Tasting

I NEED A BIGGER KNIFE. (UBC Wine Tasting Sesh #2)

Long-ass day. Doesn’t seem so bad in retrospect, but I woke up early for a 9AM thing at UBC, took the 99 to the last stop for work, and then needed to travel all the way back to UBC to lead Part 2 of the sort-of-intro-to-wine themed tasting, all while wearing pants that weren’t jeans, one of those shirts you’d hate to spill wine on, and shoes that didn’t fit just enough to make my feet cry. The garb was fitting for all of the day’s events but for this day in particular, I would defs have lead a wine tasting wearing nothing but seven layers of random comfortable 7-foot-long linens, cinnamon-bun-Homer-Simpson style. I was that uncomfortable (ugh rain + sickness).… read more

WSET Advanced

NV Lugny Rosé Crémant de Bourgogne

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, pale orange, bubbles
Nose: clean, pronounced, youthful, yeastiness, light strawberry/watermelon notes
Mouth: dry, med body (delicate bubbles), med acid, med+ length, med- alcohol, med intensity
All in all: Very good quality; drink now.

Tasted against the NV Duval-Leroy Brut Rosé Champagne.

This taste comparison was obviously set up to show the differences between a rosé Crémant and a rosé Champagne. Disappointingly enough, it was hard to pick up those definitive toasty notes in one of these wines and not the other. Amusingly enough, what this comparison showed was the potential for great Crémants to exist, something which is apparently not a common thing. Plenty of delicate bubbles, and there was some stinky yeastiness on the nose, along with some light red fruit notes.… read more

WSET Advanced

2010 Joseph Drouhin “Laforet” Chardonnay

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, youthful, sweet, peaches, tropical fruit
Mouth: dry, med- body, med to med+ acidity, med length
All in all: Good quality; drink now; not intended for ageing.

Tasted against the 2006 Louis Jadot Chardonnay Meursault Genevrières.

Initially the really ripe fruits had me guessing a New World Chardonnay from a hot area (unfortunately I didn’t pick up on the acidity), but lo and behold, this was an entry-level Burgundian Chardonnay that borders on that New World ripeness.

Although this is a good entry-level Chardonnay on the lower end of the mid-price range, I feel like I wouldn’t go back to it because there are either wines with a bit more complexity for the same price point or cheaper wines with just-as-ripe fruit.… read more

WSET Advanced

2006 Louis Jadot Chardonnay Meursault Genevrières

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, pale to med- lemon
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, developing, flinty, leesy, apple, oak, butter, nutty
Mouth: dry, med bodied, med+ acidity, long length, med+ alcohol, med+ intensity, citrus, mineral
All in all: Very good quality; Can drink now, but has potential for ageing.

Tasted against the 2010 Joseph Drouhin “Laforet” Chardonnay.

Although I did record my tasting notes and the quality of this wine, the fact that this expensive-as-shit wine wasn’t entirely memorable sort of worries me a bit, and I’m wondering if it just didn’t have enough character in the end. I did note that this wine was well-balanced but could have had more complexity for the price.

Buy this if you’re filthy rich. Otherwise, for the same price, you can buy a cheaper bottle of Chardonnay, dinner, and still have leftover money to do so for the next day or so.… read more

Quaffing

2008 Cave de Lugny Crémant de Bourgogne

Tasting notes:

Eyes: clear, med lemon, froth upon pouring but few bubbles in glass
Nose: clean, med- intensity, citrus, green apple, flint, slight autolytic (or none) – hard to pinpoint
Mouth: dry, persistent bubbles, med- body, high acidity, med+ length
All in all: Good quality; drink now.

So, I recently started a new job (and who knows when this post will be posted?), and I decided to celebrate that and the end of a mediocre exam period with some Crémant! I don’t recall ever trying one (let alone a vintage Champagne-style bubbly) so I thought I’d give it a go.

Basic stuff at first. Medium lemon, obvious froth upon pouring. I was disappointed in the fact that I detected little to no autolytic notes, though.… read more