Variety: Merlot
Region: California (Sub-region: Sonoma County)
Country: USA
Year: ??
Price: $22.95
Winemaker's Notes (from www.vintagecellar.com): "Formerly known as 'Merlot Port with Chocolate Essence', we proudly announce the release of Chocolate Amore, a red dessert wine with natural chocolate flavor added. The new name is due to regulatory changes announced last year by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF). Aside from the change in name, nothing else about Chocolate Amore has been altered. It is still the same great product and same great package. We produce this opulent dessert wine from Merlot grown on our Geyserville Ranch. Borrowing from the traditions of Port making, we add grape neutral spirits to stop fermentation, trapping a percentage of sugar in the wine. Once Chocolate Amore is finished aging and is ready for bottling, we infuse a tiny amount of natural chocolate extract to the final blend, creating the perfect marriage of food and wine."
My Review: I've been interested in trying a chocolate flavored wine for a while now, but was always turned off by the milky concoctions sold at Kroger. When this higher value Trentadue turned up on the tasting counter, I was excited.
When swirling the glass, I noticed that the legs on this wine were much more prominent than those on the average table wine. This is caused by the increased viscosity that is characteristic of wines with higher sugar content.
I could smell this sweetness immediately, with the sole aroma being chocolate-covered cherries. This flavor carried through to the palate and was bold and unchanging from start to finish. Although the wine itself was not cream-based, it did have a very smooth texture. The high alcohol content (18%) was evident in the slight burning aftertaste. I am not a fan of this contrast between sweet/creamy and biting alcohol (like Bailey's Irish Cream), but I was impressed by how seamlessly the natural chocolate flavor was blended with the fruitiness of this wine.
This wine was tasted without food. (The only food I personally would attempt to pair with this dessert wine would be a rich chocolate cake.)
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