Author: Josh

DipWSET, Certified Sommelier, garbage person.
WSET Diploma

2009 Château La Grande Clotte Bordeaux Blanc

Posted on by Josh

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.

2009 Château La Grande Clotte Bordeaux Blanc

[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.… read more

WSET Diploma

NV Franciscan Vineyards California Red

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Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med- ruby, legs
Nose: clean, low intensity, stewed red fruits, cherry, vanilla, spice, confected
Mouth: off-dry, med- body, med- acid, med alcohol, low tannin, short length, light flavour intensity
All in all: Acceptable quality: easy drinking and inoffensive. The light flavour intensity is not balanced and comes across as dilute. The lack of balance is evident from a low acid structure with a bit of back-palate tartness. And a short length.
Identity guess: Inexpensive red blend from British Columbia; NV.
Is really: Inexpensive red blend from California; NV.

NV Franciscan Vineyards California Red

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 3]

This is one of those wines that really could’ve been from anywhere because it had no soul.… read more

WSET Diploma

2012 Yellow Tail Chardonnay

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Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med lemon, legs
Nose: clean, med- intensity, developing, oak (weird oak – chips?), smoke, melon, vanilla, bubble gum, confectionary
Mouth: dry (but noticeable residual sugar), low acid, med alcohol, med+ body, med flavour intensity, wood, melon, short length, citrus, vanilla
All in all: Acceptable quality: the strength lies in the existence of the non-intrusive flavour components and the med+ body, giving an impression of concentration, but a lack of acid leads to a tumbling structure, the finish is short, and there is a lack of real typicity. Drink now: not suitable for ageing.
Identity guess: Inexpensive Chardonnay from Australia; 2 years old.
Is really: Inexpensive Chardonnay from Australia; 1 year old.

2012 Yellowtail Chardonnay

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 3]

Of course the only wine I would nail in identity is Yellow Tail.… read more

WSET Diploma

2011 Blue Mountain Pinot Gris

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Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med- lemon, legs
Nose: clean, med- intensity, youthful, butter, vanilla, green apple, pear, citrus, melon
Mouth: dry, med+ acidity, med alcohol, med+ body, med flavour intensity, butter, green apple, med length
All in all: Good quality: noticeable varietal and secondary characteristics are well-supported by balanced acid. However, the alcohol is slightly out of balance, and the wine seems a little simple (although now knowing the price, this is a great QPR.). Drink now: not suitable for ageing.
Identity guess: Mid-priced Chardonnay from Chile; 2 years old.
Is really: Mid-priced Pinot Gris from British Columbia; 2 years old.

2011 Blue Mountain Pinot Gris

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 3]

Ah, Blue Mountain. Of course this was chosen for the marketing class, because anyone who regularly drinks BC wines will know Blue Mountain.… read more

Quaffing

2010 Marcel Deiss Riesling

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med lemon, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, youthful, honey, mineral, lemon, lime, floral, “butter”/musk/rubber, green apple
Mouth: dry, med bodied, high acid, med alcohol, med+ flavour intensity, long finish, mineral, green apple, hint of honey, lemon, lime, zest
All in all: Very good quality: along with a lengthy finish, an intense and concentrated nose and palate are further strengthened by a balanced and bright acidic structure, allowing this wine to age. As a result, though, this wine isn’t as complex as it can be in its years to come. Can drink now, but has potential for ageing.

2011 Marcel Deiss RieslingI’ve officially worked at this wine job for a year! This wine was one for celebrating, plus served as a lifting brightness for one of those weeks that wasn’t so bad in theory but was shitty anyways.… read more

Quaffing

2011 Hartenberger Gewurztraminer

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Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med- lemon
Nose: clean, pronounced intensity, youthful, ginger, ripe apricot, mineral, tropical fruit, lychee, floral, ripe banana
Mouth: dry to off-dry, full-bodied, med acid, high alcohol, med+ length, pronounced intensity, floral, mineral, ripe stone fruit
All in all: Good quality; drink now.

2011 Hartenberg GewurztraminerRarely do I ever try single varietal Gewürztraminers. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it’s because they sort of seem just a tad been-there-done-that. With a nose so distinctive and unforgettable despite the region, it almost seems as if you won’t get much variation out of them, which is of course, completely untrue. I think I like to explore rather than cover my basics, which probably hurts rather than helps me.

All get drunk in the end, though.… read more

Life · WSET Diploma

WSET Diploma – Section 1 – Week 2

Posted on by Josh

First: yesterday, the books I ordered came in the mail! Happy birthday, me!

grapebooks

Really exciting, though. The super thick Wine Grapes is an exhaustive list of the main commercial grapes in the wine world, compiled by Jancis Robinson MW, Julia Harding MW, and José Vouillamoz. So, pretty much a Pokedex for grapes. There are only a handful of individuals in the world who have been born in a precise generation to be able to understand analogies that bridge wine grapes and Pokemon. Magikarp and Nebbiolo? Eevee and Loire Chenin Blanc?! The possibilities.

The latter book, Grapes & Wines by Oz Clarke and Margaret Rand, is a little bit friendlier in a sense that it reminds me of those small quasi-encyclopedias with pictures that I always used to read as a child.… read more

WSET Diploma

2009 Cave de Tain “Les Hauts du Fiefs” Crozes-Hermitages

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Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, deep purple, legs
Nose: clean, med intensity, developing, dark fruit, earth, black pepper, spice, bit of herbal
Mouth: dry, med+ acid, med+ tannin, med+ body, med- flavour intensity, med alcohol, spice, dark fruit, med+ finish
All in all: Very good quality: there’s a high concentration of fruit along with a relatively long finish and a firm structure, but is quite tight with the fruit wrapped around by tannins. Can drink now, but has potential for ageing.
Identity guess: High-priced Syrah from Crozes-Hermitage; 2 years old.
Is really: High-priced Syrah from Crozes-Hermitage; 3 years old.

2009 Cave de Tain "Les Hauts du Fiefs" Crozes-Hermitages

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 2]

That South Africa stink was replaced by more black pepper and more lush fruit in this wine.… read more

WSET Diploma

2008 Thelema Shiraz

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, deep ruby, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, developing, cherry, dark fruit, barnyard, spice, ash, meat, black pepper, baked fruit, medicinal
Mouth: dry, med acid, coarse med tannins, med+ alcohol, med+ body, med+ intensity, earth, red fruit, black fruit, med+ finish
All in all: Very good quality: a concentrated med+ intensity on both the nose and palate contributes to an intense wine. Along with a relatively long finish, all of the components are in balance, except for the alcohol which seems a little bit hot. Drink now: not suitable for ageing. There is no potential for the wine to further harmonize its components.
Identity guess: High-priced Pinotage from South Africa; 3 years old.
Is really: High-priced Shiraz from South Africa; 5 years old.… read more

WSET Diploma

2011 Export Union GmbH Piesporter Treppchen Riesling

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon-green, legs
Nose: clean, med- intensity, youthful, apple, light floral, peach, slight ginger spice
Mouth: off-dry (I still say medium-dry), med acid, low alcohol, med- body, med- flavour intensity, peach, lemon, med- finish, floral
All in all: Acceptable quality: the wine has enough acid to balance out the sweetness, but doesn’t have enough fruit to balance out either. The fruit that is there is merely simple. The length is rather short, and the wine seems relatively thin with a slightly bitter finish.
Identity Guess: Mid-priced Californian Moscato; 2 years old.
Is really: Inexpensive German Riesling; 2 years old.

2011 Export Union GmbH Piesporter Treppchen Riesling

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 2]

There was a bit of this spicy ginger-y burnt hair thing that I got off the nose which I remember smelling in some Moscato (who knows, maybe that’s the burnt match aroma of too much sulfites), so that’s where it took me.… read more