Category: WSET Diploma

WSET Diploma

“Time of the Season” – The Zombies: Château La Cabanne Pomerol 2005

Posted on by Josh

Château La Cabanne Pomerol 2005[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 3: Bordeaux]

Pomerol and Saint-Émilion are the two famous appellations on the right bank of Bordeaux. Pomerol is the softer and the less drier appellation of the two, not to say that it’s necessarily sweeter, but perhaps just riper and broader in its fruit. Merlot rather than Cabernet Sauvignon reigns supreme on the right bank: this particular blend is 92% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc.

My palate was going at this point, as the 7th wine of our fight of 8, but there was a subtle nose of dried red fruit, dried black fruit, plum, a hints of leather and graceful herbaceous notes. There was a bit of opulent “plum jam”, according to the instructor, along with a soft texture and silky tannins.… read more

WSET Diploma

The Burger King of Wine: Mouton Cadet Bordeaux 2012

Posted on by Josh

Mouton Cadet Bordeaux 2012[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 3: Bordeaux]

I predicted that this was Mouton Cadet just because it feels almost integral in a class about Bordeaux, and the profile clicked well: youthful fruit that isn’t particularly aromatic or muted, dotted with unripe herbaceous character and a disjointed hint of confection. There’s oak, apparently, which is impressive for such a mass-produced bottle, and there’s also some earthiness which anchors its identity, at least, to the old world. Though relatively balanced, the wine seems just a bit thin and simple.

I sing the same ditty every time we approach one of these mass-produced wines, and even moreso for the more doctored wines of the world: Mouton Cadet in itself isn’t horrid, but neither is it great for the price point.… read more

WSET Diploma

Movember: Château La Serre Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 2010

Posted on by Josh

Château La Serre Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 2010[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 3: Bordeaux]

Okay. So it’s clear that I didn’t know as much about wine as I do now if we recall my 20-year-old self. Let’s just let that old blog post sink in. I can’t find myself to delete or change it because it’s a valid thought in my wine journey: can’t you see newcomers finding Saint-Émilion boring?

Saint-Émilion is an appellation on the right bank of Bordeaux, where Merlot is king. Saint-Émilion and Pomerol are the well-known and most prestigious areas in the right bank, where Merlot arguably finds itself in its most concentrated form. As we would soon find out, Saint-Émilion is the gutsier wine of the two appellations, and is supposedly less obviously from the right bank than is Pomerol.… read more

WSET Diploma

“Pelican” – The Maccabees: Château Cabannieux Graves 2009

Posted on by Josh

Château Cabannieux Graves 2009[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 3: Bordeaux]

If you didn’t know anything about wine and looked at the label would you think “Graves” meant “graves” and that the picture was of a cemetery? Just, like, a random thought. It’s Halloween on Friday or whatever.

I don’t remember much about this wine including why it was chosen in our first flight of four. What I remember is that the flavour profile was very similar to the second wine in our flight but with slightly more complexity with scents of cigar boxes and brushes of mint along with the developing fruit.

Now that I remember it, there was probably a discussion on how wine from Graves, which is in the southern part of Bordeaux, generally matures quicker than more structured wine from the left bank.… read more

WSET Diploma

“Daniel in the Den” – Bastille: Château Lafon-Rochet Saint-Estèphe 2009

Posted on by Josh

Château Lafon-Rochet Saint-Estèphe 2009[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 3: Bordeaux]

Exciting! Besides the 2005 Château Clerc-Milon I had earlier this year at the Vancouver Wine Fest, I can’t say that I’ve tasted legit classed Bordeaux before. The whole thing is an antiquated list that still dictates prices and prestige at most, so it’s cool getting to try something that has that ingrained reputation. That might seem backwards for someone who studies wine, where it seems like I’d want to try more esoteric and weird things, but Bordeaux is one of those regions where exports are so crucial and centric to its spirit, that it’s interesting and equally as important to understand what the hell people are pulling their dicks out of their pants for.… read more

WSET Diploma

Everyday vanilla Bordeaux, if that’s even a thing: Château Lamothe-Cissac Haut-Médoc 2008

Posted on by Josh

Château Lamothe-Cissac Haut-Médoc 2008[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 3: Bordeaux]

Among all the wines we tasted this sesh, this was admittedly one of the more forgettable ones, so much that I can’t seem to come up with much to write about – it wasn’t horrible by any means, but just middling and anything but idiosyncratic. It’s an example of vanilla ice cream Bordeaux, I suppose, but not the shitty cheap supermarket brand nor ice cream with vanilla harvested by blind nuns in a remote area of Mexico.

The wine had a lighter body, a bit of bitterness, and a bit of heat on the finish making me dismiss this as a simple mid-priced generic Bordeaux. Despite simplicity and having some sort of kink in the braid, the wine had lasting flavours.… read more

WSET Diploma

Butterscotch, pineapple, and toasted coconut: Château Carbonnieux Blanc Pessac-Léognan 2010

Posted on by Josh

Château Carbonnieux Blanc Pessac-Léognan 2010[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 3: Bordeaux]

White bordeaux lives in the shadow of its red parallels as well as its sweet counterparts: some consumers are unaware that Bordeaux even makes whites, which makes sense given the whole lucrative hubbub of the region for its reds. That being said, what’s in the market for whites can roughly be split into two camps: there are the more honeyed and oaked white Bordeaux where Sauvignon Blanc lays integrated within the tropical butterscotch, and then there are the modern blends dominated with Sauvignon Blanc which seem like responses to the popular gaudy styles from the new world. This wine lays deliciously in the former checkbox.

The wine is most definitely oaked, but without the buttery texture of a white Burgundy – it has upfront butterscotch and toasted coconut notes, but fruit is much more tropical and honeyed, and acidity is still on the high end.… read more

Life · WSET Diploma

WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 2: Loire Valley

Posted on by Josh

After having had a break from Thanksgiving, the first regional class we had was on the Loire Valley, one of the areas which our instructor for the week is most passionate about. The Loire is one of the northernmost regions for winemaking in France – and despite what amazing wines come out of the region, it remains the awkward child of France, with Bordeaux and Burgundy persisting as the king and queen, despite the fact that the Loire is the 3rd largest producer of AOC wines in France. It’s interesting that I read about how the Loire is still finding its identity like a young adult, to the point where many of its appellations allow small but substantial maximums of Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon into their whites and reds, respectively.… read more

WSET Diploma

Liquid tarte tatin: 2005 Château de la Roulerie Coteaux du Layon Chaume

Posted on by Josh

2005 Château de la Roulerie Coteaux du Layon Chaume[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 2: Loire Valley]

The last wine of the evening was a beautiful deep gold, and you just absolutely knew this was going to be some luscious sweet thing that you’d just pretend to spit. What’s fantastic about Chenin Blanc is that it has this piercing acidity that’s present in many of the wines it produces – so even for a sweet and full-bodied wine like this, there’s still this cleansing quality that stabs through the syrup to keep it youthful and crisp, even for a 9-year-old wine. Such a fantastic balance between the acid, sugar, and fruit, along with a lingering finish. This was revealed as $30 at 500mL and one classmate started giggling in disbelief.… read more

WSET Diploma

Nectar marred by vintage: 2011 Domaine Huet “Le Mont” Vouvray Demi-Sec

Posted on by Josh

2011 Domaine Huet "Le Mont" Vouvray Demi-Sec[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 2: Loire Valley]

Beautiful golden colour upon pour. There was no doubt that this was Vouvray even before smelling it, since this was the 7th out of 8 wines we tried this day and we still haven’t bumped into a Chenin Blanc that had any residual sugar. I’m a big fan of (quality) sweeter Vouvray, where luscious sweet honeyed quince notes are balanced by high acidity. It’s another one of those wines you want to open for people who swear that sweet wines are the equivalent to Satan, or something.

Vouvray, if I’m correct, is the appellation in the Loire which plants the most Chenin Blanc, and the region produces the wine in all styles depending on the vintage – so sparkling, still, and sweet versions are all made.… read more