@sommeligay

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

October 29, 2014November 16, 2015 by Josh

[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

October 29, 2014November 16, 2015 by Josh

[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

October 22, 2014November 24, 2015 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

October 22, 2014November 16, 2015 by Josh

[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

October 21, 2014November 16, 2015 by Josh

[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

WSET Diploma

Wooly Bully: 2009 Domaine des Baumard “Clos Saint Yves” Savennières

October 21, 2014November 16, 2015 by Josh

[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 2: Loire Valley]

One of my wine friends convinced me to buy a Savennières for Thanksgiving. I was really on the fence on spending that much on a wine (school is expensive!), but through several points including celebration, treating myself because of my new certification, and Thanksgiving itself, I decided to go for it. And so I slowly nursed a bottle of 2007 Domaine des Baumard Trie Spéciale to myself on (Canadian) Thanksgiving. I’m sure no one else around me would have enjoyed a bottle that tasted like cream of mushroom and delicious wet winter sweaters.

Savennières is a small appellation in the northern part of Anjou, where dry and concentrated wines from Chenin Blanc are made.… read more

WSET Diploma

Bubble-less Champagne: 2010 Château de la Gravelle “Gorges” Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie

October 21, 2014November 16, 2015 by Josh

[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 2: Loire Valley]

I’m straight up not the type of person to write home about Muscadet. The wine comes from the leftmost stretch of the Loire Valley in France, created by a neutral and fresh grape which can gain complexity from chilling on dead yeast cells, resulting in more texture and flavour. Its wines can often be bland and light on the nose with an old world monochrome template of mineral, green fruit, and hints of yeast. But the best examples, like in this wine, are much more expressive on the palate, with the yeasty, savoury, and bready components staging a complex dance on the tongue. You can tell that there’s much more texture which comes out in the viscosity and creaminess.… read more

WSET Diploma

The antithesis of Apothic: 2009 Charles Joguet “Les Petites Roches” Chinon

October 21, 2014November 16, 2015 by Josh

[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 2: Loire Valley]

The last time I’ve had an old world Cabernet Franc was over a year ago when I had a Saumur-Champigny in class (wine class, that is). I’m sure I’ve forgotten what the classic example tastes like which is a weird shame because the style of wine, on paper, seems relatively uncomplicated and definitive: raspberry-dominated with red fruits, pencil shavings and perhaps brettanomyces amongst the earth, leafy greens, a medium depth of colour and body, and noticeable but reined tannin.

Maybe I’m not used to more aged examples – or just better examples in general – of the style, because the wine seemed much more full-bodied and in the darker black cherry fruit range than I expected.… read more

WSET Diploma

Rosé from Gris: 2013 Domaine de Reuilly Rosé

October 21, 2014November 16, 2015 by Josh

[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 2: Loire Valley]

A rosé from Pinot Gris, a grape that normally makes white wines, might be strange to some people, though the pink-skinned grape can make wines familiar to some people in the local BC market. Producers like Nichol and Kettle Valley come to mind right away: I wonder if the winemakers have been inspired by such a small region with an esoteric style – if that were the case, then that’s pretty awesome, knowing that this kind of rosé isn’t an overdone style that’s executed to make money. It’s a nod and a twist and a sashay.

I’m glad we tried a wine from Reuilly, because it’s one of those tiny appellations often eclipsed by the big boys in its respective area, like Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé.… read more