Bridlewood 2008 Reserve Viognier

I tasted this wine with Norman, and then later with a group. Both times, I guessed it might be a Riesling. So apparently I think it has Rieslingesque qualities. However, one of the group - correctly identifying it as predominantly Viognier - volunteered “if this is Riesling, I’ll shoot myself.” So maybe it’s not so like Riesling. I don’t taste much white. Others in the group thought it might be Chardonnay. Style-wise, I found it sweeter, fruitier, and smoother than other Viogniers I’ve tasted.

The nose is delightful and aromatic: honeydew melon, floral notes, citrus and something a bit spicy, like cloves. On the palate it is slightly sweet and crisply acidic with smooth viscosity. The texture is a bit buttery. We enjoyed it on its own, but I can imagine that it would stand up nicely paired with cheese or maybe seafood. Overall, very nice.

Price: $24.99
Score: 89
Value: 3.5/5
Region: Central Coast California
Grapes: Viognier 90%, Chardonnay 4%, Marsanne 4%, Rousanne 2%
UPC: 085000014615

Marques de Casa Concha Chardonnay 2007

After I got this review from Iron Chef, I ran out to get a bottle of this. But I won't tell you what I thought of it right now - I'll post a comment instead.

--- Iron Chef's Review ---

This wine always gets great scores from the Wine press, The Wine Advocate - 91 pts, Wine Spectator 91 pts and such, and I usually try the new vintage as it arrives. Tasted with Lobster Risotto, on NB date eve.
Appearance: Straw yellow with streaks of green.
Nose: Freshly churned butter, Pineapple, Pear and peaches. Some other tropical fruits - papaya maybe? Floral notes also. Some oak and pepper integrated into the various fruit aromas. Deep/ Rich nose with a pile of stuff going on. Just Great.
Taste: Butterscotch and Vanilla, and Tropical Fruits- papaya again and Pear. There was nuttiness also that I didn't smell until I tasted the wine. Honey and pepper mixed in late in the palate to make a great and long finish. Highly textured and beautiful wine.
Overall- This was always a great wine, but in the past the oak notes were first on the palate and now they are last and mixed more with honey. This wine has really advanced over the years, more refined, especially when it comes to integrating the oak into the background of the wine. The one of the best Chardonnays, for that matter, one of the best white wines I have had.

Price: $23.99
Value: 7/5
Score: 94
Region: Chile
Alcohol: 14%
UPC: 7804320411149

Mezzacorona Pinot Grigio Trentino 2007

This review takes us back to the value priced summer wines.

--- Iron Chef's Review ---

Gord Stemmell recommended this from his column with the Toronto Star: http://www.thestar.com/comment/columnists/article/648102
Nose: Very fragrant- Hay+ Melon+ Kiwi. Nice nose.
Palate: Tropical fruits and wet stone. Great taste. Feels somewhat Fizzy on the palate. Has more acidity that expected.
Overall: Fun wine for summer. Good with food. One of the better examples of this grape I have had. I really liked it. I like the frizzy acidity also.

Price: $13.79
Score: 89+
Value: 4/5
Region: Italy
Alcohol: 12.5%
UPC: 8004305000088

Ribeauville Prestige Pinot Gris 2005

When Iron Chef sent me this review something looked familiar. I did search of the blog (upper left hand corner) for "Ribeauville" and sure enough, Kelly and I had reviewed this wine a few months ago, right after the Wine Expo. I'm posting this as a separate post anyway. The consistency between our review and Iron Chef's is quite astonishing - the same score, the same value rating, and much the same description, down to petrol / turpentine and mineral notes. Maybe we're not just making it all up.

--- Iron Chef's Review ---

Had this with some Curry dishes last weekend. Really liked the Mango and tropical fruit that was balanced by flint-y minerals and petrol notes. The finish was long with fun fruit flavours of pineapple with good mineral acidity. A balanced wines that shows a bunch of class.

Price: $22.99
Value: 3.9/5
Score: 89
Region: France, Alsace
Tasted: March 2009
Alcohol 13.5%
UPC: 3156090316143

Ribeauville Gewurztraminer Prestige 2006

I liked all the Ribeauville wines when I tried them at the Wine Expo. This is my first chance since then to try the Prestige series Gewurz, and it didn't disappoint. It has a powerful characteristic Gewurz nose on a full bodied moderately sweet frame. Perhaps not quite as much acidity as I would have liked to balance the sweetness - but that's a quibble. Delicious - but not much left.

Price: $23.99
Value: 4/5
Score: 89
Region: France, Alsace
Tasted: Dec 2008
UPC: 3156090316150

Ribeauville Pinot Gris 2005

I think of Pinot Gris / Grigio as light and innocuous. A safe bet off the by-the-glass wine list - unlikely to be terrible, but unlikely to be inspiring either. And maybe an overcropped Pinot Gris is like that - but this Ribeauville is not. It is full bodied and full of character. Here's was Kelly says:

"Orange rind, cloves, petrol. Viscous on palate. Full bodied with good acidity. I find this wine a bit musky and manly, in the style of the Chateau de Nages or perhaps Pouilly-Fuissé. Now I think I know what the Aykroyd is trying to do. Ends on a bit of a sour note."

Kelly scored it a 90. I'm not sure I'd go quite that high. But pretty close. Very good value. Act soon - there is not much left.

Price: $22.99
Value: 4/5
Score: 89(N)/90(K)
Region: France, Alsace
Tasted: Oct 2008
UPC: 3156090316143

Tormaresca Pietra Bianca 2006

I'm going to start with a review from Iron Chef, since I didn't drink any "bloggable" wines this weekend. I had my eye on this wine and almost bought a bottle last week, but I bought the Tunella Campo Marzio instead - see Wednesday's post. (PS Chef Do I have the year right?)

Here is Iron Chef's review:

"A wine made of 95% Chardonnay and 5% Fiano in southern Italy, Puglia. I think this blog has tried all the Tormaresca line from Antinori now at ANBL. This is a rich wine with tons of creamy malolactic fermentation and well integrated oak. The nose is fun with peaches and zesty citrus aromas and lots of buttery vanilla. The palate is very expressive and textured- notes of oak, butterscotch ice cream, dried apricots and smoke. I could see this wine breaking the "Red Meat with Red wine" rule because of its strong favours and texture. An absolute stunner of a wine. WoW. WS gave it 87 points btw.

One drawback was that the cork was very wet, seepage around the foil might affect this wine.

Value: 4/5- although I hate spending that much on a white. It was worth it.
Score: 93"

Price: $28.99
Score: 93
Value: 4/5
Tasted: Oct 2008
ANBL UPC: 8026530000077

Oyster Bay Chardonnay 2006

I've never been much of a white wine drinker, though I've been trying more over the past summer. But when I do drink whites I tend to like riesling and gewurztraminer and lately I've discovered New Zealand sauvignon blanc. Not chardonnay. If you'd have asked me a couple of weeks ago I might even have said that I hate chardonnay, which has always struck me as buttery and insipid. With all that said, I was very surprised to find that I liked this wine. It was creamier in body than a sauvignon blanc, but without the butteriness that I remember from other chardonnay. Good fruit, if not quite as prominent on the nose as a sauvignon blanc, but very good length and an intriguing yeasty finish. Lightly oaked according to their web site. My eyes have been opened to chardonnay!

Price: $22.29
Value: 4/5
Score: 88
Alcohol: 13.5%
Tasted: August 2008
ANBL UPC: 9415549801604

Kim Crawford Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2007

This is a well done example of the style that made New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc famous. Crisp and fresh, with the typical nose of "cat's pee on a gooseberry bush." (That's not how I'd describe it myself, but that the traditional phrase for this style.) If you like NZ Sauvignon Blanc, you will like this wine, and if you haven't tried it, this is a good place to start.

Price: $21.29
Score: 88
Value: 4/5
Tasted: August 2008
ANBL UPC: 9419227006275