Author: Josh

DipWSET, Certified Sommelier, garbage person.
Quaffing

2009 Joachim Ress Riesling

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon
Nose: clean, med- intensity, developing, stone fruit, hint petrol, juicy, hint tropical, vanilla
Mouth: off-dry, med- body, med acid, med- length, med intensity, med- alcohol, stone fruit
All in all: Good quality; drink now.

Edit (July 7th, 2013) – either some bottle variation, or a colder wine temperature, but this was a solid med+ acidity right out of the fridge.

First and foremost, I was happy to see – or smell, rather – some level of petrol in this wine. Disappointing was the lack of intensity and complexity.

The touch of sweetness was nice, and was balanced with a decent amount of acid. I would have loved to see more acid and complexity, but this is a solid wine that was rooted to the Old World elegance while appealing to a broad audience.… read more

Quaffing

2011 Yali Sauvignon Blanc

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon
Nose: clean, med intensity, youthful to developing, green pepper, green bean, savoury spice, citrus
Mouth: dry, med- bodied, med acid, med length, med- alcohol, med intensity, mineral, spice, green pepper
All in all: Good quality; drink now.

2011 Yali Sauvignon BlancThere’s something about Chilean Sauvignon Blancs that I’m quite partial to. Rarely really appreciated, they’re pretty much in the camp of hipster wines, like Cab Franc or Chenin Blanc. Unlike those varietals, though, it’s not that this particular style isn’t very known – it’s just the fact that these flavours can be off-putting despite the unmistakable or familiar aroma and character.

Typical nose. Compared to other Sauv Blancs from other regions, we get a nose dominated with methoxypyrazines, which I love.… read more

Quaffing

2010 OKV Vineyard Select White

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon
Nose: clean, med- intensity, youthful, ripe pear, sweaty
Mouth: dry, med bodied, med- acid, short length, med+ alcohol, med- intensity, green apple
All in all: Good quality, drink now.

2010 OKV WhiteA popular 10 dollar blend. Why not give it a go?

I’m not entirely sure of the details, but apparently this wine is owned by Vincor (now apparently known as “Constellation Brands”). Being VQA, I wouldn’t be surprised if this wine is made from leftover grapes or sloppy seconds from the various BC wineries part of their portfolio.

The nose is as expected, but vaguely interesting. A light wave of ripe pears is what I mainly get, but there is a layer of interesting yeasty sweatiness that I recognize from none other than beer.… read more

Pairings

Wines to pair with people that you want to die

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Bitter WineOne of my best friends is convinced that I am a 30-year old stuck in a young adult’s body, but I’m pretty sure that I’m 75% bitter old man.

It’s a full moon. Perhaps I turn into a bitter old man instead of something crazy and cool like a werewolf. Instead, I’m a shitty Sirius Black. Thanks, God Rowling. Thanks for writing this into my book of life with all the other shits and giggles.

I swear, I’m actually pleasant. I swear!

In case you’re in an inescapable situation where you’re pretty much suffering, and all you want to do is curl up in a corner and hate people, have one of these wines on hand. No Sauvignon Blanc. Sauvignon Blanc is too fucking happy.… read more

WSET Advanced

2004 Pierre Gimonnet Brut Reserve Blanc de Blancs

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med lemon, aggressive froth upon pour, bubbles
Nose: clear, pronounced intensity, yeast, mineral, citrus, butter, bread
Mouth: dry, med to med+ body, med+ acid, med+ to long length, med+ to high intensity, med- alcohol, delicate bubbles
All in all: Very good quality; drink now, but has potential for ageing.

2004 Pierre Gimonnet Brut Reserve Blanc de BlancsAlthough blasphemous, I really have to admit: sometimes I’m not the biggest fan of Champagne, and I rejoyced when I found out that I wasn’t alone.

For me, it’s just the fact that the intrinsic acid of Champagne can often be too zippy for me. Complexities derived from the traditional method of sparkling wine add legitimate and intricate bready, yeasty, and biscuity tones, but the price usually (and personally, most importantly) doesn’t justify it for me.… read more

WSET Advanced

2009 Pieropan Soave Classico

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med lemon, watery rim
Nose: clean, med- intensity, developing, oak, nutty, floral, stone fruit
Mouth: dry, med body, med acidity, med intensity, med- alcohol, med length, citrus, mineral
All in all: Good quality; drink now.

2009 Pieropan Soave Classico

I’ve read about the definition and forgot about a million times, but the term “classico” refers to the original area in which these wines and grapes originated from. For example, since its inception, places like Chianti have extended to include regions like Chanti Rufina, which generally use the same grapes with different elements of terroir. “Classico” refers to those original areas in Italy.

Although Italian whites are known for their neutrality, they can often have a certain subtle nuttiness to them as well.… read more

WSET Advanced

2010 Vietti Roero Arneis

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon, watery rim
Nose: clean, youthful, med- intensity, lemon, minerality, touch of stone fruit
Mouth: dry, med bodied, med+ acidity, med+ intensity, med+ alcohol, med+ length, lemon, peach, minerality
All in all: Good quality; drink now.

2010 Vietti Roero ArneisI’m currently really into reviewing my Italian wines and regions and I have no idea why I’m suddenly into this phase, since I haven’t had some kind of weird Italian wine epiphany following some godly sip of something. Anyways, I love to delve really far into a region (book-wise only unfortunately), and revisit my tasting notes. Most of the time, I think “WOAH, I had the opportunity to taste THAT?” and get angry that my knowledge was more limited back then (despite the fact that it was only last June), and sometimes I doubt what I had rated these wines, since after reading about them, I have a greater appreciation of what they’re supposed to be like.… read more

Quaffing

2011 Chateau de Pennautier Viognier

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, med- lemon, pale rim
Nose: med- intensity, youthful, apricot, mineral, citrus, floral
Mouth: dry, light to med- body, med acid, med length, med+ alcohol, med- intensity, mineral, savoury, bitter citrus rind
All in all: Good quality; drink now.

After having been curious about this bottle of wine for a while, plus a lack of knowledge on the Viognier of the Old World, I decided to give this one a go. There’s something about a classic-looking label with a pretty shade of orange. I’m so easy, hey?

Plus, I bought a bunch of beer for cellaring and decided to go for the sub-20.

The nose seemed very restrained to me. Old World coming through, perhaps, and any stone fruit character was restrained with an equal or greater amount of mineral character.… read more

Quaffing

2011 Weingut Max Ferd. Richter Estate Riesling

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon, pale rim
Nose: med intensity, youthful, mineral, red apple, notes of stone fruit, floral, honey
Mouth: medium sweetness, light bodied, med acidity, med length, med intensity, low alcohol, a little spritzy
All in all: Good quality; drink now, but can age.

What’s up with the 2011 vintage? I sheepishly display my confusion and partial sophomoric knowledge on German wines here, in part because a lot of the German wines I come across are too expensive for me. I’ve also noticed that Riesling has been in a bit of a negative light to the regular consumer, and it’s all about the dry. Riesling is as out as much as Coco Rocha is in, and despite its food pairing versatility, people avoid it like the plague because they think it’ll be like juice.… read more

Quaffing

NV Finca del Rey Malvasia Moscato

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, med- lemon, pale rim
Nose: med intensity, youthful, canned stone fruit, hint of mango, floral
Mouth: dry, light to med- body, low acid, med- length, low to med- intensity, med- alcohol
All in all: Good quality; drink now.

Bought this after the 2013 Vancouver International Wine Festival on March 1st because I was getting a little tired of spitting things. I’ve seen this bottle for a while and its look has changed from a faux-classic cream-coloured label (with an indication of Malvasia Muscat, now to Malvasia Moscato. Hmm?) to something a little more plain and bold in a weird way. There’s something about the bottles that tell me what they’re like on the front side – that turn me off, but it’s not a bad marketing technique for the lower-priced bottles.… read more