Weekly Winedown #18 Tsantali Cabernet Sauvignon

Welcome to the Weekly Winedown. Each week I selflessly drink wine for you and offer a review.
Please don’t expect anything professional, I consume a lot of wine but I’m no pro.

The only real ‘rule’ I’m putting in place is that the wine is to be under £8 a bottle. #keepitclassy.

This week we are back in the old routine.

Aoife has gone back to school and into Year 2 (after a brief fall out about wearing lipstick)
What’s THAT about?

In three months I’m going to have a seven year old.
I’m not old enough to have a seven year old!

I sometimes don’t feel old enough to have children at all.
Then I see a mirror and am reminded that I am indeed old enough.
Then I remember there are actually some people my age who are grandparents.

I can’t even get my head round that.

This whole ‘time’ malarkey is a bit too swift for my liking.
It also seems pretty unfair that as we get old enough to appreciate it, it goes faster.

Seth had his preschool home visit this week.
He’s not ready for preschool – I’m not ready for preschool.
Why are they growing up?
I fully expect that I’ll wake up tomorrow and they’ll be 18.

Oh, here we go, I’m coming over all drama llama!

Let’s talk wine.

Say Γειά σας και καλώς ήρθατε to Tsantali Cabernet Sauvignon, a Greek red currently on offer at £7.11.

I’ve not drunk much Greek wine.
In fact, as far as I know, Retsina is the only Greek wine I have tried.
I love Retsina very, very much.
That leads me to hope really hard that this Tsantali is a good wine – no pressure.

The Label

I like, I like it a lot.
It’s a simple black, white and red. I say this all the time. These are the colours I’m drawn to. Heck these are the colours of my blog. They just work so wonderfully together.

With a hand doodled bunch of grapes and an ink blot that is Greece it’s straight and to the point.

Wine made in Greece from grapes.
Exactly what it says on the tin bottle.

The Blurb

“The nose of this Cabernet Sauvignon offers subtle aromas of mint, with a powerful, smooth mix of blackcurrant, blueberry and herbaceous cherry on the palate. This wine is great served at 16-18°C with bacon and mushroom casserole, pork sausages or cheese.”

I’ve missed out all the information on the blurb regarding where the vineyards are and the sun and stuff. It was all very interesting but was mostly an exercise in trumpet blowing. Chill out wine maker, I know you’re proud but you don’t need to write the whole story on the bottle!

“subtle aromas of mint” Polo anyone? I wonder how subtle it will be?
Is my wine going to smell like toothpaste?
The palate look good though, blueberries and herbaceous cherries – what could be wrong with that?
Other than the fact that I’ll be damned if I know what a herby cherry tastes like. If it’s sage I’m in for a bad sup!

Like last weeks Merlot, this wine has been very specific with what it would go well with.
Bacon and mushroom casserole.
Sounds…..interesting.

The smell was a little menthol like. I’d sway more toward a eucalyptus than a polo though, there was also a really tart, blackcurrant scent.

The look was glorious. Thick, red and velvety like old cinema seats.

The taste was interesting.
Bitter but not bad bitter. Bitter cherries.
Like it made the back of my tongue jiggle.

There was a definite herby or maybe peppery finish. It was beautifully full bodied and once my tongue recovered from the initial bitterness, it became a really mellow drink.

I wouldn’t choose this wine again, if I were to drink a Greek wine again I’d choose Retsina.
Unless I was on holiday in Greece then I’d give this another go in case it doesn’t travel well.

Name – Tsantali Cabernet Sauvignon
Price – £7.11
Colour – Velvety red like a posh Santa suit
Smell – Tart with a side of eucalyptus.
Taste – Bitter, peppery and mellow.
Goes well with – I’d try it with a bacon & mushroom butty.
Overall score – 2.5/5.