Category Archives: White Wine

Abeille-Fabre Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2010 Vignoble Abeille

Lots of information about the wines marketed as Château Mont-Redon, but not a lot about this particular wine. Château Mont-Redon is owned by Jean Abeille and Didier Fabre, they are the third generation of wine-makers, but already the fourth generation is awaiting. This particular wine is from the Vineyards of Jean Abeille. Château Mont-Redon’s vineyards are 174 ha big, of which a nice 100 ha lies in the AOC Châteauneuf-du-Pape

This white Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a blend of 40% Grenache Blanc, 25% Bourboulenc, 20% Clairette, 10% Picpoul Terret and finally 5% Roussane. Well, not your every day Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc, isn’t it! By the way, these numbers may vary with every vintage. Around 450.000 bottles of Châteauneuf-du-Pape are produced annually, of which a hefty 100.000 is of the white variety.s

Abeille-Fabre Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2010 Vignoble AbeilleColor: Straw yellow, light.

Nose: Very aromatic, fatty, buttery and nicely fruity. White peach. Mineral but also fruity, white peach in sweet yoghurt. Very appetizing. What I especially like about this one is the slightly industrial, rubbery and maybe gout de petrol like quality this wine has.

Taste: Thick vanilla, wood and warming, what? Warm stones. Mineral and earthy. Slightly waxy and soft lemon juice on top. Gooseberries and grapefruit! Acidity kept in check. Nicely balanced Wine. Vanilla and wood in the nose and now again some vanilla and wood in the taste, this must have seen some wood. Slightly bitter finish, which passes through the mouth leaving a nice taste behind. Well made.

Starts very fruity and aromatic, changes into a more serious nose with petrol. Same with the taste, ending in a slightly wooden bitterness. Not harsh in any way. The finish is long and the bitterness passes into something more woody-fruity and fatty. Fresh butter. High quality. 13.5% ABV. Don’t drink this too cold, when it warms up in your glass it still gives of a lot of aromatics.

Points: 86

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Paul & Philippe Zinck Pinot Blanc 2008

Exactly a year ago, I reviewed the 2009 vintage of this Pinot Blanc. Comparing notes it will be quite interesting to compare both. Just like last year, the end of may had its sunny days and this time around we are going crazy over asparagus (the white ones) at home. First time around we had Asparagus with the Zenato Pinot Grigio 2013, this time we’ll take a classic one from Alsatia. Quite an oldie actually since these wines aren’t made for keeping around for a longer time, but I never had a problem with White Wines from Alsatia.

Zinck Pinot BlancColor: White wine with a slight green tint.

Nose: Fresh and citrussy. Slight hint of melon (but without the sweetness). Creamy calcium and flinty. Hints of white peach. Smells quite citrussy and acidic. This may very well be quite a sour example, but we’ll see. Even though this is supposed to be quite a simple Wine, there is a lot going on in the nose.

Taste: Yes, quite acidic. Roter vitamin C. Is it too high in its acids, well no, not even for me. I usually don’t like over acidic Wines, but this one is do-able. After the acidity leaves the mouth, a more syrupy feel gets a chance to present itself. IS a bit the depth of syrup, but this time without the sweetness. Hard to explain. Although probably not present, but you never know in a difficult year; it seems to ave some wood. Toward the finish it calms down a bit, getting less about the acidity, but having drunk a whole bottle yesterday the acidity was something you get used too.

2008 was a challenging year for Alsatian Wines. The 2008 vintage is known for higher acidity, and yes, that’s true for this one too. I wouldn’t drink a whole bottle of this by itself, too high in its acids, but it is a nice and simple Pinot Blanc. Together with White asparagus, excellent. This Pinot needs food. Compared to the 2009 vintage, this is better balanced but also less sweet and more acidic. My wife preferred the Zenato with Asparagus. I had fun with both, but just a little bit more fun with this Zinck. Big difference between the 2008 and the 2009 vintage though.

Points: 78

La Cave Du Vieil Armand Grand Cru Ollwiller Pinot Gris 2007

Ollwiller, which is a Grand Cru since 1983, lies in the municipality of Wuenheim (Close to the famous Grand Cru of Rangen near Thann), is named after the Château d’Ollwiller that was built in the 12th century A.D. The Ollwiller castle is the former estate of the Bishop of Strasbourg, who was behind the development of the vine in the thirteenth century A.D. The castle is now owned by the Gros family since 1825, co–winemakers and co-founders of the Cave of the Old-Armand.

The vines are situated in a dry microclimate with only 450 mm of rain per annum. The vines are sheltered from the wind by the Hartmannswillerkopf a.k.a. Old-Armand where some heavy fighting in World War I took place, which also destroyed all the vineyards. Its slopes face south-east, with maximum sunshine on an altitude between 260 and 330 m. The soil is composed of conglomerates (loosely cemented heterogeneous material) and marl, reddish sandy clay and gravel.      

La Cave Du Vieil Armand Grand Cru Ollwiller Pinot Gris 2007Color: Light gold with a slight pink touch

Nose: Full on everything, overwhelmingly aromatic. Expect nice sweetness, acidity, fruit, white grapes and also something flinty a trace of sulphur, although it isn’t in the terroir. Marl is. Yellow fruits like white peach (lighter and more elegant compared to the more “common” peach) and dried apricots and pear. Also tighter fruits like white grapes. All of this is in the background adding to the complex nose. This is so much more than just a fruity wine. Unbelievable how well the sweet and the acidity blend together, and don’t forget this is just the nose we’re talking about.

Taste: Thick and syrupy, but not very sweet. Again just like the nose, very good balance and all tastes blend well together. Hints of peach yoghurt, but also a well-defined depth of dried apricots. Fantastic stuff this is. Not as mineral as I’ve expected, but great acidity to keep it in check. Don’t get me wrong it’s not very sweet nor is it acidic, it’s just perfect, although I have to say that the taste is less complex than the nose is.

This gem will do with a lot of foods, yes, we can mention de usual suspects like salads and fish, coquilles etc. But this one is excellent on its own. Sitting back with a nicely chilled “Old Armand” is the way to enjoy it for me. This should only be sold in Magnum sized bottles. Wonderful, This is again an example, why I love Alsatian wines so much.

Points: 90

This review is dedicated to Yvonne and Joost. If you can read dutch please check out their website about Alsatian Wines.

Casa La Teja D.O. La Mancha Airén – Sauvignon Blanc 2009

Here we have a white wine by Bodegas Yuntero, Jesús del Perdón from the la Mancha district in Spain. A district that gets lots of sun. The wine is blended from Airén 85% and Sauvignon Blanc 15%. The owners focus on 100% sustainable viticulture. The wine is also made from certified organically grown grapes with an SHC certificate.

Casa La Teja D.O. La Mancha Airén – Sauvignon Blanc 2009Color: Pale straw yellow

Nose: Very fruity and fresh. Hints of banana and peach. Excellent aromatic fruitiness in the nose. Through the nose it promises a nice balance between the sweet and the sour. Although no of the used grapes are common to Alsace, you could have been mistaken trying this blind. Great balance, and a very appealing nose (to me).

Taste: Very soft, velvety and simple and straightforward. Slightest hint of bitterness (grapefruit). Lower in its acidity than I initially expected. A round overall taste without much acidity and also little sweetness without it becoming bone-dry. I expected a little bit more in the taste department. Even the alcohol seems lower than stated. Very light indeed.

Probably meant to be drunk young, but I have to say that a little ageing didn’t do the wine any harm whatsoever. Definitely an aperitif wine with a lovely nose, in the taste too light in my opinion, and if the wine makers would have been able to match the taste to the nose this would be a winner. As said, an aperitif wine which can be combined with light foods as salads and light seafood. Mussels come to mind. I liked the red better.

Points: 76

Paul & Philippe Zinck Pinot Blanc 2009

And suddenly the sun came out! Nice temperature so I felt like a nice light and refreshing wine. I have a batch of Pinot Blancs lying around for the white asparagus season, but thought I would give this one a try by itself, for me you never can go wrong with an Alsatian Wine. This Pinot Blanc is made by Domaine Zinck from Eguisheim, Alsace, France. Zinck have four great Grand Crus: Eichberg, Pfersigberg, Goldert and Rangen. The last two I also know from Zind-Humbrecht. Spectacular stuff. This Pinot Blanc is from the “Portrait” line of wines and are made as an introduction to Wine. We call that entry-level. Zinck Pinot Blanc

Color: light yellow with a slight green tint, medium viscosity

Nose: Flowery and half sweet. Meaty and buttery with hints of earth. Quite a “thick” and aromatic nose (lots of yellow fruits), seems sweet at first. Vegetal and herbal, maybe sage. Coastal (the terroir is silty), and fruity, melon-style.

Taste: Syrupy sweet. The acidity is in check. The sweetness and the acidity somehow doesn’t seem to be well married together. Something not quite right and I can not put my finger on it. The fruity melons are here too, and just like the nose, “thick”. Quite some bitterness too, that stays well into the finish. Where it shouldn’t be. Chewy and behind it all sweeter than it appears to be.

Pinot Blanc is not Alsace’s favourite grape variety, and I guess this wine shows why. It is recommended with food, asparagus. Don’t have that here at the moment, but I’ve tried it with a salad, OK and with spicy chicken legs, that was quite good actually. Since the wine is quite thick the Pinot Blanc managed the spicy chicken well. Easily drinkable. I personally didn’t like this as much as a lot of other wines from the region, but it does seem to fare better with food than on its own. Well just a matter of taste really, since my wife did love this on its own and is more than happy to drink the rest of the bottles that are in the cellar.

Points: 77

Casal de Ventozela Branco Vinho Verde DOC 2013

Vinho Verde is a Portuguese wine from the Minho province in the far north of the country. The region has many small growers, which train their vines high off the ground, in trees, on fences, and even telephone poles so there still is some room on the ground for growing food crops. Vinho Verde means “green wine” as in “young wine”, so Vinho Verdes are made to be drunk in their youth, so don’t age them. Grape varieties used for white Vinho Verde are; Loreiro, Arinto, Trajadura, Avesso and Azal. Also red and rosé Vinho Verde’s are made.

In the old days, the slight effervesce of the wine came from malolactic fermentation taking place in the bottle, normally a wine fault, but in the case of Vinho Verde, it is considered a nice “effect”. Today in most cases the effervesce comes from artificial carbonation.

Casal de Ventozela BrancoThe wine has an ABV of 11,5%, which for a Vinho Verde is rather high.

Color: Light white wine, pale straw, not green. Medium viscosity.

Nose: Very fruity and almost lemonade-like. Lots of aromas leap out of the glass. A happy and summery smell. Typical sweet creamy yoghurt with chunks of peach and even some banana. Vanilla ice-cream (mind you, not vanillin from wood). The wine does have tiny bubbles (effervesce) which adds to the summery feel. After a while the creaminess dissipates and the nose gets more acidic and even more refreshing. Nice green notes too. Gooseberries. Very nicely made with an interesting and nice nose.

Taste: Good balance between its acidity and sweetness. Both are quite soft. Again the acidity is the same as yoghurt. The fruits are also more of the acidic kind, like lemons and limes, with the peach and banana in the background. The nose and the taste match, whereas the nose was more creamy and sweetish, the taste is definitely more acidic. The tiny bubbles this wine has also add to the refreshing quality it has.

Probably a seafood wine, it does need a culinary companion. Perfect for sushi and I will have to try another one with asparagus! Lovely stuff.

Points: 83

Santa Cristina Umbria IGT 2011

Somehow this is the end of some sort of trilogy. Earlier I reviewed a rosé and a red by Santa Cristina, and now here is a white, or Bianco. Way back in time I was told that Santa Cristina has a pretty good red in the shops, so I started buying some different vintages and was actually never disappointed. Much later I got hold of a rose wine by Santa Cristina and that one I didn’t like that much. Now here we have a chance to have a look at a white wine by Santa Cristina. By the way, this white wine is made with the Grechetto and Procanico grape varieties.

Color: Light White Wine.

Nose: Sweet and fresh, with hints of creamy and sugared apricots, but also hints of flowers. After the sweet apricot yoghurt I’m a bit struggling to get any more from this nose. The nose of this wine is appealing like a lemonade is, so probably a summery wine.

Taste: Very light, and not as sweet as I initially thought.Very anonymous. Slightly acidic and austere. Almost metallic. Actually this lacks a bit of sweetness to round the flavour out. Not very complex, which is no problem for a summery wine, but also lacks in the balance department, if you ask me.

For a light summery wine this could have been more appealing with some added sweetness. One-dimensional. Extremely simple wine. It does taste like a wine with an ABV of 12%, but when drunk like a lemonade, you will get a kick in the head, especially in the sun. Altogether not very interesting.

As said before, I was tipped some time ago about Santa Cristina wines (the reds). Now that I have tasted all three colours of Santa Cristina, I’m sticking to the reds. Santa Cristina red is good for pizza!

Points: 72

Antonin Rodet Chablis 2011

Two months ago I reviewed the first Chablis on these pages, and here is already the second one. Already, considering I mainly review Single Malt Whiskies that is.

Chablis is the northernmost part of the Burgundy Wine region. Chablis lies some 15 to 20 kilometres to the east of Auxerre. The Grand Crus all lie on one southwest facing slope just north of Chablis. The ‘terroir’ is clay with outcrops of the same chalk layer that runs from Sancerre to the White Cliffs of Dover. Chablis is made with Chardonnay Grapes and is famous for its clean, acidic, flinty and dry White Wines. Chablis Wines are more acidic due to the cool climate, compared to other Chardonnay growing regions. Not a lot of ageing in wood is done in Chablis, and this example I’m about to review has no wood ageing whatsoever.

The Chablis by Louis Moreau was pretty good, so let’s have a look, what Antonin Rodet did with his Chardonnay grapes.

Color: White Wine.

Nose: Sweet and fruity. Lychees and hints of peaches. Very fresh and lively. Wow, I always get happy smelling a white wine with a nose like this. It smells sweet and flinty. Chalk even. Also some floral notes like geraniums and it promises a nice acidity. Nice balance too. Very nice and typical Chablis nose. I like my Chardonnay. This nose, compared to the one by Louis Moreau, is cleaner, more elegant and lovely.

Taste: Zesty and acidic (Vitamin C). Very clean, fresh and likeable. I get the chalk from the nose again, but not a lot more. Not very complex, maybe even simple, but also without faults. Appetizing and easy drinkable.

As said above. The nose of Antonin Rodet is better than the one by Louis Moreau, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so it may depend on your mood, which one to choose. Taste wise I guess the Louis Moreau offering was a tad more interesting and had a finish with more meat on its bones, making that one slightly better in my opinion, but still, differences are small and I liked the Antonin Rodet Chablis a lot too. By the way the ABV is 12%.

Points: 84

Torres Viña Brava Parellada Muscat 2012

And here we have yet another summer Wine brought into our lives by my mother. This time from spanish giants Torres. Viña Brava is a series that convey the flavors of the mediterranean coast and in this case Catalonia. For 2013 the Parellada grape is combined with Garnacha Blanca to form a semi sweet white Wine, but this 2012 expression combines Parellada with the Muscat grape for a medium sweet white Wine. 11,5% ABV.

Torres has a nice website where this expression I’m about to review isn’t present. Advised drinking temperature for this wine is 10ºC (for fish and seafood), but with these 30ºC temperatures we have outside at the moment, this wine can be very well drunk with ice-cubes (as an aperitif or hot-weather refreshment).

Color: Light white wine.

Nose: Sweet, peaches and apricots (fresh ones and dried ones). It has a nice refreshing acidity as well. Lime juice and spicy. Nice.

Taste: Lemony and half-sweet. Good balance and very refreshing (I’m tasting this at the advised temperature without ice-cubes). Quite simple, but that isn’t a problem with this kind of wine in these circumstances. A very nice summer wine, like a lemonade. Clear apple juice.

Again thumbs up from my mother and my wife, and who am I to say something different! It’s easy and laid-back, luckily not too sweet with a nice acidity to it. Good.

Points: 79

Stormhoek Moscato 2013

And here is another wine favoured by my wife and my mother! Again a white one, but this time without bubbles but a lot sweeter. Master Quill already reviewed a white wine from the Western Cape region of South Africa. I have the feeling there is quite a lot of marketing going one here, since the label states as with the best of cosmetics: London Cape Town New York. Wow! The wine has the following enlightened text on the back label: Be Moved. Love. Encourage and Excite. Be enthusiastic. Motivate. Change the World or go Home…

Stormhoek can be found on the internet, but also on Facebook and Twitter.

Color: Ultra light white wine.

Nose: Sweet, artificial fruity sweet. Lots of peaches and apricots. Slightest hint of acidity. lemons. Lemonade. Very very fruity (and sweet-smelling).

Taste: Very sweet and really a peach drink. It’s so sweet and fruity I can hardly notice it is made with grapes. Funny that the back label stresses that it ís made with grapes, and tastes of grapes. I have drank wine made with muscat grapes before, but never so fruity as this one is. Deep down there is some acidity that very much resembles Vitamin C.

Going by the nose and the taste I would almost call this a children’s wine. Still this summer wine does have 8.5% ABV, so nevertheless it isn’t suitable for children. Recommended by my mother and my wife. I will recommend this a s a compote! Definitely designed for a young public (read women), hence the marketing.

Points: 75