Tasting- Louis Jadot Beaujolais

 

Name: Louis Jadot Beaujolais

Variety: Gamay

Region: Burgundy

Country: France

Vintage: 2023

Price: $12.99

Review from Decanter: Good extract and density as well as juiciness and drive. Fresh red fruit (cherries, plums, raspberries, currant) mingle with juicy citrus (blood orange, pink grapefruit) for a fresh palate, appealingly complex. Elegant tannic framework, driving the flavours with a refreshing zesty kick. Vibrant yet soft acidity. -91

Wine Folly: A fruity, floral, and sometimes earthy light-bodied red that is the main variety planted in Beaujolais. Outside of France, Gamay has a tiny but devoted following.

Personal Review: This wine has upfront aromas of sweet berries like strawberry and raspberry. Not too much berry flavor came through, but I tasted mostly strawberry with a slight spiciness on the end, similar to black pepper. It is light-bodied and very smooth. I very much enjoyed this wine.  

Tasting- Clay Shannon Pistol Grip Cabernet Sauvignon

 Name: Clay Shannon Pistol Grip Cabernet Sauvignon 

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon

Region: California

Country: US

Vintage: 2017

Price: $40.00

Review from Wine Enthusiast: "Obvious charred oak aromas and flavors give this full-bodied and moderately tannic wine a smoky, peppery, cedary flavor profile that subdues its varietal-fruit expression." -87

Personal Review: I expected a lot from this wine, and was completely disappointed. The body was nice and not too full or tannic, considering how high the alcohol level was. Other than that, I have nothing good to say about it. Immediately after opening there were literally no flavors or aromas that stood out from the alcohol. Online reviews talk about oak, cedar, and cherry, but I could only MAYBE get hints of these after letting the wine sit open in a glass for an hour. I don't plan on drinking this one again. Not worth the price.

  

Tasting- Famille Perrin Cotes du Rhone Reserve

Name: Famille Perrin Cotes du Rhone Reserve

Variety: Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah

Region: Rhone Valley

Country: France

Vintage: 2022

Price: $12.99

Review from Decanter: "A Côtes du Rhône that is packed full of bright plump fruit, blueberries, sweet sticky cherries, this has a really turbo-charged fruit profile. Tasty and sweet-fruited, it's fairly rich but still fresh enough for more than one glass. A medium tannic structure lends support to this tasty, loveable wine." -92

Wine Folly: The GSM Blend is a versatile food pairing wine that works particularly well with dishes featuring Mediterranean spices including red pepper, sage, rosemary, and olives.

Personal Review: This wine has a very heavy and upfront berry flavor profile. I mainly tasted blackberries but also hints of blueberry. It has a medium body. It is quite tannic but extremely well-balanced and smooth despite the high alcohol content. The bottle said to serve at 59 degrees, so I tried this wine both slightly chilled and at room temperature. I couldn't tell much of a difference between the two. 

Wine Dinner #1

 

The Dinner Group!

This week, we served chorizo and Spanish rice with cheesecake for dessert. We paired the chorizo with a red blend (Merlot and Syrah), the rice with sauvignon blanc, and the cheesecake with a Moscato. 

Main course and side dish, with the wines we paired

Firstly, the chorizo with the red blend was not as flavorful as we had hoped. The sausage itself was great, but the red blend could have been much better (tasting notes below). When pairing the two, the chorizo brought out the tannins in the red blend very heavily, but really no flavor profile came through. 

The Spanish rice was also quite bland and clumped together (probably because we used a microwave pouch). The rice extremely overpowered the sauvignon blanc, and all I noticed was the acidity of the wine.

Three Finger Jack Rum Barrel Aged Red Blend

Tasting Notes:

Vintage- 2021

Region- California

Personal Review- This blend stayed true to the label. It smelled very strongly of alcohol and spiced rum. It had slight tastes of vanilla and oak, with an acidic aftertaste. I noticed that it was sometimes sweet up front, but overall very tannic. 

Seaglass Sauvignon Blanc

Tasting notes:

Vintage- 2023

Region- California

Personal Review- Honeydew and melon on the nose. Strong acidity, but complemented with a citrusy melon taste. VERY light body, almost like water. We also tried this with the chorizo, which brought out the acidity again and didn't quite overpower the wine like the rice. 

Cheesecake and Barefoot Moscato Dessert

This was by far the best pairing of the night, since both the cheesecake and Moscato were sweet. I bought a variety cheesecake, so we tried each of the different cheesecake flavors with the Moscato. The group as a whole tended to like the chocolate cheesecake the best with this wine, since it seemed to balance some of the bitterness from the dark chocolate well. The overall sweetness was also reduced to a more likeable level with the pair.

Tasting notes:

Vintage- 2017

Region- California

Personal Review- Very sweet wine, but not overwhelming. Tasted almost exactly like cotton candy grapes with slight peach accents. The peach came through more on the nose. Very light body again here. Overall a very likeable wine for desserts.

Bonus picture of my roommate cooking

Tasting- Washington Hills Late Harvest Riesling

Name: Washington Hills Late Harvest Riesling

Variety: Riesling

Region: Washington 

Country: United States

Vintage: 2023

Price: $9.99 from Kroger

Review from Wine Enthusiast: Flower and orange rind aromas lead to medium-sweet flavors. It's a pleasant, straight down the fairway quaffer.  -86

Wine Folly: An aromatic white variety that can produce white wines ranging in style from bone-dry to very sweet. Germany is the world's most important producer of riesling.

Personal Review: Very sweet. I tasted very strong peach flavors, which, combined with the sweetness, made it almost exactly like peach rings candy to me. Much sweeter when cold than at room temperature, but I liked it better at room temperature since it was almost too sweet.

I drank this on its own.

Tasting- Black Box Chardonnay

 

Name: Black Box Chardonnay

Variety: Chardonnay

Region: Couldn't find exactly what region since most of this brand's Chardonnay is from California. Likely from Western Australia.

Country: Australia

Vintage: 2024

Price: $16.99 from Kroger

Review from Vivino: The wine opens with tropical aromas of pineapple, apricot, lemon zest and vanilla. On the palate, the Chardonnay is light and clean with hints of pineapple, green apple, tart lemon and lemon blossoms with a touch of sweetness on the finish.

Wine Folly: One of the world's most popular grapes, Chardonnay is made in a wide range of styles from sparkling Blanc de Blancs to rich, creamy white wines aged in oak.

Personal Review: Very dry, with a striking lemon/lime flavor. Quite acidic with an aftertaste that reminds me of pineapple. I tasted this at room temperature, so the fruit flavors were likely less pronounced than if tasting it cold. Even so, it was still rich in flavor when at room temperature.

I drank this on its own while watching the movie for this week.

Tasting- Casal Garcia Vinho Verde

Name: Casal Garcia Vinho Verde

Variety: Trajadura, Loureiro, Arinto and Fernão Pires

Region: Vinho Verde

Country: Portugal

Vintage: 2012

Price: $10.99 from Kroger

Review from Wine Enthusiast: "One of the most popular Vinho Verdes, this is in a light, medium-sweet style. Very fresh and crisp, with some attractive citrus acidity, and ready to drink now. Screwcap." -85

Wine Folly: Regional blend offered in white, rosé, and red styles. Low-alcohol, fruity white with a touch of spritz is the most popular. Characteristics include lemonade, pink grapefruit, lime zest, yellow apple, and white blossom. Page 184.

Personal Review: Slightly dry, citrusy flavor that is similar to orange. Touch of apple. Really no acidity but very similar profile to the McManis Pinot Grigio. I forgot to take notes when I initially opened the bottle, so the flavors seem slightly suppressed after sitting in the fridge for a week or two. Acidity was especially suppressed.. Was my favorite white wine to buy before starting this class.

I drank this again while watching wine IQ lectures, without food.