Review - Campo Viejo Reserva - 3/29

 Name: Campo Viejo Reversa

Variety: Tempranillo

Year: 2017

Grape: Tempranillo

Region: Rioja

Country: Spain

Price: 17.99

Today I decided to try a new type of wine - one that I thought would appeal to what I understand so far about my personal preference - I like dark, complex reds. After seeing this grape mentioned in Wine Folly, I decided that I should give Tempranillo a try. So I picked myself up a bottle of Campo Viejo Tempranillo. 

Once I tried the wine, I immediately knew I liked it - but I couldn’t articulate what I tasted. So I found the Wine Folly entry for Tempranillo (pg 175), and checked the descriptors

1. Body - Moderate  - I agree with this. Expected it to be a bit fuller - think I had a bit of a misconception

2. Sweetness - Low  - Absolutely  

3. Tannins - Moderately High - This is one of the things I could immediately tell 

4. Acidity - Moderately High - For whatever reason I don’t really associate a taste with acidity, but I think that’s more me not knowing what to look for. 

5. Alcohol - Moderately High - Yes

Now, lets look at the descriptors. It gives 5, and I think I detect 3 of them: Tobacco, cedar, and dill. 

Now lets look at some reviews. On vinvio.com, users gave it an average of 3.8 stars. One review particularly stuck out to me, as it mentioned the taste of coffee, which I didn’t realize I detected until reading it. 

(https://www.vivino.com/US/en/campo-viejo-reserva/w/1163217?year=2017)

Bogle - "Old Vine" Zinfandel - 3/26

 Name: Bogle “Old Vine” Zinfandel 

Type/Grape: Zinfandel (Red)

Region: California

Vintage: 2020

Price: $16

Today we are trying one of my favorite wines - red Zinfandel. I’ve had a few Zinfandels that I’ve enjoyed, and a few wines from Bogle that I’ve enjoyed - so hopefully, the two together will be lovely too!

On Vinvio, the wine has 3.8/5 stars, with some glowing reviews. Reviews tend to note its full body, smoothness, deep red color, and a certain peppery flavor. Now I’ll try it, and compare it to what Wine Folly (pg 189) says

1. Body - Moderately Full to Full - like the reviews, I definitely felt that it had a full body

2. Sweetness - Low: Like the reviews, I thought it wasn’t very sweet

3. Tannins - Moderately High: I definitely felt this - could feel that the tannins sort of parched my mouth. Reviews surprisingly didn’t mention this as much. 

4. Acidity: Low - Yep

5. Alcohol: Moderately High to High - Yes

Overall, I would give the wine a 4 / 5. I found it very enjoyable, and surprisingly complex. Would recommend! 

Tasting - Barefoot “Light and Breezy” Pinot Grigio - 3/26

 Name: Barefoot “Light and Breezy” Pinot Grigio

Type/Grape: Pinot Girgio

Region: Not specified on bottle

Vintage: Also not specified

Price: $6.99

Today we are trying an extra cheap wine: Barefoot “Light and Breezy” Pinot Grigio. This wine is so cheap and disregarded that I can’t find any “expert” reviews of it - so we’ll just have to go by random internet reviews! 

On barefoots own website, it has a measly 3.8 / 5 starts (with one review… you can… add a decimal point to your star rating?).  Elsewhere, they do not get better - on TotalWine.com, the overall score is a 3 / 5. There’s some variety in them - Lori J J expresses a love for the product, writing “I really enjoy this better than regular pinot grigio. Refreshing and flavorful.” Aerofanz laments the wine’s failure to meet expectations - “I had such high hopes for this but sadly it was so flavorless I ended up mixing it with another brand to give it some flavor.” BrianGT titled his review “Tastes like water”, going on to explain that it “literally tastes like water”. 

Well… these reviews aren’t exactly inspiring. Before we go ahead and taste it, lets look at what the book says Pinot Grigio should taste like. Oh, and to give some context to the previous reviews, note that this wine is marketed as “low calorie”... whether that justifies it (literally!) tasting like water is not for me to say. 

The book gives Pinot Grigio the following characteristics: 

• Body: low. Can confirm!

• Sweetness: Can range from very dry to very sweet. I can confirm it was not very sweet. If I had to take a wild guess, I would say there might be artificial sweetener in place of sugar. 

• Tannins: almost none. Can confirm!

• Acidity: relatively high. I think that sounds about right. 

• Alcohol: relatively low - also sounds about right. 

Ultimately, I would give the wine a 3.5/5. I think some of the reviewers miss the point of the wine - it is meant to be very, very light - and it definitely meets that standard. Despite that, I think a light wine can have more… personality than this one did. 

(TotalWine reviews: https://www.totalwine.com/wine/white-wine/pinot-grigiopinot-gris/low-calorie/barefoot-bright-breezy-pinot-grigio/p/241224750)

Tasting - Hive and Honey Riesling (2/27)

 

Today we are trying a Riesling! Going for $12.99, this Hive and Honey Riesling is quite delicious. Its very light, and, like the reviews said, a bit on the dryer side. The lack of sweetness definitely makes it more refreshing. It tastes a bit flowery, with a bit of citrus. We had it chilled - perhaps a little too cold, but in red glasses. Wine Folly (pg 158-159) says the main flavors you might catch in a Riesling are Lime, Green Apple, Beeswax, Jasmine, and Petroleum. I definitely didn’t get petroleum, nor a limey taste - I think green apple was the most applicable flavor. 

(Review: https://www.vivino.com/US/en/hive-honey-riesling/w/4467005)

Tasting - John Zinfandel Reserve

 Name: John

Type: Zinfandel

Region: California

Country: USA

Grape: Zinfandel

Vintage: 2020

Price: $15-$20 

I absolutely love this wine! Its bold, plummy, jammy, and quite dry - the dryness in particular is greatly appreciated after having had the overly-sweet port the other night. Wine Folly (pg 189-190) says that Zinfandel from California may appear pale; not the case with this! 

Reviewers online largely agreed with my assessment  - they said its bold, more smooth than tannic, more dry than sweet, and more soft than acidic (https://www.vivino.com/US/en/josh-cellars-reserve-bourbon-barrel-aged-zinfandel/w/10448124?year=2020)

Tasting - Taylor Tawny Port

 It's once again time to taste a Port! Today we are tasting Taylor's New York Tawny Porto, an extra cheap drink that cost around $12 for 1.5 Liters. As such, it is lacking in some departments - including, apparently, a definite vintage!

 Details: 

Name: Taylor Port

Type: Tawny Port

Region: New York 

Country: usa

Grape: Unknown

Vintage: Unknown 

Price: $11.00

Thoughts:

Very smooth, with hints of sweet cherry. Is almost too sweet to the point where it tastes somewhat like coughdrops. There’s a tannic element to it. Aftertaste is just… the taste of sugar, to be honest. While Ports are normally very full and very tannic, thus evening out the sweetness (and making them appear less sweet than they really are), the young age of this wine (presumably, since it has no Vintage) seems to contribute to a lack of flavor, thus making the sweetness overwhelming.

This Port is so unknown, I couldn't even find a review! There were plenty of reviews on their ten-year vintage, but nothing for this.

Tasting - Cabernet Sauvignon

 

Name: Red Horse

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon 

Year: 2020

Region: California

Country: USA

Price: 7.99

Grape: Cabernet Sauvignon 

Tastes buttery, oaky, and oilily. Very little aftertaste. Comes off as dry. Reviews also noted that it has a higher alcohol content, high acidity, and medium tannin levels (https://www.vivino.com/US/en/red-horses-vineyard-cabernet-sauvignon/w/8781607#:~:text=3.5Second%20vintage%20for%20this,with%20a%20bit%20of%20vanilla). The book specifies similar features for this type of wine: no sweetness, medium acidity, and high alcohol (pg 88). The most notable aspect of the wine to me was its full body.