Have you ever had a wine that was so bad you were convinced something went horribly wrong during the production process?

Enter Pillitteri’s 2004 Merlot Bianco. Considering that neither of us are experienced rosé drinkers, we were both very excited to try this wine and broaden our tasting horizens. If all went well we’d have a new style to experiment with and enjoy.

Unfortunately, the whole tasting experience went something like this:

Michelle: “…..Ugh, what is that?”

Erin: “Strawberry?”

Michelle: “No, no, after the strawberry smell.”

Erin: “Oh, ohhh, ugh I don’t know.”

Michelle: “…Umm…Erin, doesn’t it remind you of that Camembert cheese we bought in Toronto. Remember, the one that stunk up the whole bus on the ride home because it had, in fact, gone bad and smelled like cabbage?”

Erin: “It tastes o.k though…”

Michelle: “yeah, except that it smells like frickin’ rotten cheese, rotten Camembert cheese!”

/End of tasting experience.

Seeing that Pillitteri is a fairly reputable vineyard, I was convinced that something was wrong with that particular bottle and set out to research all I could on wine faults. I even went as far as to throw a poor penny into the wine glass to test for Ethyl Mercaptan - no luck.

Erin, slightly bemused, looked on from behind her wine glass.

I researched, I paced, I smelled and I tasted and we (actually Erin, just to shut me up) finally decided to email the vineyard and ask for their tasting notes. Apparently the ‘cheese’ smell was in fact a ‘mild earthy quality’ that the winemaker had imbued the wine with along with smells ‘reminiscent of minced pie’. Right.

Well then, I guess I’m not a fan of minced pie in my wine, nevermind sweet sickly cabbage smells.

My Rating: Not Even on Pain of Death