Saturday, March 18, 2006

Ayler Kupp Riesling Kabinett 2004

Price: $8.99 @ Wine Gallery
Tasting notes: When we opened the bottle, we thought the wine might be skunky. It certainly has a peculiar, metallic smell. However, the taste was very nice, and the smell seemed to get better as we drank it. It has a sort of pineapple, green apple flavor with a nice acidity. It is not too sweet nor too dry, with a steely crispness. We really enjoyed it with our cioppino seafood dish.
Rating: 6/10

Friday, March 17, 2006

Wolf Blass Gold Label Riesling 2004

Price: $11.99 @ Trader Joe's
Recommended by: We've loved the Wolf Blass shirazes (both Yellow and Gold Label), so we assumed the riesling would be great, too.
Tasting notes: We were shocked that this wine was not better. It's not terrible, but it has very little to recommend it. It is relatively flat, not sweet, with tastes of lime and lemon. Considering the price, we are not likely to get this wine again. There are much better, lesser expensive rieslings out there.
Rating: 4/10

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Brancott Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2005

Price: $9.99 (@ The Wine Gallery)
Recommended by: We're on a quest to try as many Marlborough sauvignon blancs as we can!
Tasting notes: Very citrusy (particularly grapefruit), as expected from this Marlborough wine. It's not as powerful as the Villa Maria, but it is smooth, refreshing, and very enjoyable, much like Matua. The bottle label mentioned tastes of bell pepper in addition to citrus, but we did not notice a pepper flavor.
Rating: 6.5/10

Monday, March 06, 2006

Graham Beck Railroad Red Shiraz 2003

Price: $8.99 @ Trader Joe's
Recommended by: The wine jukebox at The Wine Gallery
Tasting notes: This is a very full-bodied Shiraz. It's surprisingly smooth with bursts of fruit flavor. We will definitely be enjoying this South African wine again.
Rating: 6.5/10

Thursday, March 02, 2006

The Crossings Sauvignon Blanc 2004

Price: $6.99 @ Trader Joe's
Recommended by: the price!
Tasting notes: This wine is very citrusy as expected in a New Zealand sauvignon blanc, but it isn't as smooth or as tasty as, say, Matua (which is a few $$ more), but it is certainly enjoyable. We're not in a hurry to buy this again.
Rating: 5.5/10