This wine is a blend of Syrah, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot. The grapes were harvested by hand and collected in small baskets with a capacity of 15 kilograms. The grapes were de-stemmed and crushed softly followed by a temperature-controlled fermentation in stainless-steel vats for approximately 21 days at 28°C. 10% of the wine underwent malolactic fermentation in barriques, the remainder in stainless steel vats. 40% of the wine was aged for 4 months in new and second year French oak barrels; The rest in stainless steel tanks. The total acidity is 4.3 and the pH is 3.8.
Colour : Red/blackcurrant
Aroma : Mint, dark fruits
Taste : Fruity, blackcurrant, tobacco, mint, oak, tannic grip on finish
Alcohol : 14.5%
Price : 185 SEK
Mark : B+
Website : Tenuta di Biserno
Tuesday, 13 April 2010
TN : Insoglio del Cinghiale 2007, Tenuta di Biserno, Campo di Sasso, Bibbona, Tuscany, Italy
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:26 0 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
TN : Villa Cavarena Soave Classico 2008, DOC, Allegrini, Italy
This wine is blend of 80% Garganega and 20% Chardonnay. The grapes underwent a cold maceration for 18 hours at 10 degrees. Alcoholic fermentation took 8 to 10 days in stainless steel tanks at 15 degrees. Part of the wine was aged for 8 months in French oak.
Colour : Yellow, green hues
Aroma : Pear, almonds, oranges, lemon
Taste : Pear, almonds, oranges, lemon
Alcohol : 13%
Price : 99 SEK
Mark : C
Website : Allegrini
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:17 0 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
TN : Kanonkop Kadette 2008, Simonsberg Stellenbosch, South Africa
This wine is a blend of 45% Pinotage, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and 9% Cabernet Franc. The age of the vines was between 5 and 3o years old. The vines were trellised to 5 wire hedge system. The vines were grown in decomposed granite and hutton soils. The average yield was 6.5 tons per hectare.
The must spent 3 to 4 days on the skins in open top concrete tank fermenters at 29 degrees for up to 5 days; the cap was manually punched down at least every two hours. The wine was matured in second and third fill 225 litre French Nevers oak barrels for 14 months. Abrie Beeslaar was the winemaker.
Kanonkop means "Cannon Hill" and is derived from the days when cannons were fired to signal the arrival of Dutch trade ships into Cape Town Harbour.
Colour : Dark blackcurrant
Aroma : Burnt notes, smoke, blackcurrant, tobacco
Taste : Burnt toast, smoke, blackcurrant, green pepper, liquorice, oak
Alcohol : 14%
Price : 99 SEK
Mark : C
Website : Kanonkop Wine Estate
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:02 1 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
TN : Marques de Caceras Rosado 2009, Rioja, Spain
This wine is a blend of 80% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha.
This wine was sealed with a screwcap.
Colour : Bright pale strawberry
Aroma : Raspberry, strawberry, redcurrant, herbs
Taste : Herbs, red berries, dry
Alcohol : 13.5%
Price : 75 SEK
Mark : C
Website : Bodegas Marques de Caceras
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 19:53 4 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
TN : Fresita, Vina Casal de Gorchs, Patagonia, Chile
This wine is a blend of 85% Muscat, 5% Chardonnay, 5% Sauvignon Blanc, and 5% Alicante Bouschet. Each variety is fermented separately then blended together to undergo a secondary fermentation. The final wine is infused with hand picked strawberries from Patagonia. Fresita means strawberry plants in Spanish.
Colour : Raspberry
Aroma : Strawberry, raspberry
Taste : Strawberry, raspberry, vanilla notes
Alcohol : 8%
Price : 79 SEK
Mark : C
Website : Fresita
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:08 1 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
Tuesday, 6 April 2010
TN : Lord Zinclair 2009, White Zinfandel, California, USA
This wine was produced by Spiral Wines exclusively for Terrific Wines AB.
On the back label it says "The little lord went west and found a town full of zin, and it all became clair". This wine was sealed with a screwcap.
Colour : Light red
Aroma : Red berries
Taste : Off-dry, jellied strawberries and raspberries, mineral water like spritz on finish
Alcohol : 11%
Price : 55 SEK
Mark : C
Website : Terrific Wines AB
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:40 1 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
TN : Turley Juvenile Zinfandel 2008, California, USA
Turley Wine Cellars was founded in 1993 by Larry Turley, brother of the well-known consulting winemaker Helen Turley. Larry Turely entered the wine business in 1981 as co-founder of Frog's Leap Winery. He then realized that his interest lay in wines made from the Zinfandel grape. Starting out with just one location in St. Helena, Turley Wine Cellars soon expanded to Templeton with the purchase of Pesenti winery, and as of 2007, produced 14,000 cases a year of both single-vineyard and regional Zinfandel wines.
This wine was imported by Divine AB.
Colour : Red/violet
Aroma : Spice, violets, bramble fruits
Taste : Rich, liqourice, violets, bramble jam, spice, warm
Alcohol : 15%
Price : 299 SEK
Mark : B-
Website : Turley Wine Cellars
Website : Divine AB
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:29 85 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
TN : Alto Las Hormigas Malbec 2007 Vineyard Slection Reserva, Mendoza, Argentina
In 1995, Alberto Antonini, a well known Tuscan wine maker, and Antonio Morescalchi, a young entrepreneur, bought 216 hectares Lujàn de Cuyo. Shortly after this, Attilio Pagli, another Tuscan wine maker, Alan Scerbanenko, an Italo-Swiss management counselor, and Antonio Terni, an Italo-Argentine winemaker in the Marche region of Italy, joined the enterprise.
The 100% Malbec grapes for this wine are hand picked in high density vineyards located in La Consulta and Vista Flores in the Uco Valley, and Vistalba, Perdriel and Las Compuertas in Luján de Cuyo. The yields were 7 tons per hectare or 14.5 hectolitres per acre.
Alcoholic fermentation is done by using native yeasts in wide stainless steel tanks.. The cap management is conducted with punch downs and rack and returns to maximize the extractions of colour and flavour from the skins. The time between crushing and pressing is approximately thirty days of which about ten are for primary fermentation and twenty for extended maceration. The temperature is kept at around 28 to 30 Celsius degrees to gain depth and volume in the mouth. After pressing the wine goes straight into tight grain French oak barrels for malolactic fermentation. Ageing is for 16 months. The wine is then bottled unfined.
The winemakers were Alberto Antonini and Attilio Pagli. Total Acidity is 5.88 grammes per litre, the pH is 3.4, and the residual sugar is 2.81 grammes per litre.
Colour : Dark inky purple/red
Aroma : Violets, blueberry, damsons, blackberry, mint, plums
Taste : Very minty, tobacco, damsons, blueberry, plums, milk chocolate
Alcohol : 14.5%
Price : 199 SEK
Mark : B
Website : Altos Las Hormigas
Website : Arvid Nordquist H.A.B.
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:07 2 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
TN : Red Pitt 2007 Rotweincuvee, Weingut Pittnauer, Burgenland, Austria
This wine is a blend of Zweigelt, Blaufraenkisch, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. The bottle was sealed with a screwcap. The Wein & Co website claims that this is drinkable up to 2015 but I don't think it has the stuffing to last that long.
Colour : Red
Aroma : Plum, spice, tobacco hints, blackcurrant
Taste : Very spicy and sour notes on finish, plum, tobacco, red fruits
Alcohol : 13%
Price : 16.25 Euro (Bought at Wein & Co, Vienna, Austria, January 2009)
Mark : C
Website : Weingut Pittnauer
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 19:57 3 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
Wednesday, 31 March 2010
TN : Errazuriz Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Rose 2009, Central Valley, Chile
This wine was cool fermented to off dry in stainless steel tanks. Then the wine was sealed with a screwcap.
Colour : Bright raspberry
Aroma : Strawberry, blackcurrant
Taste : Strawberry, blackcurrant, dry, herbs
Alcohol : 13%
Price : 39 SEK (375 ml bottle)
Mark : C+
Website : Vina Errazuriz
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:53 2 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
TN : Tokolosh Merlot 2009, Tooverberg Boerdery, Coastal Region, South Africa
The grapes were cold-soaked prior to fermentation. The fermentation was carried out at around 30°C, finished quickly and the wine racked off the skins without any post-fermentation skin contact. Half of the volume was then transferred to second fill French oak 225 litre barrels, with malolactic fermentation occurring in the wood, for about 6 months. The remainder was finished in stainless steel and the two elements eventually blended before bottling. The residual sugar was 3.8 grammes per litre and the total acidity was 5.6 grammes per litre.
This wine was sealed with a screwcap.
Colour : Blackberry
Aroma : Plums, blackberry, herbs, vanilla, smoke, oak, milk chocolate
Taste : Plums, cherry, smoke, herbs, blackberry, bitter oak on finish
Alcohol : 14.5%
Price : 41 SEK (375 ml bottle)
Mark : C
Website : Tokolosh Wines
Website : Chris Wine Sweden
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:40 1 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
TN : Zardoz Cabernet Sauvignon Carmenere 2007, Vina Indomita, Maipo Valley, Chile
This wine was imported by Primewine Sweden AB.
Colour : Dark red
Aroma : Herbs, blackcurrant, milk chocolate, oak
Taste : Green pepper, blackcurrant, coffee, plums, oak
Alcohol : 14.5%
Price : 159 SEK
Mark : B-
Website : Vina Indomita
Website : Primewine Sweden AB
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:40 3 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
TN : Morillon 2007, Sattlerhof, Gamlitz, Suedsteiermark, Austria
This wine is 100% Chardonnay.
Colour : Pale lemon
Aroma : Pear, almond, oranges
Taste : Pear, oranges, marzipan, long finish
Alcohol : 12.5%
Price : 129 SEK
Mark : C+
Website : Sattlerhof
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:32 1 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
TN : Achaval-Ferrer Malbec 2008, Mendoza, Argentina
10000 twelve bottles cases were produced. This wine is bottled without fining or filtering, on 9th February 2009. The pH is 3.5, the Total Acidity is 6.37, the Volatile Acidity is 0.62, Total SO2 is 46 miligrammes per litre, and Residual Sugar is 1.40 grammes per litre. The wine is 100% Malbec from long term lease contracts in different districts such as Mayor Drummond, La Consulta and Medrano. The three properties are, as traditional in Mendoza, irrigated by furrow. In all vineyards the average yield was 5,500 kilos per hectare (around 33 hectolitres per hectare). The wine was aged during 9 months in French oak barrels.
This wine was imported by Divine AB.
Colour : Dark red, blue hues
Aroma : Violets, savoury notes, plums, herbs, blueberry
Taste : Lean, oak, violets, herbs, plums, blueberry
Alcohol : 14%
Price : 179 SEK
Mark : C
Website : Achaval-Ferrer Winery
Website : Divine AB
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:13 1 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
TN : Rubicon 2005, Meerlust Estate, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Meerlust Estate has been owned by the Myburgh family for eight generations since 1756. Today, the estate is ran by Hannes Myburgh.
This wine is a blend of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, and 16% Cabernet Franc. The Cabernet Sauvignon was grown on low yielding, predominantly biotite partially decomposed granite gravel topsoil rich in quartz and feldspar to a depth of approximately 600mm with a loamy clay subsoil. The Merlot vineyards were planted on more clay rich, yet well drained soils to ensure moisture retention and availability to the vines roots right through the summer.
The Cabernet Franc Vineyard is situated on a very well drained, stony Vilafontes soil with approximately 20% clay.
The Cabernets were given a relatively short cuvaison time to prevent over-extraction, but the Merlot was given a long post fermentation maceration to encourage complete polymerization of complex tannins and add a broad, juicy and ultra-silky texture to the blend as a whole. Malolactic fermentation was completed in barrel for 6 months before assessment and assemblage. The wine spent a total of 24 months in 75% new French Nevers oak with 25% 2nd Nevers and Alliers barrels.
The dry extract was 33.56, the residual Sugar was 2.45 grammes per litre, the pH was 3.76, total acidity was 5.57 grammes per litre, and the alcohol was 14.42%.
This wine was imported by Tryffelsvinet AB.
Colour : Deep blackcurrant
Aroma : Coffee, blackcurrant, smoke, tobacco, plums
Taste : Talcum powder drying tannins, blackcurrant, plums, overtly smoky, burnt tasting, oak, stale tobacco, black tea
Alcohol : 14%
Price : 229 SEK
Mark : D
Website : Meerlust Wine Estate
Website : Tryffelsvinet
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:16 3 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
Monday, 22 March 2010
TN : Paul Hobbs Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, Paul Hobbs Winery, Napa Valley, California, USA
The grapes for this wine were handharvested between October 25th and November 2nd 2005. The Brix at harvest was between 23.9 and 25.1 degrees. The grapes were fermented in ten ton closed-top stainless steel fermentors with indigenous selected yeasts. The must underwent a five day cold soak and a 30 to 35 total maceration. The malolactic fermentation was spontaneous and carried out in barrels for seven months. The resulting wine was aged for 20 months in French oak barrels from Taransaud, Seguin Moreau, Alain Fouquet, Demptos, Bossuet, Nadalie, and Sylvain. 60% of the oak was new. The wine was bottles unfiltered and unfined in June 2007. The wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.
The extended cool weather and rains in Spring 2005 resulted in late bud break in Napa Valley. Long temperate weather followed.
Colour : Dark blackcurrant
Aroma : Blackcurrant, oak, cedar, cherry
Taste : Concentrated blackcurrant fruit, lightly toasted oak, smooth tannins, graphite, coffee, pepper on long finish
Alcohol : 14.9%
Price : 389 SEK
Mark : A
Website : Paul Hobbs Wines
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:32 1 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
TN : Serrata Belguardo 2007, IGT, Mazzei, Maremma, Tuscany, Italy
The Mazzei Marquis have owned Castello di Fonterutoli since 1435. This wine from their Maremma property is a blend of 80% Sangiovese and 20% Alicante Nero. Fermentation was between 28 and 30 degrees. The wine was aged for approximately twelve months in small 225 litre oak barrels (30% new). The total acidity is 5.8 grammes per litre. The wine was bottles in March 2009. 75,000 bottles were produced.
The Belguardo estate is located in the Maremma region of Tuscancy, on the hills between Grosseto and Montiano, near the National Park “dell'Uccellina”, about ten kilometers from the coast. The vineyards are located at 70 to 130 metres and have a south to south west exposure. The soil is sandstone and the vines are ten years old. The planting density is 6,600 vines per hectare and the vines are spur-cordon trained.
Colour : Dark red
Aroma : Tobacco, spice, cherries, milk chocolate
Taste : Cherries, plums, oak, spice, fruity, pepper on finish
Alcohol : 13.5%
Price : 99 SEK
Mark : C
Website : Marchesi Mazzei SPA
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:17 0 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
TN : dB Selection Rose 2009, De Bortoli, Australia
This wine is a blend of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Colour : Bright strawberry
Aroma : Strawberry, raspberry, herbs
Taste : Strawberry, raspberry, herbs, oranges, dry
Alcohol : 13%
Price : 197 SEK (3 litre Bag-In-Box)
Mark : C
Website : De Bortoli Wines
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:07 0 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
Monday, 15 March 2010
TN : Yalumba Hand-Picked Shiraz Vignier 2005, Barossa Valley, Australia
The grapes for this wine were harvested during March and April 2005. The wine spent 18 months in French oak hogsheads. The wine was bottled in March 2007.
Colour : Inky purple
Aroma : Bramble fruit, floral, spicy
Taste : Rich dark bramble fruits, spice, milk chocolate, pepper on long finish
Alcohol : 14.5%
Price : 228 SEK
Mark : B+
Website : Yalumba
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:43 0 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
TN : Midsummer Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Canon Creek Vineyard, Napa Valley, USA
The winemaker was Rollie Heitz. The vineyard is in the eastern hills of Napa Valley. It is situated between St. Helena and Howell Mountain. The clones planted are 6 and 337. The vines are trained with Vertical Shoot Positioning. The vineyard is 1.4 acres in size and is at an elevation of 1000 feet.
Colour : Deep blackcurrant
Aroma : Blackcurrant, toasty oak, coffee
Taste : Lingering toasty oak on finish, overoaked currently but may calm down in a couple of years if the fruit lasts, warm finish, rich blackurrant, coffee
Alcohol : 14%
Price : 329 SEK
Mark : B-
Website : Midsummer Cellars
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:32 0 comments
Labels: Tasting Note