5 Wine Tastings

In a mad scramble for last minute points, I went wine wild this week. I tried these wines with my roommates over the course of the week:

Sutter Home
Merlot 2011
California
6.00

"Fresh and smooth with black cherry flavors and hints of smoke and spice, this wine with moderate tannins is your easygoing..."

This was a very simple tasting wine. It did have some smokiness to it, but it had little to no complexity or other dimension-ness. It had some notes of cherry but the alcohol definitely came through. I wouldn't buy this one again.

 Mirassou
Pinot Noir
2011
California
8.00

"Flavors of cherry, strawberry and red currant, which are supported by light vanilla and oak notes. This wine is well balanced with a round, full mouthfeel"

We all know that pinot noir is just not so good below a certain price point, but I thought I'd give a cheapo a whirl. It wasn't anything special. Although it claims to be balanced, it was too high in tannins for my taste and the vanilla and strawberry didn't shine through. It did feel a little "chewy," as in not very thin/watery. This wine may have been better with some food, maybe a red sauce with pasta.

Black Swan
Chardonnay
Australia
2011
7.00

"Fresh peach, citrus and melon flavors with a hint of vanilla. Refreshingly unexpected next to chicken pasta.."

This one was very refreshing and almost seemed to have a bubble spritz to it, which was unexpected for a chardonnay. It smelled like cantaloupe and oranges on the nose, and tasted of vanilla and maybe something more honeydew-ish. I thought this one was alright, a good summer wine.

Rosemount Estate
Shiraz
Australia
2010
7.00

"Blackberry, plumb, cassis, spice and cedar"

This was really jammy and had a slight amount of tannins. It had a lot of blackberry, cherry and even strawberry. It was very smooth and had big flavor. Surprisingly, very little to no pepper or spice.

NV Cupcake Vineyards
Prosecco
Veneto Italy
2011
8.00

"Sparkling and light, with peach and honey spritz"

I really liked the bubbles in this one, it was quite a show! On the nose it smelled floral and like honey, and upon tasting the peach flavors really came out. There were no tannins, but the wine was fairly balanced, only leaning a little toward the sweet side.