Time for Wine Subscription Service
I have tried wine subscription services before, but never really found one that I’ve been satisfied with. In theory, a monthly subscription having wine delivered to your door is perfect for me. I love trying new wines – so having an expert choosing a selection for me to try each time sounds great. And I’m busy, so finding the time to go wine shopping is pretty much impossible, especially to take the time needed to find something interesting AND good.
Time for Wine approached my about trying their monthly subscription service, and I jumped at the chance for the above reasons. I am always a little wary that the associated ‘bumpf’ – the tasting notes etc = can be a bit questionable. But if you don’t try, you don’t know.
The Boy was particularly pleased to see that I had two bottles of wine to try for review, since I am 26 weeks pregnant and therefore only tasting and making good use of my fancy spitoon! He doesn’t half do well off me!!
The box arrived. Let’s take a look inside!
How are the wines?
I liked the tasting notes and information that comes with the wine. It’s sufficient for beginners to get a handle of what they are seeing, smelling and tasting. None of it is pretentious or difficult to follow. But if you know a little bit more about wine already, they are still interesting and not too basic. I also liked the little magazine which had a lot of extra information – I found it quite an entertaining read.
As for the wines, again I was impressed by the quality. Time for Wine work with independent producers, so while they may well give you regions and names you’ve heard of, the producers themselves are likely to be unfamiliar. A big tick in my book! Their resident wine expert is Andrew Bennett, diploma holder with over 25 years in the trade. And I have to hand it to him – he has picked some pretty good wines! If you like the wines in your subscription box that he has chosen, then you can buy more in the online shop. Of course subscribers get a little discount!
Domaine Gruss Gewurztraminer 2016
An old vine Gewurztraminer with a couple of years in the bottle. I’m not going to beat around the bush, this is my kind of wine. And this is a really, really good example. The aroma jumps out the glass and hits you in the nose – delicate fruity florals like elderflower, peach, lemon and apricot.
In the mouth, it is off dry with a good backbone of acidity that gives structure to this wine which is both packed with fruit, as well as wonderfully rounded due to a hint of MLF flavour – just a dash of cream. The fruit flavours are more exotic when you are drinking the wine – along with the aromas I’ve mentioned, I was picking up pear, mango, even a hint of pineapple, alongside the signature sweet spice of the Gewurz – cinnamon in this case I think.
The medium acidity and body along with the complex packages of flavours mean that this wine is delicious now but would definitely do well in the bottle for another few years. Delicious.
Cote de Nuits Villages Les Perrieries 2012
This Burgundy has the characteristic pale ruby colour, with a hint of garnet around the rim from the age of the wine. It is surprisingly full of vibrant fruit – red plum, cherry, raspberry, aromas of sweet vanilla and a hint of what could even be banana. It is so fruity, on the nose and in the mouth, that the fruit flavours almost taste like sweets.
On the palate it has the traditional Pinot Noir middle ground – medium acidity, body and tannin. Those tannins are extremely velvety, but for my money not quite strong enough to balance out the punchy strength of the fruit in this wine. This leaves it a little astringent on the finish, almost a little sour. So, I would think that this wine would drink best with food. The fruit flavours are more refined than the aromas – with the red berry fruit mixing with blackberry and a note of bramble crumble. Sadly the lightness of the tannins throwing out the balance ever so slightly make the wine a little thin to my tastes, and I don’t see that it will get any better with age as all it can really do is lose the fruit vibrancy.
An acceptable to good wine, not particularly to my tastes, but certainly an interesting one to try. And although it wasn’t my favourite, it certainly wasn’t a poor quality wine and it has made me keen to see what wines they would come up with in the future.
Overall Wine Subscription Opinion
At first sight, I’m really impressed with this subscription service. Prices start at £32 per month, depending on the quality level you go in at. The literature with the wines is just the right amount. And most importantly the wines are interesting. I’m keen to know more.
This post is sponsored by Time for Wine. However, all of the content, opinions and observations represent my honest opinion of the product I was sent.
