You know, the label on this wine practically gives me carpal tunnel just typing it in... Anyhow, on to another of Tesco Finest, er Napa Family Vineyards' blah blah blah wines...
Curiously enough, this wine smells like the nursing home my Aunt Emma lived in towards the end of her life. There's a very old-ladies-in-wheelchairs floweriness here - kind of like a Laura Ashley boutique just opened shop at the bottom of my glass. It's surprising mostly because this isn't something I smell a lot of in my life, especially not in wines I buy. Anyhow: it's basically a mix of nasturtium, lavender, rosemary honey, and some French oak (?) in the background.
In the mouth, the wine is big, rich, round, and fat, ending in a very spicy note. It's unusual for a mass market California chardonnay in that the movie theater butter note doesn't spring itself on you until the very finish: it's overall far spicier than buttery, which is, I suppose, a refreshing change from the usual. Even so, it's not terribly complex, with nothing (that I can tell) coming from wild yeasts, lees stirring, or other techniques that might increase the interest.
To sum up, it's a decent enough wine. It thankfully doesn't show the banana-pineapple flavors you often find in wines at this price, and the flowery spiciness could be highly attractive to some folks. Most importantly, it delivers enough at its price point and the bottle looks quite nice (once you peel off the SPECIALLY SELECTED BY fresh&easy label).
Napa Family Vineyards [but really fresh&easy]
Curiously enough, this wine smells like the nursing home my Aunt Emma lived in towards the end of her life. There's a very old-ladies-in-wheelchairs floweriness here - kind of like a Laura Ashley boutique just opened shop at the bottom of my glass. It's surprising mostly because this isn't something I smell a lot of in my life, especially not in wines I buy. Anyhow: it's basically a mix of nasturtium, lavender, rosemary honey, and some French oak (?) in the background.
In the mouth, the wine is big, rich, round, and fat, ending in a very spicy note. It's unusual for a mass market California chardonnay in that the movie theater butter note doesn't spring itself on you until the very finish: it's overall far spicier than buttery, which is, I suppose, a refreshing change from the usual. Even so, it's not terribly complex, with nothing (that I can tell) coming from wild yeasts, lees stirring, or other techniques that might increase the interest.
To sum up, it's a decent enough wine. It thankfully doesn't show the banana-pineapple flavors you often find in wines at this price, and the flowery spiciness could be highly attractive to some folks. Most importantly, it delivers enough at its price point and the bottle looks quite nice (once you peel off the SPECIALLY SELECTED BY fresh&easy label).
Napa Family Vineyards [but really fresh&easy]
Price: US $9.99
Closure: Diam
Date tasted: December 2007
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