Happened to be out in that part of town, so dropped into TotalWines, against my better judgement. Bought these two to try:
1. Weissenkirchen Riesling Federspiel Wachau (12.5%; SarantyImports/Stamford;Q, trocken; EA) 909033/Durnstein 2019: Med.light color; light floral/R/mango simple pleasant-enough nose; lightly tart off-dry (1.0% r.s.?) clean simple R/floral rather dull flavor; med.short light R/floral/mango off-dry bit watery/vapid finish; speaks of R w/ a quiet voice; not a bad Austrian R but just not very interesting or much intensity. $20.00 (TW)
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2. Mathilde Chapoutier Slctns AC: Duche d'Uzes (14.5%; SarantyImprts) B by M.Chapoutier/Tain 2017: Very dark color; rather earthy/dusty bit funky/dishwater some deep/blackberry/boysenberry/ripe/Syrah bit licorice low fruit nose; soft rather tangy/metallic quite earthy/dusty/rough/coarse some graphite/blackberry/Syrah/peppery mildly interesting flavor w/ ample hard/coarse tannins; med.short tangy/metallic/hard slight Syrah/blackberry/peppery finish w/ some hard/coarse tannins; a real paucity of fruit and quite hard/coarse/rough/rustic on the palate; might be OK for BarBQue fare, but not pleasant on its own. $15.00 (TW)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Both of these wines were from SarantyImprts, the importing facade for TotalWines. So, my expectations were very low. These two fully delivered on those expectations. Actually, they were not as dull/vapid/bland as I've come to expect from Saranty. The first one was a producer I'd never heard of. It is, in fact, DomaneWachau, one of the largest wine producers in the area, for their lower-level regional wines.
Mathilde Chapoutier is apparently one of the younger Chapoutier scions. She travels the Rhone and further afield searching out good values in wines. The Duche d'Uzes is a small AC just North of the town of Nimes in the RhoneVlly. It is a Syrah/Grenache blend. I bought this because it was an AC I'd never heard of and how could you go wrong w/ Chapoutier on the label?? That said, it was not the usual bland/vapid red I'd expect from Saranty. May actually improve some w/ age.
Tom