Reviews: A Variety of Good Wine Choices

It's been two weeks since my last batch of wine reviews and I've sampled some interesting and very enjoyable wines over that period.

Here is my periodic quick review of wines I've been drinking.

Boomtown 2009 Pinot Gris - This Washington state Pinot Gris is a beautiful white wine. The wine has nice round peach and honey dew melon. The acidity is very well balanced for a Northwest Pinot Gris.

Oregon and Washington make some beautiful whites. Some are going to be a bit acidic for many palates but not this one. You won't find a nicer Washington or Oregon Pinot Gris for the price. (Boomtown 2009 Washington State Pinot Gris, $12, Recommended)

2010 Woodbridge Pinot Grigio - The Robert Mondavi value label delivers for a nice light white wine. The blend is low in alcohol at just 12.6 percent. The grapes are 76 percent Pinot Grigio with 21 percent aromatic varieties (unnamed), and 3 percent Sauvignon Blanc.

This is really a nice glass of wine for the price point. I enjoyed the light grapefruit and lime and mild acidity. This is a really good value buy that shouldn't be hard to find at all. (2010 Woodbridge Pinot Grigio, $7.99, Trade Sample, Recommended)

Montecillo 2003 Reserva - This wonderful Temparnillo-based Spanish wine comes from one of the countries oldest wineries. The Rioja has dark cherry and spice galore. While most consumers have enjoyed Spanish wines at the $10-$15 price point, this Reserva will illustrate the bold and beautiful balanced palate pleaser these wines can become. The Reserva bottling consistently scores 89-91 points from the major print wine publications. (Montecillo 2003 Reserva, $19.99-$22.99, Trade Sample, Recommended)

Schloss Proschwitz 2008 Spatburgunder - First, it's unlikely you're going to find this wine but I'm writing about it to make another point. This bottle of German Pinot Noir was delightful. But it was a gift from a German friend hand carried from Deutchland. It appears to be distributed in the U.S. but that's not the point.

Just by chance, I've had two different Spatburgunders in the last few weeks and both were surprisingly good - light Pinot Noir with a nice cherry flavor and quite smooth. This wine retails at approximately $18. Try a German Pinot Noir or Spatburgunder as a Highly Recommended wine.

Lange 2005 Freedom Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir - This is no Tuesday night wine! As a Pinot with a few years to mature it has dark blueberry, blackberry and a smoky spice type characteristic. And the wonderful earthiness is what makes this such a great wine for my taste.

I've read so many wine reviews where writers extol a wine's silky finish unsure if I've ever had the same experience. Now, I can say I have had a wine with a truly silky texture in your mouth and down the pipe. Lange is one of Oregon's absolute premier producers and, admittedly, one of my favories. (Lange 2005 Freedom Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir, $60, Very Highly Recommended)


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