Tag: Fortified

WSET Diploma

A woven Christmas sweater: Gonzalez Byass “Nutty Solera” Medium Sherry

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med amber, legs
Nose: clean, fully developed, pronounced intensity, grilled nuts, almonds, mushroom, fig, caramel, hint citrus and apple, earthy funk
Mouth: sweet, med+ body, med+ intensity, med- acid, high alcohol/fortification, grilled nuts, mushroom, bready, hint fruit, long length.
All in all: Very good quality: the wine has persistent and complex tertiary notes but lacks a touch of concentration and complexity. Drink now: not suitable for ageing.
Identity Guess: Premium Madeira (made from Bual or Malmsey) from Portugal.
Is really: Mid-priced blended Sherry from Spain.

Gonzalez-Byass "Nutty Solera" Medium Sherry[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 2 – Week 1]

A big example of the whole price and preference thing not matching here, since out of the three wines in our blind fortified lineup, this was the wine I designated as the highest quality (though all three were agreed-upon as very good quality).… read more

WSET Diploma

The first of December: Graham’s 10 Year Old Tawny Port

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med+ tawny, legs
Nose: clean, fully developed, med+ intensity, dried red fruit, dried strawberry, dried cherry, prune, raisin, nuts, spice, white pepper, earth, hint mushroom, fig, dried flowers
Mouth: sweet, med+ body, med acid, high alcohol/fortification, med+ length, med+ flavour intensity, earth, mushroom, dried red fruit, dried strawberry, dried cherry, nuts, raisin, low and fine-grained tannin
All in all: Very good quality: the wine is intense, complex, and persistent, but could have benefitted from slightly more tertiary complexity. Drink now: not suitable for ageing.
Identity Guess: Mid-priced Banyuls from France.
Is really: High-priced Port from Portugal, 10 Years Old.

Graham's 10 Year Old Tawny Port[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 2 – Week 1]

Port is an interesting thing. It’s one of those things I’ve fallen in love with upon first high-quality angelic sip, but there’s really no one to open subsequent bottles with, and that much sugar in one sitting sounds like a recipe of caloric disaster.… read more

WSET Diploma

The pawn that reaches the end of the chess board: Blandy’s “Duke of Clarence” Rich Madeira

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear med brown, legs
Nose: clean, fully developed, med+ intensity, soy, caramel, nuts, dried citrus, brown sugar, almond, toffee, cola, molasses, leather, spices, cloves
Mouth: sweet, med+ acid, high alcohol/fortification, med+ body, med+ flavour intensity, butter, nuts, caramel, soy, dried citrus, brown sugar, toffee, almond, med+ length
All in all: Very good quality: the wine is complex, concentrated, and persistent, though could have benefitted from a better alcohol balance. Drink now: not suitable for ageing.
Identity Guess: Mid-priced medium-dry Sherry from Spain.
Is really: High-priced sweet Madeira from Portugal.

Blandy's "Duke of Clarence" Rich Madeira[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 2 – Week 1]

I honestly do not remember the last time I’ve formally tried a Madeira. It must have been maybe back in the WSET Advanced days, which was literally over a year ago.… read more

WSET Advanced

Hidalgo “Faraon” Oloroso Sherry

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, med amber
Nose: clean, med to med+ intensity, developed, meaty, nutty, touch of soy, raisin, light yeastiness, LIKE A BAKERY
Mouth: dry, med+ bodied to full, I got a med acidity but the instructor got low to med- acid, long length, high alcohol, med+ intensity, meaty, brine, nuts
All in all: Very good quality; drink now.

Oh my. I’m not sure if I’m just more partial to Oloroso Sherry, but DAMN this was good, and it was the favourite for everyone at my table. Such delicious aromas on the nose and flavours on the palate. Although we picked out some individual notes on the nose like raisins and an oxidized soy quality, I couldn’t help but go back to the whole bakery thing since it seemed like all the oxidized, yeasty, and nutty notes added up to that.… read more

Quaffing

nine bottles for six bodies

Posted on by Josh

Yeah – part of my job is that I get to taste a lot of wines. It’s really helping with stressful midterm season, and my co-workers and I decided to taste some stuff at one of our houses (Thanks! I’m sure we annoyed your neighbours oops). Unfortunately one of us was sick and couldn’t make it, which really sucks because we tasted some pretty cool things, but I guess more wine for us OH WELL.

Also, we all had these blind with the exception for the last one, which is always fun. I’m glad everyone waited for a co-worker and I to close and travel to the place – I’m sure everyone was itching to open the first bottle, which was delish.… read more