You know, it feels rather awkward when you stumble upon a service that you have been nursing in your mind for months and months, but never figured out how to approach this? That was the case when an ad appeared in my Facebook – that was Vinoa! I was indeed thinking about how to get people to try wines without actually going to a store. It will require re-packaging wine (whether from 0.75L bottles to smaller 50ml ones or even from bulk shipments, i.e. wine in a big tank) and delivering those samples direct to interested wine lovers.
I am happy that this service exists now, but just a small nagging feeling that it wasn’t me. Well, there is no surprise I wanted to try them out. An offer through Facebook was to pay £2 for the initial box of 4 wines (no idea what you are getting) and then £9 monthly (no commitment, so you can cancel at any moment of time).
From their standpoint you will try the wines, supposedly like some of them and then order either individual bottles or a case of 6.When I got my Vinoa box, and dare I say, that was smooth – I think it arrived 2 days after I subscribed (1 full working day), it contained 4 wines, an introductory booklet with the names of the founders, a small booklet about these 4 wines and also coupons, so I can save £1-2 per bottle or more if I buy 6 bottles of one wine.
Let’s try the wines now – the box I received was called ‘Last of the Summer Wine’, so I expect fresh and light notes, refreshing acidity and no jammy flavours. Each of these 4 bottles (50 ml) is very clearly labelled, which is a definite plus as you get all needed information in a unified way, so it is easier to navigate through and also compare and contrast. Prepare 4 clean wine tasting glasses (preferably use ISO glasses, you can buy them using my advice on Wine Gifts here) and a carafe of water, so you get a clean and clear taste with each glass.Start from the lightest – the white one.
Domaine de la Villaudiere 2014 from Sancerre in Loire Valley is made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc and has an alcoholic strength of 13%.
The wine has a nice and clean apple aromas, it is quite fruity! Flavours are more grassy and herbaceous than aromas, but very exciting to get this further complexity. Acidity is there – the wine is refreshing, medium body of it says ‘I have weight’, but will not knock you out. Overall it is indeed an exciting wine from Loire Valley worth trying.
Next stop is Le Pas du Moine 2014 – a rose wine from Chateau Gassier, which is located in Provence, France.
It is even lighter with 12.5% abv and made from Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Ugni Blanc.
Aromas are very neutral, hardly noticeable, a bit of strawberries and some other red berries. Flavours are also on a light side – I am not tasting much of them, acidity is there but again very low. It is a very subtle rose wine that is good for hot weather (also knowing its lower alcoholic strength), but I am not impressed at all. It should be expressing more fruit, yet it is way too restrained. Not worth buying.
Reds start with a taster of Birillo Tenuta Marsiliana 2012 from Maremma in Tuscany. It is made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and is rather strong at 14% abv. It is interesting to taste as they have ditched usual to Tuscany Sangiovese grapes in favour of International varieties. Let’s find out if that worked well.
Aromas are very nice and pronounced of dark cherries, forest fruit and some dark fruit as well (not quite brambles, but more of blackcurrant and plums) – so far it represents these two grape varieties to the T.
Sweet spice is there as well.
Taste-wise it does not disappoint in terms of well integrated oak (read: woodiness and some vanilla), black cherry flavours and refreshing acidity coupled with forest fruit. Not that complex as it seems flavour-wise, but more easy going than 14% would suggest. It is pleasant and complex, dynamic but not concentrated palate.
Finally, the last sample was from Portugal, Consensus 2008 made by Jose Neiva Correia in Alenquer region.
On the label it represents an interesting blend of Pinot Noir and Touriga Nacional, which resulted in only 13.5% abv wine (normally Touriga Nacional, with other typical to Portugal grapes, would give closer to 14.5% alcoholic strength).
I must say that I have tried this type of a blend before (also from Portugal by the way) and it was quite exciting few years back, so let’s taste it now.
The wine is very ripe plummy aroma-wise, the plums appear more of a stewed nature or in a compote.
Flavours are more refreshing and interesting with some red currant-strawberry notes giving way to plums and vanilla.
It is an interesting wine that incorporates more contrasting flavours rather than integrated ones – red fruit is there against ripe plums, vanilla from oak ageing goes against refreshing acidity of the wine. It is somewhat unusual, interesting and worth trying.
These four wines were mostly a hit with just rose wine being a disappointment, so they did a good job. I also liked that they have introduced something rather different as in Pinot Noir and Touriga Nacional blend and overall provided a great service. Vinoa‘s website is slightly slow and you can tell they are still working on it, but if you will follow this link you will get a free taster box (you will just pay £1.99 for shipping), so why not to try the wines and come back to me with your feedback? It is a limited offer so hurry up!
I must add that there were no indication of organic origins of the grapes neither on the bottles nor on their website, but Vinoa offers an exciting tasting experience that you can easily do one evening to entertain yourself.
Cheers!
