Tag: Pinot Gris

WSET Diploma

Not enough dirty socks, but good anyways: Pfaffenheim 2013 “Pfaff” Pinot Gris

Posted on by Josh

Pfaffenheim 2013 "Pfaff" Pinot Gris[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 5: Alsace]

I’m a big fan of Alsatian Pinot Gris. I was supposed to make a post on one by another producer last week but drank it too quickly to leave any trace of sobriety (“I’ll just buy another bottle, srjgkglrahhh”), and plus I knew the theme of the upcoming class was Alsace, so tasting a Pinot Gris was definitely something that was going to happen, anyways.

The wine was notably Pinot Gris (if not Gewurztraminer) from just looking at it with its coppery tint from pinkish grapes (another reason to love it?). Not as exuberant on the nose like Gewurztraminer or Muscat, but there are hints to stone fruit, mineral, peach, some sort of sweet orange floral notes, and a bit of mango.… 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

Quaffing

Hey Ocean! – “Bicycle”: 2011 Pierre Sparr “Charisma” Pinot Gris

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, pale gold, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, youthful, mineral, stone fruit, peach, apricot, creaminess, red apple, flint, mango, musky/smoky, (malolactic?)
Mouth: dry (to off-dry), med+ body, med acid, med finish, med+ flavour intensity, med+ alcohol, stone fruit, smoke, oiliness, peach, apricot, creamy, ripe apple, flint, peach pith
All in all: Good quality: the wine has decent balance with the typical slight oiliness of Alsatian Pinot Gris and the whisper of residual sugar – but the wine lacks a bit of complexity. Drink now; not suitable for ageing.

2011 Pierre Sparr "Charisma" Pinot GrisSo much for cutting down on alcohol for the new year. I’ve allocated a sort of strict alcohol budget for myself, but I’m already trying to find loopholes. I spent more than I should have on spirits last fall because of the diploma exam in November, and I still have so many leftovers.… read more

Quaffing

A fantastic half-bottle of partly cloudy bliss.JPG skies: 2010 Albert Mann Pinot Gris

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med- lemon, legs, (med+ viscosity)
Nose: clean, med intensity, youthful, mineral, spice, ginger, stone fruit, dried stone fruit, citrus, nectarine, citrus rind, musk, green fruit, honey, floral, hint tropical, hint botrytis???
Mouth: off-dry, med+ to full body, pronounced intensity, med acid, med+ alcohol, long finish, stone fruit, spice, pear, citrus, citrus rind, honey, slightly oily texture with balanced acid, slight phenolic bitterness to finish, hint tropical
All in all: Very good quality: the wine has a characterfully ripe palate and balanced components (despite high alcohol) with a long finish. Can drink now, but has potential for short term ageing.

2010 Albert Mann Pinot GrisI love Alsace, or at least the idea of it. And not just for wine – the idea of a cool climate with constant sun sounds about like my dream weather.… read more

WSET Diploma

2011 Hunter’s Pinot Gris

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, youthful, stone fruit, peach, apricot, floral, mineral, bit of spice
Mouth: dry, med body, med acid, med alcohol, med+ flavour intensity, med+ length, stone fruit, peach, apricot, floral
All in all: Good quality: a relatively long length follows good balance. Intense flavours, but a bit simple. Drink now; not suitable for ageing.
Identity Guess: Mid-priced (Riesling/Pinot Gris/Muscat/Gewurztraminer/Chenin Blanc); 2 years old.
Is really: Mid-priced Pinot Gris from Marlborough, New Zealand; 2 years old.

2011 Hunter's Pinot Gris[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 10]

Heh. This was the wine for which I had to read out my tasting notes. I’m getting better at confirming my notes and not being a nervous wreck when reading them out loud – and much to my surprise, it turns out that my set of notes was good and mostly true to the wine.… read more

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

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

WSET Advanced

2010 Tolloy Pinot Grigio

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon, watery rim
Nose: clean, med intensity, youthful to developing, almond, floral, neutral + vague fruit
Mouth: dry, med+ to high acidity, med body, med+ intensity, med to med+ alcohol, med length, citrus, minterality
All in all: Good quality; drink now.

Pinot Grigio. Who’d’ve thunk it?

I’m not a big fan of Pinot Grigio, and even recently, one of my newer co-workers and I excitedly burst into complete excitement into how we both disliked this particular variety. “Oh my God, you hate Pinot Grigio, too?!”

It’s very middle-of-the-road and generally crowd-pleasing: its characteristics don’t seem to reach many extremes very 2010 Tolloy Pinot Grigiooften. Acidity, body, intensity, and so on, are usually kept in check, which perhaps gives the quaffable and enjoyable quality – unfortunately, this varietal seems to lack character at the same time, which I find happens in many Italian whites.… 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