Blind Tasting with Emma from the Bristol Wine Company

Goldney Hall, Bristol
Tasted Thursday, November 20, 2008 by Benj with 412 views

Introduction

Nine teams of 7-8 people per team (there were 6 on ours, and three weren't really playing, so we felt we had a bit of a disadvantage. However, we were all pretty inexperienced tasters, and it was all a lot of fun).

Flight 1 (1 Note)

  • 2007 Domaine de l'Arfentiere Mâcon-Uchizy 87 Points

    France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Mâcon-Uchizy

    Light, low intensity. Nose: slight caramel, some good fruit. Palate: a little drying on the mouth at the end, quite well balanced, good acidity, pretty light body, alcohol not at all evident. For £9.50, not the greatest buy ever but a solid wine.

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Flight 2 (1 Note)

  • 2007 Albet i Noya Xarello Penedès 82 Points

    Spain, Catalunya, Penedès

    Nose: a little peach syrup and green apples, lime rind. Almost riesling-y. Palate: Pretty dry but a little residual sugar, slightly too acidic but sound. Very fresh and lively, but for £8.15 a bit overpriced.

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Flight 3 (1 Note)

  • 2006 Yalumba Riesling The Y Series 73 Points

    Australia, South Australia

    Thin (not subtle, thin), weak, acidic, not impressive. Some sound fruit, but not particularly riesling-y either in my opinion. Another New World disappointment for Riesling. A lot of people are much higher than me on this wine, and that's understandable. It's a perfectly drinkable wine, but for my palate, just my palate, it's really not acceptable. Riesling's rarely cheap, so £8 isn't absurd, but it's too much to pay for this kind of quality I think.

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Flight 4 (1 Note)

Flight 5 (1 Note)

  • 2005 d'Arenberg Shiraz The Footbolt 84 Points

    Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

    Alcoholic, thick, dark, strong, quite tannic, big fruit, spicy. A little overwhelming for me - not for my palate but a lot of people like this style. Typical big bold Australian Shiraz. However, even if you like that style I think you can probably get this quality for cheaper (this costs £11.50)

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Closing

We came third out of nine teams. Not too bad for our first wine tasting. For our inexperienced palates we thought we did ok. Nailed the Aussie Shiraz, didn't get the Xarello (had never had one), got very confused by the Riesling, thought the Merlot was a Pinot Noir, almost got the Chardonnay but got country of origin for most. We will be going back to many more! It was also very interesting to try new wines with no preconceptions and rate them accordingly. When I found out what the wines were, I wasn't really surprised by any except the Merlot, which was a breath of fresh air and will be trying to get a hold of some.

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