White – Page 17 – @sommeligay

2011 Yali Sauvignon Blanc

April 3, 2013November 16, 2015 by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon
Nose: clean, med intensity, youthful to developing, green pepper, green bean, savoury spice, citrus
Mouth: dry, med- bodied, med acid, med length, med- alcohol, med intensity, mineral, spice, green pepper
All in all: Good quality; drink now.

There’s something about Chilean Sauvignon Blancs that I’m quite partial to. Rarely really appreciated, they’re pretty much in the camp of hipster wines, like Cab Franc or Chenin Blanc. Unlike those varietals, though, it’s not that this particular style isn’t very known – it’s just the fact that these flavours can be off-putting despite the unmistakable or familiar aroma and character.

Typical nose. Compared to other Sauv Blancs from other regions, we get a nose dominated with methoxypyrazines, which I love.… read more

Quaffing

2010 OKV Vineyard Select White

April 1, 2013November 16, 2015 by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon
Nose: clean, med- intensity, youthful, ripe pear, sweaty
Mouth: dry, med bodied, med- acid, short length, med+ alcohol, med- intensity, green apple
All in all: Good quality, drink now.

A popular 10 dollar blend. Why not give it a go?

I’m not entirely sure of the details, but apparently this wine is owned by Vincor (now apparently known as “Constellation Brands”). Being VQA, I wouldn’t be surprised if this wine is made from leftover grapes or sloppy seconds from the various BC wineries part of their portfolio.

The nose is as expected, but vaguely interesting. A light wave of ripe pears is what I mainly get, but there is a layer of interesting yeasty sweatiness that I recognize from none other than beer.… read more

WSET Advanced

2009 Pieropan Soave Classico

March 25, 2013November 16, 2015 by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med lemon, watery rim
Nose: clean, med- intensity, developing, oak, nutty, floral, stone fruit
Mouth: dry, med body, med acidity, med intensity, med- alcohol, med length, citrus, mineral
All in all: Good quality; drink now.

I’ve read about the definition and forgot about a million times, but the term “classico” refers to the original area in which these wines and grapes originated from. For example, since its inception, places like Chianti have extended to include regions like Chanti Rufina, which generally use the same grapes with different elements of terroir. “Classico” refers to those original areas in Italy.

Although Italian whites are known for their neutrality, they can often have a certain subtle nuttiness to them as well.… read more

WSET Advanced

2010 Vietti Roero Arneis

March 22, 2013November 16, 2015 by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon, watery rim
Nose: clean, youthful, med- intensity, lemon, minerality, touch of stone fruit
Mouth: dry, med bodied, med+ acidity, med+ intensity, med+ alcohol, med+ length, lemon, peach, minerality
All in all: Good quality; drink now.

I’m currently really into reviewing my Italian wines and regions and I have no idea why I’m suddenly into this phase, since I haven’t had some kind of weird Italian wine epiphany following some godly sip of something. Anyways, I love to delve really far into a region (book-wise only unfortunately), and revisit my tasting notes. Most of the time, I think “WOAH, I had the opportunity to taste THAT?” and get angry that my knowledge was more limited back then (despite the fact that it was only last June), and sometimes I doubt what I had rated these wines, since after reading about them, I have a greater appreciation of what they’re supposed to be like.… read more

Quaffing

2011 Chateau de Pennautier Viognier

March 20, 2013November 16, 2015 by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, med- lemon, pale rim
Nose: med- intensity, youthful, apricot, mineral, citrus, floral
Mouth: dry, light to med- body, med acid, med length, med+ alcohol, med- intensity, mineral, savoury, bitter citrus rind
All in all: Good quality; drink now.

After having been curious about this bottle of wine for a while, plus a lack of knowledge on the Viognier of the Old World, I decided to give this one a go. There’s something about a classic-looking label with a pretty shade of orange. I’m so easy, hey?

Plus, I bought a bunch of beer for cellaring and decided to go for the sub-20.

The nose seemed very restrained to me. Old World coming through, perhaps, and any stone fruit character was restrained with an equal or greater amount of mineral character.… read more

Quaffing

2011 Weingut Max Ferd. Richter Estate Riesling

March 18, 2013November 16, 2015 by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon, pale rim
Nose: med intensity, youthful, mineral, red apple, notes of stone fruit, floral, honey
Mouth: medium sweetness, light bodied, med acidity, med length, med intensity, low alcohol, a little spritzy
All in all: Good quality; drink now, but can age.

What’s up with the 2011 vintage? I sheepishly display my confusion and partial sophomoric knowledge on German wines here, in part because a lot of the German wines I come across are too expensive for me. I’ve also noticed that Riesling has been in a bit of a negative light to the regular consumer, and it’s all about the dry. Riesling is as out as much as Coco Rocha is in, and despite its food pairing versatility, people avoid it like the plague because they think it’ll be like juice.… read more

Quaffing

NV Finca del Rey Malvasia Moscato

March 15, 2013November 16, 2015 by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, med- lemon, pale rim
Nose: med intensity, youthful, canned stone fruit, hint of mango, floral
Mouth: dry, light to med- body, low acid, med- length, low to med- intensity, med- alcohol
All in all: Good quality; drink now.

Bought this after the 2013 Vancouver International Wine Festival on March 1st because I was getting a little tired of spitting things. I’ve seen this bottle for a while and its look has changed from a faux-classic cream-coloured label (with an indication of Malvasia Muscat, now to Malvasia Moscato. Hmm?) to something a little more plain and bold in a weird way. There’s something about the bottles that tell me what they’re like on the front side – that turn me off, but it’s not a bad marketing technique for the lower-priced bottles.… read more

Quaffing

2010 Fattoria Colmone della Marca Bianco del Moro

March 13, 2013November 16, 2015 by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, water white with peachy tinge
Nose: clean, low to med- intensity, youthful to developing, vanilla, spice, floral, subtle woodiness, apple
Mouth: dry, med body, med- to med acid, med+ alcohol, med- intensity, med- length, bitter citrus rind
All in all: Good quality; drink now.

Blind tasting time!

A clear, almost colourless wine. I wasn’t sure whether or not the hint of peachiness in the wine was due to the red stains in the wine glasses we were using or because of some strangely coloured grape. Like Gewurztraminer.

The nose was weird. I captured little to no fruit – just an ethanol-like spice, a slight neutral vanilla fruitiness, and neutral wood. Further smelling revealed a flutter of apples and more notably, nuts.… read more

WSET Advanced

2011 Quintay “Clava” Sauvignon Blanc

March 11, 2013November 16, 2015 by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon, watery rim
Nose: clean, pronounced intensity, youthful, grapefruit, green bell pepper
Mouth: dry, med bodied, med+ acidity, med length, med+ to high intensity, citrus, grapefruit
All in all: Good quality; drink now.

Chilean Sauv Blancs, to me, are distinct such that they have a little more of that methoxypyrazine-ness (green bell pepper, green bean) along with a heavier and sometimes an almost stewed characteristic. I know some people who hate methoxypyrazines so much that they almost think it’s a flaw and needlessly evangelize so to new wine drinkers (cue FNH 330 prof, here), but it’s an interesting aroma to appreciate.

As said, there was a little bit more of that vegetal character and a little bit less of that floral aspect, but it was still noticeably our good old friend Sauv Blanc – the queen of the grassy; the mother of the Cab Sauv.… read more

WSET Advanced

2011 Susana Balbo “Crios” Torrontes

February 27, 2013November 16, 2015 by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon, watery rim
Nose: clean, med+ to high intensity, youthful, tropical fruits, spice, ginger, soapy
Mouth: dry (but ripe), med bodied, med- to med acidity, med alcohol, med length, med intensity
All in all: Good quality; drink now.

At its worst, Torrontes can be too floral in the soapy sense, not unlike that old lady perfume smell that Viognier can easily morph into. Then again, I’m personally not a big fan of floral things, and some of my co-workers love things like jasmine-flavoured beers where I would rather be having a red ale.

Wines like this are great for the new wine drinkers – once the newbies get bored of off-dry Riesling and Moscato, this generally inexpensive grape variety carries tropical fruit characteristics with floral tones which are just as pronounced.… read more