[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 8: Burgundy]

There’s something really funky and weird about this wine, in an awesome way (though what isn’t funky and weird in Racine’s portfolio?). It’s strange for it to be introduced in class as our benchmark example of Beaujolais, with this eccentric combination of raspberry lambic beer, garden soil, a mouthful of red fruit, and a hint of spice and dirty socks. Not typical or traditional, in my opinion, but really cool, and I most certainly hope that something funky and sort of new age, for Beaujolais, strikes the fancy of more consumers. A pipe dream, perhaps, because I’ve heard this described as a wine that would get hipsters in New York hot and heavy.… read more

[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 1]

It only strikes me now how overlapped the Venn diagram between Gamay and Barbera can be – both tend towards high acid and spicy red fruit, though both also grow differently and can be vinified differently in different subregions. Purer red fruit, for example, in Barbera d’Asti, and a bit spicier and darker in Barbera d’Alba, sort of like how you can get estery Gamay from Beaujolais Nouveau over to the earthier and grittier cru Beaujolais like this one. And suddenly my Sansa Stark = Cru Beaujolais and Arya Stark = Barbera d’Alba analogy sort of makes more sense.

This wasn’t as complex as a Sansa Stark though. Spicy red fruits, yes, and a nice glowing acidity, but mostly fresh, and just fresh – and sometimes it’s hard to be a fresh red.… read more

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med ruby, legs
Nose: clean, med intensity, developing, red fruits, raspberry, cherry, earthiness, spice, floral
Mouth: dry, med- body, high acid, med fine tannin, med alcohol, med length, med flavour intensity, red fruits, floral
All in all: Good quality: a good balance is evident in the well-integrated high acidity. Although the flavour characteristics need a bit more time to show their best, the wine is elegant, being light but concentrated in the flavours, despite having a mere med length (although some said med+). Drink now, but has potential for short-term ageing.

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 7]

I’m a big fan of the earthier Beaujolais crus, the ones I encounter being Juliénas, Moulin-à-Vent, and Morgon.… read more

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med+ ruby, purple rim
Nose: clean, med intensity, youthful, red fruit, black cherry, juicy raspberry, spice, floral, grapey
Mouth: dry, high acid, med- tannin, med alcohol, med- body, med flavour intensity, grapey, cherry, juicy, med length
All in all: Good quality: the high acidity and tongue-coating brightness is well balanced; 100 percent ambient yeast gives a lovely complexity. The finish could be longer, and the mid-palate seems a little hollow.
Identity guess: Mid-priced Beaujolais-Villages from France; 2 years old.
Is really: Mid-priced Beaujolais-Villages from France; 2 years old.

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 6]

YES.

Let the record show that I actually guessed this wine correctly right down to the very wine – it was the only wine during the class in which I didn’t really second guess the grape, region, or any other factor.… read more