Blind Tasting

Blind Tasting
Vivat Bacchus
9 Nov
Taught by Tim Wildman, MW

Despite the title of the event, this was not a blind tasting - instead it was a tasting of wines not served blind, where the speaker was trying to illustrate what you should be looking for when tasting these wines.

The first thing which really stood out tonight was a demonstration of just how important the nose is in wine tasting. Everyone was given a coriander leaf and instructed to hold their nose and then chew the coriander leaf. The only sensation here was the texture of the leaf on the tongue. Then we were told to let go of our noses. Whoosh! The strong flavour of the herb comes crashing in. A truly excellent demonstration and one which I'll totally be stealing if I ever have to teach a beginners wine class again.

The next part of the night which stood out was the introduction to a new way of structuring wine notes. This "The X" or "The Cross". I've made a picture of it below:

The basic idea is that this enables you to write notes in a non-linear fashion; flitting between categories. I'll try to write notes to myself in this manner for a while and see how it turns out. Sounds like an interesting idea though.

Finally, the conclusion section. As in WSET, the conclusions should be justifiable. BLIC - Balance, Length, Intensity and Complexity.

The Wines
1. Delta Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 2008
Marlborough, NZ
Pale green. Pungent gooseberry, grass. Unoaked. Dry, light bodied and medium-low alcohol (12.5%). High acid. Sharp and tangy. On the palate there was plenty of gooseberry as well as green fruit, herbs and a weirdly tropical note on the palate. Good length, with an intense back palate.

Sauvignon Blanc is one of the easiest wines to identify in a blind tasting.

2. West Cape Howe Riesling 2007
Great Southern, Western Australia
Pale green. Aromatic apple, lime, cider and floral notes. Kerosene. No oak. Dry, high acid. Sharp and aggressive (so much so that it gives you a headache). Lime and other citrus fruit on the palate. Somewhat oily texture despite the high acid. Low alcohol and light body. Bitter finish (in a good way). Long.

I frequently find new world riesling a difficult one to identify since it tastes very different to German riesling. The very high acid and floral notes should be watched for.

3. Bouchard Finlayson "Mission Vale" Chardonnay 2008
Hemel en Aarde, Walker Bay, South Africa
Medium-light gold colour. A semi-aromatic wine giving notes of apricot, tropical fruit and cream. A rewarding smell. On the palate the flavour profile is more along the lines of mango, melon and spice. Dry, medium acid, medium alcohol (13.5%) and full bodied. Soft mouthfeel, smooth warm and round. A little tannin from the oak. Long, intense and balanced (apart from the oak on the nose, which should dissipate and integrate over time). Very good.

Oaky chardonnay is generally quite easy to spot.

4. Timo Mayer "Close Planted" Pinot Noir
Vintage not recorded. Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia
Transparent, pale ruby. Ripe red berries, cherry, cinnamon, vanilla and sweet ripe red fruit. Oak. Dry with medium-high acid. Quite light bodied. Low tannin, silky. Smoky on the palate. Astringent finish. Very long though.

Pinot gives off massive clues from the colour alone. Other possible contenders from the appearance are Gamay (bleugh!), Rioja, Grenache, Nebbiolo.

5. Abbaye St de Ferme 2003
Domaines de Raignac, Soussac, Bordeaux.
Merlot 70%, CS 20%, CF 10%
Medium-ruby colour. Vanilla, blackberries. Ripe fruit, maybe a little cooked. Some earthy notes upon swirling the wine. Something a little medicinal. Definite oak, prevalent on the palate too. The palate has more earthy notes and cigar box and less fruit. Probably not going to age much longer. The tannins are "pixellated", which is apparently a good blind tasting clue for Bordeaux. The overall texture is dry, rough and astringent. The character of the wine id definitely old world. The acid and tannin are not balanced and, whilst there is quite a lot of complexity at the moment the wine is not going to get better.

6. Luddite Shiraz 2005
Medium ruby colour. The nose is full of sweetness - chocolate, ripe black fruit. Also pepper (a classic blind tasting note for Shiraz) violets and Christmas Pudding. Definite oak. Dry, high acid and high but soft, silky, ripe tannin. Again, this is apparently a good hint for Shiraz. Full bodied. The flavour profile on the palate is dominated by ripe fruit, indicating that it has plenty of time to go. Long, well balanced but very extracted. This has aging potential - over time we would expect this to develop more complexity, something which is lacking at the moment. Still very pleasant at the moment though!