2 Archives - Page 2 of 6 -

Smallfry Tangerine Dream 2021 Review – A Flavorful Orange

We always have a soft spot to try orange wines as they typically offer a unique flavor profile that is a bit unlike anything else you can find. Throw in the fact that they can often be made of grapes (or blends of grapes) that are a bit more unusual to see and in some cases even fermented naturally, there really is a lot to love.

Smallfry's Tangerine Dream is one such bottle as it is a skin contacted white wine from the Barossa Valley of Australia made with Semillon, Pedro Ximenez, Riesling, Rousillon, and Muscat and offered some delightful flavors.

Every so often we get a wine that is so fascinating it is hard to properly describe. Sometimes these are good, sometimes they are bad, but no matter what they leave us talking for a long time to come.

4kilo Motor Blanc made from the grape Prensal Blanc from the Balearic Islands of Spain was one such bottle. While we thought this one could've used a bit more in the acidity and length department, it was one we still find ourselves talking about over and over again.

We don't often think of California when drinking Sauvignon Blanc, although this is a popular grape to grow throughout the state.

In our Naked Wines subscription, we got to sample Provare's Sauvignon Blanc as part of a mystery box and felt it was a relatively straightforward bottle for its price point.

When we had a layover in Istanbul, we knew we had to pick up some Turkish wines with new-to-us grapes to try when we got home.

This is how we stumbled upon Kavaklidere's Kalecik Karasi. We didn't know much about what to expect with this one, and it turns out it ended up being a light red, not too dissimilar from a Pinot Noir.

While not what we expected, it was an interesting one all the same.

When studying for my WSET Diploma D4 exam in sparkling wines, I had to buy a number of bottles well beyond my normal drinking habits.

While I do enjoy a good Cava, I often find myself trending to artisan producers over some of the larger companies. But for studying purposes, I knew I had to go for some name-brand bottles to increase my tasting experience, which is exactly how I ended up with a bottle of Freixenet Cordon Negro Gran Seleccion.

Whenever we want to seek out a new grape for our quest here at The Grape Pursuit, we always find no shortage of options coming out of Eastern Europe.

The Hungarian white wine grape, Irsai Oliver, is one such grape we found in the reasonably priced Kristinus Oliver 1930 sold in a local store. Naturally, we had to pick it up and gave this new grape a try.

Most of the Portuguese red wines we tried in the country were intense to say the least. Think high alcohol, high tannin, and pretty in-your-face flavor intensity too.

Whenever we had “light” wines, by Portugal standards at least, we were told to pair them with steak- signaling they are still on the pretty intense side all things considered.

So while we think that Taboadella 1255 Alfrocheira Reserva does fall under the lens of a “light” Portuguese red, you'll do well to keep in mind it really is anything but light in the grand scheme of things.

For as much as we study wine, every so often we have a bottle that surprises us.

Sometimes this is because what is in the glass is completely different from what we expected. Other times is because we simply picked the wrong bottle for our meal and really didn't know what we were getting ourselves into.

Le Fraghe Rondinella from Italy is one such bottle that hit all those marks. We opened it thinking we were having a somewhat intense Italian red and it turns out this one was characteristically more like a lighter rose.

Naturally, we were in for a surprise- one that was not necessarily what we wanted.

Every so often you stumble upon a bottle that is surprising. Sometimes it is because of the flavor profile. Sometimes it is because of the price. Sometimes because it is, well, produced a little differently than you anticipated.

The white Mourvedre from Eleven Winery in Washington was most certainly the latter.

Why? They managed to produce this traditionally intense red grape as a nearly perfect white (with only slight, slight pink hints)!

We've been lucky enough to sample some wines from Armenia Wine Co. as finding Armenian wine in the USA is often difficult outside of this brand. Their non-vintage white comes from the Kangun grape and offered a somewhat simple flavor profile with some slight aged notes on the finish.

This one will truly go with many dishes, but we ended up wanting just a bit more.

Smallfry Tangerine Dream 2021 Review – A Flavorful Orange

4kilo Motor Blanc 2020 Review – A Fascinating Wine

Provare Sauvignon Blanc 2020 Review – A Simple Sipper

Prestige Kavaklidere Kalecik Karasi 2019 Review

Freixenet Cordon Negro Gran Seleccion NV Review – A Mild Cava

Kristinus Oliver 1930 2018 Review – A Unique Hungarian Wine

Taboadella 1255 Alfrocheiro Reserva 2019 Review

Le Fraghe Chelidon Rondinella 2018 Review – A Rose-Esque Wine

Eleven Winery White Mourvedre 2020 Review – Unique Approach

Armenia Wine Co Dry White NV – A Simple Kangun