Tag: Red

WSET Diploma

2009 Château Potensac

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, deep purple
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, youthful to developing, blackcurrant, nutmeg, oak, chocolate
Mouth: dry, med+ bodied, med acid, med+ ripe tannin, med+ alcohol, med intensity, med+ finish, blackcurrant, oak
All in all: Very good quality: The wine is concentrated in its intensity, complex in its aromas, and is structurally sound; however, although the tannins are ripe, they are slightly off-balance and need time to soften. Can drink now, but has potential for ageing.

2009 Château Potensac

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

Deep, dark, and concentrated nose dominated by dark fruit and oak, while the palate was concentrated and powerful, and bordered on ripe, so it wasn’t surprising to me when others guessed that this was from the New World.… read more

WSET Diploma

Jackson Triggs “Proprietor’s Selection” Merlot

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med ruby, pale rim
Nose: clean, med intensity, youthful, baked blackberries, blueberries, confectionary
Mouth: dry, med- bodied, med- acid, low tannin, med alcohol, med flavour intensity, short length, juicy fruit from a bit of residual sugar.
All in all: Acceptable quality. The good amount of juicy fruit gives a quaffable nature, but lacks in concentration, complexity, and varietal character. Drink now; not suitable for ageing.

Jackson Triggs "Proprietor's Selection" Merlot

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

I wouldn’t have been able to say this years ago, but now I’m used to it: a wine like this was dominated by a confected and baked fruity nose, mostly cancelling out any varietal character. A second opinion by the palate confirmed that it was thin and out of balance, with a bit of residual sugar that added a juiciness and newbie-attracting character.… read more

Quaffing

2010 Fattoria Colmone della Marca Bianco del Moro

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, water white with peachy tinge
Nose: clean, low to med- intensity, youthful to developing, vanilla, spice, floral, subtle woodiness, apple
Mouth: dry, med body, med- to med acid, med+ alcohol, med- intensity, med- length, bitter citrus rind
All in all: Good quality; drink now.

DSC_0540

Blind tasting time!

A clear, almost colourless wine. I wasn’t sure whether or not the hint of peachiness in the wine was due to the red stains in the wine glasses we were using or because of some strangely coloured grape. Like Gewurztraminer.

The nose was weird. I captured little to no fruit – just an ethanol-like spice, a slight neutral vanilla fruitiness, and neutral wood. Further smelling revealed a flutter of apples and more notably, nuts.… read more

WSET Advanced

2009 Koyle Carmenère Reserva

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, deep ruby
Nose: clean, med+ to high intensity, youthful, blackcurrant, green bell pepper, soy
Mouth: dry, med body, med- to med acid, med to med+ (but soft) tannin, med length, med+ intensity, med+ alcohol, a bit of tartness
All in all: Good quality, drink now.

Carmenère is an interesting one. Although it usually does have that methoxypyrazine character found in many Chilean wines plus that Chilean “funk”, the hallmark of Carmenère (to me) are usually the said characteristics plus darker fruits and a soy sauce character that I can find in lots of aerobic winemaking-type wines like some Spanish Tempranillos, except a bit fleshier. It’s tough explaining the “soy sauce” bit to customers sometimes without making it sound repulsive.… read more

Life

2013 Term 2 Week 4 – FNH 330 is a total joke

Posted on by Josh

Last week ended off nicely. 5 of us went to the Sandbar on Granville Island for Dine Out Vancouver and then we went clubbing afterwards which was high-energy yet somehow boring and bordering on chore-like as the night went on. I’m definitely not a club-goer: glancing at awkward guys who dance like they’re hailing cabs and saving my female friends from over-friendly chaps aren’t really my favourite things, but if I have to go a club, I’d at least like to dance 1) drunk; 2) oblivious to anyone around me but my friends; and 3) to guilt-free Top 40 music (hey: time and place, right?) which I didn’t even get: the music was shitty(/shittier) and I knew little to none of the music.… read more

Quaffing

holiday wines with the co-workers

Posted on by Josh

Overdue post, but it’s all good. Some time in December one of us hosted another staff get together complete with an amazing multiple-course home-cooked meal, which included:

– roasted celeriac soup
– kohlrabi slaw with cranberries and walnuts
– beet salad (with goat cheese)
– braised white beans
– roast chicken

It was so good that most of the food is still weirdly vivid in my mind despite this being around 4 weeks ago. Alas, I don’t remember the wines as well – I do remember one of us trying to act as a lion for a charades clue. The phrase was “The Chronicles of Narnia”.

Oh, and one of us was sick which sucked, which means we had no mashed potatoes.… read more

WSET Advanced

2007 Faiveley “Paulée” Bourgogne

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, pale to med- garnet
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, developing, strawberry, spice, spice, savoury
Mouth: dry, light bodied, med+ acidity, low to med- tannin, med alcohol, med- to med length, spice, redcurrant
All in all: Very good quality; drink now.

We compared this basic Bourgogne to a Premier Cru Burgundy that was thirty dollars more. This is great value for a basic Pinot without breaking the bank. I’ve heard mixed reviews about this wine in particular, but you really get that true Burgundian character out of this for every single dollar. Sure – it lacks a bit of haunting secondary character you might expect from a red Burgundy, but that’s why it’s 20 dollars. I’m not entirely sure why, but my table had a hard time determining which of the two wines was which.… read more

WSET Advanced

2008 Caymus Zinfandel

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, deep ruby (to slight purple)
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, developing, spice, dried black fruit, oak, raisins
Mouth: dry, med+ body, med+ acid, med tannins, med to med+ length, high alcohol, med+ intensity, dried black fruit
All in all: Very good quality; can drink now, but has potential for ageing.

I distinctly remember having the exact same wine for the Intermediate level of WSET and it’s so easy to see why a relatively new wine drinker (especially someone more akin to the more masculine and hearty grapes), would like something like this. This is an intense, big, and well-concentrated wine that made me fall in love with Zinfandel, much to the dismay of other wine enthusiasts who gave me a look whenever I told them Zinfandel was my favourite grape (at the time).… read more

WSET Advanced

2008 Chateau Grand Mayne Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, deep ruby
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, developing, darker fruit, peppery, oak, soy
Mouth: dry, med+ body, med+ acidity, med tannin, med+ to long length, med+ alcohol, med+ intensity, lush
All in all: Good to very good quality; drink now, but has potential for ageing.

It’s so tough. A wine like this has all the ingredients for a wine intended for ageing: a good amount of tannin, a good amount of acidity, and the beginnings of some youthful characteristics that can develop. The problem is that this wine, for the time being, is still quite amazingly boring. You can probably find the a similar blend from Southern France with the sacrifice of not having an age-worthy wine.

Much like the wine we compared this to, I mistook it for an Aussie Shiraz (eek…might have been what I’m guessing is an uncalibrated morning palate or the power of suggestion).… read more

WSET Advanced

2010 Chateau Roc de Segur Bordeaux Supérieur

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, med+ ruby
Nose: clean, med intensity, youthful, candied red fruit, prune
Mouth: dry, high acidity, med- body, med- tannin, med- length, med- intensity, med+ alcohol
All in all: Good quality; drink now, but not intended for ageing.

A blind tasting guess of an Aussie Shiraz might give you an indication of what this was like. Jammy, candied, and probably catered to the ever-so-slightly-sweet-impression-but-still-dry palate of the New World’s consumer palate. It seems, though, that I shaved some points of for a slight lack in balance and intensity. The length and complexity were also lacking, and this is definitely not what I would call a typical Merlot-dominated Bordeaux. It would break my heart to see people think that this was a classic example.… read more