Tasting - Boas Vinhas Tinto

Name: Boas Vinhas Tinto

Variety: 40% Touriga Nacional, 30% Tinta Roriz, 30% Alfrocheiro (red blend)

Region: Dao

Country: Portugal

Year: 2009

Price: $9.95

Winery Review:

Deep bright violet and red color. Rich in aromas of red fruits such as plums and strawberries. Its intense yet docile and fleshy taste fills the palate without roughness, leaving a pleasant sensation.

Ned's take: 

WOW!!  That was my first reaction when I tasted this wine. I wasn't able to pick up anything or think about taste with the first mouthful; it was simple bliss. Now I knew what Boyer meant when he said that everyone will find a wine that makes them realize this wine thing is something special. For me, this was the wine that changed the game. After the initial shock, I worked to really analyze the taste and feel. To start, I loved the deep rich color of this blend. From the beginning, and all the way through, the wine is smooth and balanced. I was surprised that the flavor could be so rich and complex, but work together to make it well rounded and easy to just enjoy. This tinto had dryness to it but it was balanced out by great fruit flavor. The review mentions plums and strawberries, but I wasn't able to pick out anything particular. Regardless, the fruit flavor was deep and succulent (used simply for lack of a better word). My favorite thing about this wine is the balance that I described. There are great, complex flavors and aromas all the way through that cancel out the dryness that I usually have trouble ignoring in reds with a lot of flavor. I had preconceived notions of red wine based on my previous experiences, small as it may be, and this changed those. I was used to having either a wine that was strong in flavor and overpowering dryness/bite or one that was muted but pleasant to drink. It's still hard for me to think that this wine made me a believer in red wine and convinced me to abandon my bias towards white wine (not completely, but that may very well change). Additionally, this wine showed me the value and importance of mixing grape varieties. Most of the wines I have tried were specifically one type, but now I see that blending offers possibilities that can't be found in single variety wine. Even though I had bought a wine the day before, I knew that I had to bring this one home to try again. I'm looking forward to sharing it with people and seeing if they love it as much as I did. You may think I'm blowing this wine out of proportion and you may very well be right, but each wine is something different for each person. This wine was special for me, probably in part because it was the first wine that I fell in love with, but it doesn't make it a masterpiece. Feel free to write my review off as the naivety of a neophyte wine drinker, but I'm definitely going to use this wine as a standard to judge the wines that I taste going forward.

Tasted without food

Tasting - Doural Tinto

Name: Doural Tinto

Variety: Tinto Cao and Touriga Nacional (red blend)

Region: Douro

Country: Portugal

Year: 2009

Price: $8.95

Winery Review:

This Portuguese tinto(red) blend exhibits a deep red color with violet hues. The nose is vibrant and fruity. The palate offers notes of spice, cherry, and dark berry supported by good structure. Pairs well with red or game meat, cheeses and fish.

Ned's take:

The first thing that I noticed about this wine was the deep rich color. Obviously that is not as important as the taste, but it provided a good first impression and stood out to me. I sensed strong floral notes that blended well, but it seemed a bit one dimensional in this sense. Other than a slight spice aftertaste, it was hard to find much more than the elegant floral medley in the taste. The wine was smooth and light enough that it could be an enjoyable drink, but there didn't seem to be a strong complexity to the wine. It was nice and pleasant, but it never struck me as anything worth making noise about. Basically good, but forgettable.

Tasted without food

Tasting - Nykteri Santorini Yannis

Name: Nykteri Santorini Yannis

Variety: unknown white grape blend

Region: Santorini

Country: Greece

Year: 2010

Price: $13.95

Winery Review: 

I feel first for the compelling story of this 'night work' wine, and then for the aroma and taste, and can't think of a wine to compare it to. "Nykteri - Dry White Wine Appelation of Origin Santorini of superior quality." Since 3,500 years ago, the Nykteri is synonymous to Santorini's famous white wines. The formula to 'instant wine making' on the night of the same day that the grapes were harvested solved the problem of the variety's sensitive aroma deterioration. The wine is matured for 3 months at least in barrels. In this way the wine's contact with barrel's wood gives the Nykteri a special finesse. Characteristics crystal-clear, semi-yellow wine. Dominated by the aromas of jasmine, citrus fruits, flowers and pear, all these enhanced with a gentle vanilla sense. A strong body with warm personality and a long lasting taste. Serve with grilled anything as well as with local Greek dishes such as tomato meatballs and lava dip.

Ned's take:

I was interested to try this wine since I had never really had a Greek wine. What I found was a flowery taste that had definite citrus tones. The wine had a light, crisp flavor that was enjoyable. My favorite part about this wine was easily the texture and the consistency. It was smooth and felt thicker than any wine I had previously tried. This thick texture reminded me a bit of honey, although not nearly as dense. The light golden color was also enjoyable and refined. The review mentioned a long lasting taste and I have to say that I agree. The smooth blend of flavors continued to linger longer than I expected (definitely a plus!). Overall I thought this was a good wine that I enjoyed mostly due to the texture and smooth balance rather than the flavors, which seemed pretty normal.

Tasted without food

Tasting - Casa Bianca Spumante Rosato

 Name: Casa Bianca Spumante Rosato

Variety: 100% blend of white grape pinot nero prosecco and red (sparkling)

Region: Asoli

Country: Italy

Year: ?

Price: $11.95

Winery Review:
Prosecco is very popular in Italy. The wine is often served as a festive aperitif but mild dry Prosecco Spumante is also very suitable as a companion of appetizers and entrees. Prosecco is a generic term and can be sold in many different qualities. The best have their own appellation , as Casa Bianca. The vineyards of Montello and the hills of Asoli located in northern Italy. This rosato spumante is made from white grape pino nero prosecco and red. By fermenting them together creates the pale pink color and a flavor that is more powerful than the white variety. Spicy rosato spumante with a fine, persistent mousse, juicy fresh red fruit in the aroma and a rich, smooth and lasting flavor.



Ned's Take:
Although I have been a casual wine drinker in the past and have tried to appreciate the differences in taste, this was my first attempt at critically analyzing a wine since starting the class. Unfortunately my modest background was not much help with this bottle since it was a sparkling wine. Smelling was a bit difficult as a result of the carbonation coming out of the glass, but it had a light fruity tinge to it. The carbonation initially made analyzing the taste a bit tricky. The fizz was complemented pretty well by a crisp taste that was actually a bit dry. Having nothing to compare the sparkling wine to except cheap flavored champagne, the dryness was unexpected but could be normal or even low for real sparkling wines as far as I know. The flavor had hints of lemon and even some small floral notes that was interesting to me. The lack of sweetness was the overall surprise and enjoyment of this for me. There was a balance to it and it didn't really stand out in any particular way. In one way that is a good thing since there was no overwhelming flavor or sweetness involved to make it unpleasant, but it also didn't strike me as anything special to write home about. I suppose I would say it was a good wine (I could tell it had good characteristics to it) that I will remember as an intro to sparkling wines, but it was otherwise forgettable.


Tasted without food