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Anything But (still) Chardonnay - ABC wines | Q3 Wine Club
The Apt
Tasted July 14, 2018 by MC2 Wines with 316 views
Introduction
Our first time doing whites as a theme although given the temperature outside it was exactly the right call. What surprised me is how much I enjoyed all of the different wines. Lots of interesting ones in here. It was a bit tough given the different styles and the breadth of grapes and regions but still quite lovely.
Used our typical penny voting system where every person gets 5 pennies. As two additional wines showed up after we'd voted we gave everyone an extra penny for voting.
Flight 1 - Main tasting (18 notes)
White - Sweet/Dessert
1989 Domaine Huet Vouvray Cuvée Constance
Wine #1: I had a guess on what this was just because the older dessert Vouvrays are pretty distinctive. Some thought maybe d'Yquem, but I think missing the acidity that goes with those. It's very much like burnt orange peel with a lovely sweetness and good age characteristics. At the very end there's almost this drying feeling that tends to leave you wanting more and another sip. In a very nice place right now. Not sure that it's getting much better, but also doubt it's really going anywhere. (5 pennies)
White
2006 Chateau Musar Blanc
Wine #2: Very interesting. Have not had any Lebanese wine and now I've had 3 in the course of 3 days. This had a nice old world character to it. I got a hint of sour or lemon to it. Very light. Very easy to drink. Was interesting while still being refreshing. Enjoyable. (1 penny)
White
2015 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée Roussanne Vieilles Vignes
Wine #3: Lightly sweet. Some beeswax and more of that mouthful characteristic, but here I also get a bit more acidity than I typically associate with this wine. It's lots of honey and honeysuckle. Tasty. (5 pennies)
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Comments (1)
White
1998 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Réserve
Wine #4: I have never had one of these aged so was pretty excited to try. I think there could have been some seepage. The top of the cork was black and it was a bit wet. Still, this seemed to drink very well if a touch light. It's got a hint of the sweet as well. Very good acidity and very focused although with a faded style. Long finish. It's more subtle than the VV which came before and I think in some ways overpowered it a bit. As our own wines were single blind and we brought the Rayas, I actually guessed correctly on this one. (3 pennies)
White
2008 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur Blanc Brézé
Wine #5: Another wine that I don't think quite benefited from its location in the line up. This was just very intense coming off of the Rayas. Slightly sour and mineral and lemon. With some time could see this also had a nice lightness. Funny because one of the folks was trying to sort the Chenin from the non Chenin and this did not come up as the former. It's a very dry version and a bit less intense or heavy. As earlier note mentioned lots of acidity that keeps this just very light. (1 penny)
White
2010 F.X. Pichler Riesling Smaragd Ried Kellerberg
Wine #6: This was an interesting one. Super high acid. A lovely sweetness, but not overdone. Even the person in our group who was avoiding the sweets enjoyed this. Perhaps because it balanced with some petrol flavors (which unlike with some riesling didn't feel overdone or too intense, almost like it was just a counterpoint to the sweet). Enjoyable. (3 pennies)
White
2004 Y de Yquem
Wine #7: One of my favorites of the tasting (it got a penny from me). It's floral with lots of stone fruit - peach and apricot and all of that. But also just very bright and a lovely feminine style elegance. It surprised me as I would have expected this wine to feel like more of a mouthful, but in fact it was very light. Tasty (2 pennies)
White - Off-dry
2016 Joh. Jos. Prüm Bernkasteler Lay Riesling Auslese
Wine #8: From a split. This is like effervescent rock candy. Light and sweet and something that feels almost like a palatte cleanser in the line-up. High acid. Lower petrol although it's still there. Tasty. (5 pennies)
White
1979 Château Laville Haut-Brion Blanc
Wine #9: Perhaps because it was on the heels of a sweet but this came across as a lot sharper. More herbal. Some green. Good age here that was evident. When I revisited I found I liked it a lot more. (2 pennies)
White - Sparkling
2009 Louis Roederer Champagne Vintage Brut
Wine #10: A majority pinot noir blend. In the standard cuvees I find I'm always drawn to this one. It's a hint sharp, bu there's a nice spice note to it and then a bit herbal as well. Good acidity. Started off a bit fizzy since we were using a pourer, but that calmed down. (3 pennies)
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Comment
White
2006 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée Roussanne Vieilles Vignes
Wine #11: The clear winner of the tasting. This was much more herbal in nature than it's little brother. Good character. Some almost green notes, but they were well balanced and not overdone. Right at the end I got a nice white pepper finish. Enjoyable wine. (12 pennies)
White
2012 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Blanc Le Méal
Wine #12: Touch of alcohol right at the beginning. I almost wonder if this needed a touch of a decant. Some honey and spice and black pepper and generally an interesting wine. (1 penny)
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Comment
White - Sparkling
2002 Dom Pérignon Champagne
Wine #13: One of the first times I've really enjoyed a young Dom. The bubbles just melt in this wine. Like they are hardly there. It's very nice and crisp and there's a bit of the dried apple notes. Quite tasty. (5 pennies)
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Comment
White - Sweet/Dessert
1995 Château d'Yquem
Wine #14: A D'Yquem is always something. This has that finish that just lasts forever and continues to change and evolve. Great acidity that keeps the wine from feeling too heavy and yet it's also quite intensely sweet. Feels even a bit young. Very good. (4 pennies).
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Comment
White - Off-dry
2014 Domaine Huet Vouvray Franc de Pied Le Haut-Lieu
Wine #15: Never easy to be on the heels of a sweet wine (I think that's showing up across this tasting) and in this case a D'Yquem. This wine was a bit different. Meant to be a demi-sec I think, but we didn't really get that flavor profile from it. I had that it was a bit different and odd in my notes, but didn't have much else written. Often a wine a like so I wonder if just a touch place in the line-up. (0 pennies)
White - Fortified
1971 Dalva Porto Golden White Colheita
Wine #16: Interesting. Have had white port style wine before, but never from Porto. This was quite nice. Very approachable and sweet and yet there's a certain elegance to it. Don't need very much. Quite satisfying with just a very small pour. Well-liked. (5 pennies)
White
1990 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Klosterberg Riesling Kabinett
Wine #17: Interesting to try this next to a '76 Prum. Felt like the later was actually the young more vibrant wine. As I've gotten older the petrol in aged riesling has become more apparent to me and tends to dominate the flavor. Here that flavor tends to dominate although also a nice sweetness to it. (1 penny)
White - Off-dry
1976 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese
Wine #18: This wine was really nice. One of my favorites of the tasting. Sometimes I think the old Riesling can be a overdone with the petrol flavors, but that wasn't at all the case here. Instead very nice acidity and a good level of sweet and some character from the age. Very tasty. (3 pennies)
1 person found this helpful
Comment
Flight 2 - Bonus bottles (1 note)
Red
2006 Etude Cabernet Sauvignon
Palatte cleanser of a red wine! Which only works in situations where it's mostly white wines. This was a pretty nice standard Napa cab. I like what some years of age does. This was drinking very nicely right now. The fruit becomes a bit less intense and the spice side comes out a bit more. Nice to try. Overshadowed a touch by the whites and the heat of the day.
Closing
Lots of favorites for me.
Here was the group results:
12 pennies:
Wine #11: 2006 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée Roussanne Vieilles Vignes
5 pennies:
Wine #1: 1989 Domaine Huet Vouvray Cuvée Constance
Wine #3: 2015 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Cuvée Roussanne Vieilles Vignes
Wine #8: 2016 Joh. Jos. Prüm Bernkasteler Lay Riesling Auslese
Wine #13: 2002 Dom Perignon Champagne
Wine #16: 1971 Dalva Porto Golden White Colheita
4 pennies:
Wine #14: 1995 Château d'Yquem
3 pennies:
Wine #4: 1998 Château Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Réserve
Wine #6: 2010 F.X. Pichler Riesling Smaragd Dürnsteiner Kellerberg
Wine #10: 2009 Louis Roederer Champagne Vintage Brut
Wine #18: 1976 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese
2 pennies
Wine #7: 2004 Y de Yquem
Wine #9: 1979 Château Laville Haut-Brion Blanc
1 penny:
Wine #2: 2006 Chateau Musar Blanc
Wine #5: 2008 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur Blanc Brézé
Wine #12: 2012 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Blanc Le Méal
Wine #17: 1990 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Klosterberg Riesling Kabinett
No pennies
Wine #15:2014 Domaine Huet Vouvray Franc de Pied Le Haut-Lieu