June 15, 2013 – @sommeligay

WSET Diploma – Section 1 – Week 10

June 15, 2013November 16, 2015 by Josh

June 12, 2013

*insert obligatory “this week has gone by so fast” statement here*

2 more weeks until the exam.

2 more weeks.

Part of me is freaked out, but part of me feels confident that I can pass this thing if I took it right now – I think I’m currently in the solidifying phase, where I’m cementing my knowledge by going through everything and cross-referencing my knowledge using other books. It’s tedious, but it’s also the same phase of studying where you read it and mentally fill in the blanks, and you know it well enough that you can finally recite it. So that’s great.

Not much has happened during the week besides studying, some festivals, and the Game of Thrones finale.… read more

WSET Diploma

2010 Bellingham “The Bernard Series” Old Vine Chenin Blanc

June 15, 2013November 16, 2015 by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med lemon, legs
Nose: clean, developing, med+ intensity, mineral, yellow apple, spice, butter, oak, vanilla, wet wool
Mouth: dry, med+ body, med+ acid, med alcohol, med flavour intensity, med+ length, citrus, lemon, baked apple, butter
All in all: Very good quality: persistent finish, good structure, and a balance found in both the fruit and the secondary characteristics. Drink now, but has potential for short term ageing.
Identity Guess: Mid-priced (Riesling/Pinot Gris/Muscat/Gewurztraminer/Chenin Blanc) from South Africa; 2 years old.
Is really: Mid-priced Chenin Blanc from South Africa; 3 years old.

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 10]

I love Chenin Blanc. I’m not entirely sure why – perhaps because it’s versatile, but in such a different way than Riesling or Chardonnay.… read more

WSET Diploma

2009 Pfaffenheim “Steinert” Gewurztraminer

June 15, 2013November 16, 2015 by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med lemon, legs
Nose: clean, med intensity, developing?, tropical, mango, stone fruit, citrus, honey, sweetness, floral
Mouth: off-dry, med+ body, med- acid, med+ alcohol, med+ flavour intensity, med+ length, ripe stone fruit, spice, floral, rosewater
All in all: Good quality: Persistent, complex, and concentrated, but lacks some structure and the alcohol is a bit warming. Drink now; not suitable for ageing. (Perhaps slightly corked? The instructor has had lots of experience with this wine but it wasn’t the same as she expected – perhaps not as aromatic and complex as it should be.)
Identity Guess: High-priced (Riesling/Pinot Gris/Muscat/Gewurztraminer/Chenin Blanc) from Alsace, France; 2 years old.
Is really: High-priced Gewurztraminer from Alsace, France; 4 years old.… read more

WSET Diploma

2011 Domaine Zind Humbrecht Muscat

June 15, 2013November 16, 2015 by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, youthful, orange blossom, spice, ginger, stone fruit, peach, citrus, cardamom, lychee, fig
Mouth: off-dry, med+ body, med- acid, med alcohol, med+ flavour intensity, savoury, med+ length, ripe peach, apricot, lychee, spice
All in all: Good quality: the wine has aromatic and concentrated fruit and a complex flavour profile, but lacks some structure. Drink now; not suitable for ageing.
Identity Guess: High-priced (Riesling/Pinot Gris/Muscat/Gewurztraminer/Chenin Blanc) from Alsace, France; 2 years old.
Is really: High-priced Muscat from Alsace, France; 2 years old.

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 10]

I often get Gewurztraminer and Muscat mixed up. As soon as I took a sniff, it was perhaps a mistake to write “muscat?… read more

WSET Diploma

2011 Hunter’s Pinot Gris

June 15, 2013November 16, 2015 by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, youthful, stone fruit, peach, apricot, floral, mineral, bit of spice
Mouth: dry, med body, med acid, med alcohol, med+ flavour intensity, med+ length, stone fruit, peach, apricot, floral
All in all: Good quality: a relatively long length follows good balance. Intense flavours, but a bit simple. Drink now; not suitable for ageing.
Identity Guess: Mid-priced (Riesling/Pinot Gris/Muscat/Gewurztraminer/Chenin Blanc); 2 years old.
Is really: Mid-priced Pinot Gris from Marlborough, New Zealand; 2 years old.

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 10]

Heh. This was the wine for which I had to read out my tasting notes. I’m getting better at confirming my notes and not being a nervous wreck when reading them out loud – and much to my surprise, it turns out that my set of notes was good and mostly true to the wine.… read more

WSET Diploma

2009 Hiedler “Urgestein” Riesling

June 15, 2013November 16, 2015 by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med lemon, legs
Nose: clean, youthful, med intensity, mineral, citrus, lemon, lime, hint of petrol, slate, pear, white flowers
Mouth: dry, med body, high acid, med alcohol, med flavour intensity, med length, mineral-driven, citrus, lemon, lime, stony finish, green fruit
All in all: Good quality: there is a good concentration of flavours with a well-balanced structure that may benefit from some ageing, as the complexity is rather modest at the moment. Drink now, but has potential for short term ageing.
Identity Guess: High-priced (Riesling/Pinot Gris/Muscat/Gewurztraminer/Chenin Blanc) from Germany; 2 years old.
Is really: Mid-priced Riesling from Austria; 4 years old.

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 10]

At the very start of this day’s class, we were polled by the instructor: what did we consider the “most noble” white grape variety?… read more

WSET Diploma

2010 Henri Bourgeois “La Côte des Monts Damnés” Sancerre

June 15, 2013November 16, 2015 by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med- lemon, legs
Nose: clean, pronounced intensity, youthful, gooseberry, grapefruit, melon, asparagus, green beans, fresh, floral, grassy, green apple
Mouth: dry, med- body, high acid, med alcohol, med+ flavour intensity, citrus, grapefruit, asparagus, green beans, mineral, med+ finish
All in all: Very good quality: a very characterful grape identity is also well-balanced in its acid; it is also persistent on the palate and has a moderate amount of complexity. Drink now; not suitable for ageing.
Identity Guess: Mid-priced (Chardonnay/Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc/Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Blend) from New Zealand; 2 years old.
Is really: High-priced Sancerre from The Loire Valley, France; 3 years old.

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 10]

Bam. Even though this was a semi-blind flight, even someone new to wine could instantly smell the grassiness that was a Sauvignon Blanc.… read more

WSET Diploma

2009 Cloudy Bay Chardonnay

June 15, 2013November 16, 2015 by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med lemon, legs
Nose: clean, med intensity, developing, oak, spice, butter, apple, pear, popcorn, melon, citrus
Mouth: dry, med+ body, med+ acid, med+ alcohol, med+ flavour intensity, butter, oak, nutty kernel, savoury
All in all: Very good quality: Well-concentrated fruit persists on the finish, and the acidity balances out the fuller body. The nose is a bit simple. Drink now, but has potential for short term ageing.
Identity Guess: High-priced (Chardonnay/Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc/Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Blend) from Sonoma, California; 2 years old.
Is really: High-priced Chardonnay from Marlborough, New Zealand; 4 years old.

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 10]

Where Cabernet Sauvignon is the de facto red grape, I would argue that Chardonnay is the white version – grown everywhere, famously-known, and wrongly-hated.… read more

WSET Diploma

2010 Peter Lehmann “Clancy’s” Semillon Sauvignon Blanc

June 15, 2013November 16, 2015 by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med- lemon, legs
Nose: clean, med intensity, youthful, green apple, honey, pear, spice, mineral, hint of green herbal character, hints of orange
Mouth: dry, med body, med+ acid, med alcohol, med flavour intensity, med finish, lemon, lime, citrus, green apple, pear, mineral
All in all: Good quality: there is a freshness with the well-balanced med+ acid along with a good concentration of fruit, but there is a simplicity that also shows through with warming alcohol. Drink now; not suitable for ageing.
Identity Guess: Mid-priced (Chardonnay/Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc/Sauvignon Blanc + Semillon Blend) from Bordeaux; 2 years old.
Is really: Mid-priced Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Blend from Australia; 3 years old.

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 10]

“Orange” is a common descriptor in Britain for Semillon.… read more

WSET Diploma

2004 Tyrrell’s Wines Vat 1 Semillon

June 15, 2013November 16, 2015 by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med lemon, legs
Nose: clean, med intensity, developing, citrus, lemon, lime, mineral, hint of honey, butter, toasty, smoky minerality, green apple, hint of butter
Mouth: dry, light body, med+ acid, med- alcohol, med+ flavour intensity, med+ finish, citrus, chalky, lemon, lime
All in all: Very good quality: despite lightness, there exists a well-balanced acidity, flavourful electric fruit, developing characteristics, and a longish finish. Drink now, but has potential for ageing.
Identity Guess: High-priced (Chardonnay/Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc/Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Blend) from Hunter Valley, Australia; 4 years old.
Is really: Premium Semillon from Hunter Valley, Australia; 9 years old.

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 10]

Semillon is so hilariously boring in its still, young, and pure versions.… read more