Wine Subscription Review: Wineist Wine Carte, Part 1

"Small in size, big in wines" is the Wineist motto. They're I guess what you could call a wine club but they call themselves a "wine carte". Carte is actually a good choice of wordage because it can mean menu or map. You're getting a taste of the wines they sell and their wines are from all over the world!

This is how it works: you go to WINEIST.COM and see what plan works for you. You can get a monthly subscription, six month subscription or a yearly subscription. Let's just say you get a monthly subscription, which is $29 a month at the time of this review. Every month you'll receive six 50 ml sample bottles in a neat little box. There's also a pamphlet telling you what each bottle is, all the tech information you could possibly need, winery information, food pairings, etc, and space for your notes. If you like any of the wines then you can buy them in normal bottle size.

Just by seeing what they do, having this package in my hands, I can tell you this is a very cool product. But how are the wines in the package that I got?

I'm breaking it down into two reviews: In Part 1 I've got a Riesling from Germany, a Pinotage Rosé from South Africa, and a Tempranillo blend from Spain. In Part 2 I've got a Chianti Rufina, a Shiraz blend from South Africa, and another Tempranillo blend from Spain.

I. Ernst Riesling Kabinett 2014 by Weingut H.J. Ernst

This Riesling from Germany's Rheingau was grown on loess soil and by a winery in its 4th generation of family. It's got a 12% ABV so it'll be on the dry side. Under "Wine Geek Information" Wineist has this as 100% Sauvignon Blanc, which is obviously not true. Soooo that may need to be fixed.

Unfortunately something went wrong in the bottling of this wine too. There's two tiny black flecks in the wine and it both smells and tastes oxidized. It's more of a Sherry now than a Riesling. Whoops.

II. Delheim Pinotage Rosé 2015

BOX AND PAMPHLET

Delheim is a sustainably farmed, family owned winery in Stellenbosch, South Africa that's been around for half a century. They're actually the guys that first dared to make a rosé out of the lab-created South African Pinotage grape. This guy is 95% Pinotage and 5% Muscat de Frontignan. It has an ABV of 12.5%.

It's a dark orange-ish pink and smells like big, sticky strawberry candy. In the mouth it's medium bodied and lush in mouthfeel. There's flavors of cranberry, strawberries and watermelon candy. It finishes both tart and semi-sweet. This is one of those rosé's I can totally see myself having children with.

III. Pagos de Araiz 2013 Navarra

The Spanish DO region of Navarra has always fascinated me since I learned about it years ago and I have no idea why. Is it the location in Spain, close to the French border? Is it because I've never had a bad wine from there? Is it because the name reminds me of legendary guitarist/cocksman Dave Navarro? Yeah, it's gotta be that.

This is a blend of Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. It's listed as having a 14% ABV. The wine is purple in color. Baked earth is the first aroma to hit my nose. Then there's blackberries, plums and licorice. It's medium bodied, high in acidity with medium tannin. There's flavors of raspberry, blackberries and dried herbs. It's a solid, enjoyable red.

Check out what I thought about the rest of the wines and overall experience in Part 2: http://www.thewinestalker.net/2016/03/wineist2.html

These wines were supplied free of charge for the purpose of this unpaid review. To have your wine reviewed follow this link.