March 30 Tasting Notes
12th Ave Bottle Shop tasting
Pensacola, FL
Wednesday, March 30, 2022
The evening started with a surprising bubbly. Gruet Sauvage Blanc de Blancs sparkling wine from New Mexico. It was mouth awakening, zingy but not tart, not too dry in the world of bubbly wine, surprising in a good way. At $23.99 a bottle this would be a great choice to celebrate any occasion, even the end of a hard day.
Chardonnay. It seems to be the white wine grape that either you order as "what do you have for white wine," or the discerning wine searcher's white wine of choice. Very little "middle" ground. Sometimes you need middle ground. That is why Willamette Valley Vineyards Chardonnay is so unique. Even with sitting in barrels of French Oak for 10 months, it was not oakey or woody, but still had that body and structure that the wine connoisseur looks for, well rounded flavor but not buttery. At $24.99, this Oregon Chardonnay would do very well with any of our local seafood, especially during an Easter lunch.
I love pizza, and a lot of red wines go well with pizza. Casa Silva's Carmenere goes GREAT with pizza. This Italian red will give you a full nose of amazing peppers, bell, jalapeno, even habanero, then satisfy your taste with pleasant red fruit. I would also drink this with a large plate of Indian food. For $14.99, this is a perfect addition to any spicey meal.
The last wine of the evening was a Cabernet Sauvingnon from Paso Robles California called Broadside. Even though it is a "Cab," it really is a blend, a very well done blend. Check out our "Resources" section on the percentages of grape rules in wine and how it gets names. So this "Cab" is 88% cabernet Sauvingnon blended with 12% Merlot. It had good dark berry fruit, easy tannins that didn't leave your tongue dry, and finished velvety smooth. Great to just drink, or have while you are cooking dinner, then finish while eating dinner. You rarely get that kind of experience from a Californian Cab for less than $30. Thats why at $13.99 it was the evening's winner.
Don't forget that with your $10 for the tasting you get $5 off any of the bottles in the tasting. So you could have gotten any of these bottles $5 cheaper than listed above.