Seattle, WA
Tasted Tuesday, November 21, 2006 by Eric with 668 views
I hosted an education tasting for members of a new Jewish community group which my wife co-founded. There were a total of 10 people crammed around my dining room table for a session comparing different varietals as vinified in various parts of the world. We started with a quick lesson on how to taste AND spit, and aided by lots of paper towels people diligently tried to stick to the program.
Sauvignon Blanc typically provides an acidic, fresh white wine, but it adopts very different flavor profiles depending upon where it is grown. Some examples (wines labeled as Fumé Blanc) see oak, but these three are aged in stainless steel as is more typical. This provided a stark contrast between the stony-grapefruit of the Sancerre, the intense grass and gooseberry of New Zealand and the riper, grassy-pineapple of California. The Cloudy Bay was the favorite wine among tasters. The Mason Sauvignon Blanc was marred by lots of excessive alcohol and was easily the least favorite wine of the entire tasting.
Chardonnay is a chameleon and is heavily influenced by oak treatment. Chablis is cold, cutting, steely and acidic. The Bourgogne featured more richness and a green-apple flavor profile yet with some creaminess. The California example is rich and warm with ripe pear and buttery vanilla (from heavier oak influence). A couple of people liked the Chablis, but people seemed fairly evenly split between the Bourgogne and the California Chardonnay.
Merlot is one of the 5 traditional grapes (along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec) used in the Bordeaux region of France, but it is grown throughout the world in very international styles. This flight of 3 very special wines tries to focus on some of the richest and most unique examples, although the contrast of place might be less sharp than with the white wines. The 'Pichon Lalande' features a hefty dose of Cabernet in addition to the Merlot, but this is traditionally a very 'feminine' expression of Bordeaux with subtle texture and lots of mineral, leather and dominant tobacco notes. The Italian example (85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon) featured a bit of acidity, an intriguing herbal character and copious tannins. The Pride Mountain Merlot puts most California Merlot to shame (and would even make Miles from Sideways proud to drink Merlot). Huge, a bit oaky, with lots of coffee, brown sugar and chocolate covered cherries. The group was even more split on these with the Pride perhaps winning by a nose.
After the somewhat tannic Merlot flight, the Syrah provided a nice wave of fruit and a welcome way to round out the tasting.
Syrah is a grape that ripens dramatically, so this flight should show stark contrast. The Northern Rhône example showed black cherry, pepper, roasted meat and a tart, lean personality. The Qupe was an easy, friendly wine with lots of juicy blackberry and blueberry flavors; a terrific value. The Marquis Philips Shiraz was massive with black pepper and gobs of jammy fruit, tar, vanilla, almost certainly the 'biggest' and most intense wine of the tasting. People were also pretty evenly split on preferences
It was an enjoyable inaugural tasting for this group, so it looks like we will definitely be doing lots of future tasting!
2005 Henri Bourgeois Sancerre Grande Réserve
France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre
A very clean, varietally correct Sauvignon Blanc. Nice notes of grapefruit and mineral. Tart. A bit short.
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2005 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc
New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough
An outstanding Cloudy Bay. Nice grassiness on the palate but not overwhelmingly so. A very compelling palate, sweet and sour, definite gooseberry and some grass. The high-point is a very long, toothsome finish. Color me impressed.
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2004 Mason Cellars Sauvignon Blanc
USA, California, Napa Valley
A real stinker. Lots of overt alcohol overwhelms the palate. Definite burn on the finish. Flabby, fat and lacking interest. And yes, this was served plenty cool at 55 degrees.
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