Legit just took some Tums right now because the ride home was a sketchy acidic one. Maybe ask the woman who sat to my right at the seminar because she didn’t spit anything she tasted, but I guess that weird cheesy number I had for lunch didn’t really do me any favours. But yes: I wasn’t exactly super stoked about a seminar that had to do with 12 glasses of mouth-destroying Shiraz, but sometimes the best way to appreciate something so seemingly daunting is just to go for it. Just jump right into the pool of tannin and rip the bandaid off, maybe packing a toothbrush in your bag for later. Which I almost legit did, because I want my teeth to look decent and not like they belong to a Disney villain.… read more
Tag: Sparkling
Back to its sparkling Portuguese glory: Caves São Joao 2013 Bruto Reserva
This wine serves as a mini-celebration after a long-ass week and even more Bordeaux studying. My current tasting notes are consistent with those from the big portfolio tasting exactly a week beforehand. I was a big fan of the 2011 vintage, but I didn’t exactly favour the 2012 version of the same wine from what I remember was a bit of disjointed acid. I was pleasantly surprised when the new vintage wriggled its way into my life, swimming past my doubt and into the pleasure portions of my brain, so I definitely had to buy a bottle. But mostly because I had nothing to drink yesterday and I have to make up for that, like now.
The wine returns to its glory this vintage, with soft pear, lime, and white flowers gliding from the glass, providing a little more intensity on the palate.… read more
Alain Vesselle NV Tradition Brut
Bordeaux is proving to be a huge section of the WSET Diploma, and so I bought myself a bottle of Champagne as a encouraging self-bribe to get through the damn section. A region so based in its trade, producers, and viticulture leads to meaty entries in the Oxford Companion to do with who married who to get their name on this Château and so forth, along with the different polysaccharides that Botrytis cinerea produces during its metabolism. It’s literally like reading those hideously long entries in the Bible on family trees (or was that Lord of the Rings?), combined with a university chemistry textbook. I’m only approaching the right bank’s regional entries now as I prematurely decide to open this bottle of Champagne, because I can’t wait and I’m thirsty as fuck.… read more
Wine Bloggers Conference 2014 – Blends: 2 + 2 = 5?
Okay! So flashback to Day 2 of the the Wine Bloggers Conference: it’s one of those times where we have to choose between three different seminars. There’s a seminar each on Merlot (hosted by Rutherford Hill and Duckhorn wineries), something on “How Pros Taste” (hosted by Jackson Family Wines), and then one on wine blends (hosted by Winebow), the last seeming like a strangely divergent topic from the former two. And I know – I should probably be basking in the Californian-based seminars (when in Rome etc.), but I couldn’t help but be intrigued by something less specific and more amalgamate in style i.e. the idea, at the time, of trying a row of Napa Merlots in the California heat made me scrunch my face.… read more
Wine Bloggers Conference 2014 – Speed Tasting i.e. Tinder for Wines
Speed tasting. It’s one of the unique events of the Wine Bloggers Conference that’s always explained to you if you’ve never heard of the WBC before, kind of like the warning nod of the hangover to the newly legal. It’s always described as “speed dating but with wine” – though in this case, it’s only a one-way road of looking at your date in disgust. So there’s a plus, and it’s sort of like a Tinder swipe-left-or-right sort of situation.
In the essence of the Live Wine Blogging event, you have 50 minutes to taste through 10 wines. In each 5-minute session, the winery representative pours you wine and gives you a bit of a quick overview before moving on to the next table.… read more
Princess Peach: NV Domaine Zinck Crémant d’Alsace Brut
Tasting Note:
Eyes: clear, pale lemon, bubbles
Nose: clean, med intensity, youthful, mineral, apple, citrus, lemon, stone fruit, white peach, hint yeastiness
Mouth: dry, creamy mousse, med- body, high acid, med- alcohol, med+ length, med+ intensity, green apple, citrus, lemon zest, stone fruit, peach, hint yeastiness
All in all: Good quality: the wine has well-balanced structure with high acid that doesn’t make the mouth pucker. A citrus zest flavour lingers on the finish, but the wine could use a bit more complexity. Drink now, not suitable for ageing.
Well, here we are. Around ten days left until the terrifying WSET Diploma Unit 5 + 6 exams. After piling through a decent amount of flash cards, I decided I deserved wine. That and I’ve also been cooped up in the house for more than 24 hours and decided that a walk to the liquor store would be sufficient exercise – which obviously it wasn’t – but let’s pretend it was.… read more
Margaery Tyrell: NV Skillogalee Sparkling Riesling
Tasting Note:
Eyes: clear, med+ lemon, bubbles
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, youthful, citrus, lemon, lime, lemon zest, petrol, floral, white flowers, mineral, green pineapple, hints of yeast, hint smokiness
Mouth: dry, med body, high acid, med alcohol, med+ length, pronounced flavour intensity, lemon, lime, lemon zest, floral, citrus explosion
All in all: Good (to very good) quality: the wine excels in its uniqueness, flavour intensity on the palate, and relatively persistent flavours. Slightly more complexity would have propelled the wine into a higher category. Drink now, not suitable for ageing.
A wine that smells and tastes like flowers, citrus, and sparkles like royalty. Hence the whole Margaery Tyrell sort of thing and the eternal sun that Highgarden seems to be in.… read more
2014 Vancouver International Wine Festival – Wine Tour de France Seminar
This year’s wine fest kicked off with me doing the blind tasting challenge on the Wednesday – the rest of my day consisted of lunch with colleagues, errands involving heavy lifting, and then seeing the new Lego movie. I didn’t get as much sleep as I wanted, which is an obvious call for trouble: the next day started off with a France-themed tasting at 9:30AM; the big, busy, and irritating trade tasting at 2:30PM; and an exciting Bourgogne-themed tasting at 5PM. A day full of constant mouth stimuli.
Since this was one of the trade tastings (opposed to a consumer one), there were lots of familiar faces. But I shamelessly admit that any human interaction is personally difficult and gruelling before 11AM (or maybe I’m just a naturally horrible human being), and so I sat down on one of the seats, smiled at the 12 glasses in front of me, got my notebook ready, and did my best not to spill anything.… read more
Hipster Champagne: NV Bellavista Franciacorta Cuvée Brut
Tasting Note:
Eyes: clear, med- lemon, bubbles
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, developing, ripe green apple, citrus, lemon, yeast, hint brioche, mineral, caramel, salted nuts, lees
Mouth: dry, creamy mousse, med- body, med+ acid, med alcohol, med+ flavour intensity, mineral, green apple, citrus, yeast, hints of brioche, roasted nuts, nutty and oxidized finish, hint butter, med+ length
All in all: Very good quality: impressive here is the drawn-out nutty length that I more commonly see in aged vintage traditionally-made sparklings. There is balance and a moderate amount of complexity, but there is a hint of bitterness on the finish as well. Drink now, not suitable for ageing.
I feel dumb opening this on a Thursday night. But I convinced myself that I’ve earned it for doing a lot of work today.… read more
“Flaws (Live Acoustic Version)” – Bastille: NV Domaine Breton “La Dilettante” Vouvray Brut
Tasting Note:
Eyes: clear, med- lemon, bubbles
Nose: clean, med intensity, developing, mineral, citrus, hint herbaceous, lemon, lime, citrus zest, white bread, slight toast, mushroom, wet wool
Mouth: dry, creamy mousse, med+ acid, med- body, med- alcohol, med+ flavour intensity, mineral, lemon, lime, citrus zest, lees, savoury, mushroom, wet wool
All in all: Good (to very good) quality: the wine is well-balanced and has a relatively long length. Though not being very intense in its fruit, the Chenin Blanc character comes through with lovely earthy mushroom and wet wool aromas and flavours. Drink now, not suitable for ageing.
Identity Guess: High-priced Vouvray Brut from Loire, France.
Is really: High-priced Vouvray Brut from Loire, France.
[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 2 – Week 5]
Last week’s version of this wine was corked so this was secretly slipped into today’s set of wines.… read more