hosted by Chad & Christy
Theme: Battle of the Bottles - blind tastings between various pairs of bottles, you have to guess which one of the two is the expensive wine ($50+), and which is the budget bottle (~$20 or less).
1st Place: The most accurate guesses goes to Drew! He guessed 5 out of 6 bottle battles correctly!
TWITs brought $40/pp to cover the cost of the wines.
Tasting Notes:
2nd Place: Val with 4 correct guesses
3rd Place: Tie between Abbie and DuPree with 3 correct guesses
We did not guess on the Welcome Wines (in case you were counting).
We did not guess on the Welcome Wines (in case you were counting).
I'd like to give honorable mention to Rheinallt for the most hilarious tasting notes I've read in a while. Great job sassy pants!
TWITs brought $40/pp to cover the cost of the wines.
Food Pairings:
Chad & Christy prepared some wonderful food pairings for us.
Tasting Notes:
All bottles purchased via Wine.com
Welcome Wine
Food Pairing - Charcuterie Board
Bottle 1: J Vineyards California Cuvee - $24.99
12.5% alcohol
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Bottle 2: Champagne Gimonnet-Gonet L'Origine Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs NV - $45
12% alcohol
Riesling
Food pairing - Shrimp w cocktail sauce
Bottle 1: 2017 Dr Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling - $49.99
12.5 % alcohol
Petrol, stone fruits, minerality, dry, honeysuckle, tropical, unripe papaya, pear, semi-dry, honeydew citrus, no petroleum, very light, shite, sickly, too sweet, nice acidity, but no petrol, cloying after palate, floral, pear, very dry for Riesling, good pear floral, gardenia, I liked this one just guessed wrong, pear floral dry
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Bottle 2: 2018 Pewsey Vale Eden Valley Dry Riesling - $16.99
12% alcohol
kerosene, soapy, musky, stinky, viscous, dry briny, gasoline, clean, dry, lots of gasoline, ribana, layers of minerals, it's a deal it's a steal, very dry, briny, petrol, soapy, mineral, not so good, petroleum, flower, pear, plastic, new toy, dry, flower
Sauvignon Blanc
Food Pairing - Bacon/Goat Cheese/Olive Quick Bread
Bottle 1: 2018 Beyond Sauvignon Blanc Buitenverwachting South Africa - $10.99
13.5% alcohol
citrus, lemony, depth, olive, brine at back palate, peaches, pithy, peach cobbler, mineral, lemon, very nice clean nose, spitting out citrus like a deranged satsuma, RH's fave wine of the evening! lemon, dry, acid, very balanced, lemon, sugar, citrus, sweet but rich smooth, fresh, crisp, not very grassy, citrus, would like to drive this to me, brine, citrus, lemon
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Bottle 2: 2015 Cloudy Bay Te Koko Sauvignon Blanc New Zealand - $69.99
14% alcohol
petrol, peaches and cantaloupe, stone fruits in yo face, tangerine candy, rich, no no no no no No Zealand, stone fruit over the top, too much acid, too much mineral, less sweet, crisp, grapefruit, sophisticated, peaches, like 1, crisp, peach cobbler, peach, jackfruit, sweet
Rose
Food Pairing - Strawberry salad (Baby lettuces with feta, strawberries, and almonds)
Bottle 1: 2018 Chateau Romassan Ott Bandol France - $58.99
13% alcohol
almost no nose, drinking air, flavored water, if you put bubbles in it it's a White Claw, light in color, no me gusto, devoid of character, vapid but roughness, why you give me roughness? no want. very delicate strawberry, cream, White Claw flavored water, dry, light, doesn't taste like much, color off, very bland
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Bottle 2: 2018 Famille Combard Figuiere Magali Signature Cotes de Provence - $19.99
13% alcohol
better color, better flavors, bitter finish, bland but smells like a rose, bit more biting, some banana but still okay, but not good. more acid, cloying after palate, nice, a little sweeter, pepper, not so good, guest soap in grandma's bathroom
Pinot Noir
Food Pairing - Asian meatballs with sauce
Bottle 1: 2017 J Vineyards Pinot Noir Monterey/Santa Barbara/Sonoma Counties - $18.99
14.3% alcohol
berries, chocolate, spice, light, dark fruits, very good California Pinot, classic Pinot attributes like cola and dandelions and burdock, fruit forward, cola, balanced, very nice, sweet berry, blueberry, rich, peppery, dark berries, devious, best so far, blackberry, light on nose, fruit forward
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Bottle 2: 2016 Paul Hobbs Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast/Sonoma County - $59.99
14.1% alcohol
higher alcohol, headache tomorrow wine, sour, young, very similar to the other Pinot but lighter, brighter, and better, richer mouthfeel, cola, more spice, more alcohol, cherry nose, but less (illegible sorry),
Malbec
Food Pairing - Roquefort blue cheese Slider/Burger
Bottle 1: 2014 Tapiz Black Tears Malbec Mendoza Argentina - $54.99
14.5% alcohol
lovely, dark chocolate, leather, berries, woody, dark fruit, baking spices, solid little Malbec, so solid with the burger slider, yes so nice, anise spice and cloves and some other stuff, anise, nose all dark fruit
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Bottle 2: 2017 Altos Las Hormigas Malbec Clasico Mendoza Argentina - $12.99
13.5% alcohol
f*ck me nose, smooth, sexy, berries, jam yet dry not sweet, smiley face, hotness up the nose, high ethanol, roughness in the extreme, just rough, pickles, brine, pine, didn't like either of these, pine, smooth
Cabernet Sauvignon
Food Pairing - Mini Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake
Bottle 1: 2017 Michael Mondavi Oberon Cabernet Sauvignon Napa County - $20.99
13.7% alcohol
bell pepper, chocolate bliss, bell pepper cacao on the nose, solid cab, prob new wood, maybe pedestrian Cab, spice, fruit, nice balance, like, fruity, smooth, good
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Bottle 2: 2015 Hall Eighteen Seventy-Three Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley - $74.99
15.6% alcohol
spice and chocolate, smiley face, this has mint, just mint, why does it have mint? spearmint at that! butter, pastry fruit nose, tannin, classic cab, more tannin
