Wine Review - 2008 Thomas Mitchell Marsanne: What An Insanely Coloured Wine

This wine from the Thomas Mitchell Wines was another discount purchase from the NSLC where this wine is normally $17 locally it was on for $12.  Wicked awesome!

The Marsanne grape is one we are not too familiar with but according to Wikipedia is a North Rhone variety often blended with Rousanne.  Duly noted.

The first thing that stands out on this wine is the colour.  It is yellow.  Not pale yellow, but more like fluorescent yellow....crazy apple juice yellow.  It is like the most golden-y coloured wine we have seen in a long time.  Kind of like Aussie Chardonnay from the nineties.  However, it is not an oak bomb.  In fact, we can`t pick out anything oak related.

The nose is fruity and a little bit funky.  There is something that makes this wine very unique and it might not be in the best way.  The bouquet starts out with apple and pear notes and transitions to being honey and then finishes with a bitter note.  Interesting?  Sure....

The palate is lemon and honeysuckle with a little bit of fresh pear which also finishes a little on the bitter side. It is a nice flavour but it there is something missing in there.  We like the fruit at the start but the finish definitely falls flat.  There is some acidity and it is a complicated wine which has a lot going for it but it just doesn't check all the boxes as they say.  Nice but not great.  At $17 is an okay wine but at $12 it is a much more acceptable wine and does work pretty well with food.  In fact, it might be better with food.

   Tasting Notes: Score:    
Sight (0-5)  Fluorescent yellow colour with a thick look in the glass. 4.25
Smell (0-5) Apple, pear, and honey with a slightly bitter finish. 3.75
Taste (0-10) Lemon, honey and fresh pear dominate but there is something missing in the taste which doesn't make it a perfect wine. 7.5
  Total: 15.5 / 20
 (77.5%)

At $12 this wine is deal but at $17 it might be just a touch expensive.

Keep on tasting!

Chris & Shannon

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