Niki

Planeta Frappato Vittoria 2015

Nose: Bright, ripe red fruit, strawberry, earthy summer smells; a bit pomegranate, a bit beet, a bit mint and thyme, spices, and volcanic minerality. Palate: So good. So bright and so fresh. It just fills your mouth with this luscious, bright fruit. It’s such a joy to drink. It’s like biting into a perfect summer strawberry or cherry: sweet without being sweet, tart without being obnoxious. The pomegranate shows up again, along with the earthy, herbal crunchy minerality. It’s got some lively acidity, which takes the form of blood orange. Full review: www.nikinosewine.com/home/planeta-frappato-vittoria-2015-review

Pieropan Soave Classico 2015, Doc

Nose: Lemon-lime, minerality, herbs, apple blossoms
Palate: Lovely high-acidity with a really rich mouthfeel that balances the whole thing out. That lemon quality follows through but it’s like the most delightful lemon tart garnished with tarragon, sea salt, and a touch of cream that you eat in the middle of an orchard on the best kind of sunny summer day. It’s got a bit of stone fruit, a bit of pear, a bit of flowers, a bit of everything great and right about crisp white wine. Full review: www.nikinosewine.com/home/2017/5/9/superlative-soave

Malivoire Small Lot Gamay 2016, Niagara Peninsula

Nose: Raspberry, cherry, pepper and baking spices. Earthy minerality and almost a subtle fennel-like aniseed quality. It’s really pretty, with a floral character to it.
Palate: So delicious. The acidity is super high so it’s really refreshing and tart, but the cherry flavour is super rich and delicious, just so lovely and round and mouth-filling. The baking spices show up again with that bright acidity it’s almost like a balsamic drizzled strawberry delight, with none of the sweetness and all of the pleasure. And the finish is hella long Full write up:www.nikinosewine.com/home/malivoire-small-lot-gamay-2016-review

Thymiopoulos Young Vines Xinomavro 2015, Unfiltered, Pdo Naoussa

Nose: So pretty. It opens with super strawberry, red cherry notes that evolve into a more tomato-y aroma. It’s really floral, with some mineral herbaceousness.
Palate: That tomato thing again. It’s a savoury herbal fruit salad, like when you throw cherries into your summer salads. With a salty minerality and black olive twist, because this is Greece. There’s also some fennel alongside those red fruits, maybe a touch of beet root, all mixed together in a delightful bath of pleasant acidity and plush tannins.
Full review: www.nikinosewine.com/home/thymiopoulos-young-vines-xinomavro-unfiltered-2015-review

Grange Of Prince Edward Select Gamay Pinot 2014, VQA Prince Edward County (1500ml)

Nose: Baking spices, strawberry, plums, raspberries, dark, dark cherries – it’s basically just all your favourite summer red fruits and flowers. Maybe even some orange peel and vanilla bourbon.
Palate: OMG so good. It’s scrummy, yumminess like when you bite into a summer strawberry that’s so ripe it just gets you in the back of the throat, tapping all your (taste-related) pleasure points along the way. It’s really high acid and tart, but I like that. It’s all the sweet and sour cherries you could stuff in your mouth with a citrus twist.

Full write up:www.nikinosewine.com/home/grange-of-prince-edward-county-gamay-pinot-2014-review

Follas Novas Albariño 2015, Do Rias Baixas

Nose: Lemony, white peach, lime zest, minerality Palate: It’s almost a honeyed peach, with a bit of pineapple; it’s a bit zesty and spritzy – like a yellow fruit salad with lime juice and zest sprinkled over it. As the palate progressed it was like a complete journey through an orchard, taking pit stops at pear and apple town (but not a red apple – a really good apple) towards the end.

For full review visit my blog: www.nikinosewine.com/home/2017/7/14/follas-novas-albarino-review

Château De Berne Terres De Berne Rosé 2015, Ac Côtes De Provence

Nose: Peaches, strawberries, salt, and summer fields.
Palate: The palate totally follows, with a delightfully structured plushness that balances the high acidity. It’s ridiculously refreshing and paired really well with fried chicken. The summer fruits dance on your tongue in this really lovely way, and as the glass warms up a bit the florality steps up a notch and it joined by garrigue – the code name for herbes de Provence mixed with lavender and the low-growing shrubbery of the region. It’s like drinking Provence in a glass, and I like it.

For the full review, see my blog: http://www.nikinosewine.com/home/2017/5/16/feel-the-berne

Fiorini Corte Degli Attimi Lambrusco Di Sorbara 2015, Doc

Nose: Smoky, onion-skin, cranberry, raspberry, under-ripe red fruits with a twist of orange zest.
Palate: Really nice acidity, but it’s not too puckering; it’s super refreshing with a delightfully rich, soft mousse that ties the whole thing in a pretty bubbly bow. It almost reminds me of a cosmopolitan or vodka cranberry with a twist – not that it at all tastes alcoholic (it’s around 11% so it’s pretty light) – it’s just got that tart red flavour profile that’s so fresh and delightful.

For full review, see my blog: http://www.nikinosewine.com/home/2017/7/10/queen-of-tarts

Santo Santorini Assyrtiko 2016

Nose: Salty lemons, orange blossom, and honey suckle. It’s just really fresh and smells like being by the sea.
Palate: Super high acid. There’s a lot of minerality just swirling around with a salty structure that gives the wine some body and weight (it’s refreshing though, don’t worry!). It’s really lemony and fresh, with a tiny herbal note on the finish. There’s a tiny lactic note – like one of those lemon yogurts in the glass jars if you’d thrown a bunch of Maldon sea salt on top and there was zero sugar added. Full review www.nikinosewine.com/home/2017/9/9/santo-assyrtiko-2016-review

Aliança Bairrada Reserva 2015, Bairrada

Nose: Dark berries, tar, leather, anise, prunes, and mint.
Palate: Lush, dark fruit with supple, plush tannins. It’s super juicy and delicious, with dark plum and black cherries and blackberries covered in dark chocolate with a savoury herbaceousness on the mid-palate. The acidity is pretty high, so it makes the heavier flavours feel more refreshing than they might otherwise be. This is a food wine, and it definitely needs a bit of a chill (especially if you’re going to drink it on its own). Full write up: www.nikinosewine.com/home/alianca-bairrada-reserva-2015-review