Category Archives: Rated C+

Review: Twist Essence Water

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Is bottled water less heinous if it’s flavored? Twist is lightly sweetened with agave nectar and stevia, and flavored with natural extracts, yet still claims just 0 calories. We tasted two varieties.

Twist Pomegranate Blueberry is vague in its berry allegiance, almost strawberry-like in the way it comes across. Blueberries are a bit in the distance. It’s sweeter than you’d think, but neither cloying nor gummy, the way agave-infused stuff can be. B

Twist West Indies Lime sounds awfully exotic, but the flavor is more reminiscent of Rose’s Lime Juice, a bit saccharine and lightly bitter and herbal on the finish. The lime aroma is nice, but the flavor here doesn’t come across as fully authentic, the way a margarita mix can often be. Harmless enough. C+

about $1.25 per 19 oz. bottle / drinktwist.com

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Posted in Mixers, Rated B, Rated C+, Reviews

Tasting the Wines of DiamAndes de Uco

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Argentina’s Bodega DiamAndes is a project born of the Pessac-Leognan based Chateau Malartic Lagraviere. The winery is now releasing three new affordable varietals, which we looked at alongside its even less expensive Perlita bottling.

2010 DiamAndes de Uco Viognier Mendoza – Smells legit with peach and apricot notes, but there’s an overwhelming, vegetal bitterness in the body. Better with food. C / $19

2010 DiamAndes de Uco Chardonnay Mendoza – More body, with a solid buttery character, and some exotic, tropical fruit character in the finish. Avoids woodiness and weediness, mercifully. B+ / $19

2010 DiamAndes de Uco Malbec Mendoza – Thin and a bit weedy, not at all hearty like great Malbecs should be. A little more balance — along with some interesting chocolate and cinnamon notes — comes along with time in the glass, but I am unconvinced it’s worth the wait. C+ / $19

2010 Perlita by DiamAndes Malbec-Syrah Mendoza - A considerable improvement over the Malbec, surprisingly, with bright, jammy flavors and plenty of strawberry fruit. Simple, but easygoing. A fun alternative to Zinfandel. B / $15

diamandes.com

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Posted in Rated B, Rated B+, Rated C, Rated C+, Reviews, Wine

Tasting Four Pinot Noirs from Benziger’s de Coelo and Signaterra Labels

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Today’s live tasting with Benziger’s Rodrigo Soto covered two of the winery’s alternate labels, showcasing Pinot Noir from two very different areas: The Russian River Valley and the Sonoma Coast. All wines are from the 2009 vintage. Thoughts follow.

2009 Signaterra Pinot Noir Russian River Valley San Remo Vineyard – Classic Russian River Pinot, with more of a jamminess than the coastal Pinots in this roundup offer. Definitely vibrant and easy-drinking, but not terribly complex. This is a Pinot that wears its fruit on its wine-stained sleeve. The long, juicy finish reveals little else in its playbook. B+ / $34

2009 Signaterra Pinot Noir Russian River Valley Bella Luna Vineyard – More tannin gives this Pinot more depth than the San Remo, but also more of a vegetal note, particularly on the front of the wine. Some tough bramble notes play well with the big cranberry-like character, but it’s more challenging, more interesting, somewhat less “fun” than its neighbor. B+ / $34

2009 de Coelho Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast Terra Neuma Vineyard – While the nose is solid with cherry notes, the body is surprisingly — almost shockingly — thin. Sure, restraint is great, but this is way too pulled back. The finish turns green, unripe and unready. C+ / $69

2009 de Coelho Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast Quintas Vineyard – Still a bit restrained, but it offers more pepper on the nose than the Terra Neuma, and represents a solid improvement. Fruit and body could be deeper, but the herbal notes on the finish give this one depth. In the end, it was my favorite of the bunch. A- / $69

benziger.com

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Posted in Rated A-, Rated B+, Rated C+, Reviews, Wine

Review: Van Gogh Vodka Cool Peach and Rich Dark Chocolate

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Two new flavored vodkas from Van Gogh, both fully in the realm of sanity when it comes to exotic inspirations. Both are naturally infused and are bottled at 70 proof.

Van Gogh Cool Peach Vodka speaks for itself, evidently desiring to challenge Southern Comfort’s place in the peach-flavored pantheon. The nose is authentic and bright, promising great things within, but the body is sharp and biting. The peach character struggles to get through the raw alcohol notes, and the finish is hard and flat. Van Gogh has much more interesting flavors up its sleeve than this one. C+

Van Gogh Rich Dark Chocolate Vodka is intensely dark in color (thanks in part to caramel coloring added) and again the nose is promising and curious. Chocolate, yes, but lots of coffee character, too. This continues on to the palate. If I didn’t know any better I’d have thought this was a coffee liqueur, not a chocolate one, the flavors are that strong. Yes, chocolate appears here too, and it is clearly bittersweet in comparison to, say, a milk chocolate spirit, with a little wood char coming through in the end. More intense than most chocolate vodkas, for sure. B+

each $30 / vangoghvodka.com

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Posted in Flavored Vodka, Rated C+, Reviews, Vodka

Review: Two New Albarinos

Posted on December 24, 2011 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Here’s a quick look at a couple of new, relatively inexpensive Albarinos from the Rias Baixas region of Spain.

2010 Serra da Estrela Albarino Rias Baixas – Crisp and tropical, but with a distinct undertone of vegetation. The light body, moderate acid, and lemongrass notes on the finish make it worthwhile. B / $18

2009 Mar de Frades Albarino Rias Baixes – Less enthralling. Again, tropical (think mangoes), but sweeter and more forward. The finish is again sugary, and it clashes a bit with food. C+ / $22

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Posted in Rated B, Rated C+, Reviews, Wine

Review: 2011 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

I don’t know where the rule is written that Beaujolais Nouveau labels have to be more garish each year, but Duboeuf is doing its best to follow that rule to the letter. 2011′s labels aren’t quite horrific, but they’re getting there. The good news, of course, is that they’ll be gone by the time New Year’s rolls around.

We tasted both of the 2011 releases, which are officially hitting the market tonight.

2011 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau – Exceptionally pruny, with a thin body. The finish is underwhelming, funky. Very similar to the candy-coated 2010. C+ / $10

2011 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau – A modest improvement, with a (very welcome) bigger body and more of a sense of balance. Still, it’s overwhelming in the jammy fruit department. This year it’s more cherry than strawberry, but it still has a ways to go toward hitting true drinkability. That said, it’s fun to try once a year, though. B- / $12

duboeuf.com

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Posted in Rated B-, Rated C+, Reviews, Wine

Review: Lights Out Relaxation Products

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Christopher Null| 1 Comment

Relaxation mania continues with Lights Out, a whole series of products designed to help you sleep more evenly, fight stress, anxiety, jet lag, and all that other bad stuff.

Lights Out contains chamomile, skullcap, rose hips, valerian root, L-theanine, and GABA, but it’s probably the 5mg of melatonin that really does the trick.

The 2-oz. shot comes in two sucralose-sweetened flavors — tropical and, oddly, cloud berry — and both tastes are fair enough. The cloud berry version is largely innocuous and vaguely citrus and apple in character. The tropical is stronger, primarily redolent of coconut.

Strangely, the product is unique in that it also comes in a solid form: a chocolate brownie and a chocolate chip cookie. Both were exceedingly dry and crumbly, and hardly the delicious dessert confection you might be expecting.

As for the effects, with both the shot and the dessert products, I found myself falling asleep relatively quickly, with vivid and rather intrusive dreams to follow. Both times I woke up around six in the morning and had difficulty getting back to sleep — though the six-hour release time of Lights Out may have something to do with that. Still not sure how effective these are, though I felt fine and productive the following day. That said, I’m not exactly clamoring for another brownie.

C+ / about $4 per product / lightsoutshot.com

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Posted in Bar Food, Mixers, Rated C+, Reviews

Tasting Report: White Wines of Australia’s Old Bridge Cellars

Posted on October 22, 2011 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Previously we found Australia’s Old Bridge Cellars red wines to be hit and miss, so we turned our attention to its whites, a wide variety of varietals representing white wine’s greatest hits. Still hit and miss, but on the whole a solid improvement over the reds. Thoughts on each — reasonably affordable, every one of them — follow.

2011 d’Arenberg Riesling The Dry Dam McLaren Vale – A tart and easy Riesling, with distinct grapefruit notes. Good balance, some minerals, and a lightly (and lightly pleasant) sour finish. B+ / $15

2010 Plantagenet Hazard Hill Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Western Australia – Also quite tart, with good tropical (pineapple) notes and a very long, lasting, lemon-flecked finish. B+ / $13

2010 Brokenwood Cricket Pitch Sauvignon Blanc Semillon – As simple as this wine looks — both in the bottle and the glass — it unsurprisingly follows through on the palate: refreshing and clean. Lemony, lightly grassy, and with good acid, it isn’t a challenge but it’s quite delightful. A- / $19

2009 d’Arenberg Viognier Last Ditch – Very easy for a Viognier, including lighter nectarine and lightly sour gooseberry character. Unusual. A slightly meaty nose is the only failing here. B / $23

2010 Leeuwin Estate Riesling Art Series Margaret River – Lots of lemon, big mineral character, moderate body, and a good balance. Nice for a Riesling, but nothing fancy. A- / $25

2009 Plantagenet Chardonnay Mount Barker – The sole bomb in this group, a sour and unripe Chardonnay that tries to cover up its grape problems with oak. C+ / $16

oldbridgecellars.com

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Posted in Rated A-, Rated B, Rated B+, Rated C+, Reviews, Wine

Review: Haras Wines

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

Haras de Pirque, or just “Haras,” hails from Chile’s Maipo Valley, where it produces a series of very affordable wines, inspired by the winery’s love of horses.

Tasted twice. The first round of wines were clearly damaged by heat in shipping.

2010 Haras Sauvignon Blanc Maipo Valley – Tropical nose, with a touch of lemon character. Slight vegetal finish, but otherwise quite drinkable, particularly at this price. B / $10

2010 Haras Chardonnay Maipo Valley – Simple and inoffensive, with a mild body compared to most Chilean Chardonnays. A bit buttery, and a bit of lemon, but not a lot of nuance or, surprisingly, fruit character beyond that. B / $12

2009 Haras Carmenere Maipo Valley – A big licorice thing, funky on the nose with raisin and prune notes. Incredibly over-jammy, with some black pepper, but not really in balance. C- / $12

2008 Haras Cabernet Sauvignon Maipo Valley - Similar character, but with a slightly better balance than the Carmenere. Just too much fruit.C / $12

2007 Haras Character Cabernet Sauvignon-Carmenere Maipo Valley (pictured) – A blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Carmenere, 10% Syrah, and 13% Cabernet Franc. Easily the best red in this crowd, but still intense with prune and cooked fruit character. Mildly better balance than either of the prior two wines, but still has room for improvement. C+ / $20

harasdepirque.com

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Posted in Rated B, Rated C, Rated C+, Rated C-, Reviews, Wine

Review: 2010 Budget White Wines from McManis

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Christopher Null| Leave a comment

McManis Family Vineyards is a budget outfit with vast vineyard holdings in inland California. A step above ultra-cheap wines, McManis aims to offer quality while keeping prices as low as possible. We sampled three whites from the 2010 vintage, with generally acceptable results.

2010 McManis Pinot Grigio California – Extremely tart but overall fairly pleasant. Intense lemon/lime notes. A bit sour on the finish, and better on its own than with food. B / $11

2010 McManis Chardonnay River Junction California – Simplistic, with overly buttery texture and that meat-like finish that mars so many inexpensive Chardonnays. A touch of peaches and lemons somewhere in the mix. Hints of cinnamon on the finish. Basically drinkable. C+ / $11

2010 McManis Viognier California – I love Viognier, but this might as well be Chardonnay, it’s so lacking the peach/apricot character that solid Viognier should have. That said, the more balanced body actually makes it an improvement on the Chardonnay. A good Viognier if you’re not usually a fan of this style. B- / $12

mcmanisfamilyvineyards.com