Author: Josh

DipWSET, Certified Sommelier, garbage person.
Quaffing

2010 d’Arenberg “The Hermit Crab” Viognier Marsanne

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, med lemon-green
Nose: clean, med intensity, floral, melon (honeydew), tropical fruit, notes of honey, flintiness, and lime
Mouth: dry, med+ body, low to med- acidity, med length
All in all: Good quality, drink now

My goodness. What a night of work. Technical difficulties all around. Thank goodness wine exists. Blind tasting time!

We started off with a white wine. I was honestly in this sweet and refreshing mood (perhaps a beer mood? Brachetto/Moscato/fruit ale mood?) so it was both a bittersweet moment when I tasted this fruity and floral wine with lower acid. I instantly guessed a hot climate new world wine, although I pegged Australia on the third guess. This wine had a lot of body to it – a really weighty and thick character.… read more

Quaffing

2007 Le Ragose Classico Superiore Valpolicella

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, med- ruby
Nose: med- to med intensity, red fruit (sour cherry, hints of strawberry), black pepper, cloves, liquorice, earthy
Mouth: dry, med body, med- tannin, med+ acidity, med to med+ length, sour cherry
All in all: Good quality, drink now; save the bones for something more interesting.

So lots today happened in my world of alcohol. Just after tying up my Superman chucks and opening the door to jet out to the bus that’s almost at my bus stop, I see this huge package in my mailbox which I can only hope is my WSET Advanced-level books. And it is. So I snatch it and run for my bus. I dizzily flip through it and end up with some lack-of-sleep-early-morning-physical-extertion-motion-sickness nausea, but new books, or new reading material – new anything, for that matter, is too exciting to pass.… read more

Quaffing

2005 Champalou Vouvray Le Clos du Portail

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, deep lemon
Nose: clean, med intensity, honey, overripe apples, pear, slightly oxidized, touch of herbal (fennel)
Mouth: dry, med to med+ bodied, med- acid, med length, slightly sweet impression
All in all: Interesting, teasing, worth a try, very good quality; can drink now, but has potential for ageing.

I’m starting this new game at work where I ask whoever I’m closing with to pick a random bottle from the store given a reasonable price range, have them charge it to my card (I trust them THAT much, I know) so that we can both taste it while I can try it blind and perhaps attempt to guess the varietal given I’m not too embarrassed to do so.… read more

Quaffing

2008 Cave de Lugny Crémant de Bourgogne

Posted on by Josh

Tasting notes:

Eyes: clear, med lemon, froth upon pouring but few bubbles in glass
Nose: clean, med- intensity, citrus, green apple, flint, slight autolytic (or none) – hard to pinpoint
Mouth: dry, persistent bubbles, med- body, high acidity, med+ length
All in all: Good quality; drink now.

So, I recently started a new job (and who knows when this post will be posted?), and I decided to celebrate that and the end of a mediocre exam period with some Crémant! I don’t recall ever trying one (let alone a vintage Champagne-style bubbly) so I thought I’d give it a go.

Basic stuff at first. Medium lemon, obvious froth upon pouring. I was disappointed in the fact that I detected little to no autolytic notes, though.… read more