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.