Prosecco Costaross Extra Dry

Prosecco Costaross Extra Dry

Our go-to sparking wine, the Prosecco that we used to find at my parents’ local small supermarket Super U for a good price and that I reviewed here, is not carried by the supermarket anymore or wasn’t lately, during this summer. Instead they had this one, the Costaross, in the same spot on the fridge shelves and for the same price. So I decided to try it to see if we could count on this back up plan to replace the Riccadonna Prosecco.

This one is called Prosecco Costaross and, same as the Riccadonna, it’s extra dry. 11% vol.

Prosecco Costaross Extra Dry

Very fizzy but with very fine and tiny bubbles. No rim and the bubbles are very regular.

Nose : wine, grapes, white fruits such as nectarines.

In mouth it is very fizzy, extremely I should say, and a bit weak in taste. No after taste, no after mouth, very short in mouth.

Some pears, nectarines, white peaches but all very weak. The Riccadonna was way better, so this Costaross won’t become our go-to sparkling wine, we’ll have to find another one.

Actually one or 2 weeks after tasting and writing this review, I found the Riccadonna Prosecco in another supermarket in town (less convenient, this supermarket is in the « up town » and we live in the « down town » by the sea, so we have to take the car to go to this other supermarket. For the small Super U supermarket, we don’t, its located at walking distance) : Intermarché supermarket, for the same kind of price, maybe one euro less even. Same as it was, even though the label design has changed a tiny bit, but the quality and the taste haven’t changed fortunately. So I am happy to report that our trusted go-to Prosecco is back after all and that I stocked up with this Riccadonna again for our summer needs.

Sable de Camargue rosé Listel Grain de Gris

Listel Grain de Gris

A quick review of the Listel gris as we used to call it, grain de gris as they call it for this version. We had this one in a wine box during the summer, as we were many around the table to drink wine and we were drinking wine for every meal. We figured it would make more sense, regarding the price and also an easier way to carry it. We found the box along the related usual Listel gris bottles in our local small supermarket (Super U) for a reasonable price : about 14 euros for 3 liters (which is equivalent to 4 bottles). However these wine boxes are high-tech (they come from the astronaut pouches technology actually) and keep the wine air tight in between draws. I stored the whole box as such in a secondary storage fridge that my parents have and I would just draw the needed quantity (usually 1 bottle, 75 cl) in a clean spare wine bottle before the meal, so it was already cold and ready to drink.

3 liter wine box, 12.5%. The appellation is Sable de Camargue, from France.

I talked about the usual bottle version (or one of the versions — they seemed to have varied, at least on the label, over the years) in my writer’s blog (in French). Bottle that I had found here in New Jersey one year.

Listel Grain de Gris

According to their website it’s a Languedoc Roussillon rosé, a blend of Grenache, Cinsault, Merlot and Cabernet.

Color in the glass : a gris (hence the name), pale pink leaning towards pale salmon.

Nose : grapefruit, redcurrant (groseille)

In mouth : grapefruit, citrus, a slight bitterness at the end of mouth. Some red fruits also, mainly strawberry and raspberry. 

Very crisp and fresh, pleasant for summer meals, specially for that price.

Rosé Piscine

Rosé Piscine

This one is a generic rosé (no vintage, no date, no origin other than the rather vague « France ») from Vinovalie les Vignerons d’Ovalie. So the label just says Vin de France (wine from France) which is no appellation at all. 10.5% vol. I was intrigued to see it all over (in the US and in France, a big marketing campaign) so I figured I might as well try it, furthermore when I saw it was rather cheap (4 to 5 euros in our local supermarket, Spar/Casino).

Rosé Piscine

This wine is as pale as a gris.

Nose : grapefruit, red fruit.

In mouth it’s slightly fizzy and very much on the sweet side. Strawberry, red fruit. Very fruity, like a strawberry preserve, red fruit and raspberry.

A bit too sweet for my taste but not unpleasant for those who like sweet wines. Not bad per se. It would be good for a sangria or for use in a cocktail. Anyway they advertise it as such : wine to drink over ice, which gives a hint it’s not a classic rosé but rather a wine to be used for cocktails or mixes.

Penelope Bourbon Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey Batch # 2

Penelope Bourbon Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey Batch # 2

Somewhere in June came is the batch number 2 of the excellent Penelope Bourbon. I reviewed their first batch here.

Penelope Bourbon Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey Batch # 2

I bought 2 bottles of this batch number 2, one bottle travelled with me to France in checked bagage as a present for my father (it arrived intact fortunately ! )

Before fixing any Kentucky Mule or Mint Juleps, we had a proper tasting of this new batch, straight without any ice.

Same as batch number 1, batch number 2 is a four grain straight bourbon whiskey, 40% vol. 

Golden color in glass.

Nose of vanilla, butterscotch, caramel and cream. A slight variation from the batch number 1 which had a scent of roasted cereals and honey in addition to the vanilla and caramel.

In mouth : cream, vanilla, caramel then cream again as an after mouth. It’s very round, even better than the first batch. It feels almost like a vanilla ice-cream, more specifically the creamy side of vanilla ice-cream.

It was very much appreciated by all the French people in my family (my father, mother, sister and son) here in France.

In short, cream and butterscotch : a delight !

Penelope Bourbon Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey Batch # 2