TN: Speaking of describing wine poorly -

- to which I confessed in the other thread, here are a couple of recent bottles.

Gazala Vinho Verde, Portugal, nv, $5.99. Very pale lemon color, not much aroma. Bright and lemony on opening. In the glass, developed some Granny Smith flavor, moving to (sadly, I don't like bananas) a bit of banana in the finish as the glass warmed and somehow drained itself. I have a problem with wine glasses. Somehow the wine keeps falling out through that hole in the top.
Ok for the price. I'm still looking for a bottle like the one that I had at a B&B in the upper Douro valley. I have no idea what that delicious bottle was; I don't think it was "Vinho Verde".
BevMo 9% alcohol

Sausal, Alexander Valley Zinfandel, 2004, $18.00. A bit rough-edged on opening. After 20 minutes in the glass as I was putting spaghetti on the table, it smoothed out. Not too ripe, a sort of smoky, barbeque nuance. A fairly classic, lightish Zin.
Bought at the winery, 3/08. 14.5% alcohol; Estate Grown.

Between the two, the Zin was much the better wine. Good enough to go back to Sausal once again.

John

Thanlks for the notes! I like Sausal Zins quite a bit-they avoid the syrupyness some Zins have. The Old Vines version is excellent, too.

John,

That Gazala makes for a good spritzer--a little seltzer is all it needs. For another Vinho Verde, try Famiga.

Yes, the Sausal has been a long-time decent Zinfandel.

And, your descriptions were quite fine...

good morning Thomas..list me as another fan of the Gazala and Famiga Vinho Verdes..nice summer drinking, along with Muscadets and Roses

Brian, the Sausal is the "old vines", essentially their standard bottling. I also bought 2 bottles of the slightly more expensive "private reserve" '05, which I liked at the tasting room.
I got a bottle of the '03 "old vines" earlier and drank it last November. I think it was nicer than the '04 - it didn't have the rough edges.

Thomas, thanks for the hint.

John

I think you described the wines very well!
The Gazela is never exciting, but at $6 it can be ok to throw out at parties on hot days.

I think you described the wines very well!
The Gazela is never exciting, but at $6 it can be ok to throw out at parties on hot days.

Dale, I get it for $5--now don't you feel cheated

Thomas,Dale..when was the last time either of you found a Vinho Verde to be exciting?? this is typically a <$10 wine that is meant to be satisfying,has no pretentions about being exciting..It is what it is!! any everyday quaffer..Wd not be disappointed by a Vinho Verde not being excioting..enjoy it for what it is..

What excites me is that the wine works beautifully on a hot evening--and we will soon get those things back here on Keuka Lake...

it can be ok to throw out at parties on hot days.

You mean you hold parties to throw out wine?

John

Thomas, we're both getting ripped off! Minutes after posting I got offer from Pops (with a review from WLP, I asume Robin):
$4.36 - Pop's Single Bottle Price
$3.88 - Pop's Mixed Case Price
$43.65 - Pop's Case Price

Jon, I don't think I said I was disappointed, I do buy Gazela. That said, I have found other VV with more character (Arco Nova).

John, yeah, it's a great reason to have a party. Invite a bunch of people, get rid of all the wines that are taking up cellar space and you're unsure why you have them.

Thomas, we're both getting ripped off! Minutes after posting I got offer from Pops (with a review from WLP, I asume Robin):
$4.36 - Pop's Single Bottle Price
$3.88 - Pop's Mixed Case Price
$43.65 - Pop's Case Price

Jon, I don't think I said I was disappointed, I do buy Gazela. That said, I have found other VV with more character (Arco Nova).

John, yeah, it's a great reason to have a party. Invite a bunch of people, get rid of all the wines that are taking up cellar space and you're unsure why you have them.

Dale.

What's Pops' phone number--not.
Yes, I like Arco Nova, too.

>> it's a great reason to have a party. Invite a bunch of people, get rid of all the wines that are taking up cellar space and you're unsure why you have them. <<

Hmmm. Well, I'm unsure about most of them. And maybe I'm ungenerous or something, but I'd really like to taste the ones I'm unsure about, all 200+ of them, and see if my anxiety is justified.

It'd be a hell of a hangover!!

John

Dale..agree ,you did not say you were disa ppointed..just not excited..
every once in a while Pops comes up with some winners..back in the day when I was an active player re Bordeaux, I bought quite a bit of Bordeaux from them ..vintages 1986 to 90..also great buys way back when on Gaja,including his cru Sori wines..

[Jenise]

Dale..agree ,you did not say you were disa ppointed..just not excited..
every once in a while Pops comes up with some winners..back in the day when I was an active player re Bordeaux, I bought quite a bit of Bordeaux from them ..vintages 1986 to 90..also great buys way back when on Gaja,including his cru Sori wines..

Any of you vinho verde hounds know of one that has a name something like Aveda but with another syllable and a letter L in there somewhere? We were at a party the other night where someone was pouring a VV with a name like that that I just loved. Meant to go chase down the bottle and get the name but never managed to. It had just a little more flavor than most VV's which I've never thought deficient, in the way that Jon says, but more was nice: it tasted like a dry Sprite, and the bubbles were very tiny but perhaps a bit sharper than usual.

Aveleda. Used to be my go-to VV, but haven't run across lately. "Dry sprite", I like that

[Jenise]

Aveleda. Used to be my go-to VV, but haven't run across lately. "Dry sprite", I like that

That would be it! Really luscious. And cool for this group, all present were wine lovers, just not geeks, and most of them had never had a wine like this. As everyone got a pour, there was this look of happy surprise that spread from face to face.