Tag: White

WSET Diploma

2011 Blue Mountain Pinot Gris

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med- lemon, legs
Nose: clean, med- intensity, youthful, butter, vanilla, green apple, pear, citrus, melon
Mouth: dry, med+ acidity, med alcohol, med+ body, med flavour intensity, butter, green apple, med length
All in all: Good quality: noticeable varietal and secondary characteristics are well-supported by balanced acid. However, the alcohol is slightly out of balance, and the wine seems a little simple (although now knowing the price, this is a great QPR.). Drink now: not suitable for ageing.
Identity guess: Mid-priced Chardonnay from Chile; 2 years old.
Is really: Mid-priced Pinot Gris from British Columbia; 2 years old.

2011 Blue Mountain Pinot Gris

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 3]

Ah, Blue Mountain. Of course this was chosen for the marketing class, because anyone who regularly drinks BC wines will know Blue Mountain.… read more

Quaffing

2010 Marcel Deiss Riesling

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med lemon, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, youthful, honey, mineral, lemon, lime, floral, “butter”/musk/rubber, green apple
Mouth: dry, med bodied, high acid, med alcohol, med+ flavour intensity, long finish, mineral, green apple, hint of honey, lemon, lime, zest
All in all: Very good quality: along with a lengthy finish, an intense and concentrated nose and palate are further strengthened by a balanced and bright acidic structure, allowing this wine to age. As a result, though, this wine isn’t as complex as it can be in its years to come. Can drink now, but has potential for ageing.

2011 Marcel Deiss RieslingI’ve officially worked at this wine job for a year! This wine was one for celebrating, plus served as a lifting brightness for one of those weeks that wasn’t so bad in theory but was shitty anyways.… read more

Quaffing

2011 Hartenberger Gewurztraminer

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med- lemon
Nose: clean, pronounced intensity, youthful, ginger, ripe apricot, mineral, tropical fruit, lychee, floral, ripe banana
Mouth: dry to off-dry, full-bodied, med acid, high alcohol, med+ length, pronounced intensity, floral, mineral, ripe stone fruit
All in all: Good quality; drink now.

2011 Hartenberg GewurztraminerRarely do I ever try single varietal Gewürztraminers. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it’s because they sort of seem just a tad been-there-done-that. With a nose so distinctive and unforgettable despite the region, it almost seems as if you won’t get much variation out of them, which is of course, completely untrue. I think I like to explore rather than cover my basics, which probably hurts rather than helps me.

All get drunk in the end, though.… read more

WSET Diploma

2011 Export Union GmbH Piesporter Treppchen Riesling

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon-green, legs
Nose: clean, med- intensity, youthful, apple, light floral, peach, slight ginger spice
Mouth: off-dry (I still say medium-dry), med acid, low alcohol, med- body, med- flavour intensity, peach, lemon, med- finish, floral
All in all: Acceptable quality: the wine has enough acid to balance out the sweetness, but doesn’t have enough fruit to balance out either. The fruit that is there is merely simple. The length is rather short, and the wine seems relatively thin with a slightly bitter finish.
Identity Guess: Mid-priced Californian Moscato; 2 years old.
Is really: Inexpensive German Riesling; 2 years old.

2011 Export Union GmbH Piesporter Treppchen Riesling

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 2]

There was a bit of this spicy ginger-y burnt hair thing that I got off the nose which I remember smelling in some Moscato (who knows, maybe that’s the burnt match aroma of too much sulfites), so that’s where it took me.… read more

WSET Diploma

2010 Chapoutier Schieferkopf Lieu-Dit Fels Riesling

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med+ lemon, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, youthful, almond, butter, floral, green apple, citrus, stone fruit
Mouth: dry, high acid, med alcohol, med+ body, med+ flavour intensity, lemon, butter, oily, creamy, long finish, minerality, stone fruit
All in all: Very good quality: distinct and concentrated character on both the nose and palate. The acidity prevents the weighty character from being cloying, and there is a long length. The wine lacks a bit of complexity that prevents it from being outstanding. Can drink now, but has potential for ageing due to a firm structure and great intensity.
Identity guess: High-priced Australian Chardonnay; 2 years old.
Is really: Premium Alsatian Riesling; 3 years old.

2010 Chapoutier Schieferkopf Lieu-Dit Fels Riesling

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 2]

Oh God.… read more

WSET Diploma

2011 Prospect Winery “Ogopogo’s Lair” Pinot Grigio

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon, slow-forming legs, some bubbles
Nose: clean, med- intensity, mineral, youthful, pear, apple, peach
Mouth: dry, med- bodied, med+ acid, high flavour intensity, short length, med alcohol, lemon, peach
All in all: Good quality: a relatively high acidity is well-balanced and flavours are concentrated on the palate, but this lacks complexity and length. Drink now; not suitable for ageing.

2011 Prospect Winery "Ogopopo's Lair" Pinot Grigio

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

I could tell right away that this was a wine that I was “trained” to turn my nose up at. A relatively neutral nose exploded with bordering-on-spritzy and fresh fruit characteristics on the palate. Definitely a less serious but drinkable wine in a New World style – I almost understand why such a varietal is so popular.… read more

WSET Diploma

2011 Kris Pinot Grigio della Venezie

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, medium lemon, slow-forming legs
Nose: clean, med- intensity, youthful, mineral, lemon, apple
Mouth: dry, med bodied, med+ acidity, med alcohol, med+ flavour intensity, med alcohol, med finish, lemon, peach
All in all: Good quality: components are in balance, and a med+ flavour intensity suits the nature of the wine. Could be a little bit more complex and have longer length. Drink now; not suitable for ageing.

2011 Franz Haas "Kris" Pinot Grigio della Venezie

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

Unlike the other WSET classes I’ve done, we instead start off with Pinot Grigio. Two of them. Not even Pinot Gris. Fair, I guess, but still slightly underwhelming, but a nice refresher on doing tasting notes.

This time around WSET has simplified colour intensity descriptors, meaning that there will only be three descriptors (pale/medium/deep) instead of the three plus the two extended middling descriptors (pale/medium(-)/medium/medium(+)/deep).… read more

Tasting

Joiefarm Wines – 2012

Posted on by Josh

I had the opportunity to try six of Joiefarm’s wines today, all being part of the new 2012 vintage.

Hilariously pronounced by many customers (“Joey”) – some with confidence, some hesitant, and most with charm – these wines are popular with the locals, but personally, I’ve never been drawn to their wines. They take advantage of BC’s relatively cooler climate and vinify mostly white grapes, although their PTG has been praised by Jancis Robinson (all hail the queen). All good checkboxes for reasons to buy, but perhaps it’s the 20-30 dollar price point (which honestly, makes sense for some good BC wine anyways) or perhaps it’s the weird combination that the labels bring: simple but somehow ugly. That’s just me, though.… read more

Quaffing

1991 Chateau Musar Blanc

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med gold
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, developed, honey, beeswax, butterscotch, cabbage, garbage water, wet asphalt, mushroom, citrus
Mouth: dry, med- body, med+ acid, long length, med- alcohol, honey, citrus, savoury, beeswax, nutty, slight salty
All in all: Very good quality; drink now, but can age.

I’m officially the president for the UBC Wine Tasting Club! Hurrah! I wanted to open something nice for my co-workers and I as an excuse. I bounced around between several bottles before settling on this dude. And then I realized how poor I am. Yay!

1991 Chateau Musar BlancThe cork was horrifying. Upon lifting the foil at the top, we discovered that the cork almost had something like a mini-pool of wine at the top and was damp all throughout.… read more

Quaffing

2009 Joachim Ress Riesling

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon
Nose: clean, med- intensity, developing, stone fruit, hint petrol, juicy, hint tropical, vanilla
Mouth: off-dry, med- body, med acid, med- length, med intensity, med- alcohol, stone fruit
All in all: Good quality; drink now.

Edit (July 7th, 2013) – either some bottle variation, or a colder wine temperature, but this was a solid med+ acidity right out of the fridge.

First and foremost, I was happy to see – or smell, rather – some level of petrol in this wine. Disappointing was the lack of intensity and complexity.

The touch of sweetness was nice, and was balanced with a decent amount of acid. I would have loved to see more acid and complexity, but this is a solid wine that was rooted to the Old World elegance while appealing to a broad audience.… read more