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Corks for Kids wine reviews

leandra wrote this on September 15, 2008

Once we knew for sure we were going to be in town last weekend, I made sure to get tickets to the Corks for Kids event in Chapel Hill on Saturday evening. One of the highlights of the evening was Eric winning a case of Auntsfield Sauvignon blanc he bid on. We also met some new people and got to hang out with other folks we already knew.

Of course, we sampled a ton of wine (Eric tasting the white and me the red), and our favorites were…

The Reds

Longhop Shiraz and Longhop Grenache ($20/$32)—the shiraz had enough fruit up front to flatten you but a long enough finish to make the $20 price tag attractive. I am not a fan of granache, but the distributor insisted and I was not sorry. A savory nose turned into a lovely and complex wine with none of the thiness I find in a typical grenache.

Torzi Matthews Frost Dodger Shiraz ($40)—one of many shirazes I sampled, this one was unique. It smelled of rosemary and thyme, very herbal and rich. Lovely.

Some Young Punks ‘Naked on Rollerskates’ ($24)—my favorite of the sassily named varieties, this was a sparking shiraz that had nice fruit and light quality about it that wasn’t too sweet.

Hentley Farm The Beauty and The Beast ($50/$84)—I managed to get into it with the distributor on this one (in a good way) when I called The Beauty a bit tarty. I preferred The Beast which I considered as close to a perfect shiraz as anything I had tasted. Big fruit with a grand finish. If only I could afford it!

Red Head Studio Barrel Monkey’s Shiraz ($20)—medium bodied with nice fruit, mild acetone and a dry smoke. Would be good with food.

Kooyong Estate Massale Pinot Noir ($31)—strawberry fruit with a medium-bodied finish, very nice.

First Drop ‘First Love Red’ ($13)—good pizza wine and every day blend, nice and tart with some spice.

Walnut Block Pinot Noir ($35)—light-bodied but nice complexity within the fruit, very drinkable. This vineyard also went over well with Eric.

Fat of the Land ‘Seppeltfield’ Shiraz and ‘The Cream’ Shiraz ($78/$92)—wow. Both are complicated and beautiful, a nice balance of cherry and dark plum.

Clos Otto Shiraz ($102)—the most expensive wine of the evening was being poured from a plastic pitcher. Didn’t seem to hurt it, although I thought ‘The Cream’ or ‘The Beast’ were equally as good.

The Whites

Mac Forbes Riesling RS 31 ($28)— a great Riesling, with lots of peach and apricot and well-balanced acidity. Eric’s favorite of the night, he “tried it” twice!

Shinas Estate ‘The Innocent’ Vioginer ($20)—some good sharpness with a bit of melon and peach fruit, would be great with Asian foods.

Auntsfield Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay ($22/$26)—the Sauvignon blanc had a peanuty and vegetal nose, medium bodied, and a nutty flavor – very nice.  The Chardonnay had some apricot and grape, would be a great dinner wine. (we won a case of the sauvignon blanc in the auction)

Some Young Punks ‘Monsters Monsters Attack’ ($24)—clean, Alsatian-esque riesling with a medium body, lots of fruit, yummy!

Walnut Block ‘Blicks Lane’ and Estate Sauvignon Blanc ($17/$24)—Both are from the same plot, but the estate version is hand-picked, whereas the Blicks Lane is machine-picked. Both were very nice. The Blicks Lane had more sharpness and greeness to it (a vegetal/grassyness like many New Zealand wines), while the Estate version was smoother and more balanced.

Fox Gordon Abbey Viognier ($24)—Some really pleasant tartness with a medium body, another Viognier that would be great with Asian food.

Mahi Wines Sauvignon Blanc and Gewurztraminer ($24/$26)— Another sauvignon blanc with vegetal and peanut undertones, very clean and good acidity. The Francis Vineyard version was more mellow and balanced. The Gewurtztraminer was Eric’s second favorite of the night, with lots of spice and apricot.

Topics: events, tastings | 3 Comments »

3 Responses to “Corks for Kids wine reviews”

  1. Eric Hundin Says:
    September 16th, 2008 at 1:00 am

    I found your blog on MSN Search. Nice writing. I will check back to read more.

    Eric Hundin

  2. Mary Beth Cox Says:
    September 17th, 2008 at 2:00 am

    I don’t know how you guys keep up with all this. Great website!

  3. Some Young Punks Wine Dinner @ Poole’s Diner at trianglevino.com - the place for wine tasting news and events in the triangle (Durham, Chapel Hill and Raleigh, North Carolina)! Says:
    May 16th, 2009 at 8:49 pm

    [...] tried a few of the Some Young Punks wines at the Corks for Kids wine tasting last year and very much enjoyed both the labels and the contents [...]

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