Group Wine Tasting Evaluations

Willow Creek, Paso Robles, CA

I paid $18 for this bottle. This is a blend of 52% Grenache Blanc and 48% Clariette Blanche. Notes of apple, Asian pear, white flowers, and vanilla on the nose with lime, under ripe peach, green apple, and powdery stones jumping all over your tongue. This was a cool change to all the Sauv blanc , chardonnay , Chenin tastings we do. Would totally recommend if you’re looking to break from your norm whites.

Value: 9

Quality: 7.5

Crowd Pleaser: 8

Jansz Sparkling, Tasmania

I paid $22 for this bottle. I absolutely love their sparkling rose so why not try their premium cuvee!?! Arguable just as good a sparkling region as Champagne itself…not my words that is what what Loius Roederer said! But I tend to agree. Honeysuckle, nougat, citrus and pear on the nose with hints of stone fruit and apple on the tongue. It also has a creamy texture and finish that has kind of a nutty aftertaste.

Value: 7.5 (higher depending on your sparkling taste)

Quality: 7.5

Crowd Pleaser: 7

Maipo, Valley Chile

I paid $17 for this bottle. I was super excited to get to do a Carmenere on a large tasting scale. But in a word this wine was one of the lowest group rated wines that we have ever done. It had almost no fruit except for a hint of raspberry on the nose. This was more like an exercise in smelling and tasting non wine flavors and smells. I t really smelled like smoke, tar and leather which normally I’m a fan of but it also smelled like charcoal, baby powder, chalk, and the sole of a new men’s leather shoe…not in a good way. As for taste it was ash, leather, tar, potting soil and wood with a lingering eucalyptus finish. I didn’t care for this particular Carmenere but there are good ones out there!

Value: 9

Quality: 3

Crowd Pleaser: 2

2016 Santedame Chanti Classico from Ruffino. I like Chianti and love the Sangiovese grape but this was not exactly what I have come to think of when drinking a Chianti. That’s not to say it was bad it was just different than expected! There was so much going on in this, on the nose there is ripe cherries, currants, sour cherry, plums, blackberry, violets, leather, vanilla and so much more. There were flavors of plum skin, cherries, dried herbs, vanilla, coffee bean, and cloves to name a few. We also found some oddities like mulberries, passion fruit (weird I know!) and my absolute favorite of the night PLYWOOD! All in all, it was decent most people liked it. We are a group of 40 different palates tasting these wines. Want to see more, check us out on Instagram @winewizard.lv

That being said, for $23 it is a solid choice. We purchased ours from https://winecountryconnection.net/shop/international-reds/2016-tenuta-santedame-chianti-classico/

The initial review on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CChU6AAJzIz/

2018 El Dorado, Skinner Grenache Blanc.

I payed $20 for this from a wine merchant. This was a pretty cool change, as our virtual wine-tasting group has been drinking a lot of Old-World style whites, so to get a super cool fruity wine was a nice change. It was med body with aromas of yellow apples, peaches, crushed gravel and dusty books(!) with just a smidge of toast and bread. Tasting revealed apples, stone fruits, pear, lemon peel and a hint of just blooming honeysuckle. Pretty snazzy, with only 1 of 30 people saying “it was not her thing”. The El Dorado AVA is a good up and coming California region and this wine maker is doing some cool things.

https://www.skinnervineyards.com/

The initial review on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CChR2FQptfs/

I lost my notes on this one, so I thought it best to drink another bottle for everyone. 😏 Sorry for the delay! I paid $20 for this. OK, so lots going on with this Cabernet from NE Spain. On the nose: black currant, black cherry, mint, black pepper and a little plum. Tasted right out of the bottle; the 15% alcohol definitely stood out. As it opened, the flavors developed nicely. Flavors of black cherry, black currant, black plum, black tea, white pepper, chocolate, as well as green peppercorn and bay leaf. A good wine definitely worth the price.

Quality: 6

Value: 7

Crowd Pleaser: it had mixed reviews with our wine group so right in the middle with a 5

Grabby Hands:🤗

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