Tag: Spain

WSET Diploma

A woven Christmas sweater: Gonzalez Byass “Nutty Solera” Medium Sherry

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med amber, legs
Nose: clean, fully developed, pronounced intensity, grilled nuts, almonds, mushroom, fig, caramel, hint citrus and apple, earthy funk
Mouth: sweet, med+ body, med+ intensity, med- acid, high alcohol/fortification, grilled nuts, mushroom, bready, hint fruit, long length.
All in all: Very good quality: the wine has persistent and complex tertiary notes but lacks a touch of concentration and complexity. Drink now: not suitable for ageing.
Identity Guess: Premium Madeira (made from Bual or Malmsey) from Portugal.
Is really: Mid-priced blended Sherry from Spain.

Gonzalez-Byass "Nutty Solera" Medium Sherry[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 2 – Week 1]

A big example of the whole price and preference thing not matching here, since out of the three wines in our blind fortified lineup, this was the wine I designated as the highest quality (though all three were agreed-upon as very good quality).… read more

Quaffing

The chill person at that one house party: NV Joan Raventos Rosell Cava Brut

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med lemon, bubbles
Nose: clean, med intensity, developing, green fruit, apple, citrus, slight yeastiness, hint of butter
Mouth: dry, med body, med- to med acid, med- flavour intensity, med- length, med- alcohol, citrus, lemon pith, aggressive and persistent bubbles, slightly bitter finish
All in all: Good quality: the non-fruity character of this Cava gives way to slightly more complex hints of bread and butter with a balanced character. But there is a lack of structure and some complexity. Drink now; not suitable for ageing.

NV Joan Raventos Rosell Cava BrutYay! So a miniature celebration was in order after having completed the WSET Diploma Unit 4 (Spirits) and half of Unit 1 (Business) exams and essays. Slaved over cue cards and confusing non-wine tastings plus sleepless nights over essays (from which I’m still unfortunately recovering), and this wine serves both an homage to the past and future – I thought it would be cool to retry a wine I had a little more than a year ago in my WSET Level 3 class, and maybe refresh my actual wine tasting ability I’ll need for January.… read more

Quaffing

That extra in that one movie: NV Barón Cortes White

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon, legs
Nose: clean, youthful, light intensity, floral, mineral, nuances of stone fruit and melon, slight greenness
Mouth: dry, med- body, med+ acid, med- alcohol, med- length, savoury stony vanilla finish, med- intensity, citrus, lemon rind, melon
All in all: Acceptable quality: the wine has some form of balance and is quite drinkable, but lacks some character, intensity, and concentration. Drink now; not suitable for ageing.

NV Barón Cortes WhiteI will always give cheap bottles a chance, just like I give shitty people a chance. Also, I don’t trust the backs of bottles.

But really. This wine isn’t as bad as I thought it would be – although in the same price range of the (also non-vintage) Finca del Rey Malvasia Moscato, this wine exchanges its character for a more balanced mouthfeel.… read more

WSET Diploma

2010 Borsao “Tres Picos” Garnacha

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, deep ruby, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, youthful, red fruit, strawberry, raspberry, ripe, sweet spice, hint of leather
Mouth: dry, med+ body, med acid, med fine tannin, strawberry, raspberry, high alcohol, white pepper, sweet spice, herbs, med+ intensity, med+ finish
All in all: Good quality: a moderately complex and ripe expression of Garnacha is well-concentrated and has a high alcohol content that is relatively balanced. Drink now; not suitable for ageing.

2010 Borsao "Tres Picos" Garnacha

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 9]

Garnacha is one of those grapes that I think I like but never really choose to drink. Being a thin-skinned grape variety with lots of flesh, it produces lighter-coloured wines with lower tannins but can still produce a wine with a considerable amount of body and alcohol – although in drought and in hotter conditions, thicker skins and a deeper colour aren’t unknown (like this wine), but all in all, this wine tends to oxidize quickly; read – drink most of these wines young.… read more

WSET Diploma

2006 Viña Mayor Ribera Del Duero Reserva

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clean, deep ruby, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, youthful (to developing), vanilla, leather, oak, red fruit, black fruit, white pepper, tobacco, cigar box, black cherry, prune, raspberry, sweet baking spice, smoky, cola, hay, herbal
Mouth: dry, med body, med+ acid, med+ fine tannin, med+ alcohol, med+ length, med flavour intensity, savoury, black cherry, blackberry, black pepper, cassis, cinnamon, cranberry
All in all: Very good quality: A concentrated amount of fruit, high structure, and complexity outweigh the slightly imbalanced alcohol and lack of finesse and elegance. Drink now: not suitable for ageing.
Identity: Mid-priced (Tempranillo/Barbera/Sangiovese/Pinot Noir/Nebbiolo/Zinfandel) from Spain.
Is really: High-priced Tempranillo from Ribera del Duero, Spain; 7 years old.

2006 Viña Mayor Ribera Del Duero Reserva

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 8]

Fuller-bodied, more classic expressions of Tempranillo can often be so deceiving, but for me – but the brooding leathery and oaky secondary characteristics combined with the melancholy-toned darker fruits cross with an underlying tone of oxidation are often landmarks – “poetic” and noteworthy enough for me to type, but my nose still needs a handle on identifying the wide range that this grape can produce.… read more

WSET Diploma

2008 Eternum Viti “Los Comillos” Toro

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clean (slightly hazy due to sediment), deep ruby, legs
Nose: clear, med+ intensity, developing, oak, vanilla, spice, red fruits, strawberries, black fruits, earth, oak, smoke, bacon, black cherry
Mouth: dry, med+ bodied, high fine tannin, med acid, med alcohol, med+ finish, med+ flavour intensity, red fruit, oak, black cherry, cinnamon, chocolate
All in all: Very good quality: complex developing aromas are help up by a balanced structure worthy of ageing, despite current high and slightly unbalanced tannin. Med+ length.

2008 Eternum Viti "Los Comillos" Toro

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 7]

One of the small tidbits I’ve learned from WSET Advanced is that Toro is known more for their more robust and strong expressions of Tempranillo. A quick flip through my past textbook says that this is due to a thick-skinned clone of Tempranillo (Tinta de Toro).… read more

WSET Diploma

2002 Anciano Tempranillo Gran Reserva

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, deep ruby, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, developing, oak, bright red fruit, spice, strawberries, earth, touch of barnyard, opened up with: mocha, chocolate, cacao
Mouth: dry, med bodied, med fine tannin, med acidity, med+ alcohol, med finish, med+ flavour intensity, strawberry, leather, savoury, oak
All in all: Good quality: the structural components are well-balanced, and the wine is very complex. The alcohol is slightly imbalanced and the length could be longer. Drink now: not suitable for ageing.

2002 Anciano Tempranillo Gran Reserva

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 1 – Week 7]

I didn’t believe it, and even during my first liquor store gig ever, I scoffed when this came onto the shelves. A Gran Reserva for 16 dollars makes the wine-savvy ruffle their eyebrows and go oh-please.… read more

Quaffing

NV Finca del Rey Malvasia Moscato

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, med- lemon, pale rim
Nose: med intensity, youthful, canned stone fruit, hint of mango, floral
Mouth: dry, light to med- body, low acid, med- length, low to med- intensity, med- alcohol
All in all: Good quality; drink now.

Bought this after the 2013 Vancouver International Wine Festival on March 1st because I was getting a little tired of spitting things. I’ve seen this bottle for a while and its look has changed from a faux-classic cream-coloured label (with an indication of Malvasia Muscat, now to Malvasia Moscato. Hmm?) to something a little more plain and bold in a weird way. There’s something about the bottles that tell me what they’re like on the front side – that turn me off, but it’s not a bad marketing technique for the lower-priced bottles.… 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

Hidalgo “Faraon” Oloroso Sherry

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, med amber
Nose: clean, med to med+ intensity, developed, meaty, nutty, touch of soy, raisin, light yeastiness, LIKE A BAKERY
Mouth: dry, med+ bodied to full, I got a med acidity but the instructor got low to med- acid, long length, high alcohol, med+ intensity, meaty, brine, nuts
All in all: Very good quality; drink now.

Oh my. I’m not sure if I’m just more partial to Oloroso Sherry, but DAMN this was good, and it was the favourite for everyone at my table. Such delicious aromas on the nose and flavours on the palate. Although we picked out some individual notes on the nose like raisins and an oxidized soy quality, I couldn’t help but go back to the whole bakery thing since it seemed like all the oxidized, yeasty, and nutty notes added up to that.… read more