Hannah's wine blog

SKYFALL Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon Region: Columbia Valley, Washington Country: USA Year: 2016 Price: $14.99 Winery Review:  High in color, tannin and extract, Cabernet Sauvignon expresses notes of blackberry, cassis, plum, currant, spice and tobacco. In Bordeaux and elsewhere in the Old World you'll find the more earthy, tannic side of Cabernet, where it is typically blended to soften tannins and add complexity. In warmer regions like   California   Washington ,  Argentina ,  Chile  and  Australia , you can typically expect more ripe fruit flavors upfront. My Review: As the winery review suggests, this Cabernet Sauvignon was very high in color and tannin. The color was a much darker red than many of the other reds that I have seen, and very tannic for sure, but  definitely not the driest red I have ever had. There were significant flavors or dark fruits such as black cherries and plum, in addition to spices like clove and peppe...

BLOCK NINE Variety:  Pinot Noir Region: California Country: USA Year: 2017 Price: $14.99 Winery Review:  The 2017 Block Nine Pinot is beautifully long and rich in ripe cherry and berry flavors. The aromas exhibit generous bright fruit with a mix of strawberry, violets, plum, tea, and a hint of clove. Flavorful and silky in the mouth with good body, this wine is seductive showing wild cherries and a hint of sandalwood to complete its complex finish. The 2017 growing season was generous is length and consistent temperatures. My Review: This Pinot Noir in my opinion was wonderfully balanced between fruit and spices. The first aromas I got from the wine were strong in berries such as raspberries and blackberries, sweet but not too sweet. However, there was an additional, yet slightly less prominent aroma of spices such as cinnamon or clove, that finished off the wine wonderfully. It was dry but not bone dry, a well balance of flavors and medium bodied....

Rainstorm Variety: Pinot Noir Region: Willamette and Umpqua, Oregon Country: USA Year: 2016 Price: $17 Winery Review:  To craft our wonderfully balanced Rainstorm Pinot Noir, we take advantage of our diverse landscape by selecting grapes from our vineyards in the Willamette and Umpqua Valleys. With its cool, mild climate, the Willamette Valley of northern Oregon produces Pinot Noirs with an earthy, elegant style and complex flavors and subtlety. The hotter and drier climate in the southern Oregon’s Umpqua Valley region produces Pinot Noirs bursting with brilliant, ripe, rich fruit flavors. By creating a 50/50 blend of these two wine regions, we’ve crafted an Oregon Pinot Noir that reflects the dynamic diversity of our very green (and sometimes very wet) state. The result: Rainstorm Pinot Noir is a perfect harmony. We harvest our Pinot Noir grapes at about 22.5 Brix and then gently destem them before the maceration phase. Our macerations – that’s when the skin comes...

Hess Select Variety:  Cabernet Sauvignon Region: Napa Country: USA Year: 2015 Price: $19 Winery Review : Our Hess Select Cabernet features grapes from some of the best vineyards in Napa and Lake county. The wine showcases a ruby color with aromas of red raspberry, black cherry follow with spicy notes of currants, anise, cloves, cedar, and a touch of vanilla. This soft, round, medium-bodied wine tastes like Cabernet should. Our Cabernet is perfect with an informal BBQ straight through to Saturday night. My Review: To me, this Cabernet Sauvignon was a perfect example of a great, typical sauvignon. It had aromas of dark berries like raspberries and black cherries as the winey suggests, however, I think the wine tasted much more spicy, like pepper, cinnamon, and cloves rather than cedar or anise. I believe that he tannins held a strong presence, yet it was not overly dry. There was just enough of a balance of sugar to complement the other flavors. I also agree ...

Wine & Cheese: #1!!! On Monday, October 8th, five friends and I decided to have a wine and cheese pairing, which was a much needed break from studying in one super stressful week. My friend Gaby is from Dallas and was able to go to Tom Thumb before she came home from the weekend and got us six bottles of wine with a few discounts, and we were able to save $52 and actually get pretty decent wines for pretty cheap. Our friend Emily went to sprouts and got brie, gouda, and goat cheese to pair with a few of the wines we got, I got some crackers and salami, and by that time we were ready to go! The three wines we used were: - La Crema chardonnay, 2016 from Montery -The Velvet Devil merlot, 2015 from Washington State -Laroque cabernet franc, 2017 from Citê de Carcassonne (here are some pictures of the bottles) We were told that brie would go best with the chardonnay, the gouda would go best with the merlot, and and the goat would go best with the cabe...

Acrobat Variety: Rosé Region: Oregon Country: USA Year: 2017 Price: $15.99 Winery Review: A beautiful, vibrant hue of pale pink Pinot Noir skins. The nose exudes fresh cut strawberries with lemon zest and orange tinges. The palate is laser focused with bright flavors of fresh strawberries and raspberries, with a pleasant structure of lively, clean, acidity. There is an overall striking balance of fresh fruit and structure that begs to be paired with a variety of food, especially cheeses and charcuterie. My Review:  To me this wine absolutely amazing, it definitely had the hints of fresh strawberries as the winery review described, but it wasn't overly sweet. It was more of a dry rosé with several sweet undertones which made it a well balanced wine. We had this wine at a Blu wine tasting, and it went very well with the cheeses provided.

Acrobat  Year: 2015 Variety: Pinot Gris Region:  Oregon Country:  USA Price:  $17.99 Winery Review:  "Flat out delicious, this brings compelling fruit flavors of melon, papaya, and pineapple, coupled with juicy, mouth cleansing acidity. The depth and complexity are phenomenal for an Oregon Pinot Gris produced in large quantities." My Review: This Pinot Gris is absolutely wonderful. It is refreshing and crisp yet hints of sweet tropical flavors, however I don't think it was as tropical as the review describes. Although it had hints of tropical flavors, I also got hints of apple, similar to a green apple, which had to do with the high acidity level. However, the acidity and sugar are very well balanced and it was not too tart.