Life · Tasting

Vancouver International Wine Festival 2015: “Mod Oz”

It just feels slightly unfortunate that this seminar didn’t sell out – I mean, if the idea of Australian Shiraz is being purportedly tired, why aren’t we getting excited about every other fucking grape that can be grown there? Did you see Australian Grüner Veltliner coming? The answer is no. You didn’t.

I mean yes – I tire my face out by tensing my eye sockets and resisting an eye roll every time someone says they “don’t like Australian wine”, which is somewhat fair considering that the market can be saturated with its own stereotypes. I suppose it’s just good business sense, but there’s so much potential past the generic back-of-the-bottle tasting notes that preach deep berry fruit, “smooth”, and an empty promise that it’ll pair well with barbecue.… read more

WSET Diploma

Chiantioja: 2002 Lopez de Heredia “Vina Tondonia” Reserva

2002 Lopez de Heredia "Vina Tondonia" Reserva[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 1]

Yeah! Rioja stunner on the first day.

In the first few wafts of the wine, you get this intoxicating and familiar savoury soy characteristic which sort of masks the dried red fruit and makes it seem more brooding than it is. That soy quality is a common benchmark in aged Rioja, for sure, but there’s something about this that yelled Sangiovese to me. Both Chianti Classico and Rioja Reserva see oak, though the former sees a minimum of 7 months while the latter sees a minimum of 12 months. Oak is still something I struggle with, and I’m sure there’s a wood joke in there somewhere that I’m not going to bother venturing because it seems suspiciously easy.… read more

Life · Tasting

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

Quaffing

Oberyn Martell: 2005 La Rioja Alta “Viña Arana” Reserva Rioja

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med ruby, legs
Nose: clean, pronounced intensity, developing, mineral, earth, brettanomyces?, dill, red fruit, dried red fruit, cherry, raspberry, hint dark berries, leather, green tea, menthol, coffee, tobacco, soy
Mouth: dry, med body, med+ acid, med- fine tannins, med alcohol, med+ to pronounced intensity, red fruit, dark cherry, earth, tea, oak, dried herbs, long length
All in all: Very good (to outstanding) quality: the wine is complex and multi-layered. The palate is an elegant style for Rioja and is persistent, though a little more concentration and complexity on the mid-palate would have fleshed this wine out to its best. Drink now, but suitable for short-term ageing.

2005 La Rioja Alta "Viña Arana" Reserva RiojaLet’s make this a quick one! I’m rushing through these flash cards like a madman – a madman who takes a break every 5 minutes to watch internet videos he’s already seen five times over.… read more

WSET Diploma

2006 Viña Mayor Ribera Del Duero Reserva

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clean, deep ruby, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, youthful (to developing), vanilla, leather, oak, red fruit, black fruit, white pepper, tobacco, cigar box, black cherry, prune, raspberry, sweet baking spice, smoky, cola, hay, herbal
Mouth: dry, med body, med+ acid, med+ fine tannin, med+ alcohol, med+ length, med flavour intensity, savoury, black cherry, blackberry, black pepper, cassis, cinnamon, cranberry
All in all: Very good quality: A concentrated amount of fruit, high structure, and complexity outweigh the slightly imbalanced alcohol and lack of finesse and elegance. Drink now: not suitable for ageing.
Identity: Mid-priced (Tempranillo/Barbera/Sangiovese/Pinot Noir/Nebbiolo/Zinfandel) from Spain.
Is really:
 High-priced Tempranillo from Ribera del Duero, Spain; 7 years old.

2006 Viña Mayor Ribera Del Duero Reserva

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 8]

Fuller-bodied, more classic expressions of Tempranillo can often be so deceiving, but for me – but the brooding leathery and oaky secondary characteristics combined with the melancholy-toned darker fruits cross with an underlying tone of oxidation are often landmarks – “poetic” and noteworthy enough for me to type, but my nose still needs a handle on identifying the wide range that this grape can produce.… read more

WSET Diploma

2008 Eternum Viti “Los Comillos” Toro

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clean (slightly hazy due to sediment), deep ruby, legs
Nose: clear, med+ intensity, developing, oak, vanilla, spice, red fruits, strawberries, black fruits, earth, oak, smoke, bacon, black cherry
Mouth: dry, med+ bodied, high fine tannin, med acid, med alcohol, med+ finish, med+ flavour intensity, red fruit, oak, black cherry, cinnamon, chocolate
All in all: Very good quality: complex developing aromas are help up by a balanced structure worthy of ageing, despite current high and slightly unbalanced tannin. Med+ length.

2008 Eternum Viti "Los Comillos" Toro

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

One of the small tidbits I’ve learned from WSET Advanced is that Toro is known more for their more robust and strong expressions of Tempranillo. A quick flip through my past textbook says that this is due to a thick-skinned clone of Tempranillo (Tinta de Toro).… read more

WSET Diploma

2002 Anciano Tempranillo Gran Reserva

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, deep ruby, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, developing, oak, bright red fruit, spice, strawberries, earth, touch of barnyard, opened up with: mocha, chocolate, cacao
Mouth: dry, med bodied, med fine tannin, med acidity, med+ alcohol, med finish, med+ flavour intensity, strawberry, leather, savoury, oak
All in all: Good quality: the structural components are well-balanced, and the wine is very complex. The alcohol is slightly imbalanced and the length could be longer. Drink now: not suitable for ageing.

2002 Anciano Tempranillo Gran Reserva

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

I didn’t believe it, and even during my first liquor store gig ever, I scoffed when this came onto the shelves. A Gran Reserva for 16 dollars makes the wine-savvy ruffle their eyebrows and go oh-please.… read more

Quaffing

holiday wines with the co-workers

Overdue post, but it’s all good. Some time in December one of us hosted another staff get together complete with an amazing multiple-course home-cooked meal, which included:

– roasted celeriac soup
– kohlrabi slaw with cranberries and walnuts
– beet salad (with goat cheese)
– braised white beans
– roast chicken

It was so good that most of the food is still weirdly vivid in my mind despite this being around 4 weeks ago. Alas, I don’t remember the wines as well – I do remember one of us trying to act as a lion for a charades clue. The phrase was “The Chronicles of Narnia”.

Oh, and one of us was sick which sucked, which means we had no mashed potatoes.… read more

Quaffing

nine bottles for six bodies

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