We already did this wine, but it found its way back into our house all the same. It seemed like a 5.5 last time, but maybe it's a little better than that. How about a 6? It's still thin and kind of dull, but it did improve once we left it open for a while and let it breathe.
Seagram
465 rupees
13.5% alchohol
I usually keep the empty bottles of wine we've drunk until their contents either get written up here or we've completely forget what exactly the wine was like. I'll try to clear up the backlog, and then at least the apartment will stop looking so much like a frat house.
Here's another wine from Seagram's relatively new Nine Hills line. We reviewed the Chenin Blanc a while back.
Well, we thought this was a good everyday wine, but it's not going to amaze you. It had a very pleasant, smooth, fruity taste, and it was fairly full-bodied and balanced. It other words, it didn't taste like watered-down juice and it didn't have any particular overwhelming taste -- I think most people who like red wine would find this pleasant.
And it also happens to go well with the spicy dark taste of plumcake -- and that's a big plus at this time of year. So we give it a 7.5.
Blue Star Agro & Winery, Pune
Rs. 437
Another one from the maker of Evita, covered yesterday. According to the wine label, this is a "deep purple full-bodied" wine with "an attractive aroma of black pepper with silky tannins that leave a delicious finish" It also goes with tandoor items and "spiced Indian curries." (We thought that bit was funny -- where are the unspiced Indian curries? And curries is kind of vague -- almost like saying "goes with entrees.")
The wine smelled not so nice, a little like rubber (can I just call this sulphur? Maybe). The wine was very thin, and the taste disappeared quickly. It just didn't have much staying power, and shiraz is usually a very muscular wine. We weren't wowed -- 5.5.
Dr. Rathore's notes for a 2004 Syrah earn a rating of VERY GOOD -- he says that the Bluefolds lines are "some of India's best wines." "Syrah" is just an alternate spelling for the same grape as Shiraz, so I guess Blue Star has changed its product's name for some reason. Either way, I'd like to try this one again to see if I might have gotten a bad batch.
This is another wine made in the Nashik Valley, about 230 km (150 miles) northeast of Mumbai. The label calls it a "complex deeply colored wine with good body, tannins, and aromas. The taste and flavours may be reminiscent of dried fruit, juicy black-current, savoury spice and gamy meat [!]. The wine can be best enjoyed with roasted pork, turkey, lamb, venison, and Indian Chinese cuisine."
I love how Indian Chinese just gets thrown in at the end as an afterthought. Instead the list starts with an animal that very few people in Indians eat, even if they are non-vegetarian, and then a bird that's also pretty rare (except for expat holidays), lamb (not unknown, but not that common either), and then Bambi. Don thinks that whoever wrote the copy just tried to come up with unlikely and fancy-sounding meats for the list. But why not caviar? Or the finest ham from Spain? Or that party gimmick dish the turducken?
But back to the wine. The good news is that we did NOT taste any gamy meat. But the bad news is that this wine is just OK. It was fairly oaky and somewhat astringent. Don thought it had a bitter aftertaste. Overall, just kind of boring and one-dimensional. It's a 5. The The Complete Indian Wine Guide doesn't say anything about this particular wine (it probably wasn't out yet), but the author is pretty bullish on the winery's future. This one still needs a little work, we think.
Finally, here's a sexy photo. It's from Vinsura's site, next to the statement that "We ensure Competitive Pricing, Reliable service and deliveries." Has this lady just finished dropping off a case, perhaps via water? Or has just perhaps just finished drinking a glass? Our wine label said the wine was best served around 18 C (64 F), and it does look as if it might be kind of chilly wherever this picture was taken.
