WineLife365

Archive for the ‘Whites’ Category

From: Australia

Price: $9.99

I picked this Australian white wine off the shelf because of its unique white grape blend.  I’m a big fan of wine labels that clearly tell you exactly what’s inside the bottle. The folks at St. Hallet clearly tell the consumer on the front label that their “Poacher’s Blend” is a mixture of 3 white wine grapes:  68% Semillon, 21% Sauvignon Blanc, and 11% Riesling.

The 2007 St. Hallet Poacher’s Blend is one of the oddest, but tastiest, white wines that I’ve tried this year.  In past reviews, I’ve used “odd” as a prelude to saying that the wine was just ok, or that I personally didn’t care for the wine.  On this occasion, however, odd and different can be very good.  This wine is very easy for me to describe.  It tastes like a French Champagne or dry Sparkling Wine without the fizz and tiny bubbles.  I really liked its unique taste.  It has the acidity, crispness, and finish that remind you of a Sparkling Wine.  But it also has the citrus fruit and a touch of oak to remind you that it’s still a white wine.  This wine was terrific with a mixed salad and grilled chicken.

If you’re looking to try a white wine that’s a bit off the beaten path, give this one a shot.  I think that you’ll like it a lot – I give it 3 Stars.  The 2007 St. Hallet Poacher’s Blend is a strange bird, but I really enjoyed it and would buy it again.

WineLife365 Rating: 3-Star

Please put down the weekend section of your newspaper, pull up a chair, and grab a plate of spaghetti and meatballs along with a wine glass, because I want to share with you two wines this evening – a white, and one red that flat out pounded my taste buds like Ryan Howard taking batting practice.

First up, was a Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand.  By now, everyone should know that Marlborough is home to some of the tastiest Sauvignon Blancs on earth, right?  So, I came across a name that I’d never heard of before and decided to give it a “taste drive”.  This 2008 New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc was called Ponga.  I was drawn to this white wine for three reasons:  First, I love - I mean really LOVE New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc; second, it was a new wine (at least to me); and third, it was priced under $10…which you don’t see very often when it comes to New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

So how was the 2008 Ponga?  Well, not very good in my opinion.  It was of a lesser quality than many of the New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs that I’ve tasted so far this year.  It lacked that familiar grassiness and crisp acidity that I love about New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, and it had a very odd tasting nectarine and citrus flavor that didn’t do much for me.  Finally, there was absolutely no finish in the finale of this wine to convince me to purchase it again.

Unfortunately, I have to give the 2008 Ponga 2 stars out of 4.  It wasn’t completely dreadful, but it was pretty far off from the delicious “Marlborough Gold” costing just a few dollars more.

Next up on this Friday evening was the red, which came from the Stags Leap District in beautiful Napa Valley, California.  It was a 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon called Angels Landing.  If you didn’t already know, the Stag’s Leap District is home to some the finest made Cabernet Sauvignons in the world.  However, precision-made Cabs from this part of the Napa neighborhood, in normal economic times, usually fetch prices between $50 to ”the sky is the limit”.  But times are tough these days and everyone is feeling the pinch, even the wine industry.  Which is why this a great time to discover lots of wines at bargain prices, if you’re willing to look for them and give them a try!  Such was the case with this obscure looking Cabernet Sauvignon from Angels Landing.  This wine was priced at $19.99 a bottle and had a label that I had never seen before.  But I thought, $20 for a Stags Leap District wine – it’s gotta be at least halfway decent?!  So, I picked up a bottle of this “unknown” Cab to see for myself if it was indeed as “heavenly” as I imagined it.

So, was the 2007 Angels Landing Cabernet Sauvignon heaven on earth?  You bet your sweet bippy it was - and then some!  I only have one word to describe this California Cab - WOW!!  If you’re looking for a flawless California Cab, then this just might be the best buy on the market right now.  Again, I paid $19.99 for this California Cab and it tasted more like a $50 dollar bottle of wine.  I could go on and on about this wine, but I’ll stop right now to allow you to head straight over to your local wine establishment to buy as much of it as you possibly can!  This wine will blow your mind – trust me!

I give the 2007 Angels Landing Cabernet Sauvignon 4 Stars!  I would strongly encourage you to purchase as much of this wine as you can before it’s all gone.

From: Italy

Price: $12.99

Length of Time for Experiment: 4 weeks

As Dr. Smith from the show Lost in Space used to say- “Oh, the pain, the pain”.

I’ve been on a quest to find a decent tasting box o’wine, and it sure has been painful.  First, it was the macho-looking Killer Juice Cab that should have come with some adult-sized sippy straws, and then the lackluster Yellow and Blue duo from the tree hugging gang in Argentina. 

So can an Italian box get the job done?

Nope.  This bag of white wine had me laughing out loud from day one.  The peeps at Casarsa want you to know that this white wine captures “the true taste of Italy” and that they “invite you to open a cask tonight and be transported to a land where good friends, foods and romance are a part of everyday life”.

“Silence, you ninny!”  This stuff ain’t wine.  It was more like a tap-water spritzer.  We tasted this Italian box over a course of 30 days and it tasted like cold water every time. The verdict?  A glass of ice water with a slice of lemon is much cheaper.  Put the $13 in your Travel Savings Account – that’ll get you closer to Italy than this box of wine!

I give the box of Casarsa Pinot Grigio/Pinot Blanc Blend 1 Star.

WineLife365 Rating: 1-Star

From: Alsace, France

Price: $12.99

Gentil is Hugel estate’s entry-level, least expensive, Alsatian white wine.  It is a blend of several white grapes that include: Gewurztraminer, Muscat, Pinot Gris, Riesling, and Sylvaner. 

The 2005 Hugel Gentil is an easy drinking, oak-free white wine that showcases some nice crisp citrus flavors.  Gentil is by no means a blockbuster Alsatian white wine, but it is a nearly flawless picnic wine or the kind of white wine that you don’t mind just sipping on a hot summer day.  However, this Alsatian white wine does have the ability to transform itself into a more serious food-friendly wine.  It matches up well with foods like sushi, various seafood, spicy Asian dishes, salads, and white sauced pastas.

This wine is a huge crowd-pleaser.  It’s also, in my opinion, consistently good year after year.  It won’t blow your mind, but it’s certainly better than average, and at $13 bucks a pop it’s priced nearly to perfection.   

 WineLife365 Rating: 3-Star