So, like what is this stuff, anyway?
I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes with you via twitter (limited to 140 characters). They are meant to be quirky, fun, and easily-digestible reviews of currently available wines. Below is a wrap-up of those twitter wine reviews from the past week (click here for the skinny on how to read them), along with links to help you find these wines, so that you can try them for yourself. Cheers!
- 11 Kyklos Moschofilero (Peleponnese): Sweet honeysuckle, ripe peaches, a heaping of slate & a whole lotta swagger to go with it all. $12 B >>find this wine>>
- 10 Martin Codax Albarino (Rias Baixas): Lemony, crisp, food-friendly & refreshing it certainly is; shy and complex it certainly is not $16 B >>find this wine>>
- 10 Marques de Caceres Rioja Blanco (Rioja): Just checked in as the mayor of friendly, refreshing, grapefruity Viura introductions. $9 B- >>find this wine>>
- 07 Muga Reserva Unfiltered (Rioja): A tasty tart dark cherry cake, but with maybe a bit too much earth-&-oak frosting for a topping. $28 B >>find this wine>>
- 04 Muga Prado Enea Gran Reserva (Rioja): Dazzles w/ spicy perfume, entices w/ savory black cherry once it drops its long leather coat $52 A- >>find this wine>>
- 11 Domaine Sigalas Asirtiko Athiri (Santorini): Not an air put on here, apart from that gorgeous Santorini saline sea air breeze. $17 B >>find this wine>>
- 11 Agnus de Valdelana de Autor (Rioja): Big, spicy oak doesn’t undercut even bigger, spicier black cherry, herbs & chalky tannin. $18 B >>find this wine>>
- 09 Valdelana Crianza (Rioja): So much tobacco leaf on the cherry fruit & vanilla that you just might try to roll it & light it up. $14 B >>find this wine>>
- 11 Valdelana Tempranillo Joven (Rioja): Beaujolais on holiday in Rioja, brings bouncy red berries & bananas, then decides to stay. $11 B- >>find this wine>>
- 11 Valdelana Malvasia (Rioja): Grapefruit & papaya, perfume & pith, aromatics & restraint; why aren’t more Riojans bottling this 100%? $12 B >>find this wine>>
- 04 Pierola Reserva (Rioja): Like drinking in an old school British Port Lounge & smokehouse, just before moving onto Cognac & stogies. $25 B >>find this wine>>
- 06 Ysios Reserva (Rioja): Kind of like dark cherry cola for the World’s Most Interesting Man (at a stay-thirsty price, as well). $25 B+ >>find this wine>>
- 04 Campo Viejo Tempranillo Gran Reserva (Rioja): Smoke this tobacco if you got ’em; tasting fine now (but prob ready to retire soon) $22 B+ >>find this wine>>
- 07 Campo Viejo Tempranillo Reserva (Rioja): Crowd-pleasers unite: here’s a modern, silky Rioja with a nod to the dried-cherry past. $14 B >>find this wine>>
- 10 Campo Viejo Tempranillo (Rioja): Tempranillo that’s vibrant & floral, & a cheaper date than anyone you ever met in high school. $10 B- >>find this wine>>
- 05 Inspiracion Valdemar Graciano (Rioja): An herbal, spicy, darkly structured mind f*ck (but it’s a pleasing & memorable mind f*ck!) $35 B+ >>find this wine>>
- 05 Inspiracion Valdemar Rioja Edicion Limitada (Rioja): Jump through the heat & youll land on bed of tea leaves & powerful currants. $45 B+ >>find this wine>>
- 08 Valdemar Inspiracion Maturana (Rioja): Like Carmenere’s bigger, smoother, wealthier & generally suaver-with-the-ladies brother. $40 B+ >>find this wine>>
- 08 Conde de Valdemar Crianza (Rioja): Like a fruitier welcome mat for all things Rioja (leather, wood, savory dark cherry… & funk) $15 B- >>find this wine>>
"So much tobacco leaf on the cherry fruit & vanilla that you just might try to roll it & light it up." Very good description here. I sampled a wine similar to this a few weeks ago. Not sure if I'm a fan of the tobacco aroma. I can't even begin to think which foods would pair nicely with it.
Thanks, Lara. You'd be surprised, assuming of course the tobacco isn't the dominant characteristic (in which case maybe pair it with a cigar? :). Cheers.
I loved seeing the Kyklos Moschofilero at the top of your list! I really enjoyed it as well, and wrote a blog post about it too. Moschofilero – who knew?
Cheers,
Rob
Thanks, Rob. My advice is ignore pronunciation, and instead go for taste fixation. Especially true in this case, I’m not sure I’ve ever successfully pronounced any Greek wine variety names, and I’ve toured the Greek islands for wine visits twice!
These reviews are important especially for a modern winemaking company. It’ll help them determine how the wines should be made and if it’s earning them profit.