Here are the quick-hit reviews for wines that I tasted this week that didn't make it into full reviews:
chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, Aligote, Gewurztraminer and Semillon.
Honey-roasted apple, vanilla and brown spice on the nose. Medium-full
on palate. Tastes like apple pie with spicy lees character. Juicy and
mouth-filling, more about the spice flavors than fruit, but nuanced and
well balanced by acidity. Rating:
(3 out of 5 | Recommended)
Fulkerson Winery 2007 Traminette ($12):
VERY floral on the nose. Huge rose petal aromas with sweet grapefruit
and underripe peach. Medium body with crackling acidity. Rose water on
the palate with some understated grapefruit and peach. Light sweetness
is very well balanced.Good example of this hybrid. Rating:
(2.5 out of 5 | Average-to-Very Good)
Hermann J. Wiemer 2006 Dry Gewurztraminer ($19): Peach, lychee, spice and roses on the nose. Palate has ripe peach and apple flavors with classic rose, spice and toned-down lychee. The RS is barely noticeable because of very lively acidity. Finish is very long with melon and spice flavors. Rating:
(3 out of 5 | Recommended)
Heron Hill 2007 Semi-Sweet Riesling ($12): Surprisingly unaromatic on the nose with light overripe peach and cantelope aromas. Very sweet and simple, with peach flavors and not much else. Not enough acidity for the sugar level. Must be targeting the sweet wine lovers from next door. Rating: (1.5 out of 5 | Not Recommended-to-Average)
Rooster Hill Vineyards 2007 Chardonnay ($15): Roasted apple, vanilla, spice and raw oak on the nose. Medium body with good acid. More apple and pear, with good spice, but the oak is too raw. Good apple-spice and acid balance though. Rating: (2 out of 5 | Average)