Red – Page 8 – @sommeligay

WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 10: Piemonte and Veneto

January 7, 2015November 16, 2015 by Josh

Back to reality. It seems like everyone around me is getting post-holiday ailments but I’m doing my best to survive. The holidays were fun but thankfully, they’re never really over-the-top for me (besides last year’s Soave incident). I swatted all New Year’s Eve plans out of my view in favour for cooking myself a meal, drinking a bottle of wine, and sleeping at around midnight: and you’d think that would end up totally bumming me out, but I had a satisfying sleep as the planet fully rotated into 2015, and I woke up at a decent hour to do some wine reading.

I’m riveting. I know. No hangover: that was a thing, though!

I’m not the biggest fan of New Year’s resolutions, mostly because I don’t plan that far ahead, and because I think it’s weird to make weird and shallow decisions at some quasi-arbitrary time of the year.… read more

Quaffing

Cantina Valpantena 2012 “Torre del Falasco” Valpolicella Ripasso

December 22, 2014November 16, 2015 by Josh

For some reason I’m never drawn to Valpolicella these days – or ever, really – but I hear its name pop up more than I’d expect. I can see it becoming a trendy wine in Vancouver (if not already), it being a middling restaurant-friendly red with a spiffy name and style versatility.

It’s been a while since I’ve had actively had one. More than two years ago. (Ew.)

Black cherry and cola are the main stars here, and there’s a subtle dried herby undergrowth on the nose. Sage, I think. I learned well about herbs that one time I bought a bunch of them to bake chicken, and there was that one golden moment where I’m sure I made the ghosts in the house laugh when I accidentally snorted dried marjoram.… read more

Life · WSET Diploma

WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 9: Workshop #2

December 20, 2014November 16, 2015 by Josh

Okay, let’s be real here: it’s the holidays, and during the entirety of the WSET diploma, there was inevitably going to be at least one class that combined horribly with a hangover, and that day was today. I’m stubborn and quasi-meticulous: I’ve never missed a class nor have I ever not written about a wine we tried, but I just don’t have the willpower to give birth to separate posts this time around. Not that anyone’s really counting on me, anyways. Insert booing crowd here.

The last workshop we had consisted of one flight of three wines and some written practice. Today consisted of two flights of wine and no written practice (thank the gods), and we promised our instructor that we would practice on our own as if we were promising our parents to not have a house party while they were gone for a week.… read more

WSET Diploma

“Hot & Bothered” – Oh Land: Jean Foillard 2011 “Côte du Py” Morgon

December 16, 2014November 16, 2015 by Josh

[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

WSET Diploma

Audrey Hepburn: Domaine Tortochot 2010 Chambertin Grand Cru

December 13, 2014November 16, 2015 by Josh

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

This was spectacular. Apparently only two cases were directly brought into the province, and they went quickly. A great price, from what I can tell, but I’m not gonna pretend that I’m a huge connoisseur of Grand Cru Burgundy. Like, if you were to open one in my presence, I’d definitely force us to light candles and do a Gregorian chant before uncorking it.

Pinot Noir from the Côte de Nuits, of the north half of the Côte d’Or, is said to be more structured, deeper, perhaps darker in its fruit, and have a protracted maturation window compared to the wines of the Côte de Beaune. So, compared to the lighter Savigny-Lès-Beaune we had just before, this wine exuded more dark fruits, more brooding notes in the form of forest floor, mushroom and leather, and some oak, where there were well-integrated murmurs of mocha and sweet spice.… read more

WSET Diploma

“There’s Too Much Love” – Belle and Sebastian: Phillipe Girard 2010 “Les Lavières” Savigny-lès-Beaune Premier Cru

December 12, 2014November 16, 2015 by Josh

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

The next two wines we tasted were both Pinot Noirs from two different halves of the Côte d’Or – this one was from the Côte de Beaune in the south, while the next one was a Chambertin from the Côte de Nuits in the north.

Lighter and more driven by flowers, strawberries, and red cherries compared to the Chambertin. It’s often said that Pinot Noir from the Côte de Beaune creates wines that are lighter, fruitier, and prone to earlier maturation than that of the north. Much more pure in fruit than the basic Burgundy we tried a couple of wines before, if you were to compare the first wine to blurry vision à la Velma losing her glasses, and then this wine to putting on a stylin’ pair.… read more

WSET Diploma

A scratched Frank Sinatra record: Vignerons de Buxy 2012 Buissonnier Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise Pinot Noir

December 12, 2014November 16, 2015 by Josh

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

Not bad, at first glance, but then wildly simple when compared to the Savigny-Lès-Beaune and Chambertin. Much more charming on the nose than on the palate, where simple red fruits, earth, and a bit of flowers and vanilla were a bit more shrouded and quiet on the palate.

Similarly to the first wine, there was a bit of sulphited character that was more evident compared to the other red wines in the flight, but it also could have been so because of the lack of intensity. Not really noticeable until we did a side-by-side sort of thing.

Sort of like a faded Sinatra record, where there are hints of allure but you don’t really get the true magic of the grape.… read more

WSET Diploma

Eucalyptus meets leather: Wynns 2005 “John Riddoch” Cabernet Sauvignon

December 8, 2014November 16, 2015 by Josh

[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 7: Australia]

For me, it’s hard to find aged examples of these big wines (in our market, anyways) that seem like they’re more appealing when they’re big and fresh and loud, but it’s always interesting to see what happens to the volume over time. In this case, the deep garnet wine gave notes of big black fruit, cola, mint, and eucalyptus, but there were also evolved notes of soy, leather, and coffee. Full-bodied and viscous, and surprisingly still fresh on the palate with distinct acidity and pronounced but fine tannins. The finish was slightly clunky, where there was a hint of a funky metallic thing going on, but overall I was quite pleased.… read more

WSET Diploma

“Supermassive Black Hole” – Muse: Vasse Felix 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon

December 8, 2014November 16, 2015 by Josh

[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 7: Australia]

This was the penultimate wine in the flight, and it was chosen to provide a contrast to the last wine. They obviously differed in age, at first glance, but the instructor also wanted to display the different manifestations of greenness. It’s one of my favourite things to teach, because I love telling the story about how my friend and I thought that the Château Cailleteau Bergeron 2012 Sauvignon Blanc had a distinct note of marijuana (though the vintages on either side were more distinctly grapefruit-scented). In this case, apparently Margaret River Cab has more of a minty character opposed to the classic eucalyptus note of Coonawarra Cab.

It was amazing how mouth-coating the flavours were without bringing down the animated freshness, like an umbrella keeping your socks and smiles dry during a rainstorm.… read more

WSET Diploma

“Summer Girl” – White Wires: Peter Lehmann 2009 “8 Songs” Shiraz

December 8, 2014November 16, 2015 by Josh

[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 7: Australia]

When a lot of people think of Australia they think of Barossa Shiraz, sort of like when heavy drinking and ridiculous dancing comes to mind when people hear my name. Hey, don’t deny it.

The hot region produces big and mouth-filling examples, but I’ve come across some Barossa examples that don’t seem as full-bodied as they should be, and I wonder if there’s a trend to break away from the typecast mould of bloated Australian reds. I’m staying right here.

This was more on the typical side, with youthful black fruit, blackberry compote, cola, and spice flavours showing on both the nose and palate, along with cleansing acidity.… read more