Kiona will always hold a special place in my heart. I went on a wine tasting tour with a bus-load of friends and Kiona was one of our stops. What I found was proof that an $8 bottle of table wine doesn't have to taste like an $8 bottle of table wine.
Kiona is by no means perfect, but for the price, it is a lovely drinking wine that has more character than other alternatives. The nose is super oaky. I'm reminded of Gary Vaynerchuk's "Oak Monster" comment. Its forgivable because it is interesting. This is not your mama's box wine.
On the palate, the wine is definitly oaky, but also exibits a fruity flavor. I think of sour cherries, finishing towards a bittersweet chocolate, to just a pure bitterness.
This is not a prestigious wine. If you are having company, look elsewhere. But for an inexpensive wine, you could do worse. In fact, this is good enough to have been the red wine at my wedding reception. Great budget wine for events.
Showing posts with label Yakima. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yakima. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
2007 Facelli Winery Lemberger
About three weeks ago the missus and I spent an afternoon out in Woodinville. We went out specifically to visit Woodhouse Family Cellars (details in another post) but since we were there we stopped into a few other wineries. Facelli is one of the oldest wineries in Woodinville. It is family-owned, and you are likely to run into the whole family when you visit on the weekend. We tasted several of the Facelli wines and decided on their Lemberger.
I honestly don't know that much about Lemberger. The only other Washington winery that I know of producing single-variatal wines with it is Kiona. Since I don't really know what a Lemberger's flavor profile is supposed to be, I get to give you a pretty open review of what it is like.
The wine is ruby red. The nose... I get raspberries. But with a sweetness that often makes me think of strawberries. Let's call it sweet raspberries. I also get a hint of a smell I associate with new carpet. Sort of a chemical/synthetic smell.
The wine is fruity on the palate, confirming the previous sweet raspberry thoughts. No real tannins, and the acid is light. The finish is short, and trails into a sour fruit flavor. Sort of like a cherry jolly rancher, with a touch of bitterness that doesn't quite fully develop into bittersweet chocolate.
Its a drinkable wine. I can't really tell you how it is as a Lemberger, but as a table wine, it is decent. At $17 a bottle, I think you can get a better table red or daily-drinker red. Still, if you are looking for something different, you might find it interesting.
I honestly don't know that much about Lemberger. The only other Washington winery that I know of producing single-variatal wines with it is Kiona. Since I don't really know what a Lemberger's flavor profile is supposed to be, I get to give you a pretty open review of what it is like.
The wine is ruby red. The nose... I get raspberries. But with a sweetness that often makes me think of strawberries. Let's call it sweet raspberries. I also get a hint of a smell I associate with new carpet. Sort of a chemical/synthetic smell.
The wine is fruity on the palate, confirming the previous sweet raspberry thoughts. No real tannins, and the acid is light. The finish is short, and trails into a sour fruit flavor. Sort of like a cherry jolly rancher, with a touch of bitterness that doesn't quite fully develop into bittersweet chocolate.
Its a drinkable wine. I can't really tell you how it is as a Lemberger, but as a table wine, it is decent. At $17 a bottle, I think you can get a better table red or daily-drinker red. Still, if you are looking for something different, you might find it interesting.
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