Tasting- Moet and Chiandon Imperial

Name: Moet and Chandon Imperial Brut
Variety: 30-40% Pinot Noir, 30-40% Pinot Meunier, 20-30% Chardonnay, and 20-30% other selected reserve wines to complete assemblage and enhance its maturity, complexity, and consistency.
Region: France (Champagne)
Price: $45!!!!!
Wine.Com Review: Brut Impèrial is a complete, generous and dynamic champagne. It is a balanced assemblage of the three wine varieties from the most expressive crus of the Champagne region.

My Review: It wouldn't be  a grand occasion without some 45 dollar wine so here we go! This champagne was phenomenal and I was super excited when I saw the regal looking box in a bag on the ride over to Bald Head Island. First of all it came in a box, a bottle in a box, so you know its fancy! I was unnerved because it was brut, which I don't like, but damn I could drink this every day if I had the cash. The smell was kind of apricot-like and frutiy for a brut which got me excited. The taste was so well balanced of smooth, crisp, acidic, fruity, earthy, and every descriptor I can come up with but on different ends of the flavor spectrum, it had it all and blended them so seamlessly with the acidity a good wine deserves it was amazing. It wasn't too acidic, but crisp to balance it, it wasn't too fruity or sweet, but just dry enough to balance it, but not too much or else I would have noticed it. It was seriously perfect and I see why its 45 dollars from champagne region and my first real expensive wine. I now know the difference between the 10 dollar and 50 dollar champagnes and I highly advise people splurge just once for an occasion on this stuff because it is well worth the money. Hopefully I get into graduate school in the next few days and if I do I will definitely go buy a bottle of this and drink it all to myself.

Tasting- Alamos Wines of Gatena 2011

Name: Alamos Red Blend 2011
Variety: 53% Malbec 15% Bonarda 14% Tempranillo 13% Syrah 5% Cabernet Franc
Region: Argentina (Mendoza)
Price: $10
Winemaker's Notes: 2011 Red Blend has dark berry fruit flavors, integrated with brown spice and vanilla oak characters that form a plush mouthfeel. The Tempranillo and Syrah grapes contribute bold, spicy flavors of blackberry and black pepper which marry well with the juicy dark cherry flavors of Bonarda and the deep plum flavors of the Malbec base. The addition of Cabernet Franc helps to balance the blend, as it melds with notes of warm brown spice to create a long, supple finish.

My Review: Now just for the record, my other sister and I went to the local grocery store and she asked me to recommend a red blend for her and I told her this. And she loved it. The smell was a nice mix of cherry and strawberry and definitely a smokiness that filled my nose and was very pleasing. The taste first hits you with dark cherry flavor and a little bit of dry flavor, but is very pleasing. It was nice and smooth transition to a long mouth taste of smokiness afterwards. The winemaker says spice, but I used smoky a lot. I might have been drunk by this point though and just confused the two. Usually I don't like spicy things, but this was really good especially when I haven't tried to many malbecs that I was crazy about. I do recommend this to everyone though, so go get some.

Tasting- Korbel California Champagne Sweet Rose

Name: Korbel Rose
Variety: Pinot Noir, Gamay, Zinfandel, Sangiovese, and Syrah
Region: California (Sonoma County)
Price: $13
Winemaker's Notes: The broad array of red grapes used in the Korbel Sweet Rose blend give us an incredibly diverse selection of blending alternatives. Varieties like Pinot Noir, Gamay and Zinfandel give us light bright wines with high levels of acidity. The Sangiovese is more intensely aromatic, while the syrah contributes a deeper color and more tannin for body and richness.

My Review: It wouldn't have been a celebration without some bubbly and of course there were multiple bottles to pass around in honor of the happy couple! It smelled really girly, with floral and perfumey aromas mixing together making for an overall sweet experience. I never understood what perfumey meant until smelling this wine and a good benchmark to get that smell profile. However, I was not mad about that and dove straight in. The taste definitely followed up with that and had sweet and fruity tastes to it. The bubbles added a nice acidity it needed and rounded out the entire drink and hints of raspberry kept you even more interested in it. Guys should not be swayed by its fruity color and smell and definitely imbibe on this due to its awesome drinkability.

Tasting- Black Swan Chardonnay 2010

Name: Black Swan 2010
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Australia (South Eastern)
Price: $10 for a mega bottle
Garnet Wines & Liquors review: Fresh peach, citrus and melon flavors with a hint of vanilla. Refreshingly unexpected next to chicken, pasta, seafood and light cheeses.

My Review: Ok, so when trying to find a review for this I found that a lot of people did not like this, but I on the other hand didn't think it was that bad! Seeing as how I was expecting and looking for Yellowtail Chardonnay Reserve and settled for this, it was a great substitute. The smell was tropical and pineapple which was awesome for being at the beach and riding around in a golf cart all day sucking this stuff down from a sippy bottle. And especially by the pool too. However, it did kind of have a finishing funk on the nose of something along the lines of pee, so I kept the lid on so I didn't have to smell it. The taste was a little dryer than my taste and slightly acidic which was good, and had notes of definite pear. I thought it was so good I drank most of the mega bottle by myself in one afternoon, so drinkability on this one is really good!

Tasting- Bald Head Red

Name: Bald Head Red
Variety: Catawba
Region: North Carolina (Duplin Winery)
Price: $7.00
North Carolina Wine TV Review: Duplin’s Bald Head Red is a North Carolina wine made from Pink Catawba grapes, which give it a very different flavor compared to traditional muscadine wines. The Catawba grapes that go int this wine are grown in Western North Carolina, on the nose this wine smells of powdered sugar, pine, flowers and mountain woods. This is a well balanced wine that with a little thicker weight on the mouth feel. Lots of fruit and earth in this wine.

My Review: This Wine sums up my last weekend as I ventured to Bald Head Island, NC in order to watch and celebrate my sister getting engaged (congrats Andy and Amanda!). We stocked up for the way there and naturally when I saw this I had to get it. I have never tried or heard of any North Carolina wines so this was going to be good. However, this was the last wine I drank during the weekend and by this time felt pretty drunk and not feeling any wines, so I apologize for the limited review. The smell to me was only slightly earthy, and also smelled like sweet red cherries. I kind of expected it to be sweet since it said it on the bottle, but didn't expect it to be as sweet as it was. It wasn't bad, but after drinking Chardonnay the entire afternoon prior (see Black Swan) I was not too into it, but after reading other reviews I will definitely have to revisit this guy. The taste followed on sweet cherry flavors and was really pleasant thinking back now, I just wish I had not been so wine-ed out...

Tasting- Potluck Sweet Malbec 2010

Name: Potluck Sweet Malbec
Variety: Malbec
Country: Argentina (Mendoza)
Vintage Cellar Review: Deep red brilliant with violet hints. Complex, fruity, and predominant red fruits. Easy to drink, round with persistent sweetness, very well balanced with sweet tannins.

My Review: The smell of this one was much sweeter than other ones this day. Bright red cherry smelling with a hint of vanilla that was very pleasant. The taste definitely followed this with bright notes of Cherry and raspberry, sort of jammy. I don't know how I feel about Malbecs yet, but this one should not factor into it since it was much sweeter than the others.

Tasting- Domaine de Grange de Payan 2011

Name: Domaine de Grange de Payan 2011
Variety: Mostly Grenache
Country: France (Cotes du Rhone)
Price: $8.95
Vintage Cellar Review: Intensely spicy and precise, with lively red berry flavors and a hint of black pepper. The Grenache, which makes up the majority of the wine, is deeper and more powerful, offering cherry and black raspberry qualities lifted by zesty minerality.

My Review: Where a lot of red wines can smell musty and like the cellars it comes from, this was definitely not that. It was floral and perfumey with notes of raspberry and cherry. It was nice and bright which was refreshing. The taste was vastly different from that notion though. It was astringent and spicey or peppery which was a weird combo. The cherry taste was nice and deep, but tasted like cough medicine which was no good to me.