Monday 31 December 2012

Jacob's Creek Chardonnay Vintage 2011

I bought this because I drank the non-vintage Chardonnay 2012 from Jacob's Creek at a friend's wedding, and it was lovely. I thought I could take my chance at the 2011 Vintage one because it came in a small bottle, but how wrong I was.

This Chardonnay Vintage 2011 is very sour and slightly spicy down at the throat. I can't drink it alone. It didn't make a good pairing with sushi either. It is another one of Jacob's Creek fails.

65/100.



Sunday 23 December 2012

French Cellars Chardonnay 2010

Surprisingly very smooth and pleasant to swallow, therefore easy to drink alone, without food. However, it's slightly more sour, but in a good fruity way. Not my taste because I prefer sweeter wine, however this suits my partner's taste just great!

Cheap and good for anytime-anywhere very casual drinking, as this is bought from 7-Eleven. Recommended, and would repurchase.

90/100.


Thursday 20 December 2012

French Cellars Merlot 2010

Deep ruby red, colour of standard red wine. Can swallow, but not something that I like because it is on the sour side. Lots of fruity flavours. Very slightly spicy. Does not goes well with standard food in Singapore, such as economic vegetable rice, spaghetti, or porridge. Rather hard to pair. Not nice drinking alone too. Will not repurchase or recommend.

Read some reviews that say to let this age more. I bought an aerator, and poured through to aerate this. Tasted different. Milder. Lose the spiciness. But seemed to have aerated too much, and now it is even more sour, and falls ever so slightly onto bitter. But I think, I do like the aerated version a teeny bit more.

My first bottle using the Sowine machine that can keep wines for up to 10 days. This Merlot is on its third day now. But I am ready to throw it away.

78/100.


Bought because I was surprised to find award-winning wine in 7-eleven.

Someone told me that wine awards don't mean anything. It is very relative, and it just means the wine is the best of all that were submitted.


Schott Zwisel Tritan Crystal glass is an amazing delight to use.

Bought at 7-eleven for $20 odd.

Wildcard Peter Lehmann 2009 Reserve Shiraz

Full-bodied, no alcohol taste, so easy to swallow, great to drink even alone. Beautiful ruby colour, and tears very well on the glass. Goes well with plain to more flavourful food. Am looking buy again, as I totally regret not finishing it fast enough, and the leftover that appears in the photos has all became vinegar.

However, for some, this may be but a plain wine, with no surprises.

89/100






Wednesday 19 December 2012

Jacob's Creek Shiraz Cabernet Vintage 2008

Sheer red. Doesn't tears well. Spicy, doesn't sits well on the tongue, lean body. Unable to swallow this without food. Poor pairing with a Subway sub, but goes excellent with flavourful food such as sauce-drizzled chicken chop. Very good mouth-washer for the Asian heavily flavoured food.

79/100

This tiny bottle came free.

The red is not intense. Feeling tells me it will not be good. I like deep, almost opaque reds.

I have never had a good impression of Jacob's Creek. This one seem to confirm my formed opinion of the brand in general.
I heard that Jacob Creek's $70 - $80 wines are really worth the price. Unfortunately, the lower end seem to have been quite bad so far, that I am afraid to venture further into Jacob's Creek. If you have a specific recommendation, feel free to comment below. =)

About Whim of Wine

Hi everyone,

this is a very casual wine drinking blog because I am neither a professional nor have I taken any sort of courses. I only have a friend who's into wine, and then I learn a bit here and there from online searches. The rest are my layman opinion, so there will hardly be professional terms used like oak, plummy, etc, because I have no idea what those mean. Very simply, if I find it easy to swallow, it's good wine. If I can't take it, and feel like throwing away the bottle, it is bad wine.

I will, however, stick to the standard method of rating, with 80/100 the benchmark to whether I think the wine can be swallowed or not, and something like 79/100 being not worth it, but I can still force myself to finish the bottle. 90/100 and more will mean I really enjoy it and wish to repurchase.

Another feature of this blog is that the wines here will all be easily available in Singapore, because as of current, I do not discriminate the places that sell wine. I do not only go to wine boutiques such as Crystal, but I do drink very normal wine that are sold in supermarkets for the layman.

I am not sure how many people will eventually read this blog, but I am blogging to remember my journey of learning about wine. This blog is a process, not a place to dish out professional advice/reviews.

Since I am blogging as a layman, I hope anyone reading the blog can do so with the intention of teaching me and sharing with me what you know, if you will. =) Thank you so much in advance for sharing this journey with me.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Cheers,
Wine Red

Disclaimer: Please don't take it too hard if I trash a wine you love, because no one taste bud is the same. Just a casual layman here. Also, I bought/buy all the wines/machines/glasses on my own. Nothing is sponsored or compensated.