WSET fun part 2

met up again with the L3 students to have some more tasting fun

Picked the varietal and price point with relative ease. Called the Chard Farm as Tasmanian. Nailed the Bourgogne.

• 2012 Chard Farm Pinot Noir River Run

  New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Central Otago

  Colour: Clear, medium intensity ruby with slight tears
  Aroma: Clean, medium intensity aroma, youthful with aromas of ash, herbaceous/stalky notes, minerals - chalk, over muted black and red cherry and slight candy floss
  Mouth: A dry wine with sour medium plus acidity, medium minus intensity talc textured mid and front of mouth tannic burr that begins to dry the palate, medium plus alcohol, medium plus body, medium minus flavour intensity with flavours of stalks and cherry that do persist on the medium plus length finish.
  Quality: good. the obvious use of stalks and implied thoughtful wine making suggest that this wine, though youthful, will improve with age . This is reinforced by the relative balance and the addition of tertiary characteristics with time though the relative lack of intensity on the palate is a concern.

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• 2012 Bouchard Aîné & Fils Pinot Noir Héritage du Conseiller

  France, Languedoc Roussillon, Vin de Pays d'Oc

  Colour: Clear, pale, ruby with very slight tearing.
  Aroma: clean, medium minus intensity, developing wine with aromas of cherry and berry, slight herbaceous notes, sweet spice, vanilla, cream and earthy/mushroomy qualities just coming through.
  Mouth: a dry wine with medium plus juicy acidity, medium minus intensity body, medium alcohol, medium minus silky tannins, medium flavour intensity with flavours of slight unripe cherry and berry and that persist on the medium length finish.

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As Stefan would say a massive face plant. The Freeman came across structurally like a Cab Sav and the El Paso was a generic warm climate red. So got it hideously wrong to everyone's amusement.

• 2012 Freeman Vineyards Tempranillo Altura Vineyard

  Australia, New South Wales, Southern New South Wales, Hilltops

  Colour: Clear, ruby, medium intensity, plentiful tears
  Aromas: Clean, developing, medium plus intensity wine with aromas of tobacco leaf, blackcurrant, crushed rocks, brambles, cloves, pencil shavings graphite, cedar and sweet spice.
  Mouth: A dry wine, with medium plus acid, medium plus chewy slight drying tannins, medium alcohol, medium plus broad body, medium plus flavour intensity with flavours of blackcurrant cream, bramble and cedar which persist on the medium plus finish and accompanies the aforementioned tannins.
  Quality: Good. Primary and secondary characteristics and the beginning of tertiary characteristics, complexity and intensity of flavours both on the nose and palate and the relative balance of these, the acidity and tannin point to a good wine. It doesn't make outstanding because of the slight lack of length.

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• 2013 Hammeken Cellars El Paso del Lazo Tempranillo Shiraz

  Spain, Castilla-La Mancha, Vino de la Tierra de Castilla

  Colour: Clear, ruby, medium intensity with some rim fade and plentiful tears.
  Aromas: Clean, developing wine with medium minus aromas of slight candied blackberry and cherry fruit. Cream, sweet spice, vanilla and chocolate.
  Mouth: Dry, medium acid, medium talc textured tannin, medium plus intensity warming alcohol, medium body, medium flavour intensity with flavours of yeast extract, toast, and black fruits that persist and being to sour on the medium plus length finish where it is joined by some alcohol warmth.
  Quality: acceptable. A perfectly acceptable entry live wine with signs of warm climate and mass production.

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Picked the Cab blend and had no idea what the Sangiovese was though, ahh the lessons we forget, when I read the tasting note again it appears quite obvious.

• 2013 Santa Cristina (Antinori) Toscana IGT

  Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

  Colour: Clear, ruby, medium intensity, some tears
  Aromas: Clean, medium intensity, developing with aromas of candy floss, slight farmyard, leather and red berry fruit.
  Mouth: Dry, medium plus juicy acidity, medium minus mouth coating and waxy tannins, medium plus warming alcohol, medium bodied , medium flavour intensity with flavours of red berry, tobacco, sweet spice and vanilla on the medium length finish on which the warming alcohol intrudes

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• 2011 Watershed Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot

  Australia, Western Australia, South West Australia, Margaret River

  Colour: Clear, ruby, medium intensity, some legs
  Aroma: Clean, medium plus intensity, developing with aromas of ripe blackcurrant, ash, bonfire, smoke, vanilla, chocolate, biscuit and some red plum.
  Mouth: A dry wine with medium acidity, medium intensity fine talc textured tannins that is quite drying on the mid palate. Medium plus warming alcohol, medium bodied - quite linear and front to back of mouth, lacks breadth, medium plus flavour intensity with flavours of slight peppery spice, black currant, cream and vanilla on the medium plus finish with some alcohol warmth
  Quality: Good, though the alcohol is a little intrusive there are plenty of primary and secondary characteristics to add complexity and the length, aromas and flavours are all medium plus intensity

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Quite a few of these had pointy alcohol which leads me to believe I was just have a 'sensitive to spirit' day…blind tasting is such fun.