Teliani Valley Tsolikouri 2005 (Georgia): Grapefruit, green pear, apples, medium bodied, crisp and pleasant minerality. (100% tsolikouri). I believe this is the first time I’ve had this grape, and I did enjoy it. I’ve tried other Teliani wines and been happy with them, not necessarily the case with some other Georgian’s I’ve tried.
Funtanin Roero Arneis 2005 (Piedmont): Pale amber/strawberry blond in color, the nose was raisiny and the palate tasted like unsweetened applejuice. Died very quickly on the tongue, no finish/aftertaste to speak of. (100% arneis). A show of hands around the room indicated that no one was particularly fond of this one.
Dom. Berthet Rayne 2005 (CdR): Deep gold color. The first aroma jumped out at me, and it was ham. As soon as I said it everyone at the table was like, “Wow, you’re right – it smells just like proscuitto”. Ham and salt. The flavor was in stark contrast to the nose – mineral, full bodied and quite astringent. (45% clairette, 45% bourboulenc, 10% grenache blanc). Again, not something most indicated they would purchase on their own.
Chateau de Ligre 2004 (Loire): Lightly candied cherries and some faint dust aromas. Crisp, tart, highly acidic w/ intense grapefruit flavor. (100% chenin blanc). Several people said they thought it would pair well w/ a salad, although I’m not sure exactly why (salads come in so many forms, and I would imagine it would depend on what went into the salad whether or not it would go well).
Sacred Hill White Cliff Sauvignon Blanc 2006: Typical NZ SB – grass, grapefruit, someone else noticed some lavender. (100% SB). I like this style but I don’t know that I’d go out of my way to buy it over any other SB from New Zealand.
Jose Pariente Verdejo 2006 (Rueda): Finally, something I’d seek out. Hay, a bit of barnyard, wet rope scents. Really interesting nose for a white. Apricot and basil flavors, and when I came back to this wine after tasting the next one, it tasted strongly of honeydew melon. This was my WOTN, and I’d pay the $14 that it was quoted as costing. (100% verdejo). I’m really becoming a fan of Spanish whites (already knew I liked their reds). I tried a macabeo from Jumilla the other night and was equally impressed.
Dom. Gerovassiliou Malagousia 2006 (Macedonia): Really fresh, mossy, rainy nose on the initial sniff, followed up by emerging pine and mountain herbs (we couldn’t place exactly what herb, someone knew the name in French to be esther but couldn’t correlate it to English). Canteloupe on the palate. Really made the dill on the chevre that was served stand out. This was my second favorite WOTN. (100% malagousia)
Joao Pires Dry Muscat 2003 (Setubal, Portugal): Amber in appearance (very similar to the arneis). Smoke, leather, raisin and honey on the nose, the palate was a little dissapointing after the complexity of the aromas, although it did open up a bit as it warmed and gave faint honey flavors. (100% muscat a petit grain).
Overall I think the flavor/mouthfeel on most of these wines fell far short, especially in light of the intense and interesting aromas. However, I was glad to have tried some grapes I’ve never tried before, and will be interested now to try them in the future but by different producers to see if what was going on here is typical.