Sunday, July 6, 2008

Anatomy of two not-so-notable summer wines

Hey gang. I took an opportunity on this 6th of July to try two wines flying below the radar in my collection as part of an afternoon birthday party. One of which was a 2005 Il Cascinone, a Piedmont Cortese, from Italy (rolling in at $10.99 USD) and the other was a 2005 Vista Del Mar, a Pinot Grigio from California (hovering at a low $5.99 USD). Below are my ratings using our standard 1-5 scale.

The first on deck was the Il Cascinone, which bore a very citrus nose with a hint of alcohol. Tanin level was low on this wine, but the alcohol was present but not overbearing. There was a nice balance of lime, pineapple, and lemon juice throughout the length. Nothing extraordinary, but not a bad effort. I would purchase again but only if the extra $$ were there and the planets aligned just right. Rating: 3.0.

The second was the wine I'd hope would "bring the thunder", given the price point, and given my interest in lighter, summer wines. This wine bore a body resembling apple juice both in body and color. The taste was a slight hint of peaches and apples with an ever present alcohol flavor through it's medium length. Also low on tanins and acidity, this wine was not terrible, but the heavier body than other Pinot Grigios I've had in the past earns the grade "had a better". Rating: 2.5.

3 comments:

Anthony F. LaVista said...

JP. Thanks for sharing. I'm a big fan of the Cortese whites. "Gavi" is one of my favorite types. Let me ask, was it dry?

Dawson said...

JP...Thanks for the post. A question though, I have never heard Tanin mentioned in relation to white wine before?

Jon-Paul said...

Hey guys--thanks for the comments.

Anthony, I should have mentioned the wine wasn't very dry, which I liked.

Dawson, you're right, using the term 'tanin' to help describe the taste of white wine wasn't appropriate--my mistake. The intent was to convey the smoothness of the wine to me.