Tasting Note:
Eyes: clear, med- lemon, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, developing, candied, banana, guava, toast, butter, baked apple, herbal
Mouth: dry, med+ acid, med+ alcohol, med body, med flavour intensity, butter, oak, toast, overripe apple, melon, med+ finish
All in all: Good quality: although simple (at the time being, anyway) and not particularly intense, this wine speaks to a place, the components are balanced and structure, and the finish is relatively long. Can drink now, but has potential for ageing.
Identity guess: Inexpensive Chardonnay from Chile; 2 years old.
Is really: Premium White Bordeaux from France; 2 years old.
[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 3]
I’m embarrassed. I need to drink more white Bordeaux – the only one I’ve ever had was 100% Sauvignon Blanc, so that’s the only picture I’ve ever painted for myself. So really, this is the first dry French Sauv-Sem blend I’ve ever had. Well, I did remember almost trying one in WSET Advanced class, but it was oxidizzled. Every other Sauv-Sem blend I’ve had was from somewhere vastly different – say Chile, or Australia.
The nose was really interesting. I did get these subtle nuances of ripe fruit, which is probably where I got that candied (but not sloppy-candied, i.e. not confected) character from, with an interesting herbal note that was not unlike the green section of the produce market – fresh, but subtle and elegant. Which I can only guess was from the Sauvignon Blanc.
This is a wine that’s more marketed towards the wine-savvy and the Bordeaux collectors. The place “Bordeaux”, the name “Michel Rolland”, and the 2009 vintage are all over the front label. The $50 price screams “buy me, I’m a serious wine”, and it is. What more is that this wine received 90 points from Robert Parker. Apparently this was bought en primeur.
Lesson: drink more things. Cheers to that.
Producer: Château La Grande Clotte
Designation: N/A
Region: France
Sub-Region: Bordeaux
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Sémillon, Muscadelle
ABV: 14%
Vintage: 2009
Tasted: April 24, 2013
Price: $50
I spoke it loud in the class that it was poor. Lol, I felt so stupid. What I like or not, it’s irrelevant to the quliaty of the wines.
Haha, I know what you mean. It’s a common thread for a lot of “acquired taste” varieties – I think I did the same thing to a high quality Nebbiolo in the past. Weirdly enough I loved Pinotage the first time I tried it.
I’d like to think that wine tasting trains us to have clear and polished focus in general, but maybe that’s just wishful thinking 😛