trader Joe's I decided to see what else caught my eye.  The following selections were made:

Heavyweight Lineup!

So, the plan is as such: I will review Cocobon now.  I will review these other 2 soon.  A quick word about why the other 2 caught my eye:

Panilonco Carmenere Reserve: I have high hopes for this wine to be a value pick for the centuries: $5 for something that is still allowed to put a respectable region, grape, and "Reserve" designation on the bottle!  My only worry is that it is somehow past its time and will just be super flat (maybe trying to get these out of storage?).  We shall see!

Simpler Wines Chardonnay Can:  I can't say that I've never seen canned wine before but I will say that I feel like I should finally try it.  $3 for a 1/2 bottle fluid volume equivalent (what would be referred to as a "demi" bottle (375mL)).

BACKGROUND

Winery:     Cocobon Estates
Grapes:    ?
Region:     Cali
Country:    USA
Vintage:     ?
Price:         $7
Aging:        ?

The legendary wine.  They don't even give a year!

Translation: We are able to make good value cheap wine because we buy the undesirable leftover fruit from decent vineyards.  We don't tell you what's in it because it changes every year.  We don't tell you where (specifically) it's from because it changes every year.

I think the wording here is critical: "grapes from some of the finest vineyards," NOT "some of the finest grapes from our vineyards."  Furthermore the flavor profile that they suggest here: "Dark cherries and vanilla," is pretty vague and generalized.  Dark cherry is a flavor that you could make an argument for with any medium-to-full bodied red wine.  "Vanilla" means they used oak/wood chips during the aging process at some point.

I'm a fan of the label and looks nice in that glass!  Also, shout out to Veritas for being one of few wineries to give you a glass as part of the tasting.

Ok, enough cheap shots.  The honest truth is this wine is pretty good.  We'll get into the review real quick because there's really no further background I can do that would be helpful.

THE TASTING

Tasted with my homemade super spicy chili.

Something new: I will just give you my short hand notes from while I was tasting and then write some conclusions.  Wine was opened while making dinner and sipped throughout the night.

-Vicious bite-needs air because super young
-Dark but not very dark red color
-Coffee, Earth, zin main
-Fruit comes out with time or with food: blackberry, licorice
-Relatively sweet, not too acidic
-Airy kick of heat just like a straight cab s or merlot
-After an hour: wine soft and different, pretty bland

SO, basically I really enjoyed the wine...a decent bit going on for the price.  As expected it has a bite when you first open it; this just means in general it is young.  No problem, just open it up ~30 mins before the main event.  The color doesn't give too much away especially since we know that it is a blend of grapes and not one particular varietal.  The main flavor profile I was getting: coffee, cocoa, slightly cinnamon-earthy, licorice, pungent taste in my opinion characterizes this as a wine made with mainly Zinfandel.  The only issue is that the color of the wine is not characteristic of Zinfandel (which would be a more deep purplish).  Therefore I would venture that Cabernet Sauvignon or one of its close relatives is used also (more of a true dark red hue).  Fruit came a little later with the food; found some berries/cherries in there.  After a while the wine flattened a ton which just means it's made with lower quality fruit (we already knew this).

Conclusion: Decent sipping wine, has more to offer with food, drink in one sitting with friends because probs doesn't store long.  Better value exists but overall a solid cheap wine.

Rating: 6.4254 / 10
Value: 3.5 / 5

WINE WEDNESDAY - Montaria Reserva 2016

Yoyoyoyoyoyoyoyo.  The wine blog is back!  Today is a momentous day obviously because I decided to finally resurrect the wine blog from it's long slumber.  This past year or so has been tough to find time to hang out with family and friends let alone keep up with a blog.  BUT hopefully that has officially changed.

I have a short and sweet (actually somewhat dry and tannic) installment for you today.

Winery:      Montaria
Grapes:    Reserva - Syrah 40%, Trincadeira 40%, Aragonez 20%
Region:     (Alentejo and Lisboa I think)
Country:    Portugal
Vintage:     2016
Price:         $12-$16
Aging:        ???

BACKGROUND

Yooooooo.  Portuguese wines can be a confusing topic.  Some trends explained:

You are not likely to find reds that are from a single grape in my experience.  Almost ALL common Portuguese wine found for sale in America will say "Red Wine" or "Vihno Tinto" on the bottle.

Sounds to me like they're just trying to hide the fact that their grapes suck.

This DOES NOT mean they are trying to be vague because of inferiority, in fact it shows that the wine-making from these regions is very matured.  Almost all of the very best (red) wines are blends unless there are some random rules associated with making wine in a particular region.  Still, I have no idea why they do it for sure...it is possible that the grapes are terrible on their own.

Also, Portuguese wines tend to be made with grapes that aren't really grown elsewhere.  I think they take it a step further than their Iberian cousins (Spain).  For instance, Touriga Nacional is basically only found in Porto.

Yoooo Porto! Is that where Port wine comes from?

You got it! Fun fact: it isn't true Port unless it says "Porto", otherwise it could be "Port Style" from anywhere.

It seems as if there's 100 of these random grapes they use in Portugal as I find a new name on the back label of just about every Portuguese wine I try.  In fact I had never heard of Trincadeira and Aragonez before today.

Syrah - We know this guy

Trincadeira

Aragonez - I wonder if this originates from Aragon (northeastern Spain)

The general outlay of wine-growing Portugal imo is:

Porto/Duoro - This port city is where port wine started although the grapes are mainly grown inland in the Duoro region where tons of good wine comes from.

Minho - Vinho Verde, the distinct, refreshing, greenish-colored wine is found here among other light, tasty (and affordable) options.  Ideal drink-on-a-hot-day wines come from here.

Duly noted.

Beira and Lisboa - I have seen wines from these regions before whilst perusing at wine outlets.

Wine Regions - Portugal

Today's wine hails from Lisboa and Alentejo as far as I can tell from research (I presume the wine-maker buys fruit from all over the south-central regions).  I am told these regions are generally very hot and dry with some variation; meaning that the majority of wine coming out of here is red. Areas with good sea breeze and inland mountains are my guess as to where the limited white grapes grow.

Alentejo

Last topic to cover is the term Reserva.  This obviously translates to Reserve, meaning the better portion of the fruit from harvest was used to make this batch.  It also generally translates to a ~$3 uptick from the bulk vintage for lowish price-range wines.

I think I'll save the money I don't think I would taste the difference.

I don't blame you, however seeing "Reserve" at a dinner party does impress the crowd even if it really isn't that good.

OKOK

SNOBBY REVIEW

Sniff - I always tend to sniff the bottom of the cork when opening a bottle (a habit of proper restaurant protocol)...it is particularly nice with this wine - very evident that this will be pretty fruity.  (I'm a bit out of critical practice but...) has a bite to the whiff from the glass with a lot of fruit (sort of in the darker berry range but there's kinda this cranberry thing also).

Taste - Softer/thinner than I was expecting.  I actually really enjoy these types of reds for the mouthfeel: the soft tannins that don't bite you (more expressed with vanilla or cream flavors rather that the harsher wood/spices types of tannic flavor).  Swishing in the mouth doesn't dry you out too much.  However there is not a ton of fruit on the initial flavor profile...it comes in later.  Jam style flavors - a lighter fruit like strawberry or cranberry but given some more power by keeping some sweetness from the grapes. 

Food - Did not try with food but I am convinced this wine will open up considerably with the correct pairing.  It has a noticeable amount of acidity that I think can make up for it's lack of alcoholic punch and robustness to cut through a fatty dish.

Overall I'd call it a little overpriced unless this somehow goes amazing with some type of food.  The mouthfeel suits me very well but I know that I tend to have different preferences with reds than most.

Rating: 6.7 / 10
Value: $$ / 5

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