wine review Archives : Me, Annie Bee.

Opi Malbec – Weekly Winedown #46

Anna — Fri, 19 Oct 2018 19:00:21 +0000

I’m really taking the Weekly out of these winedowns at the moment aren’t I? I think I need to change it from a Friday. And maybe from an evening. I’ll be honest, I think a Monday afternoon would work better for me but I’m not sure how much school would appreciate me rocking up to get the kids with an aroma of wine! Anyway, it’s been a chaotic couple of weeks. I’m still trying to figure out how to make two jobs, life, parenting and wifeing work all at the same. Some things are getting neglected (the rug hasn’t been hoovered in ages and I throw Zoflora around like confetti) and my ‘to do’ list is pretty hefty at the moment. That’s my burden, not yours so let’s continue! This week I did a terribly grown up thing. Something that feels even more grown up than buying a house, getting married and having children. I got a Laithwaite’s wine plan. You know the one, where you get sent wine every so often. The deal was basically 14 bottles of wine and two wine tumblers (they’re a thing now) for £54 which BASICALLY works out at £3.85 a bottle. What an absolute bargain. Rory keeps saying things like “Well that’s the wine for Christmas sorted” Hahahahaha…Righto. Tonight I am drinking Opi Malbec from Argentina. I chose this from the box randomly. It usually costs £9.99 a bottle apparently. The label Super simple – white, slightly embossed with the signature of the wine maker on it. No faff just information, as I like it. Opi Malbec blurb Right, there is a LOT of information on the back. Like, the man’s life story which I’m SURE is terribly interesting (I saw the words fishing and motor cross) but I like to keep to around 500 words so I’ll just share the bit about the wine. It has an intense deep red colour; the nose and palate convey harmonious ripe blackberry and plum, underpinned by elegant smoke and vanilla notes from a deft touch of oak. This attractive wine is the perfect partner to red meat dishes, spicy sausage and cheese. Well, I have neither sausage nor cheese but this wine is an actual delight! The nose is, as suggested very brambly. The palate is tart berry, the tannins are smooth and there is a really subtle vanilla/creamy finish. This is the kind of wine that doesn’t need food. It can certainly be drank alone. Name – Opi Malbec Price – £9.99 (or £3.80 if you get this fancy plan) Colour – Red purple Smell – Bramble Taste – Tart blackberries with a creamy finish Goes well with – Autumn and candles that smell of gingerbread Overall score – 4/5

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Weekly Winedown #39 La Deliziosa Pinot Grigio

Anna — Fri, 25 May 2018 18:44:58 +0000

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 Today is a doozy of a day isn’t it? We’ll start light… After relentless spamming of our inboxes, the new GDPR rules have come into play. I, for one, was looking forward to an empty inbox from today. How mistaken I was, the emails have changed from ‘Please don’t let this be goodbye’ to ‘Please read our new privacy policy’. It made me feel popular at first but now it’s just doing my head in. I’m also pretty bitter because I spent far too many hours yesterday creating my own privacy policy. I’m not getting that day back. EVER. Blogging wasn’t meant to be this HARD but I am now compliant. Or at least I’m quite compliant… This afternoon, Harvey Weinstein and his stupid, smug face handed themselves into police in New York. He has, at this moment, been charged with rape and other accounts of sexual abuse against two women. It’s the tip of the iceberg but hopefully gives every other woman who has suffered at his hands the hope that their voice will be heard and taken as seriously and he will be held accountable. Also, Morgan Freeman? FFS man! I thought you were a good guy! Today is also a massive day for Ireland who are voting on the Irish abortion referendum. This is a pretty big deal and we won’t know the results for sure until late into the night/tomorrow morning, so I’m not going to bang on about it. I will say that I truly hope that this doesn’t become Ireland’s Trump or Brexit. I hope that Ireland votes in favour of women being allowed to make their own choices and have control over their own bodies. I told you it was a doozy of a day! In other, not even nearly as important news, today is National Wine Day (in America) and tomorrow sees the start of National English Wine week! A whole week of celebrating English wine AND I ONLY FOUND OUT TODAY. It’s OK though because next weeks wine will be English to celebrate! This week, however, we are going to enjoy an Italian Pinot Grigio, yeah you heard, this week is a white wine. I chose it because it was gloriously warm and sunny when I did my online shop. Obviously, the shopping arrived in the cold and rain so I’m not sure I’m feeling it now…. I’ll persist though, for YOU. Ciao bello to La Deliziosa Pinot Grigio, currently £6.99 a bottle. The Label Well, this is a fancy pants, two label bottle of wine. One label simply has the brand name surrounded by a silver doily effect. Then underneath is a second, green and white label with the type of wine and a little description. It’s very confusing. The top label looks like weddings and the bottom one reminds me of apples. The top one is aloof and doesn’t need to tell YOU anything, the bottom one panicked that you’d walk past so provided the information you required. The Blurb Enjoy on it’s own or with zesty salads and grilled fish *Picks the bottle up and looks closer* Yes, that’s literally all it says! Luckily the chatty label on the front gives us more of a hint. Pinot perfection. Freshly picked apple and ripe melon. Salute! So yes, all signs are pointing to apples. I’ll be honest, it’s making my tongue go funny just thinking about it. When I think of apples I think of Granny Smith’s which I hate. However, I do usually love a good Pinot so let’s crack this one open! The nose is pretty subtle, fresh with apples. Not Granny Smith’s though – pleasant apples. The taste is not unpleasant, it’s not a connoisseurs wine by any stretch of the imagination but it is wholly inoffensive. It’s a still, crisp wine. Dry but not dusty. The biggest hit is almost pear like (melon?) with a citrus finish. This is the kind of wine I crave on a hot day, to say it’s raining it’s held itself well. Name – La Deliziosa Pinto Grigio Price – £6.99 (should be £9.99) Colour – Pale straw Smell – Fresh apples Taste – pear and citrus Goes well with – Probably anything Overall score – a decent 3.5/5

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Weekly Winedown #38 Terreo Malbec

Anna — Fri, 18 May 2018 18:10:21 +0000

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 weekend will see Miss Markle make an honest man of Harry. I hate that term, ‘honest man’ it implies that up until some point tomorrow he was just off galavanting with other women and generally being a bit of a cad, it’s a bit demeaning to be honest. Some of the terms and traditions to do with weddings really are archaic aren’t they yet we (not actually me) bandy them about without thinking. Like when people refer to their hen/stag do as the ‘last night of freedom’. If people really think that they won’t be able to get pissed with their friends ever again, they should probably question why they’re marrying a joy vacuum in the first place. Anyway, I digress, Harry & Meghan are getting wed and I can’t wait. Judge all you will, I don’t give a hoot! I don’t consider myself to be a royalist but I love the pomp and ceremony, it’s also nice to see that being a royal doesn’t stop people whinging about who you do or don’t invite to your wedding as if it’s anyone elses business! The biggest appeal to me though is watching something happy for a change and seeing two people in love marrying one another. I’m such a softie. Let us get ready for wedding celebrations with an expensive (but on special offer) French Malbec. Deja vu? I know it’s a risky move after last weeks Winsom Cousins but I need to right the wrong. The Label Simple and elegant. A square white label with the brand name in purple and the rest in black. Kind of like the front of a menu in a fancy establishment, one that is so fancy it probably doesn’t even take a taste card. The cap is also white, like a magicians gloves. I’m not sure what I make of that though, it makes me uncomfortable. The Blurb “Terreo Malbec is an unique red wine from South West of France. Very deep red colour with shades of purple. Notes of black fruit and vanilla. Great unctuousness in the mouth” It’s one of those fancy labels where they do the blurb in French then put a direct translation underneath, this always strikes me as a little pretentious but in the past, the wines that do this have been good. I particularly like the term ‘unctuosness’ we should use it more in daily life. It’s even nicer in French ‘Grand onctuosite en bouche’. So basically, we’re expecting a rich, intense wine with a hint of vanilla, let’s see! There was so little on the nose, like nothing to declare. A very light scent and everso slightly floral but not a lot more. The taste, intially big – almost unctuous (but not quite) bold red berries in the mouth then nothing. There’s not long taste, it’s just gone. I certainly didn’t get any sense of vanilla at all. It’s certainly not an £11.99 bottle of wine in my opinion, but what do I know? More than Aoife at the very least 😉 Name – Terreo Malbec Price – £5.99 (should be £11.99) Colour – reddy purple Smell – Light, a bit vague Taste – Tart berries, starts big then nothing. Goes well with – A Royal wedding eve Overall score – 3.5/5

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Weekly Winedown #37 Winsome Cousins Malbec

Anna — Fri, 11 May 2018 18:15:17 +0000

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 I’ve really been slacking off haven’t I? I’ve been inconsistent, distant, I’ve let you down. I can only apologise for not giving you the attention and the wine information you need. The blame lies entirely with me, my poor time management and my real life family wanting me to ‘parent’ ALL THE TIME. I normally do the Winedown on an evening, for that is when is socially acceptable to drink wine. However, tonight we are out. Not out out – just out at a school social thing (there will be wine – PHEW). As a result I had to do my review at 1pm. I’m not going to lie, it was only a very small glass but I’m feeling ready for bed already! This week we have a French Malbec so say Bonjour to Winsome Cousins Malbec, currently on offer at £6.74 from Ocado. The Label As soon as you see the label it will become VERY clear why I chose this wine. It’s a simple label, white with a clear font declaring the name. Oh, and there’s a moose wearing glasses and a striped jumper. Yes, the label has a hipster moose on the front! I defy you to come up with something that shouts ‘FRENCH’ more than a moose in specs!? The Blurb Expressive bouquet of red fruits. Harmonious and nicely structured. Serve with strong flavoured cheeses and grilled meats. In the past, we’ve been noted that a minimal blurb does not equate to a minimal wine. Remember Sangre de Toro? I’m really hoping the same applies with this Malbec. There’s a lot of expectation on my part, all stemming from that label… The smell is quite ‘ripe’ – like fresh redcurrant or blackcurrant. The kind of smell that makes your tastebuds start tingling before you’ve even taken a sip. The taste… You know when something feels like it’s sucked every piece of moisture from the inside of your face? That. The first taste was like tart plums, almost bitter. The tannins are strong with this one leaving a really dry taste. After a couple of sips my mouth became accustomed to the experience and the wine became surpringly palatable. The wine felt like it could have waited just a little longer before being bottled. It’s not, in my opinion, an £8.99 bottle of wine. It’s average. You’d not be disappointed if you were served it in a pub but might be a bit put out if served it in a restaurant. Saying that, I reckon if consumed with a strong, French cheese (as suggested) it would actually become a very different wine. I am absolutely going to try the rest of the family – the Pinot Noir has a pipe smoking, gilet wearing giraffe and the merlot a tweed clad panda. What’s not to like? Name – Winsome Cousins Malbec Price – £6.74 (should be £8.99) Colour – Dark red with a pinky edge. Smell – Ripe blackcurrants Taste – Strong tannins and tart plums. Goes well with – A chunk of Roquefort maybe. Overall score – 3/5.

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