Yellow Tail 2013 Pinot Grigio

by Brandon Wainscott

I remember a year or two ago, I bought a few Yellow Tail to celebrate the greatest sports event in my state. No, not the NCAA Basketball Championship, though to all the rednecks who do not drink wine, as does Our most classy self, pinkies extended, it may be! Inside joke. You have to be a Kentuckian to really understand why basketball is a religion here. Just kidding about the redneck thing. I love basketball. And about the "we" thing, We rarely speak in the royal first person anymore! What is it, preciousssses, we must finds out! What is hobbiteses? What is wineses? Can we eatses wineses? Cans we drinks it? 

No,  the sport We were talking about the Kentucky Derby of course. It was one of my first times in drinking Yellow Tail. It was amazing really. For a then $6.00 wine (taxes caused it to go up a dollar, those bloody politicians), well, it was complex with all sorts of layers of fruit.

Not this time. On the nose is a floral breeze smell, or a sea breeze I suppose. Something you might get from the sea in southern Australia, where the wine comes from. But it is rather artificial. I think it would fit well for the poem I wrote on my other blog, if you wish to read a poem more on the sensual side. But the sex on the beach with this floral/ocean breeze would greatly outweigh this aspect. I mean real sex on the beach, with real sea breezes.

My sensual side notes aside, there is also a strong green apple scent. However, it is mixed with an alcoholic smell, making it rater unpleasant. There is also, strangely perhaps, a strong note of Parmesan cheese, which here I do not find pleasant. Not in wine.

Taste wise it is rather simplistic. All there is that green apple and alcohol, and maybe some peach. For one who rather likes this causal house wine, I have to say I am rather disappointed, though for the price it is of above average quality. I give it an 80. In any case, it would be good to drink in a seashell, having sex on the beach, like in the poem. You have to read the poem to understand this reference, just like you have to live in Kentucky to understand how basketball is a religion here.

On a final note, white wines are not a go to of mine. I prefer red. In the book about wine lover Hannibal Lecter, Hannibal, he is chilling a white wine, and the author describes how Dr. Lecter always gets nervous/excited before opening the white wine because he hopes it reaches just the right point. What he means is a white too warm or too cold hides its character. The floral and other notes are lost in the alcoholic flavor. I am sure there is a chemical reason for this (ask Walter White). I let the wine war up a little. It was a bit cold coming of the ice, but even with the temperature rising, I still say this was still simplistic. Some peach flavors came out, too. Drinkable by all means, whether to make love on the beach or to have with boneless wings and tater tots, as I am about to do. With a casual dinner, this is is a decent wine. But nothing special, or even good per se. More "ok", but above average in its price range. 



EDIT: It did seem to give grace to the buffalo sauce and vice versa. Certainly a good choice if you want a casual wine. Just toss in the fridge before work if nothing else. In this wine I do not think you are going to miss much by getting it too cold in the fridge. 

2013 Yellow Tail Merlot

by Brandon Wainscott

I've decided  to do something different reviewing this. Rather than the same old formatted review, I decided just to write.

Yellow Tale is the go to house wine, as a friend says. He plans to go to school as sommelier, so I guess it is good if he considers it a go to house wine, being an expert and all, on the way to becoming an official wine snob. Another friend, a Facebook friend in Scotland, complained about the lack of quality wine in Britain. Someone mentioned Yellow Tail, and he did not outright put it down if I recall, but did not seem to fond of it either. But he seemed to agree it was a good wine for poor college students.

The 2013 Yellow Tail Merlot was quite complex. On the nose I got death. Yes, I said death. Well, maybe I should put it better. It did not smell like rotting flesh. My great-grandmother died when I was seven. I remember the viewing at the funeral home. I remember the smell most of all I think. They really fix up the person of course, so there is no smell or ugliness. I remember there was a minty smell, and I guess it was something they spray on the corpse, or a chemical used in embalming. In any case, mint, not death. I just call it death because of what it reminds me of. I also got spice and plumb, plus thyme.

The plumb, spice and thyme were on the tongue, too. I could imagine having it with lamb chops. I love thyme on lamb. It goes so well with that sweetness of the lamb. It finished long, with the spice being the main finishing characteristic. However, towards the very end it did finish a bit bitter. However, because the finish was long, it was pleasant except for that last moment.

The color is medium dark I would say. I would give it an 87 because of its low price range, taking away a point or two from a possible 88 or 89 for the depth of the wine. The many layers to me were amazing. I had not had that in a while. I think next time I buy wine, I'll not splurge, but buy two Yellow Tails.

Oh, and if you catch any strange typos in here, it is likely because I am going to end up having to replace that laptop that I spilled wine on. The keys are sticking. Besides, it fell off a table not  long before, and it seems the hinge for the screen is a bit loose.