Two amazing wines for your money: La Sabonite Rouge & 2011 Oltrepo Pavese Malvasia Piume

This is the only red wine produced by Sabonite, and this $15 red, though vintage-less and deemed a "table wine", it tastes like a gem. Very quaffable and refreshing on the tongue. Be careful about having too much!

Nose:  spicy, roasty, & nutty with mineral backnotes. Aromas of slate, cloves, caramel, marshmellow, vanilla, and cedar

Tongue: light bodied, with barely noticeable tannins. Smoky and complex in flavors - bell peppers, spice, smoke, tomato, chestnuts, vanilla, and butterscotch - balanced with refreshing minerality. 

Price: $15

Rating: 4.25/5

I've had very good experiences with all of the Martide red wines I've tried. Their beautiful watercolor labels of their vineyard farm animals are definitely a plus. The Piume (meaning 'plume' in Italian), made of Malvasia grapes, is special in every way. I was first struck by the deep honey orange color. The distinctively delicious aroma and mouth-feel makes this one of my favorite whites. To be drunk alone or with spicy food and sharp charcuterie. 

Nose: full of tropical fruits and sweet honey - flavors of pineapple, mango, juicy, very perfumed, citrus blossom, wildflower honey, biscuits 

Tongue: med-bodied with dry finish. Tart flavors are prominent, with upfront notes of lime, almonds, quince and lychee. Remniscent of the New England fall foliage.

Price: $18

Rating: 4.5/5

Value Wine Finds: Domaine Brazilier Coteaux du Vendomois 2009 & La Sauvageonne Les Ruffes 2008

One of the featured wines in the Wine and Cheese Cask, so I decided to give it a try. I was not expecting much, since it was only $10, but the best things come when least expected :) I was surprisingly pleased at the complexity and richness of the flavor of the bottle. Definitely a steal!

Nose: very nutty, with big aromas of walnuts and almonds. Flavors of strong black tea, with whiffs of the salty ocean wind.

Tongue: smokey, light bodied, slightly dry, and a bit watery. Young tannins. Flavors of cured meat, smoked cedar plank, and burnt coffee. Woody. A nice lingering smokey finish, though the smokiness can be a bit overwhelming.

Price: $9.99

Rating: 3.5/5 

Randomly went into Bauer Wine store with my friend. They happened to have this wine open for tasting. We fell in love with it on the first sip. The $12 price tag made it even better. It is a yummy blend of 30% Syrah, 30% Grenache, 30% Carignan, and 10% Cinsault. You should decant it for a while before serving to open up its aromas and flavors. After that, you can just guzzle the whole baby down.
I should buy more wines off of random wine store rendezvous :)

Nose: very aromatic. Filled with salty, nutty, chocolaty, and creamy goodness

Tongue: medium bodied, with smooth and mellow tannins. Velvety mouthfeel. Sweet and fruity upfront with a slightly creamy, vanilla finish. A all around pretty well balanced wine. Very easy-drinking on its own or paired with roasts or pasta.

Price: $11.99

Rating: 4/5

Olivier Leflaive Chablis Les Deux Rives 2007

I caught this Chablis in an online deal - only $14.95 and free shipping on four bottles! It was a god given opportunity to stock up on Chablis (I rarely see one under $20). The Chablis region of France has always given me trusty dry minerally whites, so I was not too worried about getting four bottles of a wine I have never tasted. Besides, it was given a whopping 90pts by Wine Spectator.

The Olivier Leflaive did not disappoint. It was clean, crisp, and refreshing. As a plus, it also has a cool high-tech rubber cork which seals the air in the bottle when used as a stopper (who said rubber corks were crap?) 

Perfect for sipping on a hot summer day. It would also go superb with something light, such as a caprese salad, sashimi, or creamy goat cheese. I am looking forward to slowly savoring my other three bottles of this Chablis :)

Nose: sweet amd refreshing, with delicate whiffs of honeysuckle, melon, honeydew

Tongue: notes of lemon and lime. Citrisy, with a nice acidity (might be slightly too acidic for some I think, but I tend to like more sour things), mouth-watering tartness, nice medium tannins, clean minerality. Spritzy, and dry. Best of all, it has none of the bitterness and heavy oakiness of California Chardonnays :D

Price: $14.95

Rating: 4.7/5 Love it!