Tasting - Lost Vineyards Vinho de Mesa Tinto

Name: Lost Vineyards Vinho de Mesa Tinto

Variety: Tinto

Region: --

Country: Portugal

Year: NA

Price: $3.95

Winery Review:  Pours a light garnet color with a nice crisp zest, with aromas of cranberries and orange peel on the nose. Drinks smooth with a briary of mild cherries, wild strawberries and raspberries along with a note of rhubarb. Pairs particularly well with wild game and heavy fish such as salmon.

Ned's Take:
I felt that this wine was worth the very modest price of 4 dollars. I have found that I like a lot of reds from Portugal and this one had some of the characteristics that I like. Even so, it seemed like a pretty basic, dumbed down version of the style. I agree with the review that the main flavors were strawberries and cranberry with a dry delivery. It smelled a bit musty and the fruit was there but lacking. The acid balance felt a bit off and I think that this also hurt the wine. It's hard for me to look down on this wine too much since it is so cheap, but you can tell that they weren't trying to make a complex or quality wine.

Tasted Without Food

Tasting - Torrent Bay Chardonnay

Name: Torrent Bay Chardonnay

Variety: Chardonnay

Region:Nelson

Country: New Zealand

Year: 2009

Price: $6.95

Winery Review:   
Fleshy, melony aromas cuddle some fresh oak. The palate has decent acidity so there’s freshness along with weight, resiny oak flavors, lemon and green apple.

Ned's Take:
Wow, this was a weird wine. I found it really hard to place the taste and scent. For some reason I was being reminded of a very specific food taste but was frustrated that the name alluding me. I think fleshy would be a good description, and I really didn't get the fruit flavors. I did smell the oak and the taste reminded me a bit of a smoked meat. In a blind tasting there would be no way that I would guess that this was a chardonnay. It was quite different from what flavors and characteristics I normally associate with chardonnay. I didn't like the wine, but I can at least appreciate that they did something out of the ordinary.

Tasted Without Food

Tasting - Spanish Vines Sauvignon Blanc

Name: Spanish Vines Sauvignon Blanc

Variety: Sauvignon Blanc

Region: La Mancha

Country: Spain

Year: 2009

Price: $4.95

Winery Review:   
85 Points, Wine Enthusiast.  Apple and floral notes and then an almost buttery palate with baked apple and citrus flavors.

Ned's Take:

I was not a fan of this wine. I have never been a big fan of sauvignon blanc, but this one definitely was not up my alley. It was not as earthy or grassy as some other sauvignon blancs, but those flavors were hiding in the flavor palate. The major scent and flavor I got was the citrus and the apple could be picked out too. I will say that it had nice texture and body. It was thick and smooth, which I definitely liked. It was bitter, tart, and seemed out of balance and disjointed. I guess for 5 dollars it isn't too bad, the mouth feel of the wine is worth at least 3 bucks. With this wine, I think there is a reason it has been discounted to 5 dollars.

Tasted Without Food

Tasting - Muscanti Brut

Name: Muscanti Brut

Variety: Muscanti

Region: Girona

Country: Spain

Year: NA

Price: $7.95

Winery Review:  Lemon blossoms, green apple, toast and honeydew melon are front and center in this crisp refreshing Spanish Sparkler. Silky supple with lingering flavors, yet a tingle of citric acid on the finish. A combination of traditional cava grapes but this wine is not made in the traditional méthode champenoise (which is required by Spanish law to be called Cava). This is made with the Charmat process so this wine may only be called ‘Spanish sparkling wine’ .

Ned's Take:
I was not a big fan of this wine, even though I thought it was decent. There was a lot of frizante and the carbonation felt a little heavy for my liking. I got a lot of citrus and zesty fruit flavors. There was a lot of tropical fruit and melon on the nose and taste. I would say that it was a little bit sugary and could have been better balanced. Overall, I would recommend passing on this wine.


Tasted Without Food

Tasting - Aconga Chenin Blanc

Name: Aconga Chenin Blanc

Variety: 80% Chenin Blanc, 20% Chardonnay

Region: Mendoza

Country: Argentina

Year: 2010

Price: $4

Winery Review:  N/A

Ned's Take:
I felt that this was a darn good wine for under five bucks. The nose was nice and had scents of citrus, apple, and a little bit of honey.The taste was nice and tart. There were some interesting fruit flavors with a slight earthy edge. I think that blending in some chardonnay helped with the balance and the texture. It was smooth and didn't have as much of a bite as I have seen in the one or two other chenin blanc wines I've had. This was my first wine from Argentina and I have to say that I was impressed at the quality that I got for such a small price.

Tasted Without Food

Tasting - Seguinot Bordet Chablis

Name: Seguinot Bordet Chablis

Variety: Chardonnay

Region: Chablis

Country: France

Year: 2008

Price: $30 (at a restaurant)

Winery Review:  N/A

Ned's Take:
I bought this wine to share with my girlfriend when we went out to dinner. I thought that this was a pretty good wine, but definitely not the best chardonnay I have ever had. It did go quite well with the Alfredo sauce on the pasta, but it was not worth 30 dollars by any standard. I could tell that the wine had been oaked, but not enough to dominate the palate. It had a lot of the classic flavors that I have learned to associate with chardonnay. It was smooth, buttery, and had really good acid balance. I was able to pick up apples with some tropical fruit mixed in. The one thing that was different from most of the other chardonnays I've had is that had a distinct minerally taste. It wasn't over the top, but was definitely a nice complement to the fruit on the palate. My overall opinion was that this wine was pretty good, but not worth what I paid. I won't say that it was great just because it is a Chablis. It actually was slightly disappointing to me that I've had much cheaper chardonnays from other regions that were just as good as this wine. 

Tasted With Chicken and Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

Tasting - Rioja Antano Crianza

Name: Rioja Antano Crianza

Variety: Tempranillo Blend

Region: La Rioja

Country: Spain

Year: 2008

Price: $8.99

Winery Review:  N/A

Ned's Take:
I felt that this was a darn good wine for under ten dollars. The nose was nice and had strong scents of dried, mixed, dark fruit. The nose was nice and strong, which is a plus in my mind since I want to be able to get some enjoyment out of just the smell. The taste was well balanced and was not too dry or acidic. The taste reminded me of dried or smoked plum with possibly a little fig. There was some oak taste, but luckily it was not one of the main flavors. I found it interesting that my palate picked up some traces of apple and even cloves. This all made for an enjoyable and interesting drink, but it wasn't something that I would drink alone. It is balanced and easy enough to drink to be consumed alone, but it would probably be more exciting with a good dinner.

Tasted Without Food