Tasting - Atlas Cumbres Torrentes

Name: Atlas Cumbres Torrentes
Variety: 100% Torrentes
Region: Mendoza
Country: Argentina
Year: 2010
Price: $5.95

Winery Review: Yellow color with greenish nuances. Very intense aroma of fresh grapes, flower perfume and mature peaches. Fresh in the mouth. Light and easy to drink. Ideal with seafood, Thai and Chinese food.

My Review: This wine has a peach and honey aroma. Upon tasting, there was surprisingly less flavor than expected. It was mainly acidic and bland without much fruit flavor.


I did not have this wine with food.

Tasting - Toso Moscato

Name: Toso Moscato
Variety: 100% Moscato
Region: Piedmont

Country: Italy
Year: N/A
Price: $9.95

Winery Review: This Moscato is reminiscent of honeysuckle and rose petal. The quality is equivalent to a top level Asti Spumante DOCG. Sweet sparkling wines optained from a careful selection of the Moscato grapes. It has a pale straw yellow color with fine foam and bubbles. Tropical fruit flavors, refreshing. Excellent to match desserts, fruits and dried pastries.

My Review: This wine had a very fruity and sugary nose. After tasting, it had strong flavors of grape fruit and sparkling grape juice. It was slightly dry on the finish which helped to balanced the sweetness and was overall quite good.

I did not have this wine with food.

Tasting - El Sierro Tempranillo/Cab

Name: El Sierro Tempranillo/Cab
Variety: 80% Tempranillo, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: Valencia
Country: Spain
Year: 2011
Price: $7.95

Winery Review: Dark ruby in color with rich aromas of red fruit and light spices. It is a real knock-out with delicious flavors of dark cherries, blackberries and vanilla all perfectly integrated. The Tempranillo provides wonderful spice and fruit, while the Cabernet Sauvignon gives structure and depth with the beautiful use of oak.

My Review: This wine had a very earthy aroma with some notes of cherries. Upon tasting, it was very tannic which took away from the fruit flavors. There were definitely flavors of oak and some fruit but it was overpowered by the tannins.

I did not have this wine with food.

Tasting - Omo Ze Bel Merlot

Name: Omo Ze Bel Merlot
Variety: 100% Merlot
Region: Scicilia
Country: Italy
Year: 2011
Price: $6.95

Winery Review: This bright, soft Merlot comes from a hilly vineyard on the Alcesti family estate in beautiful Sicily. It has hints of red cherries and freshly cut hay.

My Review: This wine smelled of wet leaves and a vegetal, forest aroma. Upon tasting, I got no fruit flavors and was tannic and acidic. There were some flavors of oak but not much else.

I did not have this wine with food.

Tasting - Avery Quinn Chardonnay

Name: Avery Quinn Chardonnay
Variety: 100% Chardonnay
Region: Napa Valley, California
Country: United States
Year: 2011
Price: $6.95

Winery Review: The 2011 vintage marks a return to form for this great value Chardonnay. The aromas feature creamy, mellow, golden apple, pineapple, fresh butter and a touch of vanilla. Then rich, ripe flavors of yellow pear, pineapple, fresh apple, cream and buttered toast swell up and fill your mouth before a juicy, apple and caramel inflected finish makes your mouth water.

My Review: This wine had a nice pineapple and apple aroma with slight vanilla. After tasting, there was definitely a butter toast flavor through the front and middle and it finished slightly dry. I did not get a lot of fruit flavors since the butter overtook them for me.

I did not have this wine with food.

Tasting - Decoy Napa Red

Name: Decoy Napa Red
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot
Region: Napa County, California
Country: United States
Year: 2011
Price: $33.00

Winery Review: Abundant layers of dark fruit and well-developed tannins. On the nose, layers of blackberry and blueberry mingle with hints of herbs and black olives. The rich fruit notes continue on the palate and lead to a long, structured finish.

My Review:This wine had a strong peppery, oaky aroma like most Cabernets. Upon tasting, there were light fruit flavors but the oak once again came through too strongly. It had a tannic finish but was well balanced so the tannins did not take away from the wine.

I did not have this wine with food. 

Tasting - Decoy Cabernet Sauvignon

Name: Decoy Cabernet Sauvignon
Variety: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: Sonoma County, California
Country: United States
Year: 2012
Price: $33.00

Winery Review: Alluring black cherry and raspberry jam aromas, was well as more subtle notes of nutmeg, spice and chocolate. On the palate, lovely layers of raspberry and plum are supported by excellent structure and seamlessly integrated oak.

My Review: This wine had a very oaky aroma mixed with spices and very little fruit. After tasting, I found the oak component to be too heavy and overpowered the rest of the flavors. The finish was also very tannic and combined with the oak flavor, I did not like this wine very much.

I did not have this wine with food.