I recently received three great bottles of wine from Wine Chateau. Wine Chateau is an online (and brick & mortar) wine retailer that offers an extraordinary selection of wines and spirits. They also offer wines that are hard to find in store. I am quite impressed by their selection – and the reasonable prices – something that can be hard to find these days.
For me, opening a bottle of wine is like taking a mini-trip around the world. Each bottle captures the different flavors of its region – and in a single sip, you are transported to a different country.
The three bottles I received were just that – a mini-trip around the world.
My line-up included: Benziger Family Winery 2011 Sauvignon Blanc (California), Chateau de Berne 2011 Rose (France) and Villa 2011 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (Italy).
I started with the Benziger 2011 Sauvignon Blanc. It was pale yellow in color and had a crisp citrus nose – light white grapefruit. The palette had lots of great acid, very refreshing and lemony. I could imagine sitting on the porch in the summer, eating a chicken salad and enjoying this wine.
– A side note, Benziger is Certified Sustainable Growth – meaning the way they grow their grapes is good for the environment. Forward thinking.
I then tried the Chateau de Berne, Cotes de Provence Rosé 2011. The wine was pale pink with an orange tint and has a super light nose, I could smell very light tannins. The palette was a little savory, with a slight taste of peaches and apricots. I LOVED the bottle shape of this wine – a cool square design, very unique.
– Chateau de Berne is a true Chateau, you could actually stay overnight, wine and dine – nice!
The last wine was the Villa 2011 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. The wine was shades of dark plum and burgundy, and had a nose of cooked dark fruits, plums and cherries. The palette had light tannins, as well as cherries, berries and ripe fruit. This wine would be great on its own or with a meal (pizza maybe).
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The one thing I found interesting was the Benziger was a little cloudy when it was first poured, but that dissipated after a few minutes. I am thinking this was titrates….It didn’t affect the wines taste – it was still great!
I enjoyed all three wines, but I was really torn between the Benziger and the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo as my top favorite. I am also going to investigate other wines these wineries have to offer.
The Splendid Grape 