Tag: Syrah

Tasting

Wine Bloggers Conference 2014 – Speed Tasting i.e. Tinder for Wines

Posted on by Josh

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

Quaffing

Catelyn Stark: 2011 Domaine Raspail-Ay Gigondas

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, deep ruby, legs
Nose: clean, pronounced intensity, youthful, earth, spice, black pepper, hint dried herbs, black fruit, blackberry, mineral, hint menthol, hint cooked raspberry, hint cassis
Mouth:dry, med+ body, med acid, med+ fine tannin, high alcohol, med+ length, pronounced flavour intensity, spice, earth, black pepper, stemmy, black fruit, blackberry, mineral, ash
All in all: Very good quality: the balance is fantastic despite the high alcohol, and there is some structure that captures the warm-climate wine; the length is relatively long and the intensities pronounced. But the slight bit of shadowing tannins mean there are complexities to reveal with time, and the finish draws out a slightly stemmy character. Can drink now, but has potential for ageing.… read more

Life · Tasting

2014 Vancouver International Wine Festival – Wine Tour de France Seminar

Posted on by Josh

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

Life · Tasting

I suck at wine: 2014 VIWF Blind Tasting Challenge

Posted on by Josh

My 2014 Vancouver International Wine Festival activities begun on Wednesday! Insert majestic trumpet sounds here.

I was really scared for the Blind Tasting Challenge (at the Pacific Culinary Institute of Arts) on said morning . This mostly meant barely being able to keep my breakfast in my stomach, listening to Glee’s rendition of “Don’t Rain on My Parade” on repeat for high energy (do you hate me yet?), and then thinking that coffee was a bad idea. A classmate saw me looking at the water as I was listening to music and taking refreshing winter breaths of Granville Island air – she was just as nervous as I, but another classmate told us we were more jittery and nervous than we needed to be.… read more

WSET Diploma

2007 Delas “Les Clos” Crozes-Hermitage

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med+ ruby, garnet rim
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, developing, leather, game, soy, oxidizzled
Mouth: dry, med body, med+ acid, med- fine tannin, med+ flavour intensity, med+ length
All in all: Graced with the likes of oxidizzlement. I mean oxidation.

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 9]

Premature oxidation, unfortunately. Had a nutty stewed smell, though, sort of like a chestnut ale. Would one day love to retry this.

2007 Delas "Les Clos" Crozes-Hermitage

Producer: Delas
Designation: N/A
Region: France
Sub-Region: Crozes-Hermitage, Rhône Valley
Variety: Syrah
ABV: 13%
Vintage: 2007
Tasted: June 5, 2013
Price: $60

… read more
WSET Diploma

2008 Alpha Estate “Turtles Vineyard” Syrah

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, deep purple, legs
Nose: clean, med intensity, youthful, black pepper, cured meat, black cherry, game, sweaty, bitter tea leaf, floral, oak, sweet spice, black fruits, smoke
Mouth: dry, med+ body, med+ acid, med+ fine tannin, black fruits, savoury, med+ flavour intensity, med+ length, sweet spice, gamey, black cherries, tar, dark fruit
All in all: Very good quality: although relatively high, the structural components are well woven into the wine, which shows a complex profile of dark fruit and savoury characteristics. The alcohol is a bit warming, but the wine is persistent. Drink now, but has potential for short-term ageing.

2008 Alpha Estate "Turtles Vineyard" Syrah

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 9]

First of all: “Turtles Vineyard”.

Turtles Vineyard.… read more

WSET Diploma

2009 Clos de los Siete

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, deep ruby, legs
Nose: clean, med intensity, developing, earth, musty, pepper, spice, blackberry, black fruits, blueberry, blackcurrant, oak
Mouth: dry, med+ acid, med+ fine tannin, med+ alcohol, med+ body, med+ flavour intensity, blackberry, blueberry, earthy, gamey, savoury, bitter, med+ length
All in all: Good quality: the flavour components are intense and concentrated as is the structure, with a well-integrated acidity and a high level of smooth tannin; however, there is a bit of a bitter finish. Drink now, but has potential for ageing.
Identity guess: High-priced Shiraz from Australia; 2 years old.
Is really: Mid-priced red blend (57% Malbec, 15% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Syrah, 3% Petit Verdot) from Argentina; 4 years old.

2009 Clos de los Siete

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

First off: the label and the name.… read more

WSET Diploma

2009 Cave de Tain “Les Hauts du Fiefs” Crozes-Hermitages

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, deep purple, legs
Nose: clean, med intensity, developing, dark fruit, earth, black pepper, spice, bit of herbal
Mouth: dry, med+ acid, med+ tannin, med+ body, med- flavour intensity, med alcohol, spice, dark fruit, med+ finish
All in all: Very good quality: there’s a high concentration of fruit along with a relatively long finish and a firm structure, but is quite tight with the fruit wrapped around by tannins. Can drink now, but has potential for ageing.
Identity guess: High-priced Syrah from Crozes-Hermitage; 2 years old.
Is really: High-priced Syrah from Crozes-Hermitage; 3 years old.

2009 Cave de Tain "Les Hauts du Fiefs" Crozes-Hermitages

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 2]

That South Africa stink was replaced by more black pepper and more lush fruit in this wine.… read more

WSET Diploma

2008 Thelema Shiraz

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, deep ruby, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, developing, cherry, dark fruit, barnyard, spice, ash, meat, black pepper, baked fruit, medicinal
Mouth: dry, med acid, coarse med tannins, med+ alcohol, med+ body, med+ intensity, earth, red fruit, black fruit, med+ finish
All in all: Very good quality: a concentrated med+ intensity on both the nose and palate contributes to an intense wine. Along with a relatively long finish, all of the components are in balance, except for the alcohol which seems a little bit hot. Drink now: not suitable for ageing. There is no potential for the wine to further harmonize its components.
Identity guess: High-priced Pinotage from South Africa; 3 years old.
Is really: High-priced Shiraz from South Africa; 5 years old.… read more

Tasting

I NEED A BIGGER KNIFE. (UBC Wine Tasting Sesh #2)

Posted on by Josh

Long-ass day. Doesn’t seem so bad in retrospect, but I woke up early for a 9AM thing at UBC, took the 99 to the last stop for work, and then needed to travel all the way back to UBC to lead Part 2 of the sort-of-intro-to-wine themed tasting, all while wearing pants that weren’t jeans, one of those shirts you’d hate to spill wine on, and shoes that didn’t fit just enough to make my feet cry. The garb was fitting for all of the day’s events but for this day in particular, I would defs have lead a wine tasting wearing nothing but seven layers of random comfortable 7-foot-long linens, cinnamon-bun-Homer-Simpson style. I was that uncomfortable (ugh rain + sickness).… read more