Ever heard of a “shelf talker”? A shelf talker is one of those many little reviews stuck to shelves in the wine section of almost any local liquor store.
Eat Drink Boulder is proud to announce we are starting a Tasting Panel to review wines and beers found at local Boulder retail establishments. We will generally have three of our writers taste a beer or wine, review the products here on the EDB website Drink section, and create shelf talkers that will be posted in local retail stores for those products we unanimously recommend.
Yes, we will often be receiving free product. But we don’t think one bottle of wine or six-pack of beer is enough to sway our judgment.
Our first beer review of three Sanitas Brewing beers, is up on our website now. Our first wine review is below. We unanimously approved one of the beers and two of the wines and you’ll find these shelf talkers in Harvest Wine & Spirits next to King Soopers on 30th and Arapahoe.
If you are interested to write for Eat Drink Boulder and join our Tasting Panels (especially if you have an interest in beer), please let us know by emailing info@EatDrinkBoulder.com.
A Review of Three White Wines for Summer
Summer is just around the corner and we reviewed three white wines, two of which we heartily recommend.
The Domaine de Pellehaut Harmonie de Gascogne 2013 comes from a winery that has won a gold medal at the prestigious Concours Général Agricole de Paris the last eleven years in a row. This wine is a good example why. Primarily made from chardonnay grapes, the wine is surprisingly complex with almost a smoky flavor followed by a tinge of tartness. We aren’t learned enough to identify all the blended grapes that create this unique flavor but they include such unique varietals as Ugni-Blanc, Colombard, Gros-Petit Manseng, Folle Blanche et Sauvignon. What’s more, the winery is located in the relatively unknown Côtes de Gascogne (Gascony) in the Armagnac region of Southwest France. This wine is worth much more than the $7.49 price point and we unanimously recommend recommend it for a perfect dinner wine.
Ranga ranga means “gentle breeze” in the language of the Maori people and this is a perfect descriptor for the Ranga Ranga 2013 Estate Grown Sauvignon Blanc. Produced by the Barker’s Marque winery, this is a classic Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough area of New Zealand: light, refreshing, and tart with the typical pear and green apple flavors found in these wines. The winery is owned by a Kiwi-American family and is one of only four wines offered at this time. At a $12.99 price point, which is mid-range for this type of wine, this wine should be very easily drinkable and it is. We unanimously recommend this wine to drink on its own on a hot afternoon or as a perfect complement to spicy foods.
We were eager to try the Albet i Noya 2013 Xa wine, which seemed to have so much going for it: Made from organic grapes; located in the Catalonia region just outside Barcelona; and made from the unusual Xarello grape traditional to this area. Alas, this was not our favorite one. Single-varietal wines are tough, especially when using unique grapes. As the winemaker says about this wine, “This young wine will maintain it’s fruit and aromas for the first two years after bottling, after which its freshness will diminish and its body and power will become more evident.” We are two years in and the wine lacked any great flavors and packed a bit too much of an alcohol taste.
All of these wines were provided to us compliments of Harvest Wine & Spirits and are distributed by Colorado-based CTS Distributing.
