Tag: Viognier

Quaffing

Liquid Love Handles and Marshmallows: 2011 Treana White

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med+ lemon, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, developing, oak, vanilla, baking spice, sweet spice, marshmallow, stone fruit, nectarine, orange peel, floral, perfume, ripe citrus, nuts, honey, hint tropical
Mouth: dry, full bodied, med acid, high alcohol, med+ intensity, savoury, oak, butter, ripe citrus, orange peel, savoury, baking spice, sweet spice, peach, floral, nutty, med+ length
All in all: Good (to very good) quality: one of the poster children of complex hedonism. Fantastic concentration, body, and balance of oak – but the alcohol is slightly imbalanced, and the structure may be lacking for some consumers. Drink now, not suitable for ageing.

2011 Treana WhiteI haven’t had wine in 9 days (for some dumb pseudo-reason like being really sick or whatever) with a few servings of both horrible and delicious beer in between.… read more

Tasting

Wine Bloggers Conference 2014 – Speed Tasting i.e. Tinder for Wines

Posted on by Josh

Speed tasting. It’s one of the unique events of the Wine Bloggers Conference that’s always explained to you if you’ve never heard of the WBC before, kind of like the warning nod of the hangover to the newly legal. It’s always described as “speed dating but with wine” – though in this case, it’s only a one-way road of looking at your date in disgust. So there’s a plus, and it’s sort of like a Tinder swipe-left-or-right sort of situation.

In the essence of the Live Wine Blogging event, you have 50 minutes to taste through 10 wines. In each 5-minute session, the winery representative pours you wine and gives you a bit of a quick overview before moving on to the next table.… read more

Life · Tasting

I suck at wine: 2014 VIWF Blind Tasting Challenge

Posted on by Josh

My 2014 Vancouver International Wine Festival activities begun on Wednesday! Insert majestic trumpet sounds here.

I was really scared for the Blind Tasting Challenge (at the Pacific Culinary Institute of Arts) on said morning . This mostly meant barely being able to keep my breakfast in my stomach, listening to Glee’s rendition of “Don’t Rain on My Parade” on repeat for high energy (do you hate me yet?), and then thinking that coffee was a bad idea. A classmate saw me looking at the water as I was listening to music and taking refreshing winter breaths of Granville Island air – she was just as nervous as I, but another classmate told us we were more jittery and nervous than we needed to be.… read more

Quaffing

A 1950s pin-up girl, or Mr. Fireman September: 2012 Tahbilk Viognier

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med- lemon, legs, (med viscosity)
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, youthful, mineral, ripe citrus, nectarine, stone fruit, just ripe peach, apricot, yogurt, floral, spice, cardamom, tea, hint honey
Mouth: dry, med+ body, med intensity, med+ acidity, med alcohol, med+ length, savoury, ripe citrus, lemon, peach, apricot, mineral, (med complexity)
All in all: Very good quality: the leaner New World style of Viognier shows finesse, elegance, and persistence along with a slight lack in complexity. Drink now; not suitable for ageing.

2012 Tahbilk ViognierBest served slightly chilled if not at room temperature. An example of a wine that shies away while having spent time in the fridge, but reveals itself when in its vulnerable nakedness with no lack of temperature to hide behind.… read more

Quaffing

2012 Sula Dindori Reserve Viognier

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med lemon, (med+ viscosity)
Nose: clean, pronounced intensity, youthful, tropical fruits, floral, honeysuckle, stone fruit, Froot Loops, lemon curd, white pepper, spice, apricot, hint yoghurt, peach
Mouth: dry, med+ body, med acid, med length, med flavour intensity, med+ alcohol, floral, stone fruit, tropical fruit, ripe candied citrus peel, apricot pith, canned peaches, hint of bitterness, touch of mineral, (med complexity)
All in all: Good quality: very expressive on the nose and varietally correct – arguably better than some Viogniers for the same price. Although the finish has typical Viognier phenolic bitterness, there is just enough acid to clean the palate. Drink now; not suitable for ageing.

2012 Sula Dindori Reserve ViognierThere are always those awkward products at the BC Liquor Stores that are so uniquely fucked up in some way – perhaps a weirdly shaped bottle, an unpronounceable name, things so obliquely passé (Blue Nun?… read more

WSET Diploma

2011 K Vintners Viognier

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon-green, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, youthful, mineral, floral, white flowers, lime, lemon, hint of stone fruit, lemon, pineapple, oak, nutmeg, sweet spice
Mouth: dry, med+ body, med+ acid, med alcohol, med+ intensity, med+ length, floral, citrus, spicy apple
All in all: Good quality: although personally appearing neutral in characteristics, a marked floral complexity follows a balanced finish and a concentrated palate. Drink now; not suitable for ageing.
Identity guess: Mid-priced (Trebbiano/Pinot Blanc/Viognier) from Italy; 2 years old.
Is really: TBA-priced Viognier from Washington; 2 years old.

2011 K Vintners Viognier

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

Even after having had an identity guess for this wine, I still noted down a marked floral character from this.… read more

Quaffing

2011 Chateau de Pennautier Viognier

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, med- lemon, pale rim
Nose: med- intensity, youthful, apricot, mineral, citrus, floral
Mouth: dry, light to med- body, med acid, med length, med+ alcohol, med- intensity, mineral, savoury, bitter citrus rind
All in all: Good quality; drink now.

After having been curious about this bottle of wine for a while, plus a lack of knowledge on the Viognier of the Old World, I decided to give this one a go. There’s something about a classic-looking label with a pretty shade of orange. I’m so easy, hey?

Plus, I bought a bunch of beer for cellaring and decided to go for the sub-20.

The nose seemed very restrained to me. Old World coming through, perhaps, and any stone fruit character was restrained with an equal or greater amount of mineral character.… read more

WSET Advanced

2011 Yalumba “Y Series” Viognier

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, pale lemon, watery rim
Nose: clean, pronounced, youthful, apricot, canned peaches, spice, honey, FRUIT LOOPS
Mouth: dry, med+ bodied, med- acid, med+ length, med intensity, med+ alcohol, apricot, canned peaches
All in all: Good quality; drink now.

This was a wine I featured in one of the articles that I wrote for the Ubyssey.

I had the exact same wine for my WSET Intermediate class, and even now, I still get that distinct note of Froot Loops – that slightly spicy canned stone fruit sort of smell. I have no idea what cardamom smells like, but I blind-tasted this wine again with my co-workers and apparently that’s a legitimate scent that you might get from both this wine and in actual Fruit Loops cereal.… read more

Quaffing

2010 d’Arenberg “The Hermit Crab” Viognier Marsanne

Posted on by Josh

Tasting Notes:

Eyes: clear, med lemon-green
Nose: clean, med intensity, floral, melon (honeydew), tropical fruit, notes of honey, flintiness, and lime
Mouth: dry, med+ body, low to med- acidity, med length
All in all: Good quality, drink now

My goodness. What a night of work. Technical difficulties all around. Thank goodness wine exists. Blind tasting time!

We started off with a white wine. I was honestly in this sweet and refreshing mood (perhaps a beer mood? Brachetto/Moscato/fruit ale mood?) so it was both a bittersweet moment when I tasted this fruity and floral wine with lower acid. I instantly guessed a hot climate new world wine, although I pegged Australia on the third guess. This wine had a lot of body to it – a really weighty and thick character.… read more