Kirkland Signature 2022 Moscato D'Asti DOCG

  

Kirkland Signature 2022 Moscato D'Asti DOCG

Variety: Moscat Blanc

Country: Italy

Region: Piedmont

Year: 2022

Price: $6.99

Tastings Review: Straw color. Aromas and flavors of candied peach, lemon, white flowers, and pineapple candy with a glycerous, bright, spritzy, off-dry medium body and a seamless, delightful, breezy finish manifesting notes of peach and orange creamsicle, candied pineapple blossoms, lemon candies, and poach pear. A light and playfully sweet sipper that will be a total crowd pleaser at Saturday morning tailgates.

Wine Folly Description: "An ancient aromatic white variety originally from Greece that's available in all styles from dry to sweet, still to sparkling, and even fortified (Page 138)."

Wine Folly Specific Flavors: Orange blossom, meyer lemon, mandarin orange, ripe pear, honeysuckle (Page 138)

Review: Initial aromas include a strong impression of honey and pear, and smells very sweet. Tasting reveals a medium body, with notes of honey, pear, and orange, along with floral notes. It is a great sweet dessert wine.

Jaume Serra Cristalino Cava Brut

  

Jaume Serra Cristalino Cava Brut

Variety: Viura, Parellada, Xarel-lo

Country: Spain

Region: Cava

Price: $9.99

Vine Pair Review: Fresh and clean, this is exactly what’s expected for budget Cava. It’s fruit-forward, with ripe red apple fruit, but it finishes dry and refreshing.

Wine Folly Description: "Viura is the primary grape in Spanish Rioja Blanco and Cava sparkling wines (where it's called Macabeo). Viura wines become increasingly rich and nutty with age (Page 187).

Wine Folly Specific Flavors: Honeydew, lime peel, lemon verbana, tarragon, hazelnut (Page 187)

Review: Initial aromas include a strong impression of rising bread, apple, pear, and lime. Tasting reveals notes of lime, green apple, and tropical fruit. It has a crisp and short-lived finish.

    

Leonard Kreusch Liebfraumilch 2021 Rheinhessen

Variety: Blend of Müller-Thurgau, Riesling, Silvaner, and Kerner

Country: Germany

Region: Rheinhessen

Year: 2021

Price: $8.97

WineMag Review: Fresh and fruity with a soft fragrant aroma, medium-bodied, with a pleasant finish. Quite delicious and harmonious with abundant notes of pear and apricot followed by a hint of honey in the finish

Wine Folly Description: "An aromatic white variet that can produce white wines ranging in style from bone-dry to very sweet. Germany is the world's most important producer of Riesling (Page 158)."

Wine Folly Specific Flavors: Lime, green apple, beeswax, jasmine, petroleum (Page 158)

Review: Initial aromas include a strong impression of lime with floral notes. Tasting reveals crisp notes of lemon, honey, pear, and a strong green apple flavor, as well as a smooth finish.

Sutter Home White Zinfandel

  

Sutter Home White Zinfandel

Variety: Zinfandel

Country: USA

Region: St. Helena, CA

Price: $9.99

Wine Pros Review: Pale in color, very fruity, off-dry to medium-sweet, and low in alcohol, Sutter Home White Zinfandel is refreshingly sweet. It starts with delightful floral fragrances of rose petals and red berry scents. Next, on the palate, juicy flavors of guava and pineapple mingle with butterscotch touches. The acidity is fizzy, as in sparkling wines, while the finish has a creamy texture and minerals. Without a doubt, Sutter Home White Zinfandel is delicious, palatable, and enjoyable. Sutter Home White Zinfandel is attractive in color and reminiscent of candy. The wine is pale ruby-red in color that opens into a clean core. A soft, pink reflection appears on the sides of the glass, giving a bubblegum look. That is in line with the wine’s flavor profile that it is so amazing. As for the tears of the wine, they are medium and watery. As such, Sutter Home White Zinfandel has a bright, vivid, and playful appearance! On the nose, Sutter Home White Zinfandel is very fragrant, with honeysuckle and rose petal aromas dominating. With a few swirls, though, the true sweet-smelling character of the wine unfolds as strawberry notes blend with apricot, passionfruit, and grapefruit. The result is a fresh aromatic bouquet, perfect for blowing your cares away. On the palate, the Sutter Home White Zinfandel taste has the tropical flavors of pineapple, guava, and banana, as well as peach and blackberry tones. Expect to taste stone fruit, apple, and intense, candied bubblegum, too. On top of that, pronounced cotton candy elements are present in the mouth, accompanied by lively and unstoppably refreshing acidity. This candied character is what made White Zinfandel so successful in the American market, as American wine fans love every single sip of it. The finish is not the strongest point of Sutter Home White Zinfandel, but still, it is pleasant enough. It is of medium length and creamy, showing minerals, such as flint and wet pebbles. As such, the back palate adds to the fruity experience, bringing out a secondary, more rounded personality of this White Zinfandel. Wonderful! Sutter Home White Zinfandel is light, refreshing, and crisp. It is not too sweet, but may be unpleasantly sweet for some palates. Smooth and fruity, this White Zinfandel might be simple, but it is super palatable. Without a second thought, the Sutter Home White Zinfandel is an obvious recommendation to wine enthusiasts looking for an easy-going wine to enjoy poolside on a hot summer’s day.

Wine Folly Description: "A fruit-forward yet bold red that's loved for its jammy fruit and smoky, exotic spice notes. Orginiall from Croatia, Zinfandel is related to Croatia's #1 red, Plavic Mali (Page 189).

Wine Folly Specific Flavors: Blackberry, strawberry, peach preserves, cinnamon, sweet tobacco (Page 189)

Review: Initial aromas include a strong impression of currant, pomegranate, and cherry, and smells overly sweet. Tasting reveals a light body, with notes of dried fruit, strawberry, pineapply, peach, rose petals, and an overwhelming cherry flavor. It is a bit too sweet, but refreshing.

Chateau Ste. Michelle Columbia Valley Riesling 2020

   

Chateau Ste. Michelle Columbia Valley Riesling 2020

Variety: Riesling

Country: USA

Region: Columbia Valley, WA

Year: 2020

Price: $10.99

Wine Enthusiast Magazine Review: The aromas are fresh, with notes of lime, white peach and flower. Off-dry leaning sweeter stone fruit flavors follow. Pair it with spicy Thai food.

Wine Folly Description: "An aromatic white variet that can produce white wines ranging in style from bone-dry to very sweet. Germany is the world's most important producer of Riesling (Page 158)."

Wine Folly Specific Flavors: Lime, green apple, beeswax, jasmine, petroleum (Page 158)

Review: Initial aromas include a strong impression of honey and citrus, with an alcoholic tone almost like cleaning solution. Tasting reveals notes of peach, citrus, apricot, pineapple, and honeysuckle, as well as a smooth finish.

Josh Cellars Hearth Cabernet Sauvignon 2020

  

Josh Cellars Hearth Cabernet Sauvignon 2020

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon

Country: USA

Region: Hopland, CA

Year: 2020

Price: $17.99

Honest Wine Review: Josh Cab pours fairly dark with little to no light able to shine through the wine. I would describe the wine’s color as a rich burgundy. A tip and spin coated the glass fully and revealed plenty of slow falling legs. I noted a toasty mocha aroma primarily, with additional whiffs of blackberry. There’s was little to no burn of alcohol in the nose. Josh Cabernet Sauvignon alcohol content 13.5% by volume, per the bottle. I found this wine’s taste to be full-bodied, smooth and enjoyable with complex flavors of hazelnut, blackberry and the slightest hint of cinnamon. This was exactly as promised by the tasting notes on the label, which is rare. I often disagree with the label’s description of what to expect.  But this time it was spot on! The wine’s mouthfeel was pretty juicy for a Cabernet Sauvignon with some nice round tannins in there as well. Typical for a bold, juicy Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine had a long finish. It was equally balanced by the flavors and the tannins.

Wine Folly Description: "The world's most popular wine is a natural cross between Cabernet Franc an Sauvignon Blanc that originated in Bordeaux. Wines are concentrated and age-worthy (Page 88)."

Wine Folly Specific Flavors: Black cherry, black currant, cedar, baking spices, graphite (Page 88)

Review: Initial aromas include a strong impression of blackberry and currant. Tasting reveals a full body, with intense tannins. Blackberry, cherry, and currant are very forward flavors, with subtle hints of nuttiness, tobacco, chocolate, and coffee, as well as a long finish.

Barefoot Pineapple Fruitscato

Barefoot Pineapple Fruitscato

Variety: Muscat
Country: USA

Region: Modesto, CA

Year: 2022

Price: $6.99

Tassstings.com Review: Straw green color. Aromas of pineapple and banana pie, apple sauce, dandelion, and brown paper with a soft, crisp, fruity light-to-medium body and a silky, agreeable canned pineapple slices and starburst finish with no oak flavor. Simple and elegant flavored moscato for the everyday or when you want to spice up your sangria.

Wine Folly Description: "An Ancient aromatic white variety originally from Greece that's available in all styles from dry to sweet, still to sparkling, and even fortified (Page 138).

Wine Folly Specific Flavors: Orange blossom, meyer lemon, mandarin orange, ripe pear, honeysuckle (Page 138).

Review: Initial aromas include an acidic note, candied dried pineapple, apples, and honey. Tasting reveals a light body, with little to no tannins. Pineapple, honey, peach, and apple are very forward flavors, with subtle hints of lemon. It is overly sweet and acidic66.