Living in fear is no good to anyone.

French Barton and Guestier Bistro Wine:
I can't really smell right today, so I can't identify the aromas better than "red wine" smell. Maybe some tobacco aroma.
Taste of rotten cabbage.
Overall: Terrible, will not drink.
About 30 minutes later:
About the same aroma, but the taste is sweeter and more acid. It's slightly better, but still pretty terrible.

California Estancia Pinot Noir from Monterey:
Some cherry aroma.
Tastes like slightly rotten cabbage and cherries.
Overall: terrible, will not drink.

Pierre Sparr from Alsace French :
Aroma of very sweet onions, maybe sweet shallots, with a hint of peaches.
Tastes somewhat bitter while still tasting of sweet onions with some nutmeg. Very tannic/gritty feeling.
Overall impression: pretty tasty; I'd buy it.

Chateau Ste. Michelle from Columbia Valley Washington:
Aroma the same as the French, but much, much weaker.
Tastes very similar to the French, but less pungent with an acid/sour note and a tiny bit of black pepper added. Much less tannic/gritty.
Overall impression: Would not buy, but would drink someone else's.

French Barton and Guestier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Syrah blend:
Dried Berry/Currant scent almost drowned out by the alcohol scent.
Slightly earthy note along with non-sweet currant flavor and strong alcohol taste.
Overall impression: Would not drink.

Australian Yellow Tail Shiraz:
Currant scent with possible hint of a flower; not strongly scented of alcohol.
Almond/tobacco/coffee/vanilla taste with hint of currant. Vanilla particularly in the aftertaste.
Overall impression: Would not buy, but would drink someone else's.

Barton and Guestier (Bordeaux, France):
Smells of algae.
Tastes of smoked bacon dredged in urine.

Matua Valley Vineyards (New Zealand):
Smells of Honeydew and slightly of mushrooms.
Tastes like banana katsup and pineapple (I love pineapple, but not this subtle taste).

The first week was Merlot (one B+G brand French and one from California) and the second week was Pino Grigio (one from Italy and one from California). The 4 prior wines were uniformly bad to my taste, but not interesting enough for me to want to write about them. I'm gonna try and write about the rest of the wines from class.