Wilson Vineyards Chenin Blanc-Viognier, Clarksburg 2006

I have enjoyed this wine for a number of years but this is the first time I will be reviewing it. Wilson Vineyards has been reviewed a couple of time on my blog, mainly their Petite Sirah (I am a sucker for a good Petite). This blend of Chenin blanc and Viognier is quite nice and reminds me of the Pine Ridge Chenin-Viognier which also comes from the Wilson vineyards. This wine has a nice bright and vibrant color to it and shows tropical fruit and honeysuckle on the nose with tart green apple aroma peaking through. The palate switches things up a bit giving some sweeter peach and pear flavors with a cream component and finishes slightly off-dry but with a good balance of acidity. I see this wine as a great fall season food wine. I am thinking of Thanksgiving turkey and ham already.

Overall, I like this new vintage and at $10 it's a great value.

I give it a B+.

Bordeaux Results at Last!!!

We had our taste-off for our wining wines in the Bordeaux series and what an exciting tasting it was! As a recap, we had four tastings with each tasting representing an appellation in Bordeaux the winning wines for each appellation went through a final taste-off and we now have a favorite Bordeaux in our tasting group.

First lets meet the final contestants; From St. Emilion and our first tasting in the Bordeaux series we had Chateau Faugeres, 2004, for $24. From the 2nd tasting of Pulliac we had Carruades de Lafite, 2002 for $40. And from our Lalande de Pomerol/Pomerol tasting we have Chateau de Bel-Air, Les Pensees, 2003, Lalande de Pomerol for $20. And last but not Least from our Pessac-Leognan tasting we had Chateau Cruzeau, 2003 bought for a steal at $14!

And the winner is.................

1st: Chateau Cruzeau, Pessac-Leognan, 2003 for $14!!!!!
2nd: Carruades de Lafite, Pulliac, 2002, $45
3rd: Chateau Faugeres, St. Emilion, 2004, $24
4th: Chateau Bel-Air, Les Pensees, Lalande de Pomerol, 2003, $20

Stay tuned for our next series of tastings where we will be focusing on Pinot Noir from Oregon, California, Burgundy, and New Zealand!