Slightly tropical, slightly mineral, more than slightly acid deficient. Comes across as fat and flat. Just plain ol’ white table wine. Double Larry. ($13, Beltramo’s)
Extremely concentrated, extremely fruity, extremely juicy rich. This is a fairly extreme, intense wine, and not really my style, but it scores pretty high on the pure pleasure meter. The freshness of the fruit, the total lack of oak, and the refreshing acidity mean that the only thing I really have against it is my [...]
Solid amber color, surprisingly acidic yet grapey flavors with plenty of caramel age and a healthy dose of almost tannic grip. Interesting, good with marcona almonds. (WFM, $25?)
Simple, grapey nose. Tastes like cheap Spanish red wine in the international style. Maybe some people would be able to detect the grape variety here, but it’s pretty anonymous. Lots of fruit, a little earth, a little acid. If I were less tired of the style, I’d probably find this quite acceptable and drinkable vin [...]
This bottling, with its hideously ugly and over-ornate label and chintzy gold thread netting, does not appear on the Torre Oria web site. Maybe the US distributor is responsible for the ugly packaging. 100% Tempranillo, claimed 12% ABV. When just opened, this wine smells unbelievably strongly of salty peanut butter. Unbelievably. Fortunately, it doesn’t really [...]
Godello from the Valdeorras region of Spain. 1/5th the absolute level of intensity and concentration as the previously-tasted Charles Shaw Chardonnay, but 5x the complexity. Subtle stuff, but there’s quite a bit going on. Nothing at all on the front palate – could be water – but lots of slightly tart and bitter nuttiness around [...]
Last time I got lemons and minerals in the mouth. This time it’s a pineapple/lemongrass muddle. Still very pleasant and a good QPR.
Grass, pear, chalk. Tart lemony/minerally zing with a long, clean finish. A little over $9 at Costco and quite pleasant – lacking only a little finesse and clarity that would make it extraordinary.