Tasting the Good Stuff at Stockholm Winelab

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of tasting through most of the wines carried by the newly started Stockholm based wine and spirits company Stockholm WineLab. I was invited by David, who in turn had been invited by Björn Olsson, one of the partners. Stockholm WineLab has very nice offices near the central train station, so there were no problems in finding the place. Unfortunately I had forgotten my SLR at home, so please forgive my crappy photos!

We are greeted by Björn, who starts off with a little history of the company, as well as its visions and short term goals. Then we are presented with the product range. First out is Casa Rivas, a Chilean sparkling wine. It is light in colour, with an interesting scent. However, the more we sniff, the more of the ambivalence of the wine presents itself. Is it a Riesling? There is certainly a good case for that. But then there is much indicating that it is a Chardonnay, or even a savvie for that matter. Not that much exotic fruit. Could be a young Mosel, without the petroleum. Grassy. Very fresh, anyway, and very delicate. Nice!

A short sip reveals a rather volcanic mousse, but not so much acidity. Very easy to drink in large chunks. Should do well a hot summer’s night! Björn discloses the grape mix, it is 50 % Chardonnay, 30 % Pinot Noir, and 20 % Sauvignon Blanc. Upon disclosing that Sauvignon Blanc was in the mix it all became apparent why I liked this wine.





Then a red wine, Trabucchi d'Illasi. Warm scents, rather acid, layers of tobacco and cedar. Nice, but not my cup of tea. We agree that this wine requires creamy food, such as a pasta dish with lots of cream. But then it certainly would present itself as very drinkable.





Then another sparking, Patriarche Crémant de Bourgogne Brut. Not as sophisticated as the Casa Rivas, but slightly cheaper. We taste along with its pink companion, which I find more attractive. A rather volcanic geyser of raspberry flavored gumdrops! It strikes us that the wine is completely dry, which, considering the audience and drinking window (a hot summer’s day), would require quite a lot of guts not letting some sugar remain.




We finish with the two Pol Rémys, huge sellers in the lower sparkling segment. The Brut is quite nice, with a lot of flirtations to those who like cider (the scent is densely packed with aromas of apples and candy). The Rosé is not that interesting, more like sparkling, diluted lingonberry juice with alcohol.





Summing up, nice and well-made branded wines, for immediate consumption. Many thanks to Björn for showing us your products!