Domaine Serene 2006 “Evenstad Reserve” pinot noir review

2 06 2010

Today we review a 2006 Oregon pinot noir by Domaine Serene called “Evenstad Reserve,” which costs $55 a bottle.  (UPDATE:  As of 2013 the retail price is $65, but you can find it at Total Wine for under $50.)

With this wine, you are entering the big leagues.  It may not be immediately delicious to everyone, but give it a few minutes.  Your first impression will be a reserved feeling of “quality”.  After a while, I predict, you will be addicted.  Bring it to a party and heads WILL turn, if the guests know about wine.  However such a move is risky – Lou might pour half the bottle into the oversized glass of the 20 year-old he’s hitting on, causing you to burst into tears.

This pinot has a gently spicy and very layered taste.  It smells incredible.  I know a woman who can’t drink red wine due to an allergy, and she is very happy to simply take in the aroma of this wine.  Once sipped, you are endlessly entertained by various flavors, like waves arriving on a beach: a hint of cedar, some raspberry, cranberry, and strawberry, oak, fresh spices, and pure pinot magic.  For all its delicacy and complexity, this is a fairly big, medium-bodied wine that shows a deep, dark, ruby red.  Finally, it does not have the stinky barnyard flavors and aromas that many admittedly good pinots have.

This wine wants to breathe for a while before being enjoyed.  It’s best when slightly chilled, as in, refrigerate for 20 minutes before drinking.  The Evenstad Reserve is highly recommended and is a “Best of the Best”.

Enjoy!er


Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: , , , , ,
Categories : -----pinot noir, 1 All, 3 Reds, 4 Over $30, 9 Recommended, Best of the Best

Sexy Wine Bomb red wine review

1 06 2010

Welcome to Wineguider’s wine blog!

Our first post will review Sexy Wine Bomb’s “Blends Have More Fun”, a red wine from California that costs $10 a bottle.

This red is a blend (Merlot: 38%, Zinfandel: 38%, Syrah: 23%, Petite Syrah: 1%) that has a warm, fruit-forward taste with nothing weird going on and a bit of oak and spice in its finish.  I liked it right away.  That loving feeling might wane over time, but so far, this stuff is a hit — and that first impression is just what you need if you’re looking for a wine to bring to a party.  Not to mention the reasonable price tag, and the conversation-starting label, which depicts a bomb next to a sexy female silhouette from an 18-wheeler’s mudflap.

With this wide variety of grapes, you’d expect some complexity, and you do get it, but it’s a $10 version of complexity.   Good enough to be entertaining but not academy award-winning.  Sexy Wine Bomb is a new winery, and this is their first offering, so they need it to work.  And I think it does.  It’s not perfect, and it’s not fall-down-on-the-floor delicious, but at this price it’s appealing and a very solid contender. 

The winery’s quirky website states that the grapes come from “all over California,” but more importantly provides verbatim comments from their pre-release marketing survey (many of which are very negative and are still provided with cheerful commentary from the winemakers).  My favorite comment:  “NO.”

But I say, “YES.”  Enjoy!Sexy Wine Bomb "Blends Have More Fun" red wine


Comments : 5 Comments »
Tags: , , , ,
Categories : -----blends / other, 1 All, 3 Reds, 6 Under $15, 9 Recommended, Bring to a party!

Next Entries »