Tahbilk, Marsanne, 2011, Nagambie Lakes, Victoria, Australia

I've been on somewhat of a wine buying craze lately after my beloved cousin allowed me to access his free shipping offer from wine.com.  It's not a bad deal considering Hawaii is also included in the offer.  I also have been buying a more blindly and this value Australian Marsanne from central Victoria piqued my interest.
It's murky glowing yellow in the glass and has a slightly stink bomb nose with some flintiness and old hay notes. The body is rather waxy/milky and round in texture. Green apple and honey with a somewhat unpleasant nutrasweet tinge.  Overall okay for a 14 dollar bottle of wine.

Also this was the last drink I had with my friend Kiara before she left Hawaii forever.  People think Hawaii is paradise but sometimes for people that struggle with their mental health living here is like looking at paradise from the wrong side of a tall barbed wire fence.  Kiara reminded me that that it was possible to climb over and I still miss the fuck out of her.  So this is a reminder to me and anyone else that bad wine tastes better with good people and good wine alone will just drag you down.        

Beckmen, Marsanne, 2006, Purisima Mountain Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley, California

This Marsanne has a medium yellow slightly cloudy color.  The nose is not crazy open but I got hits of pink rubber ball, peach, and sweet cream cheese frosting.  Kelly picked up "dainty little flowers."  This wine had a nice waxy/oily texture that I found true to the Rhone varietal.  Butterscotch, peach, and a cool minerality dominate the initial flavor profile.  A soft acidity shivers its way down the front end and rounds out on the mid-pallet.  The finish somehow reminded me of green melon scooped up into tiny little yummy balls.  Yummy!  Marsanne and Roussanne, with their cool, classy not so in your face flavors, have been rocking my world lately.  This domestic effort does a good job of staying true to the restrained nature of the varietal while adding just a little touch of ripe California love.  Lately I have been finding that the domestic efforts of Rhone's other major white wine,Viognier, to be a little too fruit-forward and flashy for my liking.  If you find one that is more balanced, please let me know!

P.S. Kelly and I had this wine at Du Vin, in Honolulu's Chinatown.  The front room is super old school with lots of dark wood, the little patio in the back is hella romantic, and they got a nice well rounded selection of wines.  Tuesday all non-reserve bottles are half-off all night long!  How can you beat that?