I've had a couple of bottles over the past few days but not enough time in the day to really write about them. Well, now I'm making time .... though I wish it were for better wines.
I'm going to be brief about the first one, because I would honestly rather forget it. It was a 2007 Undone Pinot Noir from Rheinhessen, Germany ($9, Cost Plus). It stood out to me because, for one, it was a German Pinot. I haven't seen or heard of that before in my entire wine life ... I'm sure it's existed before, but it was news to me. The other thing that got my attention about this wine was the fact that it was unoaked, or "naked" as they called it. Not so common for a Pinot Noir nowadays.
Well, it sure was naked. It was also flavorless. It was a mild tasting and thin wine with slight flavors of cherry and other light berry fruits. I only enjoyed it for the sake of the label (see below) - other than that, it was easily forgettable.
The other wine I tasted was a 2006 Concannon Limited Release Petite Syrah from the CA Central Coast ($15, on sale for $6 at Safeway). Concannon claims to be the "world's first winery to bottle Petite Syrah," so I figured they probably had a reputation on the stuff.
The color's a dark purple with a lighter purple halo surrounding - a nice, rich color fitting for a nice, bold red. The nose has hints of dark cherry and raspberry with a nice note of red plum. The texture is slightly less rich than I would've thought for a Petite Syrah. It has strong flavors of red plum, pine and white chocolate with a spicy nutmeg finish. It's an easily enjoyable wine, but nothing extraordinary. For the price, it's a good find ... but I wouldn't recommend it for much beyond the value.
Thanks for the add on 20sb! I love the idea of wine reviews -- especially wines that don't wreak total havoc on the budget. I'm more of a classic cocktails kind of girl, and always get paralyzed with anxiety when I have to choose wine to bring over to someone's house!
ReplyDeleteTotes added you to the RSS reader. I can already feel my social reputation boosting.
I fell for the Undone Riesling once and wa similarly disappointed. Gott keep trying the new stuff, though...
ReplyDeleteI know, I have been known to commit the social faux-pas of trying the wine because the label was cute.
ReplyDeleteFell for the Undone too, no bueno. The corset label must've gotten to the guy who suggested it. If you want a rugged Petite, try the Runquist. Look for more at psiloveyou.org - found some good tips at that Petite Sirah site.
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