Category: WSET Diploma

WSET Diploma

Thinking ’bout Gew: 2012 Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Gewurztraminer

Posted on by Josh

2012 Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Gewurztraminer[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3  – Week 1]

It’s often hard to forget grapes like Gewurztraminer. I adore how Oz Clarke describes the grape as wanting to “please everybody”, such that it dolls itself up: it’s voluptuous, perfumed, and heady. At times, it reminds me of either the quirky and suave fellow or the aunt who seems to only appear at those family gatherings and you know she’s just there because you can smell the perfume from miles away. That’s the classic Alsatian expression, of course, and there exist some leaner examples which are delicious but are almost disappointing when all you want are, according to Oz Clarke, “clouds of Yves Saint Laurent’s Opium, Calvin Klein’s Obsession and Giorgio of Beverley Hills to billow out before you, announcing the arrival of the one grape no one can resist.”… read more

WSET Diploma

“This bitch is definitely going to order a Pumpkin Spice Latte”: 2013 Bellingham “The Bernard Series” Vieilles Vignes Chenin Blanc

Posted on by Josh

2013 Bellingham "The Bernard Series" Vieilles Vignes Chenin Blanc[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3  – Week 1]

I’ve had this wine in class before. And then I had it in a restaurant forgetting that I had it in class before. And then I had it in class again – and I thought the wine was fantastic all three times. Besides the change from “Old Vines” to “Vieilles Vignes”, I’m stoked that my tasting notes were generally in the same camp. The first time around we were given 5 white wines to match with 5 different grape varieties so Chenin Blanc was basically a given, but this time around it was a little tougher.

I mean, you smell heavy oak and baked apple on the nose with that identical echo on the palate, and you immediately think new world oaked Chardonnay.… read more

WSET Diploma

Untuned Violin: 2011 Château Grand Renom Bordeaux Blanc

Posted on by Josh

2011 Château Grand Renom Bordeaux Blanc[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 1]

Inaugural WSET Diploma Unit 3 wine! In other words, it’s the wine that begins the descent into the most tortuous unit of the whole shindig. The first sip has sealed the deal and I feel like I’ve sold my soul to the devil. What have I done?!

Sauvignon Blanc is such a gettable grape that it almost freaks me out that it didn’t come to me on the first sniff. Simple minerals and citrus, I thought, so this must be a run-of-the-mill white bread Pinot Grigio from Italy. Luckily the two other white wines in the flight were distinct – from the baked apple and oaky glass of the second, to the soft floral lychee of the third – so when I came back to the first wine the typical greenness was a little more evident.… read more

WSET Diploma

Semen of Dionysus: NV Seppelt “GR 113” Rare Muscat Rutherglen

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, deep brown, legs
Nose: clean, pronounced intensity, fully developed, figs, Christmas cake, spice, wood, earth, mineral, brown sugar, raisin, cinnamon, nutmeg, white pepper, dried fruit, burnt toffee, ripe citrus, hint floral
Mouth: luscious, full-bodied, med fortification, med- acid, long length, pronounced intensity, cola, fig, earth, spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, Christmas cake
All in all: Outstanding quality: given its style, the wine is balanced, intensely flavoured, boasts complex characteristics, and has a very long length. Drink now, not suitable for ageing.

NV Seppelt "GR 113" Rare Muscat RutherglenSeven HELLS this was delicious. I’m not even going to go with the vague “bodily fluids” description here like I did with that unctuous Pedro Ximénez. Where the PX was sort of verging on the “very good” to “outstanding” range, this was undeniably smack-dab in the “outstanding” category.… read more

WSET Diploma

Break-up wine and cheap buckets of ice cream: KWV Paarl Cape Tawny

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med- tawny, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, developing, spice, brown sugar, dried red fruit, caramel
Mouth: sweet, med+ body, med fortification, low acid, med length, med+ intensity, candied citrus, brown sugar, caramel, hint red fruit, nutty undertones
All in all: Good quality: harmonized and balanced components along with rather intense but simple flavours accompany this great-valued fortified wine. Could use more complexity and length. Drink now, not suitable for ageing.

KWV Paarl Cape TawnyThis wine was more of a quick afterthought and I’m sad that we didn’t really talk about it some more, though it was probably overshadowed by the wines surrounding it. It was the sixth wine in our flight out of seven: the first four costed a bit more and were superlative in their respective categories, and the fifth wine was both shitty and cheap but still served to show something.… read more

WSET Diploma

#no: Brights “74” Apera

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med- blood orange?, legs
Nose: clean?, low intensity, youthful?, nothing – faint scents of nuts gently macerated in rubbing alcohol if you really tried
Mouth: medium-sweet, alcohol, slightly nutty, cough syrup, med body, Halls, low acid, med length, med+ flavour intensity
All in all: No.

Brights "74" AperaThis was repulsive and we tasted it for educational purposes. The classmate to my left thought it was hilarious that I was writing a tasting note because it was that horrid, and I really thought it wouldn’t be.

The wine was a strange colour between pink and pale brown. The nose seemed to have faint ghostly aromas of the slightly nutty and alcoholic aftermath that were probably low-quality grapes destined for high-yielding “sherry” production.… read more

WSET Diploma

Dita Von Teese: 2011 Jean-Marc Lafage Maury Vin Doux Naturel

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, deep ruby, legs
Nose: clean, pronounced intensity, youthful, chocolate, chocolate-covered cherries, black cherry, red fruit, dried fruit, black fruit, earth, mineral, blackberry, RASPBERRY
Mouth: sweet, med body, low fortification, med acid, cherry, raspberry, black cherry, cherry cola, black forest cake, chocolate, pronounced flavour intensity, med+ length
All in all: Very good quality: this fortified wine has an intense and almost archetypal flavour profile. Balanced and concentrated, but could have more complexity. Drink now, not suitable for ageing.

2011 Jean-Marc Lafage Maury Vin Doux NaturelI honestly don’t know much about Dita Von Teese. But she was one of the first things that came to mind when I was trying to come up with something or someone that resembled the fluid and seamless character of this sweet and heady wine, while also having some form of direct intensity.… read more

WSET Diploma

Overly Attached Girlfriend: 2012 Arnoux Trésor du Clocher Muscat de Beaumes de Venise

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon, legs
Nose: clean, pronounced intensity, youthful, mineral, grapey, floral, orange blossom, stone fruit, peach, ripe apple, pear
Mouth: sweet, med body, low acid, low fortification, med+ flavour intensity, gummy bears, floral, hint bitterness of finish, stone fruit, med length
All in all: Good quality: the wine is a bit cloying, though this is expected. It’s concentrated and intense, though also almost too direct an one-note as a result. Drink now, not suitable for ageing.

2012 Arnoux Trésor du Clocher Muscat de Beaumes de VeniseMuscat is almost so unmistakable that some wines that it makes are sort of like archetypal stock characters. Meme-like, in a sense, hence the whole Overly Attached Girlfriend sort of thing, where this wine literally smells like a bouquet of orange blossoms, fruity perfume, candy, and it also seems to not want to completely release from the back of your palate in a bit of a partially cloying frenzy.… read more

WSET Diploma

“Here Comes the Sun” – The Beatles: Leacock’s 15 Year Old Medium Rich Bual

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med brown, legs
Nose: clean, pronounced intensity, fully developed, spice, brown sugar, earth, mineral, roasted almonds, caramelized sugar, figs, molasses, hint citrus, coffee
Mouth: medium-sweet, med+ bodied, high fortification, high acid, med+ length, med+ intensity, brown sugar, spice, earth, mineral, roasted almonds, salted almonds, burnt toast
All in all: Outstanding quality: it’s unfortunate that Madeira is wildly underrated. This wine has a complex and lasting flavour profile. It has balance, intensity, and concentration.

Leacock's 15 Year Old Medium Rich BualBreakfast in a glass. I’m talkin’ flavours of orange marmalade, hints of coffee, a bit of burnt toast (but in a good way), boosted by other complex things involving toasted almonds, scorched earth, caramelized sugar, and figs. Oh boy.

Okay: the “scorched earth” thing sounds stupid and I’m pretty sure I just borrowed that one from somewhere else, but I swear by it on this one!… read more

WSET Diploma

“Sing, Sing, Sing” – Benny Goodman: Henriques and Henriques 10 Year Old Sercial Madeira

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med amber, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, fully developed, spice, caramel, sultana raisin, nut, ripe citrus, almond skin, mineral, cashew, fig, dates
Mouth: dry, med+ body, high fortification, high acid, med+ length, med+ flavour intensity, almonds, hint brine, caramel, spice, sultana raisin, overripe citrus, cashew
All in all: Very good quality: this drier style of Madeira is intense and well-balanced. Though the fortified wine is quite complex, there is a slight lack of concentration on the finish.

Henriques and Henriques 10 Year Old Sercial MadeiraOh Madeira. If these wines weren’t popular to begin with, then the lesser-known fortified wine in its drier version is even more of a sad and ignored little outlier. Madeira made from Sercial definitely tends to be on the drier side of the spectrum – (my way of remember this is sort of associating “SERcial” with “SERious”) but even so, a significant chunk of the class thought this was off-dry.… read more