Recommendation: “Not bad” Gewürztraminer at a very reasonable price.
Winery/Producer: Vinted and bottled by Martin Ray Winery; Santa Rosa, California.
Grape Variety: Gewürztraminer.
Geographic Region, Appellation: Sonoma County, California.
Vintage: 2013
Price: $11.69 (with a 10% 6-pack discount).
Purchased From: Total Wine; Thousand Oaks, California.
Paired With: Barbecued chicken on bun with hot wing sauce, blue cheese slaw
Tasting:
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He said: Chilled before drinking. A slight cloudiness, light lemon color. Strong, rose pedal floral aromas. The rose bouquet continues right through the dry mango taste. The slightly spicy finish is long, dry and a little tart. “Not bad” and dirt cheap. We shopped at Total Wine in Thousand Oaks, California and bought six Gewürztraminers in our attempt to find one we liked. Tonight with chicken BBQ we had this wine and a Chateau Ste Michelle Columbia Valley Gewürztraminer ($7.19 with a 10% 6-pack discount) that had a heavy fruit taste, was a tad sweet and simply wasn’t as good!!! The Cortney Benham had the Gewürztraminer floral bouquet, the cool dry refreshing taste and it paired very well with the mildly spicy BBQ. It gets
thumbs up from me and a good recommendation when you want Gewürztraminer and shop Total Wine or the grocery stores!!!
She said: Pale yellow green, a bit cloudy, lots of thin well moving thin legs. The first sniff favored the Cortney Benham wine that had a fairly strong floral aroma while the Chateau Ste Michelle had a weak undistinguished aroma. The tastes that followed were more comparable but Chateau Ste Michelle had a lighter, sweeter, and more refreshing mouth feel than that of the Cortney Benham. The finishes of both were medium-long and ended with a slight tartness. Both wines went well with the diner but the Courtney Benham edged out the Chateau Ste Michelle because of its superior aroma and less sweetness, I would not hesitate to buy the Courtney Benham again.
It was interesting to note that the Chateau Ste Michelle had lots of bubbles that stuck to the glass at each pour; the bubbles had no mouth-feel.
Alcohol: 14.2%
UPC Code: 7 29722 00758 5
Imported by: NA
Photo from Martin Ray Winery.