***+ $ Stonewall Sauvignon Blanc, 2008, Marlborough, New Zealand - Wine Review and Rating

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By way of background: Stonewall Sauvignon Blanc is from the Wairu River area of Marlborough, New Zealand, finished at 13% alcohol, without any oak aging. New Zealand, of course, is known for its crop of sauvignon blancs, traditionally flinty clean, grassy and minerally.

Stonewall was acquired as part of the introductory Zagat Wine Club selection. It also seems to be a regular component of other wine club offerings, including such as WSJWine (Wall Street Journal Wine), the Sunday Times Wine Club (UK) and 4seasonswine.

"ZagatWine" - part of the broad Laithwaites Wine group from the UK - is promoted by the well known Zagat Survey group, offered by founders Nina and Tim Zagat. This collection included a case of 12 wines, with four reds and four whites each. The initial shipment arrives with a promotional pitch to have your friends join the club, along with one-pagers on each of the delivered wines.

Original Review, November, 2009:

In the glass: Almost water-clear, with an overall hint of yellow.

On the nose: Intense cut grass and sweet stainless steel compote. Wow. Almost makes you want to be a cow, hanging out in the meadow all the time.

On the palate: Smoother and more directed to the mid-palate than the piercing aromas would have suggested. Sweet slate on your tongue, unfolding with more acidic fingers of sweet citrus curling around your tongue and up along your cheeks. You may find starfruit in there too.

And the finish: After holding for a fairly long middle, wraps up citrusy-clean.

In summary: A balanced experience, starting with potent aromas, moving to a solid middle and clean finish. I'd do it again, yielding three stars on the five-star Spirit of Wine scale. Best value, though only at the Zagat introductory price.
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Updated Review, one year later, December, 2010:  Just a tad more honey color in the glass.  Aromas are still meadowy, more of hay than stainless steel accompanying the grass now.  Clean, sweet, balanced middle on the palate, round and elegant, not cloying.  Finish is clean with a nice linger. Adding a plus to the three stars for this balanced elegance.  Awesome value with this extra bit of bottle age - doesn't seem to need any more time.

With long decant, kept three days in partially-filled bottle under vacuum:   Aromas and palate remain consistent; just a touch of funk now in the finish.  Even longer decant, two more days kept cool without vacuum:  Still grassy in the nose, still consistent in the palate. This thing just goes and goes...

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*** $ Santa Ana Chardonnay Viognier Cuyo, 2008, Argentina - Wine Review and Rating (BEST VALUE)

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By way of background: Hailing from the western Argentina region of Cuyo, this is a blend of 70% chardonnay and 30% viognier. Finished in oak, Santa Ana shows a potent 13.5% alcohol.



It was acquired as part of the introductory Zagat Wine Club selection. It also seems to be a regular component of other wine club offerings, including such as WSJWine (Wall Street Journal Wine) and 4seasonswine.

"ZagatWine" - part of the broad Laithwaites Wine group from the UK - is promoted by the well known Zagat Survey group, offered by founders Nina and Tim Zagat. This collection included a case of 12 wines, with four reds and four whites each. The initial shipment arrives with a promotional pitch to have your friends join the club, along with one-pagers on each of the delivered wines.


Original Review, November, 2010:

In the glass: This is transparent, clear with yellow and light vanilla overtones.

On the nose: Strong mineral and slate aromas of sweet stainless steel and cut grass.

On the palate: Light, somewhat lemonade-y first impression, combining slight sweetness with crisp citrus tang. Perhaps a touch of fresh peach comes through in the background.

And the finish: Driven by the high, acid notes - fades fast with no second wind.

In summary: Decent, but not compelling experience. Two stars on the five-star Spirit of Wine scale. Not a particularly strong value, even at the discounted introductory price.
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Updated Review, one year later, December, 2010:  Color has moved slightly towards honey.  Aromas are more tropical and peachy now, rather than crisp and slate-y.  A bright tropicality comes through on the palate now ahead of the still-present lemonade,  bringing it a much more pleasant balance.  The slight honeyed element from the bit of age better offset the finishing acids, which are still apparent.  Merits a plus now for its lushness and improved balance.  Now a good value at the bargain price, but don't drink it too young.

Following long decant, one day kept cool in partially filled bottle under vacuum:   Aromas are somewhat faded.  But the balance on the palate is improved still more, bringing lush concentration with the acids simply bringing a muscular lift.  Moves to three stars, and a best value.  Very good migration in the palate with time and air.  I will try an even longer decant without vacuum.

Even longer decant, kept cool two more days without vacuum:  Creamy and mild aromas.  Still lush and sweet on the palate.  Not improved over the shorter decant, but has held together remarkably well.  

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**** $ Burley Fox Shiraz, South Eastern Australia, 2006 - Wine Tasting & Review (BEST VALUE)

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Initial review, by way of background: This is Burley Fox Shiraz, South Eastern Australia, 2006, a wine that I was introduced to through the 4 Seasons Wine Club originally.  For 2006, this bargain-priced shiraz is finished at 14.% alcohol.  I was a fan of the 2004 version of this, which I reviewed here. 

In the glass: Deep red, ruddy magenta, brick at the edges. 

On the nose: Poured cool with a brief decant and swirled vigorously, this shows shy but sweet shiraz fruit with just a hint of vegetable overtones. I notice that the vegetable blows off quickly, leaving clean shiraz fruit.

On the palate: The primary elements on the palate are a sleek lightly-candied middle, showing raspberry and black cherry.  Inky, sweet and full.  Big mouthfeel.  The finish lingers, helped along by the high alcohol, and it ends on a balanced and clean note. 

In summary: Overall, three stars on the five-star Spirit of Wine scale, with a really big plus for concentration and complexity.  The three and a half stars at a "practically free" price make this a screaming best value. With a short additional decant, this knits together further and just manages to touch four stars, meaning I would forsake other reds for an evening, and making this a crazy best value. 

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Controlled Experiment: Licorice Candy (Twizzlers) and Synergistic, Positive Impact on Perceived Wine Quality

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By way of background: This is an experiment I have performed informally a number of times, and once here with some rigor, but here I will apply more discipline to it than I have in the past.

The experiment comes from informal findings that, when I sip dry red or white wine after chewing a piece of black licorice candy, the quality of the wine is improved, generally dramatically, over that which I have found without the licorice.  The effect lasts only for a couple of sips following each sip of licorice, and in my past experiment, I found it somewhat replicated with anise seeds.




In this experiment, I split a portion of Chez Ray Gewurztraminer 2010 - a very young wine - and steeped 350 ml of it with one shaved black Twizzler to see if I could obtain the same effect by applying the licorice candy to the wine, rather than to my palate.  I used a control of the same wine handled the same way but without the licorice, and compared both of these to tasting the unadulterated wine after chewing the licorice.  You can see results below.

The short summary is that soaking the licorice candy in the wine gives you licorice-flavored wine, of approximately the same quality as the original wine.  By contrast, chewing a little bit of black licorice before each sip of wine improves the gewurztraminer by a full point and a half on this five-star Spirit of Wine scale, a truly dramatic change.

I'd welcome any sense about the sensory components or science that may underlie this finding.  Informally, I have found the finding to be robust across dry red and white wines and across observers (at least observers who are willing to chew black licorice candy).  But I have no insights to offer as to the scientific basis for the finding.   I have posted a picture with the ingredients in case someone with more of a scientific bent can identify the likely active ingredients in this effect. 

By the way, this discovery has NOT led me to chew black licorice every time I sip wine - I believe that, as a reviewer, that would give me an artificially inflated opinion of the wines I sample.  (Plus it would add a bunch of calories and sugar to my diet!)

The oddest thing is that this is directly the converse of the effect of most sweet candies on dry red or white wines:  they typically make the wine taste, drier, more closed and almost bitter - which is why almost no one recommends sweet candy with your dry wines.
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Study notes:

For the notes below, I will indicate Control, Steeped and Chewed to represent the three conditions of:
Control: the base dry gewurztraminer, shaken several times (consistent with the Steeped condition)
Steeped: 350 ml of the gewurztraminer steeped for one day with a single shaved black Twizzler, shaken several times
Chewed: the base dry gewurztraminer, sipped after chewing and swallowing approximately 3/4 inch of a black Twizzler



In the glass, Control and Chewed: Clear, hint vanilla. 
In the glass, Steeped: Clear, distinct olive green cast.  Odd. 

On the nose, Control and Chewed: Poured cool with a brief decant and swirled vigorously, dry crisp fruit with hint of tropicality, not sweet in tone.
On the nose, Steeped: Poured cool with a brief decant and swirled vigorously, sweet licorice plus light laundry detergent and lemon.   


On the palate, Control: The primary elements on the palate are sleek mid palate with citrus and tropical acids defining the finish, which does linger a bit, though it grows cloying at the end.  2+ promise and concentration
On the palate, Steeped: The primary elements on the palate are distinct licorice flavored note in mid palate, balanced middle, very light acids and a clean finish. sleek mid palate with citrus and tropical acids defining the finish, which does linger a bit, though it grows cloying at the end.  2+ pleasant
On the palate, Chewed: The primary elements on the palate are concentrated, sweet and lush mid-palate, dripping with sweet citrus.  Finish coats your palate, with prickly and luscious robe gliding up and down your cheeks.  Four stars with its unexpected lushness and pleasure.

In summary, Control: Overall, rates two stars on the five-star Spirit of Wine scale, with a plus for promise and concentration.

In summary, Steeped: Overall, rates two stars on the five-star Spirit of Wine scale, with a plus for general pleasantness.
In summary, Control: Overall, rates four stars on the five-star Spirit of Wine scale with an unexpected lushness and pleasure following an unremarkable nose.

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*** $ Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon, CA, 2005 - Wine Tasting & Review (BEST VALUE)

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Initial review, by way of background: This is Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon, CA, 2005, finished at 13.5% alcohol.  It is a ubiquitous bargain-priced wine from the Central Valley of California, one that I tried two years ago without much pleasure.  

In the glass: Medium deep magenta, turning brick at the perimeter.

On the nose: Poured cool with a brief decant and swirled vigorously, this bargain Cali cab shows a shy nose of deep, slightly vegetative fruit. 

On the palate: The primary elements on the palate are a tangy, but full and balanced mid-palate, showing dark fruit of dry ripe blackberry. The finish is clean though unremarkable.

In summary: Overall, I did appreciate this variety and vintage more than two years ago, as a simple but clean red table wine.  Rates two stars on the five-star Spirit of Wine scale, with a plus for its mid-palate balance. Decent, though not best, value because of its bargain price.

Following long decant, three days kept cool under vacuum in a partially-filled bottle:  The deep fruit aroma is now sweet canned beets.   The palate has grown a bit more mature too, knitting some sandy tannins in with the blackberry fruit.  Almost but not quite touching three stars with the extra air, so remains a good value. Even longer decant, two more days kept cool without vacuum:  Now aroma is inky dark canned beets, actually improved.  Inky beets and ripe blackberry now move this to three stars - it becomes a best value with very long decant!

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** $$$ Chateau La Tour Seran, Medoc, France, 2007 - Wine Tasting & Review

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Initial review, by way of background: This is Chateau La Tour Seran, Medoc, France, 2007.

In the glass:  Deep magenta and purple.

On the nose: Poured cool with a brief decant and swirled vigorously,  this very young French cabernet and merlot blend shows inky and bold, with cedar and sweet black fruit. 

On the palate: Bright and aromatic on the palate, comes on with an acidic punch.  Clearly still too young to show.

In summary: Overall, rates two stars on the five-star Spirit of Wine scale, as I found it an intriguing experience even this young, with interesting overtones.


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*** Edna Valley Chardonnay, San Luis Obispo, CA, 2008 - Wine Tasting & Review (BEST VALUE)

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Initial review, by way of background: This is value-priced Edna Valley Chardonnay, San Luis Obispo, CA, 2008.

In the glass:  Deep golden in the glass, with a hint of olive green.

On the nose: Poured very cool with a brief decant and swirled vigorously, this California chardonnay showed shy but classic, lightly oaked fruit aromas.

On the palate: Medium slick on the palate, a trickle of oily fruit follows along. Solid fruit, the flavors fade slowly. Not entirely crisp on the ending - a bit of sugar overhang.

In summary: Overall, just touches three stars on the five-star Spirit of Wine scale, thus just touching "Best Value" status at its value price.

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***+ $$ De Marques Gelida Cava Brut Exclusive Reserva, Spain, 2002 - Wine Tasting & Review (GOOD VALUE)

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Initial review, by way of background: Cava is a sparkling wine typically from Spain, filling the role played typically by Italian Prosecco or lighter Champagnes. This is De Marques Gelida Cava Brut Exclusive Reserva, Spain, 2002, finished at 11.5% alcohol.

On the nose: Walnuts and hints of lemon.

On the palate: Poured cool with a brief decant and swirled vigorously, this Spanish cava shows smooth nutty walnut, with creamy walnut filling in the edges of your mouth.  

In summary: Overall, excellent experience with a long-aged, value-priced cava.  Rates three stars on the five-star Spirit of Wine scale, with a plus for pleasantness and depth.  Very good value.

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**+ $ Hess Chardonnay, Monterey CA, 2008 - Wine Tasting & Review

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Initial review, by way of background: This is Hess Chardonnay, Monterey CA, 2008.

In the glass:  Deep golden in the glass.

On the nose: Poured quite cool with a brief decant and swirled vigorously, this Monterey chardonnay shows shy fruit with just a light hint of stinky feet. Pleasant, not at all offensive.

On the palate: The primary elements on the palate are  gentle and lithe. Bright style in the mouth, twists of grapefruit and lemon mixing with the taut fruit and very slight suggestion of oak (but only a suggestion). 

In summary: Overall,  rates two stars on the five-star Spirit of Wine scale, with a plus for being so classy.  Decent value.

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*** $ West Lane Merlot, California, 2009 - Wine Tasting & Review (BEST VALUE)

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Initial review, by way of background: This is West Lane Merlot, California, 2009, finished at 13.% alcohol, a value-priced offering from Wine Insiders. The winery pulls this merlot together from three unspecified California appellation vineyards.

In the glass: West Lane Merlot is medium rudy red, looking like clarified crushed red currants. 

On the nose: Poured cool with a brief decant and swirled vigorously, this Cali merlot shows a bright, light, spicy plum fruit nose, high pitched and appealing. 

On the palate: The primary elements on the palate are a bright and simple mid-palate spritzy fruit tang, think Hawaiian Punch in style and tone, though with no cloying sweetness.  Few tannins to speak of, but a light, peppery acidity lifts the finish nicely into your cheeks. 

In summary: Overall, extremely light in tone for a merlot, but delicious in its expression of a light sipper, more ready for a summer salad than a winter roast.   Rates three stars on the five-star Spirit of Wine scale, because I would return to it for the right occasion.  That makes it a best buy at its value price.

Following long decant, stored cool in partially-filled bottle under vacuum for three days: Smoky lollipop grape cherry nose.  Palate is consistent, and the acidity has tamed, leaving mostly pepper as the final note.  Still very intriguing - SO not typical merlot! 

With an extremely long decant, one more day kept cool in partially-filled bottle without vacuum: Wow - both the nose AND the palate have held together extraordinarily well. A nice balance on the finish.  This might be a harbinger of good things to come with some additional time in bottle as well... we'll see.

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