Tag: France

WSET Diploma

The antithesis of Apothic: 2009 Charles Joguet “Les Petites Roches” Chinon

Posted on by Josh

2009 Charles Joguet "Les Petites Roches" Chinon[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 2: Loire Valley]

The last time I’ve had an old world Cabernet Franc was over a year ago when I had a Saumur-Champigny in class (wine class, that is). I’m sure I’ve forgotten what the classic example tastes like which is a weird shame because the style of wine, on paper, seems relatively uncomplicated and definitive: raspberry-dominated with red fruits, pencil shavings and perhaps brettanomyces amongst the earth, leafy greens, a medium depth of colour and body, and noticeable but reined tannin.

Maybe I’m not used to more aged examples – or just better examples in general – of the style, because the wine seemed much more full-bodied and in the darker black cherry fruit range than I expected.… read more

WSET Diploma

Rosé from Gris: 2013 Domaine de Reuilly Rosé

Posted on by Josh

2013 Domaine de Reuilly Rosé[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 2: Loire Valley]

A rosé from Pinot Gris, a grape that normally makes white wines, might be strange to some people, though the pink-skinned grape can make wines familiar to some people in the local BC market. Producers like Nichol and Kettle Valley come to mind right away: I wonder if the winemakers have been inspired by such a small region with an esoteric style – if that were the case, then that’s pretty awesome, knowing that this kind of rosé isn’t an overdone style that’s executed to make money. It’s a nod and a twist and a sashay.

I’m glad we tried a wine from Reuilly, because it’s one of those tiny appellations often eclipsed by the big boys in its respective area, like Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé.… read more

WSET Diploma

The quietest Sancerre that ever was: 2012 Pascal Cotat “Les Monts Damnés” Sancerre

Posted on by Josh

2011 Pascal Cotat "Les Monts Damnés" Sancerre[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 2: Loire Valley]

The previous wine in this flight was a juicy and exuberant Loire Sauvignon Blanc. This second wine was the complete opposite, with super-restrained flavours hiding behind a shield of acid and maybe just a hint of texture. Everyone and I thought this was a Muscadet, which is a Loire wine made from the super-neutral Melon de Bourgogne grape. The grape is moulded into a textured and yeasty wine by processes involving storing the wine over fine lees (dead yeast cells), so all of it made sense, and almost everyone thought this was one of acceptable to good quality – lifeless but satisfactory.

So it turns out this was a 63-dollar wine from a well-reputed producer.… read more

WSET Diploma

Coteaux du who Sancerre what?: 2011 Henri Bourgeois “Terre de Fumée” Coteaux du Giennois

Posted on by Josh

2011 Henri Bourgeois "Terre de Fumée" Coteaux du Giennois

[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 2: Loire Valley]

Second sesh of Unit 3 and we get Sauv Blanc in the first of our flight again, and despite how obvious the grape can seem, I always seem to slip it up. I thought it was some really weird Muscadet at first – which is inherently neutral – but then I went back to this one after smelling the second wine and I shamefully crossed out my first guess.

Coteaux du Giennois is down there with Quincy, Reuilly, and Menetou-Salon as the forgotten hard-to-pronounce children of the Central Vineyards in the Loire, overshadowed by the better-known and much more fashionable Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. Coteaux du Giennois is one of those extras you never think you’re gonna come across – so much that I didn’t bother taking notes on this area during my big Loire marathon last week – but hey: it turns out one or two of these wines exist in our market.… read more

Quaffing

Cream of Mushroom Wasabi: 2007 Domaine des Baumard Savennières Trie Speciale

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2007 Domaine des Baumard Savennières Trie SpecialeWasabi, out of all things, is the flavour benchmark that Master Sommelier Emily Wines gets out of Savennières. As if “earthy” and “mineral” weren’t strange enough to describe to people, we arrive at a wine that’s so weird – yet so classic – that it’s bound to split people in the middle like the burning tire and ash-scented South African Pinotage. Savennières is an appellation from the Loire Valley in France that produces dry, concentrated, and fundamentally non-fruity wines from Chenin Blanc, and Baumard makes exceptional and superlative examples described by Jancis Robinson as “a wine for intellectuals, not neophytes.” That’s the most shade I’ve ever seen anyone throw from within an encyclopedia.

It’s one of those wines that’s hard to put into words: so much, that it almost sounds disgusting on paper, but experiencing the wine – without sounding too ridiculous about it – really is sort of otherworldly.… read more

WSET Diploma

And we’ll never be royals: 2012 Maison des Bulliats Régnié

Posted on by Josh

2012 Maison des Bulliats Régnié[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 1]

It only strikes me now how overlapped the Venn diagram between Gamay and Barbera can be – both tend towards high acid and spicy red fruit, though both also grow differently and can be vinified differently in different subregions. Purer red fruit, for example, in Barbera d’Asti, and a bit spicier and darker in Barbera d’Alba, sort of like how you can get estery Gamay from Beaujolais Nouveau over to the earthier and grittier cru Beaujolais like this one. And suddenly my Sansa Stark = Cru Beaujolais and Arya Stark = Barbera d’Alba analogy sort of makes more sense.

This wasn’t as complex as a Sansa Stark though. Spicy red fruits, yes, and a nice glowing acidity, but mostly fresh, and just fresh – and sometimes it’s hard to be a fresh red.… read more

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

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

Quaffing

Glinda the Good Witch: 2010 Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Herrenweg de Turkheim Muscat

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon, legs
Nose: clean, med intensity, youthful, spice, ginger, citrus, stone fruit, ripe peach, hint mango, mineral, petrichor, floral, orange blossom, tea
Mouth: dry, med+ body, med+ to high acid, med+ flavour intensity, med+ alcohol, strong minerality, wet stones, petrichor, citrus, white peach, stone fruit, hint spritz
All in all: Good quality: the wine has fantastic structure for a Muscat, and a strong minerality carries on to a med+ finish. But both the nose and palate could benefit from more fruit intensity and concentration. Drink now, not suitable for ageing.

herrenwegmuscatAfter much debate at the liquor store – which also made it probably look like I was suspicious – I finally came to the conclusion that this was a day I where the whole “should-I-spend-x-less-dollars-for-this-wine?”… read more

Quaffing

Like Moose Mason from the Archie Comics: 2010 Cailleteau Bergeron “Tradition” Côtes de Bordeaux

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, deep ruby, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, developing, dark fruit, black cherry, blackberry, cassis, hint oak, spice, plum, mineral, earth, hint ash, hint dried black fruit, small hint of green, dark chocolate
Mouth: dry, med+ body, med acid, med+ slightly coarse tannin, med+ alcohol, med flavour intensity, cassis, dark fruit, cassis, plum, mineral, much more earth-driven on palate, hint spice, hint ash, long length
All in all: Good quality: though the flavours are a bit tight on the palate due to tannins that need time to loosen up, there is a long earthy finish and a modestly developed nose. Can drink now, but has potential for ageing.

2010 Cailleteau Bergeron "Tradition" Côtes de BordeauxI ate way too much for dinner so I decided that beer wasn’t the best thing to have after work – so between wine and spirits, I went with a half-bottle of the former.… read more