I was exceptionally exited to receive my first “bottles” for sample from Concannon Vineyards and had high hopes to review and enjoy their offering. In addition, while I was volunteering at the Russian River Valley Single Night I met Andrew and Marshall from Wine Soiree an in-bottle decanting system and they hooked me up with one of there decanting devices. So I figured this would be the perfect time to give it a test.
Here we go, I poured myself one glass from the bottle then hooked up the Soiree decanter and poured another so I could do side-by-side comparison
The Nose: Potent character of alcohol, some suggestions of fruit but very faint
The Nose (Soiree): Oh my god… Well, there is no doubt this thing works, or at least does something. Unfortunately, in this case, it doesn’t help this wine much. I get strong cooked vegetables, probably green beans and band-aids, the alcohol is diminished on this nose in comparison.
The Taste: Taste of dark red fruit, black cherry and toasted oak wood, not vanilla but woody.
The Taste (Soiree): The taste here is similar to the glass without the Soiree but the harsh edges are rounded (seems a bit better, if that nose wasn’t wafting up my nostrils too)
The Mouth Feel: This wine asserts itself with a sharp tartness, it’s a bit thin and overly hot, there is some acidity but it’s a bit unbalanced, the finish is long and is probably this wine’s best quality
The Mouth Feel (Soiree): The Soiree definitely makes this wine show differently in mouth feel. The harshness is gone and makes the wine more smoothed out.
The Color: A ruby red and garnet color, clear and pretty, thin to pale pink at the edges
The Color (Soiree): Nothing different here
The Nitty Gritty:
ABV 13.5%
Residual Sugar: 0.10 g/100ml
pH: 3.61
Released: 2010
Retail Price: $10
Available anywhere
The Verdict: Well, not a good showing for a $10 wine, even at the value price point, I could think of a few other wines I’d rather be drinking. While I don’t think there were any major flaws this wine just did not suit me at all.
65 Pts, D
As for the Soiree decanter. It certainly opens up the wine and shakes things up. I will use it in some of my future reviews, it certainly didn’t do this wine any favors, which I think goes to show that not all wines should be decanted.
Cheers,
Brian
norcalwingman
Disclosure: The wine in this review was provided as a sample with the intention of being reviewed. The Soiree Wine decanter was swindled by me at #RRVSN from the Wine Soiree crew.
Norcal Wingman 