Category: WSET Advanced

WSET Advanced

2007 Faiveley “Paulée” Bourgogne

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, pale to med- garnet
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, developing, strawberry, spice, spice, savoury
Mouth: dry, light bodied, med+ acidity, low to med- tannin, med alcohol, med- to med length, spice, redcurrant
All in all: Very good quality; drink now.

We compared this basic Bourgogne to a Premier Cru Burgundy that was thirty dollars more. This is great value for a basic Pinot without breaking the bank. I’ve heard mixed reviews about this wine in particular, but you really get that true Burgundian character out of this for every single dollar. Sure – it lacks a bit of haunting secondary character you might expect from a red Burgundy, but that’s why it’s 20 dollars. I’m not entirely sure why, but my table had a hard time determining which of the two wines was which.… read more

WSET Advanced

1998 Les Plantiers du Haut-Brion Pessac-Leognan

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, med gold
Nose: oxidizzled
Mouth: oxidizzled
All in all: oxidizzled

Oxidized bottle 🙁 What a shame. I’m jealous that other wine friends got to try non-ruined bottles.

Producer: Les Plantiers du Haut-Brion
Designation: N/A
Region: France
Sub-Region: Pessac-Leognan, Bordeaux
Variety: Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc
ABV: ?
Vintage: 1998
Tasted: May 27, 2012
Price: $75


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WSET Advanced

2000 Chateau Broustet Barsac Sauternes

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, deep gold
Nose: clean, med intensity, developing, honey, marmalade, vegetal, rubber, pineapple, dried apricot, spice, botrytis
Mouth: sweet, med bodied, med+ acidity, long length, med+ intensity
All in all: Very good quality; Drink now, but has potential for ageing.

Excuse the partially incomplete tasting notes. I feel like I’m noticing a pattern with this particular instructor on the first day of classes – opening with Champagne, and ending with a dessert wine. Perfect.

I find it hard to rate dessert wines. As evolutionary organisms, we are inclined to love sweet things because they contain carbohydrates. Although that last sentence can be easily given a nod, it can just as easily receive a furrowed brow when you try a sweet wine that is cloying, or having no acidity to balance it out, and you have an unclean sweetness not unlike the sensation of drinking maple syrup.… read more

WSET Advanced

2008 Caymus Zinfandel

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, deep ruby (to slight purple)
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, developing, spice, dried black fruit, oak, raisins
Mouth: dry, med+ body, med+ acid, med tannins, med to med+ length, high alcohol, med+ intensity, dried black fruit
All in all: Very good quality; can drink now, but has potential for ageing.

I distinctly remember having the exact same wine for the Intermediate level of WSET and it’s so easy to see why a relatively new wine drinker (especially someone more akin to the more masculine and hearty grapes), would like something like this. This is an intense, big, and well-concentrated wine that made me fall in love with Zinfandel, much to the dismay of other wine enthusiasts who gave me a look whenever I told them Zinfandel was my favourite grape (at the time).… read more

WSET Advanced

2010 Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon
Nose: clean, med+ to pronounced intensity, youthful, floral, green fruit, citrus, grassy, grapefruit, green bell peppers, vegetal, asparagus, dill
Mouth: dry (to off-dry?), high acidity, med length, med+ to pronounced intensity, med- alcohol, vegetal, green apple citrus, tangy
All in all: Good quality; drink now, not intended for ageing.

I don’t remember this entirely, but I think it’s quite interesting to note that that there was either some amount of residge on the palate from that riper New World style of Sauvignon Blanc, which might put off some, but I would argue that it’s quite interesting and adds complexity. Quite a decently complex wine with a punch of aromas. Pair that with some great balance and intensity, and you have a winner.… read more

WSET Advanced

2008 Chateau Grand Mayne Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, deep ruby
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, developing, darker fruit, peppery, oak, soy
Mouth: dry, med+ body, med+ acidity, med tannin, med+ to long length, med+ alcohol, med+ intensity, lush
All in all: Good to very good quality; drink now, but has potential for ageing.

It’s so tough. A wine like this has all the ingredients for a wine intended for ageing: a good amount of tannin, a good amount of acidity, and the beginnings of some youthful characteristics that can develop. The problem is that this wine, for the time being, is still quite amazingly boring. You can probably find the a similar blend from Southern France with the sacrifice of not having an age-worthy wine.

Much like the wine we compared this to, I mistook it for an Aussie Shiraz (eek…might have been what I’m guessing is an uncalibrated morning palate or the power of suggestion).… read more

WSET Advanced

2010 Chateau Roc de Segur Bordeaux Supérieur

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, med+ ruby
Nose: clean, med intensity, youthful, candied red fruit, prune
Mouth: dry, high acidity, med- body, med- tannin, med- length, med- intensity, med+ alcohol
All in all: Good quality; drink now, but not intended for ageing.

A blind tasting guess of an Aussie Shiraz might give you an indication of what this was like. Jammy, candied, and probably catered to the ever-so-slightly-sweet-impression-but-still-dry palate of the New World’s consumer palate. It seems, though, that I shaved some points of for a slight lack in balance and intensity. The length and complexity were also lacking, and this is definitely not what I would call a typical Merlot-dominated Bordeaux. It would break my heart to see people think that this was a classic example.… read more

WSET Advanced

2008 Schloss Lieser Riesling Auslese Niederberg Helden

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, med lemon
Nose: clean, med intensity, petrol, riper fruit than Kabinett, peach, sulfur
Mouth: medium sweetness, med- body, med+ acid, med length, low alcohol, med intensity
All in all: Good quality; drink now, but has potential for ageing.

Such a shame, and it’s the same story as the Kabinett in the same family that we compared it to. Nose had a nice proportion of fruit but was also dominated by the matchstick-y quality.

Although I detected the body to be med- and almost med, it turns out that this wine is a weirdly light 7 percent when it comes to the ABV. Guess I need more practice, or it’s just harder to taste in the morning.

Producer: Schloss Lieser
Designation: Thomas Haag Lieser Niederberg Helden Auslese
Region: Germany
Sub-Region: Mosel
Variety: Riesling
ABV: 7%
Vintage: 2008
Tasted: May 26, 2012
Price: $61


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WSET Advanced

2009 Schloss Lieser Riesling Kabinett

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon-green, bit of a spritz
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, developing, petrol, green apple, lime, peach, sulfur
Mouth: medium-dry, med- body, med+ acid, med- length, low alcohol, med intensity
All in all: Good quality; can drink now, but has potential for ageing.

One of the common things I come across is a weak understanding of what sulphites are. A common argument is that “they make you feel sick and therefore people don’t want a red”, but a surprisingly large amount of people don’t know that white and sweet wines actually have a higher proportion of sulphites. Sulphites act as both a yeast-supresser and as antioxidants, which is important when you don’t want your wine fermented a second time, especially if you have a fair amount of residge in your wine.… read more

WSET Advanced

2008 Miner Chardonnay

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, med lemon
Nose: clean, med+ to pronounced intensity, developing, butter, toast, oak, floral (camomile)
Mouth: dry with a slightly off-dry impression, full body, med+ to long length, med- acidity, high alcohol, pronounced intensity, nutty, toasty, oak, buttery
All in all: Very good quality. The rather impressive quality immediately gave me the impression that it had the potential to age, but apparently this wine shouldn’t. It sounds easy to determine: lower acidity – sure, don’t age it – but it’s sometimes too good to be true.

Definitely my favourite of the day. Of the many Chards I’ve had, this one is definitely in the top. Such a nice example of a dense and viscous Chardonnay with just a light to medium dusting of oak.… read more