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Welcome

This is a resource for people who want to buy an interesting bottle of wine on a budget of about $20. If you get lost between Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon and have access to a Dan Murphy's or Vintage Cellars (or Aldi, as of 2015!), you've come to the right place. Where possible, wines are listed with their single-bottle price from DM/VC/A and the winery's home page.

A good place to start is the 'Index', or if you know what type of wine you want, head straight to the 'Recommended Reds', 'Worthy Whites' or 'Stunning Sparklers' that only show 4 & 5☆ wines.

Your experience will be different to everyone else's, which makes wine such a pleasure. The same vintage wine at different ages will be distinct, as will the same aged wines from different vintages. What the glass holds is a unique parcel of time that should be enjoyed as such.

Sunday, 30 October 2016

(S) Borgo Sanleo: Prosecco Brut DOC, from Veneto, Italy

Appearance
Pale straw colour with lots of bubbles early.

Smell
Fruity, with ripe peaches, melon, and pears, and some honeysuckle and blossoms on the floral side. Lots of sweetness & physiological ripeness on the nose, which is unusual for a sparkling wine.

Palate
As a Brut wine, this must be dry, but the residual sugars are definitely there. Unfortunately the acidity that normally accompanies sparkling wine is missing. Not much alcohol or body & the flavours mimic the nose, with ripe stone & tropical fruits. The flavours disappear almost as quickly as the harsh mousse. This feels a lot like overripe grapes that weren't good enough for still wines have been stuffed into a tank for a secondary fermentation in the hope that some CO2  will hide their imperfections.


Tale
Prosecco was originally named after a grape that was named after a town in the very North-East of Italy, sandwiched between the Slovenian border & the Gulf of Trieste. The grape has changed its name to Glera, however the town Prosecco still remains & gave its name to the DOC (region of origin) to the Prosecco wine in 2009, which is when the grape variety became Glera. In theory, any wine labelled Prosecco must come from this region in Italy, however many wineries, such as those in Victoria's King Valley (many who immigrated to Australia from Italy) still label their wines Prosecco, after the grape vines they planted decades ago.

I'd love to go on a spiel about the rich history of the Borgo San Leo winery etc., however I've just realised this is another Woolies 'home brand' special. It has no history or soul to speak of & has been made by a mercenary winery in Italy before being re-badged to look legit & sold to unsuspecting Aussies like myself. It appears the winery-for-hire in this case is Casa Vinicola Zonin, who make wines all over Italy & now in the US. It certainly feels like the Prosecco grapes they didn't want to put their name to have ended up in this bottle that's been sold to the Antipodes. After all, what would a bunch of convicts know about good Prosecco?!

Final word: I don't particularly like it & will most likely never buy it again, but for $11 it's okay & I'll drink it (although I'll drink almost anything made from grapes). I'm not angry, just very disappointed.

Price: $11
Quality: ☆☆☆
Value: ☆☆☆

www.danmurphys.com.au/product/DM_916249
www.zonin1821.it/en


Drank by

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