Deductive Tasting Class with Tim Gaiser
Napa Valley Wine Academy
Tasted Monday, August 17, 2015 by RajivAyyangar with 1,473 views
Introduction
These are tasting notes from a class given by Tim Gaiser, MS, at the Napa Valley Wine Academy. For me this was an amazing opportunity to calibrate on structure and visual aspects, as well as to see my weaknesses in identifying aromatic factors.
We tasted two intro wines (one white and one red), going through the grid in excruciating detail. Then we tasted through a tough flight of semi-aromatic whites (the “evil dwarves). Followed by their red counterparts—thin-skinned reds. Finally we tasted a flight of deeply-colored, powerful reds.
A few things I learned:
-In white wines, it’s important to distinguish bitterness from neutral oak aging (esp. in Chardonnay) vs. phenolic bitterness (e.g. in Pinot Gris, Gruner Veltliner).
-I need to get way better at telling American vs. French oak, and oak presence in red wines in general.
-A combination of red and black fruits in a red wine is probably a sign of millerandage, or uneven ripening. This points to a few well-known culprits (grenache, zinfandel, syrah in warm climates).
-I was weak on identifying rotundone in Syrah and Gruner.
-I was also weak on identifying minerality (I’m still not sure what this is), floral aromas, types of organic and inorganic earth, lees, and stem inclusion. I could identify some of these given an extreme example, but not in subtler instances.
Flight 1 - Intro Wines (2 Notes)
We went through these as Tim Gaiser (henceforth TG) explained in detail each feature of his version of the Grid:
VISUAL:
clarity
brightness
color/hue
concentration
rim variation
gas, sediment
tears
NOSE:
cleanness
intensity
age assessment
fruit
non-fruit
earth/mineral (organic, inorganic)
wood (old/new, French/American, large/small)
PALATE:
sweetness
body
fruit
non-fruit
earthiness
wood
alcohol
acidity
tannin
finish
complexity
<no balance?>
INITIAL CONCLUSION:
style (Old World, New World)
climate
possible varieties
age range
FINAL CONCLUSION:
variety (varieties if a blend)
country
region
level of quality
vintage
Flight 2 - Semi-Aromatic Whites (The Evil White Dwarves) (5 Notes)
We all got some help from TG on the Albarino.
On the Gruner, I totally missed white pepper, and gave (I think a rather valid) call of Alsace Pinot Gris. That said, when I tasted the actual Alsace Pinot Gris and returned to the Gruner, it had such a radish vegetal character I don't think it was really a fair confusion on the nose. Also the structure was a bit high in acidity for Pinot Gris.
The Vouvray call fit like a glove.
The German Riesling - I called Alsace, which reminds me that I just don't have good criteria to call any mostly-dry Riesling German.
The Pinot Gris, especially after my false-call on the Gruner, was so obvious.
Flight 3 - Thin-Skinned Reds (The Evil Red Dwarves) (5 Notes)
The Beaujolais was obvious with signs of carbonic maceration. I didn't make a very wise call on quality however.
The Chambolle-Musigny showed me zero pinot character and completely aged and oxidative character. I was derailed by sense memory and guessed Rioja even though the oak didn't fit.
The Rioja—I just hadn't had a modern example with this weight and fruit. I was thinking Lopez de Heredia with its softer fruit, lighter body, and sour-plum/bretty/oxidative aromatics.
Chianti—I guessed Nebbiolo, but I think it was due to a lack of calibration on acid, alcohol, and tannins.
CdP—this was obvious by the millerandage and structure (and process-of-elimination).
Flight 4 - Full-Bodied Reds (5 Notes)
These should have been clearer, but due to my difficulties with oak and rotundone, I found it difficult.
The Cornas I got to via structure, color, and aromatics. Even without clear black pepper.
The Chinon was ultra-classic. Easy to spot.
The Malbec is not something I'd tasted before, and I didn't even have it as a lateral. I had nothing. Now I know.
The Lafon-Rochet was classic.
The Zinfandel should have been something I picked up, especially since I'd tasted it before. Clues I missed were millerandage and structural clues.
Closing
The class took a full 8 hours and left me pretty wiped. During a break we crashed a tasting of some impressive Franciacorta sparklers (a trade tasting was going on next door).
2012 Maison Albert Bichot Chablis 1er Cru Les Vaucopins Domaine Long-Depaquit 88 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
White 1 - Blind
VISUAL:
Clear, star-bright.
Pale straw with reflections of yellow in the glass.
Medium tears.
[notes:
-"Clear" means there probably was fining and filtration to stabilize the wine.
-I thought this was day-bright, TG corrected me as star-bright.
-"Brilliant" would be silvery-platinum like Muscadet or Champagne.
-TG confirmed this is straw-colored.
]
NOSE:
Mostly clean (slight reduction), moderate intensity.
Fruit: Lemon, apple (ripe/Golden Delicious). thiol/grapefruit bitterness. [TG called this green apple, maybe because it smells tart]
Non-fruit: I didn't get any [TG: delicate flowers,]
Oak: Light well-integrated toast, french oak?. Tim: There’s only very little oak. used.
Maturity: Youthful.
Lees contact: I don’t get any autolysis/cheese rind. TG perceives some.
TG: Green apple, lemon, some grapefruit. [TG: sniff lightly for floral aromas - they live right over the glass. There are delicate aromas of flowers on this wine.]
Inorganic earth:
Slight stone - slight reduction, there’s a distinct and beautiful flintiness. Stoniness.
[TG: Reduction isn’t the same as mineral aromas.] [I'm not so sure. I think they're related.]
PALATE:
Dry, (TG: Bone dry means we would be squinting).
Medium body, (TG: confirmed medium)
Alcohol: Moderate 12% (TG: would guess 12.5%) [bottle says 13%]
Acid: High, mostly tartaric. some malic
Fruit: confirm nose: lemon, green apple, slight nuttiness, maybe oxidation. Oak is subtle if at all.
Primarily savory. Definitely a nuttiness and lees aspect.
Minerality: [TG: you feel a lot here, between your front teeth.] If I picture Pellegrino, I get a little.
There’s a slight bitterness to this, but I think it's nuttiness, not so much phenolic bitterness from skins. [TG: don't confuse bitterness from used oak with bitterness from phenolics]
TG: medium plus finish, driven by acid and minerality.
Medium complexity
[TG: This is medium complexity.
-High complexity wines would change your life.
-Low complexity you’d cook with.
]
INITIAL CONCLUSIONS:
This is a non-aromatic grape from a cool climate, in an old-world style.
Possible varietals:
Possible varietals: Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot grigio,
Styles:
Chablis, Northern Italy Pinot Grigio.
Age range:
From color and quality of fruit: 1-3 years old.
If we go Pinot Grigio:
Alto adige, 2014
If Chablis:
France, Burgundy, Chablis.
FINAL CONCLUSIONS:
Chablis 2012
I called Chablis, but mostly due to absence of phenolic bitterness and a general feeling that this was a high-quality wine. These aren't the greatest reasons.
TG: What's the current release in Chablis?
2012. This is a good guess for vintage.
TG: What’s the quality?
-I didn't know the quality level in Chablis.
Actual:
DOMAINE LONG-DEPAQUIT (ALBERT BICHOT)
Les Vaucopins Chablis 1er Cru Chardonnay 2012
Discussion:
I would go to Chablis or a cool-climate chardonnay from the Macon, but I’m not confident I could tell it from Pinot Grigio. My instinctive understanding of the greatness of Chablis—the minerality, the lees, the intangibles—will need to come with experience.
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2012 Yalumba Shiraz Patchwork 85 Points
Australia, South Australia, Barossa
Red 1— Blind:
VISUAL:
Opaque, bright.
Highly-concentrated ruby-purple. [TG: ruby-magenta rim, no signs of age]
No gas or sediment.
Elevated tearing (and stains the glass).
NOSE:
Moderate intensity, clean. [Tim: powerful nose. ripeness and alcohol.]
Fruit: Dark fruit - blackberry, black raspberry, ripe and dried and a bit sour.
Nonfruit: black licorice, Oak: new oak. Earth, savory leather. stewed vegetables. Slight black pepper.
Youthful. [Tim: Menthol and eucalyptus. (I see it)]
There’s a dustiness to it, but mostly fruity.
OAK: [TG: you need oak to stabilize the color, so on a wine this dark, I'm expecting oak.]
PALATE:
Dry, but quite ripe. There’s a jelly donut aspect to this.
Full bodied. [TG: medium plus body]
Alcohol: elevated. 14% (TG: higher alcohol - 14.5%).
Acid is just moderate.
Oak: I don't pick up much. [TG: Bitter coffee.]
Tannins: Elevated [TG: agrees, medium plus].
INITIAL CONCLUSION
New world wine, from warm climate.
Broad range of fruit in one glass.
Pepper: Syrah. Mint Eucalyptus.
FINAL CONCLUSION:
New World Syrah - Australia. Recent vintage.
Actual:
YALUMBA Patchwork Barossa Shiraz 2012
14.5%
Discussion:
When you see a broad range of fruit (dark fruit and red fruit), you are looking at:
Grenache, zin, Shiraz (broad range of fruit, uneven ripeness).
Storybook mountain zin - go there in Napa. Look in June - see uneven ripeness.
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