Tag: Australia

WSET Diploma

2012 Yellow Tail Chardonnay

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med lemon, legs
Nose: clean, med- intensity, developing, oak (weird oak – chips?), smoke, melon, vanilla, bubble gum, confectionary
Mouth: dry (but noticeable residual sugar), low acid, med alcohol, med+ body, med flavour intensity, wood, melon, short length, citrus, vanilla
All in all: Acceptable quality: the strength lies in the existence of the non-intrusive flavour components and the med+ body, giving an impression of concentration, but a lack of acid leads to a tumbling structure, the finish is short, and there is a lack of real typicity. Drink now: not suitable for ageing.
Identity guess: Inexpensive Chardonnay from Australia; 2 years old.
Is really: Inexpensive Chardonnay from Australia; 1 year old.

2012 Yellowtail Chardonnay

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 3]

Of course the only wine I would nail in identity is Yellow Tail.… read more

WSET Advanced

2011 Yalumba “Y Series” Viognier

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon, watery rim
Nose: clean, pronounced, youthful, apricot, canned peaches, spice, honey, FRUIT LOOPS
Mouth: dry, med+ bodied, med- acid, med+ length, med intensity, med+ alcohol, apricot, canned peaches
All in all: Good quality; drink now.

This was a wine I featured in one of the articles that I wrote for the Ubyssey.

I had the exact same wine for my WSET Intermediate class, and even now, I still get that distinct note of Froot Loops – that slightly spicy canned stone fruit sort of smell. I have no idea what cardamom smells like, but I blind-tasted this wine again with my co-workers and apparently that’s a legitimate scent that you might get from both this wine and in actual Fruit Loops cereal.… read more

Life

2013 Term 2 Week 4 – FNH 330 is a total joke

Posted on by Josh

Last week ended off nicely. 5 of us went to the Sandbar on Granville Island for Dine Out Vancouver and then we went clubbing afterwards which was high-energy yet somehow boring and bordering on chore-like as the night went on. I’m definitely not a club-goer: glancing at awkward guys who dance like they’re hailing cabs and saving my female friends from over-friendly chaps aren’t really my favourite things, but if I have to go a club, I’d at least like to dance 1) drunk; 2) oblivious to anyone around me but my friends; and 3) to guilt-free Top 40 music (hey: time and place, right?) which I didn’t even get: the music was shitty(/shittier) and I knew little to none of the music.… read more

WSET Advanced

NV Yellow Tail Bubbles

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon, large bubbles
Nose: clean, youthful, med intensity, tropical fruit, fresher than comparison wine (Cava), grapey
Mouth: off-dry?, more aggressive bubbles, med+ body, med acid, med+ length
All in all: Very good quality; drink now.

Yellow Tail is such an interesting brand. It’s one of the only wine brands I knew before I started getting into wine (and more specifically, their Shiraz), and it’s probably one of the brands that is well-known in the wine world. Winecouver states it perfectly – I would say that the touch of residual sugar (in the wines I’ve had, most notably the Shiraz and Bubbles) makes it so welcoming to the non-wine drinking masses, and combined with (what I would guess is) inexpensive winemaking and marketing so brilliant that it makes its way into marketing textbooks, you have a success that angers no one but the wine savvy, who make a Shakespearean grimace into the distance and wonder why people aren’t drinking other wines.… read more

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