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Wine Dojo - Week 4 - No Sugar, Just Spice!!!
Annette's Place
Tasted March 26, 2018 by Heynetty with 173 views
Introduction
Impact Compounds Pyrazine and Rotundone are well sought after in wines of several of the world's most popular white and red varietals.
Whilst pyyrazine compounds give aromas of crisp green bell pepper, green peppercorns and chocolate mint, they may also give notes of old asparagus. Done right, these pyrazines are so desirable in wines like Sauvignon Blanc that the 2nd biggest wine producer in South Africa, was busted in 2004 for illegally adding pyrazine flavouring to its Laborie and KWV Reserve Sauvignon Blancs.
Rotundone compounds give aromas of black pepper, white pepper, marjoram and cocoa powder. They add spectacular signature spice to several white and red varietals but some 20% of the population are unable to detect them even at very high concentrations. Can you?
In this week's tasting, we tackle wines containing one of these compounds and see if you can detect them, taste the difference between pyrazines and rotundone or separate one peppery varietal from another.
Fasten your seatbelts, its going to be a SPICY night!!!
Flight 1 - Single Blinds - PYRAZINE-RICH whites (3 notes)
White
2016 Craggy Range Sauvignon Blanc Single Vineyard Te Muna Road Vineyard
88 points
Tasted Blind
A: Pale lemon green and bright.
N: Grassy, gooseberry, guava, passionfruit, lime. Youthful with pronounced intensity
P: Dry, medium (+) acidity, medium alcohol (13%), medium body, pronounced intensity and medium (+) finish.
C: Not complex but ticks for Balance, Length and Intensity. A Very Good Quality wine.
Could keep but this style of wine is for early drinking. Its a good one. Never tried SB from the North Island before and so this was a treat.
A: Pale lemon green and bright.
N: Grassy, gooseberry, guava, passionfruit, lime. Youthful with pronounced intensity
P: Dry, medium (+) acidity, medium alcohol (13%), medium body, pronounced intensity and medium (+) finish.
C: Not complex but ticks for Balance, Length and Intensity. A Very Good Quality wine.
Could keep but this style of wine is for early drinking. Its a good one. Never tried SB from the North Island before and so this was a treat.
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White
2016 Pierre Archambault Sancerre
Tasted Blind
A: Pale lemon
N: yeast, lemon, apple, very slight capsicum. Youthful and pronounced.
P: More capsicum, lime, wet stone.
Dry, high acidity, medium alcohol (12.5%), medium body and finish. Pronounced intensity.
C: BLICt? Its isn't complex but its a Very Good Quality wine. Balanced, intense and typical of Sancerre. I find it a little underwhelming. Drink up.
A: Pale lemon
N: yeast, lemon, apple, very slight capsicum. Youthful and pronounced.
P: More capsicum, lime, wet stone.
Dry, high acidity, medium alcohol (12.5%), medium body and finish. Pronounced intensity.
C: BLICt? Its isn't complex but its a Very Good Quality wine. Balanced, intense and typical of Sancerre. I find it a little underwhelming. Drink up.
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White
2016 Kurt Angerer Grüner Veltliner Kiesling
89 points
Tasted Blind
A: Pale lemon
N: SMOKE, butter?, is that vanilla? maybe not. Perhaps some brioche, jasmine, tart apple, lime, asparagus, white pepper and earth. Youthful and medium (+) intensity
P: Aromas confirmed. Dry, medium (+) body, medium alcohol, medium (+) acid, medium intensity and medium finish.
C: BLIC? Ticks everywhere. i wouldn't say this was typical however. I think its an outstanding quality wine and the lees aging has given it some great body. The yeasty brioche i think is lees aging and MLF. Its wonderful and i didn't guess what the heck this was at all in terms of grapes. I thought it was a chardonnay from Northern Burgundy. Thats common for older grüner apparently but not for something this young. ATYPICAl but absolutely delicious.
A: Pale lemon
N: SMOKE, butter?, is that vanilla? maybe not. Perhaps some brioche, jasmine, tart apple, lime, asparagus, white pepper and earth. Youthful and medium (+) intensity
P: Aromas confirmed. Dry, medium (+) body, medium alcohol, medium (+) acid, medium intensity and medium finish.
C: BLIC? Ticks everywhere. i wouldn't say this was typical however. I think its an outstanding quality wine and the lees aging has given it some great body. The yeasty brioche i think is lees aging and MLF. Its wonderful and i didn't guess what the heck this was at all in terms of grapes. I thought it was a chardonnay from Northern Burgundy. Thats common for older grüner apparently but not for something this young. ATYPICAl but absolutely delicious.
Flight 2 - Single Blinds - ROTUNDONE-RICH reds (4 notes)
Red
2015 Bodegas Juan Gil Monastrell Jumilla
89 points
Tasted Blind
A: Medium ruby with purple highlights
N: Stewed plum and stewed cherry, ripe strawberry , black pepper, meat, woodsmoke, cloves, liquorice, and earth. Medium (+) intensity. Developing
P: Aromas confirmed. Adding coffee, chocolate, baking spice and raspberry jam.
Dry, medium (+) acid, medium (+) tannin, high alcohol, full body, medium (+) length, medium intensity. Medium (+) finish from memory.
C: Its a little hot. The alcohol is intense at 15.5%. Everyone thought this was New World but it just bore the hallmarks of a hot climate. Bear in mind that this region has wines of 18% abv. And so this is positively restrained. Not balanced but ticks for length, intensity and complexity.
Varietal was surprising here. I thought this was a new world syrah that was crazy extracted but its 100% Mourvedre/Monostrell. FANTASTIC.
$15/bottle. This would be great for a BBQ in Spring or early Autumn. you don't want to deal with this alcohol in the Summer.
A: Medium ruby with purple highlights
N: Stewed plum and stewed cherry, ripe strawberry , black pepper, meat, woodsmoke, cloves, liquorice, and earth. Medium (+) intensity. Developing
P: Aromas confirmed. Adding coffee, chocolate, baking spice and raspberry jam.
Dry, medium (+) acid, medium (+) tannin, high alcohol, full body, medium (+) length, medium intensity. Medium (+) finish from memory.
C: Its a little hot. The alcohol is intense at 15.5%. Everyone thought this was New World but it just bore the hallmarks of a hot climate. Bear in mind that this region has wines of 18% abv. And so this is positively restrained. Not balanced but ticks for length, intensity and complexity.
Varietal was surprising here. I thought this was a new world syrah that was crazy extracted but its 100% Mourvedre/Monostrell. FANTASTIC.
$15/bottle. This would be great for a BBQ in Spring or early Autumn. you don't want to deal with this alcohol in the Summer.
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Red
2016 Bedrock Wine Co. Old Vine Zinfandel
Tasted Blind
A: Medium Ruby. High viscosity. Light staining.
N: Plum, blackberry, blueberry, black pepper. Fruit is super jammy. Medium intensity and youthful.
P: Aromas confirmed. Dry, medium acidity, medium (+) tannin and body. High alcohol, medium intensity and medium (-) finish.
C: Too jammy with not enough acidity to deal with it. Not balanced, no length, no complexity. This is an Acceptable Quality wine.
R got his peach yoghurt marker.
A: Medium Ruby. High viscosity. Light staining.
N: Plum, blackberry, blueberry, black pepper. Fruit is super jammy. Medium intensity and youthful.
P: Aromas confirmed. Dry, medium acidity, medium (+) tannin and body. High alcohol, medium intensity and medium (-) finish.
C: Too jammy with not enough acidity to deal with it. Not balanced, no length, no complexity. This is an Acceptable Quality wine.
R got his peach yoghurt marker.
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Red
2015 Bodegas Ateca Calatayud Atteca Armas Old Vines
Tasted Blind
A: Medium Ruby
N: iodine, meat, smoke prunes, rosemary, lavender, earth , olive, mushroom. Developing.
P: Aromas confirmed. Dry, high alcohol (15.5%) medium (+) acid, medium body and intensity. Medium (+) finish.
C: This could have been a Syrah. I think it gets a tick for BL and maybe complexity. Not too intense. Very good Quality wine. Just would like more fresh fruit and intensity to start if i were to lay this down.
A: Medium Ruby
N: iodine, meat, smoke prunes, rosemary, lavender, earth , olive, mushroom. Developing.
P: Aromas confirmed. Dry, high alcohol (15.5%) medium (+) acid, medium body and intensity. Medium (+) finish.
C: This could have been a Syrah. I think it gets a tick for BL and maybe complexity. Not too intense. Very good Quality wine. Just would like more fresh fruit and intensity to start if i were to lay this down.
Red
2014 Domaine Des Hauts Chassis Crozes-Hermitage Les Galets
86 points
tasted Blind
A: Pale ruby
N: Bruised plum, black pepper, pomegranate, violet, lavender, white pepper, raspberry and VA.
P: Aromas confirmed. Dry, medium (+) acid, medium body, medium alcohol, medium tannin, intensity and finish.
C: Balanced for sure but no real complexity. I am giving half ticks for the other BLIC components. I really like them more concentrated than this.
The 2011 knocked spots off this one.
A: Pale ruby
N: Bruised plum, black pepper, pomegranate, violet, lavender, white pepper, raspberry and VA.
P: Aromas confirmed. Dry, medium (+) acid, medium body, medium alcohol, medium tannin, intensity and finish.
C: Balanced for sure but no real complexity. I am giving half ticks for the other BLIC components. I really like them more concentrated than this.
The 2011 knocked spots off this one.