Monday night Blinds at Nopa - Take 2 (with MB)

Wine 1
Served cold in a burgundy glass.

Visual
White wine. Clear, day-bright.
Pale gold with reflections of green in the glass.
No gas/sediment.
Moderate/plus viscosity. [I saw nice defined tears. They were narrow, but clear. I thought that meant Moderate Plus. I think it’s moderate.]

(tasted)
no RS

Nose
(it’s cold)
Green apple skins, unripe pear, underripe asian pear, ripe apple, hint of pyrazines/grass (actually it was just greenness, not pyrazines - vague herbaceousness). As it warmed up, hints of ripe ruby grapefruit segments (without the skin), faint honeyed quality, faint stone fruit - ripe peach. Warm stones.
The nose is moderate minus in intensity. It is clean, youthful.
There’s no evidence of oak, or a tiny bit of French used oak due to the faint sweetness/honey (This isn’t an actual connection… don’t know why I called Fr oak).
It is moderate minus in complexity.

Palate
Dry, medium body, medium alcohol.
High acidity (primarily malic). [at this point I started thinking Chablis, but the malic made me think it wouldn’t be, even though I have no friggen clue - I just assumed a white burgundy would have more tartaric acid]
Again, flavors of green apple, pear, lean fruit, warm stones. Maybe green pyrazines [Just once, a faint hit, while “scrubbing” the palate].
No hint of tannins.
This wine is moderate minus complexity, it is well-balanced, the finish is moderate minus in length, fading into mostly malic acidity.

Initial Conclusions:
This is an Old-World style wine from a cool climate.
Possible varietals are Sauvignon Blanc, Sauv-Semillon blend. [Discarded Chard because of the pyrazines I thought I smelled.]
Possible countries are France. [Went through a list of other countries… nothing stuck out]
Age range is 1-3 years.

Final Conclusions:
I think this wine is from France, I think it’s a Sauvignon Blanc from Sancerre, 2013.

Actual:
2013 Macon-Villages, Les Heritiers du Comte Lafon.
No oak
Southern Burgundy.
$22

Analysis:
The pyrazines led me astray. Also I didn’t give enough weight or confidence to the pommaceous/oxidative fruit character vs. a more tropical/grapefruit/citrus character that might fit Sauv Blanc. Also… it was served in a Burgundy glass!

My flow through the grid faltered in two major points:
I had strong inklings when I smelled pyrazines (and went into self-doubt). Again when I tasted the strong malic acid and thought “This probably isn’t white burgundy because the acidity is just too malic… or is that normal in White Burg?” - again self-doubt. I should just proceed through the grid - “Fall doing the right thing - Justen"

Solutions:
1) Know the grid better.
2) Do it faster, with fewer smells / tastes, and less opportunity for guessing and second-guessing.
3) When the internal dialogue goes “Maybe it’s X? if so, did I really smell Y?” and I feel tempted to taste or smell the wine again (going into “scrubbing” mode), instead, breathe, reset, and continue. Think of hitting the reset button on a boulder problem.

When I re-tasted it, the wine seemed to have transformed! There are a few possible reasons for this.
-It was warmer and thus showing truer to how I prefer to taste whites.
-I “scrubbed” the nose and palate, smelling and tasting so many times to the point of fatigue.
-Now that I know what it is, I know what to look for, and it’s there. It seems so objectively there!

When I re-tasted it after a break, here were my impressions:

Revised Note:
Moderate minus intensity nose, well-integrated and balanced of green apple, ripe yellow apple, unripe pear, hint of warm stones, hint of peach / stone fruit.
No evidence of oak. Clean, youthful.
Moderate minus in complexity. The aromas on the nose are well-balanced and clustered around each other in space. Texturally, the nose is like slightly cool butter being spread upon a hearty dense slice of bread.

In the mouth, dry, moderate minus body, moderate minus alcohol. Again, flavors of green apple, pear, lean fruit, warm stones.
No hint of tannins.
Moderate minus complexity, very nicely balanced (fresh and vibrant, if not exuberant in flavor), the finish is moderate minus in length - it stops a bit short and the tart acidity carries on without the apple/pear/stone fruit flavor.

Score: Very nice! Between 8.5 and 9

--------------------------
Wine 2:
Served in a standard glass.

Visual:
Red wine. Clear, bright.
Dark ruby with hints of red and slight violet on the rim.
Moderate concentration.
Low viscosity (it wasn’t forming tears).
No gas/sediment.

Nose:
Slight oxidation, moderate intensity.
Developing - shows signs of maturation.
Cedar, tobacco (at this point I started projecting Bordeaux), dark fruits. Black raspberries, stewed plums, faint hint of brett. Leather.
A distinct savory tone - very savory. Not umami but a rich reddish brown savoriness. Not the glossy black savoriness of the 95 Pavie-Macquin. A bit more reddish.
No oak or just a little, despite my note of cedar.
Definitely moderately complex.

Palate:
Medium plus body, moderate plus alcohol.
Again ripe sweet plums, dark fruits, black raspberry, distinct savory tones.
Moderate tannins - fine and dusty.
Balanced
Just moderate acidity (I thought it was a bit on the round side, but not Grenache fleshy. Didn’t lack acid, but it wasn’t the elevated acid I was looking for in Italy.
Moderately complex.
Finish is moderate plus in length.
No evidence of oak.

Initial conclusions:
This is an Old World style wine from a moderate climate.
Possible countries are France, Spain.
Possible varietals are Grenache… merlot? malbec?
Age range - developing? (don’t know how long).

Final Conclusions.
France, Grenache-Syrah-Mourvedre blend (because the color was darker than Grenache) from Chateauneuf-de-Pape or Cote du Rhone, vintage 2012 (I thought maybe it had been oxidized but was new based on the color).

Actual:
2009 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (Sangiovese) Podere il Macchione
30 months in 5HI Tonneau casks and 30HI wooden barrels.

Analysis:

LM noted that the savory tone was a key observation, and that my assessment of “just moderate acid” she disagreed with. It’s moderate plus acid - balanced.

Also, it wasn’t necessarily a warm climate - it was a warm year.

Revised note upon re-tasting:
Moderate intensity nose with slight oxidation.
Dark fruit - black raspberries, blackberries.
Distinct and lovely savory tone - ripe tomato. Some faint animal hints - Brett.
Moderate plus complexity.

On the palate, medium plus body, medium alcohol, medium/medium-plus acid - nicely balanced, not excessive at all, with a little crystalline twinkle at the end. Rich flavors of savory black fruit. No evidence of oak. There’s moderate complexity here, slightly generous balance for Sangiovese (2009 was a warm vintage).

Score: Very nice! Between 8.5 and 9

• 2013 Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon Mâcon-Villages 88 Points

  France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Mâcon-Villages

  Clear, day-bright.
  Pale gold with reflections of green in the glass.
  No gas/sediment.
  
  Moderate minus intensity nose, well-integrated and balanced of green apple, ripe yellow apple, unripe pear, hint of warm stones, hint of peach / stone fruit.
  No evidence of oak. Clean, youthful.
  Moderate minus in complexity. The aromas on the nose are well-balanced and clustered around each other in space. Texturally, the nose is like slightly cool butter being spread upon a hearty dense slice of bread.
  
  In the mouth, dry, moderate minus body, moderate minus alcohol. Again, flavors of green apple, pear, lean fruit, warm stones.
  No hint of tannins.
  Moderate minus complexity, very nicely balanced (fresh and vibrant, if not exuberant in flavor), the finish is moderate minus in length - it stops a bit short and the tart acidity carries on without the apple/pear/stone fruit flavor.
  
  Score: Very nice! Between 8.5 and 9

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• 2009 Il Macchione Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 88 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montepulciano, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano

  Clear, bright.
  Dark ruby with hints of red and slight violet on the rim.
  Moderate concentration.
  
  Slight oxidation, moderate intensity.
  Developing - shows signs of maturation.
  Dark fruits. Black raspberries, stewed plums, faint hint of brett. Leather.
  A distinct savory tone - very savory. Not umami but a rich reddish brown savoriness. Not the glossy black savoriness of the 95 Pavie-Macquin. A bit more reddish. Ripe tomato character.
  No oak evidence or just a little (large old barrels?)
  Definitely moderately complex.
  
  On the palate, medium plus body, medium alcohol, medium/medium-plus acid, moderate tannins - fine and dusty - nicely balanced, not excessive at all, with a little crystalline twinkle at the end. Rich flavors of savory black fruit. No evidence of oak. There’s moderate complexity here, slightly generous balance for Sangiovese (2009 was a warm vintage).
  
  Score: Very nice! Between 8.5 and 9

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