Muscat of Alexandria is used mostly for raisins and table grapes - it is not the same as the related Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains that is considered the better quality Muscat for wine-making. The other parent, Grenache Gris, doesn't even have an entry in Oz Clarke's "Grapes and Wines," and all that the Oxford Companion says about it is that it is "commonly encountered in southern French whites and some pale rosés." Symphony itself was only commercialized in 1983, and is little planted.Well, enough about the grape - what about the wine? It is highly perfumed - it could easily be a Muscat blend rather than a Muscat cross - and it has some Gewurz like scents as well. It reminds me of the Ribeauville Andante (a Muscat Gewurz cross) in flavour, though the Ribeauville has better structure.
The Obsession is off-dry and maybe a bit flabby, but it is very easy drinking with lots going on in a blowsy kind of style. A reasonable 12% alcohol helps make it easy to quaff. Quite delicious if you are not looking for elegance.
Price: $17.29
Score: 87
Value: 3.5/5
Region: USA, California
Grape: Symphony
Alcohol: 12%
UPC: 724826071227
Posts
I completely agree with your description and assessment of the Obsession symphony. I initially got it upon Natalie MacLean's 90pt score; and everyone enjoyed this simple summer sipper. But it was part of the demise of my respect for NM's consistently bloated scoring (though I thoroughly enjoyed her book). I could not seeing it being a 90 on many occasions.
ReplyDeleteHi Peter,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback. I'm a bit worried that my own scores are becoming bloated as well - so please don't hestitate to comment when you disagree as well!
What wowed me about this wine was its texture- wasn't as thrilled about the taste though.
ReplyDeleteYes, the texture was nice. I found that while this wine had a lot of flavours I quite liked - and that distinguishes it from the ordinary for me - the structure seemed extremely "flat" somehow.
ReplyDelete