We’re back in the Tasting Canada Test Lab and this time we’re tasting 4 wines from Red Rooster – a 2009 Cab Merlot, a 2008 Reserve Meritage, a 2009 Bantam and a 2008 Chardonnay.
The usual group of spongers and drinkers are in attendance as is the ever popular Carr’s Table Water Crackers and an indifferent Brie hastily purchased at the local IGA.
I’ve put together the tasting review form – the choices are “More Please”, “Like It”, “Meh”, and “Not for Me” – and a space for notes (which tend to be hilarious). When I was young and dumb, my tasting notes read like”tastes like a hospital smells” and “tastes like a band-aid”. I’ve progressed a bit with my notes and now use expressions like “fruit forward” regularly.
One note: all the reviewers said they would have preferred to taste the wines with full meals and not with just cheese and crackers. I also kinda rushed them through the tasting so they were really tasting them one after the other and could not get a full appreciation of each one as they were influenced by the taste of the one before.
The Cab Merlot got an overwhelming “Like it” review with one “More Please” and one “Not for Me”. Generally it was considered smooth and warm. I got toffee after a while. It may get lost with food but makes a great bottle to split with a friend.
The Reserve Meritage was split between “Meh” and “More Please” and we think it was too much for people without it being with a meal as it is so full bodied. Good smokey smell, good smokey taste. Perfect with steak.
The Bantam generally got a “Like It”. People either liked the fruitiness or it put them off. It was smooth and easy to drink if you like a fruitier wine.
The Chardonnay was a bit of a surprise to all of us as none of us are huge Chardonnay fans. This one fell firmly into”like it” with one “More Please”. It was very fresh, very smooth, and finished clean. After a while I could taste the pineapple. People did comment on the acidity but felt it was well balanced in the wine.
A few more people are being banned from the Tasting Canada Test Lab for having no palates – comments such as “tastes like blood” and “tastes stinky” were enough to get them black balled for life!
The upshot is that Red Rooster Winery puts out a really consistent product. You can buy these wines and take them with you to a nice dinner party, give as a gift and drink tonight. They are good – full stop.
