Average Wine: McManis Limited Release Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

A “quicky” wine review for you all today. I got a couple of bottles of McManis Limited Release Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 in a mixed wine half case from Tesco.com.

McManis Family Vineyards are based in California and this wine seems to be another “Tesco exclusive”.  As usual I expected a simple gluggable red with maybe a bit of extra “harshness” as it’s one of my least favourite red grapes, the mighty Cabernet Sauvignon.

As our article about wine bottle design is getting quote a few hits it’s worth noting I quite like the label design.  There are maybe a few too many fonts in use but there’s a nice use of colour and the back label is very neat including one of those removable “buy me next time” tabs.

So, what was this wine like?  Well. it was okay.  Just okay.  Not really drinkable on it’s own (like most CabSavs) and fairly decent with food.  It wasn’t too harsh and overpowering although I felt rotten the day after drinking it (although that wasn’t wine related… hopefully!).  To use an Internet-ism, it was just a bit “meh!”.  It didn’t knock my socks off but it was a decent enough wine, 3 stars.

McManis Limited Release Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Grape: Cabernet Sauvignon
Alcohol: 13.5%
Guide Price: ~£4-£7
I bought this wine at: Tesco (online)
ITs Food Rating: Three Stars

Average Wine: Peter Lehmann Barossa Cabernet Merlot

Just before Christmas I bought a few “cheap” half cases from Tesco to bulk up my wine supply. One was a Peter Lehmann Barossa selection. I quite like their “Clancy” blend so I was interested to try this out.

The Peter Lehmann website is excellent with lots of information about his wines plus an explanation about his “Queen of Clubs” labels.

According to renowned Barossan artist, Rod Schubert, the Queen of Clubs is “the gambler’s card”. Indeed it was a great gamble that Peter Lehmann took when founding the company during the turbulent, uncertain times of the late 1970s and early 1980s as the Australian wine industry was faced with international competition and a grape surplus.

Peter Lehmann is a great fan of American author, Damon Runyon, who created memorable characters modelled on the colourful characters on New York’s fringes.

At this tumultuous time and inspired by one of Runyon’s more engaging characters, the gambler, Sky Masterson, Peter Lehmann said “If anything’s a gamble, this is, so we’ll call the company ‘Masterson’ – ‘Masterson Barossa Vignerons’”.

Although trading as Masterson Barossa Vignerons until 1982, Peter Lehmann’s name was always on the label, with the Queen of Clubs proudly featuring as the logo.

In 1982 the company name was changed to Peter Lehmann Wines. In 1996 the Queen of Clubs took on a new, exciting personality for each of the wines, reflecting their individual style and character.

I quite like the style myself, mixed with interesting bottle shapes. Is the wine any good though?

The website tell us…

Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, two of the world’s great red wine varieties, flourish in the Barossa.

As single varietals they have made their mark, but blended in carefully selected proportions, each brings to the other an added dimension to give a red wine of classical breeding and distinction.

2004 was an exceptional red wine vintage in the Barossa, giving wines with superb fruit definition, structure and finesse. 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot, this wine is deep black garnet in colour with a bouquet of soft chocolate, dark plum and violets.

I was looking forward to trying this. You all know my love of Merlot so the blend of that and the “king” of grapes, cab sav, was an interesting prospect. I drank this both with and without food but the food wasn’t strong and hearty so the 70% cab sav came through a bit harsh. My wine notes say…

Hmmm, okay I suppose, the cab sav overpowers the merlot a little too much. Strong and a bit overpowering, wrong food?

Even given the wrong food choice I still reckon this wine lacked a little… class? It seems a bit too much “in you face” without having the subtle plummy undertones you’d expect with a wine containing Merlot. I’d have it again but this will have to be ranked as a 3 star, average wine.

Peter Lehmann Barossa Cabernet Merlot

Grape: Cabernet Sauvignon 70%, Merlot 30%
Alcohol: 14%
Guide Price: ~£5-£6
I bought this wine at: Tesco (online)
ITs Food Rating: Three stars

Great Summer of Rosé 2007: The Real Rosé Company Pink Zinfandel 2006

Welcome to the fourth of six reviews in our Great Summer of Rosé. The fourth rosé is The Real Rosé Company Pink Zinfandel 2006.

So when rosé began to “get big” some large players in the wine/beverage industry took note. Hedley Wright and Castle Growers (HwCg) saw this as an opportunity to launch a rose brand into the market (they recently “took over” the Barramundi range of Australian wines). Their rather corporate website tells us…

The total Rosé category now represents 7% of the UK wine market by volume, an increase of 35% in 2006. Value was up 35% as well, with a 7.3% share of the market worth £310 million. (MAT AC Nielsen 31.12.06).

In 2006, Rosé was the only wine category to show any significant growth.

As a result of this phenomenal growth, HwCg saw a great opportunity in the market to create a global Rose brand. The fast growing category was dominated by a small number of brands producing similar wines which weren’t offering the consumer anything different or exciting.

HwCg created the Real Rosé Company in order to provide consumers with a comprehensive range of Rosé wines of varying varietals, countries of origin, styles and price points. They decided to offer 2 price points, both entry level quality blends at £4.99 and more complex premium single varietals at £6.99.

The existing market is awash with sweet style Rosés such as Californian Pink Zin, and HwCg’s Real Rosé Company sought to address this by offering the consumer drier rose styles made of different grape varieties, more premium wines and more sophisticated packaging. The Rosés are sourced from HwCg’s key long standing supplier partners in Italy, France, South Africa, Chile and Australia. Quality and consistency are paramount.

The idea behind the Real Rosé Company is thus to offer the Rosé drinker more diversity within the Rosé category, whilst still being within the reassuring confines of an easily accessible and credible brand.

The Real Rosé Company is a brand of integrity and authenticity, providing consumers with the opportunity of experimenting within the Rose category – something that has never been done before in the UK.

Real Rosé was launched at FUOR in March 2007 and is currently listed in Tesco with other national grocer listings to follow later in the year.

So, what does this wine taste like? A tasteless wine thought up my marketers or a wonderful blended rosé executed to perfection? Well, my tasting notes tell me this wine was…

“…nothing special, what I’ve come to expect from a modern rosé. Quite light, not as heavy as the last couple, bit of fruit.”

(Sorry about the terrible back photo)

Yes, it was okay. A bit more “classic” rosé than some of the others I’ve tasted whilst not being sweet. Gluggable when cold but not brilliant. It’s a good price when you can get it for less than £4 a bottle, not quite worth the RRP of £4.99 in my mind though.

The Real Rosé Company Pink Zinfandel 2006

Grape: Zinfandel
Alcohol: 10.5%
Guide Price: <£4.99
I bought this wine at: Tesco’s (online)
ITs Food Rating: Three Stars

Great Summer of Rosé 2007: Tesco Finest De Vito Grenache Rosé 2006

Welcome to the third of six reviews in our Great Summer of Rosé. The third rosé is Tesco Finest De Vito Grenache Rosé 2006.

This is another grown up rosé (like the Casillero del Diablo Shiraz Rosé 2006). The wine is branded Tesco Finest, their “premium brand”. The wine is a result of a partnership between the grtape growing De Vito family and the Australian winemaker Geoff Merrill.

Tesco’s tell us…

The Granache Rosé is a refreshing, medium bodied rosé with strawberry and cherry fruit flavours. It is classed as “fruity and dry (2)”.

Serve: Chilled with fish, seafood dishes, picnics and BBQ’s.

Store: In a cool, dark place. To enjoy this wine at its best, drink within a year of purchase. (Told you so )

Winemaking details: Following harvest and crushing the juice is drawn off after skin contact of 24 hours and then undergoes a cool controlled fermentation (as used for white wines), which preserves and enhances the delicate characters of this very versatile grape variety. Wehave elected to seal this wine under a stelvin closure to maintain its freshness.

Regional info: We source the Grenache from the DeVito family vineyard in Waikerie South Australia, who have been supplying high quality fruit to Geoff Merrill for over 15 years. Waikerie is a warm dry inland region and it provides ideal growing conditions for the late ripening varieties such as Grenache.

So, was it any good? Well it was… average. My wine notes tell me that this wine was…

“…Hmmm, okay, not much flavour, a hint of fruit, no real kick, bog standard rosé, nothing special.”

Not a great review then! It seems to me when they try to cram in a lot more alcohol (this is 14%!) the qualities of a good rosé seem to disappear. In my mind a rosé should be no more than 12% alcohol. This wine did nothing for me and at almost £6 a bottle (£5.69 a bottle on a half case currently) there’s better out there.

Tesco Finest De Vito Grenache Rosé 2006

Grape: Grenache
Alcohol: 14%
Guide Price: ~£6
I bought this wine at: Tesco’s (online)
ITs Food Rating: Three Stars

Great Summer of Rosé 2007: Casillero del Diablo Shiraz Rosé 2006

Welcome to the second of six reviews in our Great Summer of Rosé. The second is Casillero del Diablo Shiraz Rosé 2006.

Casillero del Diablo Shiraz Rosé is from Chile and in my mind it’s more of a crossover wine. Rather than being a classic rosé is tasted more like a “gentle red”. My tasting notes (yes, I took some! ) stated…

“…it tasted peppery, more red wine like, tasted better with/after food, less fruit than Pink Elephant.”

Yes, definitely in my book a wine with food rather than a pre-food glug. The pepperyness comes from the Shiraz grape which is also responsible for the fairly hefty alcohol content (for a rosé) of 13.5%.

The cheesey Casillero del Diablo website tells us some “interesting” details about the wine.

Appellation:
Central Valley.

Vintage:
2006

Soil:
Colluvial.

Ageing:
Stainless steel tanks for 2 months.

Colour:
Bright and intense purple.

Nose:
Fruity aromas, specially wild blackberries and raspberries, as well as hints of spices.

Taste:
Fresh an easy to drink wine with good acidity and fruity flavours of blackberries and plums.

Enjoy with:
Red and white meat, desserts and also an excellent choice as an aperitif

Most make sense but purple wine??? Those crazy Chileans…

For about £6 a bottle (£5.69 per bottle for 6 currently) it’s one of the more expensive bottles and I’m not sure it’s worth that.

Casillero del Diablo Shiraz Rosé 2006

Grape: Shiraz
Alcohol: 13.5%
Guide Price: ~£6
I bought this wine at: Tesco’s (online)
ITs Food Rating: Three Stars