Wine Tasting April 6, 2013

I went to the Vintage Cellar yesterday to check out what their Saturday wine tastings were like. Overall, I liked the experience because it was far less crowded than it is on their Thursday tastings. However, I prefer the inexpensive wines on Thursdays to the more expensive wines that they had at the Saturday tastings. Here is the list of wines that I tasted at this particular tasting:

Dom de la Louvetrie Muscadet $15.95	Jo Landron's Mucadet Sevre et Maine is from a beautiful walled vineyard sloping towards the Sevre, with clay, sand and quartz stones over a bedrock of Orthogneiss. The vines average 40 to 50 years of age, the vineyard is certified organic and biodynamic and gives very low yields. Always one of my favorite Muscadets, the 2011 is superb with citrus, pear and herbals aromas with a bit of smoke and sea-salt. The palate is dense and very long with fabulous acidity. It will provide exhilarating early drinking and will be very interesting in 20 years as well.
Dom Vincent Dampt Chablis $21.95	Expresses our Chablis minerality and fruity so characteristic in its name. A wine with good balance and complex from old vines of our plot located between the coast and Vaillons Léchet. A wine for all occasions!
Villa da Filicaja Chianti Superiore $12.95	Chianti Superiore DOCG "Conte Andrea" is the product of first-choice Sangiovese grapes from our best vineyards. It rests for 12 months in barrels of white oak (Quercus Alba), producing a very special high standard Chianti Superiore wine.
Dom de Fenouillet Beaumes de Venise $23.95	One of the most rare Rhone wines you will encounter. Sourced from the oldest vines of the domaine (75 years old as of 2011) from a hillside “combe” in the shadow of the Dentelles de Montmirail and just over the hill from Gigondas.  The vineyard is a mix of clay and limestone and harvest levels are low, usually reaching at most 35 hectoliters per hectare.  The wine is aged in cement cuves for two years before being bottled unfiltered. The final grape blend is usually: 50% Syrah, 35% Grenache and 15% Mourvedre.
El Pedrosal Ribera del Duero $21.95	89 points, Stephen Tanzer Glass-staining ruby.  A fragrant bouquet evokes cherry-vanilla, violet and spices.  Juicy and open-knit, offering zesty red and dark berry flavors and a touch of vanillin oak.  Finishes smooth, gently sweet and long, with the cherry note echoing.  This is already approachable.

Wine #1: Dom de la Louvetrie

I think I liked this wine the best out of all that I tasted on Saturday. The wine smelled very fresh, clean and enjoyable, and the taste that followed didn't let me down. It had a bite to it that came from the slight acidity of the wine, but it was very invigorating. I liked the citrus taste to it. It was a nice clean and easy to drink. I would probably enjoy this wine while sitting on my porch in the sun.

Wine #2: Dom Vincent Dampt

 This wine was also a very pleasant one. It had a nice fruity smell and a good balance to the wine. However, there was a slight alcohol taste that I was not very fond of. Out of all of the wines I probably liked this wine the second best. It was pleasant but it didn't wow me.

Wine #3: Villa Da Filicaja

This wine had a very berry-like smell to it, so I was expecting it to have a berry flavor to it. However, it was very spicy and heavy  to the taste. There was also a hint of vanilla or butter taste to the wine that came from the oak barrel aging. This opinion might come from the fact that I do not like red wines, but I really did not like this wine. I felt like it was too heavy on my pallet.

Wine # 4: Dom De Fenouillet

This wine has a heavy smell to it. It smells like a combination of wood and metal combined with cherry to me, but I picked up a couple of other smells that I just couldn't put my finger on. The wine has a smokey flavor to it with a prevalent berry taste.

Wine #5: El Pedrosal

This wine was made 100% Tempranillo. It has a sweet berry smell but it does not taste as sweet as it smells. It had a spiciness to it that over powered the vanilla and dark berry tastes. This wine's flavor also lingers for a very long time. Not overly unpleasant, but not pleasant either.

This tasting was very nice, but I think I will stick going to the Thursday wine tastings. The wines selected for the Thursday tastings are usually better tasting and for a good price. I guess it just goes to show that just because it is high in price, does not mean that it will taste good.

~Heather