On the first day we concentrated blind tasting techniques. We were served these wines without seeing the bottle and were asked to do a proper analyses in order to develop a logical answer. At each step we tried to conclude what it could potentially be or what we could exclude.
The first bottle (to the left) was pale yellow gren colour indicating no or very little oak influence. This was confirmed by the zingy and zesty smell with dominant gooseberry flavours indicating a potential Sauvignon Blanc. The taste was bone dry with a pronounced acidity. Again crispy flavours indicating no oak influence. Overall quality good and most people thinking Sauvignon Blanc which also was the correct answer.
The second wine had a more medium yellow colour and more tropical fruit flavours. Less acidity anymore body. The influence of oak was evident and many guessed Chardonnay from the new world.
The first red reminded me of Beaujolais on the colour. Medium purple. The nose was more towards ripe red and dark fruit with a certain"sweetness". Some infuence of flowers as well. That me drift towards Pinot Noir which was confirmed by the taste which offered a fruity well balanced wine (acid vs fruit). Medium to high acidity with very little tannins supported this argument. The slightly sweet aftertaste led us towards new world Pinot which is what it was.
The second red led us to believe it was an old wine by just looking at the colour; medium red with red brown rim. The nose however led me to Bordeaux due to the earthy, smoky, coffee like flavours. But there were some jammy flavours that suggested otherwise. The taste has high acidity, quite a lot of tanninsand a firm body that reminded me of Nebbiolo. The aftertaste had however some spice and vanilla which did not quite match that track. So when the guy next to me suggested Rioja it all came together. Vina Arana from 2008 based on tempranillo and some Viura, Mazuelo and Graciano. Key lesson is that Rioja is a blend and knottiest Tempranillo.
The last wine was obviously sweet white due to the deep yellow colour, viscosity, the complex sweet tropical fruit and honey. The very high acidity suggested that we should be away from Sauternes, which I thought it was. The best way to understand the difference between Botrytis sweet whites and ice wine is to the test them against each other.
The first bottle (to the left) was pale yellow gren colour indicating no or very little oak influence. This was confirmed by the zingy and zesty smell with dominant gooseberry flavours indicating a potential Sauvignon Blanc. The taste was bone dry with a pronounced acidity. Again crispy flavours indicating no oak influence. Overall quality good and most people thinking Sauvignon Blanc which also was the correct answer.
The second wine had a more medium yellow colour and more tropical fruit flavours. Less acidity anymore body. The influence of oak was evident and many guessed Chardonnay from the new world.
The first red reminded me of Beaujolais on the colour. Medium purple. The nose was more towards ripe red and dark fruit with a certain"sweetness". Some infuence of flowers as well. That me drift towards Pinot Noir which was confirmed by the taste which offered a fruity well balanced wine (acid vs fruit). Medium to high acidity with very little tannins supported this argument. The slightly sweet aftertaste led us towards new world Pinot which is what it was.
The second red led us to believe it was an old wine by just looking at the colour; medium red with red brown rim. The nose however led me to Bordeaux due to the earthy, smoky, coffee like flavours. But there were some jammy flavours that suggested otherwise. The taste has high acidity, quite a lot of tanninsand a firm body that reminded me of Nebbiolo. The aftertaste had however some spice and vanilla which did not quite match that track. So when the guy next to me suggested Rioja it all came together. Vina Arana from 2008 based on tempranillo and some Viura, Mazuelo and Graciano. Key lesson is that Rioja is a blend and knottiest Tempranillo.
The last wine was obviously sweet white due to the deep yellow colour, viscosity, the complex sweet tropical fruit and honey. The very high acidity suggested that we should be away from Sauternes, which I thought it was. The best way to understand the difference between Botrytis sweet whites and ice wine is to the test them against each other.
Comments