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lifestylewunderkind's Review:

This brings us back to what Rose wine should be like. I know it's mass-produced without much passion, but drinking this slightly mellow, full-bodied and fruity rose wine, experiencing the delectable floral touch and the pleasant mellow finish just brings it all back to the point: It does not matter how this wine was made, as it is bright and easy to understand and delicious for a summer evening with tapas. Wine lover or not, you're probably going to like it. It's not complicated, it's not something to philosophize about, but it's special for being so approachable and at the same time so genuinely good. And it holds what it promises, I like the bottle and label, and it's just all fine. I wanted to dislike this wine, wanted to call it a simple wine that's mostly brand and least of all a decent wine, but it's genuinely won me over. It simply allowed me to stop 'pontificating' and start enjoying!

lifestylewunderkind's Review:

Very reasonably priced wine. Full flavour, great body, smooth with a very nicely worked in sweetness, low in acidity. A very enjoyable wine reflecting typical South-of-France flavours as well as the smoothness of the Merlot grape. Could have a little more length, though, but I'm not expecting that at this level. A great everyday wine, wonderful!

lifestylewunderkind's Review:

First impression of this wine, its distinct nose and the well-structured yet voluptuous (what a silly word, but suits it here) body was very positive, if still a little unknown (a good australian wine? really?...). It is distinguished from old-world complexity in offering a rather straight-forward palette of berry and red fruit aromas, some cocoa and a little wood (not too toasty though, as the oak is just slightly adding to the wine flavour - probably with the chocolatey note...). For me, Australian wine up to now was either very good and quite expensive, or pretty obvious, boring all the way to very bad, and usually rather inexpensive. At 9, this wine is still reasonably priced, and I was astonished by the smooth, elegant and even slightly creamy finish and its rather incredible length. Though, on balance, this wine does have a few flaws. Firstly, in the course of breathing the wine temporarily develops rather obscure and hard-to-identify herb aromas, before those change again into strong blueberry and black fruit notes, which is nice. At some point, then, the wine becomes too acidic, bitter and rather hard to drink, which I found a little unpleasant. Also, I found its aromas to be still sort-of closed, which makes a good case for storing it a couple of years. So, my conclusion looks as follows: Started out pretty nice, but changed to the worse. Rather unpredictably development while it was breathing, and at some point even the creamy finish was gone. My tip: Wash done the whole bottle in one (don't really do it, though). Still left a good impression on me in the end, though far from being my favourite.

lifestylewunderkind's Review:

As expected, the wine shows a few signs of ageing: It has a beautifully mellow, warm aftertaste, yet all of its ripe freshness and citrus and appely notes are still present. On the palate it has a very pleasant acidity that's just right and beautifully woven into a very pleasant smoothness, which works together very well with its light and a little crisp freshness. The finish reveals said mellow and soft flavour wrapped into a creamy texture, giving this wine a long, very pleasant finish that creates a very nice sensation on the tongue. Perhaps that's where the supposedly white almondy notes are to be found, as the winemaker's notes describe it. Anyway, you really sense that this is a very good wine, and it once again leads me to the conclusion that there is no such thing in wines as cheap & cheerful. Just an example: I recently tasted the quite decent French "Arrogant Frog Ribet White" Sauvignon Blanc for approximately 5, and despite its grapefruit and lichy-like powerful aromas and freshness (and not being flat, which is already an achievement with Sauvignon Blancs for under 10), it lacked the refinedness of a good, 15-20 old-world Sauvignon Blanc. To apply it to this review: Sadly, the inexpensice Alsace Pinot Blanc's just aren't any good. I'd rather spend my money on one bottle of this marvellous 2005 Hugel than on a few bottles of the cheap plonk. If you like fresh pinot noirs with raffinesse, you should really try this wine, especially because the 2005 Vintage is so good.

lifestylewunderkind's Review:

The 2004 vintage produced a subtly sweet, creamy-textured and full-bodied, smooth rose wine with little acidity. Powerful, very delightful sweetness and a floral, tropical palate with a little hit of sweet herbs and some toffee within the tropical aromas. A range of flavours I never experienced in a Rose wine before, especially not one from France. This wine is so delectable I just can't get enough of it! The 2004 is one of the few Rose wines that was still fantastic after 5 Years. Currently Gueyze are my favourite Rose wines.

lifestylewunderkind's Review:

Drinkable, fruit-dominated rose with little raffinesse, not to call it flat. Mixed fruit on the nose with a light fruity palate, but certainly lacking length, smoothness and power. But I like the rather subtle and soft acidity - most cheap roses have that unholy and pungent acidity, and I'm glad this doesn't. Goes well with mediterranean dishes and perfectly suitable if you enjoy that cheap and cheerful sort of wine. Because it is so simply to enjoy, virtually all of my friends which aren't really into wine enjoy drinking it very much. Besides, I have to say the bottle looks really nice and the natural cork is of good quality (obvious for a portugese wine to have real cork, though - cork is made there...). Few issues with it, however. First of all, the quality isn't constant. Twice I've had flat, fizzy plonk, but another two times the wine was not fizzy and of okay to fairly good quality. Once, I got a bottle delivering rather powerful, cleaner flavours - sadly, though, I was lucky only once.All in all, it's a decent drop to have with your mates, however, if your're somebody with passion for tasting good wine, it will leave you completely indifferent (especially because as a wine lover you know it's made heartlessly in industrial quantities with the sole objective of creating a profitable wine with mainstream, mass-market appeal)To be honest, I really like being surprised by the unexpectedly decent quality of some inexpensive wines, but this isn't one of them. To be fair, it has to be said though that almost all Languedoc roses for 3.50 are rubbish as well, as far as I am concerned much worse still! However, if you're lucky to live in France, you should really try the following 3.50 rose. It's fantastic value for money, and even earned a gold medal from the paris agricole committee for the 2007 vintage: "Chateau de PuichericCave cooperative les Celliers du Nouveau MondePuicheric"

lifestylewunderkind's Review:

breathtaking, probably going to be the best glass of wine I ever had. fantastic flavours, richness, simply perfect.

lifestylewunderkind's Review:

Intensive Cherry Nose, very smooth on the palate with medium-strong tannins, strong cherry and berry flavours with a hint of toffee. A very enyoable wine from a well-known Chateau in the Minervois for an absolutely reasonable price.

lifestylewunderkind's Review:

A very drinkable Tuscan wine. Full bodied, smooth, quite expressive, light on the palate and a little bit rustic describe the wine's character best. On the nose, blackberry and vanilla are most noticeable. The grapes for this extraordinary wine are extracted only through the force of gravity and then stored first in young french barriques and after that in large, older barrels. For the 10 category, this is a very reasonably priced and enyoable Italian wine.

lifestylewunderkind's Review:

Dark fruits and spices on the nose, with subtle hints of vanilla. Full-bodied mouth with spicy and powerful fruit aromas, slightly oaky and surprisingly refined for a 5--Wine. By the way, this wine was rated as one of the best wines under 5 - a reasonable decision! Enjoy with beef or, even better, the famous spanish Iberico pork with herbs and freshly ground pepper. Surely not a great wine, but excellent to drink and simply enjoy - no cheapness on the palate! Good wine, but excellent value for money!