Tasting - Heinz Eifel Shine Riesling

Name:  Heinz Eifel Shine Riesling

Variety:  Riesling

Country:   Germany

Region:  Rheingau

Year:  2010

Price:  $8.95

Vintage Cellar Review:  Flint and mineral notes accent pineapple and lime aromas, while on the palate, the wine shows plenty of ripe, citrusy fruit flavors.  Tangy acids on the long finish provide balance.

My Review:  This Riesling had a honeysuckle aroma and a sweet grapefruit-flavored finish.  I tried this wine on its own without food.

Tasting - Don Ramon Tinto

Name:  Don Ramon Tinto

Variety:  75% Grenache;  25% Tempranillo

Country:  Spain

Region:  Campo de Borja

Year:  2008

Price:  $7.95

Vintage Cellar Review:  75% Grenache, 25% Tempranillo. Aged 3 months in American Oak casks. Ruby red in color, with creamy aromas of earth and cherry. 

Flavor turns toward deeper and darker black cherry and raspberry on a medium framework. A subtle earthiness underneath the bright fruit adds some depth and complexity.

My Review:  This wine was fruity on the nose, with an earthy flavor.  The oak aging definitely came through on the palate with this wine.  I tried this wine on its own without food.

Tasting - Resonata Nero D'Avola

Name:  Resonato Nero D'Avola

Variety:  Nero D'Avola

Country:  Italy

Region:  Sicily

Year:  2010

Price:  $6.95

Vintage Cellar Review:  Dense ruby red with violet reflections.  Lush and ripe bouquet full of mulberries, blackberries and spice.  Harmonious and well balanced with good berry fruit in a spicy background.

My Review:  This Nero D'Avola had a berry aroma.  It was a dry wine with tannic flavors.  I tried this wine on its own without food.

Tasting - Protocolo Blanc

Name:  Protocolo Blanc

Variety:  70% Airen, 30% Macabeo

Country:  Spain

Region:  Not specified.

Year:  2009

Price:  $6.95

Vintage Cellar Review:  87 Points, Stephan Tanzer.  Greenish gold. Subtle aromas of mint, lemon and orange, with a hint of honeysuckle. Dry, understated and focused, offering clean citrus and melon flavors and slow-building sweetness. Finishes dry and brisk, with an echo of lemon. As usual, this is an outstanding value.

My Review:  This wine had a citrus aroma.  On the palette, it was dry and had subtle mint flavors.  I tried this wine on its own without food

Tasting - Santola Vinho Verde

Name:  Santola Vinho Verde

Variety:  Vinho Verde

Country:  Portugal

Region:  Mealhada

Year:  Not listed

Price:  $7.95

Vintage Cellar Review:  Soft and creamy, although with just the right Vinho Verde bite, this is a crisp and clean wine, boasting light pear and pink grapefruit flavors. Off dry and very fresh. 

My Review:  This vinho verde had a zesty, lemony aroma and granny smith flavors.  I tried this wine on its own without food

Tasting - Legaris Crianza

Name: Legaris Crianza

Variety:  Crianza

Country:  Spain

Region:  Ribera del Duero

Year:  2003

Price: $8.95

Vintage Cellar Review:  90 Points, Wine Spectator.  A silky texture carries plum, tobacco, coffee and mineral flavors over ripe tannins in this balanced red. Berry and vanilla notes linger on the finish. Drink now through 2013.  –T.M.

My Review:  This Crianza had a crimson and orange color.  There were coffee aromas and a peppery taste.  There was definitely some heat coming through in the body of this wine.  I tried this wine on its own without food.  

Tasting - Into Zin Zinfandel

Name:  Into Zin Zinfandel

Variety:  Zinfandel

Country:  United States

Region:  Lodi, California

Year:  2008

Price:  $7.95

Vintage Cellar Review:  Spicy , jammy, ripe round plum with juicy soft finish. Goes well

with marsala chicken, peppered steak or broiled lamb shank.

My Review:  The Into Zin Zinfandel had a crimson color and a slight cherry aroma.  It was full-bodied and smooth with a spicy flavor.  I tried this wine on its own without food

Tasting - Tres Ojos Garnacha Tempranillo

Name:  Tres Ojos Garnacha Tempranillo
Variety:  50-50 blend of Tempranillo and Garacha
Country:  Spain
Region:  Calatayud
Year:  2010
Price:  $5.95


Vintage Cellar Review:  A 50-50 blend of Tempranillo and Garacha, this medium rosecolored rosado boasts a spicy red cherry/plum nose with a soft lush attack of red berry fruit flavors and a crisp dry finish. Simple
and refreshing and a natural for tapas


My Review:  This Tres Ojos Garnacha Tempranillo had a berry aroma and a pepper-y taste.  It was full-bodied and smooth.  I tried this wine on its own without food

Tasting - Lazzaro Chardonnay

Name:  Lazzaro Chardonnay
Variety:  Chardonnay
Country:  Argentina
Region:  Mendoza
Year:  2010
Price:  $6.95

Vintage Cellar Review:  Opens with mellow peach and melon aromas and some oak. The palate is round, creamy and full. Tastes of spiced, dried apple with a stalky, pithy accent.

My Review:  The Lazzaro Charndonnay had a pear aroma and was dry on the palate.  I tried this wine on its own without food.

Tasting - Coastal Vines Brut

Name:  Coastal Vines Brut
Variety:  Non-varietal white blend
Country:  United States
Region:  California
Year:  2010
Price:  $6.95


Vintage Cellar Review: Coastal Vines Sparkling Wine is a light colored wine with aromas of apple and citrus. On the palate there are flavors of melon and pear. The finish is crisp and clean. Pair with cheeses, like brie, for
appetizers; grilled garlic shrimp over a bed of pasta; or with a light white cake for dessert.


My Review:  The Coastal Vines Brut had a lemon aroma, and a spicy flavor.  I was disappointed by the smoothness and thought there was a lot of heat coming through.

Tasting - Innocent Bystander Moscato

Name:  Innocent Bystander Moscato

Variety:  50% Gordo Muscat (Muscat of Alexandria) grown on the Boulton vineyard and 50% Black Muscat grown on the Burge estate vineyard.

Country:  Australia

Region:  Victoria

Year:  2011

Price:  $15.95

Vintage Cellar Review:  The focus of Innocent Bystander is to produce quality, flavour-driven wines from carefully selected vineyards in the Yarra Valley and beyond.  Over time Steve Flamsteed and his team have increased the level of complexity and texture in the Innocent Bystander wines with greater use of wild fermentations and restrained oak handling. 

My Review:  Although my favorite wine at today's Vintage Cellar tasting was the Frisk Prickly Reisling, I must admit that this Moscato came in a close second.  On the nose, strawberries and floral notes.  On the palate, cherry and peach flavors.  The sweet finish makes this a decadent dessert wine.  I tasted this wine on its own with no food.

Tasting - Sivas Sonoma Cabernet

Name:  Sivas Sonoma Cabernet
Variety:  Cabernet Sauvignon
Country:  United States
Region:  Sonoma, California
Year:  2009
Price:  $14.95

Vintage Cellar Review:  Fruit driven, with a nice combination of blackberry, red currant, and a background of dark chocolate and cocoa.  A hint of brightness in the fruit aromas, together with a the classic Cabernet depth, signals this wine's Sonoma County roots.  On the palate, dark chocolate covered cherry flavors meets hints of mocha, and the dark fruit profile carries all the way through the lively mid-palate.  The mouth feel is soft and silky, with mouth-filling, velvety tannins that give the wine finesse and marry well with the wine's light acidity.  In addition, the mixture of French and American oak aging lends light touches of vanilla and cinnamon to this wine's background complexity.  This wine's focused fruit profile and depth, finishing with along raspberry note.   


My Review:  This dark colored wine had a spicy aroma.  On the palette, a strong tannin component comes through, with a harsher taste and finish.
I tasted this wine on its own without food.

Tasting - Frisk Prickly Reisling

Name:  Frisk Prickly Reisling
Variety:  83% Riesling, 17% Muscat Gordo
Country:  Australia
Region:  Victoria
Year:  2011
Price:  $11.95

Vintage Cellar Review:  Leave to the Aussies to come up with a tasty value wine with a sassy descriptive name.  frisk is a friskly Reisling with a pleasing level of prickly spritz lifting the ample fruity flavors.  It has a pale straw color, lively bubbles, loads of tropical fruit and jasmine aromas, off-dry fruity flavors, a refreshing 9.8% alcohol, and a sweet/tart finish;  and all that Australian goodness.

My Review:  This Reisling was by far my favorite wine at today's tasting.  This sweet wine had a pleasant berry aroma.  The taste had notes of strawberry and plum, and I enjoyed the smoothness.  The slight sparkle makes this wine a little indulgent and festive: the perfect wine for toasting a girl friend's birthday or celebrating a special occasion.  
I tasted this wine on its own without food.

Tasting - Allamand Cuvee St Jeanette

Name:  Allamand Cuvee St Jeanette
Variety:  50% Chardonnay, 50% Saint Jeannet
Region:  Mendoza
Country:  Argentina
Year:  2011
Price:  $11.95


Vintage Cellar Review:  From the winery formerly known as Finca El Reposo comes this blend of 90+ year old Chardonnay and the almost extinct grape Saint Jeannet.  Saint Jeannet originated in the South of France, but is now thought to exist only at this one vineyard in Argentina.  Made very naturally from organically farmed grapes with almost nothing added later, wild yeast fermentation and no oak.  Only 3,000 bottles of this wine are made each year, compared to around 420,000 bottles of Lafite Rothschild.  


My Review:  This wine had a pale golden color and a citrus aroma.  It had a harsher taste and was dry.  

Tasting - Leese Fitch Sauvignon Blanc

Name:  Leese Fitch Sauvignon Blanc
Variety:  Sauvignon Blanc
Country:  United States
Region:  California
Year:  2010
Price:  $10.95


Vintage Cellar Review:  90 points, Wine Enthusiast, A lovely Sauvignon Blanc, dry, crisply acidic and clean, with complex citrus, flower, and mineral flavors.  A great value for the money.  --S.H.


My Review:  This white wine was almost clear.  There was orange on the nose, and a dry, grapefruit flavor on the palette.  

I tasted this wine on its own without food.