My wife and I had visited once before and were treated perfectly well; this time however, the owner (same lady as last time) seemed totally disinterested by us being there, and in fact spent most of our visit talking in Punjabi to another lady who was sitting on a stool about 10 feet behind the tasting bar. At one point, the owner explained she was "training" the other lady.
If that's how you train someone....having them sit 10 feet away, not speak a word of English during the entire visit, and do not engage with your customers for one second....well, that's pretty terrible training. I don't actually believe there was any training going on, we felt like they had no interest in our visit.
My wife tried to engage her on a couple of occasions, and tried to pay one of her wines a compliment at one point, and the owner interrupted her and continued speaking Punjabi to the other lady. Ignored her completely.
It is so incredibly rude to ignore your customers to carry on a conversation with someone else in a foreign language. We were disgusted, and we will absolutely not be back here. Ever.
On to the wines, some of which are of good quality.
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| Bordertown 2015 Living Desert White ($18.00) |
Pinot Gris/Riesling/Muscat
Aromas of elderflower, pear and citrus. Viscous, rich mouth feel, with flavors that mirror the nose. A pleasant patio sipper at this price.
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| Bordertown 2015 Gewurztraminer ($20.00) |
Arresting aromas of white flowers, lychee and tropical fruit. Lychee, banana and stone fruit on the palate. Just a touch of spice on the finish. Very nice, our favorite of the tasting.
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| Bordertown 2016 Gruner Veltliner ($25.00) |
Pineapple, guava, pear and a touch of spice on the nose. The flavors are light- mostly stone fruit - but they don't measure up to the aromas.
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| Bordertown 2015 Pinot Gris ($19.00) |
Very light, almost non-existant, aromas of pear and some tropical fruit. The palate is markedly better, with flavors of pear, guava and banana.
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| Bordertown 2016 Muscat ($22.00) |
Very aromatic nose of white flowers and tropical fruit. Bone dry with just 11.5% alcohol and flavors of peach, papaya and guava.
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| Bordertown 2014 Chardonnay ($27.00) |
Butterscotch, hazelnut and white flowers on the nose. Flavors are mostly tropical: banana, pineapple and coconut. A hint of butterscotch pops up at the end. Pleasant.
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| Bordertown 2017 Rosé ($23.00) |
Light pink in colour, almost peachy. Aromas are very light red and black berries. The palate is different, with hints of rhubarb, jalapeno and red berries.
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| Bordertown 2015 Cabernet Franc ($30.00) |
Pleasing aromas of red cherry, white pepper and a touch of strawberry. Black fruit and black pepper dominate the palate, with a medium finish.
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| Bordertown 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon ($30.00) |
Aromas of mushroom, forest floor, black cherry and earth. Medium bodied, featuring juicy red fruit, a hint of mint and black pepper. Tannins are intense; this needs 4-6 years to improve.
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| Bordertown 2014 Living Desert Red ($25.00) |
Cabernet Franc/Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon
Eucalyptus, red fruit, blackberry, vanilla and chocolate on the nose. Vanilla and dark chocolate mingle with blackberry and raspberry on the palate. Finishes well with a touch of black pepper. Nice and a good value.
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| Bordertown 2014 Merlot ($23.00) |
Licorice, cassis, blackberry and coffee on the nose. Blackberry, mocha and dark chocolate on the palate. The finish is unimpressive, keeping this from being excellent. May improve with more bottle time.
Next up: We head to a winery which will be popular with the "budget conscious" amongst you, Gehringer Brothers!
You're a true professional Dean. After treatment like that, I probably would have dissed the wines also. Probably a good thing I'm not a wine reviewer.
ReplyDeleteThank you, but I thought it only fair to give the wines the treatment they deserved but also mention the poor service.
ReplyDelete