2008 Nobilo Icon Pinot Noir

This is Nobilo's top-line bottling for Pinot Noir and they show great attention to detail with this effort.

The Nobilo Icon Pinot Noir is a beautiful medium purple color that leans toward ruby. The aromas are all dark cherries, plums and oak.

The flavors are very forward dark cherries and oak with cola and plum rounding out the profile. I really liked this and was impressed by the quality for a $17 price point. My friend Patrick brought this bottle over and we had similar notes for the tasting of this bottle. This is a very hefty Pinot. Nice body on this wine.

This bottle is gone, but it must have been my lucky week because my friend Michael also brought a bottle of this wine over to be reviewed this week.

2009 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc

Kim Crawford is one of my favorite New Zealand producers for Sauvignon Blanc. The vintage matters slightly, but you always know its going to be good at a decent price. The current vintage is between $16-18 depending where you buy in Louisville, KY. Prices are lower at larger Internet sites, but shipping has to be factored in.

The color on this is pale straw just like most other Sauvignon Blancs, but what I found different about this wine was the aroma. The other Sauvignon Blancs I tasted this week were more fruit forward. The Kim Crawford was the first to be vegetal as the primary with fruit as the accent. I rather liked the aroma, but could not quite pinpoint "vegetal" any further. It bugged me so much I looked at a couple of professional reviews and one explained it as the leaves of a tomato plant. As soon as I read that it took me back to ripping out tomato plants at the end of summer and then smelling your hands. That's what this wine smelled like. Great!

The flavors were typical New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Kiwi, grapefruit, stone...all backed up by that beautiful vegetal quality. Good acidity but remained full in the mouth. I really liked this effort by Kim Crawford. For me, better than the past couple of years. That being said, I still think my favorite Sauvignon Blanc this week was the Brancott Vineyards.

2006 Drylands Pinot Noir

This Drylands Pinot Noir is medium ruby in color and at first had no aroma at all. As the wine opened though I was able to smell a nice mix of red fruits, spice and oak. It wasn't very deep, but you knew it was Pinot Noir.

The taste was very pleasant and did a great job expressing the Pinot Noir grape without trying to get to tricky for the price point. Simple expression of cherries, pomegranate, oak and spices. I thought this was very pleasant and a good option to have on hand for parties.

I am not sure of the price as it was a gift from my friend Michael, but I would expect it falls somewhere in the mid-teens. Tough to find drinkable Pinot at this price point that doesn't taste like fruit juice. Good quality to price ratio.

2009 The Crossings Sauvignon Blanc

My friend, Michael Hawley, and I had this wine while sitting on the patio on a very hot afternoon. From the start this looked refreshing. The bottle glass is clear and colorless and the wine looks almost light bluish green. Very interesting, but when poured the wine is very very pale straw with green tint.

The aromas on this glass of wine jump from the glass. Slight herbal component, but mainly fresh vibrant fruit...lime, melon, and grapefruit.

The flavors are very bright. A lot more lime on this Sauvignon Blanc than others Ive had from New Zealand. Good acidity to give it zip, but still remains soft on the palate. The lime is balanced by the melon and grapefruit.

I believe this was around $14 and although I dont like it as well as the Brancott Sauvignon Blanc from earlier in the week I still this is a great wine for summer. Especially if you want something crisp.

2008 Kim Crawford Unoaked Chardonnay

I used to really enjoy the big, buttery style of Chardonnay that is so prevalent right now, but over the past year or so I've changed to prefer the un-oaked, Chablis style Chardonnays. I have read that New Zealand is starting to exciting things with varietals other than Sauvignon Blanc so when I saw this un-oaked Chardonnay from a great producer I definitely wanted to include this in the blog this week.

The Kim Crawford Unoaked Chardonnay is a pale golden color and has aromas of honeyed red apples, butterscotch and some pear.

The taste on this wine is not oaked, but there is definitely some of that malolactic butter flavor. There is also a lot of apple and pear. I think this wine is decent and well made, but I'm confused what they are aiming to achieve. If you are going for an unoaked style then where is the mineral quality that would drive the fresh fruit?

I think a lot of people will like this wine because it does show good fruit without too much oak and its very easy to drink; however, for me there was just something missing. And at $17/bottle I think there are better options from France at the village level category.

2009 Brancott Sauvignon Blanc

New Zealand is the country of choice for this week. I'm sure there will be 2 or 3 Sauvignon Blancs, but I'll try to balance that with some Pinot Noir, a Chardonnay and maybe a red blend.

The first wine of the week, Brancott Sauvignon Blanc, is great for the current temperatures in Kentucky(90+). Sauvignon Blancs are perfect for summer. They are crisp, light and inexpensive. I have not had this wine before, but it has received favorable reviews.

This wine is a very pale straw color with green highlights. The aromas are slight grass, kiwi and melon. Very pleasant nose on this wine and it just smelled refreshing.

The taste on this wine is very "bright". Great fruit...kiwi, grapefruit, melon and Pineapple. There is also good acidity on the wine to support the fruit, but the mouth feel is still very soft.

I believe this was in the $13 range and I like this better than anything else from New Zealand that Ive tasted on this range. Great wine.

2007 Tikal Patriota

This wine is a blend of 60% Bonarda and 40% Malbec. I have never seen these two grapes blended together so I was intrigued when I saw this on the shelf at Party Mart in Louisville, KY.

The wine is a very dark purple color with nice aromas of spice, dark cherries and maybe some blueberry.

The first thing I noticed about this wine was how easy it was to drink. Very smooth tannins. The fruits were a mix of red and dark fruits balanced wonderfully by good acidity. The dark cherry and spices mixed well with some floral components.

The finish on this was medium length and while I doubt anyone would remember or talk about this wine a year after they drank it...I do think this over delivers for the $18 I paid for it.

2004 Pascual Toso Extra Toso Reserve Brut Pinot Noir

I saw this and was really surprised to see a sparkling wine from Argentina in this market. We have several options in malbec, cabernet sauvignon and torrontes, but after that the choices drop off quickly.

Sparkling wine is my favorite style and as Ive mentioned before if a country produces a sparkling wine I will do my best to taste it during the week.

The color of this wine was a really pretty salmon-orange, but unfortunately the good things I can say about this wine will stop there. The aromas on the wine were slight citrus with some yeast and almond components, but nothing meshed. There also seemed to be a faint petrol component.

The wine tasted "burnt". There were some nutty flavors and what I could recognize as "champagne" components from other blanc de noirs, but this was undrinkable in my opinion. Worked through a glass for the tasting and the balance of the bottle was poured down the sink.

The cost was $24. Please, save your money.

2008 Sophenia Reserve Chardonnay

Its always a good night when our neighbors, Chris and Dan, stop by to see if we want to join them for dinner. Chris said stop by in about an hour and bring some wine. We are having pork and chicken cutlets with ratatouille as a side.

I looked in the cellar and found this chardonnay. I hadn't had it before, but I thought we'd give it a shot.

The color was a light golden yellow and the aromas were not that pronounced. I smelled some red apples, yeast and maybe a little oak and vanilla.

The flavors were very subdued, but it had good integration of fruit. The apples and maybe mango were well balanced by a little oak. I do not like over oaked wines, but this was well done and the oak played a minor role and did not dominate.

Honestly, there was nothing that really jumped out about this wine other than it was really good. I kept looking for something, but in the end maybe the best compliment you can give is that you wish you had a second bottle to open.

Purchased for $16.99.

2008 Maipe Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2008 Maipe Cabernet Sauvignon is a beautiful deep ruby color.

The aromas when opened smelled very French. Kind of musty and a lot of earth. I really did not get much else and I thought the nose wasn't very pleasant. After about 40 minutes though, things changed. The fruit started to come forward and the earthiness took a supporting role to the cassis and plums and other red fruits. It became very nice.

The immediate flavors when the bottle was opened were closed. Did not like this at all. No fruit. However, just like the aromas...with air this really turned around. The red fruits became pronounced supported by good earthiness. The tannin structure was also very good. It was smooth, but had enough that I think this would age easy for another few years.

If you haven't had Argentine Cabernet give this one a shot...just make sure you open it an hour before you plan on drinking it. The cost was $13.99 and I think it blows away anything domestically in that price range. I think you'd have to pay double to get something comparable from California.

2008 Achaval Ferrer Malbec Mendoza

Achaval Ferrer is a well respected producer in Argentina and is probably the leading producer of single-vineyard malbec in Argentina (at least what gets exported to the US). This malbec is a blend of those single vineyard sites and takes something from all of them.

The color of the wine was a beautiful deep purple with ruby edges and the wines smelled of fresh plums and blueberries.

The taste of the wine was very fruit driven and the plums and blueberries really came through for me, but the fruit was balanced by good minerality. The tannins were well restrained, but the wine still had great structure. Classic malbec.

I believe this wine/vintage actually got mixed reviews with one critic giving it a mid 80 score and another giving it a low 90. I think it falls somewhere in between and if I had to give it a number I would say 88-89.

This wine was $24.99 at Liquor Barn in Louisville. If it's in your price range then give it a try because its solid, but Argentina produces so many good malbecs I do think you could find something comparable for $17-19.

2008 Alta Vista Classic Torrontes

Okay, I'm a couple of days behind on writing, but I have been tasting. I'm also happy to be tasting wines from Argentina this week. The country tends to be export heavy on Malbec, but they also make other varietals very well...cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, and torrontes.

Sunday was a beautiful day and our friends Zach and Lindsey invited us to spend the day with them at Zach's parent's pool. We had been drinking beer and cocktails most of the day, but when it was time to put the chicken on the grill we all decided wine would be a better option. Luckily I had been to the store on the way over and had a bottle for the occasion.

Torrontes is a grape native to Argentina and fills that country's need for a light summer-time white. Nothing outrageously complex, but perfect when the temperature gets above 85.

The color of the wine was pale straw. The aromas were very floral with a lot of pear as well.

The taste was light and crisp. Good acidity, but not biting like a sauvignon blanc. The pear components really shine and I thought maybe there was some honeysuckle.

That's enough analysis for this wine. It's $10.99 retail and its fun to drink. I think it should be in your summer rotation...break away from chardonnay and sauvignon blanc and try something new.

2006 Dr. Fischer Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Kabinett

This was the last wine of the week and I had saved what I thought would be the best for last. I had not heard of this producer before, but my friend Chris at Westport Whiskey and Wine recommended this and he has never pointed me in the wrong direction.

Glynnis, my fiancee, and I took this wine with us for Sushi on Saturday night. She honestly wasn't all that happy about the choice because she didn't want another sweet Riesling, but she agreed and off we went.

The wine had the same light yellow color as the other Rieslings, but this one seemed just a bit lighter.

The aromas were peaches, honey and a hint of citrus.

The flavors followed the aroma profile, but there was almost no residual sugar. I thought this wine was great as did Glynnis. Definitely the best wine of the week.

One of the things I remember when I bought this from Chris was that he said he had had it since the store opened. The original bottles had been sitting there a couple of years. There just isn't that big a market for Riesling. Maybe too many people have been turned off by the overtly sweet style of some wines and never went back to experiment with other producers. It could have happened to me, but I'm glad I had this . This will be my "go to" Riesling.

What I noticed most from tasting Riesling this week is that all of the wines had the same flavor profile, but its how well integrated all the components come together that make the difference. It's no different than other wine varietals, but it really seemed to be evident to me in this style.

2008 High Definition Riesling

This was the next bottle in a seemingly unending string of Rieslings. I like Riesling, but everyday has been a bit much for me and I am looking forward to a country next week with completely dry wines. All that being said I had a wine to taste and here is the review.

I usually do not care about the packaging to much, but this was so bad I had to try the wine to see what it tasted like.

The color was pale yellow. All of the Rieslings this week have had very similar coloring.

The aromas were of peaches and nectarines. The flavors were peaches, nectarines and I found this to be the driest of the Rieslings I have had this week. It was still off-dry, but I thought the sweetness was well integrated.

Still put off by the label, but the wine is good and at around $15 I think its a good value.

2008 Valckenberg Dornfelder

My best friend is having his first child and I wanted to send him a bottle of Champagne. I stopped at my favorite wine shop, Westport Whiskey and Wine, to find the perfect bottle. If you haven't been then do yourself a favor and go talk to Chris at this store. All you need to do is give him a price point and let him know the style you like and he will introduce you to some amazing wines.

During our Champagne conversation I mentioned my blog and that I was having trouble finding anything other than Riesling for this week's Germany review. He told me it would be tough, but he did have one Dornfelder that could be interesting.

This Dornfelder is produced by PJ Valckenberg, a winery that has been making wines in Germany since 1786. The wine is a beautiful deep ruby color and has aromas of black cherry and cola. As the wine opened up I started to smell some cocoa.

This wine has some residual sugar and my first thought when tasting was of a mid-level Pinot Noir with a dose of sugar. The flavors were all red fruits and cola. I had never had this varietal before, but found this interesting.

I had two glasses of this without food and while it was good...I do feel it needs food to balance the sweetness.

The price was around $15.99.

2008 Reuscher-Haart Piesporter Riesling

OK, here we go. Another Riesling, but it seems like that is all I can find in Louisville. This is a label that I had not seen before though so that is a positive...at least I'm trying something new and for me that is part of the joy of wine. You could taste for years and still be left in the dark with regard to the abundance of labels in the marketplace.

This wine is pale straw with some very light hints of green. There were also tiny bubbles in the wine. The wine was not effervescent, but there were still bubbles.

The aromas were all tropical fruit...mango, papaya and citrus.

The flavors on the wine contained so much fruit. An explosion of tropical fruit. Very slight traces of minerality and some acidity balances the sweetness. I tasted this last night and then again this evening with consistent notes.

Very low alcohol at 8% which makes the sweetness seem more pronounced, but I think this is well made. And, at $17 (Wine Rack on Frankfort Avenue) for 1L I think it's a good value. This would be great to have in your cellar for guests who are Riesling fans as well as for those who are starting to explore more structured white wines, but are not ready to move to a completely dry style.

2008 Dr. Loosen - Dr. L Riesling

OK, first Riesling of the week is from Dr. Loosen which is a great producer from the Mosel Valley. This wine is their entry level Riesling and is named Dr. L.

The color is a light straw yellow and had aromas of peaches, apricots and marzipan.

The taste of the wine was very pleasing and had peaches, apricots and marzipan flavors, but also a little honey. I am not sure of the residual sugar on this wine, but the profile was slightly sweet.

If you are opposed to any sweetness in your wine then this may not be for you, but the quality of the product is very good.

The wine was a gift from my friend Lee, but I believe retail is in the $11-13 range.

Henkell Trocken Dry-Sec NV

Well, over the past three weeks I've tasted wines from Spain, France and Italy. I debated a while on what country to visit next, but finally decided to stay in Europe one more week and taste my way through Germany. I hope to find some interesting wines in town, but my fear is that I will be comparing different Rieslings.

One interesting wine I found by chance at a wine tasting is the Henkell Trocken Dry-Sec. This is a sparkling wine from Germany that is composed of Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Riesling.

The color of the wine was pale straw with a slight golden tint. Very small bubbles and good effervescence. The aromas were green apples, citrus (lime?) and yeast.

The taste was light, but very pleasing. The apples and lime really shine through with some slight minerality and good acidity. There seems to be the smallest amount of sweetness, but it is pleasant and complementary not overpowering.

This is not champagne, but I think this will please most all who like sparkling wine and it's much better than most bottles you will find at this price point...$12.